ShortScale.org

Wellity wellity well. I just acquired this beaut for next to nothing (£70 if you must know). Its a re-issue, one of the early onez (the duncan designed pickups give that away, right?). It has a Jazzmaster decal on the neck but suspicions and intuition tell me that its probably just the original neck with a new decal by some squier hating muthafucker. Haven't had a chance to measure and find out yet whether it is conversion or 25.5.

So, I wonder, if you Shortscalians could halp meh with a few painting tips. I've got a HVLP spray gun which my dad uses to do body work now and again, it will be absolutely perfect for respraying this bad boy, where can I get standardized colours in non-spray tin form? (e.g. not just acrylic red, CAR, not just some sort of blue but pelham or lake placid etc. etc.). I'm finding it difficult to find that sort of thing without it being re-ranch aerosol stuff (which I hear is great, but again, would like to use the air powered spray gun - (Save the trees mang)). I'm not adverse to mixing the colours myself and have a pretty good knowledge of colour spaces, maybe one of you guys know where a colour chart for this sort of thing is?

Who cuts pick guards round here? I'd be uber generous if someone could manland me a PG for this project, I'm guessing that finding one in black, mint or pearloid white would be harder work than finding someone that could cut these things.

Thirdly the order in which to spray to get professional results is like this right?

Prep the wood (sand back all the paint, sugar soap out the residue, fill what needs filling)
Primer
Sand

Base
Sand
Sand

Colour
Sand
Sand

Colour
Sand
Sand

Colour

Varnish

Done


And then finally - if you had a blank slate, what would guys like to do this geetar? I've been fairly Henry Ford with my projects before, so I'd like to be a bit more bright and adventurous - maybe even a comp stripe of some sort (!!!) (though this is probably not going to happen). I'm thinking that it will be loaded with either GFS Filtertrons or some sort of P-90 humbucker like the Phat Cat or something Wilkinson or Tonerider or some shizz or maybe something a bit more wild if I can get a custom guard.

Oh, sorry to ask a multitude of questions all in one go but I'd also like to know youse guys' experience with replacing the blocks on a strat style trem. What is the difference in tone (if any) between solid steel, brass and titanium? I've been trying to find objective reviews but most of the stuff on the net (prolly need to word harder) is a bunch of bl00z solicitors talking about sustain and using the words "for days" in the same sentence cobbled along with other icky guitar no no's like that.

I like how it looks now, nice score

I've finished three guitars with varying results; its a tedious and expensive process imo.
Before the primer you need Grain Filler or the paint will sink with the grain, then sanding sealer, primer, paint, lacquer. Sanding inbetween with different grades of paper of course.
I used Halfords rattle cans though, you might save money as you have a spray gun.

Brass supposed to be 'warmer' concerning tone, not come across titanium.

With the woodland setting, lumberjack shirt and long locks tied back I think it looks right at home with you in that colour scheme. £70 sounds like a steal!

Blimey. Thats a lot of stuff I hadn't considered Fran, whats sanding sealer? Is that something to do with closing the grain off?

A quick search of "titanium block strat" gives these as the first return. I hadn't heard of titanium being used until re-read that lulz Guitar Project done by mcchoniciea due to the "internet guitars" thread in the pub. Not too interested in following the titanium route anyway, brass was going to be my choice - nice to hear that they're rated.

Just a thought as well, that keeping that Jazzmaster decal is a bit lame isn't it? Needs some outlandish Fenderized squier logo I think.

I read somewhere that for the gloss varnish finish you can get away with just spraying 8-10 coats and doing all the sanding afterwards, then buff. Can't remember where. This is all stuff I need to figure out too for my teardrop.

I'd really advise against brass. It sounds boring and dull. Steel is much more resonant, louder, chimier etc.

Rhysyrhys wrote:Blimey. Thats a lot of stuff I hadn't considered Fran, whats sanding sealer? Is that something to do with closing the grain off?

Yeah, or the wood just sucks the primer in and you'll need more.

George wrote:With the woodland setting, lumberjack shirt and long locks tied back I think it looks right at home with you in that colour scheme.

There is definitely Steve Hillage vibe going on here..

George wrote:With the woodland setting, lumberjack shirt and long locks tied back I think it looks right at home with you in that colour scheme. £70 sounds like a steal!

Hah, cheers mate. That was a fun night, me and my mate ended up doing old blues cover with a bunch of my friends dad's cider drinking mates which ended up with some serious drunken lulz. The guy sitting behind me in the photo is the guy that I bought it off, he's a bassist mainly, it was his old beater and he doesn't know a thing about fixing it up or making it play good so I took it off his hands for £70 + a few beers and a pledge that I'd fix some of his basses. I lept at this obviously because I love fixing things and have always wanted an offset to call my own since being around here.

OT: Brass is a no from you then?

I'd love to hear some sort of reference before I buy. Trawling youtube as I type.. Watch this space.

My adventures with trem blocks:

In my previous Strat I had zinc and moved to a steel block which was much better all round. My current Strat I started off with the stock zinc, moved over to a brass one to try something new and it really didn't do it for me - sort of muffled and quieter with less sustain. I then swiftly flogged it and bought another steel one which seems "right" again.

I wouldn't say my experience is exhaustive but I've tried all three materials in one guitar and I think even zinc is better than brass, you just lose so much with it, like the guitar is being weighed down tonally and there's not as much life in it. That said, if you're going to be playing metal or something gain heavy it might work for you.

Also, if you JUST buy the block on it's own from GFS it's much cheaper because for some reason shipping is half the price than on the full kit. Try it!

Brass is decent if you're looking for a 70s-ish sort of sound; something more akin to a Gibson-y sound than a normal Fender sound, imo.
That said, steel is probably the best way to go. If the normal idea is to add mass to the trem to give it better resonance, I can't see titanium being any good at all, it's a much lighter metal than any of the other choices.

ReRanch.com has a great "how to finish" article & forum

If the body is ash, bass or alder, you don't need a grain filler. If it's ash or mahogany... anything wood with open grains then you would use a grain filler. Before you apply the grain filler, hit the body with a quick coat of sanding sealer. When the sanding sealer dries, then apply the grain filler. It's easier to wipe the excess filler away with a wash coat on rather then applying it to raw wood.

Ankhanu wrote:Brass is decent if you're looking for a 70s-ish sort of sound

+1

it all depends what kind of sound you're looking for. steel is a bit more "lively" sounding, great for lower gain stuff. but brass can be good for a fatter rock tone. you can also try experimenting with rolled steel saddles and brass (or graphite can be similar sounding to brass) saddles. with the right combination of trem block and saddles you should be able to find a sound you like.

Joey wrote:ReRanch.com has a great "how to finish" article & forum

If the body is ash, bass or alder, you don't need a grain filler. If it's ash or mahogany... anything wood with open grains then you would use a grain filler.

I think them Jagmasters were made of Basswood or Agathis.

Found a place that sells paint premixed and ready for spraying. Looks like they have a section for Lacquers as well. Swanky website gives me a bit of confidence that they're on the ball and aren't going to run off with one's money. Anyone had dealings with these chaps?

Tonetech Luthier Supplies

EDIT: TV Yellow, black guard - which I can spray myself worst comes to worst and humbucker sized p-90s is where I think I'm going to end up with this project. Not enough TV Yellow love in the world.

Rhys mate, have a lookie at this guy's site; he's done work for those "professional musicians" you read about in the newspaper and sells nitro out of Manchester:

http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/s ... e-lacquer/

Rhysyrhys wrote:
EDIT: TV Yellow, black guard - which I can spray myself worst comes to worst and humbucker sized p-90s is where I think I'm going to end up with this project. Not enough TV Yellow love in the world.

Nice score on the guitar and a fine finish choice, but while you can get the right shade of yellow, "TV Yellow" on a non-mahogany body would be tricky as the wood on the JM body won't be open-grained enough to fill (on top of the first paint coats, which will likely bridge any tighter open grain you have). So those dark streaks in the yellow are almost out of the question, and the yellow itself will appear much brighter than it does on Gibsons.

Wowzers!...70 squids is a steal..welldone Rhys...
Nice plan with the mini P90's too!...big,fat,single coiled goodness in a small package!!

Fran wrote:There is definitely Steve Hillage vibe going on here..

Ha ha!..whenever i hear Steve Hillage i think of The Young Ones and Neil whacking the record player
with his trunchion....."Mutilated Scientists..."SMACK!!!.."Oh no, Steve Hillage".....