# Vapula custom 8-string build progress/gallery



## theGirthquake (Mar 30, 2014)

I've posted about this before on here, but he's started on it now so I'm going to keep it contained in a running thread with build pics all the way through unboxing and 

Peter of Vapula Guitars (guy that made Jens Kidman's custom JKV8 and JK Empire Explorer 8) is making me an absolute leviathan of an axe. Basic specs we decided on: 
- His Empire Explorer body style (basically a Gibson Explorer with slightly more aggressive lines), because pretty much nothing is more consistently devastating than an Explorer
- wenge neck-through, alder body, walnut top and ebony fretboard
- 8-string, 28" scale, 16" radius, black horn nut, TOM bridge, string-through, SS frets, hipshot locking tuners
- Lundgren M8Cs

Let me say that Peter has been incredible to work with. He's a hell of a guy and spent a ton of time with me (via email of course, Sweden/USA) going over every little detail and was more than happy to throw out ideas when I wasn't sure. He's got a great attitude and a ton of skill. But, of course, the bottom line is the finished product, right? So I'm chronicling this as basically a PSA for people who're in the ER market and are considering options beyond Carvin/Ibanez/Agile/etc.


_Without further ado, _

Bridge and pups arrived:







So about the bridge--there are no production TOM-style 8-string bridges out right now. As far as I know, only ABM makes them per custom order. Jens Kidman got up with them and had a handful made for his customs called the JK edition. Two of his custom 8-strings can be seen on the guitarchive, both Vapula...well when talking to Peter, I was pretty dead-set on a TOM bridge. This is how badass this dude is--he got up with Jens and asked him for the last one. For this guitar. How ....ing sweet is this:


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## theGirthquake (Mar 30, 2014)

Initial build pics:


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## Hollowway (Mar 30, 2014)

This is gonna be cool!


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## 8StringX (Mar 30, 2014)

I can't wait to see it finished!
I like that Vapula isn't afraid of building 8-strings with aggressive shapes, not to mention the metal plating.


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## SevenStringJones (Mar 30, 2014)

This is gonna be so sexy, can't wait for updates.


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## theGirthquake (Apr 6, 2014)

New haul of pics!!


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## tastehbacon (Apr 7, 2014)

That wood is giving me wood.
jfc


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## theGirthquake (Apr 7, 2014)

In case anyone was wondering, he decided to put an alder veneer on the back due to the big difference in hardness between the wenge and alder wings. Sanding would produce a subtle difference in height and since we're finishing the back in solid black the neck through lines could be visible. The veneer will keep it flawless.

On an unrelated note, he's wiring the pups in a series/parallel configuration switchable with push/pull pots, should be pretty sweet with those lundgrens


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## Lickers (Apr 7, 2014)

That's ace - especially scoring that bridge. A very unique addition and a great part of the story.


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## mr_ormus777 (Apr 8, 2014)

This is going to be incredible, pardon my ignorance but what wood is the top?


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## theGirthquake (Apr 8, 2014)

Walnut top over alder body and wenge neck-through, ebony fretboard and alder back veneer. I think it's going to sound incredible


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## mr_ormus777 (Apr 10, 2014)

I agree


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## Hollowway (Apr 11, 2014)

This is awesome. The only thing that could be more exciting is if Scott Bakula played a Vapula.


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## theGirthquake (Apr 13, 2014)

I forgot to mention, but in case it wasn't clear all photo credit goes to Peter Arnildstam of Vapula Guitars!
















sweeeet.


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## Shawn (Apr 13, 2014)

That's looking great! Nice work so far.


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 14, 2014)




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## theGirthquake (Apr 14, 2014)

forgive me, but why did this get moved? though I'm sure it is also appropriate here this was meant more for the ERG crowd, NGD pics will come when it arrives...


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Apr 14, 2014)

.


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## BlackMastodon (Apr 14, 2014)

Build threads generally go in the Luthiery section. Looking good, though!


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## User Name (Apr 14, 2014)

DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> .



cutting the inlay out


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## theGirthquake (Apr 14, 2014)

BlackMastodon said:


> Build threads generally go in the Luthiery section. Looking good, though!



Works for me! I agree, he'll be getting to the sanding soon, can't wait to see how the finished shape turns out


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## Alikingravi (Apr 15, 2014)

Dude ... you have got the most ultimate combination of woods! All of them are my favorite. The build is coming out superb. Best of luck!


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## theGirthquake (Apr 15, 2014)

Alikingravi said:


> Dude ... you have got the most ultimate combination of woods! All of them are my favorite. The build is coming out superb. Best of luck!



you have good taste, friend  thank you!


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## FermentedAndOffal (Apr 21, 2014)

oh jebus. Gimme gimme.


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## charlessalvacion (Apr 23, 2014)

Awesome build! More pics! hehe


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## Hollowway (Apr 23, 2014)

Fap-ula!


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## theGirthquake (May 4, 2014)

Sorry for delay folks, been busy...more pics!!


staining






first layer of clear





look at it soaking into that walnut





back in black. decided to drill the string-through holes parallel to the bridge rather than the back edge for better intonation and sound










now if that aint a flawless finish on that back i don't know what is





decided to stain and coat the neck a little too, but keep it satiny to keep it fast





this think looks evil already \m/ ...I'm getting off on those lines, simultaneously classy and brutal as all hell





hell yeah





nut


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## jwade (May 4, 2014)

Hollowway said:


> This is awesome. The only thing that could be more exciting is if Scott Bakula played a Vapula.



Somehow missed this earlier. It was a mistake to be taking a sip of coffee while reading this 


As for the guitar itself, am I right in thinking that the neck isn't angled? I'm seeing the recessed TOM bridge and I'm wondering if the decision was made to skip doing an angle like a regular Explorer would have.
*tried to ninja that picture and it won't embed*


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## Hollowway (May 4, 2014)

jwade said:


> Somehow missed this earlier. It was a mistake to be taking a sip of coffee while reading this
> 
> 
> As for the guitar itself, am I right in thinking that the neck isn't angled? I'm seeing the recessed TOM bridge and I'm wondering if the decision was made to skip doing an angle like a regular Explorer would have.



Yeah, I had a sweet little Quantum Leap pic there, but it looks like whoever was hosting it took it down. 

And I gotta say, that's a pretty sweet looking neck heel on that thing! I'm loving that.


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## theGirthquake (May 4, 2014)

> As for the guitar itself, am I right in thinking that the neck isn't angled? I'm seeing the recessed TOM bridge and I'm wondering if the decision was made to skip doing an angle like a regular Explorer would have.



You are spot on, straight neck and recessed bridge. 



> neck heel



Sorry for screwy quotes, this smart phone is far from it. Yeah I am thrilled with his heel design, I can't wait to play it. I guess that goes without saying, though...


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## jwade (May 4, 2014)

That's cool. I'm planning my 8 string build, still flip-flopping between an Explorer or an Iceman, unsure if I should do an angle or not, but either way, it's nice to see what the recessed TOM/no angle neck looks like on an Explorer. Digging it! This guitar looks absurdly gorgeous as well, in general. You must be spazzing in excitement every time there's another picture.


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## theGirthquake (May 4, 2014)

jwade said:


> That's cool. I'm planning my 8 string build, still flip-flopping between an Explorer or an Iceman, unsure if I should do an angle or not, but either way, it's nice to see what the recessed TOM/no angle neck looks like on an Explorer. Digging it! This guitar looks absurdly gorgeous as well, in general. You must be spazzing in excitement every time there's another picture.



Yeah that can be tough, both are tone monsters...I hear the iceman can be neck heavy, could have some pretty severe neck dive with an 8 string neck, but might have even fatter sound than the explorer all else being equal. But I guess that's why you go custom, to fix things like that! 

Yeah I'm like a freakin kid on christmas eve right now, I can't wait to get my mitts on this axe. I'll let Peter know his work is appreciated over here


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## Alex Kenivel (May 4, 2014)

Looking good!


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## theGirthquake (May 5, 2014)

Some more "general area pics" and an opinion request, so read below (keep in mind the fretboard will be oiled much darker)...

















Now...trying to decide on a pick guard. I think I have what I want in mind, but just for fun I'd like to know what you folks think. He's got a black one made, or we could go with an off-white (didn't have off-white on hand so he approximated it with white paper...just imagine it matching the off-white logo/trussrod cover/inlay), see pics below for mock-ups. Or, of course, no pick guard? Again, the fret board will be much darker after he oils it. 

Give it some classy contrast and go with off-white pickguard and truss-rod cover?






Here's my shitty MS Paint attempt at colorizing it a little closer to what it would be:












Or keep it brutal and aggressive with the nailed-in black pick guard and black truss rod cover:

















The black one would look like this when finished:


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## eddiewarlock (May 5, 2014)

No pickguard...


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## Prophetable (May 7, 2014)

I actually like that pickguard as it is, without the rivets.


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## ElysianGuitars (May 7, 2014)

That wenge grain on the neck looks amazing.


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## jwade (May 7, 2014)

I think the guitar looks gorgeous on it's own with no pickguard. Really makes the inlay stand out.


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## Knarbens (May 8, 2014)

May I ask you some questions in respect of the finish?
How did you apply the finish? &#8211; Looks like the guitar is laying on the pic. Did you went with a satin type of finish or did you dull it afterwards (or both)? How did you get that smooth and even satin look?


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## OfArtAndArsenal (May 8, 2014)

Very nice man! My question is: why would you get such a nice piece of walnut and then paint it black?


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## theGirthquake (May 8, 2014)

Knarbens said:


> May I ask you some questions in respect of the finish?
> How did you apply the finish? &#8211; Looks like the guitar is laying on the pic. Did you went with a satin type of finish or did you dull it afterwards (or both)? How did you get that smooth and even satin look?



I'll tell you my secret...I paid someone else to do it  This is the work of Vapula Guitars, he's just sending me pictures of the build along the way and I'm posting them here. You'd have to ask him...



OfArtAndArsenal said:


> Very nice man! My question is: why would you get such a nice piece of walnut and then paint it black?



I was actually surprised I didn't see more of this sentiment once I posted the pics with stain/paint. The answer is, because I have plenty of woody guitars and this build was meant for one thing--all out war. I'm all for showing off the beauty of choice woods, but this guitar was designed/spec'd/built for pure death and black metal. When it comes to metal I'm pretty old-school...I write it straight-forward, fast, loud, brutal, unrelenting, no frills...and I wanted my custom axe to reflect that. 

But I'm bored to tears by glossy jet black guitars, so that's why we chose the color/finish we did for this one. From a distance (i.e. on stage) it'll look very dark but up close you can still admire the depth and grain of the wood. When he's closer to finished and after I've received it I'll post some more representative woodporn.


Also, for the record, I've narrowed it down to the black pick guard or possibly none. I was having trouble deciding how I wanted to round out the color scheme, I saw two choices:
1) dark horse: black truss rod cover, black/no pickguard, black hardware, only the ivory inlay and logo
2) minimal contrast: ivory truss rod cover, black/no pickguard, with ivory inlay and logo...but I felt it needed something ivory on the body to balance out the truss rod cover
After some brainstorming, I figured the best option was to put ivory knobs on it to achieve that balanced contrast. But after a bunch of searching I couldn't find any ivory/cream/off-white knobs that weren't plastic or otherwise crappy looking. But finally I stumbled upon these, so that's what we ordered: 







I think it'll look pretty awesome


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## Alex Kenivel (May 8, 2014)

I love the finish.. And I like either no pick guard or the off white one, personally


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## theGirthquake (May 8, 2014)

Yeah, I mean there's not really a poor choice here...I think we're just gonna put it off til the very end and see what it looks like once all the hardware and fret color is on


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## CaptainLuckeyBeard (May 8, 2014)

Spalted maple pickguard because contrast or something...also...spalt 

Hah that would be logistically horrifying to do properly, I'm a big fan of that balanced contrast look too. Classy yet brutal. Best combination out there


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## Knarbens (May 9, 2014)

theGirthquake said:


> I'll tell you my secret...I paid someone else to do it  This is the work of Vapula Guitars, he's just sending me pictures of the build along the way and I'm posting them here. You'd have to ask him...



Ah  never heard of Vapula before. Guess that's what I get for not reading the thread


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## Slunk Dragon (May 9, 2014)

My vote is on either the white or the solid black, with no rivets, though. Keeping it plain would make it look pretty brutal, IMO, but hey, whatever tickles your fancy, go for it!


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## theGirthquake (May 18, 2014)

Done! Decided against a pick guard altogether, might "black it out" by swapping the switch knob and truss rod cover with black versions, but in any event it's ready to ship! He says it looks and plays like a dream. This thing is so sick I don't know what to do with myself. It's simple, clean, and devastating. It's not what people normally think of when you say high-end custom, and I love that about it. It's a true player, made to melt faces and crush souls. 

Here we go!

Vapula Guitars
- Empire Explorer body
- 28" 8-string neck-through string-through
- Wenge neck
- Macassar ebony fret board
- Alder wings
- Walnut top
- Alder back veneer
- Black TUSQ nut
- Lundgren M8Cs, wired for series and parallel with push-pull pots
- Custom Jens Kidman Edition 8-str TOM bridge, recessed for straight neck
- Hipshot locking tuners, recessed
- Stainless steel frets
- 100% hand-made

















When it arrives I'll take some more detailed pics under various light to really show off the craftsmanship. Stay tuned, I'll link to a NGD thread in the ER forum. 

_*Edited to add specs_


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## AKan (May 18, 2014)

wow... That looks really good.


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## FIXXXER (May 18, 2014)

looks cool man!

you should definitively eliminate the white parts!


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## Tom Drinkwater (May 18, 2014)

Great looking guitar! That neck profile (and everything else too) is very cool.


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## crg123 (May 18, 2014)

Fvcking awesome.


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## Slunk Dragon (May 19, 2014)

Noice! 8-string Explorer for the win!


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## theGirthquake (May 23, 2014)

Shipped yesterday! Should be here next week \m/


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## pondman (May 23, 2014)

Very nice. 
How thin is that body ?
BTW you got the inlay upside down


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## theGirthquake (May 23, 2014)

Oops! Guess I'll just have to play metal with it now...

Body thickness, I don't actually have a number for you, I'll measure when I get it. It's a lot of wood, which is what I wanted...I'm a pretty big guy, weight isn't really an issue even for those endurance sessions


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## theGirthquake (May 30, 2014)

Arrived yesterday! If you don't mind, I'll direct you to the NGD thread over in the ERG forum...


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## TheLyrm (Jul 29, 2014)

oh god that's hot


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