diablo175 8,123 Posted April 1, 2016 Author Share Posted April 1, 2016 Yesterday was kind of a bad day for me. While I stand by my assertion that my modding efforts accomplish nothing in re: enhancing my playing or ability, the modding continues unabated. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diablo175 8,123 Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 Ahhh, been waiting to see this- the finished maple neck for my Cali Std project- code named HA! I am stoked now! 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cmatthes 20,229 Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 The font is wrong... 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobB 5,954 Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 And the headstock is left-handed... 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spike 49 Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 And those checkmark thingies are slanted the wrong way. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gtrdaddy 9,015 Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 The 'Nike-swooshes' are upside down! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gtrdaddy 9,015 Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 But really.... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diablo175 8,123 Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spike 49 Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 6 hours ago, diablo175 said: Yeah, you post a pic of your new neck and everyone kind of piles on. That's so not fair. When I saw the pic, my first thought was "Holy crap, that looks fantastic!" And that's coming from an admitted ebony snob. So, huge congrats on the new neck! It turned out great and I can't wait to see it on the guitar. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diablo175 8,123 Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 1 hour ago, Spike said: Yeah, you post a pic of your new neck and everyone kind of piles on. That's so not fair. When I saw the pic, my first thought was "Holy crap, that looks fantastic!" And that's coming from an admitted ebony snob. So, huge congrats on the new neck! It turned out great and I can't wait to see it on the guitar. Nah, it's all good. I didn't give it much thought beyond that was just a lil' jealousy being channeled. But thanks for the comments! Kinda excited about this project. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DBraz 4,110 Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 It looks incredible Jim. I CANNOT wait to see the finished article. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Caddie 1,907 Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 (edited) On March 31, 2016 at 10:35 AM, DBraz said: Jim your Cali's have to be among the most modded out there! It sounds like you are chasing that holy grail of guitar perfection and every mod takes you that little bit closer. I watch with interest! It's a fools errand, David. Nothing in terms of improved performance is truly gained as a result. It's one more frivolous distraction for someone who's too stupid to accept he missed the brass ring a long time ago. SeeeeEEE, its a trick question with a trap door. Like when your wife asks "Does this outfit make my ass look big?". PWANG-G-G-G goes the trap door. You didn't even KNOW there was a trap door! And now you are "down the rabbit hole". Say hi to Alice for me and the guy with the stupid hat. "Does he look like Tom Petty?" Yup, that's him! Cheers! caddie Edited April 23, 2016 by Caddie 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gorch 5,476 Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 On 13. April 2016 at 2:46 AM, diablo175 said: Ahhh, been waiting to see this- the finished maple neck for my Cali Std project- code named HA! I am stoked now! Fantastic work! Did you stamp a 4 digit serial number on the back of the headstock? 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diablo175 8,123 Posted April 23, 2016 Author Share Posted April 23, 2016 WOO HOOO! The neck arrived yesterday afternoon! I spent a few hours of the afternoon, evening and a few this morning prepping it for attachment- new Gotoh tuners and the locking nut installed. It looks as though the nut shelf needs to be taken down a bit as the nut looks to be a bit high. Then it was time to prep the body- installed and wired up all the p'ups (SD Perpetual Burn and a Hot Rails) to a CTS 500K vol. and a WD toggle. Did a pretty good job on the soldering. Repetition/practice definitely helps! Only singed one wire (and the knuckle of my left middle finger ) and dropped a bead of solder on the cavity edge. No biggie. Installed a new input jack and ran a ground from the pot to the trem claw. Then, a new fat brass block on the LockMeister and installed that with new posts and she's ready for neck attachment. I will be enlisting Meatbomb's oversight as he has a real nice drill press and a bit more experience attaching necks. Once it's fully functional, I have to disassemble it and send her out for finishing. During that time I'll get a proper truss cover. 11 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DBraz 4,110 Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Looking really good Jim! I look forward to sharing your opinions on 1) how it sounds 2) how it feels in comparison to a standard elite board. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cmatthes 20,229 Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 How are you planning to refin the body? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diablo175 8,123 Posted April 23, 2016 Author Share Posted April 23, 2016 1 hour ago, cmatthes said: How are you planning to refin the body? 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Caddie 1,907 Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 I don't know man. It looks quite cool just like it is in this pic. Raw, dark, flat finish. Very metal, very hard rock. btw, nice shoes and sweats too. But seriously it looks terrific. Well done grasshopper. He shoots! HE SCORES!!! Cheers! caddie 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobB 5,954 Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 16 hours ago, diablo175 said: Jim, is that the Lockmeister on your test-fit assembly? I thought the shorter bolts were supposed to fit into the Schaller rout? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diablo175 8,123 Posted April 24, 2016 Author Share Posted April 24, 2016 3 hours ago, RobB said: Jim, is that the Lockmeister on your test-fit assembly? I thought the shorter bolts were supposed to fit into the Schaller rout? Yep. That's the Lockmeister but with the standard length bolts for a test fit. Short bolts will be installed later next week. Some interesting items were discovered about the LM. It's essentially an OFR with a few minor improvements. However, it was touted as a direct replacement for the Schaller. The base width is a hair longer than the Schallers thus necessitating moving the saddles back in order to intonate it properly. So, even with shorter bolts, there's still some potential issues for clearance of the cavity. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diablo175 8,123 Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 With the help of Meatbomb's fancy-schmancy drill press and his expertise, we attached the new neck to the Cali body last night. Fits like a glove! One minor issue became apparent- the height of the locking nut as well as the heel are a bit off- the fret board isn't as raised as it should be, setting up a slightly higher string height and action. So, a shim will need to be added to raise it up and I'll file down the locking nut shelf. Again, Meatbomb has kindly offered his services to effect the fabrication and installation of the shim. I took it home to my bench and tweaked the setting of the trem and strung it up... only to find it wasn't conducting any signal. Zero. I have to admit I was bummed- I labored for hours and did what I thought was a pretty nifty job on Sat.. So this am I sent a pic of the cavity and guts to Meatbomb and he spotted the error right away- in closely following a diagram I had pulled from the internet, the wires from the toggle grounding lug and the center two toggle tabs were reversed- a quick and painless fix but a little disconcerting as it raised the question of how could something found on the internet be anything but 100% accurate and true? The good news is: despite the high string height, I tuned it up and plugged it in and the SD Perpetual Burn pickup sounds fucking awesome! Yeah, I said, fucking awesome! This may be the perfect 80's hair metal sound I've been chasing over the last 12 years. Nice, full, rich mids, tight low end and just enough high end to make the harmonics sing! I need to set the action up and see how it sounds then. But I may have a bona fide winna-winna, chicken dinna! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Caddie 1,907 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Well done grasshopper! Flat black finish, flat black finish, flat black finish, flat black finish, flat black finish, flat black finish.............. just my $0.02 caddie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diablo175 8,123 Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 23 minutes ago, Caddie said: Well done grasshopper! Flat black finish, flat black finish, flat black finish, flat black finish, flat black finish, flat black finish.............. just my $0.02 caddie Noted, Caddie. Duly noted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Caddie 1,907 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 I'd send some cavity shielding paint to you, but I suspect TSA, EPA, and probably Homeland Security would object. OSHA and ATF would probably get called in too. Damn govt regulatory agencies. Always looking for a way to prove their value. caddie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diablo175 8,123 Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 37 minutes ago, Caddie said: I'd send some cavity shielding paint to you, but I suspect TSA, EPA, and probably Homeland Security would object. OSHA and ATF would probably get called in too. Damn govt regulatory agencies. Always looking for a way to prove their value. caddie Very kind of you, sir! However, I have my own sources for shielding materials and should I choose to proceed, I'll use that. Typically, I don't bother to shield the cavity. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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