ShortScale.org

EPIC FAILz!
I worked on these brands over the weekend. None of them are finished. Thank you

Fender: Tele Deluxe: buzzing neck--needs setup
Fender: Wangcaster: tore silkscreen decal, sprayed neck. Looks pretty good
Gibson: ES-125TC: knobs don't turn--will gut and start over. Harder to wire than Coronado--smaller F hole
Gibson: SG: nitro peeling off peeled
Gretsch: Synchromatic: shitty wooden bridge and slinky strings
Kalamazoo: 1930s acoustic: need new strangs! Has none.
Kustom: K200: fixed headstock where dented by tuner install: need moar clear cans
Vox: Bobcat: all lost in the supermarket. Strat pups not labeled

Time for vacation ?

Do one at a time?

Oh no, I had a blast. I couldn't believe how much I got done. The thread was worthless because I didn't want to poast pics until I finished them. Getting so close was a drag, but really, it means that the hardest part is done and I can tweak the little things forever.

This one's close. I can't wait to start playing these acoustics.


Here's the Kalamazoo. I need to bury that crack better under walnut stain and drop fill lacquer. The crack on the back is virtually invisible.
I was covered in ebony dust and wrecked three shirts. When I was sanding it, it smelled like burnt chocolate. I didn't duplicate it perfectly, but it's all I could do with the tools I had. It looks pretty close.

That Gretsch Synchromatic is gorgeous.

Updates:

Pulled wiring back out through pickup hole. Sure enough, the pots were either fused or broken so that they don't turn. Once out and replaced, I used a screwdriver to turn them. These are good candidates to take completely apart and try to put back together. Ultimately I want to be able to fix anything on a guitar. Tonight I will pull the pots back through the cavity. It's tedious, but it actually gets easier with practice.


This one won't win me any friends, but please keep in mind my first (and only) guitars for many years were a Music Master and an SG. You can't see it here, but this guitar's claim to fame is that half of the nitro peeled off in the first week. I don't think I could reproduce the effect, but it brings out teh vintage.
For the first time in my wiring experience, I think I understood what was happening. I duplicated the Gibson style, even down to the yellow vinyl. When I first tested it, one of the pickups was not working. Instead of LOSING MY SHIT I calmly examined it, figured out what the problem was, and fixed it. Before I heated up the shrink tubing to lock in the solders, I tested it again and could actually hear quite a difference between the neck and bridge pickups. Still waiting on guard from Dazbootman. After that I can attach the vibrato.


The right trem cup hole was cracked all the way through both sides. I plugged the hole with a dowel and then covered the crack with 2-part epoxy. This weekend I will be cutting the new horn. It can still be the Mustwang, but without so much wang.

What brand of epoxy you using? Decent dry time?

I use a sculpting product called Magic Sculpt that sets up harder than Bondo. It dries overnight.

Just got my SG pick guard! Not vintage or anything, but the final piece. I had to use my soldering iron to get the knobs to fit over the solid shaft pots. I am SURE I shaved off another 3 years of live from the fumes. I should have read the fine print.

How's the Mustang coming out?

Mustang neck done. Need to use FIL's planer for body fix. Here are this weekend's pics. Sorry for the tease--very busy today.

Here's the agony and ecstasy. Don't even try to tell me that's not a tasty Gretsch. Like my wiring diagram? Looks a little flaccid.

that mustang neck actually looks really nice! can't wait to see the fixed body. feat and a half.

stewart wrote:that mustang neck actually looks really nice!

strangely enough, yea it does.

it makes me happy to see the years of abuse and neglect these fender shortscale's have faced finally corrected by projects like this.

hahah @ schematic

heyyy good to hear from you and see that me old girls are finally getting the attention they need/deserve!

that old mini humbucker has been i many a les pauls, jazzmasters and others... looking good!!!

Pat.

Mike wrote:hahah @ schematic

Reminds me of Rasputin's cock in that jar.

Usual spiffing stuff from DGNR8 though :D

oooo Gretsch is nice.

Thanks. This is a big payoff from having to look at some of them for a while, trying to climb out of my depression, etc.

I forgot to say I got good news last night. I wasn't warming up to the sound of the old Gibson and the 1950s Gretsch. They were too quiet, and flabby. A lot of times when a guitar hasn't beens strung (for years) it can take a while to sort out the tension, etc. Meanwhile I had tuned them off whichever one was closest at the time, so I have to trust they are right in the first place.

So almost all of them were a good few notes too low. I brought them up to pitch, they sounded crisp. This seems really stupid, but when assembling something after months of prep, you can be so intent on aspects of it, that you develop blind spots.

The bad news is I got strings in the mail. The Corvette sounds good for one pickup, but it too needs a truss adjustment, and I don't have a proper wrench. No way I risk scratching shit up now. I also noticed the jack doesn't clip properly, like the internal prong is bent. It goes through a small hole in the side of the body, so it's a pain in the ass. Plus I clipped wires short to have less resistance, so it's all in there tidy like I never have to open again. No big deal, but I start looking for a downhill coast to the finish, and it never happens. Smart people space their projects out so they don't get all manic and shit. It's been a fun month though. I will miss it when I wrap up for the year.