I'm gonna take this opportunity to pimp out Dazbootman Pickguards. Bryan Boots is the best pickguard making guy I've dealt with, and I've had guards made by a few people now. Bryan just has it goin' on, no fuss, no hassle, excellent communication and awesome prices (Jeannie and Pickguards.us should take notice...) . $39 shipped for this custom guard!! Guys, seriously, send your business his way. Tell him I sent ya.
Last edited by handen on Wed Sep 24, 2008 7:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Also, I sent an email to Bailey last week that asked what his guarantee was like in case the fret dots fell out or the fingerboard fell off and that if he thinks I'd be happy with a neck made by him that we should start it up, but I think I sounded a bit arrogant so I hope he doesn't think I'm a gigantic douche for questioning the integrity of his $400 aluminum necks.
I'm starting to consider having a Warmoth neck made if Bailey doesn't get back to me in a few weeks. The likeliness of finding a JGS-86 neck on eBay is horrifyingly low, and I don't want a neck with a radius less than 9.85", which the standard Jaguars, Jag HHs, Mustangs etc are 7.25", so a nice Warmoth might be up my alley. It all depends, though.
Don't have the time to install it right now, might not have the time for a week or so... but that's fine, I still have to order the pots and knobs for the passive electronics. Also Bailey still hasn't gotten back to me.
Edit: I'm almost thinking I fucked up and should have had control slots cut on the pickguard to use upper horn roller knobs as the controls for the pickup... because as it is right now, there'll be the GK output, a 1/4" output, and the two Graphtech pots below the bridge where the butt control plate used to be, and that's not leaving much space if we look at how crowded the KC Jaguars are with their three volume/tone pots...
I have a spare single-coil Dimarzio Stratocaster pickup from the 1970's with a chrome cover and hex pole pieces. Since I'm kind of weary about having JUST the bridge humbucker and the super-chimeyness associated with bridge position anything, I checked and found that with a little modification I can fit the Strat pickup under the pickguard in the neck position. This means it will still look like it only has one pickup. I could throw a 3-way switch in there and wire it up selectably for some nice mellow neck position tones if required. I tested the Dimarzio out in my Squier '51 and it had the fucking raunchiest sound I've ever heard, and that'd be something I think this guitar could use. But it's covered in rust and scratches, hence why I'd like to hide it underneath the super awesomeness of the rest of the guitar.
So I think I'll do it up for two pickups, but one INVISIBLE!!!!
Edit: Also starting to seriously consider custom ordering a Warmoth neck in the absence of any communication from Greg Bailey. The options available just make it so appealing...
I've gotta either send the pickguard back to Dazbootman, have him cut a new one or try to cut it like I did for my Reverse Flying V because I just realized I need to be able to use the upper horn/rhythm control cavity to control voume/tone as there won't be enough room for four control pots, a 1/4" jack and a 13pin GK midi output all on the same guard without looking like shit.
Yeah I've got to agree with Mezzio. This isn't my cup of tea, but it's really something "out there". Those two you named are pretty awesome builds indeed, but there's no aluminium or neodymium, and that's just not good enough.
mezzio13 wrote:
this is breaking out of the standard formula.
I totally agree. This is definitely the exciting project into the unknown, it makes my JS project look as interesting as building a rabbit hutch hahah.
Buzzing about that neck Handen, thats great news.
