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Definitely looks better after the mods.
I'll be waiting to see the finished pics, should be very cool.
I'll be waiting to see the finished pics, should be very cool.
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Currently at 78 guitars - Paul Reed Smith, Jackson, Robin, Washburn, Carvin, Peavey, U.S. Masters, G&L, Hamer, Godin, BC Rich, Yamaha, Fender, ESP, Kramer, Cort, Ibanez, Aria Pro & Charvel
Pics:http://profile.ultimate-guitar.com/mr.rs/pictures/gear -
Here's the headstock so far.
Here's a comparison to an Explorer headstock. It's not perfect, but considering what I was working with, I think it looks okay. It's definitely better than before.
Here's the fresh bondo. I wasn't very careful pulling out the bridge studs, so there were a couple of chips I had to fill there too.
I haven't decided what to do here yet. The inlays were pretty crappy looking, and two of them actually broke because there wasn't enough filler underneath them. In other words, there was a void underneath, and when pushed on, they collapsed.
I'm thinking the best course of action, would be to remove them and route for full size blocks. I'd rather not remove the frets though, but I don't know what other options I have. I'm also going to dye the fretboard black. It looks shitty in that pic because of all the dust, but it actually is a pretty cool looking piece of rosewood. Nevertheless, I am going to dye it black.Comment
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Looking at that first pic, I was thinking you could probably get the standard Explorer headstock out of it. Looks great.Comment
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Looks great! I didn't mind the body too much before, but the headstock was horrible. Looks really cool now.
I feel my soul go cold... only the dead are smiling.Comment
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Lookin great Z! I had one of the older ones that looked more like an actual explorer...Played fine and I wanted to re shape the head too but...I just sold it instead...
Love to see a full shot of the sucker!Comment
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Oh, you mean the Agile Ghost? A friend of mine has one. It's not bad. It's the proper explorer shape, and the headstock is "explorer-ish". The neck is a tad on the chunky side though.Originally posted by sevser View PostComment
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I'm a little worried now. The bondo is set, but still tacky, and feels a bit soft. I can dig my fingernail into it. Any time I've used bondo in the past, it should be hard by now. Is it possible it's gone bad because it's old? If so, I have no idea how i'm going to get this shit off so I can redo it with new stuff.Comment
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Well, the bondo turned out to be fine. for some reason, the surface was a little tacky, but once I started sanding it, it was fine.
First coat of primer. I have to go out tomorrow and grab some Hetfield off-white paint.Comment
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Here is the logo I'm going to use. I figure I'll paint it on by hand.
Last edited by zeegler; 09-10-2008, 08:07 PM.Comment
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Cool stuff zeeg's I quite like your explorer esque headstock a little more than the gibson one or esp's sock headstock I think you's just looks a tad better because it's a bit more beefy...
Vintage/offwhite is gonna look good, black hardware sperzels, and EMG's?Comment
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Well, here's what I have planned:Originally posted by ozzuk1 View Post
finish - ivory/off-white with black headstock
bridge - nickel Schaller TOM
tuners - chrome Schaller minis
strap buttons - nickel Schaller strap locks
pickups - EMGs
I agree that the black hardware would probably look better like Hetfield's later ESP explorers, but the chrome is more accurate to his Gibby, plus, I have all this hardware laying around, with the exception of the EMGs.Comment
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is it going to say "eek fuk" (or what ever it says)?Last edited by asix; 09-11-2008, 09:36 AM.no sig.....Comment
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LOL, I think EET FUK was on his first ESP. I don't think I'm going to go as far as to deface this one.Originally posted by asix View Post
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That's coming along great bro. Can't wait to see the finished product!!Comment
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Stupid. That's me!
It occurred to me today that I had started priming prematurely. The Schaller tuners I am using have a different screw location to the original crappy tuners. I had also moved the strap button to behind the neck heel to help the guitar to balance better. These holes would all need filling before I continue to paint.
I also couldn't remember if this guitar had intonation issues, so I thought at this stage, I should check the location of the TOM post holes, and also the size of the holes to ensure they are correct for the bridge I'm going to use. Well, it turns out, the post holes are centered at around 24-5/8" on the treble side, and 24-3/4" on the bass side, which is obviously too short for a 24-3/4" scale guitar. The post holes should be at approximately 24-13/16" and 24-15/16" respectively. You will never end up intonating the bridge below the actual scale length of the guitar, unless something else is very wrong. Usually saddle compensation will be from 1/32" up to as far as 1/4" depending on your action. I'll be using a high quality Gotoh TOM with a pretty good amount of saddle adjustment, but I still wanted to have the bridge located properly so that the saddles aren't at their maximum adjustment either way. I was intending to use a vintage Schaller TOM, but I couldn't seem to find the inserts and posts for it. Besides, I checked it with a straightedge, and it appears to be slightly collapsed. Rather than bugger around trying to straighten it, and find the inserts and posts, I decided to use the brand new Gotoh unit instead. Anyhoo, I'm rambling.
I drilled out the TOM post holes, and dowelled them with mahogany dowel. Notice I cut them slightly short. I want them to be slightly lower than the level of the top, so I can bondo the holes flush. It's much easier to get a smooth finish this way, without the plugs showing up through the paint.
Now I'm on my way to choose some paint, and get some new bondo. I think this old stuff is a bit iffy.Comment
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