# "Nordic Kelly" Custombuild-Phase 1 -making the plan!



## Schotter (Sep 24, 2009)

Foreword

Hey guy´s,
i need a new baby with more then 6 Strings...first i wanted to buy an Agile but...it is quite expensive with shipping and that stuff...and not THAT unique.
I´m a big fan of Pat Hufschmid´s Designs but he is too expensive (but fair) for a student.
Sooo i read the forum every day since i noticed flo´s 8 String build and i was in love with his natural design instantly. But the best thing about it is that he is from Germany, too! Ohhh yeah, my Guitar will be a "bäppler" 

Because he is a student, too it will be a long-timed project, but i think we will build a (my) dreamguitar.


Planing the specs!

I LOOOOVE the Jackson Kelly Design. It´s just the shit. So it will be (of course) a Kelly Body shape (or something quite similar).
Other Specs as followed:



Jackson Kelly Bodyshape
Neckthru
Natural Look (oil or wax)
8 String
(reversed headstock) -_retired_
Seymour Duncan Blackout
Hipshot Hardware
Our actual Designplan is this one:







You can see that the highlight will be a stripe of royal white ebony, the rest of the design (hopefully) will be natural dark oiled or waxed as the Hufschmids.
The headstock is reversed, don´t know if 7 in line or 7+1 or 6+2...we will see.

THE ACTUAL HEADSTOCK IS INDEED A COPY OF HUFSCHMID´S DESIGN, IT´S NOT FINAL.
I didn´t asked Huf yet, but if we reach the step to build the headstock i will ask him of course.
Sorry Pat if this is against your will, if it is, please tell me and I will replace the headstock in the design idea
with an other one.

*NEW DESIGN 01.11.2009*




So i´ve got some stuff to discuss:

1. 7 or 8 String --It´s a 8!
2. Scale -- 27"
3. Woodchoice --done
4. Other


1. 7 or 8 String OH MY GOD, IT`s A 8 STRING!
I´m not sure if i need 8 Strings...i defenitly need the B, but the F#?
The next problem is that it depends on dreierguitars if he can build me such a Fingerboard. AND the humbuckers are epic expensive. I thought about installing 1x 6 String humbucker at the bridge for the low Strings and 1x 6 String humbucker at the neck for the high strings. I think that would be pretty cool (and cheaper ) 
If 7 Strings the hardware would be much cheaper and i would buy a 7 String blackout.

*IT´s a 8!*


2. Scale 27"
If 7 Strings i prefer Agile baritone 27"...sounds nice and is not too long.
If 8 Strings maybe these 28,whateva...or?
I don´t know if i can handle fanned frets and i don´t think dreier can build it.

3. Woodchoice 
The royal white ebony is the main theme, this one will stay.
But i´m not sure about the rest...Pat is not telling me his secret of oiling the mahagony so epic dark and maybe other darker woods are a better choice for the body? Walnut looks very epic...or Macassar Ebony but that is very expensive. Please discuss the woodchoice it´s just a product of reading maaany building threads.
The Fingerboard will (hopefully) be Ziricote...i really like the look of it.
But maybe Macassar Ebony is a better choice here, too?
Can you tell me some good woodshops? 


Fingerboard:
Ziricote 24 Frets, 27"





*FINISHED!




*

Neckwood, 5pcs. :
Maple-Wenge-Royal white ebony-Wenge-Maple


I just ordered the wood, PICS!

A BIIIIG piece of Wenge for the neck (and many other necks of flo i think )




And 2 pieces of Khaya Mahagony for the bodywings!







Here is a preview of the Royal white Ebony, but i called them and they will send me pics of the most epic pieces so we can choose 






*UPDATE 01.11.2009






*


4. Other
Hardware colour black or gold?
I think gold would match to the natur look.

The Sidedots will be rune´s of the vikings, a great idea of flo who used these IIX signs for his 8 String.

Dreier will build my Fingerboard, here is his link
www.dreier-gitarren.de

I think about asking a friendly blacksmith creating me some metalparts for the finish...inspired by this one:
Amfisound tuotesivu

The finish of the guitar will maybe be made by a woodartist...he uses chainsaws and stuff creating sculputers...so that the bodyshape/carving will look "old and handmade by norns", too. I also think about some cool image carvings...but it will take a long time from now to then.

please help and discuss with us about this project,
thanks


*UPDATE Friday 28 of May

*After a long long time we´re now able to present you the first pics of the building process:




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the wood is ready





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pics of the neck-building-process





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building the body






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body+neck, wet






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the awesome headstock 

So, hope you like the pics  `cause i do, and i can´t wait to see it finished 


*UPDATE Sunday 30 of May*

AND HE MADE IT! more pics now.









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Wenge is awesome.





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And this is a sample for the possible finish. i love it.
He "burned" the wood with an hot air gun, then he oiled and waxed it.



_Mods, please move this thread to the new "luthery" section _


<(°-°<)
Schotter

Edit:
You will find TONS of mistakes...pls don´t blame me


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## vampiregenocide (Sep 24, 2009)

Have you had a look around to try an RG2228? That would help figure if you want an 8 string.


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## Fred the Shred (Sep 24, 2009)

Ross is right - also try adding a high A or G instead of the low F# to give you an idea of two possible 8 string configurations, so you can decide whether you feel the extra string is a plus (and in which configuration, of course) or if it feels like more of a hindrance to you.


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## Apophis (Sep 24, 2009)

sounds interesting


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## leandroab (Sep 24, 2009)

Hey good luck with that.. The original idea looks epic! 



Schotter said:


> Pat is not telling me his secret of oiling the mahagony so epic dark


 
It's annoying as fuck ... But it's perfectly understandable, you know... 

If he shared EVERYTHING, there would be no "Hufschmid" guitars anymore...


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## Hollowway (Sep 24, 2009)

Looks great! Personally, I LOVE reversed headstocks, but on Kellys I don't. I just think the guitar is diagonal in the direction of the standard inline headstock. Otherwise I love the design!


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## phaeded0ut (Sep 24, 2009)

Good luck on this one!


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## Schotter (Sep 24, 2009)

Yeah i tried the ESP a couple of times in a shop, but i have no chance to play it a long time...it was pretty cool, but picking beneath the 8 String is not so chilly as downstrokes on the 7 
The extra high string is too high for me...i´m more the riff and theme guy...and i´m afraid of cutting my fingers with those thin Strings 
Hey leandrob, when you get some nice results, can you share it? I`ll try myself, too and share it, of course 
Thanks for all the greetings  
but please discuss and give me your opinion, too.

Holloway, yeah i think i know what you mean, but i think in reality the headstock and neck will much longer (stretched)...in my opinion, the reversed headstock is the non+ultra of a custom guitar. A must have. I like both Headstock types with a kelly shape.


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## yevetz (Sep 24, 2009)

1. 8 strings, no shit. The more strings = more notes in one position = more versality. And if you'll no need an 8 string in some songs, you can just not play it. And you do not muxt to tune it to F# I am tuning mine to (high)EBGdaEBG(low). Got it? I have same on basses and on trebbles strings so I can play harmony and do a melody on it in one position using only 4 fingers 

2. my 2228 have 27". You know, there is no short scales, there is a lazy dudes who too lazy to experiment with strings gauge and work on their strings control (technique)  So build any.

3. Just choose your favorite tonewood, if you want to your guitar looks epic, then just put a top or make some awesome paintjob 

4. Again if you want to it looks awesome, just do some mockups for yourself and look on it


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## daemon barbeque (Sep 24, 2009)

8 string Kelly is a very good Idea HAHAHAH  (Ich hab auch eine Kelly 8 im arbeit) Stay with the 27" for versatility. If you would like to try a High A, that would still be possible. With 28", you will need special strings!

Ebony is a good choice, but you have to be carefull with your Neck material. 1 piece neck with reinforcement (Carbon, or a second truss-rod) would be my choice, since different wood have different characteristics of heat/humidity reactions. Or you can have a multi layered neck of the same wood in different grain patterns.

After building it "bombenfest", you can finish it as you wish! Cheers man!


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## Schotter (Sep 25, 2009)

Okay, 27" scale for 8 Strings is cool, right?
Yevetz, youre tuning is very interesting, theme´s with fingerstyle would be pretty cool with that  But i don´t like tops or veneers nor i like painjobs, i really want a "true, honest" guitar which shows the beautiful wood it´s made of.
Yeah deamon, i googeld to death to find one when i noticed your seymour duncan thread. Pretty epic to use 1 piece, thats my absolute dream, an one piece Guitar made of Snakewood :LOL: it´s pretty hard to find such a big piece.
Well, the Royal Ebony is the only wood which is defenitly choosed  flo build his 8 and 7 Strings also with multi wood neck, i think it will be not that drama. And i WANT the different characteristics of the wood  I don´t really know what i´m looking for, we just try and learn.

What do you guys say to walnut bodywings? It´s pretty dark itself and looks awesome...i´m also waiting for "Mister Mahagony" Pat Hufschmid to fight for the rights of Mahagony as a bright tonewood  Maybe he has got a tip for choosing the right kind of maha.


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## hairychris (Sep 27, 2009)

One piece snakewood? Umm, not sure how it would sound but it's great material for neck & fretboard... very, very stiff if you can actually get the stuff cut without splitting!

*Has a snakewood necked guitar*

An 8 string Kelly? Sounds good. Definitely.


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## daemon barbeque (Sep 28, 2009)

Schotter said:


> Okay, 27" scale for 8 Strings is cool, right?
> Yevetz, youre tuning is very interesting, theme´s with fingerstyle would be pretty cool with that  But i don´t like tops or veneers nor i like painjobs, i really want a "true, honest" guitar which shows the beautiful wood it´s made of.
> Yeah deamon, i googeld to death to find one when i noticed your seymour duncan thread. Pretty epic to use 1 piece, thats my absolute dream, an one piece Guitar made of Snakewood :LOL: it´s pretty hard to find such a big piece.
> Well, the Royal Ebony is the only wood which is defenitly choosed  flo build his 8 and 7 Strings also with multi wood neck, i think it will be not that drama. And i WANT the different characteristics of the wood  I don´t really know what i´m looking for, we just try and learn.
> ...



Glad you dig my Kelly project! Hope it will be cmpleted soon.

Walnut wings are cool, but heavy. You should choose the wings after you choose the neck/board material, since it's a neck-thru design, and the neck plays the main role on sound development. Ash or Mah. would be good for low tunings, and will ad body to the sound. Wenge would be cool for bein stiff, mid range based and clear soundig. But it will make it heavy too.


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## Schotter (Oct 5, 2009)

I think i will choose maha, it´s not that expensive and it will (hopefully) add some warm tone.
Dreier send me an assortment of possible fingerboards 
Snakewood and Ziricote. I think i will choose the Ziricote Board ZRB 3...
Have fun with the pics


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## daemon barbeque (Oct 5, 2009)

The Ziricote loooks soooo awesome!!!!


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## flo (Oct 6, 2009)

daemon barbeque said:


> The Ziricote loooks soooo awesome!!!!


How can this cruel man propose seven pieces to kill for? Mean! But good choice man!!! But the snakewood.... can't we make a doubleneck? Pleeeeease!! ;P
Love the viking guitar by the way!


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## phaeded0ut (Oct 6, 2009)

Have to agree that the Ziricote boards are gorgeous. Timur's right, you'll want to suss out your neck woods (how many laminations, if any) and then look to your body woods and body top woods. I've always been partial to rosewood, but this might not have the tonal effect you're looking to achieve. 

Doubleneck with an 8 and a 16 on it, ... totalHelDeth!


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## Schotter (Oct 6, 2009)

yeah, he really makes the greatest fingerboards i´ve ever seen. And he isn´t expensive!
No, flo. I think if we made a double neck I need a additional holder because it´s so heavy  Maayyybe we can talk about an 2. seven string for my band mate? With Snakewood Fingerboard...or build your bass with it.
I´ll order the Fingerboard and maybe the wood today, too so we can start!
Here we go!


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## guitarplayerone (Oct 6, 2009)

how big are your hands, compared to other guitar players you know?

if you have big hands, shoot straight for the 8.

if you don't consider that the scale will have to be baritone if you want a low F# (imo more useful than a high G), also teh neck will be wider if you maintain normal string spacing


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## Schotter (Oct 7, 2009)

Uhmm...my hands are...like...hands...somehow...actually... i don´t know man 
I think they are normal, but the decision has been made, i ordered an 8 String Fingerboard. I can play bass very chilled so i think it will fit.
If not...i just don´t use the 8th string or just tab it


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## SD83 (Oct 7, 2009)

I don't think the width of an 8-string fretboard will create that much of a problem for people with "normal" hands (not sure about that as I got rather big hands ), you won't use the 8th string beyond fret 12 or something most of the time anyways (especially as a "riff & theme guy") I guess. Those fretboards are amazing. Did you already decide on the source for the bodywood?


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## Schotter (Oct 7, 2009)

That´s a difficult question, what size of Fingers are "normal"?
I think we´ve got to start a poll for that

Yeah, i will choose Mahagoni wings.
The Neck will be:
Maple-Wenge-Ebony-Wenge-Maple

I hope that i´m able to make the maha as dark as the Wenge (damn, what is the verb of "dark"? darken or sth. like that, or?)


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## Elysian (Oct 7, 2009)

The headstock looks identical to Hufschmid's, have you asked him if it's ok to copy it?


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## Schotter (Oct 7, 2009)

*harrumph* the headstock is not final, no i didn´t asked him.
I thought he would join this thread very soon, but he did not.
You are right, before we start to build the headstock i will ask him, my fault.
Maybe I create a more matching Design for the Kelly, Huf´s stock was my first
idea ´cause i like it so much.

Edit:
Thanks for remembering me, i really forgot it.


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## hufschmid (Oct 7, 2009)

Schotter said:


> *harrumph* the headstock is not final, no i didn´t asked him.
> I thought he would join this thread very soon, but he did not.
> You are right, before we start to build the headstock i will ask him, my fault.
> Maybe I create a more matching Design for the Kelly, Huf´s stock was my first
> ...



Its ok dude, I dont have any legal registered trademark on my headstock designs so anybody could copy them really....

I recommend you try and find your true style first, maybe try and come up with something unique?

But if you really feel that you would like too I dont have any problem with that at all, feel free to do so 

PS: a simple PM would of been better, now you have asked this question in my thread in the dealers section, that's not really the thype of place to ask this thype of question  would appreciate if you could  your post, many thanks


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## Schotter (Oct 7, 2009)

Yeah, i will try to design something unique or better matching for the Kelly.
One or Two weeks ago your PM option has been disabled, so i thought thats the only way to contact you (exept email), sorry.
Somehow i was to stupid to ninja it, but i editet it so it will match


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## hufschmid (Oct 7, 2009)

Schotter said:


> Yeah, i will try to design something unique or better matching for the Kelly.
> One or Two weeks ago your PM option has been disabled, so i thought thats the only way to contact you (exept email), sorry.
> Somehow i was to stupid to ninja it, but i editet it so it will match



It still is because at one point I was receiving 3 pm's a day from people who dont give a shit about me but who wanted building tips and it made me sick  

That's why I dont reply to building questions anymore, I just dont understand why of our days (especially considering the amount of tutorials available which where not there when I started building guitars) somebody who wants to start learning does not buy a book, does not try and get his hands on the wood and not always ask builders because he will anyway never buy a guitar from a maker since he wants to build his own because he does not have the money to buy a custom guitar....

I find this very weird sometimes...


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## Schotter (Oct 7, 2009)

Yeah, maybe youre right.
It is very nice that you are so present in this forum BUT you are (like roter or who ever) very famous and maybe in this case too reachable.
But please stay, it´s just my explenation of that problem, you are very close to every member, so everyone thinks he can "shortly" ask you something (i did, too).

But you are still here and you didn´t leave even if we annoy you some times 
Sorry for that.


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## flo (Oct 8, 2009)

Don't worry abuout the neckwidth, I've got rather small hands and it's no problem to handle the eightstring. My neck is very flat (19 mm).
Are you sure about the neck-laminations? I think that wenge-maple-wenge-ebony-wenge-maple-wenge would be better somehow a seven piece neck, more wenge you know?


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## Schotter (Oct 8, 2009)

Yeah, we can just make the Wenge stripe biger,
that 7 pcs. option is optical not that good, ´cause a dark wood (Wenge) is directly
placed next to the dark Mahagonie.
We can make both wenge stripes as big as the ebony stripe, means ca. 23mm per stripe.
So we´ve got 2x23mm Wenge, 1x23mm Ebony and the rest Maple.
Or?

EDIT:

I just ordered the wood, PICS!

A BIIIIG piece of Wenge for the neck (and many other necks of flo i think )




And 2 pieces of Khaya Mahagony:







Here is a preview of the Royal white Ebony, but i called them and they will send me pics of the most epic pieces so we can choose 






Sorry for quality


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## daemon barbeque (Oct 8, 2009)

Choosing boards for looks is of course entertaining, but you should know the stability too! The sound and stability are the most important things on a board wood. I don't know how stable are those ebony boards once cuttet down to a cm, gothammered and insrterted big metal wires!


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## flo (Oct 8, 2009)

Also, make shure that the ebonyboards are long enough! The ones in the pics would be too short. I guess the guitar is gonna be around 110 cm at total, and I think I'll need about 10 cm at minimum to glue the boards together in the middle, like this:
____//_____ 
the minimum length of the gluing surface should be 10 cm I think, the longer the better. Ask if they've got one superlong piece? If not, try to get two boards that are >60 cm
And Timur is right, the priority should be strength-sound-looks (and budget of cause). How about a three piece neck then and only maple to set off the neck from the bodywings?


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## Schotter (Oct 8, 2009)

Guys, cool down, the wood is ordered.
The piece of white ebony i ordered (or will order) has a size of 610x50x50mm.
We half it to two 610x5x23mm and glue it, so we get a 1220x5x23mm piece.
Than we add the Wenge Stripes with a thickness of 23mm per piece to both side.
Wenge-Ebony-Wenge
23+23+23=69mm
The neck will be round about 77mm?
Add 2 Stripes of Maple with 5mm per piece or more and we´ve got a cool an i think very strong neck. Because when you install the trussroot you often split the lane in the middle.
3-2-1-Photoshop!


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## flo (Oct 9, 2009)

mmmmm...... you know that the neckwidth is about 7,7 cm at the 24th fret and only 5,6 or so at the nut, so the maplestripes would "stop" somewhere in the middle, don't know at fret 12 or something, that would look strange I think... I think we'd be really better off with 1x 23 mm Ebony plus 2x 30 mm wenge and only set off the body with maplestripes. What do you think?


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## Schotter (Oct 9, 2009)

that´s of course an option...it will look strange? if it stops at the 12 fret it would be damn epic i think! I never saw a neck like that, i think it would be fckn unique?
(and a big help, cause there are no Inlays).
And IF we use the maple just to set off the wenge from the maha, it has to disappear under the Fingerboard, because if not, i think that would look a lot stranger.


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## phaeded0ut (Oct 9, 2009)

I'm kind of amazed you didn't try to go for PurpleHeart or another red-tinged wood stripes. Have to agree that having a strip of wood end suddenly rather than being continuous through the body would look cool, but then you'd have to worry about that area becoming quite unstable over time (due to humidity or a lack thereof).


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## Schotter (Oct 9, 2009)

Hey phaeded, the only reason why i didn´t try it is because I don´t like these "purple" or "red" wood. I wanted this guitar in a dark brown theme (with a few light accents).
The maple stripe would end somewhere the trussrood is located so i think it wont be that unstable.
But when everybody fears the neck will be unstable why don´t we install a double trussrood? flo, is that possible for you? Is it expensive? (i don´t think so cause a trussrood on ebay cost about 12 Euros).

Anyway, i don´t want to build a normal guitar with 1000 times proofed combinations of wood or whatever, i want to try a little bit and learn from it. No risk, no fun.
Maybe this combination of wood creates the most epic fusion of great tones and sustain ever? Nobody knows, ´cause nobody tried it. cheers.


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## flo (Oct 9, 2009)

a double trussrod would be possible, but I think that it would actually decrease the strength of the neck cause more wood is being routed away, and it's not really necessary to have two, mine works well with only one. If you think it's cool to have the maplestripes stop there we'll do it!
Any news on the headstock design by the way?


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## Schotter (Oct 10, 2009)

If we don´t need a double trussrood, we don´t need it. (Saves money  )
Kay, great, i like the idea with those stopping maple stripes...but we have to calculate the thickness of the wenge and maple stripes to assure that the stripes stop exactly at the 11th fret (so it covers the 12th). That´s your area, mister physik 
Maybe we can calculate all these things in one run, we have to build the plan with size details.
No, no news yet on the headstock design, i didn´t found time to do it...but I will 

Edit:

Please, feel free to share your ideas of a matching headstock, that will help me a lot, thanks


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## Schotter (Oct 12, 2009)

I got the pics of the royal white ebony today, badly the wood is not pictured wet but I think we can decide now.









I am VERY undecided, please give me your opinion


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## flo (Oct 31, 2009)

Wood-update:

wenge and mahogany boards have arrived, ebony is still missing. They are huuuuuge

The fretboard has arrived today, the frets have been installed by Armin Dreier, it looks flawless!


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## Schotter (Nov 1, 2009)

Wheehaa, thats nice 
I finished my design a couple of days ago, it´s more like the original Kelly, but the small restrained varieties are nice and make it a little bit "custom" 

@Mods
Can someone change the title of the Thread to:
"Nordic Kelly" Custombuild 8 String
´cause the content is not only the plan anymore 

*DESIGN UPDATE:*


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## Schotter (May 28, 2010)

After a long long time we´re now able to present you the first pics of the building process:




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the wood is ready





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pics of the neck-building-process





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building the body






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body+neck, wet






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the awesome headstock 

So, hope you like the pics  `cause i do, and i can´t wait to see it finished 


Mods, please move this thread to the new "luthery" section 
I´ll update the first page.

<(°-°<)
Schotter


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## Sebastian (May 29, 2010)

Cool update - good to see things going on


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## Hollowway (May 29, 2010)

Cool, man! Looks really good.


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## flo (May 29, 2010)

^Thanks!

I'm so happy now this thing is coming to live. Have had a very busy time at university, and now I'm using my short holiday to get this done. This is the most massive guitar I've ever built, the wenge is so awesome, heavy as hell, and so is the ebony. 

Note: The body is not being glued together in the pics above, I wouln't use only 2 clamps 
But I did it today


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## Schotter (May 30, 2010)

AND HE MADE IT! more pics now.









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Wenge is awesome.





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And this is a sample for the possible finish. i love it.
He "burned" the wood with an hot air gun, then he oiled and waxed it.

<(°-°<)
Schotter


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## Andromalia (May 30, 2010)

Looks promising. 
Going with a regular headstock is the smart choice, I don't think reverse headstocks go well with the kelly shape.


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## Hollowway (May 30, 2010)

Andromalia said:


> Looks promising.
> Going with a regular headstock is the smart choice, I don't think reverse headstocks go well with the kelly shape.



Totally. And the design of the HS matching with the lower horn is pure win. nicely designed!


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## MacTown09 (May 31, 2010)

Yeah man this is great! I cant wait to see the results


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## flo (Jun 10, 2010)

I've worked a little on the headstock and neck. It's difficult because the wood is so damn hard, and I'm mostly using my hand tools, but fun  


Haven't got any new pics by now. Schotter has designed the fretboard edge, the neck PU will be integrated into it like in the picture, the board will be hollowed out slightly in this area.


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## flo (Jun 17, 2010)

I've been working on the guitar last weekend, but couldn't take pics since I forgot to bring tha camera... 
The headstock is now at the right thickness, the sides are sanded with a belt sander and the neck is ready for the fingerboard. 

We've had the idea to make the finish more rough by using a steelbrush so the grain of the mahogany would show better, but it really didn't look any good on this type of wood. But I think we'll be able to get pretty close to the style of the amfisound guitar (see 1.st post in this thread). Maybe one can sand the guitar, burn the surface, oil it and leave it like that without sanding again, I guess it will create the effect that we're after


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## flo (Jun 22, 2010)

New update:


I've started to shape the edges, only using hand tools and without thinking too much about it to get a quite raw result 

This is the guitar before shaping:











Starting to make the belly cut











































Me, working











Mockup for the rear routing


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## SYLrules88 (Jun 22, 2010)

good shit man, this thing is hot!


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## shogunate (Jun 22, 2010)

Mm mm mm mm mmm... Toasty


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## flo (Jun 28, 2010)

Thanks to SYLrules88 and shogunate for the compliments 

On Schotter's request, I've changed the shaping of the edges slightly today, using a different tool (a chisel). It looks now closer to the amfisound original, a bit more even and refined. Also, we decided to make the routing on the backside smaller than in the last picture. I'll post new pictures with the next update.


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## flo (Jun 30, 2010)

new pics  

new rear routing, what do you think schotter?






and the new shapings























So for everyone now thinking "cool, I'm gonna have my RG look like that",
this is the tool to use:


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## Empryrean (Jun 30, 2010)

a great job as always


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## Schotter (Jun 30, 2010)

just perfect flo. I know it´ll be hard for our girlfriends, but we have to marry.
I <3 you!
The ghost pic is awesome


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## Sebastian (Jun 30, 2010)

Is that a Ghost in your cavity ?


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## flo (Jul 1, 2010)

Empryrean said:


> a great job as always



Thank you 



Schotter said:


> just perfect flo. I know it´ll be hard for our girlfriends, but we have to marry.
> I <3 you!
> The ghost pic is awesome



There's another Love and Relationship thread going on, but shure, when and where?




Sebastian said:


> Is that a Ghost in your cavity ?



Yes, it's a ghost
It's planned to put a Graphtec Ghost Processor in there for acuostic sound, and piezo saddles


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## flo (Jul 3, 2010)

It's 34°C in old Germany today...
The perfect weather to be outside and build guitars 
I routed the pickup and electronics cavities and made the cover plate. It's only three holes, but it took me about 6 hours, including making the templates, cutting out the ghost etc. But I'm very happy with the result, the cover fits perfectly, a totally new feature of my guitar-building 












Battery and ghost fit in


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## Murmel (Jul 3, 2010)

Make a new ghost with glistening manga eyes and a cute mouth


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## flo (Jul 3, 2010)

Murmel said:


> Make a new ghost with glistening manga eyes and a cute mouth



är du inte nöjd med den här? Jag tycker den är fin som den är. Ska ta upp det med uppdragsgivaren. En mall är välkommen


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## tulikirnu (Aug 5, 2010)

flo said:


> new pics
> 
> new rear routing, what do you think schotter?
> 
> ...




Hello my brother 




http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/sevenstring-guitars/116637-okay-so-i-get-my-new-tool-amfisound.html


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## flo (Aug 11, 2010)

terve 

Wow your axe is cool as shit! 
The amfisound guitars served as our inspiration a lot!


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## MF_Kitten (Aug 11, 2010)

flo said:


> är du inte nöjd med den här? Jag tycker den är fin som den är. Ska ta upp det med uppdragsgivaren. En mall är välkommen



värfor kan ni svenska? är inte ni tysk?

jag suger balle i svenska, men anyway.

sorry för at jag inte har kontaktat deg med krappy bassen, men jag måste venta lite lenger på gitaren jag skal få först. it's next on the list!


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## flo (Aug 11, 2010)

MF_Kitten said:


> värfor kan ni svenska? är inte ni tysk?
> 
> jag suger balle i svenska, men anyway.
> 
> sorry för at jag inte har kontaktat deg med krappy bassen, men jag måste venta lite lenger på gitaren jag skal få först. it's next on the list!



Jag är tysk, men det är "nordic" kelly custom thread, så jag skriver på svenska eller finska ibland förstår du? Och Murmel kan väl ochså svenska.

I've been living in Sweden for two years, my spoken swedish is way better than my english... and my best friend there was from Finland, so I know some words in finish. 

No prob about the krappy bass, we're not in a hurry  but cool to hear you're still intrested 
Förresten, jag har hittad dig på youtube, har kollad på åttasträngda agile gitarrer, och efter två minuter: vänta... ... vänta, ansiktet ser bekannt ut... Morten? yep 
Och slutet i videon...


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## Schotter (Aug 12, 2010)

Whaaa, finish invasion 
Google translater sucks for that language.

Iiii´ve got some news 
package arrived:





Uploaded with ImageShack.us





gold hardware rules!

Warwick poti knob
gold toggle switch+gold cab
Neutrik security jack (Amifsound, love youre inspiration.)






Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And. Seymour Duncan Blackout 8 String


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## flo (Aug 12, 2010)

WOW!
the gold hardware looks awesome! It'll look perfect with the woods!
the tuners didn't arrive yet, did they?

Ah, and try "swedish" with the google translator 

Oder wir fangen an deutsch zu schreiben um die Verwirrung noch ein bisschen zu vergrößern


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## tulikirnu (Aug 13, 2010)

flo said:


> terve
> 
> Wow your axe is cool as shit!
> The amfisound guitars served as our inspiration a lot!



Moro! 

Thanks, I desing my guitars myself and Amfisound is only company who can/bother build those! 

I start do custom things with my jackson warrior. 
If you want to see some photos, go there -> Kitarat


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## flo (Aug 13, 2010)

tulikirnu said:


> Moro!
> 
> Thanks, I desing my guitars myself and Amfisound is only company who can/bother build those!
> 
> ...



I checked it out dude, it's awesome! I especially like the one where even the tuners were hand-customized. Amazing, all the love to detail and the really authentic raw look. How did you get the company to build them? Did you know them personaly, or did you go there and said hey, I've built this, are you interested? I'm shure it says it all on the homepage in the link, but my finish is somehow very limited to about _seitsemän kielinen kitara __(=seven string guitar)..._ only the most essential words you know
But really,thumbs up for these really great designs, very inspiring!


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## ittoa666 (Aug 13, 2010)

That guitar looks amazing.


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## flo (Aug 14, 2010)

Thanks!


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## MF_Kitten (Aug 17, 2010)

yep, that´s my youtube video! 

i´ve been letting the crappy krappy sit for a couple of months now without even seeing it, and when i took it out, i was like "oh yeah, wow!". so it has alot of potential, it just needs to be made functional. i´ll detail it properly when i´m sending it and stuff.


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## flo (Aug 19, 2010)

MF_Kitten said:


> yep, that´s my youtube video!
> 
> i´ve been letting the crappy krappy sit for a couple of months now without even seeing it, and when i took it out, i was like "oh yeah, wow!". so it has alot of potential, it just needs to be made functional. i´ll detail it properly when i´m sending it and stuff.



I'm looking forward for it


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## flo (Sep 18, 2010)

The hardware has arrived, so I was able to continue building 

Cutting the edge of the fretboard






The neck pickup (seymour duncan BLACKOUT 8-string)is already installed cause the fretboard will cover it a little. The area where the pickup is gonna sit is hollowed out a little.I've burned the area around the pu cavity before putting the pu in so it won't be damaged.
EDIT: we'll burn the whole surface of the mahagony, it's part of the concept 
Fretboard ready to be glued on:





I almost forgot the trussrod, but it's inserted ^^
Glue...






...and a million clamps!


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## flo (Sep 18, 2010)

Small update:

The clamps are off, and I've started to shape the neck a little. It's really fat yet, just want to give you a hint what it's gonna look like.




















Hope you enjoy


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## Philligan (Sep 18, 2010)

Looks sick, man, I can't wait to see this thing get finished


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## Grand Moff Tim (Sep 18, 2010)

Why the fretboard/pickup overlap? Are you planning on adding more frets to it? Do you just like the look of it? I'm confused.


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## Hollowway (Sep 18, 2010)

flo said:


> I've burned the area around the pu cavity before putting the pu in so it won't be damaged.


I don't get that. How does the burning help?


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## flo (Sep 19, 2010)

Hollowway said:


> I don't get that. How does the burning help?



The plan is to burn the whole surface of the mahogany to get a dark look. 
If I put in the pu first and burned the body afterwards, that would be no good for the pickup... so everything has to be in the right order.


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## flo (Sep 19, 2010)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Why the fretboard/pickup overlap? Are you planning on adding more frets to it? Do you just like the look of it? I'm confused.



It was Schotters wish to do so, only for the look. Hope it won't disturb the playig too much.


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## Hollowway (Sep 19, 2010)

flo said:


> The plan is to burn the whole surface of the mahogany to get a dark look.
> If I put in the pu first and burned the body afterwards, that would be no good for the pickup... so everything has to be in the right order.



Ah. Gotcha. Good planning, in that case!


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## Schotter (Sep 19, 2010)

just started crying.
step by step the dream turns into reality.
Awesome work flo!



> Hope it won't disturb the playig too much.


I don´t think so...Uli Jon Roth has such a pickup-placement in his Sky Guitar (played it) and it sounds actually normal. And the Blackouts that i use in my 6 String have so much power, they could be miles away from the strings and the would sound good


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## Schotter (Nov 25, 2010)

Small Update:

Flo has actually placed the bridge and the tuners.
It will take a while to be finished because of school etc.

Buuut a small nice update not for your eyes, but for your ears!
We released our first Demo on Myspace!







This will be the new home of the baby:
Myspace


Thread for the track:
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/re...rman-orchestra-death-metal-tons-of-vstis.html

hope you enjoy


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## TimSE (Nov 25, 2010)

HOW have i missed this thread until now!? that is unreal!


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## Seventary (Nov 26, 2010)

TimSE said:


> HOW have i missed this thread until now!? that is unreal!


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## Goatchrist (Nov 26, 2010)

TimSE said:


> HOW have i missed this thread until now!? that is unreal!


 
Same thing goes for me! This guitar is wonderfull! Can't wait to see the result!


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## Insanity (Nov 26, 2010)

I need to build my own guitar... Where have you found all these parts?


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## Asrial (Nov 26, 2010)

HOLY-
This is the CLOSEST thing to perfect I've seen anyone do with wood.
If the horn was the iceman-type and alittle more wood on the top, I would've instantly gas'd


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## flo (Jan 22, 2011)

Hi,
It's time to update the thread again. Together with my girlfriend, I've made the finish, first we've burned the surface of the mahogany using a hot air gun to make it look dark and evil.

Then we've oiled it


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## Schotter (Jan 22, 2011)

just started crying :O
You have to get those finish patented!
Never thought it would look so amazing


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## flo (Jan 22, 2011)

Schotter said:


> just started crying :O
> You got to have those finish patented!
> Never thought it would look so amazing



Really, not me either. I'm so glad you like it!!


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## FrostyTheDroMan (Jan 22, 2011)

this is fuckin awesome! LOVE the finish/color scheme you have going!


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## Hollowway (Jan 22, 2011)

Wow, I was pretty sure I would hate that finish, but I love it! I don't like distressed finishes AT ALL as a rule, and I had the burning, but for whatever reason yours looks incredible! 
And I really like how the neck pup is hiding under the FB extension, but I was thinking it might have been cool to flip that extension upside down and fret it, so you can play the frets higher up on the high strings.


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## Ruins (Jan 22, 2011)

FUCKING TASTY!!! love how it turned out and the hiden pup too.


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## scherzo1928 (Jan 22, 2011)

that axe is outrageous in so many ways... love it!


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## BlackMastodon (Jan 23, 2011)

*drops monocle* Great googley moogley! that looks absolutely amazing! The hidden pickup, the burnt mahogany, the ziricote fretboard lining up perfectly with the thru neck. It's just perfect!


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## Miek (Jan 23, 2011)

Those rough bevels make it all the more metal.


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## CD1221 (Jan 23, 2011)

mate, that looks bloody fantastic. 

The only cocnern I have is that the extended fretboard might interfere with your picking.


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## b7string (Jan 23, 2011)

Love the burnt finish!


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## Jakke (Jan 23, 2011)

Very, VERY nice


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## flo (Jan 26, 2011)

Really, the credits for the finish go to my girlfriend since she made it 








She had fun


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## metalvince333 (Jan 26, 2011)

Can I have your girlfriend? check your pm's


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## redkombat (Jan 26, 2011)

your lucky


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## avenger (Jan 27, 2011)

I think thats my favourite guitar now. Without a doubt, a few minor things I would change but overall I dont think I have seen a nicer guitar ever.

Congrats to all involved.


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## Schotter (Jan 30, 2011)




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## flo (Jan 30, 2011)

avenger said:


> I think thats my favourite guitar now. Without a doubt, a few minor things I would change but overall I dont think I have seen a nicer guitar ever.
> 
> Congrats to all involved.



That's an amazing compliment, thank you!


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## flo (Feb 2, 2011)

Here's the finished guitar!!!


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## lookralphsbak (Feb 2, 2011)

That is fucking beauitful


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## youheardme (Feb 27, 2011)

Good f'n job man... thats awesome


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## simulclass83 (Mar 6, 2011)




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