I had an itch.....

andy_k

I had an Itch……

And a recent unboxing vid gave me the urge to scratch it. Somebody posted their reactions to the Mexican Frankenstein, and the fact there is now a year wait for one, so I thought I’d fill a difficult time for me with another go at my own version.

I didn’t want to spend any money, so I went with parts I had spare, and some stuff robbed from previous builds.

Neck and body were virgin parts, but every other part was dug out from boxes of screws, or swapped out from other projects to get the look I was after.

The bridge pickup is an EVH Frankenstein, which was not working after I trapped one of the tails when I put a cover on it, weirdly it was reading ok now, but I resoldered it anyway.

Neck pickup is a working Seymour Duncan stacked thing, taken from a set I haven’t used.

Pickguard was one I had made, in the wrong colour, so needed painting.

I actually already had the unused switch (Dimarzio), which was robbed from another Frank build, but the rats nest is new, what a waste of an expensive switch, but try finding an original.

I’m waiting on the postman for a crucial part, courtesy of @Drbob, and that will be suitably weird for this build.

I actually remembered to take pics of the process, so thought it would be fun to show and tell.

Times are tough for me now, especially tough in fact, so this obsessive build helped me pass some time and got me partially through it, the next bit will hopefully do the same-TBContinued.

I call it--it is an it, ODDBOD.

Hope the pics come out ok.

The inspiration

The Patient

The Surgery

Surgery complete

The other end-back

The other end -front 

A coat of paint

The weird thing in the middle

End of day 1

Some tweaks to do

Day 2, was a Sunday, and the tweaks involved meant making a new spacer for the bridge pickup.
The EVH Franky pickup comes with short legs, only the limited edition signed / aged version has the correct long leg baseplate, I have one, but I am not intending to use it in a build, the signature is the bit you want to see, so I had to make a hardwood spacer for it. Version one was a touch too small, but I used it to get an idea of how high it needed to be in relation to the neck angle. I always fit a shim to start with as I like my bridges set up high, Version 2 was blacked out so it is not so visible now, and I may have to make a version 3 when I come to getting it set up when the trem arrives.
I hate waiting for the postman, and I now just have a bit of dusting to do, all this work is done in my lounge / hallway as I don't have anywhere to work-the painting was a problem, but you can't see white paint against white walls in my hallway.
Keep em peeled for part 2.

DrBob

Looking killer Andy !
Just checked the status of the parcel, annoyingly it’s got no further than “Received At Post Office” which is frustrating given that I paid for 1st class. I’ll check again later and update, can’t wait to see this one come together 

andy_k

It arrived this morning @DrBob , coming together nicely.

DrBob

Sweet, don’t forget a light application of grease on the rail ! 

phil_b

DrBob said:

Sweet, don’t forget a light application of grease on the rail ! 

floyd rose rail tail?

DrBob

phil_b said:

DrBob said:

Sweet, don’t forget a light application of grease on the rail ! 

floyd rose rail tail?

Sort of but I’ll leave it to Andy for the big reveal 

andy_k

Day 3

Well, A postman called, and left me a package.

A weird 80’s invention called the Boogie Rail, courtesy of @DrBob.

I wasn’t set up to do a full Floyd on this build, so this seemed like an opportunity too good to miss. (still read it as bog roll though)

It is an unconventional build in many ways, so this fits the quirkiness of it perfectly.

I gave it a quick wipe over with a wax polish, so the pics look way rougher than it is in reality, really highlights the graining.

In reality, it is a couple of light coats of white primer, with a couple of light clear coats on top, no rubbing down in between--did I say I hate dusting?

The idea was for a finish that would age quickly, and it is really all about the wood,construction  and  pickups on this build.

Set up wise, I got lucky with my second attempt at the bridge pickup spacer-it came out perfect, and I am happy enough with the alignment. The neck one was a different matter, so that had to come out, holes plugged up and re-positioned with more packing. 

The trem is interesting, I couldn’t see how it stays in, but it does, and I forgot to grease it up first time, I don’t have any grease, so I mixed up a little olive oil and graphite powder to lubricate it a little, same gunk went into the nut, which isn’t perfect, but it will do until I break strings and have another go at it.

My setup involves quite a high action, with EB 10-52s, which are a bit heavy for the trem, the idea was to have a light feeling unit-which is pretty impossible with heavier strings, the springs have to be tight enough to pull the unit flat to the body, but it all seems to work as it should, I have bigger problems with the nut, and the neck is a fair bit slimmer than I am used to, so it will take time to settle.

The first string I put on seemed to bring it to life, so much vibration, so it is a very lively guitar, very lightweight, and resonant (having pickups screwed into body and not much paint helps with this) and the trem is a lightweight alloy with graphtec saddles, so that is something to get used to.

The Frankenstein pickup is ACE, I already knew it was good, but it is perfect for this build.

The neck one isn’t too bad, but I will have to get it set up right to balance, it measures 12k, and the bridge is slightly hotter at 14k, so it should be fine.

I’m rambling now-so enjoy the pics, job is done for now, just lots of playing to do now.

Full frontal…

Sunbathing

Sunbathing 2

Sunbathing 3

The back of it

The neck joint

In hindsight, I wish I had plugged the extra pickguard holes, but I was in a hurry and I have made a few obvious 'improvements', but I think I followed Eds path pretty closely.

It's not the greatest guitar in the world, its just a tribute.

cheers guys.

andy K.

DrBob

I love it mate, looks awesome. I’ll have a dig about & see if I can find those Gotoh High Tension trem springs, if I can find them I’ll stick them in the post, they might sort the trem 

sawyer

Love guitars like this! Always fancied building the black and white Frankenstein version, but I'd look a fool with it seeing as I can't get anywhere near Eddie's playing:(

andy_k

sawyer said:

Love guitars like this! Always fancied building the black and white Frankenstein version, but I'd look a fool with it seeing as I can't get anywhere near Eddie's playing:(

Same, IMO, it is probably the most iconic guitar ever, which is why I choose to build alternate reality versions which let me get the sound and feel right, without looking like a twat.
I'll get a family group shot done to finish off the thread.

JohnS37

So, er, please educate me about the Boogie Rail - What does it do/sound like?

JohnS37

And is it upside down?

usedtobe

Very cool..

andy_k

JohnS37 said:

So, er, please educate me about the Boogie Rail - What does it do/sound like?

I didn't take pics of it in parts, but I'll try and describe, @DrBob has more accurate info, it has a machined steel bar that is held in place by the existing 6 vintage screws. This bar is machined with a circular profile which mates with the rounded underside of the machined or cast alloy baseplate. You can't see the screws because they are now covered by the name on the baseplate. This then is fitted to a traditional style block and springs. The design is intended to be decked to the body, with no upward pull.
This arrangement has a few tonal consequences, the effect of the bridge being in full contact with the body, the enhanced contact between the plate and the pivot point-which is now a single continuous rail, and the effect of a lightweight alloy.
On top of this, the trem came with Graphtec saddles, which have a tone to them.
So, in short, it's complicated, but I like the effect, I imagine it is similar to the effect of having a titanium or brass block, or saddles.
I only experienced it once before, by using an alloy tailpiece on a Les Paul, it imparts a zing and presence, which is not harsh.
It's a bit early to say for sure, because new strings have the same effect, and as far as the actual trem working well, in my case it is a bigger problem getting the nut sorted out, the Sperzels take care of business up there, no need for a tree.