151209

Tuesday 15th December 2009

everything starts off with some finishing.. this old paf has come in for a freshening up of her oil finish..

while I am off having fun at the (not so) local timber merchants..

when I get back it is into my spray booth…

now.. with a charged mug of tea the workshop is entered..

and my domain has a good sorting out..

now., this 45rpm is ready for some electrickery..

almost.. she is shielded

and wired for sound.. the scatterwound wizard pickups have a tonal complexity that blows me away every time.. added to this chunk of gorgeousness we’re away!

Igor in progress…

finally the 45rpm has her backplates installed.. in this case not my usual timber plates.. customer is king as they say!

now,. Mike’s Slim..

with the very successful and stable custom ‘crowebar’ tremolo…. she returns to tune perfectly every time (though that obviously also depends on a well-cut nut!) and she is even surprisingly stable when palm muting!!

now, before wiring we have to clean the excess oil from each and every hole..

we start with just a few cables..

which scared me a bit so I move on to fitting the recessed jack socket and the 13pin MIDI out..

the cavities are shielded

and I take one last look at the cold cold outdoors..

before some actual soldering occures..

in the meantime Igor has been beavering away

rubbing down Ben’s Vanquish

then she is polished.. beautifully!!!

now.. a birds nest of wires.. sustainer,piezo, MIDI and magnetic all jumbled up!

and now prettied up!

next up the paf doublecut.. she is rubbed down and polished through the wet and dry grits..

the back plate of Mike’s slim is prepared for string access to the trem..

and she is together!

Igor set’s up the guitar synth while I finish the polishing process on the paf doublecut..

mmm.. I’m very very happy with the shine.. we’re finally cooking on gas here.. no more getting screwed over by external contractors!

now.. I need a dome head bolt (and a bit of a fix.. I enjoy my lathe just a little too much!)

now.. a threaded brass insert is screwed into the body of the slim..

and the strap buttons are bolted securely in place,.. there’s nothing worse than dropping a guitar because the strap button falls off!

and finally I get to test her! apart from one switch that only half works?? she’s a beauty!  sustainer, MIDI,piezo and magnetic pickups are all working as ordered!  And I am a happy bunny!!

All my best,
Ben