Guitars and Life

Last part.  Final Set up and some sound demos

Part 4 where I do the fretwork and final assembly.

Part 3 in which I tackle the wiring and explain pickup and wiring choices.

Second part - I work on the neck for my Ultimate HSS Strat

I decided to build an HSS Strat partscaster.  The twist for me this time was to paint the body using Nitrocellulose Lacquer spray cans.  In this first part of a YouTube series on this build after introducing the build I prepare and spray the body.

The finale - I realise I've been an idiot on the set up get that all sorted and then test it out.

Finish applied, hardware installed, wiring done, strings put on... does it a) work at all?  b) end up a playable guitar?

Nearly getting to the end, maybe!  In this I drill various holes in the body to mount various bits of hardware and carve some comfort into it.

Episode 7 - can I get the neck on the guitar?  My steps 2 and 3 in the recovery plan.

Can I build a playable guitar neck?  Starting with hammering frets into a fretboard for the first time and then shaping the carve on the neck fundamentally this is the guitars total user interface if I don't get this right it'll never be a guitar....

You can' keep a good man (or an idiot) down!  I start the rescue of my guitar build project for the Great Guitar Build Off 2021 competition as I continue to work on the neck.

Sadly where it all goes wrong.   This will explain a bit.  Essentially I messed up the neck pocket then with a neck that was not aligned managed to snap a screw off in the neck.  

Third episode of my Great Guitar Build Off entry is live on YouTube.

Second episode in the Great Guitar Build Off 2021 video series is up.  In this episode I finish off routing the body to shape, sand it.... there'll be  lot of sanding in all of this!  Then I turn my attention to the neck sorting out one little niggle and figuring out how I'm going to shape the headstock.  This involves me ending up making new templates and a tool along the way too.

So, yes, I've signed up to the Great Guitar Build Off 2021 competition. Here's the first of the instalments others will be up in the coming weeks as I make progress.