# Mahogany/Wenge carvetop 7 build (lots of pics)



## canuck brian (Aug 23, 2008)

Hey guys,

I've started up 5 builds actually - i figured building in bulk will make things a little more fun for myself.

Anyways, this is a 7 string, 1 1/2 inch thick 1 piece mahogany backed, 1 piece carved wenge top. The neck is a maple/purpleheart/birdseye maple/purplehear/maple laminate with a solid wenge spliced/scarfed headstock.
The fretboard is going to be made from a slab of zirocote that I resawed into 4 more fretboards. 2 carbon rods complete the neck.

Other stuff - 2 custom wound Nordstrands, Ghost piezo system, hipshot bridge, hipshot tuners, graphtech nut, reversed headstock, 25.5 or 26 scale. I've made 4 chambers in the back end of the body as well to reduce weight - the wenge is DAMN heavy.

Onto it!!

Here's the blank at the start - i didn't grab any pics of it. Wish I did...







The zirocote fretboard - i couldn't get it in the right light at all...






Here's the most of the neck glued up 






Bandsawed - next is the routing but I didn't have time.






Just because I want to post more pics, I'll show you guys what else I managed to get done today.





















Not sure if anyone remembers this particular build, but it went south really hard (as in it's basically scrap). I thought he headstock turned out in the perfect shape so I wanted it as a template.....soooooo....I sawed it off. 











Hope you guys enjoy this build - my goal is to have this guy done (sans piezo - it's still coming from Graphtech) by by September 2nd and then onto the clearcoats.


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## hanachanmaru (Aug 23, 2008)

Cool pics you got !! is that your workshop or your doing it as a hobbyist?? nice ziricote fretboard you got as well !!! it would be a beast when i sensed cant wait for the pics to come by !!!


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## B Lopez (Aug 23, 2008)

Sweet. Remember the cavity depths though 

I want one btw


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## Elysian (Aug 23, 2008)

this thread delivers


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## JJ Rodriguez (Aug 23, 2008)

Not a fan of the shape at all, but the wood and construction looks good.


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## bulletbass man (Aug 23, 2008)

I've always loved the look of wenge. It's got such a simple but cool grain to it.

Not to mention it sustains like absolutely crazy. This guitar will never stop ringing.


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## technomancer (Aug 23, 2008)

Damn, you've got a regular little assembly line going there 

That headstock shape is awesome


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## Josh Lawson (Aug 23, 2008)

Kick ass dude!


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## budda (Aug 23, 2008)

you need to make me a 7!


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## Shawn (Aug 24, 2008)

Very nice! They all look great. Nice work!  Keep us posted on these builds too.


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## st2012 (Aug 24, 2008)

Nice pics


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## canuck brian (Aug 24, 2008)

JJ Rodriguez said:


> Not a fan of the shape at all, but the wood and construction looks good.



You don't like the RG bodies or my design?  The camera angle is making both shapes pretty ass heavy - i'll get straight on shots this coming Wednesday. I can't wait - 6 days of nothing but building.


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## _Guitarzan_ (Aug 24, 2008)

Very Cool! I love the barking sound of wenge! My Warwick bass has a solid wenge neck and I can't get enough of that tone! Good call on the woods, glad someone knows tone!


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## buffa d (Aug 24, 2008)

How much for the RG7 w/ piezo?


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## Apophis (Aug 24, 2008)

Really nice  I see wenge populatity grows


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## Heeboja (Aug 24, 2008)

Knew sebastian was going to say something to this thread. Nice guitars. I really like your design. What PUs are you going to put in?

btw. I really hate the color of wenge. Reminds me of pressured wood. (ugly green color)


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## canuck brian (Aug 24, 2008)

Heeboja said:


> Knew sebastian was going to say something to this thread. Nice guitars. I really like your design. What PUs are you going to put in?
> 
> btw. I really hate the color of wenge. Reminds me of pressured wood. (ugly green color)



Wenge is nearly a black colored wood.... did you mean the guitar with the maple cap and slight green dye on it?


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## Mattmc74 (Aug 24, 2008)

They all look really good so far. I love the look of laminated bodies! The different color woods just set the whole look of the guitar off!


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## thedonutman (Aug 24, 2008)

That wenge top must be a bitch to carve!

All of your work is amazing.


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## Heeboja (Aug 24, 2008)

I mean this one




I know it's not the same colored but it still reminds me of it. It just has something that reminds me of it.


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## Justin Bailey (Aug 24, 2008)

can't wait till I can give you large sums of money in exchange for guitars.


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## velocity (Aug 24, 2008)

omg! that ash looks sweet!!!!!! i can almost picture a subtle oil finish on it. bwaahhhaaaahhhhaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (we don't have a yosemite sam evil laugh smiley) 
looks awesime dude!


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## Apophis (Aug 24, 2008)

Heeboja said:


> Knew sebastian was going to say something to this thread. Nice guitars. I really like your design. What PUs are you going to put in?
> 
> btw. I really hate the color of wenge. Reminds me of pressured wood. (ugly green color)


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## Heeboja (Aug 24, 2008)

Well I may be not hating the color but the grain. If I'd do a wenge guitar I would cover it with maple. I don't know about the sound of them but Sebastian is expert in that


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## Desecrated (Aug 24, 2008)

Heeboja said:


> I mean this one
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Once it get processed it will be much darker and look smoother.


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## buffa d (Aug 24, 2008)

Are you selling these?


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## canuck brian (Aug 24, 2008)

Hey guys! Thanks again for checking everything out on here! Carving the wenge shouldn't be too hard - i'm going to use an angle grinder to get most of the meat off in the carve.



buffa d said:


> Are you selling these?



The bass body on the far left is going to my brother and the ash body on the far right goes to Velocity. Other than that, all of them are for me to just refine what I'm doing. Sometime around April 2009 would be the earliest I'd do other work.


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## buffa d (Aug 25, 2008)

Aaaaaallrighty then!!


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## El Caco (Aug 25, 2008)

That's some nice looking timber you have there, I'm looking forward to seeing these progress.


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## JJ Rodriguez (Aug 25, 2008)

canuck brian said:


> You don't like the RG bodies or my design?  The camera angle is making both shapes pretty ass heavy - i'll get straight on shots this coming Wednesday. I can't wait - 6 days of nothing but building.



Your design, but like I said everything else about it looks cool


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## budda (Aug 25, 2008)

i know a place cloes to school to possibly get a TOM'd RGA-7.

snap.


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## Leon (Aug 25, 2008)

that's a helluvalotta guitar building going on


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## Ruins (Aug 25, 2008)

fucking sweet man, i love your work!


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## canuck brian (Aug 27, 2008)

Hey guys - just wanted to get an opinion on something here. I was considering giving the whole guitar (not the fretboard) a green washover - when the clearcoat is on, it'll have a greenish hue in the right light. I'd do the mahogany and the neck too. 

Thoughts?


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## canuck brian (Aug 29, 2008)

I guess no on the green. 

Anyways, I got a whole lot of work done on this build so far this weekend.

Here's some of the new Bleed The Sky to get things going!


Body flush routed to template





Scarf jointing hte wenge to the laminates






Took some of the sides off the splice






Here's a shot of the shooting board and the fretboards I was working on.






And here's where I'm at right now.






Should be routing the truss/carbon channels in the three builds I'm working on later this weekend. For anyone interested in working with zirocote - IT SMELLS LIKE ASS.

More pics on the way as I go!


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## shredder777 (Aug 30, 2008)

Its looking great man!, cant wait to see the end result.


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## noodleplugerine (Aug 30, 2008)

canuck brian said:


> I guess no on the green.
> 
> Anyways, I got a whole lot of work done on this build so far this weekend.
> 
> ...




Yeah, Ziracote's a real bitch, the dust can give you a rash aswell I hear.

But its all worth it - Easily the best fretboard wood imo. The feel of Ebony with the beauty of an exotic.


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## -K4G- (Aug 30, 2008)

damn the wood on the right looks yummy.


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## Randy (Aug 30, 2008)

Wow... really amazing job as usual, Brian.

Quick question... any more pictures of that scarf joint between the wenge and the neck-laminates? I'm intrigued by the thickness of the wenge piece.


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## Sepultorture (Aug 30, 2008)

no Neck-thrus?


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Aug 30, 2008)

that 3rd peice of fretboard wood looks phenominal, is that the ziracote? i'v never heard of it before


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## canuck brian (Sep 2, 2008)

Randy said:


> Wow... really amazing job as usual, Brian.
> Quick question... any more pictures of that scarf joint between the wenge and the neck-laminates? I'm intrigued by the thickness of the wenge piece.



I didn't grab another pic, but I should be back in the shop within a week and I'll get that one for you. I used about 3/4 wenge splice on it though. I'll be thicknessing it down with a pattern sander to get the volute and whatnot done too. 



Sepultorture said:


> no Neck-thrus?



I've done a few before but I actually prefer to do bolt on and set necks. I will be doing another 7 string kelly-ish explorer though. I did one a while ago but the damned thing fell off the hangar and smashed the hell out of the body while the clear was drying. 



7 Strings of Hate said:


> that 3rd peice of fretboard wood looks phenominal, is that the ziracote? i'v never heard of it before



The third one on the picture (i'm assuming far right with the two color thing happening) is a mun ebony fretboard. I wanted to use a normal ebony board but after comparing it to this one, the straight black didn't make the cut. The first two with the really weird patterns is the zirocote. It's definitely not one of the cheaper woods to be using but it looks amazing in person. I've still got another slab of it on the shelf that I'm holding for a fanned 8.



noodleplugerine said:


> Yeah, Ziracote's a real bitch, the dust can give you a rash aswell I hear. But its all worth it - Easily the best fretboard wood imo. The feel of Ebony with the beauty of an exotic.



It's definitely one of my fave boards too - hard as nails and definitely has a leg up in the looks department!

Thanks again for checking out the builds again guys, means a lot.


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## canuck brian (Sep 24, 2008)

I had another idea - I'm using a wheel end truss rod so it's going to be near the neck humbucker.

What I I would like to do is cut a rounded curve in the base of the fretboard to show the wheel, but have the edges come flush to the humbucker route... 

What do you guys think?


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## msherman (Sep 24, 2008)

Thats quite the shooting board you have there.


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## Randy (Sep 24, 2008)

canuck brian said:


> I had another idea - I'm using a wheel end truss rod so it's going to be near the neck humbucker.
> 
> What I I would like to do is cut a rounded curve in the base of the fretboard to show the wheel, but have the edges come flush to the humbucker route...
> 
> What do you guys think?



Sounds like it'll look great. it won't limit access to the adjuster, will it?


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## canuck brian (Sep 24, 2008)

msherman said:


> Thats quite the shooting board you have there.



Is that a good thing? I use it also to make cabinets...  I'm not even sure why it's called that.



> Sounds like it'll look great. it won't limit access to the adjuster, will it?



I thought about doing it as a square cut, but there would be very limited side to side. If I do a gradual curve, I should have more than enough clearance.


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## Justin Bailey (Sep 24, 2008)

that sounds very rad, I say go for it.


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## NixerX (Sep 24, 2008)

People that can do this are amazing in my book!


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## emguitars (Sep 24, 2008)

That headstock is cool, reminds me of one I designed for some basses I built about 15 years ago.(holy shit, time flies!)Check it out.


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## canuck brian (Oct 5, 2008)

So I was working on this a couple of days ago and after making the fretboard/neck template, I managed to fuck up the zirocote board. After being pissed I went to the local lumber yard and shopped to make myself feel better.











That first piece is "black and white" ebony, but i'm i'm unsure of the proper name. The other piece is just a long block of figured maple. 

With the zirocote fretboard now out of the way, i decided to use this ebony. About an hour later, I've got a slotted board ready for tapering. This is stuff has a few cracks but i've been fiilling the board with CA glue to counter. it'll be smoothed over without a problem.











That's all I got done on my own work this weekend.  More on this and the bass next weekend.


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## budda (Oct 6, 2008)

nice work brian!

looking forward to more pics


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## darren (Oct 6, 2008)

The screwed-up ziricote boards made me sad. But that ebony board made up for it... That is the craziest piece of ebony i've ever seen.


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## Justin Bailey (Oct 6, 2008)

holy shit that board looks godly! fucking awesome


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## Stealthdjentstic (Oct 6, 2008)

Nice pronz


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## Ruins (Oct 6, 2008)

very nice fingerboard replacement. and about fucking things up.... uhhh shit i know what you mean....


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## vansinn (Oct 6, 2008)

Heeboja said:


> btw. I really hate the color of wenge. Reminds me of pressured wood. (ugly green color)



 Wenge can look really great, you should see the board on a 5 string fretless bass I'm working on, beatiful brownish and black patterns, even not fully sanded/polished up. Sorry, no camera for some time..

Great looking works, Brian!


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## Apophis (Oct 6, 2008)

I like the fretboard a lot


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## msherman (Oct 6, 2008)

That fret board is "Pale Moon Ebony"


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## canuck brian (Oct 6, 2008)

msherman said:


> That fret board is "Pale Moon Ebony"



That's a very cool name for wood!

Also - this guitar is now a 26 inch scale with 25 frets.


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## Elysian (Oct 6, 2008)

you got nice wood


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## somn (Oct 6, 2008)

wow man nice hell yeah


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## Randy (Oct 6, 2008)

That is a sinister piece of wood.


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## Trespass (Oct 11, 2008)

That board looks incredible!


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## eleven59 (Oct 11, 2008)

Wow, that's incredible! You'll definitely be getting some money from me in the future


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## canuck brian (Oct 21, 2008)

Sigh. I was hoping I could save it, but unfortunately the new ebony board is just splintering and cracking like mad. I even went as far to try to fill cracks with epoxy - no dice. It's just hell bent on being useless.

Sooooooo i have no idea what i'm using for a fretboard now. Probably lacewood. I have lots of that.


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## Randy (Oct 21, 2008)

Mmm... lacewood.


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## Giamatti (Oct 21, 2008)

Aw man that is SHIT to hear, crappy run of luck altogether. The work so far has looked amazing, really looking forward to seeing the finished products.


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## BRUTALIZER GUITARS (Oct 22, 2008)

Very nice Body blanks, Ive sent you a PM


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## bulletbass man (Oct 22, 2008)

canuck brian said:


> Sigh. I was hoping I could save it, but unfortunately the new ebony board is just splintering and cracking like mad. I even went as far to try to fill cracks with epoxy - no dice. It's just hell bent on being useless.
> 
> Sooooooo i have no idea what i'm using for a fretboard now. Probably lacewood. I have lots of that.


 
ah thats a shame. That ebony was fucking beautiful.


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## guitarbuilder93 (Oct 22, 2008)

man that sucks about what happened to that FB. that would piss me off so much, 'cause it was slotted and everything!

BTW, how is lacewood for a FB wood? that would be the dankins if that turned out!

 all badass builds!


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## canuck brian (Oct 23, 2008)

Lacewood is one of those middy woods from what I'm reading. I really dig on the look and it's nice and smooth, polishes up nice.... that and I'm really sick of unstable wood right now.  I've seen some of the companies that use exotics more often use them as fretboard woods.

I'm going to keep the board around because I might say the hell with it at some point and just use it, but it's really nothing to slot another board....might take me another 30 minutes...

Thanks again for checking it out guys - there won't be much happening on this one for a little bit as I'm concentrating on getting my brother's bass finished. I managed to get the neck pocket cut on it, tapered the neck, did the truss rod, fixed the wenge faceplate on it....shouldnt' really be much longer to get that one up and running.


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## canuck brian (Nov 23, 2008)

I've recently managed to pick up a whole pile of wood. Lacewood, while very pretty, doesn't look as nice as these recent boards I picked up. I'm leaning more towards the bocote, but the birdseye is definitely coming up as a close second. Thing is, I HATE the feel of a finished maple fretboard, so I dont' finish them. My 8's got a birdseye fretboard and it still doesn't have that maple fretboard grunge. I wish it would. 

Birdseye







Bocote






Zebrano






Chu guys think?


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## Apophis (Nov 23, 2008)

Zebrano


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## Unknown Doodl3.2 (Nov 23, 2008)

Apophis said:


> Zebrano



I second that! It would look mighty cool


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## canuck brian (Nov 24, 2008)

Unknown Doodl3.2 said:


> I second that! It would look mighty cool



Wow, that came as a shock! I figured the maple would have it hands down. I've ruled out the bocote as i'm already using a board of it on another guitar. I'll be honest though, i'm leaning more towards the birdseye again....


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## wannabguitarist (Nov 24, 2008)

Apophis said:


> Zebrano


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## awesomeaustin (Nov 24, 2008)

Zebrano!!!!!!!!


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## canuck brian (Nov 24, 2008)

Ok - this one gets the zebrano and the 6 string gets the maple. 

Watch this space this coming weekend.


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## budda (Nov 24, 2008)

hehe sweet. yeah the zebrano is madness.


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## Giamatti (Nov 25, 2008)

Definately the Zebrano, it's teh sex. Seriously.


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## canuck brian (Nov 30, 2008)

I ask again for re-consideration (not that it matters, this board looks bugfuck - i'm using it.) I surfaced the bocote on both sides and got these two awesome possible board faces.












And the other side. Which looks like zebrano, only more nuts. (this is Budda's 7 string singlecut's board)


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## Mattmc74 (Nov 30, 2008)

That board looks awesome as well!


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## budda (Nov 30, 2008)

i can has fretboard?! (sorry drew!)


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## SnowfaLL (Nov 30, 2008)

Im interested to see how that maple turns out. Being a big maple fan =]


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## Elysian (Nov 30, 2008)

love that bocote, it looks so badass.


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## willybman (Dec 2, 2008)

Love the look of all of them, cant wate to see the final product.


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## awesomeaustin (Dec 2, 2008)

mmm...bocote


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## canuck brian (Jan 12, 2009)

So! Got into the shop this afternoon to realize that there had been some sort of leak in a window. The place seemed a little damp and i started to check the bodies, fretboards and necks that were still in the shop. Everything looked good except for the body for this build (completely twisted) and Justin's fretboard. Wood's now being stored in a climate controlled room permanently now....fucking Canadian winters.

Onto tonight's work - i re-did Justin (Budda)'s fretboard as well as doing another one with an extra fret. I also did up a 25 fret board in birdseye. All 3 boards are 26 inch scale..mostly because I wanted to use 26 inch scale in case you wanted to know. 






The birdseye ...i just couldn't snap a good picture of it and it's all washed out here. It looks amazing and i'm thinking of using it to more drastically contrast the wenge for this one. 

I took an ash body blank I had sitting around and thinned it the hell down. It's the new core of the wenge body. I had the rest of the night so I figured I'd get it prepped for the wenge cap that i'm picking up tomorrow. I'm probably not going to chamber it as I'm already worried about neck dive with the solid wenge spliced headstock. It's down to one inch at this point and the cap will be 1/2 inch.


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## Justin Bailey (Jan 12, 2009)

to bad about the warping, man. Can't wait to see this (and Justin's) build progress. I love the work you've done so far with other guitars.


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## eelblack2 (Jan 13, 2009)

Looks really great - keep up the good work!

I look forward to retiring from my businesses in a few years and learning to build.


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## budda (Jan 13, 2009)

i was scouting these pics last night - looks good!

if you have some decent lighting, dont use the flash on your camera to take the pics and they'll come out more how you want 'em


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## tie my rope (Jan 15, 2009)

looks like s i c k work man


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## canuck brian (Jan 29, 2009)

I think between the getting a new car, job, possibly a house and generally going outta my mind, i've actually managed to get some work done!

The house means a permanent local workshop. WOO!

Budda's neck blank got glued up and ready to roll. He's got the other pics available to him. 






The new and improved wenge carve body, now with ash!






You know what I've heard works good in ash? These. Fuck yes.






I just finished the truss routes for the three necks (including this one) i've been working on. I'm trying out a new method for truss rod access that I hope you guys dig. Most of what I'm doing lately is just fixing issues that I've always found annoying on guitars.


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## budda (Jan 29, 2009)

more maple then i was expecting, but it's all good 

and that wenge/ash with BKP's is going to melt faces and babies, simultaneously.


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## canuck brian (Jan 29, 2009)

budda said:


> more maple then i was expecting, but it's all good
> 
> and that wenge/ash with BKP's is going to melt faces and babies, simultaneously.



I can redo it!


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## silentrage (Jan 29, 2009)

:thumbsup:


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## budda (Jan 29, 2009)

canuck brian said:


> I can redo it!



get on msn and hit me up yo


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## darren (Jan 29, 2009)

That neck blank is looking pretty cool. It was still clamped up when i left Brian's! And that Wenge/Ash body is pretty sweet. I love the dark top/light back look. But man, that thing weighs a TON. The carving should hopefully reduce that a bit. The Nailbombs should sound nice and chunky in that. They were a little TOO chunky in my mahogany EVO, so i sold them to Brian and i'm putting the Duncans back in my Dean.

BTW, be careful when carving that Wenge, Brian... it's one of those woods whose dust is classified as an "irritant".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenge


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## canuck brian (Jan 29, 2009)

darren said:


> BTW, be careful when carving that Wenge, Brian... it's one of those woods whose dust is classified as an "irritant".
> 
> Wenge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



I actually got a cm long splinter driven straight into the palm of my hand. I couldn't get to it immediately and about 10 minutes later it felt like someone had put a red hot pin in there. That stuff is naaaasty. I always work with a dust mask or respirator in the shop now all the time too. I operate that if i can actually smell the wood, it's going into my lungs...and thats not good.


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## paintkilz (Jan 30, 2009)

man i love your work...


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jan 30, 2009)

That fretboard is orgasmic.


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## canuck brian (Apr 26, 2009)

FINALLY managed to get some time in the shop. Here's where I'm at now - the neck is all routed to template, fretboard is on, headstock has basic shaping and the tuner holes are drilled. Little bitter about one of the holes - it's about a mm off. Didn't use enough tape on the template.

Onto the pics!







Routed out the control cavity - leaving enough room for a battery and a piezo circuit.






I'm trying out magnets to see if I dig them more than screws. We'll see how it turns out.






I cleared enough room in the shop for a table router - makes a lot of processes a lot faster and easier. I made a wenge cover for the cavity on it in a minute.






Mockup!






Darren was awesome to hook me up with all the to-scale graphics (wait to you see his payment - they're on the way. Can't wait to see them.) Here's a preview of what a pile of white limba in my shop is going to become!


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## Panterica (Apr 26, 2009)

wiggity wow!!!!


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## Justin Bailey (Apr 27, 2009)

I'm in love


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## budda (Apr 27, 2009)

badass. can i try it out when its done?


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## Sepultorture (Apr 27, 2009)

canuck brian said:


>



that exact same headstock is what i am gunning for, although pointing in the other direction

a straighter ESP style point headstock, pure fuckin metal

me thinks you might be the man i'm giving a call in a few months for custom work

and your local MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA



can you also take some more headstock pics, i wanna wank to those later


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## canuck brian (Apr 27, 2009)

Sepultorture said:


> that exact same headstock is what i am gunning for, although pointing in the other direction
> 
> a straighter ESP style point headstock, pure fuckin metal
> 
> ...




The 7 string inline headstock looks really good on paper, but there's really not a lot of ...headstock in practice. I think i'm warming up to it but i'll grab some better pics of it tomorrow. 

The straighter ESP was pretty much exactly what I wanted.

Of course you can try it when its' done Budda.


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## darren (Apr 27, 2009)

From the angle you shot it at, the headstock looks absolutely weapon-like. Which i'm sure is a good thing. 

Do you think we need to add a little more meat to the design?

The wenge top is looking awesome... it's gonna be awesome when you start carving into it!

Can't wait to see my compensation!


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## Sepultorture (Apr 27, 2009)

i must see this axe in person when it's done, MUST

the wanking will be furious and messy


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## guitarbuilder93 (Apr 27, 2009)

FINALLY! progress.

this is one awesome gitfiddle you have cooking here! can't wait to see it finished.


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## budda (Apr 27, 2009)

scott, that sounds like a damn good reason why you shouldnt see it in person


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## canuck brian (Apr 28, 2009)

Some other pics I snapped today while I was in town for a couple of hours.





















Go listen to some Kreator - it kicks ass. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNyTjjvfNyE


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## Mattmc74 (Apr 28, 2009)

Looks cool so far!


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## budda (Apr 28, 2009)

sweet!


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## Erick Kroenen (Apr 29, 2009)

nice work..


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## Sepultorture (Apr 29, 2009)

well i'm now glued to this thread and it's outcome

if this axe turns out extremely well, you and I have to have a talk about a custom


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## canuck brian (May 6, 2009)

Darren's payment showed up as well as an unexpected second pair of these Nordstrands. He wanted the fat 1/4 inch magnets like a quarter pounder. The other pair is going in here as I can probably move the bareknuckles faster than these.


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## Apophis (May 6, 2009)

looks awesome so far  great job 

update us more frequently


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## hairychris (May 6, 2009)

Intense. Good stuff!


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## canuck brian (Jun 1, 2009)

More time = more work done.







Bridge drilling template






Lining it up with the back to make sure the holes perfectly line up.






Putting the carving edge on the body






1.05 inches at the edge











Where I'm currently at - i couldn't locate my long assed drill bit so i couldn't drill the wiring channel for the neck humbucker. I think i'm going to start prerouting the channels before gluing any more tops. Might make life a lot easier.


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## hufschmid (Jun 1, 2009)

canuck brian said:


> More time = more work done.
> 
> 
> 
> ...





This guitar is starting to look fantastic


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 1, 2009)

That actually looks stunning... 

Wenge


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## Thrashmanzac (Jun 1, 2009)

need moar pics!


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## Rorschach (Jun 1, 2009)

hufschmid said:


> This guitar is starting to look fantastic



I agree 100%. Just awesome


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## Justin Bailey (Jun 1, 2009)

one one the best looking guitars I have ever seen. period.


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## Apophis (Jun 1, 2009)

it's looks just AWESOME now


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## canuck brian (Jun 1, 2009)

Thanks guys! I'm planning on doing an 8 as well with a 3 piece rosewood neck w/maple veneers w/the reverse inline. I really want to do it as a 27 incher because the longer fretboards like the 28 5/8 aren't really agreeing with me. I haven't seen anyone using 28 - can anyone offer some input?

- I'll be cleaning up the carve edge during the hand sanding - there were a few spots where i didn't take enough down. Its coming along though.... I was really pissed about the one of the dots at the 12th - the bit got wobbly and I missed it.


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## Pauly (Jun 1, 2009)

That's looking sweet! I <3 build threads, reminds me I should look on ProjectGuitar more often.


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## budda (Jun 1, 2009)

so, this is my loaner right? 

Looks kick ass yo


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## Thrashmanzac (Jun 1, 2009)

^ you lucky bastard...


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## TemjinStrife (Jun 2, 2009)

Looks absolutely amazing, I love the top carve.

Crucified's Sherman 8 is 28" scale... he doesn't think it's 100% long enough, but it's better than the 27" 2228 to him.


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## Justin Bailey (Jun 2, 2009)

canuck brian said:


> - I'll be cleaning up the carve edge during the hand sanding - there were a few spots where i didn't take enough down. Its coming along though.... I was really pissed about the one of the dots at the 12th - the bit got wobbly and I missed it.



what if you had one dot slighty larger than the other to cover up the offset-ness, plus it would be kind of different as a 12th fret marker.


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## hairychris (Jun 2, 2009)

Epic!


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## canuck brian (Jun 2, 2009)

Temjin - arg. I was hoping to hear that it would be cool at 28. I got to try one of those Agile 8's a while ago and it totally didn't agree with me. I still might go down the 27 inch route just to be nice to my hands.

Justin - I'm actually ok with the small mistake. I decided that I wasn't selling a single full guitar to anyone until I build one for myself that I would consider defect free.  All that really means is that there will be more like this for me. I really REALLY like the small dots on the front of hte board so even having it a tad off it is cool.

That being said, i've really only made two mistakes on this build that I consider deal breakers. I looked at the 8 that i built years ago recently and cringed.


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## jsousa (Jun 2, 2009)

looks amazing. u have a custom shop? haha


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## 7deadlysins666 (Jun 2, 2009)

So... do you sell guitars or just make em for yourself?


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## Elysian (Jun 2, 2009)

7deadlysins666 said:


> So... do you sell guitars or just make em for yourself?





canuck brian said:


> Temjin - arg. I was hoping to hear that it would be cool at 28. I got to try one of those Agile 8's a while ago and it totally didn't agree with me. I still might go down the 27 inch route just to be nice to my hands.
> 
> Justin - I'm actually ok with the small mistake. *I decided that I wasn't selling a single full guitar to anyone until I build one for myself that I would consider defect free.*  All that really means is that there will be more like this for me. I really REALLY like the small dots on the front of hte board so even having it a tad off it is cool.
> 
> That being said, i've really only made two mistakes on this build that I consider deal breakers. I looked at the 8 that i built years ago recently and cringed.



I bolded your answer.


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## Pablo (Jun 2, 2009)

What a downright gorgeous instrument! REALLY looking forward to the completion of this beast!


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 2, 2009)

I honestly cannot get over how gorgeous that looks. For someone who has never made luthiery a career/occupation, that looks absolutely flat out stunning.

Serious wenge GAS.


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## budda (Jun 2, 2009)

Brian, I still say your "planet" inlay on the old 8 is a kickass inlay and should be your sig one .

no loaner 7? Well I tried


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## Justin Bailey (Jun 2, 2009)

you should let me borrow it indefinitely when it's done.


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## buffa d (Jun 2, 2009)

Whoah, those look so good!
How does the wenge soundlike?


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## canuck brian (Jun 7, 2009)

Well, i think wenge is supposed to be snappy - Warwick uses it on almost every bass they make. I just like it.

I had booked today off from absolutely everything today and went directly to the shop in the morning. I brought it home for an initial string up and tweaking, but i'll be doing the fret ends while i'm here. So the neck is glued in, all the cavities are drilled for stainless screws (fuck those garbage screws) neck totally profiled (round 1 - 10 / flat 11 - 25)....

Bad - the input jack...arg. I didn't reset the stop when I moved the drill press table and it went another 1/2 cm into the channel further than I wanted. Now the tip of the barrel jack touches the volume pot.  - lesson learned. Also - the template i used to get the inline tuners lined up (and got one f'd up anyways) was for Gotoh and i'm using Hipshots....so they needed a little cosmetic surgery (ie - grinder) to take off 1/2 mm. 

All in all, it's pretty light with everything on it, doesn't neck dive and sits very comfortably so far. Once i'm satisfied everything is good to go, it's getting clear coated w/ black grain filler for the ash core.

Here be pics.

Naptha'd the board and cleaning out the dust in the pores.
























The set neck joint. I really don't like neck heels, so the less of one the better. I think next time i'll use a veneer between the neck and the body to accent the joint. It's all Cooley'd too.






This turned out pretty neat! I worked the headstock cave to get the maple in the middle to be the tip of the volute.
















Side by side for thickness comparison with my Ibby RG.






Almost done! I think I'm going to stick with the super thin set necks. I'm not digging making bolts and neckthrus. I'll probably stick with the 26 inch scale too. The maple on the headstock side of the volute is also going to get removed.

As a total thread hijack - I saved a piglet on the highway almost two weeks ago.






I'm tired. Beer.


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## Hollowway (Jun 7, 2009)

budda said:


> Brian, I still say your "planet" inlay on the old 8 is a kickass inlay and should be your sig one .
> 
> no loaner 7? Well I tried



Hey, I wouldn't mind seeing that inlay. Is there a thread on here with that build? I didn't see it in a SSO search...


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## vontetzianos (Jun 7, 2009)

canuck brian said:


> Well, i think wenge is supposed to be snappy - Warwick uses it on almost every bass they make. I just like it.
> 
> I had booked today off from absolutely everything today and went directly to the shop in the morning. I brought it home for an initial string up and tweaking, but i'll be doing the fret ends while i'm here. So the neck is glued in, all the cavities are drilled for stainless screws (fuck those garbage screws) neck totally profiled (round 1 - 10 / flat 11 - 25)....
> 
> ...


 

That looks awesome


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## noob_pwn (Jun 7, 2009)

do you think there will be any problems with the strength of the neck join? (btw looks effing phenomenal!!!!111111111!!!!!)


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## wannabguitarist (Jun 7, 2009)

I  that guitar


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## Jeroenofzo (Jun 7, 2009)

Holy shit, the top is plain awesome man!


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## Apophis (Jun 7, 2009)

Looks great, no doubts, awesome job


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## Ruins (Jun 7, 2009)

awesome!!! awesome!!! awesome!!! awesome!!! 
you really made me feel bad for being broke and not being able to buy ome wood and start of working about RIGHT NOW
fuck me this guitar looks great! i really like the way you did the neck and the neck joint. i feel like we share the same view about how it should be done and look like.


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## Wi77iam (Jun 7, 2009)




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## budda (Jun 7, 2009)

Brian, you MUST bring that to london this fall :yesway (or swing down here if you go to sudbury in the summer).

Is the birdseye some of the same stuff you're going to be using for the one stringer in my neck?

That looks awesome dude, I reeeally want to play it!!! and the heel


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## march (Jun 7, 2009)

man, the top arch is great, the cutaway curves are as perfect as can be, the heel and that headstock joint. The whole guitar is just "wow" ... best looking RG ever imo


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## Andrew_B (Jun 7, 2009)

looks good man,
nice work 
the volute looks good with the maple tip too....


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## Xaios (Jun 7, 2009)

Nice.

Didja keep the piglet?


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## leandroab (Jun 7, 2009)

Xaios said:


> Didja keep the piglet?





SWINE FLU!

IT'S A TARP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Cheesebuiscut (Jun 7, 2009)

Do want.


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## Seebu (Jun 7, 2009)

Cute piglet.


Oh yeah, the guitar is nice as well.


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## canuck brian (Jun 7, 2009)

thanks again for checking it out guys - shouldn't be too much longer before it's done.

noob-pwn - did you mean the scarf joint? It's just a different wood, but it's a pretty common joint. The neck joint itself was basically me looking at Sherman guitars way too much.

Budda - the birdseye is from the same board. 

I took a few outdoor shots today!


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## Apophis (Jun 7, 2009)

beauty  I love wenge to death


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## ShadyDavey (Jun 7, 2009)

I say, thats bloody marvellous - good job!


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## Ramsay777 (Jun 7, 2009)

Damn dude!! That looks fucking brilliant!!


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## MerlinTKD (Jun 7, 2009)

canuck brian said:


> I took a few outdoor shots today!



AHHHH!!!! GET THAT THING OFF THE GROUND!!! 



and then box it up and send it to me


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## budda (Jun 7, 2009)

Epic win, Brian.

I won't even ask my favourite question  (but i just implied it haha)


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## SnowfaLL (Jun 7, 2009)

That is quite nice Brian, I hope I get out to Ontario in a few years, if only to try out some of your guitars.

btw its nice to see that kinda wood combination, as I am planning something similar on something at the moment. We might need to have a chat about woods later.


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## Ramsay777 (Jun 7, 2009)

Oooo, one more thing, please get a black switch-tip


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## hufschmid (Jun 7, 2009)

strings


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## canuck brian (Jun 7, 2009)

It's actually only sanded to 120 right now, so i'm not worried about scratches.  Still need to do some work on it - bout 90% done.

I'll be definitely grabbing a black tip for the 3 way. Due to the body being as thin as it is, i had to use one of those gibson ones that they put in the sgs....


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## -K4G- (Jun 7, 2009)

Wow. Thats nice. Love the maple fretboard.


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## wannabguitarist (Jun 8, 2009)

Apophis said:


> beauty  I love wenge to death



This is kinda what I pictured for the affordable Roter customs actually. But with a wenge neck instead of top.


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## Justin Bailey (Jun 8, 2009)

gorgeous is an understatement. Brilliant build, I'm in love!


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## Sepultorture (Jun 8, 2009)

Brian my man, we must get together very soon and discuss a custom of my own my friend, your local and your work screams amazing, i must have it


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## canuck brian (Jun 8, 2009)

hufschmid said:


> strings


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## Mattmc74 (Jun 8, 2009)

^ Very awesome job sir!


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## thadood (Jun 8, 2009)

I'm coming to Toronto on the 16th for about 5 days.. I'd love to play on that bad boy =)


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## guitarbuilder93 (Jun 8, 2009)




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## paintkilz (Jun 8, 2009)

love the fact that you went with a set neck...now a days everyones doing bolts or throughs...


with something like that you could almost make it like a kit and sell to the public








although i know you said you would sell anything until you had it perfect.






can i ask how much money you have in it, and how many hours?

im guessing a large chunk of the bill would go to the lundgrens..


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## HumanFuseBen (Jun 9, 2009)

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck that thing looks amazing!!! one of the best looking guitars i've ever seen on this board... a real beauty!


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## Apophis (Jun 9, 2009)

awesome job. Period


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## hufschmid (Jun 9, 2009)

canuck brian said:


>



You sir, can be very proud of yourself 




Video


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## drmosh (Jun 9, 2009)

that is insanely beautiful!


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## Andrew_B (Jun 9, 2009)

looks sweet man 

machine heads are very... umm... offcentred 
what happened there?

maple board is nice....

damn nice timber


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## darren (Jun 9, 2009)

So how do the pickups sound?


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## -K4G- (Jun 9, 2009)

Gawd damn.  Wow.


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## jsousa (Jun 9, 2009)

Looks sick 

Get my pm?


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## Ramsay777 (Jun 9, 2009)

Andrew_B said:


> machine heads are very... umm... offcentred
> what happened there?




Do they?


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## Andrew_B (Jun 9, 2009)

yea man.. look at the strings between the nut and the machine heads


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## canuck brian (Jun 9, 2009)

I pulled a couple of the strings so tight that they don't wrap at all. They go straight into the post so they look totally f'd up. If i do a half wind, they line up just fine. 

The low e is definitely requiring a half wind.


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## Andrew_B (Jun 10, 2009)

took a bit of thinking and looking closely at the pic before i understood what you were saying Brian lol..

why not wrap them around the machine heads more?

i have my own method of wrapping the strings around my machine heads... i try to get a few winds on to increase the break over the nut....


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## canuck brian (Jun 10, 2009)

Andrew_B said:


> took a bit of thinking and looking closely at the pic before i understood what you were saying Brian lol..
> 
> why not wrap them around the machine heads more?
> 
> i have my own method of wrapping the strings around my machine heads... i try to get a few winds on to increase the break over the nut....



I usually draw them kinda tight before locking them, but this was just to see if everything was in the right place. Just happened to pull that one way too tight. It's getting stripped of all the hardware and sanded up to 400 - 500 before getting clear coated.


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## Justin Bailey (Jun 10, 2009)

will it be a satin finish?


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## canuck brian (Jul 7, 2009)

done. I love it.


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## -K4G- (Jul 7, 2009)

HOLY COW!!!!


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## tian (Jul 7, 2009)

I love it as well. Nice!


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## zimbloth (Jul 7, 2009)

Well done Brian, that is a nice piece


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## vontetzianos (Jul 7, 2009)

Very, very nice.


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## Ruins (Jul 7, 2009)

OHH MAN IT WAS HARD TO WATCH THIS PICTURES FROM ABNORMAL AMOUNT OF LUST TO TRY THIS GUITAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
your work is supper clean and nice well done!!!!

how does she sound liike????? could you please please please with bareknuckle pickup on top post some sound clips of this guitar???
i am thinking for my future project to go similar wood choices.


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## Meldville (Jul 7, 2009)

Wow man, that is absolutely gorgeous


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## Rorschach (Jul 7, 2009)

Just awesome...
Fantastic work, man

Cheers!


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## Hollowway (Jul 7, 2009)

canuck brian said:


> done. I love it.



 That joinery there is the coolest thing I've ever seen. I agree that I'd like you to make me a custom someday, but I'd like to take it a step further and have you make all my furniture. Nice choice of woods, contrast, and "architecture"!


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## hypermagic (Jul 7, 2009)

Absolutely delicious sir.


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## Andrew_B (Jul 7, 2009)

looks sweet Brian....
maple boards are sexy!!
the small dots just make it looks even better.... really cool idea


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## loktide (Jul 7, 2009)

wow, that looks really good 

excellent job, man


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## budda (Jul 7, 2009)

That looks great 

I'd like to point out the cool lookin' logo on the headstock to everyone here - you'll be seeing more of it


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## vontetzianos (Jul 7, 2009)

I demand clips/vids....


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## noob_pwn (Jul 7, 2009)

that axe is exhilarating.
i must pick up my jaw now.


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## Pauly (Jul 7, 2009)

Another incredible bit of work on this website, I'm really glad I'm a member here haha. Do want (in lefty obviously).


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## Raoul Duke (Jul 7, 2009)

That guitar is stunning!

Now, all i need you to do is post it to me


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## lewbob (Jul 7, 2009)

this is the exact guitar i want !


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## technomancer (Jul 7, 2009)

Looks fantastic


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## Apophis (Jul 7, 2009)

looks beautiful, awesome job


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## cycloptopus (Jul 7, 2009)

So very cool, man. As mentioned in a previous post, that headstock joinery is sweet. I also dig the carvetop being a bit more subtle and smooth. Such a nice piece!


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## yacker (Jul 7, 2009)

I can't express how pissed of this thread has made me. I'm so angry that that is your guitar and not mine....it looks amazing.


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## synrgy (Jul 7, 2009)

Stunning. Fucking gorgeous, man.


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## ralphy1976 (Jul 7, 2009)

really awesome. i love wood and this is just a brilliant example. roll on to the next one then?!!! +1 thanks


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## 7deadlysins666 (Jul 7, 2009)

God I want a wenge guitar.... that looks awesome man. So...when are you going to start building for other people?


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## HumanFuseBen (Jul 7, 2009)

so give us the scoop, man! how does this thing play and sound??? it seems like most dudes who build their own guitars never delve into that info out of modesty.... does it play and sound as awesome as it looks?


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## splinter8451 (Jul 7, 2009)

Dang man this looks awesome! And I agree with the man above me ^ How does it play and sound??????


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## s_k_mullins (Jul 7, 2009)

Looks damn fine!


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## Justin Bailey (Jul 7, 2009)

just died a little inside... that thing is incredible... just wow.


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## SnowfaLL (Jul 7, 2009)

I hope I can make it out to Toronto someday to play that Brian, good work. Looks almost like a mix between Carvin and KXK, it has that Carvin super clean look, with abit of pointy to it, but not overboard.


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## BurialWithin (Jul 7, 2009)

wow i think that's like my favorite top ever!! Dude that is amazing...i'm getting a wenge top


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## Sepultorture (Jul 7, 2009)

holy fuck me gently with a running chainsaw

i must play this some time just once, then go masturbate furiously


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## Fred (Jul 7, 2009)

Sweet Christ that is beautiful! Just read every single page of this thread, awesome, AWESOME work.


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## DIOBOLIC5150 (Jul 7, 2009)

That is just a SEXY GUITAR. Great job on that!


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## whosdealin (Jul 8, 2009)

Damn that is just insane man ! ! you should open up shop


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## BurialWithin (Jul 8, 2009)

DUDE GUITAR OF THE MONTH !!!!!!!!!!!!!! For real anyone else????


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## hufschmid (Jul 8, 2009)

Sepultorture said:


> holy fuck me gently with a running chainsaw
> 
> i must play this some time just once, then go masturbate furiously





 be sure to play it before......

New neck finish?





canuck brian said:


> done. I love it.



Gorgeous guitar, gorgeous work sir!

I have some wenge which I'm going to be using for some tops along with my zebrawood...


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## Elysian (Jul 8, 2009)

BurialWithin said:


> DUDE GUITAR OF THE MONTH !!!!!!!!!!!!!! For real anyone else????



Already nominated, go +1 it.


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## hufschmid (Jul 8, 2009)

+1


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## Andrew_B (Jul 8, 2009)

hufschmid said:


> be sure to play it before......
> 
> New neck finish?


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## cddragon (Jul 8, 2009)

H O L Y F U C K !!! It looks awesome 
we want it to be our treasssssure :gollum:


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## Jeroenofzo (Jul 14, 2009)

What did you finished it with? 
Is that purpleheart laminates in the neck? Did you made it UV-resistant somehow? I'd like to know..


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## snuif09 (Jul 14, 2009)

*drool*


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## tubarao guitars (Jul 19, 2009)

this axe is just gorgeous and awesome.
huge congratz.


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## Seebu (Jul 19, 2009)

It's beautiful.


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## canuck brian (Jul 19, 2009)

Thanks guys!

The laminates between the maple is purpleheart - it's just finished with 10 coats of danish and 10 tung oil. I've got another guitar with a solid purpleheart neck and it's weathered just fine the last 4 years - gigging, abuse etc....


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## yacker (Jul 20, 2009)

I think this thread should be locked because every time it pops back up I have to go look at the pictures and get pissed off all over again that I don't own that guitar   

Damn it man, start building those things for everyone!


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## Erick Kroenen (Jul 21, 2009)

+  +  +  +  +  =


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## Fionn (Jul 22, 2009)

Simply EPIC!


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