# New Build - Blackwater Double II (Input Appreciated)



## Watty (Sep 10, 2012)

All,

Just put in a deposit on a build with Aaron of Blackwater guitars. Specs as follows:







It's going to look a bit like Khoi's recently completed build, with a few minor changes. Going with a flamed maple board as well, that is, unless Aaron can source something killer while the guitar is waiting to be built. The part that still has me waffling a bit is the color. I want to go with a denim-style stain, but I'm ultimately at a loss as to what shade. I'm also torn as I really think a bright neon blue stain (a la Within the Ruins' sigs from Acacia guitars) would look awesome against the ash body and the lighter fingerboard.

Along those lines, does anyone have color ideas or mockups they'd care to share?


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## Polythoral (Sep 10, 2012)

Just has been my thing lately, but vivid bright finishes + maple boards = amazing, haha.


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## Khoi (Sep 10, 2012)

I think a blue like this would be pretty freakin awesome







and you can never go wrong with denim


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## Polythoral (Sep 10, 2012)

Apparently I misread, I thought it said maple fretboard, OOPS. 

With a dark fretboard, given the denim you speak of is like the one Khoi linked, I think I'd prefer that.

OHWAIT, you did say maple board, the spec sheet just says macassar. well, I stand by that. Bright color with maple fretboard, denim if darker.


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## mphsc (Sep 10, 2012)

I love this one someone has up on here:




maybe with natural binding on the body to set off the maple board. Why all the different colored hardware?


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## Watty (Sep 10, 2012)

Khoi said:


> I think a blue like this would be pretty freakin awesome



*pic removed for neatness* Kind of what I was thinking, but more....fluorescent.



Khoi said:


> and you can never go wrong with denim



*pic removed for....neatness* Yeah, except I want it to be slightly darker than that. And with a quilted top, I don't think the lighter shade will be as flattering.



Polythoral said:


> Apparently I misread, I thought it said maple fretboard, OOPS.
> 
> With a dark fretboard, given the denim you speak of is like the one Khoi linked, I think I'd prefer that.
> 
> OHWAIT, you did say maple board, the spec sheet just says macassar. well, I stand by that. Bright color with maple fretboard, denim if darker.



Sounds good, and we're in agreement at this point.



mphsc said:


> I love this one someone has up on here:



*pic removed for....you guessed it, neatness* Funny, I always hated that one. They stained it an awesome color and then covered it in a burst over the whole top. I would not do that to mine in a million years.



mphsc said:


> maybe with natural binding on the body to set off the maple board. Why all the different colored hardware?



Well, it's going to have exposed maple below the binding, which will flow right into the ash. So, I'm going to leave off the natural binding in favor of having that layered effect instead. As to hardware:

The Hannes is ALWAYS black for the saddles, so the chrome is only for the string anchor. I elected to change to chrome poles on the pups too, so it'll be chrome/black/chrome/black with black tuning machines. I also told him black knobs and switch, so nothing too mis-matchy.


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## Watty (Sep 17, 2012)

Update: Going with brushed nickel covers instead of the black, and....Aaron just scored this piece of maple for the top from eBay. (obviously a close up pic, but I'm still drooling)


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## ras1988 (Sep 18, 2012)

I would think something like the matteo blue from PRS with the same stain process as Khoi's custom with say a matte finish would be the way to go. At least that is the custom I am dreaming of after seeing how a matte finished stained quilt comes out.


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## Watty (Sep 18, 2012)

Funny, I actually suggested Matteo Blue to Aaron as a possibility...at this point I think I'll just give him a general idea of what I want and see what he can come up with.


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## Khoi (Sep 20, 2012)

I'm going with another matte stain quilt for my 6-string build, it's gonna be a bit bolder than the tiger one


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## mcd (Sep 20, 2012)

Those specs look tasty I just dropped my deposit today, looks like Aaron is going to be busy!


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## Watty (Sep 20, 2012)

Khoi said:


> I'm going with another matte stain quilt for my 6-string build, it's gonna be a bit bolder than the tiger one



Cool man, if yours is the matte finish I may go that route. When he told me the lacquer had a 4 week curing time, I was a bit put off. 

And I'm almost torn to go with a similar finish as yours to do my piece of maple justice, but I suppose we'll see...



mcd said:


> Those specs look tasty I just dropped my deposit today, looks like Aaron is going to be busy!



Hopefully not too busy, I'm already thinking about another if this one comes out as well as I think it will!


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## MaxAidingAres (Sep 20, 2012)

this is going to be beast


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## Watty (Sep 21, 2012)

MaxAidingAres said:


> this is going to be beast



Bet your ass it will!


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## mcd (Sep 22, 2012)

Just from the work I've seen on this forum i think i might have to start planning my second one too. best of luck man


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## Watty (Sep 25, 2012)

Here's my billet; keep in my that in the picture it is DRY!!! With the way the figure fades as you go "up" the board, I'm almost thinking a blue fade finish ala PRS might be in order here...come to think of it, this looks more more suited to an "oceanshore" finish than any other piece I've seen!


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## JosephAOI (Sep 25, 2012)

Definitely something lighter blue see-through. Oceanburst would be monstrous.


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## Khoi (Sep 25, 2012)

wow, that looks incredible. 

I'm not sure how those billets work, but are you just gonna slice it down the middle and stick them together?

I'm looking for a nice quilt like that!


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## Watty (Sep 26, 2012)

JosephAOI said:


> Definitely something lighter blue see-through. Oceanburst would be monstrous.



We shall see, I need to start mocking the fuck out of it!



Khoi said:


> wow, that looks incredible.
> 
> I'm not sure how those billets work, but are you just gonna slice it down the middle and stick them together?
> 
> I'm looking for a nice quilt like that!



You slice off the "live" edges (which was done prior to shipping it) and then cut it down the middle of the billet; open it up and....whalah! Watch any PRS video on YT to see it done!

And I may be able to help you out with getting one, lol. The seller Aaron secured this from on eBay lives about 45 minutes from me. Shot him a message to see if I could go check out his stock!


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## explosivo (Sep 26, 2012)

What are your thoughts on a lime green fuchsia burst, opaque paint?


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## JaeSwift (Sep 26, 2012)

explosivo said:


> What are your thoughts on a lime green fuchsia burst, opaque paint?



I think opaque would do well to make it look a bit more ''sludgy'' or industrial if you will, not too sure about green+ash+rosewood. Amber or even purple maybe though...


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## Watty (Sep 26, 2012)

explosivo said:


> What are your thoughts on a lime green fuchsia burst, opaque paint?



Opaque as in cover up the flame?!



JaeSwift said:


> I think opaque would do well to make it look a bit more ''sludgy'' or industrial if you will, not too sure about green+ash+rosewood. Amber or even purple maybe though...



Both amber and purple are on the table as far as I'm concerned...


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## ras1988 (Sep 26, 2012)

explosivo said:


> What are your thoughts on a lime green fuchsia burst, opaque paint?



Only if he were in Poison....a fuchsia could work with a flamed maple board though or a lighter green stain as well. Still a big fan of the deep sea blue or beach blue tones with the maple board. Those quilts will look like waves crashing or seafoam.


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## Watty (Sep 26, 2012)

FYI, I asked for wetted pictures of the billet at 10:30pm and Aaron replied after a few minutes with no less than 4...if that's not great customer service, I don't know what is!!!







The blank will be book-matched with the "bottom edge" (in pic) as the seam; body will begin on left side and move right towards where the horns will be...


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## Watty (Oct 23, 2012)

Alright, so this is going to get started in a day or two, so I need help deciding on a final color. I'm definitely going with blue, but I can't convince myself to do a fade or burst (ocean style) as I've never seen it done in a way that I'm in love with. Not saying Aaron can't pull it off, but I think I just want to go in a different direction.

That said, I wanted to try and crowd source some pictures for color suggestions. I really dig PRS's private stock Nightshade color, but I want it to be slightly darker. Overall, I'm thinking like a steel blue color. Though, I'll probably ask him to try out a denim for the hell of it ala Ben Burnley's PRS.

Thoughts (pref. in image form)?


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## TheFashel12 (Oct 24, 2012)

This is like a burst and denim hybrid pretty cool IMO


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## TheFashel12 (Oct 24, 2012)

This would also look ace


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## Nautilus (Oct 25, 2012)

I honestly think that the specs, woods and finish are ultimately just down to your own preferences. If you like it, then great! No two people have the exact same opinion on everything...so rather than getting a guitar that other people think you should buy, why not just get the choices you enjoy the most? You're the one playing it after all!

What you're getting is something made by Aaron. That in itself means that I'm sure you'll get an AWESOME product. Let the rest just...be you!


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## Watty (Oct 25, 2012)

Read my post again man, the only thing up in the air right now is the color. Being that I can only look through so many examples myself, I figured I'd go ahead and ask folks to post their favorite guitars that are a derivative of blue. That way, I'd have even more references to choose from when making a final decision...I'm not just going to point to someone's and tell Aaron to match it exactly...


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## teamSKDM (Oct 25, 2012)

That quilt is shaped for dragonburst


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## Nautilus (Oct 26, 2012)

Watty said:


> Read my post again man, the only thing up in the air right now is the color. Being that I can only look through so many examples myself, I figured I'd go ahead and ask folks to post their favorite guitars that are a derivative of blue. That way, I'd have even more references to choose from when making a final decision...I'm not just going to point to someone's and tell Aaron to match it exactly...



Ahhhh well yeah - that would make sense. My apologies! Unfortunately I don't have images to contribute, my Blue Carvin addiction seems to have be filled here already


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## Watty (Oct 27, 2012)

teamSKDM said:


> That quilt is shaped for dragonburst



Would be a good candidate....except for the fact that I loathe Dragonburst.



Nautilus said:


> Ahhhh well yeah - that would make sense. My apologies! Unfortunately I don't have images to contribute, my Blue Carvin addiction seems to have be filled here already



No worries man; and yeah, I'm really debating the denim blue car vin/PRS style. Aaron said (I think) that he'd be willing to work up a few different stains on the scrap from the top, so I'll be able to try a few. Working on making a mockup in PS to try different colors.


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## Watty (Nov 14, 2012)

Figured I'd leave this here...ETA is about another month or so!


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## narad (Nov 14, 2012)

Watty said:


> Figured I'd leave this here...ETA is about another month or so!



Excellent stash. So this is like 120 days from order to completion?


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## Watty (Nov 14, 2012)

Well, I sent the deposit in to reserve my spot on September 10th, so....yeah, about 3 months give or take! Not too shabby when compared to his quoted 4-5 months, but I figure that I shaved some time off by going with a matte finish and getting in before the latest "rush" of orders.

And yeah, I actually found the piece on eBay. Turns out he's a local guy who was fairly protective of his stash. I emailed him about it and I got about as far as him telling me he'd meet me somewhere with a piece or two instead of going to check out his whole stock...


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## Watty (Nov 18, 2012)

More progress! Aaron shot me a couple pictures of the headstock work. I opted to go with a custom design that'll eventually end up being a hybrid Vik/Blackmachine type deal. I think it's already turning out great!

Edit: It's obviously flipped in the picture, but I thought it'd be cool to show off the type of jig he uses to cut 'em out....


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## rifftrauma (Nov 18, 2012)

I've been secretly keeping these pics because I loveeeeeeeeeee this finish. That being said when my ticket pops on my Daemoness I think I'm gonna have Dylan try to match this Mandolin. Take a look at some of the new stuff BRJ came out with as well as Mayones. Both have done Faded Blue Denim finishes that are pretty sweet. My Mayones has a faded denim finish on it, haven't done a NGD cause i've been out of town but i posted a teaser at the bottom...if you find anything really amazing let us know!


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## Watty (Nov 18, 2012)

Thanks for the contribution, however I'd personally shy away from the dragon burst. Just don't like the way the colors work together.

I'd actually had my eye on the BRJ as far as a finish is concerned, but being that the color will be showing "underneath" the binding before we hit the body wood, I wanted to go with something just a slight bit darker to really make the contrast pop. 

And that's really not enough of the Mayo to get a good idea of the finish....what a tease!


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## Watty (Nov 18, 2012)




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## Polythoral (Nov 18, 2012)

I've always loved this one, and is what I'm going to be getting on my guitar from the SSO ECG Strandberg run.


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## Jzbass25 (Nov 18, 2012)

Watty said:


> More progress! Aaron shot me a couple pictures of the headstock work. I opted to go with a custom design that'll eventually end up being a hybrid Vik/Blackmachine type deal. I think it's already turning out great!
> 
> Edit: It's obviously flipped in the picture, but I thought it'd be cool to show off the type of jig he uses to cut 'em out....



lol you basically designed the same headstock I designed around the blackmachine/ibanez/vik idea. Mine was going to be 2 different cuts of wood sort of like a VIK duality lol


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## Watty (Nov 18, 2012)

Yeah, well....great minds think alike, eh? It's going to be slightly different than Vik's as I elected to have the tuner portion match the body color (same quilted maple) and the other side will be the same as the maple fingerboard. Obviously replacing the ebony/rosewood veneer Vik utilizes on his split design.

Regardless, classy design is classy, eh?

@Py - Like I mentioned ealier, I think I may have to shy away from that light of a blue stain if not only because I want there to be a fair amount of contrast between the body and the top. If you check out Khoi's axe, the top extends beyond the binding before it meets up with the ash body, so I want there to be a clearer division. That is, unless Aaron's stain examples steer me in a different direction...I normally don't like bursts, but that other blue one he just posted about is TASTY!!!


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## TIBrent (Nov 18, 2012)

-Brent


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## Watty (Nov 18, 2012)

That first one's IS pretty nice, looks like a faded USRG10 I almost nabbed on eBay awhile back. And that Suhr looks a lot like Quayle's, which I did dig when I saw it....Thanks for the suggestions!


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## Polythoral (Nov 18, 2012)

Watty said:


> I normally don't like bursts, but that other blue one he just posted about is TASTY!!!



Yesss, that's one of the nicest finishes I've ever seen, I swear.


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## USMC_OriginalSin (Nov 19, 2012)

Damn, how do you get so many progress pics?


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## Stealthdjentstic (Nov 19, 2012)

This looks great!


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## Watty (Nov 19, 2012)

USMC_OriginalSin said:


> Damn, how do you get so many progress pics?



Well, I think since I'm getting a custom headstock design, he humored me and did a mini update to show me how it came out. If you really wanted some more, if just shoot him an email. Maybe we all throw in a few extra bucks for him to do a bigger photo shoot?



Stealthdjentstic said:


> This looks great!



Thanks man, I'm sure it'll turn out looking fantastic!


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## Unknown22 (Nov 19, 2012)

What about:

http://cdn1.gbase.com/usercontent/gear/3009829/p1_udgy3kkdp_so.jpg

http://www.mattsmusic.com/LE2009.jpg

or

http://guitarasylum.com/blog-images/prs/prs-custom-24-korina-artist-ltd-mb2-blog1.jpg

?


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## Watty (Nov 24, 2012)

Aaaaaannnnnndddddd....here....we.....go. The portion with the tuners will match the body color, while the opposite section will be natural maple, just like the fingerboard.


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## Polythoral (Nov 24, 2012)

Seen this posted on Facebook, looks great!


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## capoeiraesp (Nov 24, 2012)

Awesome headstock dude!


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## Watty (Nov 25, 2012)

Thanks man, I love the more traditional Ibanez design, but Doug's and Vik's are damn cool in their own rights. Figured I'd try to make a visual amalgamation of all three. Aaron was open to it and he nailed the design I sent over.


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## Birdman (Nov 25, 2012)

Watty said:


> Aaaaaannnnnndddddd....here....we.....go. The portion with the tuners will match the body color, while the opposite section will be natural maple, just like the fingerboard.



looks really nice man. can`t wait to see more.


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## Watty (Nov 25, 2012)

Birdman said:


> looks really nice man. can`t wait to see more.



Well, you'll be getting your wish in the coming weeks. Aaron indicated that hitting a ship date inside the next month is completely realistic.


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## Watty (Dec 8, 2012)

Getting closer!


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## Watty (Dec 9, 2012)

Prepare your pants:


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## Polythoral (Dec 9, 2012)

Aaron sourced us both such awesome flamed maple boards, haha.


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## Watty (Dec 9, 2012)

Yeah, at first I thought yours was mine because of the figuring. Looks like these were from the same billet.


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## Watty (Dec 15, 2012)

Soon.


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## Watty (Dec 20, 2012)

Sneak Peek...


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## ThePhilosopher (Dec 20, 2012)

Awesome finish; I hope to get an update on mine soon.


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## Watty (Dec 20, 2012)

Well, Aaron said mine is probably due to ship out before Xmas, so I'd imagine yours is going to be getting some love soon!


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## ThePhilosopher (Dec 20, 2012)

Mine was supposed to be ready for pickup before New Years as well.


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## Khoi (Dec 20, 2012)

that looks... amazing..


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## Watty (Dec 20, 2012)

Uhhhh....yep!


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## Watty (Dec 22, 2012)




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## Watty (Dec 23, 2012)




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## Watty (Dec 23, 2012)

And because I don't believe in waiting to post more pictures....


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## Kroaton (Dec 23, 2012)

That's a great looking top , though the fretboard would look better if it was darker.


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## AscendingMatt (Dec 23, 2012)

beautiful man


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## Watty (Dec 23, 2012)

Kroaton said:


> That's a great looking top , though the fretboard would look better if it was darker.



Well, the idea was all about contrast. The back is ash and neck is rosewood, so there's a nice light and dark thing going on. I wanted to have a similar look on the front, so I figured the blue and natural maple tones would play to same theme. Plus, I'm a bit tired of the darker boards; I've only owned 1 guitar with a maple board before and loved the way it looked...circled back to it on this one. 

Besides, I've already told him to go ahead with a second order. Probably going with a deep burgundy/red top and a dark board to balance the look present in this guitar.



AscendingMatt said:


> beautiful man



Thanks!


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## Polythoral (Dec 23, 2012)

Kroaton said:


> That's a great looking top , though the fretboard would look better if it was darker.



I actually think it'd look better lighter. xD

Nonetheless, looks insanely good. Aaron's been hiding mine from me for a while now again, unintentionally I think, haha.


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## Watty (Dec 23, 2012)

Well, now that mine's off the table, I'm sure yours will be next up to bat.


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## mcd (Dec 23, 2012)

Watty said:


> Well, now that mine's off the table, I'm sure yours will be next up to bat.



Yeah super excited that your's is done... but I want mine even more now, should be soon I was a few days behind you on deposit.


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## Polythoral (Dec 23, 2012)

Watty said:


> Well, now that mine's off the table, I'm sure yours will be next up to bat.



He insisted mine would be shipped by Christmas, too. Hopefully so, though if it doesn't oh well!


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## Watty (Dec 23, 2012)

Polythoral said:


> He insisted mine would be shipped by Christmas, too. Hopefully so, though if it doesn't oh well!



Well, to be fair to Aaron, he did say it would be _ready_ to be shipped by Xmas, not that it would actually go out before. With all the crap that the shipping companies have to deal with at this time of the year, I figured he'd wait until Wednesday at the earliest....


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## Danukenator (Dec 23, 2012)

I believe I'm going to start a build with Aaron soon. It will be quite fun!


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## Watty (Dec 23, 2012)

Danukenator said:


> I believe I'm going to start a build with Aaron soon. It will be quite fun!



Definitely worth your time and money, though his waiting list has blown up...looking at around 8 months when I asked him a day or two ago.


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## Danukenator (Dec 23, 2012)

Watty said:


> Definitely worth your time and money, though his waiting list has blown up...looking at around 8 months when I asked him a day or two ago.



Shucks, better late than never I suppose!


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## Khoi (Dec 23, 2012)

can't wait to see another angle and see how the binding works with it!


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## Watty (Dec 23, 2012)

You and me both man, I'll definitely be sure to ugh light that angle in my NGD thread...


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## Watty (Dec 26, 2012)

Welp, Aaron said it'd be shipped within the next week!

Hope for the rest of yours...


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## Watty (Dec 31, 2012)

Boom:


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## Kroaton (Dec 31, 2012)

Holly fuck balls that looks nice. Happy playing brotha'.


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## Watty (Dec 31, 2012)

You know it man, #2 might top this one though..


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## Bretton (Dec 31, 2012)

Watty said:


> FYI, I asked for wetted pictures of the billet at 10:30pm and Aaron replied after a few minutes with no less than 4...if that's not great customer service, I don't know what is!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



looks like a desert from space, *droool*


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## Watty (Jan 1, 2013)

Wood can be mighty beautiful!


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## Watty (Jan 1, 2013)

Welp, sounds as if a last minute truss rod issue is going to push this one out a week, but Aaron was up front about it and I'd definitely rather the he found it prior to shipping than me later on...


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## Watty (Jan 11, 2013)

Bow...just bow. It'll be here Monday unless USPS proves to be incompetent. Guess who's getting off early!


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## crazygtr (Jan 11, 2013)

You've got a nice one there


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## Watty (Jan 11, 2013)

crazygtr said:


> You've got a nice one there



Dude, it's only a week into 2013, don't go making the understatement of the year just yet!


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## Watty (Jan 14, 2013)

Just arrived, NGD to follow either today or tomorrow.


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