Nocturne (as built by Jem on HFC) - Picture intensive

[DBraz]

I found Jem through the HFC and commissioned him to build me a Nocturne. This particular request included a few extras. Commissioned in Oct 2011 and received last Friday evening. I haven't even sat down and played it yet... Took a few photo's and that's about it so far!

1) Dragon inlay (designed by me and meant to look like a Chinese Dragon tattoo)

2) Gotoh Floyd System

3) Gotoh Machine Heads

4) Bare Knuckle VH2 Bridge

5) Sustainiac Neck

6) Jescar "gold" fretwire

7) Luminlay dot side inlays (they glow very brightly in the dark)

8) Scalloped 21-24 fret

[DBraz]

[mathman]

Awesome incredibleness! Now play it!

[cmatthes]

Nice!

Great work, Jemmie.

[Sy Hollinshead]

Nice guitar, but those wonky pickup surrounds would bug the hell out of me....!!

[velorush]

Stunning!

[Bennyboy-UK]

Is that "fuck you and the horse you rode in on" grade maple?

...because it should be called that!

Nice stuff fella!

[specialk]

Wow.

That's all I got until my jaw comes back from dropping on the floor.

[Jem]

Nice guitar, but those wonky pickup surrounds would bug the hell out of me....!!

Not half as much as they bug me. Normal scenario, spend months checking everything umpteen times and an hour or so before the customer comes I realise the surround only has one screw in it, welly three more in, job done, put guitar in bedroom on stand for unveil, pick up kids. munch pizza, customer comes, big unveil and "that's a bit wonky" plus there's an area right at the heel where I didn't clean it up after i'd pulled the masking tape off = ok, i'm outed now LoL

Edited to say: yes, I should have fixed it, 10 minute job but the reality was Dave had taken hours to get here, it was getting late and the drive between mine and his is a bitch at the best of times and a complete nightmare on a Friday night and to be honest I was shocked and ashamed of what i'd done so I said take it away, give it a shake down for a couple of months then i'll fix or adjust whatever either needs to be done or he wants to be done - damn that surrounds going to haunt me !

[coolfeel]

That is some seriously nice maple! Interesting look with the humbucker sized sustainiac in the neck position for this body style...

[kizanski]

Sa-WEET!

[a.bandini]

It's a work of art!

Congratulations to both the builder and buyer!

[edgar_allan_poe]

Killer in every way.

[unfun75]

That inlay... wow.

[jaberwock]

Excellent !!

Is that a standard Gotoh trem spring clamp ? is there any advantage over a regular Fender style ? looks like a maximum of three springs can be used, are they stiffer than standard ones ?

Jaberwock

[Jem]

Excellent !!

Is that a standard Gotoh trem spring clamp ? is there any advantage over a regular Fender style ? looks like a maximum of three springs can be used, are they stiffer than standard ones ?

Jaberwock

No, it's a Schaller sureclaw. Main advantage over the traditional bent bit of door hinge is the ease of tension adjustment (simple turn of an allen key) coupled with the fact i'm sure that lump of metal transmit's more vibration than the aforementioned bent bit of hinge. As for the springs, these are the one's that Gotoh supply with their FR bridges. They are somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" shorther than 'standard' strat type springs and feel like they have 20% more poundage too. Dave questioned this as well and checked it with a Diablo i had hanging around and agreed the feel with the two Gotoh springs was pretty much the same as with three standard ones.

[zorrow]

Not half as much as they bug me. Normal scenario, spend months checking everything umpteen times and an hour or so before the customer comes I realise the surround only has one screw in it, welly three more in, job done, put guitar in bedroom on stand for unveil, pick up kids. munch pizza, customer comes, big unveil and "that's a bit wonky" plus there's an area right at the heel where I didn't clean it up after i'd pulled the masking tape off = ok, i'm outed now LoL

Edited to say: yes, I should have fixed it, 10 minute job but the reality was Dave had taken hours to get here, it was getting late and the drive between mine and his is a bitch at the best of times and a complete nightmare on a Friday night and to be honest I was shocked and ashamed of what i'd done so I said take it away, give it a shake down for a couple of months then i'll fix or adjust whatever either needs to be done or he wants to be done - damn that surrounds going to haunt me !

Nah! Those surrounds will cause tiny variations in the way the pickups vibrate respect to the body of the guitar and respect to each other. This will bring out some special overtones that will ultimately define the unique tonal character of this work of art. Don't touch it!

[DBraz]

Nice guitar, but those wonky pickup surrounds would bug the hell out of me....!!

Yeah, they bug me too! I picked up on it immediately. Now I know what to do with those old toothpicks... I will sort this myself to save a few quid in petrol travelling down to see Jem before the next few months. The heel part Jem mentioned has been cleaned up a fair bit prior to the photo's (by your's truly) and I suppose I can live with the binding split - I think

The Sustainiac sounds awesome. I have always wanted one and it is epic in every way. It was, initially, very slightly microphonic but after raising it less than 1mm it is as silent as a mouse.

I am glad no one has cussed my inlay design too much!

There are always a few "eccentricities" with a custom build as they normally have a tale to tell and they aren't 100% because they aren't built with CNC machines. Just need to get it set up to my own liking.

Question: Does this qualify for the blingy guitar thread?

[jettster]

Absolutely phenomenal !!! Great job and congrats.

[hamerhead]

Question: Does this qualify for the blingy guitar thread?

Yeah, I think so.

Superb. Congratulations!

[diablo175]

I just love it when I see a new gadget in a guitar that I could clearly foresee being valuable to my guitars. That Schaller Sureclaw looks to be just such an item.

DBraz- remind me to smack you if and when I get over to the UK anytime in the near future- you've now re-stoked my GAS to near conflagration level. Have always admired Jem's Nocturnes and have come very close to ordering one but Hamer started making custom order Cali's again.

That being said, I recently promised my wife that, in an effort to cut back on expenses, I was not likely to order any new custom orders or 'spensive existing guitars. When the marital brouhaha dust settles in our home, it will have been revealed to have been DBraz's fault.

Sweet ax. Seriously kick ass job, Jem. DBraz- lose the pup rings

[lincsman]

What a stunner that's a top and a half

[Jem]

What a stunner that's a top and a half

That's not a top, it's solid maple through and through.