Guitar Nerds Anonymous

Rad guitar :).
What @rickster said: I'd keep clear from wood as its really hard to get it nice.
The Pickup routes are always a pain to make, so I'd go for waterjet.
If you choose a plastic guard, be sure to stick some copper or aluminum foil under it and ground it, for insulation. There's a ton of good tutorials on this online.

re polishing a turd:
If the material of the guitar is solid, e.g. the fretboard is well made, the intonation is good, the neck and body wood are of good quality and nothing rattles or is warped or generally a pain, then there's no reason not to upgrade the pickups.
Since the sound is 50% made from the pickups in my experience, it's like giving your bike a new drivetrain. If the frame is okay, why not?

Cheap guitars and cool amps 4lyf!

Couldn't live with beige on my SG.
Anyone else thinking of installing PU covers on Gibbos should note the 'bridge' covers are not always the right ones for your bridge PU. In this case (2015 SG special) the pole piece distance is the same on both PUs so you need two 'neck' versions.

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Also, speakers in 1x12 cabs:

Why is everyone tossing off over vintage 30s and saying seventy/80s are shite? Is it really true? All the online comparisons don't sound that great to me. I was thinking the Orange PPC112 for my micro terror but can't honestly say I'm loving the vintage 30s sound. Maybe finding a s/h something with a greenback in would be the thing?
I value your thoughts and opinions here. Fuck knows why ;)

I'm still after a cheap little 2 x 10 for the head I bought off @rickster 50 or so years ago... Ain't nuthin' wrong with a greenback!

PS SG looks way better now...

Is the pickup spacing / bridge position the same as a strat? If so you may be able to start with a strat template (they are available online - if not, I have one which I could rout a copy of for you) to get everything in the right place, and finesse the outside shape a bit.
Alternatively, perhaps you could actually start with a strat pickguard and cut / rout / sand / chew the outside to your desired shape?

Thanks for the offer @christianSpaceman , I'll be starting by using the current shoddy pickguard as a template and working from there, I'm sure I can make a more suitable shape and will copy the pickup positioning directly from the original. Just popped into my local and VERY pro guitar shop for the first time. Recommended matched set of £180 pickups, Woah Nelly!

@rickster and @Murphys_Law , I think you're right, no wood for me, it sounds like splinter mayhem, I found some marbled material on ebay last night, will this look gash with my blue body?

That makes me sound like a Well-To-Do-Smurf-About-Town

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-pearloid-scratch-plate-guitar-pick-guard-material-pickguard-24x24cm-TL-JB-/160615682037?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item256570cff5

I'd avoid pearloid, modern stuff looks well gash IMHO... Old pearloid was made with some very nasty chemicals...

Plain is good... I'd stick with white...

No worries - it completely didn't register that you already had a perfectly good template that you could use :)
A wood guard might be possible if it's something you really fancied, Ben Crowe's done it at least once:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrTUgrI1Mi8

It might have to be thicker than you'd like though, here's a picture of an ebony headstock veneer (before surface sanding) I made, it only took a file and a knackered jigsaw and would probably get you close to a 'good enough' finish.

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Here's a pickguard starting to come together...

Offcut of Perspex - cost £3.75 (cash in my wallet as donation to Red Cross - nice dude in Plastic warehouse)

Cut to deliberately large shape using a jigsaw

Screw holes seem to be lining up nicely

Stay tuned for more excitement as it happens...

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So I'm a bit hard up at the mo so looking to sell a few things.

What's the current market value of a '69 Fender Swinger in original cherry red finish? Has patina as expected but not thrashed. No pics at the mo as at my folks. Has contempory case but not original.
Paid a fair bit for it 10yrs ago but needs to go.

Looks like they are up for between $2800 - $3500. No idea if people actually pay that much though.

Sounds interesting, colour?

Og cherry red(can't remember the fender name for that shade) with White pearl scratchplate and black pickup.
If I can get to Oxford at the weekend il bring it back and take pics if anyone interested.
I paid less than the lower end of those prices. Would be happy with a grand....

^ do u straya?

?

Mine in better nick than the $4000 one on eBay.

Looks like mine is Dakota red as well.

Nice. Payday for you then :-)

Sweet thread revival. Looking fwd to seeing the pick guard emerge. Joe, try this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv59tjV6EC4

Awesome...

I need a 2x10 to resurrect my Solton head... Beautiful sounding but criminally underused head, only used it once in the studio in I don't know how many years... When did I buy it off you, @rickster?

12 years ago? More? Love that amp... 60W of early '70s Deutsche Kraft.

Sounds just as good as a 50w Hi Watt of a similar vintage, I did an A-B at the time... She deserves a nice cab and a good tube clear out... #notaeuph

Trying to do an approximation of a Django gypsy jazz swing thing for commission i've got for a friend's documentary soundtrack. Watched a few vids and been listening to Django non stop for the last two weeks. My game is weak. Any pro tips for copping that sound without having any talent?

Also, RICKSTER! going to play a few tunes at the Red Lion in Kennington on Thurs. Fancy coming down for a beer and a hang out or sit in?

I never could figure out all those Jazz modes and chords. Sounds awesome but my brain can't work out how it's made.