Members Freeman Keller Posted May 8, 2017 Members Share Posted May 8, 2017 I don't understand the fascination with skulls. From pirates to bikers to punk rock skateboarders it seems like skulls are everywhere. I spent 35 years on a search and rescue team, unfortunately I've been involved in a fair number of recoveries and the simple fact is, dead people aren't cool. OK, sorry end of rant. Had another customer request a skull inlay. Nice little guitar, had the manufacturers name on the headstock (decal), he asked me to remove it and do an inlay. Had to sand the OEM paint all the way off (its some sort of modern poly that I can't touch up), refinished in lacquer He also had me install some locking tuners that automatically cut the strings off - OK I guess. And the guitar came with a compensated nut - honestly my first experience with them (I've read a lot about them but never really deal with one). edit to add, I will not do an inlay that offends me, but skulls don't offend me. When I did the other guitar the skulls were an obvious fit for the owner and his whole lifestyle, but this one is just sort of weird. The owner is a nice middle aged middle class "normal" looking guy - I could see him wanting an eagle or wolf or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted May 8, 2017 Members Share Posted May 8, 2017 I don't understand the fascination with skulls. From pirates to bikers to punk rock skateboarders it seems like skulls are everywhere. I spent 35 years on a search and rescue team' date=' unfortunately I've been involved in a fair number of recoveries and the simple fact is, dead people aren't cool. OK, sorry end of rant. [/quote'] You're not alone. I don't get it either. I also own two Harley Davidson motorcycles, and the amount of "skull" decorated gear they sell pretty much tops the charts. I've yet to buy anything that I can recall with a skull design. To me they represent the desiccated hollow shell of end of life. But I guess if folks like them, one could say they are embracing their mortality. Maybe. [video=youtube;f2lCDQ8j9bE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted May 8, 2017 Members Share Posted May 8, 2017 that inlay does look tasty... i like bling if it fits the guitar and isn't too much, think i like a martin D41 but the D45 is too much.... about skulls, i couldn't care less, not a fan but they also do not look weird to me.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted May 8, 2017 Members Share Posted May 8, 2017 I don't understand the fascination with skulls... It's all in your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Here's a cover of an album that I worked on - it was painted by another friend of mine. You'll probably hate it, but I thought it was kind of cool - it certainly fits the band and the album IMO: Personally, I'm not into nor do I "get" the whole skull thing either, but it's popular imagery in Ska and Ska-Punk, especially for a band with that particular name... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 PS As usual, nice work Freeman - it looks like you did a good job on the skull inlay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 9, 2017 Members Share Posted May 9, 2017 Great job as usual. That turned out really well. What's your impression of the self-trimming tuners? I've seen them but none of my guitars have them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted May 9, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 9, 2017 I don't understand the fascination with skulls. I think it's nothing more than lack of imagination FK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted May 9, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 9, 2017 Now a steer head skull inlay....different thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thatsbunk Posted May 9, 2017 Members Share Posted May 9, 2017 I'm not much of a "skull" guy either, but the detal of the wings looks stunning. Do you have any close up photos of your artwork? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Now a steer head skull inlay....different thing The Eagles kind of used that imagery to death in the 70s... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted May 9, 2017 Members Share Posted May 9, 2017 The Eagles kind of used that imagery to death in the 70s... That might have had something to do with a certain substance found in the Chihuahuan Desert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted May 9, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 9, 2017 I never knew they were big into Aloe Vera :| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted May 9, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 9, 2017 The Eagles kind of used that imagery to death in the 70s... Aaaaaah bowlocks to the Eagles, and all thier respective business concerns that cease and desist any poor kid who plays Hotel California on YouTube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 You're not from around these parts, are you? Those are yuccas, not aloe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Aaaaaah bowlocks to the Eagles, and all thier respective business concerns that cease and desist any poor kid who plays Hotel California on YouTube Do they rea...? Never mind. Yes, I can believe that they'd do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 9, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 9, 2017 I'm not much of a "skull" guy either' date=' but the detal of the wings looks stunning. Do you have any close up photos of your artwork?[/quote'] I buy my pearl precut from a guy in Vietnam and simply inlay it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 9, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 9, 2017 Great job as usual. That turned out really well. What's your impression of the self-trimming tuners? I've seen them but none of my guitars have them. They seem to work fine. I had an acoustic with cheap locking tuners that seemed prone to breaking strings where they lock, these appear to clamp them better. They are a little weird, there is only about a third of a wrap on the post and it cuts it completely clean, there is no sharp end sticking out. You stick the string in, tighten the clamp, start tuning and meet a fair amount of resistance, then a little "pop" and they continue to turn pretty freely. You could get more of a wrap but I was just following directions when I strung it up. They did not cover the old holes from the Grover style tuners on the back, I filled them but couldn't match the redish orange color so I just left them. Otherwise they seem fine - these were from D'Addario, no idea of the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 9, 2017 Members Share Posted May 9, 2017 Yet they themselves feel no shame in stealing the tune from Jethrro Tull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted May 9, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 9, 2017 I'll add a third comment here - I have never worked with a compensated nut and following a discussion by someone whose 12 string seemed out of tune on the first five frets I played around a bit with this. The way the owner had it compensated was that with each string in tune the first five or six frets were slightly sharp, then pretty natural at the 6th or 7th, then increasingly flat up to 12. The way he had the intonation set all strings were about 3-5 cents flat at 12, then increasingly flat on up the board. I don't think that is necessarily bad. You can always sharpen a note slightly as you fret it in the upper positions and cowboy chords didn't seem all that bad even tho the individual notes were slightly sharp. I don't know how much the compensated nut contributes to this, I want to play with it some more. btw - the nut itself was pretty poorly made. It was slightly too narrow for the board, the slots were very deep and the corner at the high E string was sharp - I kept running into it when I played in the first position. It is obviously some sort of molded material - micarta or "Tusq" or something similar. Nut action was OK and finish looked cheap - in general I would not be proud of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thatsbunk Posted May 9, 2017 Members Share Posted May 9, 2017 I buy my pearl precut from a guy in Vietnam and simply inlay it. simple to you maybe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Emory Posted May 12, 2017 Members Share Posted May 12, 2017 Speaking of bone heads... How about an inlay of pelvis bones on headstock? People say "What is that?" and you reply nonchalantly "It's my guitar, very hip".... drum roll and cymbal crash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 Speaking of bone heads... How about an inlay of pelvis bones on headstock? People say "What is that?" and you reply nonchalantly "It's my guitar' date=' very hip".... drum roll and cymbal crash.[/quote'] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted May 12, 2017 Members Share Posted May 12, 2017 Is it good for spots too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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