Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Boris Box #004-006 update.

I have been extra productive the past few days, finishing up #004 and finished most of the structural work on 005 and 006.
This is a headstock before I shape and sand it. (by hand keep in mind)
This is after I "got my hands on it" sorta speak.
The first three (little brown box) is number 006. It is going to become a mandolin The remainder including the headstock and tail pictures are from number 005. That one is going to be the first fretted one I do. Im going to use a little chunk of rosewood for the nut and a hook screw as the bridge. Looking forward to those!
#004 is almost finished. I will be sure to throw up finished pictures. -G

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Promised Pictures.

Here are some pictures of my progress these past few weeks. Really pleased with how this one is coming along.
This one should be done this week. Just need to seal the neck and install the hardware. Stay tuned! -G

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Premium Cigarbox guitar update!

So with the neck all sanded I went ahead and cut the neck slots. Cutting through rosewood can be tricky and scary. Its such a beautiful wood its a terrible feeling when you mess it up. A few of my fret cuts were a little crooked and the arrow inlay was a little iffy (remind me to never use the ballpoint dremel bit again) Still, any imperfections sort of add to the rustic, hand-build nature of the instruments. I'm still a bit gutted when I mess up in an irreversible way. I used some golden oak wood filler to fill the slots. It came out really well. I used masking tape to cover the wood around each fret slot so that the wood grain wouldnt get filled with blonde wood filler. Doing this was super time consuming but ultimately worth the effort. I will post some pictures soon, I keep neglecting to have my laptop, phone and USB plug at the same time. First world problems right? -G

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Cigar Box Update: (9/10/2013)

Boris box #003 is just about ready. Gluing the top down.
cut out the headstock for the premium box and filed it a tad. Its going to look great.
Storming through. -G

Monday, September 9, 2013

Cigar Box Update (9/9/2013)

Allergies have been screwing with my head recently. No excuses. Started the finishing work on my "Borisbox #003"
I also continued work on my first "premium" cigar box. Premium meaning the neck is made from maple and it will have a rosewood fretboard. Just glued on the fretboard.
Side note: I need more clamps...

Monday, September 2, 2013

Just play the damn thing...

As a guitar repairman and sales associate at a guitar shop I am often confronted by people who are quick to discredit any guitar that doesn't bare the name of an established and distinguished company. My response is always "Hey man you just have to play it." I only speak the truth folks. I watched a man try to convince another guy that the guitar he was testing out was a "crappy, imported, fender knock off." I almost broke out laughing because the guitar in question was a G&L. You know, G&L, as in LEO FENDER AND GEORGE FULLERTON! Before I got the chance to chime in the guy with the guitar in his hand started riffing away and after a few minutes the "hater" walked away clearly defeated. Now I know that guitarist who are well in the "Know" would never question the pedigree of a G&L, but its still a good example of the kind of close minded and stubborn thinking that can lead guitar players astray. Personally Id rather be surprised by a budget guitar than be disappointed by a big time company instrument. This has been the case for my guitar collection. I own one top notch Fender and I built an extremely nice kit Telecaster, but most of my other instruments are second rate companies (no other way to describe it). Despite this fact I wouldn't give them up in a hurry for anything. A few of them are works in progress but as a guitar tech and aspiring luthier, thats all part of the fun! I think you need to work with what you have and keep your expectations low, because ultimately when it all boils down, the only thing that matters is how the guitar feels and how the guitar sounds. When Eddie Van Halen made his "Frankinstrat" he grabbed the body out of a discard bin because it had a knot in the wood. He also wrapped the guitar with tape and painted it with spray paint himself and cut the pickguard out of a sheet of vinyl with a pair of scissors. That guitar ended up creating Van Halen's first two records. Who would have thought something so ugly and haphazardly put together could change so much? No one.... No one... -G

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Distortion at your feet?

So I have recently been evaluating my gear. As with many guitar players, I am in a constant struggle with my "sound." I have gone through so many phases of desired change. Should I get this pickup? Maybe this amp? Maybe this guitar style? Maybe this set-up? One thing is for sure, I'm never completely satisfied. There are a few things I know I prefer tone/responsiveness wise, however one thing is still up in the air, distortion. Outside of a "fuzz" tone I have never trusted the tone from a pedal. I feel that the luscious, organic tone and response you get from over driven tubes can't be beat no matter what form of music you play. I recently have been reading a list of the most popular and most used distortion and fuzz pedals and now I have been tossed through a loop again. I had a suspicion that a few well know musicians used pedals over the years but I guess it never really sank in. For example, the BOSS DS-1 has been used by Eddie Van Halen, Kurt Cobain and Steve Vai. Dave Grohl uses the Pro Co RAT 2 and most everyone has used an Ibanez tube screamer at some point. I suppose it is much more manageable to have a set of pedals at your feet to be able to make your musical transitions more seamless and fluid, but at the same time most of the distortion pedals I have tested seem very sterile and forced. I want my guitar and amp to be able to speak together in natural harmony. Finding a great clean tone is not a huge problem but finding an amp that has an incredible clean tone AND an incredible distorted tone is a hard find it seems. So Im wondering now if Im wasting my time in pursuit for the perfect amp when I can just find one with a killer clean that I can cut to shreds with a good sounding distortion pedal. I am at a cross roads. We'll just have to wait and see whats out there to discover still. -G