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Post by acrowder on May 27, 2008 10:27:44 GMT -6
Hey everyone. I just finished up my Copper TC-10 build, and figured......why not do another? For this one I decided to go back to where it all started, and went for the ST-10. I ordered the kit last week, so I've been scheming up how I want it to look. Here's my idea (not original by any stretch) It's actually a proto-type of sorts. I'm going to be making a similar guitar for a friend of mine who's getting married this fall. This one will be the guinea pig, that I get to keep of course. I'm planning on trying out the GFS Lipstick pickups, but other than that, I don't really have much planned. Any suggestions on paint?
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Post by cknowles on May 27, 2008 11:37:13 GMT -6
I've kind of always liked Claptons Blackie, though with a mother of toilet seat pick guard, rosewood neck and black headstock... I've kept with your lipstick p-ups and stock strat-style trem idea.
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Post by cknowles on May 27, 2008 11:53:16 GMT -6
Another direction would require some pretty significant modifications, thought the result would be a Strele-caster
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Post by hondro1025 on May 27, 2008 15:12:04 GMT -6
That looks pretty d**n cool. How are you guys creating these images? Is there software for this?
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Post by debeneto on May 27, 2008 17:15:41 GMT -6
i have a suggestion for paint. i built a Tc 10 a year ago and i used spar varnish on the body because i wanted that deep shine. i think this would look really amazing if you were going the Clapton route. let me know if it was a stupid choice to finish the body with spar varnish in the first place even though it looks good. anyway good luck
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Post by acrowder on May 27, 2008 19:54:18 GMT -6
Those are some cool ideas Chris. I've always liked the look of Clapton's Blackie also, but I've already got a dark colored guitar (first ST-10). Plus, I feel like the rosewood and the black don't really go together too well, at least for my taste. I've been jones'ing for a white w/rosewood board for a while though. The idea I had was to style it after SRV's "Charley" strat, which also had lipstick pickups. I've seen some cool youtube videos of him playing that guitar, and also some of John Mayer playing a Charley replica. Here's a link to one of the John Mayer vids: www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6k6GKHedHwThere are a couple good close up shots, but the whole video is pretty good
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Post by cknowles on May 28, 2008 6:33:58 GMT -6
That looks pretty d**n cool. How are you guys creating these images? Is there software for this? Ask and you shall receive. The software is called Kisekae and you run it from this website... www.nymphusa.com/tele/Warning, you can get serious G.A.S. from the use of this tool!! Enjoy Andy, now that you mention SRV's "Charley" strat I'm with you. That's one sweet guitar, I just love the way Stevie could make her sing!! Chris
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Post by acrowder on May 29, 2008 22:07:55 GMT -6
Ok, well I just got the kit in today (Ordered last week from OnlineGuitar.com, very good delivery speed).
I had an extra 5-way switch laying around that I was going to put into my other ST-10, and thought the switch that came on this kit looked a little cheaper. So I put it in. Got everything together ok for the initial run-through, but when I tried tuning and plugging it in, it didn't work! I am confident that it has to do with my soldering joints, but I'm not too worried.
I'll probably look into it tomorrow though, I'm wanting to do some before and after videos of this project. So I'd like for the wiring to be all set.
Question though, has anyone else had problems with the neck pocket screws being too long? It feels like they are all the way in, and there's supposedly still 1/16th-1/8th of an inch to go.
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Post by hondro1025 on May 30, 2008 0:32:57 GMT -6
measure the thickness of the heel and the neck. If the screws measure out longer than that, don't do it dude.
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Post by cknowles on May 30, 2008 5:34:31 GMT -6
The neck holes weren't drilled deep enough on my LC-10 either. Without the neck on the guitar I pushed one through the mounting hole on the body then measured how much screw came through. I then put tape around a drill bit to the same depth then drilled the neck holes.
Went much better than attempting to force the screws into that hard maple neck.
The SAGA wiring is notorious for not being exactly correct. Couple of things to watch for, make sure your ground connections are all good, and all go back to the same point to avoid ground loops. Also double check the polarity of your pickups. If you have a multimeter, now is a great time to use it for each connection.
On my Tele, my neck pickup went dead. My Ohm meter told me I had a short between the hot wire and the pickup cover, so I replaced the hot wire only to find it still shorted, then I noticed that the pickup cover was pressing on the thin wires that come from the coil! Lifted the cover slightly and the pickup miraculously came back to life.
Hope you solve your electrical issues. Chris
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Post by acrowder on Jun 2, 2008 21:05:22 GMT -6
All right, here's an update. I tried to resolder the wiring joints that I'd redone, but it still didn't work. I'm not real bothered by it, because I will be replacing the pickups anyway. But, I did get a chance to get working on the body. When I first put the guitar together, the only problems I ran into with the assembly were the neck mounting holes (already mentioned) but also the tremolo routing wasn't quite long enough to fit the bridge assembly. Today I was able to file out a little more room, and sand it pretty smooth. I also drilled the neck mounting holes a little deeper. After that, I figured the body was pretty much ready for primer. I did sand it down a little bit with some 320 grit, just to scuff it a little bit to give the primer something to grab onto. Here are a few pictures: I'll let the primer dry out for a while, as I won't be home for a few days. Then I think I'll sand it down a little, and shoot the final color. I also have to find time to cut out that headstock.....
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Post by acrowder on Jun 3, 2008 8:53:17 GMT -6
Ok, so as we know, I'm hoping to paint this guitar white. Any of you guys have suggestions on what sort of rattle can I should get? If you've used one in the past, feel free to post a picture or two
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Post by shattered on Jun 3, 2008 9:28:54 GMT -6
I had the same problem with the neck screw holes not being deep enough. It's just a matter of CAREFULLY drilling an extra 16th of an inch or so.
If it were me, I'd be bothered by a potential wiring problem. If the wiring's bad, you'll have the same problem with new pickups. Like cknowles says, Saga wiring can be squirrelly. Your best bet would be to cross-check the wiring with a correct wiring diagram from somewhere like Fender's webiste or guitarnuts.com.
There are a lot of different shades of white available - some have bluish or grayish hues, some lean more toward cream, some are more of a pure white. I posted a picture of a guitar I did in Arctic White in the "Arctic White finish?" thread. Duplicolor, Plasti-Kote, and Krylon all have a variety. The first two are acrylic lacquer, I'm not sure if Krylon is acrylic or enamel.
Hope this helps!
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Post by acrowder on Jun 3, 2008 10:01:37 GMT -6
Thanks Shattered.
I'm planning on redoing the whole wiring setup anyway. The reason I wanted to have it working before was to do a "before and after" kind of video. I'm going to try and set up the wiring like a Nashville Telecaster, 3 pickups, Master Volume, Master Tone. This is also similar to the SRV Charley strat, which also had a 2 knob setup.
I'll check out that thread about the white finishes though, thanks!
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Post by hondro1025 on Jun 3, 2008 19:28:22 GMT -6
check out www.guitarnuts.com. there's an article called "quieting the beast. It'll show you how to shield your guitar properly. I wire all my axes this way. Best...
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