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PRS-style Project Thread - Recommendations Welcome

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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    edited April 2021
    This is how it looks in the guitar! Still a bit of sanding to do on the body following the 3rd grain filler application yesterday.



    https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNS0hAjUI_zA9y2TVOmPhMegJldmvh___Vq3-7O68Ql3wu6bHbeYEVaDSFad7NP1g/photo/AF1QipPep8_jHi6ZRD7haZpg3lPlq-ywLCw59zWP8Rj1?key=dklRNloydjlDemtST1dLMkNIQng5MzRMeWxEVThn
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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    edited May 2021
    Today I had a first stab at staining the neck. I need to go over it a couple more times I think, but already liking the look.

    https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dKzRB7NnXjBBIs0L4AI5C897vRa6OevgpFbmmMFD-bv46iQ8CHjZ37f0WrsW74bDyXVhepGw7e80FRZ7akuzp5HSjjVQCmqx377CJ4_TzJ5x-NcFaRP_cDgMeEtJw152a971nPVQjfRIm-h1hFmM1H5A=w1425-h
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  • PeteCPeteC Frets: 500
    looking great ! 
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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    Latest on the neck: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cmw1QPjd7aOmDKopOkGbvjh2AfUve04q4oi-YzBHZLqY2ObWwl-6HZGBLLFyka4SOuLI8ZDWEpDOUaGVpOu0rRJxCRnrPcK5TQBmD__Xd3thm06Et8Hiz5UXkD7G4KFNHW7tYu1suziw5ynX4-9_SlNw=w1425-h2527-no

    And I've stained the body! 
    https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3ee_0HO4AAtlkQ_c4v2Vv12ekTY4PYsRRXiUafhpLHWs3nTZoVIyv5lepgyeRGuO0hiD_nAVGV8XX49sLw8r1GQi_5cpOOWKzSRAEkdyxRsBZZqof3ZBjD2NtGXSeXCIzLky2EPXfGNRHSgSh6p6lQPsg=w1425-h2527-no

    I need to give the body at least one more coat, as there are some patches and in particular I've been having trouble getting stain into the bits where the neck meets the body, so have bought some foam sponge brushes.
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 17493
    that looks great.  cant wait to see it with some clear
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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    Yeah I'm hoping the clear will make it really pop!
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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    edited May 2021
    Latest update on the staining. I need to go over it with some ultrafine wire wool later today to de-nib some grain that's raised up, and it should also have the nice side effect of making the figure pop even more.



    I'm not sure whether the neck perhaps needs a tiny bit more orange in the transition from red to yellow. I put the 3 colours down, then went over the orange in some yellow which created an interesting effect, but looking at it now I think maybe the orange doesn't look strong enough compared to the quite bold red and yellow. Thoughts are welcome! :smiley: 





    Here's my attempt at natural binding. Needs a bit of clean up but I'm fairly happy with it given that I've never done it before, and as this is my first time staining I thought there'd be more bleed through.





    Annoyingly, I've noticed there are some pores that still aren't filled after 3 applications of filler!!! angry  So I may need to do a fourth application, though only in a few places rather than the whole body.
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 17493
    personally, i think the neck is spot on and looks like a great blend.  If anything,  would be trying to get a bit more yellow on the brightest section of the body


    I would be tempted to seal the whole thing before doing any more grainfilling
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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    Thanks @WezV . Yeah I realised I've blended the orange and yellow on the body a bit too much. Will be adding some more yellow to the central bottom area to brighten it up a bit.
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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    I tried to add more yellow and it turned into a blotchy brownish mess... so sanded it back and have had a second stab at it: 



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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    Seems my previous post didn't work...


    And under a very bright direct light which shows the figure but makes it look a bit washed out / makes the red to orange transition look harsher.



    Unfortunately, this time I did get some leakage of stain onto the binding, so will need to give it a going over with some 320 grit.

    After that, I just need to draw my headstock design with a posca paint pen, and then it's off for lacquering!
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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    Graham has reminded me that I should've done a dry assembly of the guitar before staining in case there are any problems with the build, which I completely forgot to do *facepalm*

    So the next job will be to install the machine heads. I'm a little nervous about this, because I don't have a drill press AND the headstock is angled. Does anyone have any tips for drilling the machine screw holes?

    My plan is to fit the tuners without screws, align them using a straight edge, mark at the screw holes with a bradawl then use the ol' tape on the drill bit trick to stop me drilling too far, but I'm not sure how best to ensure I'm drilling straight.

    I have thought about making a little jig by drilling straight down into a bit of scrap wood, but without a drill press I can't guarantee the jig will be completely straight.
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 17493
    For tuner screws the drill doesn't need to be completely straight, just as straight as you can do by hand.  A bit of tape works fine as a depth stop.  I'm sure many of us do these small holes with a hand drill and don't give it a second thought.  Definitely worth taking some time getting everything nicely aligned and marked in the correct spot.  I would do a jig if I was making 100 identical ones, not for a one off.


    For tuner holes through the headstock, it really does need to be straight.  A drill press or simpke jig like you mention would be needed for this job.   Obviously the simple jig would probably be needed to be made on a drill press
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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    Thanks @WezV , good to know the screw holes don't need to be completely straight. The headstock already has the tuner holes so at least I don't need to worry about that :smiley: 
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  • geetarguy85geetarguy85 Frets: 51
    edited September 2021
    Not quite done yet as need to wire it up, then do the setup, but happy with how it's looking!



    https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLWHgiVSFeB6Q10iqWTJ0Tlmy5g-yTXyRDnvF257dy1JAjHPO4R2YlKgD6p7I19gnMnCjoVLsO-tpdRF24qlVtoNuC3EM_OcuTt26F6iNnZ6lknhDvokwUNYG5gHbcOio2i1dc4JnEXb5MB4rBwlqXT_3A=w1442-h802-no
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  • guitargeek62guitargeek62 Frets: 4385
    Nice work, that looks superb! Very much a tequila sunrise vibe going on there :love: 
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 74472
    geetarguy85 said:
    Electronics wise I'll be using two humbuckers, most likely a pair of Oil City Scrapyard Dog Plus. I'll be using push pull pots for both the volume and tone, and am trying to decide between either having independent coil splits for the two pickups, or one control split both pickups, and the other control be a phase reversal switch.

    What do people think would be more interesting?
    I have a PRS Swamp Ash Special which is HSH, with a 3-way toggle switch and two push-pull pots - the stock wiring has only one, but the previous owner had me mod it for him.

    Stock, the single pull-switch splits the neck humbucker and adds the middle pickup, so the sounds are:

    Switch down - neck humbucker, both humbuckers, bridge humbucker
    Switch up - neck single coil plus middle pickup, all three pickups with neck split, bridge humbucker plus middle pickup

    As modified, the tone control switch splits both humbuckers, and the volume switch adds the middle pickup in any of the other positions. So you can now get all combinations of full and split pickups, except for the middle on its own. Twelve sounds in total, very flexible but surprisingly intuitive and easy to use.

    Interestingly, the *best* 'Stratty' in-between sounds are the original PRS ones - split neck with middle, and bridge humbucker with middle. Splitting the bridge as well actually doesn't sound quite as good - although it does on its own. The split neck alone sound (not available stock) is also wonderful.

    The humbuckers are a pair of PRS Dragon IIs - replacing the original McCartys, which I felt sounded a bit bland in this guitar - ie Alnico IV, roughly 8K and 12K resistance. The middle pickup is a Duncan Vintage Rails...

    ... which I would be the first to say is a *terrible* pickup, on its own - probably the worst 'good maker' Strat pickup I've ever heard. But in combination with the humbuckers, it's great - it's so thin and hollow-sounding that it sucks all the mids out of the humbucker sound and leaves a very Strat-like approximation. In fact, I think the reason the bridge pickup 'Strat' sound is better full than split is because it allows the much lower-output middle pickup to dominate the mix even more.

    Given that, and even though I use the middle pickup a lot on a proper Strat, I actually think it's a good thing that it's the one combination you can't get on it :).

    If you don't want to risk a Vintage Rails (and I wouldn't blame you...) the pickup you need is something similarly low-resistance and thin-sounding by itself.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 74472
    Ah, didn't see this was a very old thread! Too late, sorry :).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

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