Comp DuoStang build

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sat Aug 04, 2012 12:09 pm

That looks fantastic.

You gonna shim under the baseplate or do a bar shim under the saddle posts. I need to make one for my Duo/Jag hybrid. It's fine to play but the saddles are up full in the middle. I def need to shim to get it to a state that I'm 100% happy with. I'll probably go for a bar shim under the saddle screws. That way it'll be mostly invisible and the baseplate will sit totally flush, metal to wood on the body.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Sat Aug 04, 2012 6:01 pm

Thomas wrote:That looks fantastic.

You gonna shim under the baseplate or do a bar shim under the saddle posts. I need to make one for my Duo/Jag hybrid. It's fine to play but the saddles are up full in the middle. I def need to shim to get it to a state that I'm 100% happy with. I'll probably go for a bar shim under the saddle screws. That way it'll be mostly invisible and the baseplate will sit totally flush, metal to wood on the body.

The way mine sits now i have the saddles full up and the ADGB strings are rattling on the fret board. If i hold it up its obvious te bridge is too low. I made a shim out of a couple of CDR's like Mike did on one of his builds, but it fell apart when i was trying to drill the holes for it. I'm going to find a piece of wood that i can shape and cut for under the baseplate. I'm hoping the string thru body will help with any sustain lost by the baseplate not having direct contact with the body.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 6:59 am

The finish is done. I got some Meguiar's Fine Cut polishing compound from AutoZone today and hand buffed the finish. I'm opting to not use the swirl remover. The finish now has that "broken in" look that will show up after a few weeks of general playing. I have accidently started to relic the thing because it's still a fresh finish and i'm pretty clumsy so i've knocked it on accident a few times. I personally love the imperfections. Anywho, pay day comes Thursday so I can order switches, knobs and Cooterfinger is a true bad-ass and made me a shim for the bridge. Hopefully everything will be here by the end of next week and i can sit down and finally play this thing. I'll make a demo of it for sure. Already almost bummed that it's done in a way since i've grown used to having a project in progress haha... Pics:

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 7:56 am

That looks gorgeous. I wish I had painting skillz.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:36 am

This has turned out really great!! Well done!

gusman2x · Post by **gusman2x** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 10:19 am

Man, that looks really really great. Nice job. I wish I had the patience and the skills for something like this

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 11:12 am

Came out really well, gonna be a fun guitar too.
Competition Duo II with a hotrail would probably have been my dream guitar age 14-16 as I was heavily into Cobain and Cobain accessories.

markarkark · Post by **markarkark** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 11:20 am

Looks amazing, nice work.

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:45 pm

Absolutely stunning. The stripe came out great. You should be really proud of that.

wetbelly · Post by **wetbelly** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 10:38 am

How many of those 3 oz. cans did it take to do the body + headstock?

HNB · Post by **HNB** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:08 pm

Very well done!

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:11 pm

Got it all wired up yesterday and after some fine tuning today it's done. Plays great. I followed HNB's wiring diagram (thanks again man!) and it turned out way different but works well. The top switch is Neck PUP On-On-Off, the bridge is Coil Tapped HB-Off-Full HB... If i have both pups on at the same time, the top switch sounds like it switches phase around somehow cuz it sounds weird and thin. I can't get both pickups at full sound at the same time. I don't care, i either use neck or bridge, never both so it's all good. I fucking hate wiring shit so i'm just glad it works. I'll so some sound clips eventually for your ears. Here's the pics.

HNB · Post by **HNB** » Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:16 pm

Probably out of phase. Just need to reverse the hot and ground wire on either pickup.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Aug 14, 2012 11:46 pm

for now, im leaving it alone... The insides of that thing look like a fucking nightmare. Theres people who can keep wires and shit organized, then theres me haha. As long as it's not making fucked up buzzing noises and shit im good. On 65RI pups though, which one is hot? i assumed white? i soldered the black to ground..

HNB · Post by **HNB** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 1:39 am

You are right, but if you are using a non-Fender pickup in the bridge, they are often different and have to have the hot and ground wire flipped to work with Fender pickups. I know the JB I installed was like that.

weeping_moon · Post by **weeping_moon** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 8:12 pm

You really succeed with this guitar. The painting is awesome! The stripes are beautiful. Would like to have your painting skills.

What kind of dimarzio pickup are you using?

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 1:33 am

weeping_moon wrote:You really succeed with this guitar. The painting is awesome! The stripes are beautiful. Would like to have your painting skills.

What kind of dimarzio pickup are you using?

Thanks! It was my first try at it an i'm stoked how it turned out. The pickup is a DiMarzio BC-1.
http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/strat/h ... arzio-bc-1

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 1:35 am

wetbelly wrote:How many of those 3 oz. cans did it take to do the body + headstock?

It took 3 cans of grabber orange for the base and just a couple coats over the stripe with the hemi orange for the stripe.

theshadowofseattle · Post by **theshadowofseattle** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 2:05 am

HNB wrote:Probably out of phase. Just need to reverse the hot and ground wire on either pickup.

This is exactly it. Just switch the two wires on the neck pickup, dude. It takes 5 minutes.

I'm saying this as a guy who had the same problem with a Tele after putting a humbucker in the bridge and delayed the 5 minute fix for a full year.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 2:19 am

theshadowofseattle wrote:
HNB wrote:Probably out of phase. Just need to reverse the hot and ground wire on either pickup.
This is exactly it. Just switch the two wires on the neck pickup, dude. It takes 5 minutes.

I'm saying this as a guy who had the same problem with a Tele after putting a humbucker in the bridge and delayed the 5 minute fix for a full year.

The two neck pickup wires? That is pretty simple. I'll try it next time i restring it.