170109

Saturday 17th January ’09

..and here we go, finally one of my suppliers has recovered from the christmas stock check and I can contimue with Fred’s beautiful custom RF guitar.. (the inlay on the body will pretty soon be my next tattoo.. )

we’re using the graph tech piezo and MIDI systems here so I need to redesign the control layout, again, to take into account the extra controls.. as ever with the Robert Fripp models the sustainer board takes up a load of space and ends up dictating the overall layout somewhat..

but it works quite well in the end!

the Wilkinson trem has her original saddles removed..

and holes are drilled to give the piezo cables somewhere to go..

and finally the trem is installed (taking care not to forget the ground wire!!)

..the sustainer is readied alongside a custom wound single coil by Wizard pickups..

but before we get there the frets need leveling and polishing..

and the edges of the fretboard are gently rolled over to give that little bit extra comfort..

..out custom ebony pickup surrounds begin here..

..getting there..

they might take two hours to make but there is no comparing them with a 50 pence piece of squared off black plastic!!!

the locking Sperzel tuners are installed

and a bone nut is marked out

cut out..

and installed.. along with the compensation and trade mark scalloping..

the recessed control plates are made out of timber matching the top and are screwed in now..

and here we leave her.. the strings will settle for a week or so and then it is on to the electrifyingly exciting prospect of wiring her for sound!!!

..abalone is cut with a jewelers saw..

to give me a ‘Crimson’ logo for Andrews bespoke 8 string guitar

the edges around the back of the guitar are filed and rasped over to give more comfort

and the figured sycamour control cover is marked out..

roughly bandsawed to size

before being fitted and carved to fit the ergonomic contours of this beauty!

I then begin the process of sanding her through the grits.. however the night has come and I can no longer see fine scratches in the timber..

so I start playing with wood… as is my habit.. a chunk of maple is drilled and reamed..

and I end up with a custom stained switch tip..

or two.. though I need someone with a lathe to make the control knobs for me, a timber control knob is much much lighter than the standard metal beasts.. and when you have this many controls it makes a big difference to the end result!