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I finished my hollowbody build. Finally


Elias Graves

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So far so good. Needs a little more setup tweaking but it's nice.

Mrs G is still making me store it in the shop til the paint finishes gassing off, though. :D She doesn't care much for the scent of fresh lacquer.

 

The neck pickup has that real nice "piano" tone to it. I haven't quite the bridge pickup dialed in yet, though. It may need some lower value pots in it as it is a bit harsh there with tone even on 3 or 4. I have 500s in it now. May toss in a couple of 300s and see what that does.

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Definitely has a vintage vibe to it.

Apart from the V headstock maybe.

 

Yeah, getting it dialed in is helping a lot. Pickup height adjustments proved to be an exercise on it but it's getting there.

 

I understand now why more builders don't use walnut. It's a terrific wood but it's finicky. You can't just throw a set of pickups in there and expect it to sound good.

 

The first pickup I had in there...a Duncan Firebird...just didn't work at all. Way too bright. The Phat Cats, being somewhat overwound, are a much better fit. Walnut has strong fundamentals but not a lot of overtones and it demands a lot of weight be carried by the pickups alone.

Now that everything has settled in some and I can keep it in tune makes it a little easier, too.

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Knotty: Somewhat. It is thin at 2 1/4" thick and no F Holes so it sure doesn't sound like an es175 or anything. Honestly, to me it sounds more like a strat than anything else. Lol.

The Phat Cats are P90ish but side by side with my PRS soapbar, you can hear the differences distinctly. Not as mid heavy and with more highs. Overdrive sounds aren't nearly as gritty as a true P90. They are nice pickups but I think if you were trying to "nail" a P90 tone, the Pure 90 is a better choice. That wasn't really what I was after here since I already have the real deal. They are nice pickups. Quiet, powerful and really good clear clean tones.

It's not quite like anything else I've had before. It has it's own thing going on for sure.

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Elias Graves wrote:

 

Knotty: Somewhat. It is thin at 2 1/4" thick and no F Holes so it sure doesn't sound like an es175 or anything. Honestly, to me it sounds more like a strat than anything else. Lol.

 

The Phat Cats are P90ish but side by side with my PRS soapbar, you can hear the differences distinctly. Not as mid heavy and with more highs. Overdrive sounds aren't nearly as gritty as a true P90. They are nice pickups but I think if you were trying to "nail" a P90 tone, the Pure 90 is a better choice. That wasn't really what I was after here since I already have the real deal. They are nice pickups. Quiet, powerful and really good clear clean tones.

 

It's not quite like anything else I've had before. It has it's own thing going on for sure.

 

Its deceptive, looks much less than 2.1/4

Great that it has its own character though. It is after all unique. And I am a sucker for white guitars.

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This thing went through more failed finishes than I can count now. White was kinda the "fuk it I'm tired of screwing with it color."

 

Yeah, the body is 2" thick and it has a 1/4" top on it.

 

Firing up the soldering now to install some 300k pots to tame it a bit.

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