# Wenge, mahogany and maple, 6-string custom build



## Ape Factory (Jan 30, 2016)

I will start off by saying I have neither the time nor the talent to pull this off on my own and have a very qualified luthier and all-around nice guy (James "Jamie" Roadman) in San Antonio helping me out (ok doing most of the heavy lifting) while I spit out the specs, wants and needs. 

This project sort of started out with the Guthrie Govan Charvel model as the inspiration and I modified the specs from there including no chemicals used on the body.

The neck is 100% wenge, board and neck shaft. It's a 13 degree tilt-back Warmoth with stainless frets. It'll be a six sided reverse headstock design with no string tree and locking tuners.

The body is a roasted Honduran mahogany back with a roasted flame maple drop top, dual hum, no middle pickup, with a Floyd no-fine-tuner route and 50's strat shape. Musikraft handled the body and I should have that by Monday or Tuesday as it's in-route. I sent them a non-fine-tuner Floyd and some titanium studs and they now have CNC measurements for it. I've been told it'll be under four pounds easily.

The neck came in first and I'd ordered a ton of the hard parts as well, including a rather large quantity of luminlay dots from Japan. I ordered them in two different sizes along with two different side dot sizes so I'll have a bit leftover!

Anyway, I really wanted "hollow" dots or rings for inlays. Keeping it simple. Jamie came through by drilling out the center and placing a new piece of wenge in the middle. He found a piece that had a very similar grain structure. Using a lathe, he drilled out the center of each dot, practicing on a piece of plastic before moving on to the Luminlays. Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical especially considering it took about a month for them to arrive and they were not cheap.

The end result looks fantastic. Couldn't be happier. 

A test to see which one looks best. Real Luminlay (undrilled) at the bottom.






Let the drilling begin!





Done. Makes it look so easy...





Overall shot.





Side dots (went with the bigger ones).





Glow in the dark.





I ordered the neck with frets and no inlays or side dots. Jamie did all of this on a fretted neck which, to my understanding, is not easy nor fun. So hats off to him.

Once the body comes in, we'll use inserts in the neck. The body only has two mounting holes and we plan on sculpting the heel and using ferrules instead of a neck plate and will be free to move the top two mounting holes. The lower horn will be beveled on the back.

After that, the tuner holes will be drilled, the headstock will be cut, the frets leveled (if needed) and we'll be 99% of the way there. 

The body doesn't have any of the control routes drilled so it'll be open to my interpretation. I'll be using my quick disconnect solderless pickup system and most likely a three control layout, two volume, one tone, and a three way toggle. I also have the option of doing a 5-way blade "superswitch" but I like the toggle idea as I'm always hitting a 5-way in a few of the guitars I own. Always liked a PRS DGT layout. 

I'll update as more progress is made. It's a pretty low key "standard" build by some of the stuff that gets posted on here.


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## KnightroExpress (Jan 30, 2016)

I looooooove those inlays. Cool idea!


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## Ape Factory (Feb 6, 2016)

The body is here, they picked an exceptional top and the body is fairly clean on most fronts. I'll have to make a few small modifications that I can see right off the bat including slightly larger wiring routes and getting rid of the machining lines in the tremolo spring cavity. The wiring routes just need them a hair bigger for my quick disconnects. 

The only "issue" I see with it currently is the holes for the tremolo stud bushings are a micron or two larger than the stud bushings themselves so I can easily insert or remove them with my fingers. This despite the fact I sent them the studs/bushings and the tremolo. So I'll either have to go to the toothpick method or possibly glue them in. Any recommendations?

A few quick iPhone pics after pulling it out of the box at work.


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## StarbardGuitar (Feb 6, 2016)

What do you plan on doing for a finish on the body? The holes for the bridge mounting studs/bushings may be slightly oversized to account for finish building up, so that the finish doesn't crack when you go to install the bushings later on.


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## Ape Factory (Feb 6, 2016)

Originally the plan was no finish due to the torrefied woods but after physically examining the body, that wouldn't be a good move. I'm leaning towards just a thin satin nitro finish at this point, similar to the Charvel Govan.


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## Ape Factory (Feb 6, 2016)

A few photos with a quick naphtha wipedown plus a plethora of parts!

















Titanium oversized strap buttons, LOL. I have a "thing" for titanium.


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## Ape Factory (Feb 8, 2016)

Dropped the body off today to begin work. Jamie's going to clean up a lot of the tooling marks, enlarge the wiring routes to 5/8" (necessary for my quick change plug ends),begin work on installing the neck, etc...

The first order of business is going to be to dowel the stud bushing holes. They're too big and one can easily slide them in and out of the holes. Glue isn't the best method and using slivers of wood, it'll be hard to get it centered and concentric the entire way around. So he's going to install mahogany dowels and re-drill. Best solution. They knew I wasn't going to use a thick finish (if any) so strange they didn't drill them to the appropriate size as I sent them along with the trem for measurements. 

The pickup pockets also aren't deep enough so we're going to deepen the portion where the pickup legs go by about 1/8" or a bit more. We'll also install inserts and use machine screws to mount the pickups. 

We quickly slipped the neck into the neck pocket. Not super tight but it'll leave a bit of room for alignment adjustment. I was worried the grain of the neck wouldn't go well with the flame maple top but it actually looks fantastic. Guthrie's going to be jealous, LOL.


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## Pikka Bird (Feb 9, 2016)

You definitely made the right choice with the inlay rings. 

I absolutely cannot ever go without a Sure Claw! I wish they'd make them for four springs though so I don't have to go for high tension springs every now and then.


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## electriceye (Feb 9, 2016)

You're putting together a REALLY nice axe. That flame top is sick. I see why you're sticking with the clear finish, but I'd take it a step further and apply a layer of black and then sand back to get a bigger 3D effect. But that's just me.  

Can't wait to see and hear the final project! 

BTW, I would give Muskrat a call just to ask if there was a specific reason the stud holes were drilled bigger.


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## Ape Factory (Feb 9, 2016)

electriceye, what sort of dye would you use to do that? I've not used dyes before, assuming just a wipe on water based stain like I could get at Stew Mac. I'm going to pick up some scrap to practice on so maybe I can try that as well and see if I like it. 

The maple top is very 3D, it shifts and changes depending on the angle but never goes bland. I'm a little worried a matt poly, something like what on my Strandberg, will completely "flatten" everything and blend some of the flame. Definitely open to suggestions.


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## electriceye (Feb 9, 2016)

Ape Factory said:


> electriceye, what sort of dye would you use to do that? I've not used dyes before, assuming just a wipe on water based stain like I could get at Stew Mac. I'm going to pick up some scrap to practice on so maybe I can try that as well and see if I like it.
> 
> The maple top is very 3D, it shifts and changes depending on the angle but never goes bland. I'm a little worried a matt poly, something like what on my Strandberg, will completely "flatten" everything and blend some of the flame. Definitely open to suggestions.



I'm not a finish expert, so can't say for 100% sure. I'm still a beginner myself. But from everything I've seen, you use black (I believe the big diff is alcohol-based won't raise the grain, water-based will) and sand it back, it just makes it that much more stark. 

Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken. I don't want this guy to ruin that top!


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## Ape Factory (Feb 9, 2016)

Lol, no worries, I'll do plenty of research first. Just haven't gotten to that point yet!


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## Millul (Feb 10, 2016)

This will be sick! No-fine-tuners Floyd is so cool! Is it the narrower string spacing version?


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## Ape Factory (Feb 10, 2016)

I didn't know there was a narrow spaced version! So I'm guessing not  Just a regular-spaced Floyd.


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## Ape Factory (Feb 15, 2016)

The rest of the neck mounting hardware came in. I ordered two different types of inserts, one stainless, one steel, with #8-32 machine screws, tapered flat top allen heads and neck ferrules in 14 and 15mm sizes. Should start to progress fairly quickly at this point.

Mated the neck to the body for a quick photo. The neck pocket has the 720 mod, it's .720" deep so the fretboard sits a mm or two above the body.


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## Floppystrings (Feb 16, 2016)

Who made that body for you? It looks great, that maple is perfect.


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## VanDewart Guitars (Feb 16, 2016)

This looks really nice, man! One thing I would recommend with the dyeing is to not stain black to pop the grain. I've gotten the best results using a darker color of the overall color. So if you're going for the natural maple look, you can stain with an amber, then sand that back to leave it in the flame. It will still pop the grain, but will look way more natural than a black would. 

I love the fretboard inlays too!


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## Ape Factory (Feb 16, 2016)

Musikraft made the body. Took some time due to finding a good top, torrefaction of the wood and the custom Floyd NFT route. Needs a bit of cleanup but not much, overall very happy with it.

Yeah I'm thinking amber for the stain, front and back now. Possibly even just using like a true-oil and then a matte poly over the top.


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## Ape Factory (Mar 7, 2016)

More photos and OCD in full bloom. I'm using Floyd's titanium bushings and despite the fact I'd sent them along with the trem, the resulting bushing holes were just a hair too large. I could insert and remove them with my fingers. So...Jamie thought the only right way to do things would be to plug and re-drill. Even if it meant there was only a micron sliver of the plug wood left. Only way to get it truly concentric and not move one bushing vs. the other due to shims.

Pics!


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## Pikka Bird (Mar 8, 2016)

^That's not OCD (if it was anything it'd be OC_P_D (sorry, my OCPD compelled me  )). Bushing holes must be tight as heck, because even the slightest wiggle room will snowball and make the hole into an oval eventually. That fix was necessary.


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## Ape Factory (Mar 8, 2016)

Good point!


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## electriceye (Mar 8, 2016)

Excellent fix, there!


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## cult (Mar 9, 2016)

Amazing fix, exceptionally clean work!
Following this with excitement.


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## CaptainD00M (Mar 9, 2016)

Ape Factory said:


> /IMG]



Interesting that the trem tone block came in the exact same packaging as commercial magic mushrooms do here in the Netherlands. Or so I've been told, *cough cough* 

Really clean work man, this looks like it will be a killer guitar.


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## Leberbs (Mar 9, 2016)

I've honestly never checked out the "Luthiery, Mods & Customs" before yesterday. There's some talent on this this site!


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## Ape Factory (Mar 25, 2016)

So there's been a snag. It appears the maple top is separating from the body ever so slightly down at the arm bevel. Also, two fine cracks have appeared in the top where the maple is splitting. I don't have great photos yet but was wondering if the body can be salvaged and what my best options are. 

I've got an email into the manufacturer to see what they say. Other than doweling the stud holes, no work has been done on the body. I know these sort of things don't fix themselves and never stay that small. The cracks are going to be a little hard to see in the photo as they follow the flame.

Any remedy for this that won't leave a blemish once I stain/coat the body? I didn't find out til late last night and I've not even had a chance to talk to Jamie but will do so today.


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## Kashmir (Mar 25, 2016)

^I'd fill those voids with some black timbermate


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## Hywel (Mar 25, 2016)

Talk to Musikraft. I think you're within the 90 day warranty period and you haven't made any obvious modifications to the body (although technically dowelling the posts will invalidate the warranty). If they won't help you then start thinking about fixes but until then, try and get a replacement or at least a partial refund.


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## Ape Factory (Apr 20, 2016)

So we're back on track. Sent the body into Musikraft and as expected, they did the bare minimum and flowed some (most likely) superglue into the two top cracks and it looks like they jammed some glue into the space along the edge of the arm contour and pressed it back down. There's glue residue/stain on the mahogany where they re-glued it. I think it'll sand off. The top cracks are still visible and I'm pretty sure the glue won't take stain or finish like the rest of the wood. It is what it is and I'm moving on. Still, for $800+ I expect more. 

So thing are going to move along quickly. We're in the process of getting the neck on straight and making sure string alignment is good. Once we have the neck where we want it, two more neck mounting holes will be drilled in the body. Oh yeah. Musikraft managed to offset the two pre-existing holes slightly skewed to one side. So...backtrack. Doweling both holes (which are also waaay bigger than M8 bolts) and redrilling. Since I'm using countersunk ferrules, they probably won't show. We'll see.

Anyway...inserts for the neck mounting M8 bolts too. Once the neck is on, we'll mark and drill for the tuners for 100% straight pull taking the tuner post radius into account. It'll be a reverse headstock. Once the tuner holes are drilled, I'll mark the headstock shape and cut away. It'll be a Parker-esque design and we may reinforce with carbon fiber on the back. Wenge's pretty tough so we'll see. 


The inserts sit where Musikraft drilled holes in the body. You can see how they'd be off on one side of the neck. Nice Musikraft! Seems you have issues drilling holes.





And temporary mounting of the neck. Going with unbleached bone nut.


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## Ape Factory (May 2, 2016)

More progress, neck mounting holes in body plugged and redrilled, mounting studs for neck and pickups are inserted, enlarged the wiring routing (large enough for quick disconnects), and lowered the pickup routes where the pickup legs would go.

The left corner of the heel will be shaved down at an angle and all the ferrules will be countersunk.

I'll admit I'm a bit lost on staining the top. I have amber dye and a piece of "test" flamed maple. I have a few test strips and several types of protective coating from a satin nitro to a matte poly. I'm not quite sure where I'm going with it but a lemon top (ala LP) is a possibility. I may try adding some darker brown dye to the mix.


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## BubbleWrap (May 2, 2016)

That wenge neck...


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## Ape Factory (May 28, 2016)

More updates...
Sculpted the heed for easier upper fret access.









Inserts all in on the neck now.





Neck screws and ferrules all countersunk. 





Next up, tuner holes drilled then the headstock shape gets finalized and cut. That'll be the last step before tearing everything apart for the body finishing.

So for finishing, I've been experimenting with some curly maple veneer and a chunk of mahogany. Here's the palate I have to work with, curly maple top, wenge neck, mahogany back.





I have a satin spray nitro, Minwax wipe-on satin poly and I think a tinted Reranch satin nitro as well. I also purchased Stew Mac's amber tint which I'm thinning with alcohol. 

Here's one sample where we have the dye on the maple, darkest left, fairly dark middle and sanded back on the right. Hard to tell the difference in the photo but I'd really like to do something similar to the Private Stock McCarty 594's that came out recently.
PRS Guitars Private Stock McCarty 594 - Guitar of the Month February 2016














I kind of like the sanded back look. I may try that first and I can always dye the top again for a more standard look. I think I've also settled on the wipe on poly. Just too easy to get right and it's super slick. I know I'll get more flame pop with a gloss finish but I might be willing to forego that. They make a gloss too so I may, at the very least, test that out.


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## Ape Factory (Jun 14, 2016)

More progress. The neck heel just disappears in my hands. The guitar is super light with no electronics, tremolo or pickups installed. Feels a bit neck heavy but that was with the full paddle headstock, 2/3 of which will be removed.

The headstock design was transferred over and the holes for the tuner shafts were calculated so the strings are direct pull with no angle side to side through the nut. The nut in the photos, obviously, is used for mockup purposes but it'll be an unbleached bone nut. I'll probably finesse a few angles on the headstock with block sanding as a few of the curves actually have little break angles in them. I wanted to make sure the headstock flared out enough I could hang it on the wall no problem. If there's any flex, I've got some dry prepreg carbon sheet to go on the back side.

A few minor details and adjustments will be made and then I'll do the electronics before taking everything apart and staining the body. Cannot wait to get done!

Sure claw installed...it'll also have the ESP trem stabilizer. 





Look close, 2-56 inserts for pickup mounting. The base of the pickup routes was lowered where the legs would go. Will use 2-56 machine screws which slide through the stock pickup mounting holes and don't destroy anything like the usual wood mount screws. 





Angle shot of the neck heel. Will be doing a bit of sanding to finesse the shape.





No gap between the fretboard and the body.





Shot of the lumen lay side dots.





Design transferred to the headstock. Loosing quite a bit of material!





Time to start drilling...













Tuners installed.





As she sits now!


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## Grif (Jun 16, 2016)

What tuners are those?


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## Prophetable (Jun 16, 2016)

Hipshot makes buttons like that. The "SK1"


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## Ape Factory (Jun 16, 2016)

Correct. Then you buy the tuner buttons which are also made by HS and swap them out.


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## electriceye (Jun 17, 2016)

Loving this!!


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## Ape Factory (Jun 17, 2016)

Yeah I can't wait til I get it all together. Making a wenge rear control plate attached with magnets yet. Then I have figure out what I'm going to do with the electronics, stain and seal it, and do final setup once it's reassembled. I've got about a dozen sets of pups to test out as well.


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## Ape Factory (Jun 24, 2016)

Alright, a bit more progress. I'll be doing the electronics over the next few days and take care of little odds and ends. Waiting for a piece of wenge to come in for the back cover. Jamie couldn't find one locally so it has to be ordered.

I did get some play time on it (obviously unplugged). It sounds wonderful unplugged and sustains really well, better than I thought it would. 

I took the time to weigh it and as it stands, with strings but no electronics, it's 6.4 pounds. It's ever so slightly neck heavy which'll change once the pickups are installed. I should end up with a low 7 pound guitar.

The Hipshot tuners. I thought the tuner "buttons" would make it difficult to tune, sort of like a Strandberg bridge. Not so. It's liquid. Super easy to turn and dial in. These are my first hipshots. Highly recommended. I've used just about everything out there and I actually rank these above PRS Phase 3's for overall feel. They're very solid too. I could have dropped some serious weight using the Gotoh stealths but I just liked the style of these with my planned headstock shape.

More images which just don't do the guitar justice. Hey, they're just iPhone pics. I'll pull out the big cameras when she's finished.

First official hang on the wall





Headshots









Back of the guitar, still have to install the ESP trem stabilizer. It's much smaller than the Goldo Blackbox and about 1/8th the weight.










Front shot, still deciding on control placement and I really, really want a four control layout but that'll mean the toggle is about where a 5-way would be meaning easy to hit. I thought about doing stacked pots too. That's all for now. Pulling the guitar apart to do the electronics and stain the body. Wish me luck on that one.


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## kerdeh (Jun 24, 2016)

What a beauty. That hardware has me drooling like none other.


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## Ape Factory (Jun 27, 2016)

A quick update, I've finished the electronics and gone with a four control/toggle layout. I've slotted in a Suhr Aldrich set with aged covers I did myself. Using 50's wiring for the time being, nothing fancy although I have a small hoard of push pull pots and I may do a split push/pull arrangement. Still lots of little things to do and the guitar's coming apart later tonight for the finish work to come. I need to adjust the radius of the Floyd although it plays great as is. I've got a bunch of shims and the procedure necessary to basically end up with an 18" radius.


I'm really torn about staining the top now as I'm liking the natural look more and more. Decisions.

Drilling for the controls was a hold your breath moment as there's no going back after the first is drilled. I used double sided tape to test out the control placement beforehand. I'm using Bornes mini-pots and I bought a bunch so I could match them. Right now I have all audio taper but I have linear pots as well if I feel the need. Just using Mojotone .022 PIO caps.






Template so I can wire everything outside the guitar:





One little trick I have, I use a plastic tubular liner (aka a straw) for the wire routing channels. That'll allow my quick disconnects to slide through without grabbing on the wood. I insert and measure, then cut to size. As I slide one end in, I use wood glue on the other end as it slides into the route. Let dry before using. The photos just show the straw going in. Once installed and cut to length, it's flush with the channel opening.









Controls installed!





The wires from the Suhr pickups are still pretty much full-length so they add a lot of clutter. Otherwise she's looking good.





I do plan on shielding the cavities but there's zero hum as it sits now so I may rethink.

The pickup routes are pretty exact. The neck pickup sits perfectly in the pocket and the brass insert/machine screw system is working well. I can get the pickup nice and low which was one of my concerns with the deeper neck pocket. I'm using start-type cone springs underneath the pickup legs. I've got a little lean on the bridge pickup so I'll use a bit of foam to keep it level. The Suhr leads have a thick plastic sheath around them and I think that's what's causing the lean. It's really, really slight.


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## Pikka Bird (Jun 28, 2016)

That's a gorgeous thing indeed, I like it a lot.

And that straw thrick seems nifty, gotta try that.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 28, 2016)

I'm totally nicking that straw idea. It's such a pain in the ass when rewiring to try and get the leads to actually feed into the route.


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## Spicypickles (Jun 28, 2016)

Guthrie vibe going hard. 


Looks great!


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## Ape Factory (Jun 28, 2016)

KnightBrolaire said:


> I'm totally nicking that straw idea. It's such a pain in the ass when rewiring to try and get the leads to actually feed into the route.



LOL, I hear you. You saw it here first! 

So last night I said I'd pull the guitar apart but I was REALLY curious about how a few of my pickups would sound. So I slotted what I knew would be a winner, a Rewind Creme Brûlée into the neck position. I don't have a matching bridge pickup at the moment but I do have a Rewind JP Pre72 neck (the bridge is in my semi-hollow). The Creme Brûlée sounds exceptional but the JP Pre-72 wasn't quite what I was looking for. So...next I have a new and a vintage JB. Unfortunately the vintage JB has long legs and I really need short legs. So the modern JB goes in next. I also have a set of BK Rebel Yells currently residing in my PRS so those'll probably get a shot too.

But speaking of stains...I got the gloss Minwax wipe on poly and I think I have a winner. SUPER LIGHT black dye first, then a fairly dark amber and finished off with the gloss poly. I don't plan on sanding it so it's really a semi-gloss from my test and really makes everything pop.
Here's one of my test veneers. The "winner" is the sample just below the black.









Wider shot, liking it with the double cream/zebra combo. I'm a big fan of nickel with a patina on it (aged) but this is a good look as well.





Detail shot showing how the pickups are mounted.


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## Ape Factory (Jun 28, 2016)

Pikka Bird said:


> That's a gorgeous thing indeed, I like it a lot.
> 
> And that straw thrick seems nifty, gotta try that.



One comment, I first determined what size I needed to pass my micro connectors through then I headed to a party store. Or you can play the google game and order plastic tubing on the internet. You can get a few trial sizes and see if they'll fit your stock cavities.

Jamie actually re-drilled the wiring routes with a larger bit. I've done so by hand in the past on other guitars but a good proper drilling setup is a far more preferable and accurate way to do things.


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## Grif (Jun 28, 2016)

I personally like the natural, but the amber doesn't look bad


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## Ape Factory (Jun 28, 2016)

Yeah I'm definitely torn...I am going to pull the wiring harness and test the back side first. It'll be covered with shielding paint anyway and I'll get an accurate assessment of the color and how it'll look.


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## Grif (Jun 28, 2016)

Something about the natural finish just seems to..fit, so well; whereas the amber looks good but -in my opinion- it kinda fights what's going on and takes away from the look you have going on of the stark maple vs the dark wenge and knobs. Obviously my vote goes to a natural finish, but it's your guitar. With that said I think it's worth getting the patina nickle pup covers at some point in time, the nice extra finishing touch


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## Ape Factory (Jun 28, 2016)

Definite appreciate the feedback, thanks!


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## Prophetable (Jun 28, 2016)

I like the amber.


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## Ape Factory (Jun 28, 2016)

Crap,will need to start a poll!


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## Pikka Bird (Jun 28, 2016)

Ape Factory said:


> One comment, I first determined what size I needed to pass my micro connectors through then I headed to a party store. Or you can play the google game and order plastic tubing on the internet. You can get a few trial sizes and see if they'll fit your stock cavities.



Seems wise. In my experience it's difficult to get large diameter straws here. Perhaps the milkshake straws from McD will do fine?

...

Oh, a vote for natural from me, btw.


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## shadowlife (Jun 28, 2016)

This guitar is turning out incredible.


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## Spicypickles (Jun 29, 2016)

Natty, always.


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## BlackMastodon (Jun 29, 2016)

Every time I see this guitar I love it more. Natural definitely suits it well but if you were to stain it, amber would be the only right answer.
I vote natural, though.


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## Ape Factory (Jun 29, 2016)

I did a bunch of test swatches inside the control cavity, just a clear plus various Amber and black stain combos. Will take photos of them when I get home. Haven't seen them as I did the tests late last night and wanted them to dry before taking a peek.


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## MoonJelly (Jun 29, 2016)

Black + Amber = Blamber

I vote blamber.


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## electriceye (Jun 30, 2016)

The dark amber one in between the pickups is sick!!!


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## Ape Factory (Jul 23, 2016)

Sorry for the lack of updates as of late, just super busy with work and daily life. Anyway, I've spent some time "studying" how to use liquid dye in either water or alcohol to stain a guitar and been running additional tests. 

I sanded the body down again with 400 grit, slightly off axis of the grain which turns top to bottom. I did apply a light black coating which once dried, you could hardly tell it was there. I then did what was really a not-dark-enough amber dye which honestly just came out yellow. I wet the wood prior to using the dye which I suspended in water to help promote an even application. Was really easy, honestly, but as I said, I didn't go dark enough.

So...I ended up sanding that mostly off. And I think I like the results. It has enough yellow to turn what I hope is a faint golden glow once the top protective coat is applied. 

I remixed some of the amber dye, this time much more concentrated, but I've chickened out. I can't bring myself to apply it to the guitar for fear I'll hate it.

I've not sanded the radius around the top of the body as much for a bit of a faux binding look.

My real worry is once I apply the wipe-on poly that it won't look a thing like what it does when I wipe the body down with alcohol.

Dry body. There's just a hint of yellow overall:





Apply alcohol and the grain really pops. iPhone photos don't really do it justice but it has a very 3D effect. It's a little blotchy in appearance as the alcohol evaporates quickly.









I need to stain the back of the mahogany a bit and sand that down yet. The edges of the body have a slight stain to them (the amber dye) and I can see a line where I didn't dye the body despite me sanding everything down.

Frankly, manning up to apply the poly finish is going to be a tough one. I need to grow a pair and just do it. I just don't want to eff it up.

On another note, a BIG shout out to Jason Ungleich at Hipshot. He sent me black washers and nuts to replace the silver washers and nuts for the tuners. Due to the small headstock shape, I felt the silver washer and nut sort of overwhelmed everything. The black washer (two sizes, I used the smaller one) and nut help to minimize everything. Much better IMO. Anyway, I thought it was super cool of him to send them out. Very much appreciated and glad to know a company like that does nice things for the little guys occasionally. I'll definitely use their products going forward.





I've yet to order more wenge for the back cover and truss cover but that'll get done in the next day or two.


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## Ape Factory (Jul 25, 2016)

Ok a few pics with the protective coating on the guitar. I've got two coats on the top/sides and that'll be enough. Will do one more coat on the back tomorrow. It's still wet so it's darker than it'll be once it dries. The flame changes and shimmers depending on how you move it. Looks really good in person and can't wait to snap a few pics on proper daylight.

The amber dye added just the right amount of that golden hue to the mahogany and maple.


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## Tonejunkie (Jul 25, 2016)

Ape Factory said:


> Sorry for the lack of updates as of late, just super busy with work and daily life. Anyway, I've spent some time "studying" how to use liquid dye in either water or alcohol to stain a guitar and been running additional tests.
> 
> I sanded the body down again with 400 grit, slightly off axis of the grain which turns top to bottom. I did apply a light black coating which once dried, you could hardly tell it was there. I then did what was really a not-dark-enough amber dye which honestly just came out yellow. I wet the wood prior to using the dye which I suspended in water to help promote an even application. Was really easy, honestly, but as I said, I didn't go dark enough.
> 
> ...



I had a few issues with an order and Jason also went above and beyond to help me out....Great service an great products.......Sweet build BTW


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## Ape Factory (Jul 28, 2016)

With the finish complete and the cavities covered in shielding paint, I put everything together last night and even got to play her for a bit. I still need to do the final setup and tweak a few things. Haven't adjusted the truss rod but with string height at less than 2mm, there's no buzz, zero dead spots, just plays well up and down the neck. I do have to adjust the shims as the high and low E is a hair higher. Taking out one shim may solve my Floyd issue with the screw not going in straight.

The shielding paint comes in a spray can for nice, easy and an even application. Means you have to meticulously tape everything off but it's worth that tiny bit of extra effort.













Still drying in this photo...





This is what it looks like dry. Yes, I put screws into my pickup mounting inserts before spraying.













Slid the harness back in along with pickups and snapped everything together. No soldering! The neck is a Rewind Creme Brûlée and the bridge is supposed to be a "vintage" JB but it's output is too high to be a vintage JB. Will most likely swap in a different magnet.





Closeup of the quick disconnect ends. If anyone wants to see how I make these, go here, has all the sources for parts. http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=304587





JB installed. I managed to drop it and cracked the cream bobbin. Grr. I ended up transforming the long legs into a short legs and re-drilling the pickup mounting holes. Yes, those are red base plates (to match the red springs of course!) on the pickups. The neck is the double cream.









Everything in, tested, and ready to go! Now where's that neck...





Jimmy approves.













The wenge for the rear and truss cover has not arrived yet. Other than that and the final setup, she's done. Once that's complete I'll take proper photos with the big cameras as the iPhone and mixed, multiple light sources just doesn't do the guitar justice.


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## pondman (Jul 28, 2016)

Excellent


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## Spicypickles (Jul 28, 2016)

no me gusta the missing like button.


That thing is dirty!!!


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## Ape Factory (Jul 28, 2016)

Yeah I was wondering about that...did the site take them away or something?


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## neun Arme (Jul 29, 2016)

Very cleean work, man.


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## Ape Factory (Jul 29, 2016)

Found the link to my quick connect how to thread for those interested.
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=304587


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## BlackMastodon (Jul 29, 2016)

This build is so classy.

Do you have a link for the shielding paint for those of us who don't like fiddling with copper tape?


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## Ape Factory (Jul 29, 2016)

I think I got it from Mouser Electronics. Will have to find my email receipt. Try googling the brand name. It's supposed to be the best stuff you can buy. That can would last for 200 builds easy.


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## FourT6and2 (Jul 29, 2016)

Looks awesome!

Make sure to check continuity between electronics cavity shielding paint and the back of the cavity cover (which I assume you also shielded), otherwise your shielding won't actually do anything. Doesn't look like there's any shielding or anything up over the edge of the cavity. So you'll want to find a way to make the cover contact.


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## Ape Factory (Jul 29, 2016)

Ok so I should probably coat the inside of cavity cover and the lip around the actual cavity? I will be counter sinking screws into the lip and magnets will be adhered to the cover.


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## Ape Factory (Jul 30, 2016)

BlackMastodon said:


> This build is so classy.
> 
> Do you have a link for the shielding paint for those of us who don't like fiddling with copper tape?



Yep, bought it from Mouser.
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/MG-Chemicals/841-340G/?qs=X5SXQx2ktnMdgW%2bQI%2bdK6A==


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## FourT6and2 (Jul 30, 2016)

Ape Factory said:


> Ok so I should probably coat the inside of cavity cover and the lip around the actual cavity? I will be counter sinking screws into the lip and magnets will be adhered to the cover.



Yeah, you need something to connect the cover (which should be shielded as well) to the shielding of the cavity. Same with the pickup cavities. The shielding needs a connection to ground to work. But maybe the screws attached to the pickups are doing that. In the control cavity, I assume the pots are making that ground connection so you should be good. But check with a meter.

For example, here's how Mayones does it with copper foil. You can see the little lip around the edge. This contacts the foil on the back of the cover.


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## Ape Factory (Jul 30, 2016)

Ah makes sense. I'll go ahead and spray the lip then too. Thanks for the photo!

As for the pickup cavities, the screws will indeed do that as the paint is also covering the top of the inserts 

Last night was the first time I was able to play the guitar in anger. Family was out of the house and I was able to crank things up in peace so to speak. I'd played at low volume levels the other night but cranking things up was a whole new ballgame. I play through a Kemper+monitors and they do sound better at volume. Anyway, the guitar just sings. Really has a lot of sustain, easily as much as my Strandberg. I had the bridge JB pickup fairly low and I had to swap out to longer screws to raise it. I raised it way up, fairly close to the strings and it made a huge difference. I initially thought the JB would be lacking on the low end but definitely not the case with it properly adjusted. Have to say the Rewind Creme Brûlée is a perfect match to the JB bridge. The middle position adds a good deal of versatility in dialing in the tone with the four controls and the neck isn't too dark. Just right really. Can really get anything you want out of it (two humbucker tones anyway). I don't feel it sounds like it has a trem, let alone a Floyd, but I should probably pick up and play a singlecut right after to compare. It doesn't get a plinky, thin sound like some Floyds can produce. Not sure if it's just the better contact between the saddles and the base plate, the titanium trem block or all of the above. The pickups don't loose their sustain when you turn the volume down either. I've experienced where the pickup's decay was so rapid after turning them down to say six, that the guitar became uninspiring to play. Using the tone knob will soften them a bit as it's "50's" wiring and can get some wicked woman tones with it dialed way down.

Attack isn't as aggressive as my Strandberg. I'd say it leans towards the aggressive side with the pickups that are in there. It's a bit more ambitious than an LP or PRS SC58 which I consider about midway between hard and soft attack. It's very responsive to pick attack and how you play. Honestly, it makes me wonder why I pay (more) for off the shelf guitars. I think I saved about $2K vs. buying a Govan. Sorry Guthrie.

Really happy. Plays great and I don't even have it set up perfectly yet, haven't done the final saddle height adjustment. The Warmoth V neck is more severe than the Musikraft V profile but it's honestly wonderful. I usually go for the 59 roundback but this is really nice as it sort of bridges the gap between having meat out back at the v's pinnacle yet small shoulders which I prefer. Upper fret access is great being a strat shape and I don't notice the heel. The whole guitar has a nice big, defined sound. Both pickups sing for solo work. I've not found a "meh" moment yet with it. I didn't even really notice the frets which means they're just right. No dead spots, no howling, louder notes, just nice and even all up and down the neck.

I know the cork sniffers cringe at any mention of poly but the satin poly finish on my strandberg convinced me. On this guitar it's just very soft but slick feel, and not the least bit sticky, just like the neck which is raw wood. Time will tell how it'll hold up. It's probably microns thick as opposed to mm thick on most poly finished, mass market guitars.

Next step is sending the Rewind pickup back to James. I found a copper strand that wasn't tightly wound and I may have injured the pickup somehow when I removed the cover or swapped over to a short leg base. Still sounded great. He's going to put his own proper short leg base (has a process where the base is threaded the first time the screws are installed for tighter fit) and also convert it to a four wire so I can install push/pull pots down the road. Haven't installed the ESP trem stabilizer yet either. 

I have to admit, I'm actually surprised it turned out so well. Parts guitars can always be a crap shoot and I've had good luck with all of mine and have kept them all but one which was a duplicate.


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## Ape Factory (Aug 31, 2016)

Well she's pretty much finished!. I am just absolutely stoked at how great the guitar plays and sounds.. Man I know it's the honeymoon thing but the four control layout really gives the guitar a wide palate of sounds.. I haven't even done the push/pull pots for some split tones yet.. As promised, higher quality photos.. I didn't have decent light today (overcast) so I'm hoping to do a few outdoor shots in the sun as well.

The last steps were to do the covers for the truss rod and the the control cavity, shield the control cavity cover, install magnets in all the covers (no screws visible), re-install the Rewind Creme Brûlée neck pickup (James did a short leg base and converted it to four wire, all for free because he's the man and has great customer service), final setup and micro polish the frets.. I bought some slabs of wenge, book matched, off of ebay.. There was plenty of material for Jamie to experiment in making the covers.. He really went above and beyond.

He used a pantograph to cut the covers and it's variable from 1:1 to 16:1.. Here's the pattern (it's really big) with the first truss cover:
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Tracing...





And cutting at the other end.
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Final product, one of two.. Second one was sans screw holes.. I chose to go with a section that looks like the fretboard instead of the straight grain of the neck for contrast purposes.
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## Ape Factory (Aug 31, 2016)




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## neun Arme (Aug 31, 2016)

Great build dude, gorgeous guitar.


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## ramses (Aug 31, 2016)

... dude ...


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## Vinchester (Aug 31, 2016)

That red baseplate and zebra pups and really everything about the guitar... wow!!
Thanks for posting this awesome build!


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## electriceye (Sep 1, 2016)

With all due respect to the other builders on here, that has to be one of THE nicest builds I've ever seen on here - or anywhere else. Stunning job, man.


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## warped (Sep 1, 2016)

Great build! I like the luminlay side dots and fretboard marker ideas.
Are the inserts for your neck Stainless Steel? Can I ask where you got them from?


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## Ape Factory (Sep 1, 2016)

Yep, stainless knife-edge inserts and machine screws. Got them off of eBay. Lemme go find the link...

Found.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4ZU57-Knife-Thread-Insert-SS-8-32-Pk-5-/221566572803?hash=item3396659903


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## warped (Sep 2, 2016)

Ape Factory said:


> Yep, stainless knife-edge inserts and machine screws. Got them off of eBay. Lemme go find the link...
> 
> Found.
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/4ZU57-Knife-Thread-Insert-SS-8-32-Pk-5-/221566572803?hash=item3396659903



Cheers! Ordering some now


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