C18Q1 - Nuno Gilmour

digitalscream

Excellent call on the Briwax. Looks much better, although it's just as impossible to photograph....for what it's worth, the finish looks a lot less "gooey", if that makes sense.

digitalscream

There - that's exactly the shiny:dull ratio I was after, so thanks for that @WezV

On the other hand, it would've been most useful if somebody had reminded me that reverse-headstock guitars need left-handed tuners The righties do fit, and even cover the pilot holes that had already been drilled, so I suppose that's OK. It's just going to look a little odd if you look closely.

Next up: pickups, tuners, bridge and nut. That might have to wait until tomorrow.

WezV

glad It worked.

just be careful fitting tuners the wrong way round as it can pull the gears apart and lead to unusual wear

digitalscream

OK, another "smeg" moment - the bridge is about 1-1.5mm too far to the treble side. It's not really a problem for playability (I never pull "down" on the high E, even in the heat of a gig), but it's annoying visually.

Oh, nut is cut, tuners are on and the bridge is on. Forgot to mention that.

That said, it sounds great acoustically. Really nice and loud at the low end with plenty of resonance and sustain, which is how I like it.

In theory, electronics are all going in tonight while the wife's watching TV...and I should probably try to remember where I put the strap buttons.

TTony

Pretty good progress ...

  

digitalscream

TTony said:

Pretty good progress ...

  

In terms of learning what not to do...yep, making great progress

EDIT: In fact, the bridge misalignment issue would've been solved by the first answer from Ben here...



Sometimes, I feel like a total idiot.

TTony

Theres a lot of good tips in his videos.  But the tips are often buried in 10mins of Ben!

digitalscream

TTony said:

Theres a lot of good tips in his videos.  But the tips are often buried in 10mins of Ben!

Y'know, I actually don't mind that at all. I can imagine it'd be quite irritating if you were just after a specific bit of info, but I tend to just have his vids on in the background for passive information intake.

paulnb57

TTony said:

Theres a lot of good tips in his videos.  But the tips are often buried in 10mins of Ben!

Agree withTony, Ben can waffle on and be massively irritating, but the practical comtent is generally useful and he shares it for free.....I guess its free advertising for Crimson, but it must take forever to produce such output...

darcym

I'm glued to this thread.

paulnb57

Grain looks great on the body...

digitalscream

darcym said:

I'm glued to this thread.

Worry not...big update coming later

digitalscream

TA-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!



The bridge is annoyingly 1.5mm south of where it should be, but it still sounds brilliant and plays well too

Still need to finish the electronics - the middle pickup isn't wired up as yet, mostly because I can't figure out whether I want it in series or parallel (anyone know which way it usually goes on a Strat?).

All in all, I'm pretty bloody happy with it; it looks exactly the way I wanted it to, which was the first part of the mission. Not so keen on the weight (it's a bit heavier than my green N4), but I can live with that.

It's off to the Vanquish workshop this afternoon for a bit of fretwork - most of the frets above the 12th are a bit high, and that's beyond me (and my tool collection).

In terms of tweaking, I may see if I can move the bridge to where it should be, although I'm not convinced that'd be a good idea (the low E is just about in the right place, so I'm guessing the saddle spacing isn't quite right for the neck). Also, the shark fin extends a bit far up the neck - it's up to the 14th, whereas it's up to the 15th on my N4. Doesn't sound like an issue, except that's the difference between me comfortably hitting the 22nd fret and...not.

Finally, I'll probably try to get a proper white cover for that middle pickup (it's kind of off-white/parchment, which will just annoy me). Unfortunately, all the covers I've got are for Fender USA pickups, and they don't quite fit the DiMarzios.

DrBob

Ooooohhh f**k me that’s nice much nicer than the Washburns with the pickguards

paulnb57

You should be proud of that, for a first go it's bloody great! I'm loving that black grainy finish....well done you!

digitalscream

DrBob said:

Ooooohhh f**k me that’s nice much nicer than the Washburns with the pickguards

Thanks, man That was really the idea; I didn't want a Floyd, and I certainly didn't want the scratchplate on the N5/N6/N61!

paulnb57 said:

You should be proud of that, for a first go it's bloody great! I'm loving that black grainy finish....well done you!

Much appreciated - I'm feeling a little smug right now, 'cos most people I know said I'd never manage it. Sure, there are issues, but most folk wouldn't notice and it certainly plays just fine.

Incidentally, if anyone's curious, that bridge came from our very own @Graingerguitars - and a bloody lovely thing it is too

DrBob

Is the bridge pickup a bit further toward the neck than on a normal Strat ? Good idea if so !

digitalscream

DrBob said:

Is the bridge pickup a bit further toward the neck than on a normal Strat ? Good idea if so !

Yep - gives the bridge pickup a bit more in the way of balls

TTony

digitalscream said:

Incidentally, if anyone's curious, that bridge came from our very own @Graingerguitars 

I was just about to ask about that.  I might have to pay them a visit for a bridge or two for my build #3.

I wouldn't worry about the bridge being 1mm out.  As long as the strings don't fall off the fretboard in normal playing, then the bridge is in the right place


Like the contrast between the maple board and the black, and definitely like the black finish.  

Graingerguitars

Thanks for the shoutout @digitalscream.  W ‘ll see you guys at the Birmingham show at the end of Feb...I believe we have the stand next to yours