New Project for a Forum member

O

orpheo

Well-known member
Hi Guys,

it's been a while since I posted something here. I won't go too deep into details but for now, I guess it's enough to say that my life has been turned upside down. Everything is changing around me and the most is for the better. Suffice to say, I am 'back'. I will use this thread to post my current big project. I have several guitars in several stages of completion going on at the same time but this one is special.

A while ago, a forum member got in touch with me to make him a custom 'S' style guitar. We emailed back and forth about specs, desires and wishes and we settled upon the specs below. Some specs are still open to change depending on how stuff works out while I'm working at it. The specs that are in bold, though, are set!.

Body shape: S style, with forearm bevel and tummy cut
Body back: figured ash
Body top: figured walnut
Neck: 9 piece neck with wenge, padouk, pau ferro and sycamore stringers
Fretboard: Ebony
Neck specs: 0.95'' thick J-Shape neck
Fretboard specs: 7.5-9 inch radius, 25.5'' scale, 22 medium frets, sycamore/walnut/sycamore pinstripe, sycamore headstock cap
Bridge: Hipshot Contour Trem with steel saddles and block
Tuners: Hipshot Open gear Griplock tuners
Pickups: Seymour Duncan SSL1 set
Pickguard: Bookmatched figured quartersawn Sycamore
Backplates: Bookmatched figured quartersawn Sycamore
Trussrud: dual action
Nut: Bone
Electronics: master volume, master tone, 5 way switch
That's the biggest bulk of the specs. I wrote them down here going by memory. I will discuss the last final specs with the customer/forum member in due time. I'll explain:

Thickness of the neck: I can always take it down, never add timber. hence the slight uncertainty.
Headstock cap: if the customer likes the stripes in the headstock, I will leave as is (or implement wishes he throws at me).
Master Tone: Can't remember if a 2 tone pot or 1 tone pot configuration was desired.
Pickups. I am having a set made for demo purposes and if that set proves to be as I want, I will discuss with the customer about these pickups (no change in pricing compared to SD SSL1's). SSL1's are just a very safe bet, but if improvements can be made, who am I to not dive into that void?

I will use this thread to keep you all updated to the progress of this project. I have to admit, I've never been given the opportunity to go all out with timbers as with this project!
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

27972627_1686784091360829_3588598990745953795_n.jpg


The neck blank. From outside to the core: wenge, sycamore, padouk, sycamore, pau ferro (and then back in reverse).

- If the forum member wishes, I can add more contrasting pinstripes or remove them, if so desired. I just feel this strikes the right balance between esthetics and function. The padouk and wenge are quartersawn and they are, at last, stable. I had some troubles during the winter months to get the wood stable enough to work with. You really don't want a neck that wobbles.

27867614_1687751644597407_7355595473603128232_n.jpg


Figured ash body back. Yes, this is ash with a flame.


27868058_1687751701264068_6824067335305436506_n.jpg


Alternative shot

28058874_1687751731264065_6899008616568410988_n.jpg


Figured walnut top. this will be a droptop.

27867932_1687751784597393_533858619756499176_n.jpg


Alternative shot. My cat is very, very curious to see what this piece is!

I will glue the neck blanks within a couple of days if all goes well.
 
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Re: New Project for a Forum member

SCHWING!!!!!!!


Love that neck sammich!

Go post the bullets on upside down life that is now rightsize up in Soundoff man. Love to hear the drama, the tragedy, the comedy, and the triumph.
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

Good to see you back here, Orpheo. I’ve been following orpheoguitars on Instagram, is that you?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

Aceman said:
SCHWING!!!!!!!


Love that neck sammich!

Go post the bullets on upside down life that is now rightsize up in Soundoff man. Love to hear the drama, the tragedy, the comedy, and the triumph.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that neck is really, really cool. I guess that these kinds of necks are becoming my signature now? :D

The drama: in short. My job was killing me. As you know, I was working for Guild Guitars and as good as it started out, almost 2 years ago, the more sour it became. I just couldn't get myself to go to work and do the job. The reasons are plentiful but I discovered that I just wanted to create, not check what others were doing! I wanted to make stuff, not sit behind a computerscreen all day long?! So, after a month of almost constant bouts and waves of migraine I resigned. I moved to a different job.

yes, still in the guitar industry. Perhaps one of the best guitar makers in the world at this moment. I won't say the name but you should be able to deduce it from this description:

"we make 6, 7 and 8 string guitars as well as 5 string basses; we don't use wood at all, only manmade materials; even the fretboard isn't wood anymore. We don't compromise at all on ANYTHING. Each guitar is fully handmade even though you might not think that from the get go. We build guitars for guys like Kirk Hammett, Mark Holcomb, Misha Mansoor, Tosin Abasi; we're not Ibanez, we're not PRS, we are 100% Dutch; we even have a color called 'Dutch Orange'.".


So yeah. that's the story in short. :) I will be building approximately 24 guitars this year and that's about it. Once my website is online I will do something to thank you all, but more on that later this year!
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

I am happy you are back here, and look forward to more in-process pics!
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

Mincer said:
I am happy you are back here, and look forward to more in-process pics!
Click to expand...

I'll try to stick around this time! :D You know me, I have so much on my plate! But having to update this thread regularly will ensure me staying here for a while. It's not that I don't LIKE it here...
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

Aceman said:
SCHWING!!!!!!!


Love that neck sammich!

Go post the bullets on upside down life that is now rightsize up in Soundoff man. Love to hear the drama, the tragedy, the comedy, and the triumph.
Click to expand...

Thanks Aceman for the referral. Many years ago you talked me out of my idea to order a custom strat from Fender. And you recommended two things instead. First, you suggested I could buy many guitars for the price I would pay the Fender Custom Shop guys for just one guitar. And your second recommendation was that if I was going to go through with having a guitar custom made that I try and get Orpheo to design/build one for me. Well.....many guitars later I am now ready to fulfill your second recommendation and I'm lucky and blessed to have Orpheo building my next guitar! So far it looks amazing and I can hardly wait (but I will) for him to finish. This guy is amazing and has impressed me every step of the way! Thanks again Aceman for the recommendations and this referral! Mike
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

That's some beautiful work and gorgeous wood. Reminds me of the one I'm building right now (when I get the clear gloss finished I'll post some pics). The back/body is chambered mahogany and the front is Wenge, Padauk, Maple, Purple Heart, Padauk, Maple, Wenge, then back again. 5 ply binding (.25mm white, .5mm cream, 2x .5mm black, 1mm cream).
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

So... after a couple of weeks of pure horror, I made some progress again.

We had a bout of really strange weather lately: the temperature dropped from +9C to -10C within 2 days and it stayed cold for way too long! Result? Water pipes burst. The central heating in the shop complex where my workshop is located, had some pipes burst in the central node, so it took forever to get that sorted.

Then, to make matters even a bit worse, I had problems with my fretboard supplier. Fretboards are the only wooden parts of a guitar I don't make myself, for consistency reasons. So I supply the leveled boards, he routes them on his CNC mill. I asked for a vintage radius board (7.5'' to 9'.5'' compound, 22 frets, 25.5'' scale). I got, however, 24 frets, 24.75'' scale, 10''-16'' compound. Damn. Now I gotta do all of that again. Shame.

However. I did glue up the neck blank, so that's that.

28686001_1710235512349020_4468582694581698560_n.jpg


28958390_1710235535682351_697466456526290944_n.jpg


It's a 9 piece neck; 4 pieces sycamore, two padouk, two wenge and a center core of pau ferro (one of my new favorites). All CITES approved timbers, so to speak.

I glue with Titebond (Titebond: What Else?) and clamp it in my vertical clamps. The top and bottom timbers are to spread the load. In a day or 2 I will check the neck, level them and proceed from there.
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

i am happy things are back running again..that sounds like a tough time. The neck is going to come out really great, though.
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

Having water issues in - 10 is horror. I am craving for the summer.
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

Yeah, I would imagine. I am happy I am in Florida.
 
Re: New Project for a Forum member

That neck looks unbelievably awesome! My goodness... I need to gather some money together to get me a truly custom built, one-of-a-kind guitar. Well done, orpheo. I can already tell you're a hell of a talented luthier just by checking out your instagram page.
 
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