News From The Bench

[diablo175]

And more progress! Yippee!!!

[diablo175]

Proof that you can get an old dog to change his stripes if you lead him to water... or however the F that saying goes 😆

I'm a straight up maple fan when it comes to boards and necks. I just love the pristine look of it. As a result, I've steadfastly avoided hopping on the Birdseye maple train. Welp, I agreed to have Shane drop a roasted board on the new neck for my Strat and it's looking pretty sweet. The important question is will it positively affect the acoustic qualities of the guitar, unplugged or change the overall weight?

 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by diablo175

[Biz Prof]

46 minutes ago, diablo175 said:

The important question is will it positively affect the acoustic qualities of the guitar, unplugged or change the overall weight?

It will definitely change the acoustic weight.  😉

[scottcald]

12 hours ago, Biz Prof said:

It will definitely change the acoustic weight.  😉

And even its description!

[diablo175]

[diablo175]

Committing to the (further desecration of the) Strat... The Zza-caster is days from being delivered.

 

[diablo175]

Made a recent Charvel Pro Series DK 24 acquisition. As with pretty much every guitar I've got, modifications are deemed necessary and this one is no exception. 

 

Basically, the only original equipment left on it will be the body, neck, frets and some of the wiring. 😆

 

The bridge is being replaced with a black OFR, The stock bridge pick up is getting yanked for a Gravelin custom wound double slug Mongoose, all the hardware (tuners, input jack and control knobs) are going to black, volume pot is being changed over to a kill switch/volume pot, the five way blade-style switch is coming out, along with the tone pot. A three-way toggle switch will be going into the tone pot's hole. 

 

If she is deemed worthy, the final step will be a Sustainiac pick up in the neck position. I'm going to hold off on that until I am good and sure that she's a keeper because Sustainiacs aren't cheap and it requires drilling two small holes for the mini toggle controls.

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2022 by diablo175

[diablo175]

I snagged one of these Charvel limit edition DK's a month back and was so impressed that I decided I needed to get another and give it a full on Diablo-ization. The usual mods will take place- new OFR, fat brass block, noiseless springs, kill switch volume pot, Schaller strap locks, 3 way toggle to replace the 5 way blade, yadda yadda yadda.

This one is going the full makeover route with a Brian Bock painted graphic, design supplied by yers trooly. Brian does work for Charvel and Jackson custom shops as I came to find out when I ordered my CS DK 2 years ago. Imagine my surprise when, after chatting with him at length, discovering he painted my design on the CS Jackson Star- FWAM! He also did the finish on my HEL Spitfire 2. Talented mofo to say the least.

But wait! There's more! I'm dropping a Sustainiac in there! Figuring it's gonna be getting the re-fin and will have the blade switch slot and screw holes filled, what's the harm in adding 2 small holes for the mini toggle controllers?

Yeah, maybe it's draping pearls on a swine, or a Krell sound system in a Kia... But the DK LE has already proven to be a kickass ax and it's my belief (hope) that the upgrades will put this in a league with my CS and HEL custom builds.

 

[diablo175]

Well, the Charvel DK24 Diablo-ization commences apace.

And then some!

The No.1  DK24 has been to see Shane who prepped it for a proper toggle switch... or 3. The 2 mini's for the Sustainiac went neatly into the slot hole for the erstwhile blade switch.

 

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by diablo175

[diablo175]

The surface was scuffed up a bit to be receptive to poly coat. Brian Bock will paint right over the Army drab (how apropos) factory coat, with a design I sent him.

 

[diablo175]

Oh and just so folks don't get some crazy notion that No. 2 DK 24 is gonna be left relatively unscathed; made the acquaintance of another painter who will be mod-ing my No.2  with a WW2-era Sherman tank insignia and (ahem) decorations.

Haven't decided as to whether it will get a toggle switch but it will definitely get a kill switch tone pot.

 

[scottcald]

1 hour ago, diablo175 said:

Oh and just so folks don't get some crazy notion that No. 2 DK 24 is gonna be left relatively unscathed; made the acquaintance of another painter who will be mod-ing my No.2  with a WW2-era Sherman tank insignia and (ahem) decorations.

Haven't decided as to whether it will get a toggle switch but it will definitely get a kill switch tone pot.

 

Looks cool, even when they're not my taste, they always do look cool.  But, how about a tone switch kill pot? 🤣

[diablo175]

My beloved '89 Cali Elite LE- "Cali-oactive" got a new Gravelin Zza p'up and a fresh set of EB Cobalt Slinkys.

Edited January 23, 2023 by diablo175

[scottcald]

6 hours ago, diablo175 said:

My beloved '89 Cali Elite LE- "Cali-oactive" got a new Gravelin Zza p'up and a fresh set of EB Coblat Slinkys.

 

Sounds cool, and some tasty playing.  

Two things on the install picture:

• Are copper springs a new thing?  Haven't seen that before.

• I like where the blade switch is filled in, looks like the toggle crash landed at the bottom and ended up at its current spot. 

[diablo175]

3 hours ago, scottcald said:

Sounds cool, and some tasty playing.  

Two things on the install picture:

• Are copper springs a new thing?  Haven't seen that before.

• I like where the blade switch is filled in, looks like the toggle crash landed at the bottom and ended up at its current spot. 

Copper springs were in there only because they came with a Sophia trem that was test driven in that guitar. When I moved the Sophia to another axe, I left the copper springs in. I honestly don't know if they bring anything different or better to the party.

 

[diablo175]

Oh boyyo boy oh boyyo boy!

Brian Bock is killin' it!!! Super badass!!!

Edited January 27, 2023 by diablo175

[slingblader]

That looks killer!

[diablo175]

1 hour ago, slingblader said:

That looks killer!

Thanks! Brian really brought my design idea to life and even made a couple of very cool suggestions to enhance it.

[murkat]

awesome. the matching headstock truly knocks it out.

[diablo175]

9 hours ago, murkat said:

awesome. the matching headstock truly knocks it out.

Agreed! Can't wait for this to come home.

[BubbaVO]

On 1/27/2023 at 9:55 AM, diablo175 said:

Oh boyyo boy oh boyyo boy!

Brian Bock is killin' it!!! Super badass!!!

Knocked it out of the park on that one.   Very cool. 

[scottcald]

Holy Mackerel that’s awesome!
About a gazillion times cooler than that Badlands thing. 

[Feynman]

That is some crazy good paintjobbing (it’s a word).

[diablo175]

Again, while it's not from MY workbench, it is for me, from a workbench.

Another SooperStrat build, starting with a quartersawn mahogany body.

 

[Biz Prof]

41 minutes ago, diablo175 said:

Again, while it's not from MY workbench, it is for me, from a workbench.

Another SooperStrat build, starting with a quartersawn mahogany body.

 

Nice. Who milled that body for you?