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 Post subject: Guitar transformation
PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 4:08 pm 
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Sadly I am going to take this old favourite apart. It is just too heavy. I love bling guitars but not at the expense of my shoulder and neck. I was going to sell it but then played it for a bit and it sounds great. We put it together from bits and pieces bought off ebay some years ago. So I am going to change the body to a lighter alder and looks like the neck is going too as it is too wide for the alder pocket. Guess I could get the pocket opened up a bit but the neck is not outstanding. Tung oil is going over the alder with a bit of white spirit and poly to shine it up at the end. So here's the start, guitar as it is.

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 11:19 am 
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The body with Tung oil and a bit of varnish (it was sooo difficult to get the finish perfect, so I thought fuck it that'll have to do).

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 2:27 pm 
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I'm interested in knowing how the process goes on. Just out of curiosity, have you got pics of the body before the Tung oil, and one with the Tung oil without the varnish? Is applying the Tung oil like sort of painting it some other colour?

I understand that this is a new body, isn't it? It's not that you've put some kind of varnish on the transparent plastic -or whatever it was- to make it look like wood, is it? Because you said you intended to change the body to a lighter alder one, and that the neck would go, too... But then, are you transforming a guitar, or making a new one? Maybe it's a stupid question, but I've often read about people who buy a guitar and immediately change the neck, the pickups, the electric circuit, the tuners and the knobs, and I wonder why they bought a guitar so to their disliking in the first place. It's different in your case, when you've had the guitar for a long time and then see its disadvantages and what you don't like about it, and then use parts of it to make another guitar. But I know people who go out of the shop already knowing the changes they will do to the guitar. Perhaps it's that I don't know enough about guitars, but I think that if I sat at a shop trying a guitar out and I didn't like it, I'd look for another one, instead of buying it and modifying it the next day.

One of my guitars also underwent home-made cosmetic surgery :?. It was the last time I stopped trying to learn to play it. It was a cheap one, so I thought I wouldn't lose too much if it turned out a disaster, it not being too good and I not being able to play it. After much thought, I didn't even remove the varnish and original paint. I just sanded it very slightly and painted directly on the remaining varnish, and on the pickguard. I cannot believe it, but the paint is still there after four years. The result was good enough for me to take it to a luthier and ask him whether something could be done to prevent it from peeling off some day, but it would have been much more expensive than the guitar itself, so I did nothing.

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:13 am 
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Hi there, sorry I don't have any pictures of the interim stages. I forgot about this post here for a while. In the midst of all this guitar changing I had a series of chest infections so got sidetracked. Wish I had remembered to get pictures. The Tung oil is a kind of wiping varnish you can put on with a lint free cloth or even Paper towels, it finishes to a satin finish and brings out the pattern in the wood beautifully. I got a bit of polyurethane added on the last few coats because i noticed when the Tung oil was wet it looked even better. Things got much more difficult once the poly was added because it needed a very even coat and every time there were flaws. In the end I decided I would have to live with some flaws. Yes this is Alder and it is turning out pretty much a new build apart from the pickups , pots and wiring.
i think the thing with upgrading, pickups etc. is usually a money thing. I usually buy at the cheaper end of the market and know that often the pickups won't be top notch, but often say ah well I can upgrade later but maybe I should save for longer and get something higher up the chain. I did it with acoustics, bought a J-200 and I've not even vaguely considered buying another acoustic since. All my electrics are sub £400 and seeing richard the other night got me thinking about saving for a top notch Gretsch. Reckon a White Falcon Junior would suite me...but hard to find, and the cost :shock:

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:21 pm 
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You should go into a shop and try one out, or something similar, you may find it really isnt what you are after, yes it looks nice, but it might not quite capture your heart...


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 8:26 pm 
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They are incredibly rare. I would definitely give it a go before buying but nowhere in the UK has one at present, not a JR version. Word is that Gretsch will run another batch in the next few months. My thinking is having a 5129 which is my fave guitar, the only thing i would change is more bling and maybe a smaller body. So the falcon jr fits the spec.

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PostPosted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 2:39 pm 
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Shambolic Charm wrote:
Hi there, sorry I don't have any pictures of the interim stages. I forgot about this post here for a while. In the midst of all this guitar changing I had a series of chest infections so got sidetracked. Wish I had remembered to get pictures. The Tung oil is a kind of wiping varnish you can put on with a lint free cloth or even Paper towels, it finishes to a satin finish and brings out the pattern in the wood beautifully. I got a bit of polyurethane added on the last few coats because i noticed when the Tung oil was wet it looked even better. Things got much more difficult once the poly was added because it needed a very even coat and every time there were flaws. In the end I decided I would have to live with some flaws. Yes this is Alder and it is turning out pretty much a new build apart from the pickups , pots and wiring.


Thanks a lot for the explanation. Some day I'd like to build myself a guitar from spare parts, and though that's a long way ahead for now, I like to read about these things.

And thanks also for your thoughts on the upgrading of guitars. I'd never seen it under that light, but you may be right there. So far, I've always tried to wait and save enough money until I felt quite satisfied with what I could afford. But then, I'm easy to satisfy, guitar-wise. Whatever is not like I'd like it to be, it's always my playing, not the guitar. :twisted:

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 11:29 am 
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Shambolic Charm wrote:
i think the thing with upgrading, pickups etc. is usually a money thing. I usually buy at the cheaper end of the market and know that often the pickups won't be top notch, but often say ah well I can upgrade later but maybe I should save for longer and get something higher up the chain. I did it with acoustics, bought a J-200 and I've not even vaguely considered buying another acoustic since. All my electrics are sub £400 and seeing richard the other night got me thinking about saving for a top notch Gretsch. Reckon a White Falcon Junior would suite me...but hard to find, and the cost :shock:


A lot of people don't realise the the bridge and the nut are a huge part of the resonance of the guitar and help improve the musical sustain. Simple modifications like this can improve any guitar no end. That and some half-decent pickups will make for a better guitar.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 12:13 pm 
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Further on, going to change the scratchplate though. Getting the bridge lined up right is really difficult by the way.

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