Barnaby's LP Scratch Build - Hand Tools Only

[JayDee80]

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by JayDee80

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout...

[Fred_Garvin]

Wow, Barnaby. I spent half my weekend going through this thread, and I'm amazed. Simply a spectacular result without any electricity. My hat's off you you!

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Fred_Garvin

Wow, Barnaby. I spent half my weekend going through this thread, and I'm amazed. Simply a spectacular result without any electricity. My hat's off you you!

Thanks! It was a huge amount of fun...and definitely easier the second (and third) time around. That's also because I now have better hand tools, of course - and a workbench!

Anyway, welcome to the forum and thank you so much for your kind words - I'm honoured to be the recipient of your first post.

[TKOjams]

Now that you've accomplished the next to impossible, building a carved top solid body guitar with only hand tools during a Tsunami, what's next? Building one out of hemp and drier lint during the zombie apocalypse?
Great gob my friend, and passing that beauty onto your Brother is very admirable. You never fail to amaze me my friend.
sooooooo? What's next huh? come on, come on, come on, We're waaaaaaiting.

[TKOjams]

She's waiting

[Reverend D]

So's his wife with a rolling pin if she finds that when she comes home... (Cue in the music Robert Palmer, 'Sneakin Sally through the alley, I said I can't find, nothing wrong with being friends with her some times, she lets me use her car')

You Tube

You Tube

Regards,

Don

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by TKOjams

Now that you've accomplished the next to impossible, building a carved top solid body guitar with only hand tools during a Tsunami, what's next? Building one out of hemp and drier lint during the zombie apocalypse?
Great gob my friend, and passing that beauty onto your Brother is very admirable. You never fail to amaze me my friend.
sooooooo? What's next huh? come on, come on, come on, We're waaaaaaiting.

Originally Posted by TKOjams

She's waiting

That's what I call a carvetop!

Originally Posted by Reverend D

So's his wife with a rolling pin if she finds that when she comes home... (Cue in the music Robert Palmer, 'Sneakin Sally through the alley, I said I can't find, nothing wrong with being friends with her some times, she lets me use her car')

Sneakin Sally Through The Alley by Robert Palmer - YouTube

Regards,

Don

Luckily, my wife is overseas right now. The only thing I have to remember to do is change my brand-new laptop wallpaper before she gets back.

[Reverend D]

Probably a few more curls of wood laying around than when she's around...


Regards,

Don

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Reverend D

Probably a few more curls of wood laying around than when she's around...


Regards,

Don

I will admit that the apartment is...um...differently organized right now. This weekend will actually be my first real chance to spend some serious time with tools for quite a while. I have several builds at this weird halfway point, so it will be nice to get them across the line.

[Reverend D]

Cool B, nice to see an artist at work!

Regards,

Don

[Fred_Garvin]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

Thanks! It was a huge amount of fun...and definitely easier the second (and third) time around. That's also because I now have better hand tools, of course - and a workbench!

Anyway, welcome to the forum and thank you so much for your kind words - I'm honoured to be the recipient of your first post.

Nobody would be more deserving than you, I've built a couple of axes, and was always wishing I had an expensive power tool to make it easier, not thinking "How could I do this the hard way?"

[Asdain]

B,.. i wish i had your wood skills (and tools)!
i still have no idea how to do the finger joints on the cab (once i eventually finish building the actual amp^^)

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by Reverend D

Cool B, nice to see an artist at work!

Regards,

Don

Hardly an artist, but definitely ready to get back into building. You're too kind as usual, man.

Originally Posted by Fred_Garvin

Nobody would be more deserving than you, I've built a couple of axes, and was always wishing I had an expensive power tool to make it easier, not thinking "How could I do this the hard way?"

Thanks, dude! For me, I really want to understand the process of building, and I suspect (perhaps unfairly) that power tools can create a kind of barrier between the builder and their work. You make some jigs, you flick some switches...you have less chance to 'connect' with the wood itself. Over time, I will probably try different power tools (I think) in order to see which processes are essential for the 'soul' of the instrument and which can be safely farmed out to the demons of electrickery. All my opinion and subjective judgment, of course, but that's what really counts anyway.

Originally Posted by Asdain

B,.. i wish i had your wood skills (and tools)!
i still have no idea how to do the finger joints on the cab (once i eventually finish building the actual amp^^)

Heh...I love your amp build. More!!!

There's a recent cab build thread on here that really impressed me. I'd love to have a shot at serious dovetails and joinery, but it's scary stuff...

[Barnaby]

I keep adding postscripts to this thread...like an opera singer, I don't seem to know when it's time to leave the stage.

Anyway, this is a cool one, I promise. I hadn't mentioned it before, but, at the end of last year, Umangu came through Tokyo. He was rocking out at some Aerosmith gigs.

Anyway, he stayed one night with us here in the apartment and visited on another. Great guy and awesome player/singer.

Here he is playing my LP build...he had to sleep on that couch, too...





...and, most awesomely of all, here is the present he made for me. I'm still kind of overwhelmed by it...



I was thinking of using it on a 'V', but I really don't know. I may frame the board and hang it up as a reminder in my workshop. Whatever happens to it, it's a really amazing thing and I was more touched than I could possibly say.

[fatdaddypreacher]

super neat. i'm glad for both of you.

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by fatdaddypreacher

super neat. i'm glad for both of you.

Cheers! He was a great guest and is a brilliant guy. It's only a pity that he arrived during a really busy time. I had meetings, exams and (of all things) a jazz guitar gig in the middle of it. Wish I could have shown him around Tokyo instead of just hanging out a bit at night after work.

[JayDee80]

Nice story!

By the way (second by the way for this evening), what headphones are these? At first glance, they look a bit like my beloved old Stax SR-60, but these would never run out of a Vox headphone amp?

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by JayDee80

Nice story!

By the way (second by the way for this evening), what headphones are these? At first glance, they look a bit like my beloved old Stax SR-60, but these would never run out of a Vox headphone amp?

Cheers!

They're just a cheapish pair of JVC HA-S600s. Nothing like the Stax stuff. I use headphones on my small tube amp and am actually thinking of getting a wireless pair so as to have less cables everywhere.

[JayDee80]

Originally Posted by Barnaby

(...) and am actually thinking of getting a wireless pair so as to have less cables everywhere.

Don't do that!
I understand about the cable stuff... But, being on a limited budget (and living in a room with thin walls), I focused a bit on affordable (REALLY affordable) headphones in the last years... So at the moment, I have my Stax SR-60 mostly for classical music (these are the very low-end Stax, you can get them for less than $100 used if you are lucky), some AKGs for when I want to hear what's really going on, and a Sony MDR-CD570 I had for the last 16 years The Sony is still the best if you want to relax and hear your music "nicely colored", even a bad recording somehow sounds quite good on these - quite anti-"HiFi"
Ah, I forgot, for everything but the Stax obviously: A nice made-in-somewhere-in-China-headphone amp, a hybrid with an E88CC in the preamp. Got it for about 50€ (and paid some more than that for some good tubes). This thing is really, really great for the money.
I tried several wireless headphones, but only the $500+ range came even close to my old bastards. And I can't afford these.

[umangu]

I've been a hardcore Aerosmith fan for over 12 years now, but I had never seen them live.

Last November and December I made the decision to go and watch them in Japan and have a once in a lifetime experience. I followed them across the country and saw 6 shows. That in itself is quite a story!! (I got to play Joe Perry's guitars on stage during the soundcheck at 100db! FYI Joe was travelling with his tiger strip signature LP, 2 of his 90's black signature LPs and his Jeff Beck Oxblood LP among many other guitars)

During my travels, I met Barnaby and his wonderful wife and basically, talked guitar. It seemed like my whole holiday was a guitar pilgrimage. Barnaby very kindly offered to let me stay with him during my time in Tokyo.

I didn't get to spend much time with him but he took me out for my only Yakitori meal in Japan - something that would've been a lot less fun had I been alone. (Smoke grilled chicken with beer, mmmmmm!)

It was so cool to see all his work first hand (pun not intended) and try out some of his tools, including the 'router' which was surprisingly smooth to use. (Those tools were kept seriously sharp).

I also realised how much Barnaby is 'into' his builds when he spoke so passionately about the woods he uses, difference techniques, tools and future builds. I wish I had half his passion and drive. Instead I have a great deal of patience which means I have a lot of projects sitting around waiting to be completed!

I also had a play of the LP made in this thread. Barnaby pointed out that I was the first person one the message board to actually play the guitar. I pointed out at this was the first guitar I'd played since I'd played Joe Perry's plexi Dan Armstrong a day earlier!

You've all seen the guitar being made from scratch, so there's nothing more I can add to make you understand how much of achievement it was to make it with just hand tools. All I can say is that when I played it, it just felt right in my hands and asked to be played! Felt just like my own LP back home. I distincly remember playing it with the headphones on and I'd look up and see Barnaby was speaking to me and I'd have no idea what he said because I was too busy playing, so I carried on playing!

I only wish I could have played it through a loud tube amp instead of the headphone amp! (BTW, I bought one of those Vox headphones when I got back home and plan to use them with a mini-guitar I'll make to keep in the office).

As my way of thanking Barnaby I had made him a Rosewood (Gibson scale!) fretboard with his name inlaid in it. I'm hoping to see it on a guitar some time soon, and I've hinted that a V would look nice



Barnaby with the fretboard. I was happy that he was happy!



The 3 of us



Ochanomizu, where I saw more Les Pauls than I'd ever seen in my life before!

[Barnaby]

It is absolutely true that Umang wouldn't put the guitar down - wish I'd heard it through a real amp. He can really play!

I'm not sure yet about the fate of the board. A V would be cool, but I only get to use the board once, so am waiting to be sure...

[Claymore]

Oh no no no no no no........
That fretboard will not be relegated to signage...
Next build for sure!!!!!!

[umangu]

The funny thing is that you aren't the first person to say you'd rather hang one of my fretboards on the wall, than put it on a guitar!

[poro78]

Hmmm... How about building something Vik Duality 7-ish for that fretboard?

[Barnaby]

The fretboard is waiting for something special. Lots of ideas, but its day has to come. One day, I'll wake up and it will just be the right time to use it...

[dougk]

What a great story and a cool way to end an amazing build!

Gotta love the powers of the interwebz bringing together people from different countries!

[sgmike]

this is truly epic. thx for sharing ...

ps - i thought you shipped to your brother, how is this guy playing it in your apt?

[Barnaby]

Originally Posted by sgmike

this is truly epic. thx for sharing ...

ps - i thought you shipped to your brother, how is this guy playing it in your apt?

Cheers! This was an amazing journey for me - one of those life-changing experiences, if that doesn't sound too cheesy.

The photos were taken literally days before the guitar left in February last year. My brother has had it for over a year now and plays it all the time. He's got another one coming from me too - a thinline tele.