# New Project: Ibanez JPM7 style...



## Jazzedout (Sep 10, 2009)

...or how the Ibanez version of the BFR Petrucci's should have been. 
Got the body of the bay, one piece mahogany back with two piece thick and heavily figured maple (imagine something like the old USA Custom Exotic Woods series...) gathered most of the bits and pieces and this is how it looks now.












These photos are without any kind of grain enchancement, taken with a cell phone camera.
So now all it's left to do is finish the body somehow worthy of its beauty (swirl it maybe? ) 
Have not really decided on the color yet, maybe light blue (transparent of course), or all natural...
Any tips on how to make the grain of the wood pop would be really appreciated!! As I understand, I should apply a dark (black or brown) stain and then sand most of it down to the wood again and then apply the stain of choice... Is this the prefered method?


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## Xaios (Sep 10, 2009)

Um, if you're making it a JP7...


Trans-Picasso paint job? It'd be expensive, but would be *hella* nice.

Whatever the case may be, that is one nice thick slab of maple you got there.


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## Ramsay777 (Sep 10, 2009)

Wow! That's no maple top! That guitar's half maple, half mahogany! 

Can't help with the finishing, but damn that's nice so far dude, good luck!


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## Scar Symmetry (Sep 10, 2009)




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## Apophis (Sep 10, 2009)

awesome idea imo, trans finish over that maple will be just AMAZING


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## Rick (Sep 10, 2009)

That's a beautiful piece of wood.


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## TemjinStrife (Sep 10, 2009)

Check Project Guitar for some great tutorials on finishing and grain enhancement.


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## dexmix (Sep 10, 2009)

damn! i would think all that maple would be a little too bright/spanky?

looks gorgeous though.


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## leandroab (Sep 10, 2009)

Is there any "trans picasso" template on the web for sale?


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## Cheesebuiscut (Sep 10, 2009)

don't ruin it with the trans picasso thing! Unless your some huge fan of the old petrucci ibanez's or something... I'd just get a snazzy transparent thing going.

I've always thought this rich brown color that all the cabinets are in my house would make a beautiful guitar. Apparently they are all maple cabinets too its some sort of stain.


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## Bungle (Sep 10, 2009)

Holy fuck! A transparent light blue would look awesome, especially if you ebonise the fretboard.

Did the seller have other bodies going on eBay too? Or just that one?


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## 7deadlysins666 (Sep 10, 2009)

leandroab said:


> Is there any "trans picasso" template on the web for sale?



No template but Universal Jems sells the decal sets. Maybe you could use those to make a template. Or, put them down, stain it and leave the parts under the stickers natural?


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## Xaios (Sep 10, 2009)

Just to flesh out my earlier thoughts, I think a half trans black/half trans candy apple green with a bit of sparkle would look TITS.


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## xtrustisyoursx (Sep 10, 2009)

If you burned the picasso designs on it, but stained it natural SECKS


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## lefty robb (Sep 11, 2009)

Trans Picasso FTW!! Good luck though that's gotta be one pain in the ass finish.


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## Jazzedout (Sep 11, 2009)

Nah... No picasso graphics for me...
It will be some kind of transparent finish, maybe natural, or maybe light blue.


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## GazPots (Sep 11, 2009)

More to the point, who the fuck did you get the awesome body off of on ebay?


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## mattofvengeance (Sep 11, 2009)

GazPots said:


> More to the point, who the fuck did you get the awesome body off of on ebay?



This. My god that top is gorgeous.


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## Jazzedout (Sep 11, 2009)

Well, I got it from a guy in Germany but he seems to have bought it from the infamous Chris of Legacy, Deep6guitars etc, etc... I think I just got lucky. Everything seems to fit fine the RG7620 neck fits extra tight and I didn't have to chase Legacy Guitars for my parts to be delivered. 
The guy I bought this from has also a 6 string body for sale that looks to be the same quality as the one I got. check item nr. 270451418056 if interested.


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 11, 2009)

Looks to be a very nice body.


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## mattofvengeance (Sep 11, 2009)

lefty robb said:


> Trans Picasso FTW!! Good luck though that's gotta be one pain in the ass finish.



That looks sick as fuck. I generally don't care for the graphic on Petrucci's old Ibby's, but that interpretation is marvelous.


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## TheSixthWheel (Sep 11, 2009)

mattofvengeance said:


> That looks sick as fuck. I generally don't care for the graphic on Petrucci's old Ibby's, but that interpretation is marvelous.



Absolutely agree.


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## Mattmc74 (Sep 11, 2009)

Looks awesome man! Congrats!


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## leandroab (Sep 11, 2009)

7deadlysins666 said:


> No template but Universal Jems sells the decal sets. Maybe you could use those to make a template. Or, put them down, stain it and leave the parts under the stickers natural?


 
That would work...

I don't see that finish being a pain in the ass... What I would do is create a template (this would probably be a pain in the ass) and then just put into place and stain/paint the wood


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## HumanFuseBen (Sep 11, 2009)

dear god, man, that is going to be a beauty!!! can't wait to see the finished work.

if it were mine, i'd LOVE to see a trans green on that thing. but blue would also look great, too. whoever mentioned projectguitar.com was right, those guys are excellent!

oh, and i would also leave the mahogany part natural.


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## technomancer (Sep 11, 2009)

leandroab said:


> That would work...
> 
> I don't see that finish being a pain in the ass... What I would do is create a template (this would probably be a pain in the ass) and then just put into place and stain/paint the wood



Except the stain can run under the edges of a template in the wood grain... clean lines in stain like that are hard to pull off. In fact if you look closely at the pic you can see some bleed around the yellow eye spots.


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## thinkpad20 (Sep 11, 2009)

Ramsay777 said:


> Wow! That's no maple top! That guitar's half maple, half mahogany!



Took the words out of my mouth. Either way, looks hella nice! I'd go for a tobacco burst with that maple... I love a good tobacco burst mmmm


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## paintkilz (Sep 11, 2009)

extremely gorgeous woods


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## scottro202 (Sep 11, 2009)

Rick said:


> That's a beautiful piece of wood.



That's what she said  
/imature joke

Anyways, +1 for trans-picasso paint


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## Jazzedout (Sep 27, 2009)

Been experimenting with finishes on scrap wood. From left to right: Black stain, amber stain, black stain sanded and amber on top. I think I need to experiment with the third option since this is the one that brings out the grain of the wood more (although it is scrap wood you can see the difference in the grain). Maybe a lighter amber color would be better so it won't darken that much with black, or maybe some more sanding of the black base color. What do you guys think?


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## Prydogga (Sep 27, 2009)

I think on good quality wood the third option would be my favourite.


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## S-O (Sep 27, 2009)

try doing the black/amber thing, but use light blue instead of amber.


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## Xiphos68 (Sep 27, 2009)

Picasso would be awesome but like your own color for it. 
Overall color I would say maybe a purple or red flamed maple.


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## Jazzedout (Sep 27, 2009)

I have ruled out the picasso theme, due to its complexity and I really don't like it that much. I believe a more classic approach would be best for this maple top. I am torn between light blue and amber, but since I already have the zebra pickups, amber might look a little better overall... we'll see... I am in the phase of experimenting with finishes...


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## guitarplayerone (Sep 27, 2009)

btw while we're on the subject of 7 string petrucci's does anyone have more pics/ info on _this_ beauty?


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## Randy (Sep 27, 2009)

Did I just count 26 frets?


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## Dusty201087 (Sep 28, 2009)

Randy said:


> Did I just count 26 frets?



Yeah, you can even see the 24th fret marker in one picture 

And TC, I really don't care how you finish it, but if you cover up that maple I will hunt you down and do unspeakable things to you 



















































But seriously, leave the grain visible


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## AngelVivaldi (Sep 28, 2009)

Rick said:


> That's a beautiful piece of wood.



thats what she said  ooooooooh! lol


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## BrainArt (Sep 28, 2009)

guitarplayerone said:


> btw while we're on the subject of 7 string petrucci's does anyone have more pics/ info on _this_ beauty?



I'm pretty sure it's not an actual JPM, seeing as how JP doesn't use Duncans. And he only had three? LACS JPM7s made when he was with Ibby. 

It's cool nonetheless, maybe if the sparkle was toned down a bit.


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## Jazzedout (Sep 28, 2009)

That guitar is a custom, made by a guy in Brazil IIRC. He frequents on Jemsite...


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## Xaios (Sep 28, 2009)

Holy balls, I LOVE THAT FRETBOARD!


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## Jazzedout (Dec 12, 2009)

After a few months of not managing to do anything with this, I finally managed to apply the first coat of stain today.
This is how it looks like now. Hopefully it will turn out nice...


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## Ironberry (Dec 12, 2009)

Jazzedout said:


> After a few months of not managing to do anything with this, I finally managed to apply the first coat of stain today.
> This is how it looks like now. Hopefully it will turn out nice...




It's not bad, just I kinda preferred it natural.


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## Jazzedout (Dec 12, 2009)

Don't worry, This is NOT how it will look when finished...  A lot more sanding staining, and finishing is involved... 

Came back at home and the stain was dry, so I gave it a little sanding... Is that any better?  Any tips for those who've done this before will be appreciated!


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## NiCkMiLnE (Dec 12, 2009)

it you REALLY wanna bring some spots out..get some light glass paper and just sand the areas where you want it lighter..instead of the whole top. if your skilled enough with it..you can even add in your own 'figuring' 
heres the most recent one i did that kinda thing on


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## Jazzedout (Dec 13, 2009)

Black stain coat Nr.2 was applied yesterday before going to bed. This coat was sanded this morning and looked like this:





Third coat of black stain applied and I believe I could leave it like this, seal it, clear it and be happy!





what do you guys think?


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## CrushingAnvil (Dec 13, 2009)

Jazzedout said:


> Black stain coat Nr.2 was applied yesterday before going to bed. This coat was sanded this morning and looked like this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Do it again just for extra sexiness


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## BrainArt (Dec 13, 2009)

CrushingAnvil said:


> Do it again just for extra sexiness



 Do it.


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## TheAmazingBlob (Dec 13, 2009)

Jazzedout said:


> Black stain coat Nr.2 was applied yesterday before going to bed. This coat was sanded this morning and looked like this:
> 
> 
> Third coat of black stain applied and I believe I could leave it like this, seal it, clear it and be happy!
> ...


That's much better, looks awesome . I don't really know how the staining process usually works, so the first coat had me worried. Now it looks sweet 



CrushingAnvil said:


> Do it again just for extra sexiness


But definitely this


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## Mindcrime1204 (Dec 13, 2009)

IbanezShredderB said:


> Do it.


 
Man, it appears to be getting better and better by each step... another go around wouldnt hurt would it? It's turning out wicked, btw


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## ShadyDavey (Dec 13, 2009)

Another great looking Ibby project on this board - so my particular thanks to you this time for keeping it simple


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## Jazzedout (Dec 13, 2009)

ShadyDavey said:


> Another great looking Ibby project on this board - so my particular thanks to you this time for keeping it simple



If you're talking about the finish, it is not finished yet, and I decided that the final result, won't be black! 
Any project done after Grimey's UDNTCTFH RG (Uber Deutsch Neck Through with Custom Trem From Hell RG) looks simple anyway...


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## Fred (Dec 13, 2009)

I'm sure it's a pain in the arse, but I'd definitely recommend at least one more sand and staining session! Looking wicked so far.


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## Ironberry (Dec 13, 2009)

Jazzedout said:


> Black stain coat Nr.2 was applied yesterday before going to bed. This coat was sanded this morning and looked like this:
> 
> 
> Third coat of black stain applied and I believe I could leave it like this, seal it, clear it and be happy!
> ...



Much better. Now I'm interested.


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## Jazzedout (Dec 13, 2009)

Previous coat sanded and a 4th one applied... sorry for the blured pic...


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## Rich5150 (Dec 13, 2009)

I would sand it back and stain it another color so the black really pops and you get that 3d effect.

But all in all it looks amazing id love to get a body like that


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## JohnIce (Dec 13, 2009)

Jazzedout said:


> Previous coat sanded and a 4th one applied... sorry for the blured pic...


 
Now you're getting places!


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## Shawn (Dec 14, 2009)

Very nice!


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## Jazzedout (Dec 14, 2009)

Thanks! A little more sanding and this is how it looks right now...


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## Necrophagist777 (Dec 14, 2009)

Wow I love that finish.


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## Mindcrime1204 (Dec 14, 2009)

Dude this is coming along wickedly.....

DONT FUCK UP!!!!!!







jk! great job so far, man!


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## Rich5150 (Dec 14, 2009)

Jazzedout said:


> Thanks! A little more sanding and this is how it looks right now...



Now stain it RED


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## Slayer89 (Dec 15, 2009)

Now put on some purple and you're set! 

Nice job!


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## Wi77iam (Dec 15, 2009)

RED!


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## Jazzedout (Dec 15, 2009)

Nope... red it won't be!


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## Wi77iam (Dec 15, 2009)

PENIS COLOUR!


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## MikeH (Dec 15, 2009)

^ 

I'd say just leave it as is and clear coat it.


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## Jazzedout (Dec 18, 2009)

Update:


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## djpharoah (Dec 18, 2009)

Nice - thats looks fucking way better than the black!!


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## Jazzedout (Dec 18, 2009)

I think you can see why you need to go through some black coats first...


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## NiCkMiLnE (Dec 18, 2009)

looks gorgeous 
i woulda personally given it a few more times with other coats to bring out the grain but its turned out nice


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## Jazzedout (Dec 18, 2009)

NiCkMiLnE said:


> looks gorgeous
> i woulda personally given it a few more times with other coats to bring out the grain but its turned out nice



Yeap, but you must sand it down a bit... 

Just finished sanding it:






And a new coat applied...






..and no, it is not going to look like this when finished...


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## NiCkMiLnE (Dec 18, 2009)

yeah i know lol but you needed more black IMO.
lookin nice though


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## Jazzedout (Dec 19, 2009)

This will be the final color :






My guess is that it is going to show a little bit more when clearcoated...
I plan on scraping excess stain from the edges in the morning (it is 01:00 over here) and all that's going to be left is find some time to do the finishing process...


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## XPT707FX (Dec 19, 2009)

It's looking good man!


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## HumanFuseBen (Dec 19, 2009)

oh wow, very nice! kinda of a blue jean denim sort of color, very unique. might i suggest ebonizing that board? i think a black board would set that off.


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## Slayer89 (Dec 19, 2009)

HumanFuseBen said:


> oh wow, very nice! kinda of a blue jean denim sort of color, very unique. might i suggest ebonizing that board? i think a black board would set that off.



I'll second this.


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## Rich5150 (Dec 20, 2009)

WOW that came out really nice congrats cant wait to see how it looks when cleard and put together


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## Prydogga (Dec 20, 2009)

That looks awesome!!!


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## JohnIce (Dec 20, 2009)

Unless you really want a clear coat, I'd also suggest oiling the sucker. The oil will bring out the flame and give the wood a much more lush and "moist" look than the clear will. My Warmoth was oiled before, I had to sand it out and clear it because I had a decal on the body that needed to be cleared, but the wood itself looked much better oiled than cleared. The flame was much more defined and deep looking


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## Demeyes (Dec 20, 2009)

I think that looks great. The finished idea is really interesting. Way nicer than the black and blue earlier on.


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