Has anybody attempted a Keith Richards Macabre build?

Caffeine_Vampire · June 2020

Keefy · June 2020

I thought Micawber was a blackguard Tele.

Caffeine_Vampire · June 2020

Keefy said:

I thought Micawber was a blackguard Tele.

It is. His Zemaitis is known as Macabre.

WezV · June 2020

No, but there is nothing too difficult there.

I had a go at a zemaitis metal top style build which went okay but I didn't do brill on the engraving. I made my own bridge and tailpiece in this style though. I think this one is easy in comparison

Caffeine_Vampire · June 2020

WezV said:

No, but there is nothing too difficult there.

I had a go at a zemaitis metal top style build which went okay but I didn't do brill on the engraving. I made my own bridge and tailpiece in this style though. I think this one is easy in comparison

Thanks Wez. I was thinking about it as a first full build project.

WezV · June 2020

Would you want to make your own bridge... It's not too difficult

Caffeine_Vampire · June 2020

WezV said:

Would you want to make your own bridge... It's not too difficult

With a little pro advice I might

Also struggling to find a template for the body and neck.

WezV · June 2020

You have a full frontal picture, a known scale length and a standard dimension humbucker... Scale up.

Keefy · June 2020

Caffeine_Vampire said:

Keefy said:

I thought Micawber was a blackguard Tele.

It is. His Zemaitis is known as Macabre.

Ah ok, I had assumed spell check had intervened!

Caffeine_Vampire · June 2020

WezV said:

You have a full frontal picture, a known scale length and a standard dimension humbucker... Scale up.

Ah, there goes the easy road

MattNovak · June 2020

I have a Zemaitis (Greco) which I took a template from, same (ish) body shape...

Caffeine_Vampire · June 2020

@MattNovak That's perfect. What are you building?

MattNovak · June 2020

Caffeine_Vampire said:

@MattNovak That's perfect. What are you building?

As with many things I build, it started off with a fairly clear idea but who knows what the end result will be. Its present state is here:

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/179686/zemaitis-bonabyrd-tele-type-thing#latest

The above build has the lower horn rounded off a bit, but if you want a tracing of the original Zematis (including the correct headstock) I'll happily oblige.

This is what its taken from:

Caffeine_Vampire · June 2020

@MattNovak I’d appreciate that, thanks. Drop me a pm? The build looks great so far. I’m also flexible on the finished aesthetic as long as it’s in the ballpark. What’s the Greco like?

MattNovak · June 2020

@Caffeine_Vampire, will drop you a PM shortly., am about to jump on a 9:30 call. The Greco is great, it has its quirks like the originals, Fender scale length (I think) and 24 frets... a bit like a strat neck on a small LP. I use it for Keef-style 5 string open stuff on gigs, hence the missing E above.

Not usually into pretty woods, but some things call out for them!

Jez6345789 · June 2020

Always love to see a bit of Zematis they have a certain something.

How is the edge beading done is there a router bit that will do that will be tagging along

MattNovak · June 2020

Jez6345789 said:

Always love to see a bit of Zematis they have a certain something.

How is the edge beading done is there a router bit that will do that will be tagging along

Can't speak for the original, but could just be drawn on! Tony Zemaitis often took shortcuts. I heard a story about an added neck plate and screws to a set neck, as the customer had wanted a bolt on....

One way to achieve a similar look easily would be to adjust the roundover bit to leave a ledge. @TTony has done something similar I believe, and it looks great. Or there's probably a contraption already made for a dremel so you could inlay some shallow wood binding.

TTony · June 2020

MattNovak said:

One way to achieve a similar look easily would be to adjust the roundover bit to leave a ledge. @TTony has done something similar I believe, and it looks great.

Cheers @MattNovak !

Yes, just a roundover bit sunk a little lower into the body ...