# Another Marty Bell refin project in progress!



## HighGain510 (Jan 30, 2013)

Well I decided that I would send my very last Ibanez off to Marty Bell to have him transform it from awesome guitar with a boring black finish and rather lame graphic (IMO, I guess some guys might dig it... ) to an awesome guitar with a KILLER paint job! It's still in progress and I haven't received an update of the guitar post-paint as Marty has been pretty swamped lately but it has been sanded and word is my guitar should be in the paint queue this week or next week! 

I won't tease you guys like some folks seem to want to do again these days, so I'll share what I have and then post an update once I receive some pics from Marty.  I'm a fan of the RGA body style and carved top, and the neck on this guitar is right at my threshold for thinner necks. Plus since this is a sig model it has offset dots and I loved the pearloid binding on the neck, headstock and body (although in typical fashion, the binding used for the body [which I think looks better, personally] doesn't quite match the color of the neck binding, c'mon Ibanez! ) which looks awesome. Plus the body wood for this one is all mahogany too so I dig how it sounds.

Here's how the guitar looked stock:

























































Right now I only have one progress shot from Marty where he sanded down the body, looks like this one has a 3-piece body which was a little surprising given how expensive these things were new!  Not the end of the world to me, it resonates/sustains like crazy and even sounded great with the stock EMGs in there (I'm replacing them with a set of BKP Black Hawk 6'ers I have in another guitar currently, however ), here's what the mahogany looks like:







I really wanted to do another sparkle finish with Marty so I am having him shoot it in his bright orange sparkle!  This is the finish the body (and matching headstock with a white Ibanez Prestige logo, of course! ) will be getting:







I have wanted to do an orange sparkle guitar for a while and had originally planned on having my Thorn SoCal C/S done up in an orange sparkle finish but Ron recently did the 2013 run of "Racer '67" models and did the C/S in Shelby Lime Metallic which changed my mind on the spot, so I figured since I was going to get this one refinished anyway that the binding would go great with orange and topping it off with a white Ibby logo would be perfect!  

Can't wait to see it finished and it should be done soon I would think, so I'll toss up the rest of the pics as soon as I have them! Still debating on what to do about the frets, it's been used quite a bit and has some fretwear going on, so I might take this one over to Phil for another perfect Stainless Steel PLEK job. Might be a little while as I'm pretty tapped out with all the other guitars/projects going on right now!


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## JEngelking (Jan 30, 2013)

Agreed the original graphic could be better.  

Looking forward to seeing this thing done, that orange sparkle is gonna look great.


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## GiantBaba (Jan 30, 2013)

I didnt realize this model had pearloid binding. I love it! It'll look even better with the sparkle finish.


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## Ironbird (Jan 31, 2013)

You're right about the graphic, it is lame as hell. And good call with the orange sparkle! 

Can't wait for the final pics!


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## Brohoodofsteel75 (Jan 31, 2013)

Yes!


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## mikernaut (Jan 31, 2013)

Hahah between the two of us Matt, Marty keeps busy 

Shelby lime metallic you say? that sounds cool, pics?


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## HighGain510 (Jan 31, 2013)

mikernaut said:


> Hahah between the two of us Matt, Marty keeps busy
> 
> Shelby lime metallic you say? that sounds cool, pics?



Haha I know, right?! 

The finish looks pretty badass, and since I already got to see how it looks on the same body shape I know what mine will look like (sans-racing strip, more than likely):


















































Truly looks badass in person too, subtle enough but 100% match to the finish they offered on the '67 Shelby!






LOVE IT!


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## JEngelking (Jan 31, 2013)

Now THAT'S a custom. From the finish to the inlay to the Thorn High performance everywhere.  Good color IMO.


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## Ryan (Jan 31, 2013)

This looks like hell. I'd demand a refund.


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## s_k_mullins (Jan 31, 2013)

This is going to be an awesome project, Matt. Can't wait to see the finished project!


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## BigPhi84 (Jan 31, 2013)

Subscribe to thread: Check!


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## HighGain510 (Feb 1, 2013)

Got the call from Marty, paint is all done and the logo will be set today (the logo guys sent him the white Ibanez "swoosh" logo instead of the Prestige logo, doesn't bother me at all since that's what it came with stock anyway so I told him don't sweat it ), looking like she'll ship out Monday or so!  Talk about quick turnaround, Marty is the man!  

After talking with Ryan, we'll be hanging out in a month so the plan is to bring both the EMGs and the BKPs down with me to Charlotte so we can record two clips, one with the EMGs and one with the BKPs and see what sounds better recorded. If I find the EMGs are doing it for me, I might even keep them in there since I don't have anything else with actives currently.  That being said, I know I love the tone of Black Hawks in mahogany so I'll have to try to avoid my obvious personal bias towards the BKPs in this case as best I can.


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## Randy (Feb 1, 2013)

HighGain510 said:


> Well I decided that I would send my very last Ibanez off to Marty Bell to have him transform it from awesome guitar with a boring black finish and rather lame graphic (IMO, I guess some guys might dig it... )



No, Matt. There is literally no need to qualify that statement. That is an inarguably horrible graphic.

This will look awesome.


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## HighGain510 (Feb 2, 2013)

Randy said:


> No, Matt. There is literally no need to qualify that statement. That is an inarguably horrible graphic.



 I know, I know... I was trying to be... diplomatic...  For whatever reason, he took what would otherwise be an incredibly classy signature model and then added a graphic that IMO only a 12-year old would think was "AWESOME!!!!" and stuck it on the face of the guitar!   Still not sure why he thought that would look cool, the binding on the fretboard, headstock and body with the black finish and offset dots would have made for a simple and classic-looking guitar, he should have just stopped there.  

Ah well, that's why it's awesome to have lots of quality paint guys out there to help "fix" stuff like this! Marty is a killer refin guy, another buddy of mine is SoCal is fantastic too but I know sparkle finishes clog up guns pretty easily and since he's also pretty backed up I figured I'd go to Marty since he sprays sparkle stuff all the time.  Hoping to see some finished shots from Marty on or before Monday, once I get them I'll toss them up and then post a bunch of my own once she arrives! STOKED!!!


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## eddiewarlock (Feb 2, 2013)

i wonder if he takes international orders...like i send him a guitar and he'll send it back...


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## Watty (Feb 2, 2013)

After seeing this thread I contacted Marty about another RGA refinish lol and it should be noted that he replied within hours at something like 8pm with a VERY detailed reply as to the color I wanted.

Work aside, this man's customer service is ace as far as I'm concerned.


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## HighGain510 (Feb 2, 2013)

eddiewarlock said:


> i wonder if he takes international orders...like i send him a guitar and he'll send it back...



As long as you know that you're covering the shipping, I don't see why he wouldn't. Marty is reliable and trustworthy, he's been spraying guitars for big companies and privately for years. 



Watty said:


> After seeing this thread I contacted Marty about another RGA refinish lol and it should be noted that he replied within hours at something like 8pm with a VERY detailed reply as to the color I wanted.
> 
> Work aside, this man's customer service is ace as far as I'm concerned.



Right on!  His work is as good as his customer service, can't say enough good things about the man!  Communication had always been excellent and the quality of the finish work is top notch.  Wish I had more stuff that I needed to send his way!


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## HighGain510 (Feb 4, 2013)

HOUSTON... WE HAVE SPARKLE!!!! 


In natural light:








When hit with a flash (what it would look like under any sort of light shining down on it):









Ummmm yeaaaaaaah..... NOMS!!!!  Can't wait to see it in person, but having owned other sparkles done by Marty I know it's going to be perfect!  The hardest part is knowing it won't get fully re-assembled until March.


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## BigPhi84 (Feb 4, 2013)

HighGain510 said:


> HOUSTON... WE HAVE SPARKLE!!!!
> 
> 
> In natural light:
> ...




Do you know if he completely strips the paint off or if he just goes down to the primer coat? I wonder how he treats the binding area (since I have a guitar with creme binding that I've wanted to repaint in some shade of red.)



Fantastic paint job! I don't think I could rock a guitar with that much bling factor, but I definitely can tell a good job when I see one!


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## technomancer (Feb 4, 2013)

Damn that looks amazing


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## HighGain510 (Feb 4, 2013)

BigPhi84 said:


> Do you know if he completely strips the paint off or if he just goes down to the primer coat? I wonder how he treats the binding area (since I have a guitar with creme binding that I've wanted to repaint in some shade of red.)
> 
> 
> 
> Fantastic paint job! I don't think I could rock a guitar with that much bling factor, but I definitely can tell a good job when I see one!




Well it's either down to the sealer or down to the wood, as you can see the mahogany in that stripped picture he sent me, and my bass was done the same way when he sent progress pics as well. My guess is down to wood, then re-sealed to ensure everything is even, hits with with color or sparkle and then clear. Not sure how he does the binding honestly, but it came out perfect so however he does it, it looks great! I'm hyped, should be here this week!  I was going to wait until I brought it down to NC to assemble/set it up but I might not be able to wait a month to play it!


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## SDMFVan (Feb 4, 2013)

That looks ridiculous...ly good. Damn.


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## JEngelking (Feb 4, 2013)

So shiny and sparkly. 

Damn nice job Marty did.


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## s_k_mullins (Feb 4, 2013)

That sparkle! 

Looks awesome Matt! Can't wait to see this babe finished.


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## Brohoodofsteel75 (Feb 5, 2013)

Fudge me sticks. That is beautiful


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## Wretched (Feb 5, 2013)

Glad you were able to make use of the factory binding! Killer.


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## skisgaar (Feb 5, 2013)

I don't know why, but those pictures make my teeth hurt...
Looks great


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## Overtone (Feb 5, 2013)

That came out perfect!

The blue one i got from you is really reflective... I can be standing in a room so dark you cannot see my face and someone 15 feet awAy can still clearly make out the guitar!


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## JEngelking (Feb 5, 2013)

skisgaar said:


> I don't know why, but those pictures make my teeth hurt...
> Looks great



They make me want orange food, particularly orange juice or an orange popsicle. 

I'm thirsty now...


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## HighGain510 (Feb 9, 2013)

Well I'm currently fighting off either a cold or the start of the flu so this is all the progress I could muster on this one for now:

















The refin came out perfect as usual, Marty is the man!  Can't wait to wire it up and get it set up, but being that I'm achy and cranky that's pretty much guaranteed not to happen today.


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## technomancer (Feb 9, 2013)

Looks awesome 

Now take some theraflu and get that bad boy finished


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## Watty (Feb 9, 2013)

No direct mount on this guy?

Anyways, looks ace!


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## HighGain510 (Feb 9, 2013)

Watty said:


> No direct mount on this guy?
> 
> Anyways, looks ace!



It came stock with rings and I don't have a problem with them, so they're staying.  I may end up looking for some lower profile gunmetal-finished metal pickup rings though since that would look a little nicer than the black plastic ones it came with.


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## HighGain510 (Feb 9, 2013)

technomancer said:


> Looks awesome
> 
> Now take some theraflu and get that bad boy finished



Haha I did a little bit more on this today, got the hardware all back on there (the wire on the battery case snapped off somehow while it was sitting in the part bag so of course I had to desolder the little tiny piece on the contact, remove it, shave down that UBER thin wire and re-attach it ) so now it's a matter of wiring it back up and doing a setup, neither of which will happen today at this point. 

Too. Damn. Tired.


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## s_k_mullins (Feb 9, 2013)

Looks amazing Matt! That sparkle is beautiful!


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## HighGain510 (Feb 9, 2013)

s_k_mullins said:


> Looks amazing Matt! That sparkle is beautiful!



Thanks Kyle!  I'm hoping if I'm feeling a bit better tomorrow that I can finally get it wired up and possibly even set up too. We'll see how that goes though...


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## s_k_mullins (Feb 9, 2013)

HighGain510 said:


> Thanks Kyle!  I'm hoping if I'm feeling a bit better tomorrow that I can finally get it wired up and possibly even set up too. We'll see how that goes though...



Well guitar pics or not, I hope you get to feeling better homie. 




But seriously, take more pics.


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## HighGain510 (Feb 10, 2013)

s_k_mullins said:


> Well guitar pics or not, I hope you get to feeling better homie.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Well since I'm stuck and home and not feeling well enough to go out and do very much, I figured I'd at least TRY and do something productive with my weekend!  Ask and you shall receive! 








Finished up re-wiring the guitar and did a partial set-up (nut needs to be filed for the low C, G and C strings), sounds pretty good! Tempted to order some new EMGs for it though....  Either the Het Set or the 57/66 set are on the table, but not sure which one I'd prefer in this guitar and I don't want to order both! 


DAT SPARKLE!!!  It looks phenomenal in person, might have to either do a 5 second vid or a grouping of pictures to turn into a .gif so you guys can see how brilliant the sparkle is as it turns in the light!


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## Rojne (Feb 12, 2013)

Haha that looks awesome! Much better than the original state of the guitar!


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## technomancer (Feb 12, 2013)




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## HighGain510 (Feb 12, 2013)

Rojne said:


> Haha that looks awesome! Much better than the original state of the guitar!



You said it! I have a pair of EMG Het Set pickups incoming for this puppy too so I'll get those installed when they arrive next week! Keep hearing such good things about them and I do like to get my EMG on from time to time so I don't mind keeping actives in this guitar!  Can't wait to try them out!


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## Danukenator (Feb 12, 2013)

God, I love sparkle finishes. I have a Dean Cadillac w/ three pups that I should get refinished in to a sparkly Kiss machine.


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## s_k_mullins (Feb 12, 2013)

She's a beauty! Hope you enjoy it with the Het Set. And when you sell it later this year, I call dibs.


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## shadscbr (Feb 12, 2013)

Looks great Matt...that color is killer!! 

that's quite a dramatic transformation, I love how it turned out 

Shad


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