Yamaha SG-3 & SG-2 replicas - SG-2 Finished p15/18

[shadowplay]

Dr Detail...superb.

D

[Murph]

looks amazing, every detail is perfect.

hey ben - what was the thread for the guitar in you avatar? i wanted to check it out again but i can't remember

[theworkoffire]

Thanks so much

Just heading out into the sunshine to take some photos...

looks amazing, every detail is perfect.

hey ben - what was the thread for the guitar in you avatar? i wanted to check it out again but i can't remember

It's here: http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... =8&t=33329

[theworkoffire]

Aaargh.

Scratch that, I'm just off into the shed to do some more routing

[Murph]

Thanks so much

Just heading out into the sunshine to take some photos...

looks amazing, every detail is perfect.

hey ben - what was the thread for the guitar in you avatar? i wanted to check it out again but i can't remember

It's here: http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... =8&t=33329

god, that thing is so sick

[theworkoffire]

Busy day on this today:

Vintage-correct string tree:



Then on to the wiring. I spent a good hour just staring at my diagrams before finally deciding what to do on this. Having never heard these Jag P90s before, I hadn't a clue how they might behave, especially in series, and I didn't have the time to start experimenting.

In the end I went for a JM lead circuit, and a series circuit (instead of the rhythm circuit) wired the same as a Jag lead circuit, with a jag-style bass-cut switch on the tone pot.

This is the big 4PDT switch for the series circuit. A real joy to solder:



The series circuit on a custom bracket made from a scrap of angle aluminium. The tone pot has a switch on it, so when it is on full it clicks into position, breaking the circuit between the two nearest contacts and forcing the signal through the 0.003uF cap. Otherwise, it functions the same as a normal tone pot. 500k was the highest value I had lying around, so that's what I used, but other than that, it's a copy of the Jag lead circuit. I've always liked the sound of Jags in series with the bass-cut on, so it seemed like a sensible idea:



The finished wiring loom:



Plugged in with the volume high, tap-testing. Miraculously, everything worked perfectly first time. I love listening to the changes in the hiss from the amp when I'm testing all the pots



This is how I grounded the cavity shielding and strings - I like (and usually need) to be able to take the loaded guard right off without any desoldering.



I was just about to mount the guard and tighten the strings when TNT arrived with my new intonation springs, so I swapped those over beforehand:



Then I tuned up, fiddled with the intonation a bit, tightened the truss rod a wee bit more and played it a while. I'm absolutely over the moon with the sound of the thing. These pickups are gorgeous, and the series circuit is warm without being at all muddy - the bass-cut is more subtle than I've gone for in the past, but works great. Felt very proud of myself, then gradually realised I couldn't possibly live with the switch collar sticking out like this:



So I took a deep breath and fetched my little router from the shed, took the guard off and dropped the switch cavity an extra 5mm to allow the switch to sit a bit lower. For the next one I'm going to try to source something a bit smaller - the tip on these Gibsony ones is a bit fat for this guitar I think.



Result. Much better:



I decided the string spacing was a bit tight at the nut, so I shaped a new one, grateful that I'd bought a big rod of brass rather than expensive pre-cut blanks.



After about thirty trips out to the shed to refine the shape, here it is glued in place:



Then I polished up the neck plate...



...then screwed it on with a smile on my face and Theodor Adorno looking on, inscrutable as ever.



Done:



Actually, not quite. I still need to drop the low E nut slot a little to fix a slight buzz on the zero fret, but that's for tomorrow.

Final pics in the morning sunshine tomorrow, but I'll leave it with a little teaser:

[empyrean]

So Much Want. Very inspirational, an absolutely beautiful build with so many nice little details. You should be very proud my friend!

[jimboyogi]

Amazing build Ben. Your problem solving skills are particularly inspirational

Also if you ever get any Motorik branded F*nd*r sized neck plates made, then I'd love to put one on the Buickmaster II!

[theworkoffire]

Amazing build Ben. Your problem solving skills are particularly inspirational

Also if you ever get any Motorik branded F*nd*r sized neck plates made, then I'd love to put one on the Buickmaster II!

There will be some pretty soon - I have another couple of OG Motoriks in the pipeline that will get them - remind me and I'll send one over. I was looking at your thread yesterday and getting a beating from the wife for putting that fake decal on your neck. Daft thing is I now have a batch of nice gold and silver Motorik decals that would look lovely on it...

[jimboyogi]

Amazing build Ben. Your problem solving skills are particularly inspirational

Also if you ever get any Motorik branded F*nd*r sized neck plates made, then I'd love to put one on the Buickmaster II!

There will be some pretty soon - I have another couple of OG Motoriks in the pipeline that will get them - remind me and I'll send one over. I was looking at your thread yesterday and getting a beating from the wife for putting that fake decal on your neck. Daft thing is I now have a batch of nice gold and silver Motorik decals that would look lovely on it...

How possible would replacing the decal be I sense a thread de-rail warning. Let's move this discussion to the Buickmaster NGD thread if you want to discuss further

[antisymmetric]

A knockout build on so many levels.
Awesome!

[selectomatic]

It's amazing, having followed this thread from its beginning, to see the finished product. I've always loved old Yamahas, and to see this loving recreation... well, it's hard to find words to say how gorgeous this guitar is. A true work of craftsmanship.

[noisepunk]

Gorgeous- I want one

[Murph]

i'm not gonna say this is the coolest guitar i've ever seen but...

yeah, this is the coolest guitar i've ever seen.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Result. Much better:

Ha!! You've got me looking at the switch on my Reverb Tank now....



The thread's even taller than yours was to begin with. Gaaah!!!

I could put another nut on the inside & drop it down a bit but the transformer's in the way.
I'd have to take it out. Will I bother? Won't I bother? Thanks Ben!! Touché.