Elias Graves
Common misfit
Someone should alert Mark. This thread is now illegal! 
Walnut Hollowbody Build
- Thread starter Elias Graves
- Start date
Elias Graves
Common misfit
I'm thinking its time for some mods. That oughta go another 500.
CBHScott
How did I get here?
Elias Graves
Common misfit
Mods? Ahem....
I wanted to post a "month with the new guitar" report, so here it is.
One month into the new guitar, I'm finally getting it set up just so and figuring out how to get the best sounds from it.
I've found where the action can sit, low but not buzzing. As you might expect, with the 24.5" scale and size 10 strings, it can get a little floppy at times. Next string change will see me go to a larger size and maybe flat wound. When I first strung it up, I simply measured 24.5" from the nut to the saddle for the high E then kicked the bass side back to the kinda sorta angle you generally see on guitars. It worked. Every tuner I've run it through shows all 6 strings as close as any other guitar I own. I was shocked that it happened as easily as it did.
I did have to go back and file the 2nd fret under the high E and B strings a bit but that's all the carving I had to do. That shocked me as well.
The two way truss rod is something I'm glad I put in. Remember the neck is VERY fat and laminated and walnut. It's stuff. The tension from the short scale wasn't sufficient to pull any relief into the neck at all. I had to nudge it with the truss rod. After I screwed it til it touched in that direction it took maybe half a turn to get it there. Big improvement.
I'm a fan of the Tusq nut. I bought a pre-cut Gibson style, which was carved to 12" radius. I sanded it with my 10" block to correct the radius and touched up the notches a little. It tunes up very smoothly; I never hear a ping or have a jump. It's pretty slippery and works as advertised.
The Hipshot tuners are awesome. THE smoothest turning machines you will ever use and zero lag or slop for the gear to grab. They are very close tolerance and they feel it. Officially my favorite tuning machine by a good margin.
So the setup is on now and I have to say it plays nice. There are people who would not like playing it, I imagine. The short scale, fat neck and slow taper would likely give fits to a big bend lead player. It would get the same remarks a Ric neck gets, though it not quite as straight as one. But, for one who primarily plays rhythm, it's really a dream. The rounder 10" fretboard and lack of taper makes it a breeze to play barre chords all the way up even on the higher frets.
The biggest challenge has been finding the best tones. Walnut is like that; the tones are there but you gotta find the right combination of things to bring it out. That alone is why, I suspect, big builders don't use it more. A walnut guitar has to be studied a bit to find out the best combinations of strings, pickups, amps and so on. A mahogany and maple les paul or an alder and maple strat are easier to dial into a sweet spot and the difference between the sweet spot and otherwise isn't as drastic. But, once you find it, there's a lot of complexity to walnut and it does cool weird stuff with harmonics and overtones you don't hear anywhere else.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I don't know. It's just a thing, like any other thing. It just is and you can like it or not I suppose. It does require more effort on the part of the builder and the player to lock into what it does best.
When I first got it going, I thought "too bright." Needed to tone it down some but I find through a tweed deluxe model on the Valvetronix, it sounds just right. The heavier mids and bass cplimrnt the brighter guitar and it finds a good match. It's kinda harsh sounding through a blackface model, the Vox models didn't fit quite right either.
Once dialed in to a good sound, it's really fucking good. Everyone who's messed with it through that amp model has raved about the tone. The down side is that you can't just plug into a anything and expect it to sound good. When its on, it's on. When it's off, it's off. There's not much in between. Fortunately I like the "on" tones. Even with just the one pickup, I can find clear piano tones, twang, hair or roar with the picking and the volume knob. I'm still planning on adding a bridge pickup, though. I like the added harmonics you get there added to the neck pickup.
I'm happy with the weight. 8 pounds even. It's not so heavy to be a chore but it has a heft that reassures you it's not a fr***** flower. The balance on a strap is good. Even with my slippery strap it stays put. The body is big enough to feel a little like a hollowbody but not cumbersome and the short neck is an easy reach for my short arms.
I am gonna lose the 50's style wiring, I think. People use it to preserve highs when you turn the volume down and this guitar doesn't need that. The downside to it is that the tone control affects volume. If you turn the tone down, volume drops a little with it. That's annoying so when I put in the brisge pickup, ill redo it modern style.
The firebird pickup split is a great feature. There's a little difference in the tone between split and full but its more a volume difference. The tone of the single coil is a little less woofy it the bass when ayong chords so I use it that way most of the time. I switch it back to humbucker as a lead boost and it thickens up the tones a little for single notes. They're quote complimentary in that regard.
I'd like to have a bridge that matched the fretboard. I may get a chunk of Honduran and carve a one piece bridge for it that matches in color. That's a minor complaint and more aesthetic than anything else.
White guitars show dust badly.
So that's the good, bad and ugly after a month. I'm liking it a lot so far.
I wanted to post a "month with the new guitar" report, so here it is.
One month into the new guitar, I'm finally getting it set up just so and figuring out how to get the best sounds from it.
I've found where the action can sit, low but not buzzing. As you might expect, with the 24.5" scale and size 10 strings, it can get a little floppy at times. Next string change will see me go to a larger size and maybe flat wound. When I first strung it up, I simply measured 24.5" from the nut to the saddle for the high E then kicked the bass side back to the kinda sorta angle you generally see on guitars. It worked. Every tuner I've run it through shows all 6 strings as close as any other guitar I own. I was shocked that it happened as easily as it did.
I did have to go back and file the 2nd fret under the high E and B strings a bit but that's all the carving I had to do. That shocked me as well.
The two way truss rod is something I'm glad I put in. Remember the neck is VERY fat and laminated and walnut. It's stuff. The tension from the short scale wasn't sufficient to pull any relief into the neck at all. I had to nudge it with the truss rod. After I screwed it til it touched in that direction it took maybe half a turn to get it there. Big improvement.
I'm a fan of the Tusq nut. I bought a pre-cut Gibson style, which was carved to 12" radius. I sanded it with my 10" block to correct the radius and touched up the notches a little. It tunes up very smoothly; I never hear a ping or have a jump. It's pretty slippery and works as advertised.
The Hipshot tuners are awesome. THE smoothest turning machines you will ever use and zero lag or slop for the gear to grab. They are very close tolerance and they feel it. Officially my favorite tuning machine by a good margin.
So the setup is on now and I have to say it plays nice. There are people who would not like playing it, I imagine. The short scale, fat neck and slow taper would likely give fits to a big bend lead player. It would get the same remarks a Ric neck gets, though it not quite as straight as one. But, for one who primarily plays rhythm, it's really a dream. The rounder 10" fretboard and lack of taper makes it a breeze to play barre chords all the way up even on the higher frets.
The biggest challenge has been finding the best tones. Walnut is like that; the tones are there but you gotta find the right combination of things to bring it out. That alone is why, I suspect, big builders don't use it more. A walnut guitar has to be studied a bit to find out the best combinations of strings, pickups, amps and so on. A mahogany and maple les paul or an alder and maple strat are easier to dial into a sweet spot and the difference between the sweet spot and otherwise isn't as drastic. But, once you find it, there's a lot of complexity to walnut and it does cool weird stuff with harmonics and overtones you don't hear anywhere else.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I don't know. It's just a thing, like any other thing. It just is and you can like it or not I suppose. It does require more effort on the part of the builder and the player to lock into what it does best.
When I first got it going, I thought "too bright." Needed to tone it down some but I find through a tweed deluxe model on the Valvetronix, it sounds just right. The heavier mids and bass cplimrnt the brighter guitar and it finds a good match. It's kinda harsh sounding through a blackface model, the Vox models didn't fit quite right either.
Once dialed in to a good sound, it's really fucking good. Everyone who's messed with it through that amp model has raved about the tone. The down side is that you can't just plug into a anything and expect it to sound good. When its on, it's on. When it's off, it's off. There's not much in between. Fortunately I like the "on" tones. Even with just the one pickup, I can find clear piano tones, twang, hair or roar with the picking and the volume knob. I'm still planning on adding a bridge pickup, though. I like the added harmonics you get there added to the neck pickup.
I'm happy with the weight. 8 pounds even. It's not so heavy to be a chore but it has a heft that reassures you it's not a fr***** flower. The balance on a strap is good. Even with my slippery strap it stays put. The body is big enough to feel a little like a hollowbody but not cumbersome and the short neck is an easy reach for my short arms.
I am gonna lose the 50's style wiring, I think. People use it to preserve highs when you turn the volume down and this guitar doesn't need that. The downside to it is that the tone control affects volume. If you turn the tone down, volume drops a little with it. That's annoying so when I put in the brisge pickup, ill redo it modern style.
The firebird pickup split is a great feature. There's a little difference in the tone between split and full but its more a volume difference. The tone of the single coil is a little less woofy it the bass when ayong chords so I use it that way most of the time. I switch it back to humbucker as a lead boost and it thickens up the tones a little for single notes. They're quote complimentary in that regard.
I'd like to have a bridge that matched the fretboard. I may get a chunk of Honduran and carve a one piece bridge for it that matches in color. That's a minor complaint and more aesthetic than anything else.
White guitars show dust badly.
So that's the good, bad and ugly after a month. I'm liking it a lot so far.
Elias Graves
Common misfit
Yes, fr*****; as in existing in a state of fr*****ity. One in being with the fr*****ness.
Elias Graves
Common misfit
Guitar Heel
Demented Trick
Hey,it's white!*
*sorry, I've been away a while.
*sorry, I've been away a while.
Elias Graves
Common misfit
I spilled bleach on it.
Elias Graves
Common misfit
The guitar made its stage debut tonight in the hands of Ash Sutter of the demon eyes.
Guitar Heel
Demented Trick
Elias Graves
Common misfit
I did some measuring last night. It seems the pole pieces on a set of soapbars do line up ok on this guitar.
What do you guys think? Leave the mini or go with P90s? I have a pair of good ones here.
What do you guys think? Leave the mini or go with P90s? I have a pair of good ones here.
Flatspotter
What?
P90 that bitch.
paulskirocks
Blue Zone Compliant
You need to get even more critical!
Elias Graves
Common misfit
I haven't even gotten into the whole "Shall I leave it white or go with a color?" Business.
CBHScott
How did I get here?
I haven't even gotten into the whole "Shall I leave it white or go with a color?" Business.
