Lets look at our guitars thread
Discussion
rsbmw said:
What is that? From the shape and headstock I want to say an Ibanez Joe Satriani model?
A JS20 - the 20th anniversary of Surfing. Two types came out - chrome and painted. http://www.joesatrianiuniverse.com/gear/ibanez-js-...Just realising things like the tone pot, the Ibanez is is chrome on the headstock, different plate on the back...
Chinese guitar update time, I know you've all been waiting on baited breath.
Got the guitar last weekend. Fairly impressed with build quality, but had all the minor issues you would expect. Garbage electrics, shoddy fretwork, poor setup etc. All the important bits however, were great.
48 hours with my friendly local luthier, (who builds some awesome stuff btw) and it's looking, playing and sounding amazing. Better than my PRS SE custom 24.
I've had Iron Gear pickups put in (steamhammer bridge, rolling mill neck) with a coil tap and a full fret dress / setup. Had asked him to swap the nut too, but on picking it up he said the nut is fine, well fitted and cut - so just get the wear out of it then swap it. Fair enough. Luthier is pretty impressed with this, said he's had Chinese guitars on the bench before and they've always been useless, but this is pretty good, nice woods etc. I asked him "would you buy one", to which he replied "I'd buy that one!". Says it all! To a certain extent it's luck of the draw, but I've certainly been lucky.
Uploaded a few sound bites here, be kind I've only picked guitar back up recently after a several year hiatus - so pretty rusty.
https://soundcloud.com/rsbmw/sets/rs-demos
Some pics
Got the guitar last weekend. Fairly impressed with build quality, but had all the minor issues you would expect. Garbage electrics, shoddy fretwork, poor setup etc. All the important bits however, were great.
48 hours with my friendly local luthier, (who builds some awesome stuff btw) and it's looking, playing and sounding amazing. Better than my PRS SE custom 24.
I've had Iron Gear pickups put in (steamhammer bridge, rolling mill neck) with a coil tap and a full fret dress / setup. Had asked him to swap the nut too, but on picking it up he said the nut is fine, well fitted and cut - so just get the wear out of it then swap it. Fair enough. Luthier is pretty impressed with this, said he's had Chinese guitars on the bench before and they've always been useless, but this is pretty good, nice woods etc. I asked him "would you buy one", to which he replied "I'd buy that one!". Says it all! To a certain extent it's luck of the draw, but I've certainly been lucky.
Uploaded a few sound bites here, be kind I've only picked guitar back up recently after a several year hiatus - so pretty rusty.
https://soundcloud.com/rsbmw/sets/rs-demos
Some pics
Sure, will snap some more pics tomorrow in the light.
The shape of the top on this is somewhere between the SE and the full USA. Being a veneer I expect it's nigh impossible to get the proper carve of the USA (it's a proper veneer, not a photoflame). Certainly nicer than the sort of bevelly curve on the SE, but not as curvy as the USA, essentially.
The shape of the top on this is somewhere between the SE and the full USA. Being a veneer I expect it's nigh impossible to get the proper carve of the USA (it's a proper veneer, not a photoflame). Certainly nicer than the sort of bevelly curve on the SE, but not as curvy as the USA, essentially.
Here is my latest acquisition/project. Purchased for next to nothing on eBay, stripped it down and spent a few quid on hardware upgrades and here she is reincarnated. I have just finished setting her up with 11s and she plays very nicely indeed, with a remarkably low action and a lovely feel to the neck. And for a low budget project, those Wilkinson pick ups ain't too bad either.
rsbmw said:
Sure, will snap some more pics tomorrow in the light.
The shape of the top on this is somewhere between the SE and the full USA. Being a veneer I expect it's nigh impossible to get the proper carve of the USA (it's a proper veneer, not a photoflame). Certainly nicer than the sort of bevelly curve on the SE, but not as curvy as the USA, essentially.
Yes, worrying about whether they'd get the carve right was one reason why, ultimately, I didn't order one!The shape of the top on this is somewhere between the SE and the full USA. Being a veneer I expect it's nigh impossible to get the proper carve of the USA (it's a proper veneer, not a photoflame). Certainly nicer than the sort of bevelly curve on the SE, but not as curvy as the USA, essentially.
Nice to see it's a proper veneer, you'll probably find there's a real maple cap under it as well.
rsbmw said:
Chinese guitar update time, I know you've all been waiting on baited breath.
Got the guitar last weekend. Fairly impressed with build quality, but had all the minor issues you would expect. Garbage electrics, shoddy fretwork, poor setup etc. All the important bits however, were great.
48 hours with my friendly local luthier, (who builds some awesome stuff btw) and it's looking, playing and sounding amazing. Better than my PRS SE custom 24.
I've had Iron Gear pickups put in (steamhammer bridge, rolling mill neck) with a coil tap and a full fret dress / setup. Had asked him to swap the nut too, but on picking it up he said the nut is fine, well fitted and cut - so just get the wear out of it then swap it. Fair enough. Luthier is pretty impressed with this, said he's had Chinese guitars on the bench before and they've always been useless, but this is pretty good, nice woods etc. I asked him "would you buy one", to which he replied "I'd buy that one!". Says it all! To a certain extent it's luck of the draw, but I've certainly been lucky.
Uploaded a few sound bites here, be kind I've only picked guitar back up recently after a several year hiatus - so pretty rusty.
https://soundcloud.com/rsbmw/sets/rs-demos
Nothing to complain about there at all...Got the guitar last weekend. Fairly impressed with build quality, but had all the minor issues you would expect. Garbage electrics, shoddy fretwork, poor setup etc. All the important bits however, were great.
48 hours with my friendly local luthier, (who builds some awesome stuff btw) and it's looking, playing and sounding amazing. Better than my PRS SE custom 24.
I've had Iron Gear pickups put in (steamhammer bridge, rolling mill neck) with a coil tap and a full fret dress / setup. Had asked him to swap the nut too, but on picking it up he said the nut is fine, well fitted and cut - so just get the wear out of it then swap it. Fair enough. Luthier is pretty impressed with this, said he's had Chinese guitars on the bench before and they've always been useless, but this is pretty good, nice woods etc. I asked him "would you buy one", to which he replied "I'd buy that one!". Says it all! To a certain extent it's luck of the draw, but I've certainly been lucky.
Uploaded a few sound bites here, be kind I've only picked guitar back up recently after a several year hiatus - so pretty rusty.
https://soundcloud.com/rsbmw/sets/rs-demos
My latest acquisition/creation. It took three months to make this crazy thing. Almost everything was handmade with basic tools, barring the gears and some connectors. It was prototyped in Meccano then recreated in brass. When the strumming arm is locked in position, for each turn of the crank it will play a down and upstrum. When the arm is swung (and locked) out of the way it can be played normally. The mechanism atop the arm counts the beats and also number of 4 beat bars played.
The arm can be detached easily and a cover plate attached to hide the hole where it was located. Also, the entire mechanism can be removed in one piece - this will allow me to insert different mechanisms in the future. I'm currently prototyping another two mechanisms and have a few more ideas for others.
Beaten copper bezel and scratch plate.
Strumming arm in 'standard' play mode.
Close-up of strumming arm in standard play mode.
Strumming arm in mechanical play mode.
Padded leather back and handmade brass coverplates.
Strumming arm - detachable.
Clock keys on the tuners.
Strumming arm interior from front.
Close-up of main mechanism.
Beat/bar counter - detaches from arm.
The arm can be detached easily and a cover plate attached to hide the hole where it was located. Also, the entire mechanism can be removed in one piece - this will allow me to insert different mechanisms in the future. I'm currently prototyping another two mechanisms and have a few more ideas for others.
Beaten copper bezel and scratch plate.
Strumming arm in 'standard' play mode.
Close-up of strumming arm in standard play mode.
Strumming arm in mechanical play mode.
Padded leather back and handmade brass coverplates.
Strumming arm - detachable.
Clock keys on the tuners.
Strumming arm interior from front.
Close-up of main mechanism.
Beat/bar counter - detaches from arm.
Edited by lunarscope on Sunday 27th March 15:37
king. Nutter. 
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