250610
the 25th day of June 2010
the start of todays workshop diary and we’re with the multi-scale Moonshine guitar.. she’s strung up for the first time..
next up and she’s wired for sound, volume tone, coil tap and a three way selector switch..
purpleheart knobs..
and the matching truss rod cover and backplate are both fitted in..
followed by the strap buttons and we have one completed custom guitar project!
next up is Fred’s slimline
the heavily inlaid fretboard is masked off for the last time
and the frets are polished to a mirror finish
she is then oiled, and oiled.. ebony tends to dry out and that is very annoying!
next up the bone nut is shaped and polished
and then it’s on to reaming the excess lacquer from the control holes..
the whole instrument is shielded to reduce mains hum
and we start fitting hardware.. a piezo loaded wilkinson tremolo in this case..
locking Sperzel tuners are a must.. note the scalloped nut as well..
strap buttons and strings..
and she surely is a beautious thing!
detour.. a delivery of the right value pots for Steinar’s extended range bass
so she is re-wired.. and finally sounds perfect!
next up I make a custom t-handled allen key, this is for the tuning knobs and the locking nut
and is mounted underneath the bridge like so..
and time for a setup! I do like the headless design, despite all the trouble we’ve had with this one!
ok, back to Fred’s slim.. and back to full immersion in the complex wiring!
all the controls are in place
and she works perfectly.. almost at the first go!.. oh, and this is the best organisation I’ve achieved in this tpe of cavity!
piezo, MIDI, magnetic and sustainer.. in short a stunning range of sounds!
next, a chunk of ebony
is carved and shaped
and installed.. the back plates are shielded in their turn
and some padouk control knobs installed.. temporarily??
anyway, she only weighs 8lbs even with all the extra stuff going on in there!
now.. some custom hardware we’ve been working on
the individual bridge plates are cut out
and we start putting together these unique bridges
the through body stringing holes are drilled
ferrules installed
and the bridges put in place..
followed by the scatterwound custom eight string pickups..
.. a final setup on Steinar’s eight string extended range bass
and she meets her Hiscox case for the first time!
the Jasmine on the front of the workshop is finally flowering.. I do enjoy the simpler things in life..
anyway, back to the Scorpion eight string.. her rosewood fretboard is oiled
and i take one more look at the custom bridges, the brass inserts needed adjusting..
finally she is string up.. Meshugga tuning her for that heavy heavy stuff!
wiring..
control knobs.. lightweight aluminium here
and she has an initial setup..
the bridges heights are adjusted
and the strap buttons installed.. allen key bolts into threaded inserts for extra strength and stability!
the flame maple backplate is next in..
and i can’t resist a little test drive.. this is definitly fun to play.. I can’t get over how natural it feels to play a fanned fret guitar!
the truss rod cover is the last thing to be made
and the ebony works rather well!!
the final instrument in my mad quest to clear the decks is this elm top..
the electronic bits and pieces are all loaded.. and the wiring will have to wait till tomorrow.. Have a great weekend everyone!
Ben
Crimson Guitars UK