Ivison Guitars '59 DC Model - Build Thread

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  • cgumtreecgumtree Frets: 35
    Great thread - love following your progress @miserneil. Hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to have a go at making one myself, what's the minimum of tooling I'd need to get started?
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  • meltedbuzzboxmeltedbuzzbox Frets: 10337
    Come on @miserneil show me the money!!!
    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • IvisonGuitarsIvisonGuitars Frets: 6838
    edited June 2019 tFB Trader
    Apologies @meltedbuzzbox, @Jez6345789 and anyone else awaiting updates, I got back last night from 5 days at Disneyland Paris with my 5 year old....need I say more!? 

    Anyway, moving on...

    A step I missed out showing in the neck building part was drilling for the tuners and also inlaying my 'logo'. I don't do the Gibson 'open book' headstock because, it's a registered trademark. So the headstocks still have the flare and shape of the 50's Gibson headstocks right up to the 'leaves' of the book but not the open book part.

    Regarding the logo, It's not necessarily a logo as such but an genuine Half Penny coin. The Double Cut's get a 1959 one and the Single Cut's get a 1957 coin:



    Now, I really like this (obviously, or I wouldn't do it!) and think it's a nice nod to the fact that the guitar is built in the UK and also to have a genuine vintage element to the guitar. I'm also looking at a standard 'script' style 'Ivison' recall as an option if anyone prefers.

    On to the finish.

    Once the body is sanded and i'm happy all the scratches are gone, I mix up some cherry red filler using aniline dyes that I have base on the colour found under the guard of the 1959 DC that I use as a template for the DC's. As you know, aniline fades rapidly and to get the eventual colour i'm after and the 'quintessential' cherry we all know and love it needs to fade back a bit.



    If anyone is interested, here are a few test swatches of aniline red I did a few years ago and left in the window for 3/4 weeks to see how much they would fade:



    Now this stuff gets EVERYWHERE so I mask up any place I don't want cherry. I mask the cavities of all my guitars, 1. Because I think it looks tidier and 2. Even if someone was to doctor the headstock/logo, the bare cavity will still give it away that it's not an original vintage guitar.





    **The next photo shows the exact process I use but on a @GSPBASSES body that I originally did it on 3 or 4 years ago**

    The cherry filler is applied directly to the 'raw' body with burlap - apparently what they used - so I do it exactly the same:





    **Back to the Ivison body**

    First round of filler applied:



    Second application and coats of sanding sealer applied:



    I leave that to dry overnight and the following day, sand it back:



    As I want this to be a vibrant red that will fade, I then mix up some Cherry Red nitrocellulose (again with aniline dye):



    And give it enough coats over the next couple of days until I am happy:

    Half way through:



    A few more colour coats, I black the headstock face, then the clear coats and we arrive here:



    And here it is hanging with it's TV Yellow partner....





    More soon! 
    http://www.ivisonguitars.com
    (formerly miserneil)
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  • meltedbuzzboxmeltedbuzzbox Frets: 10337
    Looks great @miserneil ;


    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • mlennonmlennon Frets: 5
    love the half penny inlay, the nod to the year and the uk. Great build
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  • paganskinspaganskins Frets: 276
    mlennon said:
    love the half penny inlay, the nod to the year and the uk. Great build
    Seconded, looks great
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  • KeefyKeefy Frets: 2272
    Wow, @miserneil I am totally in awe of your guitar building skills! The fit and finish on the DC TV replica I bought from you is streets ahead of the '87 Gibson LPJ I once owned. I feel guilty about how little you charged me for mine!
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  • meltedbuzzboxmeltedbuzzbox Frets: 10337
    any plans for a two pickup model @miserneil ?
    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • robertyroberty Frets: 10893
    edited July 2018
    any plans for a two pickup model @miserneil ?
    I see a couple lurking in the background here, he's teasing us: https://i.imgur.com/zXx4OCa.jpg
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  • IvisonGuitarsIvisonGuitars Frets: 6838
    tFB Trader
    Keefy said:
    Wow, @miserneil I am totally in awe of your guitar building skills! The fit and finish on the DC TV replica I bought from you is streets ahead of the '87 Gibson LPJ I once owned. I feel guilty about how little you charged me for mine!
    Ah, thanks Graeme, really appreciate that! You snagged the last of the prototypes there :)

    any plans for a two pickup model @miserneil ?
    roberty said:
    any plans for a two pickup model @miserneil ?
    I see a couple lurking in the background here, he's teasing us: https://i.imgur.com/zXx4OCa.jpg
    Those two are restoration jobs, the guitar on the left is a 1959 Double Cut Special, a customers guitar which was bought as a bit of a basket case and we are returning it to late '59 spec. Its absolutely featherlight and has a pair of early '60's P90's arriving shortly, courtesy of @jumping@shadows and is going to be an absolute screamer! I know i'm going to have trouble handing that one over when I'm done....the other is a 1957 TV Special, my own guitar that I refinished once before but have now given a more accurate TV Yellow finish.

    I have, of course, taken measurements from each, the '57 in particular has an absolutely KILLER vintage Les Paul neck profile so that is definitely going to be used....I have 3 potential orders for a TV Special so, once i've finished 2 single cuts and an order for another DC TV Junior, a SC TV Special is next on the list.

    Can't wait to continue progress on this one though....full '56/57 two tone sunburst treatment ahoy! ;)




    http://www.ivisonguitars.com
    (formerly miserneil)
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16541
    I like the coin.  

     I am getting some new discs made up for mine.   We better make sure we both glue them in really well ;)
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  • IvisonGuitarsIvisonGuitars Frets: 6838
    tFB Trader
    WezV said:
    I like the coin.  

     I am getting some new discs made up for mine.   We better make sure we both glue them in really well ;)
    Ha, yes!

    I also really like your disc logo @WezV, very classy :)
    http://www.ivisonguitars.com
    (formerly miserneil)
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  • BluesyDaveBluesyDave Frets: 410
    Love the coin, inspirational choice.  Guitars look great.  You could have the Ivison cast in to something that looks like a small silver or gold ingot.....thinking out loud  ;)
    No Darling....I've had that ages.
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  • IvisonGuitarsIvisonGuitars Frets: 6838
    tFB Trader
    So while we're waiting for the nitro to gas off I'll show you the other bits and pieces too.

    Here's a genuine 1959 Junior pick guard:



    Which I drew around on some scrap ply...



    ...and made a pattern of:



    Now the celluloid guard on a DC Junior (both Cherry and TV Yellow) is a BIG part of the look for me and I used to find it very difficult to find anything remotely similar, the closest I could get was to take a brown tortoiseshell sheet and spray it with a clear red and it'd be a pretty good approximation. However, just recently I have found a supply of NOS Celluloid sheet which is just like the original stuff, i'd go as far as to say it looks the b*llocks so i'm very happy! ;)







    Next up are the tuners, I use genuine nickel Klusons:



    Which I tarnish slightly and the buttons get a spray of nitro that I had mixed up specifically for gentle ageing which I call Nicotine, It just takes the bright white off them and gives them a hint of age. I'm of the opinion that ageing should be as subtle as possible to look authentic. 



    The bridge and studs I use are Faber. From some SERIOUS cork sniffing anorakory(!) I came to the conclusion (and I know @chrisv agrees) that the bridge and pickup play a major role in the sound of a vintage guitar so I was really pleased when @streethawk of this parish recommended me the Faber bridge, it's made out of the same material as the 50's bridges and weighs exactly the same too. Don't believe me? Here you go! :

    '56 wraparound bridge:



    Modern Faber:



    I should mention at this point, even the wife poked her head around the door and said "Neil. Seriously?!"

    ....then... "ARE THOSE MY BLOODY BAKING SCALES!??!"

    :D

    For P90's, I went round the houses here for a while and then, right under my nose found two of the best P90's i've heard from 2 stalwarts of the forum @Mojopickups and @TheGuitarWeasel aka Oil City. I genuinely think these are two of the best vintage voiced P90's available in the UK today and they both clean up brilliantly. I tend to use the Oil City's in the DC's and the Mojo's in the SC's, the reason being I had Marc wind me a vintage voiced P90 for a '55 single cut Junior I had that sounded brilliant and I used an Oil City Firewatch in the first DC I made and that sounded exceptional too....so i've kept that recipe!

    Here's a couple of Oil City Firewatch P90's with aged covers:



    I am investigating Tyson Tone P90's too, @chrisv recommended them to me and my pal Charlie from Blackberry Smoke has one in his TV Junior and was raving about it so I have one on order to try. 

    Pots are 500k CTS Vintage Taper, Jack is Switchcraft and I use a Sprague VitaminQ PIO cap:



    Oh, and a bone nut!

    More soon!



    http://www.ivisonguitars.com
    (formerly miserneil)
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  • BluesyDaveBluesyDave Frets: 410
    Amazing attention to detail.
    No Darling....I've had that ages.
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  • Winny_PoohWinny_Pooh Frets: 7731
    edited July 2018
    I'd be quite chuffed about those gaurds, they look brilliant.
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  • xchrisvxchrisv Frets: 573
    edited July 2018
    This is currently my favourite forum thread on the whole of the internet! Awesome work @miserneil ;
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16541
    edited July 2018

    The guards look nice.

    Mojoaxe are okay ( I would use again), but the pattern on the one I had was disappointing  compared to an original...  less colour variation and no sharpness to the patterns

    Sharp picture of a mojoaxe:

    blurry picture of an original

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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22515
    edited July 2018
    I got a couple of Junior scratchplates from (I think) JXG a few years ago. I don't know what material they are, not celluloid but they look the part.
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  • IvisonGuitarsIvisonGuitars Frets: 6838
    tFB Trader
    chrisv said:
    This is currently my favourite forum thread on the whole of the internet! Awesome work @miserneil ;
    Thanks Chris, really appreciate that!

    @WezV The first guard I used was a Mojoaxe one that I used on my first GSP DC build and I thought similar to you about the pattern and it was a little too red for my Anorak ways, comparing it to the vintage ones at least. Dan makes some great stuff though, I met him and bought a '55 Junior off him when I was on tour in the states, great guy.
    http://www.ivisonguitars.com
    (formerly miserneil)
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