I'm published.......lol

Hey all,
Just wanted to let you know about a news (and video) article about me and my guitars. View it here at:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/peninsulanewsreview/news/52086117.html

It was the RAM

So, I was finally able to get the PC up and running and it was the damn RAM. removed 64 megs (hell there were only 192 megs in the first place) so down to 128 but the thing is running like a true champ. Anyway, I was able to get the codes install what I needed to install and the pictures are up. Check them out at www.apscustom.com on the AS10 page under guitars.

No new pictures yet......

BECAUSE I HATE COMPUTERS............. Every time my computer goes down and I have to fix it reminds me why I got out of the field in the first place. IT SUCKS. So this is the senario. I have taken pictues for the website with the digital camera and want to download them, edit them, and get them on the website. Problem is, I have a new computer and none of my editing software is on it yet. My old one was having all sorts of issues with blue screens. Now, in XP blue screens are very uncommon so you can imagine the problems the PC has. I can't install the editing software on the new PC because the install codes are in a document on the old PC and it won't stay up long enough to go into the document and get them. So, "reinstall XP" I says to myself. "Installing XP is easy and quick" I again says to myself. Well 36 hours later It APPEARS........like it is going to work. The installs kept erroring out, blue screening, etc. I thought the boot disk was bad, then the CD rom drive was bad, then the MB cache was bad, then the CD rom cable was bad.........Well, it appears none of that was bad. it appears I had a faulty stick of RAM. The install is still going but I'm well past the usual crap out point so it appears to have fixed the problem. Holy CRAP, 36 hours (not straight) just to open a document to get a product key so I can install an application. What a pain in the ass. However, the pictures SHOULD be up later today on the site for the Holycaster.........stay tuned!

Holycaster is now done.

Finished it last night. It looks and sounds amazing. This one was made out of Jatoba and uses very simple electronics, 1 pickup, 1 volume, standard bridge........but what a great sound. Here is a "just done" picture of it. I will take some better ones for the website later today.

Hey, and let me know who is reading this. Leave me a message or send me an e-mail at andy@apscustom.com. Now, on to the "Live Edge" guitar. I want to get that one finished pretty quickly

The Holy guitar almost complete

Well, I have the shop in a usable state now. Large tools are not in their proper place but at least I can use them. I still have to install a subpanel to be able to get my 220 volts for the bandsaw but that will come with time. So with the makeshift shop I was able to work on the Holy guitar......or better yet.....the Holycaster. installed the bridge, pickup, did the wiring, and installed the hardware. Only thing left to do is attach the neck, string it and set it up. It should be done tonight, or tomorrow.
It always amazes me when you move what stuff seems to go missing. I have my shop and can find everything but my fret hammer and a can of WD-40. I have no idea where either of those items have got to. I'm hoping they are at the other house, but what strange things to loose??

Well, the shoulder spasm/nerve pinch is finally gone, but now I'm sick. This is just pathetic. However, I'm going to fight through it and get some much needed work done in the shop today. It is finally looking like a shop and I can work on things that don't require the big machinery, like some necks to add to the live edge guitar I'm working on. Here is a quick look at the new guitars I have on the go right now. They are both pretty impressive. One is a live edge guitar with Jatoba back and Flame maple top. The other is full on Jatoba but with circles cut all the way through the body to make it a little different. Believe me, you won't see Fender or Gibson building guitars like these....EVER. The live edge guitar will be 2300.00 CAD and the circle guitar will be 2000.00 And each of them will be worth every penny. The finsh is super smooth, but you can feel the wood. It takes a ton of time to get these finishes just right, but it's worth it.

Oh, the pain of it all

My neck and shoulder are all messed up this morning. It feels like a nerve pinch or a muscle that is in spasm and just won't unlock. I've had it for a few days now but this morning is the worst. Makes it real hard to build guitars when you can't move your arm. Oh well, I'll try some more heat and see if it will loosen up. In the mean time I guess I will have a coffee and enjoy the morning.

Andy

Pictures from the shop

Well, as you can see I'm still knee deep in moving the shop. It's slowly coming together. Just have to get the table saw and jointer from the old location moved in and then I can start planning the dust collection routing. Setting up tools with dust collection is an art. Some tools you need to be able to access the front and back, like a planer, some tools need to face a certain direction so it can be connected to the dust collection unit and not interfere with the tools next to it, etc, etc. It usually takes a few trys in order to get everything setup right. I don't like having to pull tools out, use them, then put them back. Everything must be available all the time. OK gotta go and get this place setup.

Later,

Andy

News from the Live Edge guy, Andy

Well, I'm now part of the blogging world. For those that don't know me or what the hell a live edge guitar is, let me broden your horizons on what an electric guitar can be.


I'm Andy and currently living and building guitars in Victoria BC. I've been doing it as a hobby for 20+ years now but decided to get into it as a business a few years ago (http://www.apscustom.com/). I have been doing the same old designs that everyone else is doing, changing it up with exotic woods, and making some killer guitars, but still not doing anything radically different, until now.



A friend of mine turned me on to "Live Edge". Meaning, using the Edge of the tree as the edge of the guitar. This has been done with furniture for years, but never with a guitar.

So this was the first of many more to come using the live edge style. The back is a select piece of Walnut while the top is a natural piece of maple. These guitars look INCREDIBLE and they play even better.

I just moved locations and am busy getting the shop up and running again. Everything has been moved with the exception of the table saw and jointer. So, I should be ready to go in about a week.

So there you go, my first blog and your first look at the live edge guitar.