# My Warmoth is here!



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Hey Guys, I've edited this first post because it is a very old thread and most of the pics are gone thanks to phtobucket. But the project is back on track. Just scroll to page 5 to continue on. 





Ordered this about 6 weeks ago. Body showed up yesterday with taxes owing, the neck showed up with no taxes owing.

Standard telecster chambered mahogany with walnut top
double p90, lindy fralin. (not sure if I should get the noiseless or not)
american standard bridge with tele saddles
Rear route
Neck is roasted maple
macassar ebony fretboard stainless vintage jumbo frets
vintage thin profile
satin nitro finish

Now I have to practice my truoil technique! I'm going for a satin truoil finish. I love how the grain on the walnut lines up with a lot of the grain on the mahogany. At first I thought it was a mahogany top I really had to hold it up close to see the join. So onto the pictures.


----------



## Guest (Aug 9, 2016)

That'll look great with an oil stain. Keep us updated!


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Nice, congrats! Looks good already.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

These two are no flash (handheld) so you can get a better idea of the color. flash makes the headstock look really dark


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Going for something like this. This is a mahogany top though in the photo.


----------



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

I would personally go for Fralin noiseless simply because I have a low tolerance to 60 cycle hum. That's just me.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I've tried to find clips of Lindy's normal p90's but all the youtube stuff is the noiseless. It's probably what I'll end up going for.


----------



## grumpyoldman (Jan 31, 2010)

Don't forget that YouTube stuff is basically useless for things such as pickup tone/sound determination. YouTube audio filters, at the very least, through your computer/smart phone soundcard, then the computer/phone speaker, prior to reaching your ear. Big difference between that and the amp-to-ear result.

Just my opinion, of course...

John
thegrumpyoldman


----------



## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

Subbed. Should look awesome with that walnut top!


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Callaham stainless steel bridge with compensated brass saddles and 2 Bourns guitar pots.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

First coat of tru-oil. I was going to practice on some small planks I bought from exotic woods. But i figure for the first 4 or 5 coats it's just apply and sand. When I get to wet sanding for finish I will use the planks then move to the guitar. This tru-oil is freaking amazing. It goes on so easy I don't think it is possible to screw it up unless you goop it on too much. Anyway here's the photos of the first coat.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)




----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

3rd coat applied with red scotchbrite to get some slurry going, backside only has two coats. Arm is sore. No flash to distort the color


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Well, I've made a few mistakes, and I've had to cut back the finish to correct it. But the beauty is if you screw up, 400 grit will get you back on track. I have to say of all the methods out there, I have tried a few. One guy used a linen mouse. Tried that and the linen left lint all over the finish. Another guy suggested using blue shop towels. Same thing, nice finish but little blue pillies. 

I have found the best method is a ball of blue shop towel (about 1/4 towel balled) wrapped in a good old white t-shirt. Apply the first flood coat as recommended and rub it until until your fungers are numb and wipe off the excess. Allow to dry overnight. Do not apply the second coats by applying oil to the guitar. Dab the mouse on the end of the bottle and french polish method with your mouse. I'm just starting to see the gloss come out. It won't be a perfect gloss as I did not pore fill. But I did do some major 400 grit slurry wet sanding which partially filled the pores. This is top only. I will get the top close, then go to the back. I have an airbrush so last coat or 3 will be sprayed on. 

Anyway a couple of pics showing the gloss starting to come out,
with flash








noflash








flash


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Looks beautiful so far.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I tried something that I haven't heard anyone talk about. I think I have watched 50 videos, read 30 articles on how to do tru-oil. When I first looked at the wood I didn't think it needed to be pore filled. But after a few coats I noticed it did. So I grabbed my orbital sander and a piece of walnut I bought from exotic woods and sanded the shite out of it until I had a ton of walnut dust. Then I made a mixture of dust truoil and mineral spirits and painted it onto the guitar very thinly and rubbed it in with my fingers. Then when it was just starting to feel tacky, I sprinkled more dust all over the guitar. Then painted the misxture again, then rubbed it in some more. Sprinkled a bit more then wet sanded with 400 grit and mineral spirit to keep the paper wet. It isn't perfect. But I don't want it perfect. It feels silky smooth to the finger tips, but if you rub your nail you can feel it isn't going to give me a mirror finish. I'm going for satin, but the fact that it is starting to gloss is a good sign that I am close to finishing the walnut top.


----------



## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

I used coffee filters. No lint.


----------



## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

It's looking great, I'm curious to see the results of the pore filling.

I've read about it being done that way but I've yet to actually try it.

Nathan


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Ordered the pickups today. Spoke with Lindy on the phone for about a half hour. What a great guy to talk guitar stuff with!. So I grabbed an F-spaced hum cancelling p90 for the bridge, and an alnico p90 for the neck. Going to do a push pull pot on the tone knob to get somewhere between .0015uf to .0022uf ( yes 2 zeros!) for the bridge (after experimentation I will pick one value and for the neck somewhere around .015uf -.022uf for the neck. Then the tone knob will be useable on both pups. I've never used my tone knobs because to me the stock values roll off too much of everything. I have a ton of odd value russian caps pio on the way and a few left over from my pedal building days All the parts are ordered. I haven't taken any more pics of the tru oil as I have just been pore filling the mahogany back. The top needs a bit more work but i figured i should get the back part way caught up. 


On another note about the pore filling. On the mahogany I did the same thing but I let the solution sit longer. After quite a while the mineral spirits and dust actually turned into a very runny paste. So when it got to that point I used my finger and rubbed it into the wood and it all disappeared. So I kept doing that until I ran out of solution. let it get tacky, then wet sanded with 400 until it got tacky again , wiped it all off and it felt much much smoother.


----------



## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

I heartily agree. That's bitchin.' I love that austere, no-nonsense look in a tele. Very simple and clean - lets the grain do the talking.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Well, it's starting to get to where I want it. A few more coats and a few light sandings. Next week I will be spraying the final coats if all goes well. then cure then start putting her together. I'm going to keep adding french polish coats until I am ready to spray. They take about 20 minutes to dry.


----------



## Jaybo (Jun 3, 2010)

I've always wanted to try a Warmoth product. That looks great


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I've also ordered a strat from them. Solid Alder body, goncalo alves top, goncalo alves quartersawn neck with pau ferro board.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

For those who have subscribed, a few more photos. It needs to be leveled with 1000 grit, then maybe a few more coats. I still have to do the sides. Number of coats on the back? Only God knows. LOL Lots because I have been using the french polish method. 15 or 20 super thin coats with a few light wet sandings at 600. I didn't use a flash, just the dining room leds. Lindy emailed me today to say the pickups are on the way!


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

The back is close, so i switched back to the top. it's starting to gloss up nicely. I'm just waiting for the spongy intermediate pad so I can start with the 8000 grit and up micromesh on the orbital. Time to work on the sides.


----------



## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Looks great.
I'm looking forward to getting your thoughts on the Callaham bridge. I think I want one myself.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Top no flash and the bridge mock up. 
Bottom with flash and bridge mock up


----------



## Guest (Aug 23, 2016)

Maybe you mentioned it already, but are you putting TV Jones pickups in it? Looks like it's routed to TVJs with "ears".


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

2 Fralin P90's


----------



## Guest (Aug 24, 2016)

good choice for pups.
I have a pair of them in one of mine.
Love the sound.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Well, I'm doing his normal p90 at the bridge and the alnico version at the neck .


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

The pups came in today!


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Well, I have everything I need to build the guitar except the tuners. Gotoh SGS510's (locking) wont be here for another few weeks. The finish is pretty much where I want it. Letting it cure for a few days. Then I'll give her a polish. There are a few little imperfections that will come out in the polish stage. I'll take a few outdoor pics of the body when I get the chance


----------



## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

So far so good knight YYZ. Maybe your thread will give me a shove to get my project done asap. Hard to find the time sometimes.

Love the look of the Tru Oil finish so far. That Warmoth site has some pretty nice stuff. Might delve into that my next go at it.

Good luck with the rest of the build.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Here's some more pics. In the shade on the back deck. I do have to say, to those of you afraid of truoil. Don't worry about it. If you fuck it up. Grab your 400 grit and a bit more oil and mineral spirits and polish back to flat. So easy to work with.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I know, it would look a bit cooler with the pups raised up. No foam yet.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

A few custom pieces.... I may end up sending the neck plate back. I think it looks ok, but I asked them to start "Fender" at the bottom left, rising as you move to the right, they got that backward.










I got these two labels, not sure if I should put the joke "Raycaster" or the other or leave the headstock blank. First name is ray so i thought the raycaster sounded kind of cool.


----------



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Nice touch on the "Raycaster" sticker. I would put that on for sure. Congrats on the body. Stunning!!!


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

knight_yyz said:


> A few custom pieces.... I may end up sending the neck plate back. I think it looks ok, but I asked them to start "Fender" at the bottom left, rising as you move to the right, they got that backward.


It's beginning to look more and more like a guitar. When do expect to have it finished?


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

End of September. I waffled on the tuners and they are the last thing to arrive. 

I contacted the guy who made the plate, told him it was wrong, so that is being redone.

This weekend I will start drilling holes for the p90 install and I have to figure out how to solder the bridge ground in the exact perfect spot that Warmoth drilled for me. 
I may precise wire the pots etc.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

so, my sponge intermediate pad finally showed up today, so now I can use micromesh on my orbital. here's a few photos after using the 6000 grit.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Damn dude this looks awesome!

Given the amount of teles we use in the studio, I may have to ask to borrow this one


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I'm really happy with how it is turning out. it's been a learning curve for sure. i've used up a bottle and a half of tru oil (20 bucks) for small mistakes and accidents. but I think I have the hang of it now.


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

knight_yyz said:


>


Having them do a "belly cut" was a very smart thing to do IMHO. It shaves a bit of weight and makes playing it more comfortable.

I will check back no later than September 30th.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I wasn't going to do the belly cut, but because it was mahogany I thought I'd shave as much as possible. Body weight on my crappy scale is 1.5kg or 3.3 lbs +/- a few ounces


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Custom waterslide decal applied! Last week I bought a can of satin archival finish. I sprayed the decal on the backing paper with 4 coats of satin. (the neck is satin nitro)
Let it cure for 1 week, ( not necessary but to be safe). Let the decal sit for about 5 minutes in warm water. Applied. turned out much better than anticipated. I was hoping to see the soilver in the logo but it's washed out from the roasted oak, but it still turned out better than I thought. You can barely see the decal outline


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Custom waterslide decal applied! Last week I bought a can of satin archival finish. I sprayed the decal on the backing paper with 4 coats of satin. (the neck is satin nitro)
Let it cure for 1 week, ( not necessary but to be safe). Let the decal sit for about 5 minutes in warm water. Applied. turned out much better than anticipated. I was hoping to see the silver in the logo but it's washed out from the roasted maple, but it still turned out better than I thought. You can barely see the decal outline


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

sorry about the double post. not sure what happened there


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Machine heads showed up today. Gotoh SGS510Z locking.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

So just a quick update. The body has cured and I am going to spray a final 2 thin coats, then start final assy, during the Christmas holiday week. In the mean time, I have started wiring the pots on a dummy board. Since it's p90's I used these from bourns (500k). I like that they use a special lug for the ground, so no soldering to the pot.








4 Way switch. I'm not sure what cap to put in there. I find standard caps are just to muddy with the tone rolled back. If I had single coils I was going to put .0033uf caps in, which is a much smaller value than the standard .047. The low value caps do nothing to the neck, but they make the bridge sound thicker and almost louder. But, being they are p90's I will have to experiment.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I just realized this is in the wrong category. Took me forever to find it.


----------



## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

that looks awesome!!


looking forward to seeing the finished axe


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

This may not work, but I put a 4 way switch so I can get both series and parallel, but with Lindy's p90's one of those settings is supposedly going to sound horrible.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

A few pictures of the top. The finish was hand rubbed with micromesh pads up to 12k, then hand rubbed with some polish and a terry cloth towel. I still need to clean out the cavities. Time to polish the sides and bottom. Then a good clean up, then time to spray 1 or 2 final coats


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

One no flash


----------



## doriangrey (Mar 29, 2011)

That is looking sooooo sweet!!! Warmoth have some gorgeous types of wood available. My main Strat is a Warmoth Strat (white guitar in avatar pic) with an unfinished goncalo alves neck and pau ferro fingerboard - it is an exquisite neck and feels so nice without any finish. The neck you have for your guitar is exactly the type of neck that I want to try next from Warmoth - roasted maple and ebony =)


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Thanks! i also have a Goncalo alves neck with pau ferro fret board for my strat warmoth. (next project)


----------



## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

Don't know how I missed this one until today, but nice job.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Well, it's in the wrong forum, so it keeps getting buried as I don't update as much as Araz does. LOL but there hasn't been much progress the last couple months, been too busy at work.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Here's a few more pics, top and bottom. Starting to gloss up nice. Wish I had better lighting. Way too cold for a suny day shot. Not bad for someone who doesn't know what he is doing. LOL


----------



## Guest (Jan 5, 2017)

knight_yyz said:


>


Looking good!

That's quite the cavity for two pot's and a switch.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Custom ebony knobs, to try out. I may ask the guy to do them again with stainless as the indicator. Ebony tuner buttons on the way


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Mahogany back has been hand polished with micromesh to 10k grit then hand rubbed terry cloth towel and maguiar's polish. First pic with flash, the second is not


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I bought a small lambswool buff and chucked it up in my drill press. Used it like a planer, and just kept putting on polish and run it back and forth. Put a terry cloth towel between the guitar and the table. Let it shine , let it shine, let it shine!


----------



## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

Solid finish job, knight ;-)


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Wow, took me forever to find this thread again. I see I posted it in the wrong forum and it was never moved. LOL. Anyway, I started this build two years ago? and stuff just kept getting in the way. Any way, bringing this back from the dead as I am continuing the project now that I have a few weeks of spare time. Recap since most of the pics are gone (thanks photobucket) Mahogany Body with walnut cap, routed for 2 p90's. Roasted maple neck with macassar ebony fingerboard. When I stopped working on this the tru oil finsh was almost there but there were a few spots that would not gloss up. So last weekend I rewatched a ton of you tube finishing videos and started to keep applying more tru oil. So I took a brand new small bottle and added as much mineral spirits as it would take and gave the bottle a good shake. Every hour from wake up until sleep I have french polished a coat of tru oil. So 50 extremely thin coats give or take on top of the huge number that was there before. Everything is looking nice and glossy now. Letting it cure for one week then I will micromesh and polish.


----------



## vokey design (Oct 24, 2006)

knight_yyz said:


> Wow, took me forever to find this thread again. I see I posted it in the wrong forum and it was never moved. LOL. Anyway, I started this build two years ago? and stuff just kept getting in the way. Any way, bringing this back from the dead as I am continuing the project now that I have a few weeks of spare time. Recap since most of the pics are gone (thanks photobucket) Mahogany Body with walnut cap, routed for 2 p90's. Roasted maple neck with macassar ebony fingerboard. When I stopped working on this the tru oil finsh was almost there but there were a few spots that would not gloss up. So last weekend I rewatched a ton of you tube finishing videos and started to keep applying more tru oil. So I took a brand new small bottle and added as much mineral spirits as it would take and gave the bottle a good shake. Every hour from wake up until sleep I have french polished a coat of tru oil. So 50 extremely thin coats give or take on top of the huge number that was there before. Everything is looking nice and glossy now. Letting it cure for one week then I will micromesh and polish.
> View attachment 222468
> View attachment 222470
> View attachment 222472


That looks fantastic, what does the neck look like?


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Good point, let me take a few pics and get back to you!


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

The Gotoh tuners are staggered height so hopefully no string tree will be required


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

THIS GUITAR IS GOING TO BE AMAZING!!


----------



## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

That is a stunning body. I really like the simple look of it.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Took an xacto knife with a new blade and cleaned out all the holes. Tru oil is great but it's a pain to clean up all the little pre drilled holes. I did a polish with the brown and green micromesh. This thing is going to be glossy!! Unfortunately the end cut is not glossing the way I would like. So this one is going to take a bit longer as I rebuild that one spot back up. I also did a small experiment with my dual action polisher. I used a 4" green hex pad and some Chem guys VSS polish. To the naked eye it looks really good but if you get real close you can see the micro scratches. Here's a few pics with a half ass attempt at polishing up to 2400 grit micromesh.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Great stuff!
Im considering a walnut cap on ash, this is a great reference.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I wish I had gone with English walnut. The figuring is amazing on that stuff

I read that if you really want to make walnut look even better is to use a few coats of orange shellac. It somehow changes to depth and how the tru oil looks. I did not use any shellac on this guitar, but I did use it on my second warmoth strat


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

A few photos in the sunlight


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I've been concentrating so much on the body, that I forgot I need to do something to the roasted maple neck. It feels smooth but a little sticky. So about 15 very thin coats of tru oil have been added. Yes I ruined the label, my bad. I used a matte spray on the headstock way back when I put the logo on. Completely forgot that it is mineral spirit based. So wiping on a mix of 50/50 tru oil and mineral spirits... ya the label fell off. No biggy the guy sent me two. The color of the roasted maple is freaking beautiful. Nice medium dark brown, a little birds eye popping out and some nice figuring.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

So, the neck is curing, and a small patch on the body is still curing. Next step is to turn this chunk of Gaboon Ebony into 2 control knobs on my mini wood lathe


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

So, got the little lathe hooked up with my 4 jaw chuck and spun down two 3/4" tele style knobs. Dipped in #2 Garnet shellac. Will finish with a few coats of truoil. Waiting for the right size drills to put the spot face and 15/64 holes for press fitting to 6mm split shaft. 6mm is .236 15/64 is .234


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Final polishing is complete. I used Surbuf pads and Chemical Guys VSS swirl remover. There are a few minor imperfections but it's good enough for me


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Callham compensated bridge, Lindy Fralin p90's, noiseless bridge and noiseless alnico at the neck


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Woohoo!


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Ebony knobs with multiple coats of tru oil, went through all the wet sand paper grits to 2500 then polished with foam ball.


----------



## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

What kind of pickguard are you going to put on it?


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

no pickguard


----------



## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

you should install one


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Why? It will cover the figuring of the walnut, and it will cost a frigging fortune because I do not have a control plate. All off the shelf dual p90 telecaster pickguards have a semi circle cutout for the control plate. Looks better without


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

WOW! You could sublet the extra space in that control cavity..NICE!

Beautiful looking guitar overall...Congrats!

The custom ebony knobs are so incredibly impressive!

The ebony board will look amazing on it.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

the board is macassar ebony. 

If I do go for a pickguard the only one I actuallyt like is the one on Jim Adkins Telecaster. Doesn;t take up tons of real estate, but trying to find one....


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

ooo, I really like the Telecaster junior pickguard too


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

knight_yyz said:


> the board is macassar ebony.


OOOPS...I corrected my error.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

No worries.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

No worries.


----------



## sillyak (Oct 22, 2016)

No pickguard


----------



## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Holy smoke, I missed that thread but I'M glad I finally reading it!
This is one beautiful tele!!!

Roasted maple looks REALLY nice! Is there any advantages over normal maple?
Is the wood is more stable? Or something else?


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Supposed to be harder therefore more resonant. I just think it looks nicer with the tinted color. Some maple looks so bland


----------



## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

All the guard examples you posted are nice. You can always modify something if it has the control cutout, you seem very capable on the tools. I just think it breaks up some of the wood and adds contrast, it’ll pop and add some uniqueness to the guitar.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

the standard dual p90 guard takes up too much real estate


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

@vadsy Mock up just for you. LOL. 

I downloaded a print of the Jim Adkins pickguard and the Tele Junior pickguard. Unfortunately they are not 1:1 so I had to do some fancy cutting and pasting. Literally. The Jim Adkins was too small to use at all, but the Junior is a bit too big. I just took scissors and trimmed 4 mm all the way around the junior template but my scissors are dull as shit. Then I had to add some material to make it look like it belonged on the double p90 version. I think it turned out rather well for a first attempt. I'm going to download a standard telecaster template that I know to be 1:1 and print that. I will put my first attempt on top of that and trace it, but I will leave the lower horn area alone. Cutting the round part on the horn with dull scissors is a pain. BTY, thats just 2 bits of paper stuck together and spray painted black. I have a chunk of b/w/b material on the way


----------



## Cups (Jan 5, 2010)

No guard.


----------



## sillyak (Oct 22, 2016)

I think any pickguard would be a mistake on that beauty.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

sillyak said:


> I think any pickguard would be a mistake on that beauty.


+1 

Much to beautiful to cover up with a piece of plastic (or whatever)


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

ok, final polishing is complete. There are a few spots that wont polish but it's good enough for me.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)




----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Assembly has officially started. Push pull pot on the tone with two caps, .0068 and .01. Knobs are handmade from Gaboon Ebony


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Neck is on, strings are on. I was having problems with the electronics all day. finally gave up and decided to make sure the pickups worked so wired the neck directly to the jack. Made some sounds. Action is far too low. Frets out at about the 5th fret LOL. Did the same for the bridge. Did a bit of research and turns out my first source for how to wire a push pull for 2 caps was wrong. So I will re do it in the next couple of days. Sorry the pictures used a flash so the color is not quite right.


----------



## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Love it man. It’s super sweet. Something about the black pups and the dark stained body. It’s twally nice.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

So, I spent most of Saturday just farting around with this. I played it for a bit then decided it was time to half ass attempt to adjust string height and intonation. I've got it fairly close, but it seems like the body face is just a bit too low or the neck is a bit too high. The saddles are really cranked up high to clear the last few frets, I can't find my feeler gauges so I can't check for neck relief yet. Action is almost there, but again saddles are high. And of course that means both pickups are a bit low. I loosened the screws but not enough foam to push them closer. I'll play with those once I get intonation and action nailed. 

So, I think I prefer regular p-90's over noiseless. The bridge is a noiseless lindy fralin 5% over wind, and the neck is using alnico rods. I only have the junior to compare to, but the noisy Gibson pickup seems to have more high end. This could totally be due to the low pickup height though. Or it could be the 60 cycle hiss and hum is gone and with it some of the highs. The bridge pickup is bright but not ice pick bright, I swear there is a bit of twang there, which leaves me to believe it's the brass saddles.


----------



## keto (May 23, 2006)

I bet a thin shim that tilts the neck a touch headstock up would help that. Got any woodworking chips or shavings in a bag or shop floor? Or could you make one, a plane into the side of a board with a moderate deep bite might do it.


----------



## vokey design (Oct 24, 2006)

You can buy shims if you really want to, your good friends at stewmac have you covered.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

8 bucks each plus shipping? LMAO


----------



## vokey design (Oct 24, 2006)

knight_yyz said:


> 8 bucks each plus shipping? LMAO


Just trying to help ;P
You can always use a trip of sandpaper or business card. I don't really think $8 is a lot of money given the quality of the parts you have there, fantastic looking guitar BTW.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

First off, don;t know what angle I need. @ 10.68 each plus tax that's 32 bucks and change for the set plus 16 dollars, yes 16 dollars to ship 1 ounce worth of wood. I appreciate the suggestion, but Stew Mac has a problem with their pricing and shipping options. So 48 bucks and I haven't checked the neck relief yet... For 50 bucks more I can get Fred Gabrsek to do a full setup.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

What do you guys think? Is it normal for the saddles to be this high? The DG saddle has to go even higher, I can get away with lowering the high E


----------



## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

doesn't seem that bad, I wouldn't panic just yet


----------



## keto (May 23, 2006)

that angle is high, any chance your strings are touching the screws as they vibrate? I still say shim.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I have to change the strings. This is the first time using locking tuners and I messed up the first try. I need to release all the tension and align the saddles better. They seem to be pointing where they want and not parallel to each other. Problem is when the saddles are this high and a wee bit of tension, trying to change intonation is a freaking bitch because the set screws are dragging like crazy. You all keep saying shim the neck, but you haven't read that I have not checked neck relief yet. It could be the problem too and putting in a shim before doing that is wrong as far as I know


----------

