Thursday, June 17, 2010
sometimes things go south
So the AS10 in black and the AS20 in grey I was working on have both gone south. I tried a new finish and it did not work out as I had hoped. the finish was WAY to soft and as a result, I kept burning through the finish during final buff. The stuff never really dried into a hard coat, it stayed pretty soft and was very elastic. DAMNIT...........So now it's back to the start appying the color then 10 coats of the good hard finish I've always used. Should have known better than to switch finishes when you have one you already like.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
New Projects
I'm working on 3 new projects. One Black AS10NT with gold hardware. She's gonna be sweet. Also, a Gray AS20BT with black hardware. These 2 guitars are looking for a new home so if you are interested, e-mail me at andy@apscustom.com
The third is a AS10BTXL. It has a Babinga top and a chambered Jatoba body. I will have pics of these 3 guitars later this week.
I also started drawing out plans for MY VERSION of a flying V. Just like the last post says, it is not a copy, nor a tribute.....Just the flying V the way I see it. I am going to include a trem on it....because I can.
The third is a AS10BTXL. It has a Babinga top and a chambered Jatoba body. I will have pics of these 3 guitars later this week.
I also started drawing out plans for MY VERSION of a flying V. Just like the last post says, it is not a copy, nor a tribute.....Just the flying V the way I see it. I am going to include a trem on it....because I can.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Use some imagination please
OK, this blog is going to be a rant. One of my "friends" on facebook posted a picture of a Gibson Les Paul that was being constructed by a fellow builder. Now of course this was not a Gibson Les Paul but it might as well been, It was EXACTLY the same with EXACTLY the same wood combination. Why do builders do this? And for the love of god, why do people get excited about it. Would these same people who are owing and awing do the same if Gibson released pics of their cookie cutter guitars? Oh wait, they just might. Oh look ANOTHER flamed maple Les Paul, Oh my god, ANOTHER goldtop. Oh, Oh, you gotta see this.....a BLACK Les Paul with CREAM BINDING......Oh my god, I think I just pee'd myself.
So my question is, why do custom builders build the exact same knockoffs? Custom should be just that...CUSTOM. I have no problem with being INSPIRED by the Les Paul and building a guitar similar in style. But building the damn same guitar to the same specs and putting your name on it is just stupid. If Gibson has it down pat and all we do is copy their design, then why the hell are we building guitars? We might as well go work for Gibson or Fender and get paid vacations and a dental plan. I just don't see the point of building the exact same thing and everyone going gaga about it.
Now, one of my models DO use a standard shape of a strat. However the similarities end there. I DON'T use VINTAGE single coil pickups for that VINTAGE sound. Why would I? Buy a strat if you want a strat. I don't build strats, if I did I would go work for Fender.....See how easy this is. So back to my AS10 (better than a strat) guitar. I use 2 humbuckers. Hums are the best. You can do ANYTHING with them. You can make it behave just like a single coil pickup with the flick of a switch. You can also get that single coil sound while still cancelling 60 cycle hum (it's called parallel mode) or a number of other sounds. With a 3-way mini switch (which I offer, stock on the higher end models) you can get 15.....yah, that's right.....15 different tones. I also offer the AS30 which has a Les Paul look to it but has flattened sides and does not offer the standard control layout of the Paul, and why should it? Again, if you want a Paul, go pay outrageous amounts of money for a cookie cutter guitar……just like the one your friend has.
Wood? Let’s talk about that for a minute. There are TONS of different woods out there and you know what......MOST OF THEM SOUND AWSOME in an electric guitar. You don't need to go with Mahogany for the body and flamed or quilted maple for the top. My god there are woods that look amazing and sound amazing....like Bubinga. Yeah, you can use that on electric guitars....IT'S NOT JUST FOR BASSES ANYMORE!!!! I don't know why the regular guitar player is so locked into a narrow minded belief of what a guitar should be that they can't see the awesome options open to them.
And one more thing. I work at a very small music store 2 days a week just to get out of the shop. If I hear another person complain about the weight of an electric guitar I think I'm gonna kill myself. People, Wood has weight, get over it. At the store we have a bunch of Strat CLONES.....blah, blah, blah (more copy cat companies) and I get people in their 20's to 40's complaining all the time that it's too heavy and their neck and shoulders hurt if they play it for to long. Gezz buddy, buy a wider strap/padded strap...or build some damn muscle. problem solved. And if the aforementioned is buying one for his/her kid....well forget it. "Oh, Billy won't be able to lift that and play it for very long" Well holy crap, maybe Billy should step away from the video games for awhile and run around outside and build some muscle. Unbelievable!! Are we becoming a society of weaklings? I mean hell, if the damn guitar is not made out of Basswood (or plywood for that matter), then it's too heavy? Give me a break! As I said before...wood has weight. Now, there are ways to use quality wood and reduce the weight (chambering), but most people want light, and cheap, and chambering a piece of wood is not cheap. I’ll tell you a little side story about how weak we have gotten. At the store we had an old Roland keyboard come in. You know, wood ends, clunky sliders, large knobs, etc. Well it was on the show floor, and the guy (I’d say is his late 20’s early 30’s wanted to plug it in just to confirm it worked. Fair enough….I carry it to the back of the store and we plug it into an amp. Yup, works fine so I carry it back up to the front of the store. He then inquires about a pedal for it. I have one but since the keyboard is very old I say lets try it to confirm. I carry it to the back of the store again. We try the pedal, it does not work. No problem, He thinks he may have one at home that works. I carry it back to the front again. He pays for it and goes to pick it up and all I can hear is him bitching about how heavy it is and how he is ever going to get it to his car which is parked right around the corner. I’m thinking to myself you have got to be kidding me. I just moved this thing around the store for you with NO PROBLEM what so ever, what kind of little girl are you, you pussy. If I was him, I would have been SO EMBARASSED that someone almost twice his age had no problem lifting and moving this keyboard, while he could not. Finally, his buddy had to come and help him carry it out. I mean, how sad is that.
So to finish……..builders, try something new. Players, embrace the new ideas, you will be amazed at what can come of it. And to the 20 to 40 year olds, guitars have SOME weight to them, it won't kill ya so stop your crying. And if you have kids.......do some parenting and kick their butts outside to run around and play so they have enough strength to stand up and play the electric guitar.
THAT IS ALL
So my question is, why do custom builders build the exact same knockoffs? Custom should be just that...CUSTOM. I have no problem with being INSPIRED by the Les Paul and building a guitar similar in style. But building the damn same guitar to the same specs and putting your name on it is just stupid. If Gibson has it down pat and all we do is copy their design, then why the hell are we building guitars? We might as well go work for Gibson or Fender and get paid vacations and a dental plan. I just don't see the point of building the exact same thing and everyone going gaga about it.
Now, one of my models DO use a standard shape of a strat. However the similarities end there. I DON'T use VINTAGE single coil pickups for that VINTAGE sound. Why would I? Buy a strat if you want a strat. I don't build strats, if I did I would go work for Fender.....See how easy this is. So back to my AS10 (better than a strat) guitar. I use 2 humbuckers. Hums are the best. You can do ANYTHING with them. You can make it behave just like a single coil pickup with the flick of a switch. You can also get that single coil sound while still cancelling 60 cycle hum (it's called parallel mode) or a number of other sounds. With a 3-way mini switch (which I offer, stock on the higher end models) you can get 15.....yah, that's right.....15 different tones. I also offer the AS30 which has a Les Paul look to it but has flattened sides and does not offer the standard control layout of the Paul, and why should it? Again, if you want a Paul, go pay outrageous amounts of money for a cookie cutter guitar……just like the one your friend has.
Wood? Let’s talk about that for a minute. There are TONS of different woods out there and you know what......MOST OF THEM SOUND AWSOME in an electric guitar. You don't need to go with Mahogany for the body and flamed or quilted maple for the top. My god there are woods that look amazing and sound amazing....like Bubinga. Yeah, you can use that on electric guitars....IT'S NOT JUST FOR BASSES ANYMORE!!!! I don't know why the regular guitar player is so locked into a narrow minded belief of what a guitar should be that they can't see the awesome options open to them.
And one more thing. I work at a very small music store 2 days a week just to get out of the shop. If I hear another person complain about the weight of an electric guitar I think I'm gonna kill myself. People, Wood has weight, get over it. At the store we have a bunch of Strat CLONES.....blah, blah, blah (more copy cat companies) and I get people in their 20's to 40's complaining all the time that it's too heavy and their neck and shoulders hurt if they play it for to long. Gezz buddy, buy a wider strap/padded strap...or build some damn muscle. problem solved. And if the aforementioned is buying one for his/her kid....well forget it. "Oh, Billy won't be able to lift that and play it for very long" Well holy crap, maybe Billy should step away from the video games for awhile and run around outside and build some muscle. Unbelievable!! Are we becoming a society of weaklings? I mean hell, if the damn guitar is not made out of Basswood (or plywood for that matter), then it's too heavy? Give me a break! As I said before...wood has weight. Now, there are ways to use quality wood and reduce the weight (chambering), but most people want light, and cheap, and chambering a piece of wood is not cheap. I’ll tell you a little side story about how weak we have gotten. At the store we had an old Roland keyboard come in. You know, wood ends, clunky sliders, large knobs, etc. Well it was on the show floor, and the guy (I’d say is his late 20’s early 30’s wanted to plug it in just to confirm it worked. Fair enough….I carry it to the back of the store and we plug it into an amp. Yup, works fine so I carry it back up to the front of the store. He then inquires about a pedal for it. I have one but since the keyboard is very old I say lets try it to confirm. I carry it to the back of the store again. We try the pedal, it does not work. No problem, He thinks he may have one at home that works. I carry it back to the front again. He pays for it and goes to pick it up and all I can hear is him bitching about how heavy it is and how he is ever going to get it to his car which is parked right around the corner. I’m thinking to myself you have got to be kidding me. I just moved this thing around the store for you with NO PROBLEM what so ever, what kind of little girl are you, you pussy. If I was him, I would have been SO EMBARASSED that someone almost twice his age had no problem lifting and moving this keyboard, while he could not. Finally, his buddy had to come and help him carry it out. I mean, how sad is that.
So to finish……..builders, try something new. Players, embrace the new ideas, you will be amazed at what can come of it. And to the 20 to 40 year olds, guitars have SOME weight to them, it won't kill ya so stop your crying. And if you have kids.......do some parenting and kick their butts outside to run around and play so they have enough strength to stand up and play the electric guitar.
THAT IS ALL
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Coming along nicely
Monday, January 25, 2010
Pictures of the neck jig. I'm finally back to working on it!!!!
OK, I'm done with the 3 guitar repairs. Lots to do on each of them but it is now done. So back to the neck jig project. As I said before, I don't recall where I saw a pic of this device or even know how close I am to the original design. I think everything that I would need for it to work has been incorporated, but then again.....who knows until I try it. So here it is.
So the unshaped neck gets attached to the underside of the structure. The screws will attach to the neck where the truss rod channel will be routed out after the fact.
It's off centered because the mitre slots on the table saw are not an equal distance from the dado blade on each side. I still have to add the sides of the unit to what you see here . These sides will be what slides in the mitre slots. Well I was just about to go and add the sides but my wife just brought me a huge bowl of ice cream. And The big bang theroy is on in 20 mins......Oh well, tomorrow?
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
working on a few new projects, try to finish some old projects
Where does the time go? I've got to find more time in the day for guitars. So lets start on the oldest projects. I'm still working on the Cherry AS20 bolt on and the 5-string Bass. I ran into a road block as I had to install a subpanel for my bandsaw. So that is all fixed up and finally ready to go. Next is the neck jig. I was hoping to have that done 2 nights ago but I had to go install a shelf for a friend of mine, then go pick up a computer that needs fixing.......I guess being a "retired" IT guy means I still work on computers.....drat!! Then last night I picked up 3 repair jobs on some vintage Fenders (bass and tele) as well as a Aria Pro II bass. That one is my favorite, I can't get enough of the Aria Pro stuff.
So I have all this on my plate as well as working 6 days a week right now with some friends of mine. Where does the time go?
So I have all this on my plate as well as working 6 days a week right now with some friends of mine. Where does the time go?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Working on a new jig
So yesterday, I started working on a jig that rough cuts the back profile of the neck. It basically hangs the guitar neck over a dado blade and with incremental movements from side to side it cuts the curved profile of the neck. I for the life of me can't remember where I saw a picture of one in use, but it sure appeared to be a great tool that would get tons of use in the shop. Right now I route the neck blank down to the thickness I want it, then pull out the rasps and files and go to work on the contour of the neck. If this jig works as I hope it does it will remove a ton of time that I currently spend shaping. I'm about half way finished with it, but it should be ready to try out tonight. I'll post some pics of it. Like I said, I don't remember where this idea came from and I only remember seeing one picture of the jig in operation. It could be that it won't work at all cause I didn't remember some hugely important element, or more likely, didn't see some hugely important element in the picture. Oh well, it's still fun to build things and try them out.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Custom Pickguard
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