I've got a crazy idea...

digitalscream

...well, "crazy" by my conservative standards, at least.

There are two guitars that have always held a fascination for me - Gilmour's black Strat because of how it looks, and the Washburn N4 because of its pure practicality.

So...why not combine the two?

My idea sits thusly:

- Grab a knockoff N4 from AliExpress (~£200) because there's an enormous chance of me fucking it up
- Sand off the decals, 'cos it ain't a Washburn or a real SEC
- Use a router to change it from HH to "swimming pool"
- Expand the control cavity a bit to acommodate a 5-way switch
- Make a black scratchplate in roughly a Strat shape (accounting for the much smaller N4 body)
- Stain the body really dark (don't like lacquer finishes)
- Get 3 x white Lace Sensors
- Assemble
- Admire handiwork

Anybody spot any flaws in my plan?

impmann

Not a flaw, but a suggestion:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/FREE-shipping-Hot-wholesale-Top-quality-WASHBURN-N4-Nuno-Betancourt-STEPHENS-EXTENDEN-CUTAWAY-Black-electric-guitar/32792732476.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.113.mR1u6Y&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_1_10152_10065_10151_10130_10068_5210015_10192_10190_10301_10136_10137_10303_10060_10155_10062_437_10154_10056_10055_10054_5340016_10059_303_100031_10099_10103_10102_5290015_10096_5220016_10052_5320016_10053_10050_10107_10142_5350016_10051_5280015_10084_10083_5250016_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_519_5240016_10112_10113_10114_10179_5230016_10182_10184_10078_10079_5260015_10073_10123_10189_5270016_142,searchweb201603_16,ppcSwitch_4&btsid=b0b819c7-ee09-42bd-b009-979477403ed6&algo_expid=2bd7de99-27c9-4d71-8baa-975744905f6f-16&algo_pvid=2bd7de99-27c9-4d71-8baa-975744905f6f

digitalscream

Yep, I've spotted that...it is, in fact, a flaw in the plan - since none of them make maple-necked N4s except those black ones.

That's great because it ostensibly saves me the job of staining it; however, it also means I have to replace all of the gold hardware 'cos I can't stand it.

paulnb57

I think it's a great idea, could you make it happen please?
I don't think theres a huge cock up factor involved, most tedious would be designing and cutting the scratchplate

lysander

How good are these N4 ? Ethics aside it seems tempting.
A few flaws in the plan might be :
- the tremolo which is probably a piece of junk that doesn't stay in tune ?
So you'll have to find a replacement, which could be expensive and / or difficult if the dimensions are non standard.
- What are the neck specs - are they anything like the real N4 ? The site has no details, personally if it turned up to be a 40mm nut with a 7.5" radius I'd be well pissed off - unlikely but you never know. 

digitalscream

lysander said:

How good are these N4 ? Ethics aside it seems tempting.
A few flaws in the plan might be :
- the tremolo which is probably a piece of junk that doesn't stay in tune ?
So you'll have to find a replacement, which could be expensive and / or difficult if the dimensions are non standard.
- What are the neck specs - are they anything like the real N4 ? The site has no details, personally if it turned up to be a 40mm nut with a 7.5" radius I'd be well pissed off - unlikely but you never know. 

I have absolutely no idea, to be honest. I'm banking on needing to do some work with the neck to get it how I like it, though.

It's probably for the best that I get the black one with gold hardware, because you're right: the hardware's almost guaranteed to be junk. I'd imagine that a certain amount of work will also be necessary to get the stuff to fit, too.

Really, the point of the project is for me to get a little bit of experience with woodworking tools and sorting out dodgy fretwork. My budget goes something like this:

£200 - Guitar
£130-ish - Lace Sensors (second hand)
£150 - hardware
£100 - tools (probably a Dremel-esque thing and a plunge router thingy for it, and a set of files)

So about £500-600. I'll guarantee that the guitar won't be worth that much when I'm done with it, but the skills will be.

guitarfishbay

Sounds like hassle until you said you wanted to use it as a learning project.  In that case, why not give it a try, at least the parts would still be worth something afterwards if the guitar doesn't work out.

lysander

digitalscream said:

lysander said:

How good are these N4 ? Ethics aside it seems tempting.
A few flaws in the plan might be :
- the tremolo which is probably a piece of junk that doesn't stay in tune ?
So you'll have to find a replacement, which could be expensive and / or difficult if the dimensions are non standard.
- What are the neck specs - are they anything like the real N4 ? The site has no details, personally if it turned up to be a 40mm nut with a 7.5" radius I'd be well pissed off - unlikely but you never know. 

I have absolutely no idea, to be honest. I'm banking on needing to do some work with the neck to get it how I like it, though.

It's probably for the best that I get the black one with gold hardware, because you're right: the hardware's almost guaranteed to be junk. I'd imagine that a certain amount of work will also be necessary to get the stuff to fit, too.

Really, the point of the project is for me to get a little bit of experience with woodworking tools and sorting out dodgy fretwork. My budget goes something like this:

£200 - Guitar
£130-ish - Lace Sensors (second hand)
£150 - hardware
£100 - tools (probably a Dremel-esque thing and a plunge router thingy for it, and a set of files)

So about £500-600. I'll guarantee that the guitar won't be worth that much when I'm done with it, but the skills will be.

Sounds good, though you will need a real router if you intend to re route the guitar, plus some templates. Dremel won't make a dent and will end up frustrating and dangerous
I would budget £200-300 for that - IMO the very last tool you want to be cheap and nasty is a hand held router.

Funkfingers

digitalscream said:
£130-ish - Lace Sensors (second hand)

I might be able to assist with this.

digitalscream

Well, bollocks. I've just been reminded of the fact that we're redecorating the whole of the ground floor of the house in September, which means that this is basically put off until next year.

Smeg.

monquixote

Based on your previous comment this might be moot, but I think some of these Chinese shops will do a bit of customisation for you if you get in touch.

JayGee

Can't comment on the specifics, but I can say with some confidence that a Washburn EC29 with the active shredbastard pickups and wiring replaced by vintage style passive stuff (Gibson Burstbucker at the bridge end, Seymour Duncan  Antiquity at the neck end) makes a very fine, surprisingly versatile guitar so the underlying concept is definitely sound!

axisus

Go for it! 

ADP

Or you could buy a Washburn N5.

If you still want to go the DIY route, I have a couple of brand-new N5 scratchplates - one silver and one gold.

digitalscream

ADP said:

Or you could buy a Washburn N5.

If you still want to go the DIY route, I have a couple of brand-new N5 scratchplates - one silver and one gold.

Thanks, but I'll pass - I really don't like the N5 scratchplate shape. The straight edge and the bit around the controls just look weird to me. I'll be going for a Strat-style scratchplate, obviously adjusted for the much smaller body of the N-series.

paulnb57

Agreed, that scratchlate is apalling...