Photos of your guitars

dudeman

It is a swamp ash, 2-piece body and an Allparts maple neck. I finished the neck with oil-based poly and alternated between 0000 steel wool and green Scotch Brite pads between coats. Ended up feeling very smooth but not sticky after playing for a bit.

The body was sanded to 800 grit then stained gray. I sanded that back a little then sprayed it with purple nitro lacquer. I sanded that back to 800 grit and sprayed four coats of black nitro on top of that. Then I did six coats of clear nitro and wet sanded it to 800 grit between the last four.

I left it alone to cure for almost four weeks and did the final polish with 0000 steel wool. The idea is that as it wears, the purple, gray and wood grain will show through. I applied the lacquer thin enough that you can still see the wood grain through it. (I didn't use any sanding sealer or grain filler before painting.)

For hardware I used Fender branded tuners, string retainer and pickguard, an ESP bass bridge and Dunlop straplocks. The pickup is a Seymour Duncan vintage P-bass pickup wired to CTS 250k pots, a Sprague Orange Drop 473 cap on the tone control and a Switchcraft output jack.

Strings are D'Addario Chromes flatwounds.

dudeman

These are some pics from the process. I guess I didn't take any while the body was purple.

tempo_n_groove

dudeman said:

Just got this one finished. It is the first instrument I have made myself. Learned a lot during the process and I am really pleased with how it turned out. 

The Dudeman Special!  Was it made from an old oak that was struck by lightning?

drakeheuer14

Very cool. Good work

lexicondevil

Nice work. Sounds like a fun project. I like the idea of different layered colors. I wish I didn't have so many other things going on. Maybe someday I will have the time and energy to build a guitar.

dudeman

tempo_n_groove said:

dudeman said:

Just got this one finished. It is the first instrument I have made myself. Learned a lot during the process and I am really pleased with how it turned out. 

The Dudeman Special!  Was it made from an old oak that was struck by lightning?

Nothing quite that poetic or cool. Haha

It was forged in the depths of my basement, using only the most readily available components sourced from the farthest reaches of the internet. 

(It sounds a lot cooler if you read that with a Gandalf voice, FYI.)

dudeman

lexicondevil said:

Nice work. Sounds like a fun project. I like the idea of different layered colors. I wish I didn't have so many other things going on. Maybe someday I will have the time and energy to build a guitar.

It was pretty easy to do, honestly. The main thing is to be patient and not rush the finishing process. Also, being precise with neck alignment and bridge placement are crucial, but not terribly difficult to get right.

I'm thinking about maybe trying a Tele build next. I already have a great neck for it, just need to find a good quality, lightweight body. Those are such simple instruments to begin with. As long as you use good parts, it should turn out reasonably well. 

static111

I now have two acoustics.  They are both amazing.

aintitthelife98

Very nice pair ... that's a really nice amberburst on the Collings. 

mcgruff10

beautiful guitars!

aintitthelife98

Really enjoying this Fender Custom Shop 1963 Telecaster Relic I picked up last week ... TV Jones T-90 pickup in the neck (body was routed for the pickup at the factory). 

static111

aintitthelife98 said:

Really enjoying this Fender Custom Shop 1963 Telecaster Relic I picked up last week ... TV Jones T-90 pickup in the neck (body was routed for the pickup at the factory). 

Beautiful!  I love it.  

mcgruff10

aintitthelife98 said:

Really enjoying this Fender Custom Shop 1963 Telecaster Relic I picked up last week ... TV Jones T-90 pickup in the neck (body was routed for the pickup at the factory). 

wow!!! love it!

Jason P

New addition to the family ... my first Martin!

000-18

I like this shape so much better than my dread.  Able to play 3x longer.  Neck feels great.  Nothing fancy about the Martin 18 series.  Got a real good deal finding this on craigslist.  I bought it from retired engineer so it is in pristine condition with LR Bagg pickups but about 65% off what Sweetwater would charge at MAP.

You can save serious money looking local.  There is a small chance you may get stabbed in the eye with a fork and stuck in a gimp cage by the seller, but you could also save several thousand dollars.  Risk vs Reward. 

gimmesometruth27

Jason P said:

New addition to the family ... my first Martin!

000-18

I like this shape so much better than my dread.  Able to play 3x longer.  Neck feels great.  Nothing fancy about the Martin 18 series.  Got a real good deal finding this on craigslist.  I bought it from retired engineer so it is in pristine condition with LR Bagg pickups but about 65% off what Sweetwater would charge at MAP.

You can save serious money looking local.  There is a small chance you may get stabbed in the eye with a fork and stuck in a gimp cage by the seller, but you could also save several thousand dollars.  Risk vs Reward. 

great find!

good thing you aren't locked in a gimpbox this morning!!

gimmesometruth27

i decided a month ago i was going to get a les paul 60s spec standard in british racing green, but they have been out of stock for a month. stupid gibson exclusives....

mcgruff10

Jason P said:

New addition to the family ... my first Martin!

000-18

I like this shape so much better than my dread.  Able to play 3x longer.  Neck feels great.  Nothing fancy about the Martin 18 series.  Got a real good deal finding this on craigslist.  I bought it from retired engineer so it is in pristine condition with LR Bagg pickups but about 65% off what Sweetwater would charge at MAP.

You can save serious money looking local.  There is a small chance you may get stabbed in the eye with a fork and stuck in a gimp cage by the seller, but you could also save several thousand dollars.  Risk vs Reward. 

that is beautiful!!! wow.  congrats

aintitthelife98

Beautiful 000-18 ... They are great guitars!

Jason P

gimmesometruth27 said:

i decided a month ago i was going to get a les paul 60s spec standard in british racing green, but they have been out of stock for a month. stupid gibson exclusives....

It has been exceptionally dark and cramped for the last few day, but my water bowl is being kept full.

That is a nice looking green gibson guitar.  I would probably opt for this over a goldtop.  I have an affinity for green guitars.

I just added my name to the waiting list gimme and plan on poaching your guitar!  Maybe.  

gimmesometruth27

Jason P said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

i decided a month ago i was going to get a les paul 60s spec standard in british racing green, but they have been out of stock for a month. stupid gibson exclusives....

It has been exceptionally dark and cramped for the last few day, but my water bowl is being kept full.

That is a nice looking green gibson guitar.  I would probably opt for this over a goldtop.  I have an affinity for green guitars.

I just added my name to the waiting list gimme and plan on poaching your guitar!  Maybe.  

i am on the list as well. i looked yesterday at their website and none of the gibson exclusive 60s spec guitars are in stock. not even the purple one. 

i called gibson garage and was told that nashville was hit hard by the winter storm a few weeks ago and they were actually without power for several days, so they are behind on production.

i was going to actually drive there 4 weekends ago and go to the garage and buy the only british racing green one they had. it was 50s spec so i probably would not have liked it. i was about to head up at 5 am on that saturday but i called them that friday afternoon and the only one they had had just sold.

there is high demand for those and they just can't keep up. hopefully we both get one this year, haha