# Hmmm, what could be happening here?



## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

I'll update in a couple of weeks (all being well)


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

I'll bite....you are going to buff up the finish? BTW I thought that guitar was terrific to play and sounded great.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

mario said:


> I'll bite....you are going to buff up the finish? BTW I thought that guitar was terrific to play and sounded great.


LOL, close but I wasn't happy with the results of the buffing, so on to stage 2 

And yes, the only reason I'm going all out is because it is a dream to play and does sound great. Weighs next to nothing also.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Can't wait for the update.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Something along these lines. I should have it back in a week or two and then I'll try to put the electronics back together, they were "complicated" to say the least


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

Oooooh. What a great color! ^^^^


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## vokey design (Oct 24, 2006)

Who is doing the work Dave?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

When did all this start and who put their name on an ibanez AX?


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

vokey design said:


> Who is doing the work Dave?


Darcy Thompson. 

Darcy is a painter who also works with Mike McConville. He paints everything, including guitars, cars, bikes, etc. He actually used to paint the Camo patterns on our vehicles and I think he told me also painted the Triumph tour bus or plane years ago. I could be wrong about that though 

He's mixed up a custom colour but it's kinda close to what i showed above.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Budda said:


> When did all this start and who put their name on an ibanez AX?


This all started a month or so ago thanks to a trade with @sorbz62 . The guitar was "well played", had faded to a flat black, and had a few bumps and bruises. Nothing dramatic but when I played it, and loved it, OCD started to kick in. I've always loved Pelham Blue (in all of it's many shades) so thought I'd try it on this. When I went out to see Darcy he just mixed up a colour on the spot that I really liked so away we go  If all goes to plan I should see something by the end of next week.


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## sorbz62 (Nov 15, 2011)

Nooooooo! Should have left it classic!!!!


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

sorbz62 said:


> Nooooooo! Should have left it classic!!!!


LOL, I knew this would make your head spin  But even the man himself likes blue.


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## sorbz62 (Nov 15, 2011)

Nice!!


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## Fox Rox (Aug 9, 2009)

That is gorgeous Dave!


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

davetcan said:


> LOL, I knew this would make your head spin  But even the man himself likes blue.


That looks badass! What a transformation. Did you keep the same electronics?

Well done Sir.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

mario said:


> That looks badass! What a transformation. Did you keep the same electronics?
> 
> Well done Sir.


LOL, sorry, NOT MINE. I was just pointing out to @sorbz62 that Mr. Smith himself seemed to like the colour. That's a new of the shelf job, not sure how close my blue will be to that, I suspect a little more like the SG above but until I see it on the guitar who knows.


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

davetcan said:


> LOL, sorry, NOT MINE. I was just pointing out to @sorbz62 that Mr. Smith himself seemed to like the colour. That's a new of the shelf job, not sure how close my blue will be to that, I suspect a little more like the SG above but until I see it on the guitar who knows.



Duh...sorry and carry on.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Growing up in the UK, those Gordon Smith guitars were always very well regarded. Looing foward to seeing how your guitar turns out - a great vehicle to start with.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Yes, I wouldn't bother if I wasn't impressed with the guitar in the first place ☺



bagpipe said:


> Growing up in the UK, those Gordon Smith guitars were always very well regarded. Looing foward to seeing how your guitar turns out - a great vehicle to start with.


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## sorbz62 (Nov 15, 2011)

Wish I'd kept it!


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

sorbz62 said:


> Wish I'd kept it!


So you could keep it flat black?


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

There is none more blue


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Just picked her up. I need to let it hang for a few days to allow things to cure properly but I'm very pleased with the colour and the quality of the work. He also did a fret job for me while he had it. The colour changes quite dramatically depending on the light so I took most of the pics outside.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

That looks really good!


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Greg Ellis said:


> That looks really good!


Thanks, I'm very pleased with the result.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

It will have much better tone now. 

Very nice choice and workmanship!


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

What are your plans for the headstock?

New paint wiped out the old logo, right?


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Greg Ellis said:


> What are your plans for the headstock?
> 
> New paint wiped out the old logo, right?


Yep, that was a concern from the get go. My first thought is to contact Gordon Smith and see if they'll sell me one. If not then I took pictures of the original and I was hoping to get one made myself. The guy that did the decals for Ayr guitars maybe?


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

If I could get something like this I'd be thrilled.


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## Hamstrung (Sep 21, 2007)

davetcan said:


> Yep, that was a concern from the get go. My first thought is to contact Gordon Smith and see if they'll sell me one. If not then I took pictures of the original and I was hoping to get one made myself. The guy that did the decals for Ayr guitars maybe?


This is the very first reference to Gordon Smith guitars that I've ever seen. Where do they sit in the pantheon of guitar makers? What's their story?
Great looking refin too!


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Hamstrung said:


> This is the very first reference to Gordon Smith guitars that I've ever seen. Where do they sit in the pantheon of guitar makers? What's their story?
> Great looking refin too!


Not much known about them over here but they've been around in the UK since the early 70's. Reputation appears to be very good.

@sorbz62 might be able to provide more info.

Great British guitars - Gordon Smith Guitars


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2018)

*


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

laristotle said:


> *


All I see is an asterisk


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

This is a demo of the GS2


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2018)

davetcan said:


> All I see is an asterisk


edited
I posted the same link as you before going to the next page. lol.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Heard back from Gordon Smith Guitars and they're going to send me a decal, also asked for pics of the new paint


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Almost done, just waiting for the headstock decal.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Those are the original pickups, right? Standard GS humbucker?

Is it a black plastic cover? Or blackened metal?

They don't really list any specs for the pickups on their website - what are they like? 8K range?


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Sorry Greg i didn't see this until now.

The guitar is completely stock. Pup covers appear to be black plastic but it's hard to tell without pulling them and I'm not doing that again any time soon.

Bridge reads 9.05k and neck 8.83k. Couldn't get a reading off the neck pup using the plugged in guitar cable method so I had to pop the back cover plate. Not sure if that indicates an issue with signal loss on the neck but it still sounds fine through the amp.

The bridge pup splits to 5.52k but I forget to measure the neck split while I had the back off  Both pups are bright and jangly but very responsive to the tone control. Reminds me of my SG as much as anything. Split positions are very useable also.

I did read that due to the very complex wiring setup "8" on the tone pot is "normal" while 9 and 10 act as treble boost.

Guitar weighs just under 7lbs.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

GSG came through today, now to figure out how to put it on. At least I'll have 4 chances to get it right  It's gold script by the way.


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2018)

davetcan said:


> now to figure out how to put it on.


Assuming they're water slide decals ..


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

laristotle said:


> Assuming they're water slide decals ..


I'm not sure that they are. They're mounted on clear plastic so I've asked GSG before I screw something up


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

If you dig the colour and the look of the finished product, that's all the matters Dave. Congrats and hope that you're really stoked to play that guitar and make some beautiful music with it.

FWIW, and I'm prolly alone on this - I really liked the "before" rather than the "after". Then again, I like faded jeans, comfy broken-in shoes and guitar strings with about 15-20 hrs of play on them, so what the heck do I know, right?...


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

gtone said:


> FWIW, and I'm prolly alone on this - I really liked the "before" rather than the "after". Then again, I like faded jeans, comfy broken-in shoes and guitar strings with about 15-20 hrs of play on them, so what the heck do I know, right?...


I'm sure you're not alone, in fact i struggled with doing this myself. The determining factor, and I'll see if i can find a pic, was a line in the finish of the top. It almost looked like a tape line, or even a joint in the wood of the body. Perfectly straight and running across the body from one side to the other in between the controls. I tried buffing it out but no luck. I was OK with the nicks and bruises but that line drove me nuts


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

You did the right thing if it bothered you. Whether we admit it or not, we have a "relationship" with our instruments and therefore, must do all necessary suffice to get to the point where we dig them, they inspire us and ultimately we play them a lot. 

Good on you man - nice project indeed!


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