Guitar body repair and refinishing project

[delt]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

awesome work dude! btw did you paint & clearcoat the neck pocket??

oh and i dont think those ghost saddles will sound exactly like an acoustic unless you use heavier gauge strings......

[Jester700]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

I agree - looks great! But IMO piezo saddles on an electric don't *ever* sound like an acoustic...maybe an approximation. But then, I've never heard piezos on an ACOUSTIC sound like an acoustic, either!

[pedalGEEK]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

Aren't you going to have problems with the neck fitting into the painted cavity?

Looks great though. Looking forward to seeing completed pics and hearing about how the piezo thing works out sonically.

Good luck!

[mm2002]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

The neck fits in there great. As you can see in the earlier pics it was taped off when I applied the primer, and has only enough paint to seal it. I did have to sand the clear just a hair around the sides to get the neck to fit back in but now it actually fits better than it did before.
The sound? I played a Squire that had the ghost system and I thought it sounded pretty darned good. Of course nothing sounds EXACTLY like a mic'd acoustic but with the right pre-amp and settings the peizo saddles give a close approximation IMHO. You can also add their hexaphonic unit (plugs right into the pre-amp) and the guitar becomes a midi controller. I've never heard one but they claim the tracking is excellent. Maybe I'll tinker with that later, who knows.

[sully]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

mark, that sounds like a fantastic idea for a project!

as far as the piezo stuff goes, i love how the fishman systems sound on the parker fly deluxes. that's the only ones i've ever tried, and they're awesome.

sully

[txcharvel]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

That looks super! You've inspired me to go to Harbor Freight and buy a spray gun [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Please keep us posted with the assembly.

[Jim Shine]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

I am having some Bondo issues. It keeps cracking on my C pillars. Perhaps I have to build it up a few layers at a time then sand it out?

[sully]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

jim, i'm no expert in that, but is it totally dry when you're applying more? if it's not dry all the way, i could imagine that you may have those kind of issues...?

sully

[Jim Shine]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

Yeah, it was totally dry, but i did it in two layers. It is a deep trough (it is the seam where the rear quarter and roof join). It was cracked when I got it, but I think that was factory filler that was exposed to moisture as the A pillars had the same material that still had the old vinyl glue on them. I chipped out and wire wheeled the trough and replaced it with Bondo, but as I said, I did two layers allowing a day for the first to dry. Perhaps I should do three.

[dg]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

I wouldn't say Bondo is brittle, but there may be something more forgiving available. I'm wondering if a paintable seam sealer might do the trick better there.

[mm2002]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

Jim. that's being caused by body flex, and no amount of bondo is going to cure it. #1 - replace all the body bushings, I'm sure they're worn out and allowing the body to twist around on the frame. #2 - Never use bondo on a quarter-to-roof seam, either lead or weld it. I prefer to weld them myself, but it takes a lot of finesse to do it without burning through the sheetmetal.


edit: NEVER use seam sealer on an external painted surface!!!!!!!!

[mm2002]

Re: Guitar body repair and refinishing project

Oh, and BTW, bondo (or any other catalyzed paint/filler) doesn't "dry", it hardens by a chemical reaction. If the base is not mixed with the catalyst thoroughly it will lead to problems such as cracking, shrinking, etc. Just thought I should add that.