# Knightro Exploder MS8 build thread



## KnightBrolaire (Mar 17, 2017)

Got in touch with Knightro and decided to be the guinea pig for his new model the Exploder (his take on an explorer). I'm pretty excited about this.
specs are going to be: 
black limba body
katalox neck
macassar ebony fretboard 
nickel hipshot hardware/tuners
Instrumental SFTY3-8 pickups.
24 Jumbo Stainless steel frets
Tusq XL nut
26.5-28" scale
Some mockups Knightro did for me.














Andrew is still looking for good black limba but these are the choices so far: 
*A*




*B*


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## MikeNeal (Mar 17, 2017)

i vote A

love me some katalox as well


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## KnightBrolaire (Mar 17, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> i vote A
> 
> love me some katalox as well



yeah that piece has some nice flame figuring and is what I'll probably pick, unless the next piece he shows me is way better.

as soon as I saw that he offered katalox I picked it lol, it's about as close as I'm going to get to an ebony neck without it costing me an arm and a leg.


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## MikeNeal (Mar 17, 2017)

you will love the feel, i have a katalox neck guitar, its super smooth and fast


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## KR250 (Mar 17, 2017)

Nice! I want to see how the Katalox turns out. Dark neck plus Black Limba (my favorite body wood) is a stellar combo.


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## Grand Rabbit (Mar 18, 2017)

The flaming in A looks superb but I love the uniformity of the streaking in the figure on B. Although flaming is always cool, I would pick B for the 'striped' look. 

That's gonna be a football field of figuring, man!


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## neun Arme (Mar 18, 2017)

Hooo, that's gonna be awesome!!!!


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## M3CHK1LLA (Mar 18, 2017)

cool...glad to see you getting this started. 

i thought i would be the first, but i still haven't settledon my specs yet


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## KnightBrolaire (Mar 18, 2017)

Grand Rabbit said:


> The flaming in A looks superb but I love the uniformity of the streaking in the figure on B. Although flaming is always cool, I would pick B for the 'striped' look.
> 
> That's gonna be a football field of figuring, man!



Oh yeah it'll be awesome either way.



KR250 said:


> Nice! I want to see how the Katalox turns out. Dark neck plus Black Limba (my favorite body wood) is a stellar combo.


yeah I've got some katalox in my house that I'm saving for future build and I love how dark it is. It'll really make the limba/nickel hardware pop.


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## Millul (Mar 19, 2017)

I've never heard/read of katalox, but this will be good to see unfold!


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## KnightBrolaire (Mar 19, 2017)

Millul said:


> I've never heard/read of katalox, but this will be good to see unfold!



also called mexican royal ebony. pretty dense/heavy and hard on tools but it's a really nice wood imo. http://www.wood-database.com/katalox/


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## KnightBrolaire (Mar 20, 2017)

I told andrew to order A, the curly limba blank.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Mar 20, 2017)

that's gonna look great.

so the tuners are hipshot as well? are they locking?


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## KnightBrolaire (Mar 20, 2017)

M3CHK1LLA said:


> that's gonna look great.
> 
> so the tuners are hipshot as well? are they locking?



yup going with locking hipshot tuners.


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## KnightBrolaire (Mar 22, 2017)

Andrew sent me some shots of the katalox board with the template on it.


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## Grand Rabbit (Mar 28, 2017)

Do a lot of builders make templates out of acrylic? That seems like a rather costly template material, however the transparency would be really useful.


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## KnightBrolaire (Mar 28, 2017)

Grand Rabbit said:


> Do a lot of builders make templates out of acrylic? That seems like a rather costly template material, however the transparency would be really useful.



it seems like a lot of them do it out of mdf or acrylic, just depends on the builder. Acrylic sheets are pretty easy to get a hold of and they're pretty cheap for thin sheets as well (not as cheap as mdf, but they're probably more durable).


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## KnightBrolaire (Mar 31, 2017)

Which orientation do you guys prefer?
*A*




*B*


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## KnightBrolaire (Mar 31, 2017)

limba with the nickel hipshot bridge




the katalox with the nickel hipshot tuners.




I'm going with A guys. I really dig the orange skunk stripe.




All glued/clamped up. Andrew says he'll cut the body/rough shape it tomorrow.


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## MoonJelly (Mar 31, 2017)

+1 for A, that's what I would've picked


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 4, 2017)

Body is all cut out! <3 that orange skunk stripe


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## TedEH (Apr 5, 2017)




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## electriceye (Apr 5, 2017)

What a great slab! Love it!


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## jwade (Apr 7, 2017)

Like


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 9, 2017)

Neck is getting worked on.


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 16, 2017)

hnnng the wait is killing me.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Apr 16, 2017)

he quoted what i thought was a pretty quick turn around...not years and years like some shops.

that head stock is looking great btw


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 16, 2017)

M3CHK1LLA said:


> he quoted what i thought was a pretty quick turn around...not years and years like some shops.
> 
> that head stock is looking great btw



yeah it's really not that long of a wait, I was just being hyperbolic.

Agreed, really like the veneer andrew chose for the headstock. can't wait to see this baby oiled up.


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## KnightBrolaire (May 15, 2017)

fretboard should be in by wednesday according to andrew.


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## KnightBrolaire (May 21, 2017)

getting closer


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## KnightBrolaire (May 31, 2017)

neck got rough carved. Can't wait to see the katalox all oiled up.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Jun 1, 2017)

looking great...

what kind of neck shape are you going for?


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 1, 2017)

M3CHK1LLA said:


> looking great...
> 
> what kind of neck shape are you going for?


Probably a D shaped neck, like the one on my vader.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 2, 2017)

Andrew is saying I'm going to have the only katalox neck he ever does since it's such a bitch to work with. 
He sent me some pics of the neck carving going on:


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 5, 2017)

MOAR PICS:
frets go in tomorrow. heel is getting a little extra tlc at the transition, and the neck is getting glued soon.
























andrew couldn't resist doing a mockup.


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## Walshy (Jun 6, 2017)

Looking gorgeous. The shape, the wood choices, the fact it's an 8-string - it all makes this a very unique guitar. I've been following Knightro for a long time on PG so it's nice to see him showing off his wares here as well now. His attention to detail is remarkable.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 6, 2017)

Walshy said:


> Looking gorgeous. The shape, the wood choices, the fact it's an 8-string - it all makes this a very unique guitar. I've been following Knightro for a long time on PG so it's nice to see him showing off his wares here as well now. His attention to detail is remarkable.


thanks, it'll definitely be one of a kind, andrew said he's likely going to stop offering katalox necks due to how difficult the wood is to work. I really loved his take on the explorer, the fact that he even offered katalox as a neck option, plus the fact that he chose my favorite multiscale lengths (28-26.5") for an 8 string as the standard made this an easy choice to order. He's been a great guy to work with, always answers my emails within 24 hours, had no problem doing mockups for all of my crazy ideas, and made some good recommendations for the hardware. I am beyond excited for this guitar to be done and in my hands.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 6, 2017)

Andrew tested tuner alignment, oiled the fretboard/refined the neck more and installed the frets today.















All fretted now. Neck gets set tomorrow.


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## getowned7474 (Jun 6, 2017)

Wow that ebony board looks great (and the rest of the guitar too of course lol).


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 7, 2017)

neck is glued. entering the home stretch.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Jun 8, 2017)

i'm excited...its turning out better than the mock-up he did.

this is all happening pretty fast. do you have an eta?


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 8, 2017)

M3CHK1LLA said:


> i'm excited...its turning out better than the mock-up he did.
> 
> this is all happening pretty fast. do you have an eta?


I know right, it's going to look so killer, especially when it's all oiled up. I'm betting a week or two at the worst before it's in my hands.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 8, 2017)

neck is set, just needs a little bit of refinement to the carve.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 9, 2017)

neck is basically done, frets are going to get crowned next.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 15, 2017)

frets are leveled, crowned,etc. Andrew is doing finish sanding/etc now. Should be done late next week.


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## MikeNeal (Jun 15, 2017)

I dont normally like explorers. But i like this.

Knigtro does some really nice work.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 16, 2017)

Andrew found a knurled toggle tip that matches the rest of the hardware. <3



*Oiling has begun *


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## getowned7474 (Jun 16, 2017)

Man this thing is gorgeous. Since I live in Tampa maybe I should pop into Knightro's shop and play it for some final QC .


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 17, 2017)

Andrew said oiling is done, just have to let it cure for a couple days, then on to hardware/pickup installation.
I'll leave this little teaser.


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## MoonJelly (Jun 17, 2017)

That katalox neck is so tasty. I have a hankering to do a katalox top now.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 19, 2017)

MoonJelly said:


> That katalox neck is so tasty. I have a hankering to do a katalox top now.


I have some katalox sitting in my wood pile and it is VERY hard. I hope you have some diamond bits or something lol.


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## MoonJelly (Jun 19, 2017)

As do I. It's probably 3x harder than oak, but I have an acoustic back/side set I was thinking I'd use for a top and neck stringers. 
I also have about 6 fretboard blanks, not sure if I'll ever use them all. Still it's one of my favorite woods to look at, I just _love _the color. Reminds me of dark chocolate


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## MikeNeal (Jun 19, 2017)

I was surprised at how easy katalox was to route. I was expecting the worst.


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## MoonJelly (Jun 19, 2017)

yeah, so far I've only used pretty thin pieces, I've cut a fretboard and some headstock pieces. I imagine most times a router bit or band saw blade would do fine, as long as it was pretty new. It's when you break out the hand tools (saw file, sandpaper etc.) you start a cussin'.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 21, 2017)

Wiring/hardware/pickups are installed. Guitar should be here early next week after the pro photoshoot.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 29, 2017)

So the guitar showed up today, should have an NGD thread in a couple of days.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 30, 2017)

Well since photobucket decided to shut off 3rd party hosting unless you pay $$, here's a flickr link for build pics:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/fCA269


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## Mr_Mar10 (Jun 30, 2017)

Stunning! The stripe in the middle is so pronounced after the oil! How does it sound / play?


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 30, 2017)

Mr_Mar10 said:


> Stunning! The stripe in the middle is so pronounced after the oil! How does it sound / play?


plays great, sounds great. Only quibble I have is the fret ends were a little rough, but I fixed that with a file.


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## M3CHK1LLA (Jul 1, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> Well since photobucket decided to shut off 3rd party hosting unless you pay $$, here's a flickr link for build pics:
> https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/fCA269



i notice my photobucket had issues...was gonna fix it, but didn't have time. didn't realize its gonna cost money...i hope its not a lot.



KnightBrolaire said:


> plays great, sounds great. Only quibble I have is the fret ends were a little rough, but I fixed that with a file.



wonder if it had anything to do with temp/climate change during shipping?

anyways...looks awesome


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 1, 2017)

M3CHK1LLA said:


> i notice my photobucket had issues...was gonna fix it, but didn't have time. didn't realize its gonna cost money...i hope its not a lot.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think it's 40$ a month, which I'm not willing to pay.
I don't know if the board shrank a bit or not, but it's annoying to get a brand new custom guitar with rough fret ends. It's not a huge deal for me since like I said before I just filed the fret ends a bit, but at this price point I was expecting better.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 1, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> I think it's 40$ a month, which I'm not willing to pay.
> I don't know if the board shrank a bit or not, but it's annoying to get a brand new custom guitar with rough fret ends. It's not a huge deal for me since like I said before I just filed the fret ends a bit, but at this price point I was expecting better.


I talked with Andrew he said it was very hot and humid in FL when he shipped it so it's likely just shrinkage, especially given the level of quality everywhere else on the guitar.


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## rami80 (Jul 1, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> I talked with Andrew he said it was very hot and humid in FL when he shipped it so it's likely just shrinkage, especially given the level of quality everywhere else on the guitar.


I don't understand how some luthiers work. If he knew the conditions were bad why not include a humidifier or humidity controller. I don't think 20$ is too much to ask at this price point.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 1, 2017)

rami80 said:


> I don't understand how some luthiers work. If he knew the conditions were bad why not include a humidifier or humidity controller. I don't think 20$ is too much to ask at this price point.


It wasn't significant shrinkage, plus once it's out of the shop and stashed on a cargo plane you really can't control the change in humidity. Besides he was very apologetic about me having to file the frets at all and offered to compensate me in some way, but I declined. Like I said it was a pretty minor issue.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 1, 2017)

NGD thread : http://www.sevenstring.org/threads/ngd-the-beast-is-loose.323184/


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## M3CHK1LLA (Jul 2, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> I talked with Andrew he said it was very hot and humid in FL when he shipped it so it's likely just shrinkage, especially given the level of quality everywhere else on the guitar.



a company i used to work for ordered 20 guitars from a distributor in dallas texas on a hot, humid summer day. we went to the showroom (nice and cool) and hand picked them and played most of them to make sure they were decent. they took them out to the warehouse to bundle them up and we had hauled them to the shop. the next day unboxed them...

nearly every one of them "grew" sharp ends, some more than others, i'm guessing depending on the neck wood. one of them shrank so much i actually cut my hand. it was the first time i had that happen and it surprised me a bit.


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