ThePearDream's Coyote/Voyager builds (Completed Pics on Pages 7 & 10)

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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AcrylicSuperman
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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by AcrylicSuperman » Mon Jun 25, 2018 3:20 am

Thanks! I have been planning a unique Cobain tribute build based around his competition mustang. The color I was looking for was Ocean Turquoise. There are a lot of people that do that finish, but it always comes out too light or too green. Their ocean turquoise is pretty close to the way Kurt's mustang looks now and is probably the most accurate I have seen. I definitely plan to post the project when it get's going. It will be a while and progress will be slow, but it will look awesome when it is done. I've never put together a 'Stang before, so I look forward to the challenge. I got a couple of kinks left to work out yet in the planning process, one being the wiring and the second being the tuners. Not sure if I will use the 65 RI tuners or Gotoh's, but once I jump those hurdles, I'll be obtaining it one piece at a time.

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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by ThePearDream » Tue Jun 26, 2018 5:26 pm

Of course, I couldn't resist slapping some of the parts on the body. My interior LED lighting doesn't do it justice, but the finish is gorgeous in person. I'll start shielding the cavities tomorrow.

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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by HNB » Tue Jun 26, 2018 6:32 pm

Looks hot! Nice work! :)
Christopher
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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by Musjagjazz » Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:32 am

Where did you get the tremolo unit?

Never seen a non- Fender one with the lock before.

This looks great btw

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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by ThePearDream » Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:48 am

It's the unit that Stewmac sells. I think I've seen the same item from a few other vendors as well, but I don't specifically remember who. I haven't used this model yet, so when I have the guitar finished I'll be sure to comment on the trem action.
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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by AcrylicSuperman » Thu Jun 28, 2018 11:09 am

Wow! That looks stunning. The pickguard looks awesome with that color.

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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by ThePearDream » Sun Jul 01, 2018 8:05 am

Well, I got it all buttoned up yesterday and have been playing it since. Assembly went very quick since I had everything prepped and ready. I did a little sanding in the neck pocket - to ensure I didn't crack the finish while taking the neck on and off - and used a 1/2 degree shim from stewmac. Before I started getting the pickguard in place I double checked all the wiring and found that the volume control was malfunctioning. When turned all the way down, I was still getting some sound coming through. Luckily, I had an extra (B1M) pot, and switched the bad one out. There may be something goofy going on with the bridge coil switching. I'll go into detail on that later, when I've had a chance to investigate some more. I'll get some nice glamour shots later, but here's a quick shot of the finished guitar and a few thoughts.

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The Rose pickups are outstanding. I'm glad I chose A3 for the main coils. More to come on that subject...

Playability of the guitar is fantastic. I used a set of 11-54 strings (I normally use 10-52 on my non-Jazzmaster full scale guitars). The VM Mustang neck is pretty much the ideal thickness and shape for me (I listed the dimensions somewhere in this thread if you're curious). The fretwork is the best I've done yet and the action is super low. It could probably go lower, but the bridge is almost all the way down now. The stewmac trem unit is solid, mabye not to the level of quality of the AVRI unit, but much better than the trem on my VM Jag. Looking at the two side by side, the deficiencies of the VM unit are clear. I may have to upgrade the trems on my Squiers now. The body is very comfortable for both sitting and standing and balances well on a strap. Between the Mustang horn and the contoured neck heel, upper fret access is superb. If I were actually inclined (or able) I could really shred on this guitar.

The final weight is 8lb 12 oz. Initially, I thought that was a bit heavy, until I looked at the weight of Jaguars at Sweetwater. It seems that this guitar is pretty average compared to the Jaguars. Considering that the body is 1-3/4" rather than 1-5/8" and it has a chunky neck - I'll consider myself satisfied with that result.

I'll post more about the tone and wiring, a final list of specs, and have some cheesecake shots to post in the coming days.
Doug
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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by HNB » Sun Jul 01, 2018 10:19 am

Looks great! Nice job!
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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by ThePearDream » Sun Jul 01, 2018 6:12 pm

Thanks! I appreciate it.
Doug
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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by ThePearDream » Thu Jul 05, 2018 8:33 am

Ok, so I addressed the bridge coil switching issue. It seems that the center coil was out of phase with the other two. So I opened the guitar up this morning and reversed the leads for that coil. I'm not sure why this happened - if it was my mistake, or if it was a winding mistake. I know Rose Pickups was backed up with orders a few months back. Either way, problem solved. BTW, in series/out of phase did sound really cool. I may deliberately do something with that sound someday.

There are so many usable sounds on this guitar. I can get the classic Jaguar tones with the outer coils. The A3 magnets sound fantastic, with just the right amount of high end (my Jaguar has the A5 AV65 pickups, so that ground is covered already). The A3/A5 bridge coils do have a clear, yet subtle difference in tone - I can clearly hear the increased high end from the A5 coil. The bridge coils in parallel sound really good, similar to the neck/bridge, but with a slight hint of quack. Now, bridge coils in series- this is a beast. This is exactly the sound I was looking for. It's full and gritty, retaining lots of high end, and isn't at all muddy. With my amp gain at zero, it sounds like my Jaguar with the gain around 4-5 and it cleans up really well with the volume knob. Bridge series plus the neck pickup is also a killer tone, like a fuller version of the classic Jaguar in between sound, with the gain knob at 2.

I can't take any good photos yet. The are a couple of large forest fires in the area and there is a bunch of haze in the air, giving the light a red/orange glow.
Doug
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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by solfege » Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:20 am

This is just amazing. Cool and super-interesting at every level.

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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by ThePearDream » Sat Jul 07, 2018 4:04 pm

Thank you very much. I have to say that it is very satisfying that it came out so well.

Today would have been a great day for photos. But, it turns out that my wife has our good camera with her on the east coast right now. I'm planning to take the guitar into my office to show it off next week. The camera (and wife) will be back by then and my office will be a much better spot for photos. We have actual grass outside my office! We don't waste water on grass at our house, so we just have weeds and/or xeriscaping. I don't really want to lay my guitars out on rocks or cactus just to get good lighting anyway.

I did get some indoor family photos with my camera phone though.

Short scales:
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I need to get myself a Mustang soon.

Analogous colors!:
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One of my goals with my collection is to have the full range of primary and secondary colors, tints (pink, sonic blue, etc.), a full set of neutrals, and (eventually) tertiary colors. I'm an interior designer and I love color. This self imposed limitation also helps with GAS, as I don't allow myself duplicate colors.

My recent builds (the other two have Warmoth bodies):
Image
G&L totally ripped me off with the Doheny.
Doug
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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build

Post by ThePearDream » Mon Jul 09, 2018 4:23 pm

Pictures!

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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build (Completed Pics on Pg 7)

Post by my main man » Mon Jul 09, 2018 5:24 pm

love it! get some sound clips up asap plz.

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Re: ThePearDream's JSG-3/Coyote build (Completed Pics on Pg 7)

Post by ThePearDream » Mon Jul 09, 2018 6:50 pm

Here is the final list of specs:

Neck: Squier VM Mustang - poly finish stripped, refinished with TruOil
Decal: Rothko & Frost
Tuners: Gotoh Japan vintage Kluson style
String Tree: Gotoh chrome barrel
String Nut: Graphtech Tusq XL
Neck plate: Gotoh chrome
Body: 3 piece alder
Finish: Orange Firemist Metallic by Guitar Paint Guys
Pickguard: Allparts Pearloid/W/B/W
Strap buttons: Schaller
Pickups: Rose Magic Dragon, A3 neck, A5 center, A3 bridge
Pickup covers: designed by me 8)
Toggle switch : Switchcraft with chrome tip
Slide switches: Switchcraft
Master volume: CTS 1Meg linear
Master tone: CTS 1Meg audio with 0.033 cap
Bass cut control: CTS 1Meg reverse, with 0.002 cap
Knobs: Black Witch hat by Allparts
Bridge: Staytrem 9.5
Vibrato: Golden Age by StewMac with Staytrem collet
Doug
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