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Hello, here is another project I have been working on recently. This time it's for a customer, and I used a GFS SG kit (which he wanted me to use). The customer gave me a select list of antique and modern revolvers that he wanted the guitar to be inspired by, in which I came up with the design from that list (minus the headstock, which he designed). I originally intended for all of the raw aluminium parts to be brass, but as I started to build it, he changed his mind and decided aluminium would be best.

All of the body and neck (including fretboard) has been stained with a gunstock colour, while the guitar features hand-cut aluminium control plates and knobs throughout. Nearly all of the metal parts have been painted with a grey colour -- he wanted something close to the bluing process used on most guns; and this is what we ended up with after trying several colours. It's a grey primer with a hint of blue; and everything has been topped with a thick coat of polyurethane, so it should be pretty durable. All of the other metal parts have been polished to a near mirror shine. The stock plastic fretboard inlays have been replaced with nail heads. The customer wanted a headstock in the style of an antique key, which is shaped like a crown. All of the screws around the control plate area are large slotted screws.

If anyone if interested in knowing about the quality of the GFS kits -- the tuners and nut are complete shit, and some of the inlays were not directly in the center of the frets. I'm not sure about the pickups as we upgraded them. But for around $150, I suppose it's not bad. The tuners will soon be swapped out for higher-end tuners, and will be nickel this time as we think there is too much grey going on in the headstock area.

i cant say that i see the revolver resemblance, but still very cool. ace work man!

Originally, I was going to use actual gun parts, but as I was building it we decided it was getting a bit cheesy, and too obvious that it was supposed to look like a gun. Basically, I just wanted it to use similar materials and colours from certain guns to represent a gun in a vague way, rather than being too obvious.

Your work is always incredibly awe-inspiring and this is certainly no exception.

Excellent job.

It's the sheer inventiveness you bring to projects that I really dig. This project is cool and I would rock it.

Why 23??

Thanks. Twenty-three is his lucky number.

Narco Martenot wrote:Thanks. Twenty-three is his lucky number.

I bet he's read Illuminatus Trilogy!

or he's a jordan fan...

christ on the cross, man! you've gone and done it again, narco.

ps - i've been listening to all the pilote automatique stuff (not simultaneously mind you), and i find it very splendid.

Haha, I think his birthday is on the 23rd.

I'm glad you enjoy the music.

if he had read illuminatus he would be as amused as I am to note you posted that at 00:23 uk time.

futurepostlalz

this is excellent as always! i always wanted to finish a raw body with that gun stock type of stain. love the detail around the back with the aluminum controls and painted bigsby and, you're right on about the tuners.

you've peaked my interest in making my own custom pickguards out of aluminum instead of trying to order plastic ones. any tips for a beginner as far as basic tools or good online resources?

Amazing work, once again.

I've been having some weird rattling/buzzing issues with this guitar that the owner and I could not seem to figure out. At times, the guitar almost sounds like a sitar. I think I have figured it out the source of the problem: the tune-o-matic's saddles are rattling.

Has anyone here had this issue?

I sometimes have this issue with my copper/ostrich Jagmaster, and I have never been able to solve it. I always thought it was coming from the bridge, but I was never sure as it resonates throughout the guitars so well. I googled this issue and came up with very few results -- one was a Harmony-Central review, and someone used springs from a pen to put on each screw saddle.

Does anyone have any better suggestions?

Could possibly be the nut isn't cut proper for the string size? I had a problem where the high E and the B string were making a weird vibration and I replaced the nut, problem solved. Maybe loose truss rod? Just a couple suggesttions.
Nice work on that project.

I think I read about TOM rattles. I will poke around and see if I can track it down. There are all sorts of TOM models, too.

I can see the gun thing. The interpretation turns it on its head, though, which is nice. Unpredictable. That works in humor too. I like the matte paint and the mongo screws. It almost wants to have some kind of pistol grip in the lower guard that just wrecks your knuckles. I so wanted the numbers to be stamped somehow. Metal controls everything. And fire. I have seen burned guitars that were lovely and frightening.

I've tried two different nuts, it was the same with both. This happens with every string. I don't think it's the slots in the nut, because we are using fairly light strings and they appear to sit nicely in the slots.

The truss rod appears to be tight -- in fact, I don't think I could tighten it anymore without it breaking. That was my initial concern, though. I suppose something could still be wrong with it, but it is tight.

This actually worsened when I upgraded the nut and the tuners to Sperzel locking tuners. I have made sure the tuners are tight, though. I don't think that is an issue. I thought it was the nut at first, so I changed it back to the stock one, and it still happened. I'm convinced it is the bridge.

I'm not sure which model of bridge was included with the kit, but it does not have a retaining wire; and it sits in cups that go into the body. Maybe the issue is with the cups.?

As for stamped numbers, do you mean on the knobs? They are engraved into the metal.

looks awesome! the headstock is very maserati

one quick question. how does the small pickguard (the one between the pickups) stay on with only one screw ?

Narco Martenot wrote:I've tried two different nuts, it was the same with both. This happens with every string. I don't think it's the slots in the nut, because we are using fairly light strings and they appear to sit nicely in the slots.

The truss rod appears to be tight -- in fact, I don't think I could tighten it anymore without it breaking. That was my initial concern, though. I suppose something could still be wrong with it, but it is tight.

This actually worsened when I upgraded the nut and the tuners to Sperzel locking tuners. I have made sure the tuners are tight, though. I don't think that is an issue. I thought it was the nut at first, so I changed it back to the stock one, and it still happened. I'm convinced it is the bridge.

I'm not sure which model of bridge was included with the kit, but it does not have a retaining wire; and it sits in cups that go into the body. Maybe the issue is with the cups.?

As for stamped numbers, do you mean on the knobs? They are engraved into the metal.

I had the same issue with a Gotoh TOM bridge, like something was rattling and playing another note at the same time I plucked a string, I tried touching each saddle and other parts of the bridge whilst playing to try and identify the culprit but I could never find out what it was. In the end (after a couple of months) I just changed the bridge to one of these:

http://www.guitarvalue.com/images/crbnw60.jpg

They have the saddles bolted down so the whole thing is solid and will not rattle.

fail on \TOM and bigby, man up and use a jag trem and a bridge that does not inhibit string movement