El Toro's Official Guitarded Thread...

[ElToro]

Fitting the neck...

[ElToro]

anything interesting out there?

[OD3X1]

I have an old USA Peavey Tracer that's in need of a rebuild...

[PrÎck]

Here's my son playing Flight of the Bumble Bee for fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQsEZzg9 ... 0S9I3rM-Py

That was pretty cool


So ET, have you ever tried brass picks?

[ElToro]

I have an old USA Peavey Tracer that's in need of a rebuild...

Fun stuff.. post the project!

[ElToro]

Here's my son playing Flight of the Bumble Bee for fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQsEZzg9 ... 0S9I3rM-Py

That was pretty cool


So ET, have you ever tried brass picks?

Yes and I love them. Roman Rist used to cut them from broken cymbals and give them to me... but the pick goblin always stole them.

[PrÎck]

That sounds like an awesome idea for an old cymbal. I bought some of the icepix ones, and they were addicting.
And reasonably cheap by the dozen. They kind of work the little muscles in the tips of your fingers, because of the stiffness. And then pick control, because if you don't hit it right, it makes that weird sound. When you go back to plastic, gauge isn't a prob, because they all feel soft.

It made me curios about wood. Brass makes a huge difference, why wouldn't wood?

After looking it to it, I ordered from this guy http://www.pickyouraxe.com/Picks.php
Expecting em any day. It probably isn't a coincidence brass sounds the best of the metals, so I chose usual tone woods, as opposed to "Pretty." Rose, wood, ebony, maple.
Can't wait to try it, guy sands em out by hand. In some way it seems crazy, but on the other hand, look how much a replacement stylus costs, and not even a fancy one. The pick striking the string is the point of origin.

[wattage13]

Just so you know if you use old cymbals as picks keep 'em out of your mouth. Brass and the like are very reactive, especially if you smoke and/or drink. That's what was mostlikely the cause of EVH's cancer.

On a different note I picked up a used BOSS AW-2 Auto Wah for my little board. Fucking thing is great, super easy to dial in too.

I also got my Wayne Kramer trib wired up and ready to use this weekend.

Got a Duncan ssl-5 bridge and an ssl-1 neck with a GFS '59 w/a Duncan A5 mag in the middle, 5ook vol/tone pots, .022 Orange Drop cap.

[PrÎck]

Just so you know if you use old cymbals as picks keep 'em out of your mouth. Brass and the like are very reactive, especially if you smoke and/or drink. That's what was mostlikely the cause of EVH's cancer.

Yeah, chain smoked for like forty years, but a guitar pick gave him cancer. I wonder if it made his voice all raspy too.

[wattage13]

OK so don't believe me. I am sure the cigs had a lot to do with it but the brass did too. Let's say the cigs laid the ground work and the metals did the finishing work.

[OD3X1]

Here's a nice flashback to the original Guitarded thread

[ElToro]

I'm going to glue the neck in this week, then it's pickguard time!!!

[PrÎck]

The wooden picks got here today.

Yes, it is definitely different. and yes, it is definitely cool.
I started with the maple, and it felt strange. After brass, it felt like styrofoam. Soft, and seemed to have a slight bit of flex. The second was indian rosewood, I almost didn't try anything else. After a while, I tried the Ebony. Another nice one, but I leaned toward the indian rosewood. I also liked the maple when I went back to it, but yeah, indian rosewood is the shit. They would be cool for an acoustic, because there is no pick noise. I think the only reason this isn't more popular is because it seems hard to make. This guy is hand doing em, so the shape is perfect. Definitely worth trying.

[ElToro]

The wooden picks got here today.

Yes, it is definitely different. and yes, it is definitely cool.
I started with the maple, and it felt strange. After brass, it felt like styrofoam. Soft, and seemed to have a slight bit of flex. The second was indian rosewood, I almost didn't try anything else. After a while, I tried the Ebony. Another nice one, but I leaned toward the indian rosewood. I also liked the maple when I went back to it, but yeah, indian rosewood is the shit. They would be cool for an acoustic, because there is no pick noise. I think the only reason this isn't more popular is because it seems hard to make. This guy is hand doing em, so the shape is perfect. Definitely worth trying.

What's the website again?

[PAF Pro]

Hey guys, haven't been on in a little while.

Well, here is the almost finished LP Custom kit from BYO....

Was going to do the standard Cherry Sunburst finish, but I screwed up in the cherry portion of the procedure...had one hell of a mess. Was all pissed off and ready to just start shooting primer for a black paintjob.



Sanded the molten-looking goo off the top, some red remained....got the idea for a quasi-faded Burst. It was a roll of the dice, but I think it turned out OK....the flamed veneer really POPS(wasn't feeling the black relief for the flame).

Yes, the headstock's the size of the Standard, and it has a rosewood fretboard...but you know what? The damned thing sounds and plays GREAT....had a couple-3 high frets, quick level and recrown took care of that. Still deciding what I want to put on the headstock face.....

Gibson historic pup rings for the color and height, amber speedknobs(still going to replace the stock black toggle ring "poker chip").....Pearly gates bridge pup, the stock neck pup with a de-mud mod(6.93K, sounds beautiful)...CTS pots, Switchcraft jack and 3-way toggle. Braided wiring for clarity, used the "modern" wiring shematic for the control cavity.

Using the stock bridge and tailpiece until the new Gotoh bridge and aluminum TP arrives from StewMac(I may drill and tap them for small Allen-head screws, Tonepros on the cheap...LOL)), and a set of the green mylar caps are "keeping the seat warm" for some Mojo "Dijon" caps hit the mailbox( I refuse to pay the price for Luxe bumblebee repops, and I am ready to try something other than the Sprague OD's I have in everything else). The stock sealed Gotoh-type tuners do the job for now, until I have the funds available for the locking Grovers I really want. The Schaller straplocks are going on today...

[PrÎck]

http://www.pickyouraxe.com/

the dude is cool as fuck too, seems like a hippie. You'd hasve to be, to hand make guitar picks.

I almost called in sick today so I could jam.

[Gitarrrjam]

Hey guys, haven't been on in a little while.

Well, here is the almost finished LP Custom kit from BYO....

Was going to do the standard Cherry Sunburst finish, but I screwed up in the cherry portion of the procedure...had one hell of a mess. Was all pissed off and ready to just start shooting primer for a black paintjob.



Sanded the molten-looking goo off the top, some red remained....got the idea for a quasi-faded Burst. It was a roll of the dice, but I think it turned out OK....the flamed veneer really POPS(wasn't feeling the black relief for the flame).

Yes, the headstock's the size of the Standard, and it has a rosewood fretboard...but you know what? The damned thing sounds and plays GREAT....had a couple-3 high frets, quick level and recrown took care of that. Still deciding what I want to put on the headstock face.....

Gibson historic pup rings for the color and height, amber speedknobs(still going to replace the stock black toggle ring "poker chip").....Pearly gates bridge pup, the stock neck pup with a de-mud mod(6.93K, sounds beautiful)...CTS pots, Switchcraft jack and 3-way toggle. Braided wiring for clarity, used the "modern" wiring shematic for the control cavity.

Using the stock bridge and tailpiece until the new Gotoh bridge and aluminum TP arrives from StewMac(I may drill and tap them for small Allen-head screws, Tonepros on the cheap...LOL)), and a set of the green mylar caps are "keeping the seat warm" for some Mojo "Dijon" caps hit the mailbox( I refuse to pay the price for Luxe bumblebee repops, and I am ready to try something other than the Sprague OD's I have in everything else). The stock sealed Gotoh-type tuners do the job for now, until I have the funds available for the locking Grovers I really want. The Schaller straplocks are going on today...

What steps and dyes did you use to get that Lemonburst finish? I'm in the process of refinishing my Les Paul now and I want a similar finish.

[exitflagger]

That Les Paul kit looks really nice.

Question:

What can make a pickup sound out of phase? I have a humbucker installed in one of my guitars and it breaks up with distortion all wrong. It's actually so bad it makes the guitar sound slightly out of tune. No, it is not installed backwards. What aspects should I troubleshoot?

TIA

[Gitarrrjam]

That Les Paul kit looks really nice.

Question:

What can make a pickup sound out of phase? I have a humbucker installed in one of my guitars and it breaks up with distortion all wrong. It's actually so bad it makes the guitar sound slightly out of tune. No, it is not installed backwards. What aspects should I troubleshoot?

TIA

Is it 4 conductor or 2 conductor wiring?

[exitflagger]

That Les Paul kit looks really nice.

Question:

What can make a pickup sound out of phase? I have a humbucker installed in one of my guitars and it breaks up with distortion all wrong. It's actually so bad it makes the guitar sound slightly out of tune. No, it is not installed backwards. What aspects should I troubleshoot?

TIA

Is it 4 conductor or 2 conductor wiring?

Four.

[Gitarrrjam]

That Les Paul kit looks really nice.

Question:

What can make a pickup sound out of phase? I have a humbucker installed in one of my guitars and it breaks up with distortion all wrong. It's actually so bad it makes the guitar sound slightly out of tune. No, it is not installed backwards. What aspects should I troubleshoot?

TIA

Is it 4 conductor or 2 conductor wiring?

Four.

http://www.guitarelectronics.com/catego ... lor_codes/
I bet your polarity is reversed. Im always fucking with my pickups(swapping magnets and shit) and I'm always messing with out of phase pickups, with a 2 wire - its as easy as switching the pos and neg wires(or reversing the magnet). With 4 conductor it could any combination of the 4 wires. The link above has the different color codes for different pickup manufacturers. Try swapping the wires around till it sounds right.

[wattage13]

The pickup is out of phase with itself?

[Space Bear]

PAF, that build looks killer! I don't remember if you've mentioned what the neck shape feels like.

[PAF Pro]

Glad you like it!

The neck profile on this...man, it's REALLY reminiscent of a slim-taper SG to be honest. Super-fast neck.....my Standard feels like a tree with frets by comparison(it has a '59 profile). Pretty comfortable, though...VERY resonant, can feel the strings vibrate through the neck&body.

As far as how the finish is arrived at? Stewmac Colortone dye, the Vintage Amber.

I hit the bare top with 1-2 coats of Deft rattlecan nitro to "pop" the flames, the quite literally soaked a section of cut-up white T-shirt with the dye...wiped across the bare nitro, allowed to dry, then sprayed many more light coats of Deft to seal that in.

The red was the StewMac rattlecan Cherry that I initially tried to do a Norlin-era Gibson "teardrop" burst with...that all went to hell, the remaining red is from what I was afraid to sand/steel wool any further. Depending on the way the light hits the top, the red increases/decreases as you move it around.

I agree with checking the wiring in regards to the "out of phase" sound.

[exitflagger]

http://www.guitarelectronics.com/catego ... lor_codes/
I bet your polarity is reversed. Im always fucking with my pickups(swapping magnets and shit) and I'm always messing with out of phase pickups, with a 2 wire - its as easy as switching the pos and neg wires(or reversing the magnet). With 4 conductor it could any combination of the 4 wires. The link above has the different color codes for different pickup manufacturers. Try swapping the wires around till it sounds right.

Thanks I'll have to try that. Or just bring it back to the guy who fucked it up and get him to do it.

The pickup is out of phase with itself?

When you reverse the pickup polarity it gives it a fucked up sound. Although I can't imagine anybody wanting a guitar to sound like this on purpose. It's hard to explain but the sound is all fucked up. The break-up of the distortion sounds all garbagey and the way it rings out makes it sound out of tune. It's hard to imagine whoever installed it for me couldn't hear how fucked up it sounds. It's either botched wiring or the pickup is defective. Something's fucked up. It's frustrating the shit out of me.

[wattage13]

What kind of pickup is it?

[Gitarrrjam]

Glad you like it!

The neck profile on this...man, it's REALLY reminiscent of a slim-taper SG to be honest. Super-fast neck.....my Standard feels like a tree with frets by comparison(it has a '59 profile). Pretty comfortable, though...VERY resonant, can feel the strings vibrate through the neck&body.

As far as how the finish is arrived at? Stewmac Colortone dye, the Vintage Amber.

I hit the bare top with 1-2 coats of Deft rattlecan nitro to "pop" the flames, the quite literally soaked a section of cut-up white T-shirt with the dye...wiped across the bare nitro, allowed to dry, then sprayed many more light coats of Deft to seal that in.

The red was the StewMac rattlecan Cherry that I initially tried to do a Norlin-era Gibson "teardrop" burst with...that all went to hell, the remaining red is from what I was afraid to sand/steel wool any further. Depending on the way the light hits the top, the red increases/decreases as you move it around.

I agree with checking the wiring in regards to the "out of phase" sound.

Cool! Thanks Alot....I don't have the Colortone, but I do have Mixol Tints/Dyes and I can get a amber color. I like the orange/yellow burst better than the Heritage Cherry Norlin-era "Teardrop", so whatever you did sanding the red away IMO looks great.

[MCSmallDink_]

Help! I'm looking for the brand name of a Les Paul copy that i saw somewhere on the interwebs. Most likely I saw them on eBay like a year ago but I can't find them anymore and forgot the name.

They were priced around $200 and had some distressed/cracked antique-like finishes.

Does this ring a bell to anyone?

[lerxstcat]

Unfortunately there are so many cheapo brands being made today out of China, Indonesia and India that that's not enough information. Too bad you didn't save a pic.

You could browse Ebay's electric guitars subcategory and use advanced search to search by price, that's about all i could advise. Still a lot to search through.

[MCSmallDink_]

Unfortunately there are so many cheapo brands being made today out of China, Indonesia and India that that's not enough information. Too bad you didn't save a pic.

You could browse Ebay's electric guitars subcategory and use advanced search to search by price, that's about all i could advise. Still a lot to search through.

I had it bookmarked on my old computer that died. I'll keep looking as I really liked the different looks these had.