ThePearDream's Project Thread

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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Mon Mar 30, 2020 7:14 pm

Ooh, yeah!! Love those radius jigs! Seeing homemade jigs and templates might be my favorite thing...
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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by ThePearDream » Fri Apr 10, 2020 7:44 am

Working from home the last few weeks has given me much better opportunities for making progress on these painting projects.

The Jazzmaster body had been painted with DupliColor Graphite Metallic and has about a dozen coats of clear and is currently curing in my basement.
Here it is after 3-4 coats of clear:

Image

My Domino body has a few good coats of Belton Molotow Premium in Loomit's Apricot Mid. epizootics reported having good results with this product. I haven't applied any clear yet, but the color went on really nice and I love that they have so many color options (275+ colors!) and was about $8 a can here in the US. The weather is supposed to turn cold in a few days, but I'm hoping that I can get my clear coats on before then.

Image

I finally ordered my WRHB set from BrandonWound. I am glad that I waited so long, as he was running a 15% off sale. They should arrive next week and this will give me the push I need to wrap up the finish on the body. Natural finishes are just kind of a pain in the ass for me.

I have some of my pedal projects finished now as well.

First is a clone of the FoxxTone Machine. I've never really played around with an Octave Fuzz and I'm not even sure why I bought this PCB. But wow it does sound really cool. The fuzz is super raunchy and wild. The Aion mod of the mid switch to select the tone knob caps is really useful as well.
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Next is the Tremulus Lune. This has a ton of great sounds in it. It does have a few issues that I need to figure out though - there is no sound in bypass and the rate LED doesn't work. Once I solve those problems, this will be a fantastic trem pedal.
Image

The last pedal for now is a clone of the Catalinbread Manx Loaghtan - basically a Ram's head Muff with a 2-band Baxandall EQ. The 2-band EQ is a great addition to Muff style fuzz, there are so many great tones available here. This will be getting a lot of use going forward.
Image

My Klone is almost done, I'm just waiting on a single capacitor that I forgot to order.
Doug
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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by Amon 7.L » Sat Apr 11, 2020 6:02 am

A lot of things here to be inspired by...

The jig is awesome, it's been ages since I wanted to do something like that to speed up the radiusing process and I can see you've managed to make a really neat & effective machine. Well done.

The colour on the Jazzmaster is great too, very nice choice I'm already looking forward to see how this project develops.

Now... Those pedals are so totally cool!! i LOVE the artwork, damn... I don't even own them and I feel like I want to genuinely stomp on them like a tip-tap dancer!!

You're not forced to but, if you feel like, could you post some audio demo once you're finalised the assembly?

Great work, Sir. Great work.

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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by ThePearDream » Mon Apr 13, 2020 6:40 am

Thanks so much Amon 7.L! I appreciate your kind words. I'm having lots of fun with these pedals.

I don't normally get to do graphics work, so it's nice to work on those skills and to learn another piece of software better. I also like that these take up less space than guitars :D. I may do some audio demos in the future. In the meantime though, there are already some pretty good demos of these circuits floating around the web.
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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by epizootics » Mon Apr 13, 2020 7:34 am

ThePearDream wrote:
Sat Feb 22, 2020 10:45 am

Speaking of necks, I had started building one last fall. I had ran into some problems while thinning the headstock, first with my bandsaw, then again with my ROSS. I thought it was a lost cause, but I believe I found a way to save it. It required rethinking and minimizing the headstock shape. I think this shape will work on my sticker bomb prototype shape. I will paint the headstock white to hide the extensive screwups. Considering that that body was also patched up multiple times, it's a fitting pairing. I think I did a really nice job on the back carve though.

Image
Image


I managed to miss this one - I really like that minimal headstock, it works really well with the body. But then, I like everything else in this thread - really cool & fun shapes & colors.

Glad to hear you like the Molotow Premium! Their color range is rather large. Did you use the stock cap with the blue tip? I messed around with a few of them, including a vertical fan pattern, until realizing the stock one yielded the best results, especially with the clear coat.

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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by Scout » Mon Apr 13, 2020 1:08 pm

Good stuff! It really does motivate me to see this many craftsmen and their projects coming together.

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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by ThePearDream » Tue Apr 14, 2020 5:47 am

epizootics wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 7:34 am
Glad to hear you like the Molotow Premium! Their color range is rather large. Did you use the stock cap with the blue tip? I messed around with a few of them, including a vertical fan pattern, until realizing the stock one yielded the best results, especially with the clear coat.
I started with the stock cap and found it to be a bit narrow of a stream, but still usable. I tried a pink cap and found that I preferred that as it has more spread and is easier to get overlapping passes.

Speaking of spray paint tips, I wasn't quite happy with the color, finding it to be too pink. I decided to put on a coat or two from a can of Stew-Mac aged clear to get it closer to a coral color. Well, the spray nozzle was acting up and everything went on super streaky/splattery. So I'll take things back to the sealer coat and start over. I ordered a few new colors that are close to the first color, but hopefully closer to what I want, plus a few others that I could use on future projects of some sort. I also ordered an assortment of spray caps and a free color chart.

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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by ThePearDream » Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:33 am

Since I have my Domino in pieces for finishing, I thought I'd make some template copies of it. I used the 'ol half pencil trick for the body and it worked really well. There are a few small sections on the pickguard that I couldn't shape on my ROSS, those will get some handwork later. I have no real plans for these yet. I do have a 25" scale fret slot template now, so I can (in theory) make the right neck for it. I imagine I'll do something with a JM trem and some weirdo pickups sometime down the road, maybe laser cut the trem plate to have the shape of the original trem.

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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by ThePearDream » Wed May 06, 2020 6:53 am

The Domino body is all done in #40 Loomit's Apricot now. I've never seen an apricot this color before, but it is a nearly perfect match to the original paint. I forgot to take a pic of the jack cavity with the original paint showing, before I covered it in shielding paint, but it is really close. I have no idea how close it is to the never actually existed Fender Coral Pink, but I'm really happy with this. This shot is before sanding and polishing, which is all done now. I am waiting on a few small 3D printed parts, which I'll post about when they arrive. I'm excited to get this back together.

Image

My plan for the template I made is starting to coalesce.
- 25" scale neck using a cool piece of Pau Ferro that I already have (rather than the 24.75" original)
- poplar body, 1-5/8"D, finished in the Olympia Blue paint I already have
- Jag/Jazz style bridge and vibrato
- full size Novak lipstick pickups
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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by ThePearDream » Sat May 09, 2020 12:34 pm

Well, it's taken just over a year, but my Mahogany Talman Jazzblaster project is finally wrapping up. Better pics, full specs, and more words later. For now, I'll be fine tuning the setup.

The final weight is 7 lbs. 12.5 oz (3.53 kg)!

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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by ThePearDream » Tue May 26, 2020 3:19 pm

The Jazzmaster body refinish is all done.

So, I have a CV tort guard and I am keeping the wiring scheme as is with a non-standard rhythm circuit area. So I cut some round plugs and made some rectangular plugs from a 90s Fender tort strat guard and filled the screw holes and switch openings in the rhythm circuit. I used scrapings from the strat guard mixed with acetone to create a tort glue/filler. After a few rounds of applying goop and sanding back, everything was nice and level and decently blended in.
Image

And then I decided that I don't really like tort that much and I wasn't going to be happy with this guard in the long run. I talked to Andrew from Decoboom and had him do the same custom switch location that I used on my green Jazzmaster build - but instead of on a plain parchment guard I chose his Eames Dots pattern on b/w/b material.

Image

Image

I really love the way this looks and I'm so glad that I decided to ditch the tort guard.

Here are the full specs:

- CV Jazzmaster body, poplar, 4lbs, refinished in DupliColor Graphite Metallic
- CV vibrato with AVRI spring & spring retainer (I wanted to see if this $6 upgrade would be worthwhile to do on these cheaper units)
- AVRI bridge
- VMJM neck pickup, JMJM bridge pickup
- same wiring scheme as previously - Master Volume, Master Tone, 3-way toggle, Rhythm Tone switch and 3-way switch to select parallel/series/series with strangle
- Warmoth Baritone conversion neck - birdseye maple, dark rosewood, 59 Roundback profile, narrow/tall frets
- bone nut
- Gotoh vintage style tuners
- Decoboom guard
- White pickups covers, knobs, and tips

Final weight: 8lbs, 3oz (3.71kg), pretty good for a baritone Jazzmaster with a beefy neck.

Previously the baritone neck was on my Sonic Blue VM body. The AV65 pickups that were in there will be going into my green Jazzmaster soon and I'll sell off the Antiquity II that have been in there. This is my second time with the Antiquity IIs and I just don't like them nearly as much as the AV65.

As for the Sonic Blue body, well I am expecting another Warmoth neck any day - this one a Gibson scale conversion, with the same profile and frets. I have another Decoboom guard ready - this one is parchment with no rhythm circuit. And I have a pair of Gemini Mosrite Spec for Jazzmaster pickups ready to go.
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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by threewordname » Tue May 26, 2020 5:48 pm

ThePearDream wrote:
Sat May 09, 2020 12:34 pm
Well, it's taken just over a year, but my Mahogany Talman Jazzblaster project is finally wrapping up. Better pics, full specs, and more words later. For now, I'll be fine tuning the setup.

The final weight is 7 lbs. 12.5 oz (3.53 kg)!

Image
Image

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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Tue May 26, 2020 8:29 pm

That charcoal frost looks amazing with the black Decoboom, Pear!! I honestly thought that the tort you had with it was the perfect charcoal frost and tort combo, though I'm with you that I don't think tort is always necessary.
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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by ThePearDream » Wed May 27, 2020 7:29 am

Thanks guys!

Since it's been a few weeks and I still haven't taken any good pics, here's another from the same day as the other pic:
Image

Full specs:
- Honduran mahogany body (2 piece), 1-5/8" thick, 3/8" roundover on the front, 5/8" round over on the back, contoured neck joint, angled neck pocket, oil finish
- CV vibrato with AVRI spring & spring retainer (I wanted to see if this $6 upgrade would be worthwhile to do on these cheaper units)
- CV bridge
- Squier Strat neck of unknown provenance, definitely a bit older though as there is a fair amount of color change in the exposed areas of the finish. 22 medium-ish frets, pearl-ish inlays, slightly full C profile (maybe 0.825-0.875"?), 2 pin tuner mounting.
- Black headstock with Rothko & Frost decal - I kept the same name of "Nebula" that I used on the semi-hollow version I built previously
- oval button 2 pin locking tuners
- Gototh string tree (same as I always do)
- Buffalo horn nut - similar to bone, but very dark (almost black) and doesn't smell as bed when you're cutting it.
- Black acrylic pickguard
- Stainless steel control plate
- BrandonWound WRHB
- 3-way toggle
- Emerson Pro 1Meg volume
- CTS 500k no load tone - No load so I could emulate having no tone control à la Lee Ranaldo
- Black witch hat knobs, the strat knobs in the pic were temporary and have since been replaced.
- It's strung up with a set of the new EB Mondo Slinky (10.5-52), which are inbetween the 10-52 I use on strat/tele type guitars and the 11-54 I would normally have on a JM/Jag type.

This guitar is a lot of fun,the weight is great, super comfy. I like the contrast of the high gloss acrylic and chrome against the satin oil finish. I've never played any vintage WRHBs, so I can't say how close the BrandonWound get, but they do sound really good to me. They don't sound like PAFs at all - very clear and dynamic, there are a lot of tones available in these that I don't have in any of my other guitars. Locking tuners are great to have with a Jazzy trem, making for some really stable tuning.

All in all, I'm really pleased with how this turned out.
Doug
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Re: ThePearDream's Project Thread

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed May 27, 2020 7:36 am

ThePearDream wrote:
Wed May 27, 2020 7:29 am
CV vibrato with AVRI spring & spring retainer (I wanted to see if this $6 upgrade would be worthwhile to do on these cheaper units)
What's the word on that upgrade? Worth the $6?
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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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