NGD this Sunday!

[NovaSDF]

Struck a deal with a guy to buy his Epi Goth SG as my next project guitar. It's going to be the "little brother" for my Goth Les Paul. Already sketching ideas for pickguard design, browsing for pickups, so much fun!

The wait is killing me, like waiting for Christmas when I was a kid.

Here is my Epi Goth LP, to give you guys an idea as to what I have in mind for the SG. I want the theme to be similar, but for it to have its own personality as well.

 

[gibbykohner]

Wow! Very nice!

Where'd you get those custom items?

HNGD =D

 

[NovaSDF]

Pickguard was made my hand by Christiane Ertmer, an artist in Germany, based on the specs I gave her. She doesn't us a machine, just an engraving tool and does everything by hand. Her work is nothing short of phenomenal.

The pewter pickup rings were made by Creepy Pewter, who I believe are in Michigan. They were a bit tricky to install on the Les Paul, as you had to gently bend them by hand to conform to the arch in the guitar.

The Pickup selector switch ring was made by a guy in New Zealand who supervised the making of all the miniatures for Lord of the Rings.

The pickups are GFS knockoffs of the DiMarzio X2N - 14 k or so in the Bridge and 11 k-ish in the neck. Gives the guitar the modern blacked out look without going to active pickups. The sound awesome, and have plenty of crunch.

Tuners are Planet Wave auto-trim locking tuners, and the bridge is a Tonepros T3BT. Tailpiece and truss rod cover are about the only stock pieces left on the guitar.

Final project will be a 50's style rewire with CTS pots.

The Goth SG is going to be this guitar's "little brother". I'm going to keep the styling similar, but give each it's own distinct personality. Working on a pickguard design. Will do a couple of paper mockups to see how they look, then get an order off to Germany for the metal pickguard. Still debating the smaller pickguard or the full pickguard made to G-400 spec. Also have to decide if I'm staying with a spiderweb theme (most likely) or going for something a bit tribal. Will likely use an identical pickup selector ring, as I hate the plastic rhythm/treble ring.

While the LP has the bat on the forward ring, I'm thinking about not having it on the SG - particularly if I go with the full pickguard. I'll just use 2 rings similar to the bridge pickup ring. Will also swap out the tone knobs on the SG, as I don't care as much for them and will have to change them anyway when I upgrade to US standard pot sizes.

Here's a closeup of the pickup rings, selector switch ring and pickguard. You'll notice that the pickguard is an unusual shape to accommodate the wing of the bat on the neck pickup ring. The pickup is made out of aluminum, all other parts were cast in pewter. The shiny aluminum gives the guitar a bit of light (since the flat black and pewter suck up the light.)

It was definitely a fun project - and I love the way it turned out. Really looking forward to digging into the SG over the summer. The Les Paul sounds amazing, but it's a plank to carry around. The Goth model isn't chambered, so it must weigh damn near 15 pounds. In fact, it's so heavy it keeps splitting the stitching in the Coffin Case gig bag I use.
Definitely looking forward to having a lighter guitar to carry around!

 

[Leendrix]

 

[The Refugee]

Damn that looks nice!

 

[NovaSDF]

I'm thinking that for the SG, I might have Christiane make a full face spider web pickguard in 2 pieces, the main body and the small piece between the neck pickup and neck as a separate piece. That way I can have the pickup holes made big enough to incorporate pickup rings. That's the nice part about having custom pieces made, no limits on what you can do!

You guys want to have your mind blown - visit her myspace page and browse through the photos of her pickguards and other parts she makes. Don't say I didn't warn you though
Christiane Ertmer (Christiane Ertmer ) on Myspace