# New Build: Baritone 7 Buckeye Burl



## penguin_316 (Feb 5, 2014)

I didn't even bother to make a thread for this build i started a few days before new years 13'. Here we go, well on my way already.

27" Baritone 7
Body: Semi-Hollow African Mahoghany with Buckeye Burl top and black binding
Neck: Zebrawood with scarf joint of walnut+Maple+Buckeye Burl+black binding, 2 way truss rod and 2 carbon fiber rods, Ebony fretboard+ivoroid binding, Graphtech nut
General Electronics: Swiftcraft jack and 3 way toggle, 500k push pull Volume(undecided on "pull" configuration)
Pickups: Bare Knuckle Juggernaut set

Hipshot bridge and Sperzel locking tuners(lefty in line)












Last one is of the body after one coat of oil...




More to come soon...Got my BKP Juggernauts on the way.


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## Pezshreds (Feb 5, 2014)

Holy bloody fricken hell. Looks soooo gooooood


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## FIXXXER (Feb 6, 2014)

looks good so far, however the top seems to have a gap, 
or does it jsut look like that on the picture?


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## timbale (Feb 6, 2014)

penguin_316 said:


> Last one is of the body after one coat of oil...
> 
> 
> 
> ...




this looks INSANE! WOW!


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## sol niger 333 (Feb 6, 2014)

WOOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHHH grey white and red ftw...no stain!!! just clear coat matte and you're done! Damn dude


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## WiseSplinter (Feb 6, 2014)

It looks like some kind of infected rotting alien carcass about to burst forth a torrent of putrid worms... I love it! Really awesome colours/contrast going on.


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## Coreysaur (Feb 6, 2014)

Looks really clean and that top is just an eye candy. How long have you been building guitars?


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## Cloudy (Feb 6, 2014)

Wow this is one of my favourite build threads, jeez that is a beaut.


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## Cosmic Junglist (Feb 6, 2014)

The colours and figure coming through in the buckeye top redefine the word stunning. A most triumphant find!


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## penguin_316 (Feb 6, 2014)

FIXXXER said:


> looks good so far, however the top seems to have a gap,
> or does it jsut look like that on the picture?



There is a small gap between the 2 bookmatched pieces. If you have ever worked with buckeye burl or spalted maple you might know why. I can be brittle and prone to tearout. i got it as close as I could without risking ruining the bookmatch or having a catastrophic tearout.

Maple quilt/flame tops for example are far easier to have 0 gap, since the wood is rock hard...food for thought.

Off and on, I have built guitars since 2000. Last year I built 2 for the first time since prolly 2004 though haha.

Thanks for checking it out guys, appreciate it.


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## cwhitey2 (Feb 6, 2014)

Holy shit that top 



Freaking awesome!


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## Riley (Feb 6, 2014)

penguin_316 said:


> There is a small gap between the 2 bookmatched pieces. If you have ever worked with buckeye burl or spalted maple you might know why. I can be brittle and prone to tearout. i got it as close as I could without risking ruining the bookmatch or having a catastrophic tearout.
> 
> Maple quilt/flame tops for example are far easier to have 0 gap, since the wood is rock hard...food for thought.
> 
> ...



Carve out a slot for an inlay over that gap and pretend it was intentional. Looks great though I am working on a similar one with mahogany back and lightly burled poplar top.


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## penguin_316 (Feb 6, 2014)

It's less than a mm, with a very busy top already. I have run a strip of binding down a centerline on a splat maple top before and it looked good, but I don't think it's needed here. I'll decide whether it's needed as I go along I guess.


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## Riley (Feb 6, 2014)

penguin_316 said:


> It's less than a mm, with a very busy top already. I have run a strip of binding down a centerline on a splat maple top before and it looked good, but I don't think it's needed here. I'll decide whether it's needed as I go along I guess.



Ya, I think it looks fine.


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## IbanezDaemon (Feb 6, 2014)

Great work so far. That top is amazing.


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## madloff (Feb 6, 2014)

Wow dude I really love the top of that thing. Overall this build is gonna turn out awesome. Excited to see the finished product!


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## sol niger 333 (Feb 6, 2014)

Black schaller hannes bridge?

http://www.paytons.com.au/img/large/44722.jpg


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## penguin_316 (Feb 6, 2014)

I really wanted to use a Hannes 7 string bridge for this, but, there have been quite a few complaints in the "sounds dull" category regarding them. I'll stick with Hipshot, they've always sounded killer. I grind the edges of the saddles anyway for that same smooth feel.


Oh, and my Juggs arrived today. Open coil, black bolts.


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## FIXXXER (Feb 7, 2014)

penguin_316 said:


> There is a small gap between the 2 bookmatched pieces. If you have ever worked with buckeye burl or spalted maple you might know why. I can be brittle and prone to tearout. i got it as close as I could without risking ruining the bookmatch or having a catastrophic tearout.



i am aware of that, it wasn't meant to be a negative comment,
i really like the build and i am planing to get something siilar done! 

just wondering if there is any way to avoid these gaps. 
maybe filling the wood up could work, it could leave a clear mark though, 
that again is not any better than a gap.


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## penguin_316 (Feb 7, 2014)

FIXXXER said:


> i am aware of that, it wasn't meant to be a negative comment,
> i really like the build and i am planing to get something siilar done!
> 
> just wondering if there is any way to avoid these gaps.
> ...



No offense taken, some woods are just very hard to get a laser edge on. Making any gap blend in is also impossible due to the variation of colors present, it will just stand out more. Once I'm done I ll see what should be done about it. No one who has seen it in person even noticed, all non guitarists though lol.


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## FIXXXER (Feb 7, 2014)

haha, yeah i have a very very critical eye! 

stoked to see how this turns out. 
i had the idea of laser cutting the edges, maybe this 
could give a completely clean edge as there is no "abrasion" while cutting...


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## Prophetable (Feb 7, 2014)

The black and red in this burl is outstanding.


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## MattyinChains (Feb 11, 2014)

Superb top.


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## straymond (Feb 11, 2014)

good lord, that's some epic sweetness!
Is that headstock your own design?


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## penguin_316 (Feb 11, 2014)

Yes it is my own thing, been putting it on all my guitars. When I say it's my own thing, I mean it's my rendition of the same headstock shapes used by all luthiers since the early 1900s with marginal changes. So yes, ultra original design lol.


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## isthathenry (Feb 11, 2014)

Absolutely my favorite wood for guitars. Very excited to see this completed.


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## shikamaru (Feb 12, 2014)

my god that top


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## penguin_316 (Feb 12, 2014)

I strung this up last night, sounding awesome. Just need to: finish up fretwork crowning and polishing, do the oil finish, install electronics+shielding, create backplates and brassblock (might go with string ferrules but i do love my blocks lol).

My truss rod cover is still in progress as well...but wrapping this up shortly. Keep in mind the nut isnt glued in and the tuning pegs aren't bolted down. Had some string slippage tuning it up to standard.

PSon't panic if you see imperfections in the finish this is simply a wet coat...to be sanded back and reapplied.





A shot of the headstock...




A side view of the headstock, zebrawood neck>walnut>maple>buckeye burl headstock.


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## Ajb667 (Feb 12, 2014)

Holy crap that guitar is GORGEOUS. That top is fantastic.


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Feb 12, 2014)

Stellar!!!


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## gigawhat (Feb 12, 2014)

So jealous. ! That price of buckeye looks fantastic! Don't suppose you would have any interest in building a fellow Texan one, eh?


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## BlackMastodon (Feb 12, 2014)

Son, that is just...wow. Love the multilayer headstock. And I gotta ask, was the read in the top part of the wood or was it a coloured filler for the voids? If it's actually part of the wood then holy tits.


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## penguin_316 (Feb 12, 2014)

BlackMastodon said:


> Son, that is just...wow. Love the multilayer headstock. And I gotta ask, was the read in the top part of the wood or was it a coloured filler for the voids? If it's actually part of the wood then holy tits.



The black in the headstock(not the binding, the black in the burl) and the red in the body are all inlay work. Not at liberty to discuss it further.

I don't mean to be mysterious, but I can't talk about it and I can't say why. Whoops went all Oceans 12 there for a sec...haha


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## FIXXXER (Feb 12, 2014)

looks killer, WOW!


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## Dawn of the Shred (Feb 12, 2014)

Looks great man!


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## BlackMastodon (Feb 12, 2014)

penguin_316 said:


> The black in the headstock(not the binding, the black in the burl) and the red in the body are all inlay work. Not at liberty to discuss it further.
> 
> I don't mean to be mysterious, but I can't talk about it and I can't say why. Whoops went all Oceans 12 there for a sec...haha


Say no more


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## iron blast (Feb 12, 2014)

Wow sexy design. I would recommend doing a inlay where the top joins personally. Also I hope you can come out and say what you used to fill the voids with on that top as it looks great.


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## sol niger 333 (Feb 18, 2014)

This is going to come out just lovely


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## Neilzord (Feb 18, 2014)

That Wood!! Coming together to be a seriously epic looking guitar! I hope it plays and sounds as good as it looks


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## pittbul (Feb 18, 2014)

fantastic top !!!


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## penguin_316 (Feb 20, 2014)

I wired the Juggs tonight and played a bit through my Axefx2. The guitar and the Juggernauts sound just amazing. I m surprised how bassy they are though and how mild the output is. They are classified as medium output but I'd go as far to say they are low- medium output.

I ll get up a sound clip or video or both in the near future...


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## Bloodshredder (Feb 22, 2014)

Looks incredible


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## seek and destroy (Feb 22, 2014)

Incredible work dude! That is an incredible looking guitar.


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## penguin_316 (Mar 22, 2014)

I know the crowd is divided on the new Intervals album, but I feel like they have reached new levels of amazing with their new album. So i decided to do a cover with this new guitar build i did and here is the result. Me+camera+imovie....enjoy.


,


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## penguin_316 (Mar 22, 2014)

I took a few liberties with the rhythms since I was feeling lazy, this was all done in one night so don't expect perfection.


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## bouVIP (Mar 22, 2014)

Sounds amazing! And the guitar is perfection!!!!


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## Coreysaur (Mar 23, 2014)

Awesome playing and that guitar sounds as sweet as it looks. Have you considered building for others?


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## Erick Kroenen (Mar 23, 2014)

^yes Build for others = WIN !!!!!


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## penguin_316 (Mar 24, 2014)

Considered it? Sounds like a dream in the making haha... Thanks guys for the kinds words.


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## Hollowway (Mar 24, 2014)

Holy beans, that's hot! Stupendous work, sir!


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## UnderTheSign (Mar 24, 2014)

BlackMastodon said:


> Son, that is just...wow. Love the multilayer headstock. And I gotta ask, was the read in the top part of the wood or was it a coloured filler for the voids? If it's actually part of the wood then holy tits.


Looks like coloured filler/epoxy to me...


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## penguin_316 (Mar 24, 2014)

UnderTheSign said:


> Looks like coloured filler/epoxy to me...



A good guess, but it is neither of those things. You saw how white/light grey the top is before I finished it. 
A stain especially of that vibrancy would penetrate the wood grain very deeply.


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## ElRay (Mar 24, 2014)

timbale said:


> this looks INSANE! WOW!



Truly. 

OP: How did you get the gray parts blue and the red parts redder, without changing the color of the cream parts?

Ray


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## penguin_316 (Mar 25, 2014)

ElRay said:


> Truly.
> 
> OP: How did you get the gray parts blue and the red parts redder, without changing the color of the cream parts?
> 
> Ray



That is just the work of the oil finish. The wood has multiple colors inherent to the species...blue, black, grey, white, yellow etc.

I don't claim credit for the woods beauty, but the "filler" material is something I'd like to keep to myself. Feel free to experiment and come up with your own solutions to the voids of buckeye burl.


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## sol niger 333 (Mar 25, 2014)

mooooaaar pics naaaao plz


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## penguin_316 (Mar 26, 2014)

Sure will, but the guitar isn't finished yet. Literally, i need to put a finish on it and buff it out. I still need to make one more back plate and mess with other small stuff. I've been too busy playing it honestly. 

I guess i really should finish it up, since people are asking for pics. I don't want to have it out of commission for a few weeks though due to oil finish. We'll see, I'm not in any rush to finish it.


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## pettymusic (Mar 30, 2014)

Absolutely beautiful!! 

Buckeye Burl is my favorite top and you nailed it. Thanks for sharing!


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## penguin_316 (Apr 1, 2014)

Cheers man, I appreciate it. I plan on taking the guitar apart and finishing it soon. I just need to stop trying to learn new Animals as Leaders songs haha.


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