Members Freeman Keller Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 My travels on the Dark Side http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2843023-Home-made-Les-Paul (I really don't like that t/r cover, but it was fun to try) I'll take some better pictures, these are flash and are pretty hot. And once I figure out how to play it (LOL) maybe I'll post a clip or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 Wow...Freeman, you do exquisite work! (And that's not a word I just throw around lightly!) When're you going to whip up a Tele? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members larry50 Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 You ARE going to change out the truss rod cover (as discussed over at the HCEG forum), right? Or are you sticking with that one? In the meantime, gorgeous. clips? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gitmo Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 Turned out nice! Your threads are always great. I wish we were neighbors, but it seems luck has favored you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 That thing is a beast, FK! Positively amazing. I'm awe-struck. I've been following your build thread in HCEG, and it's great to finally see the finished product. The only thing I'm not fond of is the truss rod cover, but that's like saying the only thing you're not fond of on a Ferrari is the cap on the gas tank. Seriously, have fun with it. That's a gorgeous guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 Awesome work!! Watching you build this was a treat. Yeah - you should stick the black/white/black truss rod cover back on there. I can't wait to hear it!! Remember to press lightly and let the amp do the work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 Lovely looking LP. Nice work. A friend of mine has that Gibson amp - good sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members poppytater Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Greymuzzle Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 What can be said other than that looks absolutely FK ing gorgeous! Betcha it sounds a bit special too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 no, no, NO! you did it all WRONG freeman, ive been following the build thread on hceg, as i have with your acoustic builds here, and i gotta say, brudda, you sure do some beautiful work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 Nice work, Freeman. The real question begging to be asked is this though: what kind of pick do you use with that thing? My vote would be for bare fingers a la Mark Knopfler and Jeff Beck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted December 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 Thank you to everyone. The truss rod cover was the result of some suggestions on the build thread - I find the idea of a piece of black plastic on a nice wooden background kind of offensive (same reason I made the cavity covers out of wood). Making the little maple one was fun, but I agree with everyone who says it just doesn't look right. The nice thing about a t/r cover is that I can throw the black one back on and fiddle around with some other options - I'm going to try both darkening this one and making one out of rosewood which will match the headstock plate. Here it is with the black one Nice work, Freeman. The real question begging to be asked is this though: what kind of pick do you use with that thing? My vote would be for bare fingers a la Mark Knopfler and Jeff Beck. I actually had to buy some flat picks since I hardly use them on my other things. I also bought a couple of books on blues and jazz chords - the frontspiece said "for people who don't know what to do above the fifth fret" - figured that was me. Mostly I'm just picking my old standards - Freight Train, Dust in the Wind. Did tune it up to A and lay a slide on it - holey moley, that thing really barked! Showed my wife that the volume control is only on 2 and if I turn it up to 10 maybe I can do Purple Haze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 I actually had to buy some flat picks since I hardly use them on my other things. I also bought a couple of books on blues and jazz chords - the frontspiece said "for people who don't know what to do above the fifth fret" - figured that was me. Mostly I'm just picking my old standards - Freight Train, Dust in the Wind. Did tune it up to A and lay a slide on it - holey moley, that thing really barked! Showed my wife that the volume control is only on 2 and if I turn it up to 10 maybe I can do Purple Haze. Yeah - I mainly fingerpick my electrics. Just learn the barre F, Bb, Fm and Bm shapes and away to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 Maybe soak the black one in tea to take the edge off the white like they do with pickup covers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 I take full responsibility for the maple suggestion. Seemed like a good idea and I had a lot darker burst in my head. Still not a good idea to draw attention to it in hindsight. Doesn't change the fact that this is one beautiful guitar and I need to play it!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gitnoob Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 What's the nut width? Looks wider than a Gibson to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted December 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 What's the nut width? Looks wider than a Gibson to me. 1.687, 12 inch radius altho since I used a 16 inch sanding block with some tape on it the true radius is probably more like 14. Standard Gibson scale length (forget what that is, somewhere between the two Martin values). The neck feels really narrow since I am used to 1-3/4 to 1-7/8, but I'm adapting. A friend in a music strore said he liked the feel of my neck better than a stock LP (I thought I was copying the cross section on my '59 plans, maybe the new ones are different). I'm finding that the movable A chord form that I've used all my life (barre with three fingers each on a string) doesn't work when you get up the neck very far. Strings (0.009-42) feel floppy as hell (and I play lights on my acoustics) I'll add that compensating an electric bridge is a pleasure, as is setting the action height (turn some little screws until the numbers are right). Still trying to balance the pole pieces and figure out all the knobs. Then there are a bunch of other knobs on the box..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 With that short scale 9's will feel floppy indeed. I reckon 11's will be right for this or some 10.5's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted December 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 My bad - I've got 10's on it now. I set it up with nines, broke one during the process, put some DR 10 - 46 on it. Still feels floppy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brahmz118 Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Great build thread, and an amazing end product. That burst is really classy looking. I agree with the darker truss rod cover. I also like the idea of a finger rest / pickguard, not for aesthetic reasons but for practicality - sometimes I like to plant fingers or lightly contact a surface below the 1st string for stability. On my archtop the top would be too low to plant my fingers on, so I need the finger rest just to keep the guitar playable. But maybe that's not an issue with this guitar. Anyway, it's inspiring to see such passion and hyper-competence at the same time. Definitely looking forward to your next build. (Grand piano?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neal Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Looks great, sorta retro to the '70s, though it certainly is a timeless style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michael Martin Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Great to see it finished FK--I had followed your build thread now and then. The words and pictures were priceless! A very beautiful result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted December 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Just a couple of post scripts for people who aren't following the HCEG thread. I did put the black cover back on for the time being. I'm going to leave the p/g off for right now - once I drill the holes I'm committed and that flame is just to lovely to hide. I took it to my local music store to show off - three different people played it in very different styles - to my ears it sounded good whether rocking out, playing the blues or some funky jazz. The comment that made me grin was one guy who said "this sounds like an old Les Paul". I did the accounting last night and posted more details on the thread, but basically I've got a grand in the guitar with case, another 600 in the amp and odds and ends. The fun factor is priceless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaurentB Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 That's awsome! Why not make an ebony truss rod cover, like a Dutch freshman at guitar building near my town did., or else a rosewood one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 I'm finding that the movable A chord form that I've used all my life (barre with three fingers each on a string) doesn't work when you get up the neck very far. You need to use the pad of your ring finger (or pinky if you prefer) to make a mini-barre on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings. You will probably find that you also fret the 1st string when you first start but that gives an A6 chord which sounds OK - you'll soon get it right as you practise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.