Firebird -"ish" build

[pshupe]

There will be no charging going on. ;-) The ebay seller said there is only one design for these. Granted my bridge is quite low but you wouldn't think there would be a downside to having the vibrola as low as a regular stop tail. If you want less break angle move it back or raise it slightly with a shim. You are stuck if it's too high. I haven't settled on my final outcome yet. I will talk with my neighbour soon.

Cheers Peter.

PS - what is the guarantee that that one isn't high as well. I have noticed not many show pics of the side view of the wpring. Maybe for good reason???

 

[TheHarleyMan2]

I hear you and ever since you pointed out the issue with yours and I looked at mine I was thinking I may had the same problem. Then I got my Explorer out and started to compare it side by side, without taking my strings and Bigsby off and it seemed it might work. Then I went on ebay and looked at all the vintage ones and from looking at the side at an angle and ones on vintage guitars, they all seemed to be very low flat spring height. Like an SG is not going to have a neck pitch like a Firebird, so probably the spring on the maestro would be a lower for the SG I don't know?

 

[valvetoneman]

I also build all mine with a low bridge height so this is interesting to know, I built a goldtop for someone who's having a bigsby and deliberately did a low bridge as I think it helps with tuning stability, he does use 13's though, too manly for me lol

Hope you sort it out, great build so far

 

[stonedmoses]

What a great build! I really can't wait to hear this guitar (hoping that you give us beggars a sample audio)!

 

[pshupe]

OK - Finally had a few minutes, because of work commitments to get back to this guitar. A friend of mine was spraying a few of his own guitars so I took the opportunity to head over to his shop. Here is a picture of the thin black burst I wanted to get on this guitar. I think it turned out exactly as I had wanted. All the clear coats were also sprayed. Not sure when I will get to wet sanding but I will hopefully get to it soon. Then level, dress, and I can string it up and do the electronics. I've been looking forward to this one for a while. Well here are the pics and now back to work. :-(
Front -

Back -

Took all the masking off and in the case -

Cheers Peter.

 

[smk506]

That looks awesome. Not a whole heck of a lot of firebirdish stuff out there unlike the strat and LP copies, nice to see the style get some love as it is one of my favorites. I'm still more comfortable building kits but no one seems to make a nice one for the FB. Maybe one day I'll ball up and try to follow your example

 

[WhiteEpiLP]

With the black rim can you still see your beautiful v notch joints of the body wings to the center section?

 

[judson]

what is the hole or is it just a black spot near the bridge pup cavity?

dam that is lookin good!

oh nevermind it was just the angle of the pic shot

 

[fatdaddypreacher]

looking gooder and more gooder.

 

[pshupe]

With the black rim can you still see your beautiful v notch joints of the body wings to the center section?

Yes - at the end of the body you can see the joints but the neck joint area is a little more opaque.

what is the hole or is it just a black spot near the bridge pup cavity?

It does look just like a hole but it is the route for the wiring channel underneath the pickguard.

looking gooder and more gooder

Thanks. I'm looking forward to getting at the wet sanding.

Cheers Peter.

 

[cain61]

That is just amazing, man, stunning.

 

[archey]

looking gooder and more gooder.

I think goodlier is proper grammar.

 

[fatdaddypreacher]

yeh, i know. we shoudln't ought to use bad grammar

 

[warprider]

Been watching this from afar. Great work. That burst is what i want to do to a Black Limba SG Jr PGK I'm working on. Thanks for the images.

I too have one of those aftermarket Maestros. That spring is the source of a lot of frustration on builds. I have a Firebird VII copy with a lightening bolt wraptail only & i don't think it would work.

You could convert the frame/cover to a "tailpiece" in lieu of a stopbar & forget the spring? Good example over at ESG.

 

[pshupe]

Thanks for the kudos gentlemen. I'm going to do some wet sanding today and see how it goes. There's a bit of orange peel but shouldn't be too bad.

Been watching this from afar. Great work. That burst is what i want to do to a Black Limba SG Jr PGK I'm working on. Thanks for the images.

I too have one of those aftermarket Maestros. That spring is the source of a lot of frustration on builds. I have a Firebird VII copy with a lightening bolt wraptail only & i don't think it would work.

You could convert the frame/cover to a "tailpiece" in lieu of a stopbar & forget the spring? Good example over at ESG.

I have managed to get the spring down to be close. I had also made a decision that if I cannot get it down I would put in a tailpiece a la Derek Truck's SG or something like this -

This seems like a pretty good solution, although you are losing the vibrolo. I could probably fabricate this quite easily, maybe. ;-)

Cheers Peter.

 

[warprider]

Thanks for the kudos gentlemen. I'm going to do some wet sanding today and see how it goes. There's a bit of orange peel but shouldn't be too bad.




I have managed to get the spring down to be close. I had also made a decision that if I cannot get it down I would put in a tailpiece a la Derek Truck's SG or something like this -
View attachment 309041 View attachment 309042

This seems like a pretty good solution, although you are losing the vibrolo. I could probably fabricate this quite easily, maybe. ;-)

Cheers Peter.

Exactly what I was referring to.

There's just something aesthetically pleasing to a full size Maestro on a FB or SG. I figured if mine wouldnt work on my FB I can just utilize the wraparound still. No worry though. I have a SG copy husk from GFS that has a neck angle that will work with the Maestro. The unfinished husk was intended to have one from the manufacturer.

 

[pshupe]

Back from the cobwebs. I put this on hold while I worked on a couple of custom builds and some CNC work for a local Guitar company. My plate is almost clear now, so I want to sort this out. While I was happy with the burst, and the clear seemed to go on well, the pore filling was obviously not great. I did pore fill twice but I used a different product from normal and I might have pulled the filler out when I rubbed it in or sanded it off. I noticed the pores and thought I would try to gently wet sand and pray not to sand through. No such luck though so I now have some decisions to make. The sand through is on the bursted edges so I could just touch up and respray clear, or sand completely off and start over. I'm leaning towards the first option as I have 2 or 3 other builds I would like to get onto and I think it should be fine. I am seeking advice so feel free to comment. Here are some pics.

overall front - sand through circled in red

overall back -

blow up areas of shiny areas - pores not filled

I guess the question is can I get away with touching up the areas of sand through on the burst with black and then re-spray clear or do I need to take it back to raw wood and start over? FYI - I wet sanded with 400 grit and these are the largest "inclusions" that remained. If I can touch up the burst and re-spray clear I would rather do that. I may shoot a few or more coats then wet sand again and do more finish coats. I might also try Freddy and Skyjerk's method for the last coat to be a flow out coat.

Please advise. All comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Cheers Peter.

 

[fretman_2]

Wow...an issue for sure. I read up a few post above but didn't see the finish you used. If you used lacquer, maybe you could 'inject' some black Timbermate into the larger holes, lightly sand, then spray on another coat or two. I'm not opposed to showing grain and if I do I use a satin finish.

 

[pshupe]

I sprayed nitro over timber mate pore filler. I think I sanded most of the lacquer off, so it's almost like starting from scratch. I could try more pore filler on the edges, which is where most of the problems are, then spray the burst again and clear. That might be the way to go??

Thanks.

Regards Peter.

 

[valvetoneman]

you could drop fill the big pores but i think you might need a bit more clear on it if it's a super thin finish

Love the build Peter and did a very similar burst on my limba strat, it seems to suit that sort of burst