First Build (SG-esque design)

[cloudstonedkorladis]

That's very flattering. I am working hard on the heel to make access as close to an SG as possible. I'd say it already has better access than a later '60s SG when the heels started bulking up. As much as I've stuck to tradition with this design, the heel is on the back anyway, and I make my guitars to be played!

Some have compared it to the PRS Starla:

But, in my totally unbiased opinion, that looks too clunky and busy. And the pickguard reminds me of Teiscos.

Most modern guitar designs, IMO, don't seem very carefully considered. I wanted this to feel like something that could have actually been designed by Ted McCarty.

Your pickguard design looks way nicer than the PRS. I don't know why they chose to have pickguard mounted controls. Especially with the Bigsby it just makes the lower half of the body just way too busy. Also the upper bout on yours is smoother and flows better with the overall design.

Yours definitely has more of an overall McCarty aesthetic, and reminds me of some of the more Gibson-esque Dunable designs (which is a good thing) like the Asteroid and R2.

 

[cloudstonedkorladis]

I agree. I find it interesting that most of the published info on the SG talks about how it's just a sculpted LP DC. Sure doesn't look that way to me. As far as it being fresh and different it may not have been considered that because of all the other designs that had come out a few years early. Futura, Explorer, Flying V, and the Moderne. Even the Firebird was probably being designed at the same time, albeit by a different designer, which were all much more radical designs.

It looks pretty nice and you definitely pumped it out pretty quick. I would revisit the neck join if you are going to make more though, or just do a bolt on with that design. Good luck.

Cheers Peter.

I agree.

I mean I guess maybe they started with a LP DC, but they removed a ton of wood.

Especially the body south of the bridge is nowhere near the same shape. If it had come out before those other new designs I think it probably would have been seen as more radical. Because the SG was definitely as modern looking as anything Fender was making.

 

[cloudstonedkorladis]

I would actually argue it has a more modern look than the V. The chevron tailpiece on the V is a very 1950s touch that dates it in a way the Explorer isn't. I also wouldn't necessarily say more radical = more modern, although I'm sure at the time it was considered that way. In automotive design, the 1960s brought about an end to the excess of the '50s and returned to more conservative aesthetics. I feel like the SG may have reflected that. When I look at a brand new SG and a brand new V today, the V just feels like a more dated design to me, while the SG feels like it could have come out in the '90s. But I'm sure I'm in the minority on that.

Yeah, for the next one I will pay more careful attention to every axis of the neck when setting. I was so focused on the plane angle and getting the z axes matched, that I didn't realize I'd thrown off the other axis in doing so.

Yeah the '58 style V is more what would we would now describe as "retro-futuristic" or "raygun gothic." It reminds me of 50s illustrations of sci-fi rocket ships. Definitely worth noting how the version of the V re-introduced in the late 60s is quite a bit different aesthetically.

The SG I think could have come out at any time from the early 50s to today and isn't as obviously from a specific time.

 

[PermissionToLand]

I agree.

I mean I guess maybe they started with a LP DC, but they removed a ton of wood.

Especially the body south of the bridge is nowhere near the same shape. If it had come out before those other new designs I think it probably would have been seen as more radical. Because the SG was definitely as modern looking as anything Fender was making.

Yeah, the SG has more of an oval shaped bottom half, whereas the LP is more of a circle. That was one of the things I considered with this design. The circular bottom didn't work as well, so I went oblong like the SG. The top half is more LP inspired, obviously with the upper bout, but also with the horn shape. My horn is similar to a LP horn if it were beveled and sharpened.

Edit: In fact, I even experimented with mixing in some of the Stratocaster shape. For a long time, I've wanted to do a Strat shape with beveled edges and sharp horns like an SG.

 

[PermissionToLand]

Well, I finally got my ass around to refinishing it. It has some issues, but I'm not going to let the bother me because there's no way I'm doing it all over again any time soon, and it looks good enough from a few feet away. Not having the proper facilities and equipment really makes painting a nightmare. Not to mention, I only bought two cans of color but I really needed three, and it was too late to wait for another delivery because it was getting cold out. So, because of that (and not having good lighting either), there are lighter spots and darker spots. Most noticeable is the area around the top strap button being lighter than the front of the body.

The other biggest issue is that I could not get the paint to build on the tiny sliver on the side of the neck where it meets the body. I shot it from every angle I could and it just would not build. So, I masked off the front of the body so I could really attack it, but stupidly did not use enough masking tape to catch all the overspray. So, there's a dark line on the front of the body. Luckily, it pretty much looks like a mineral streak in the wood.

There was also a little bit of the wood showing through where the black HS face met the sides. I could not find any info on how to handle that transition without any gap, so I just went for it. I ended up shooting a little extra red, with the tape pulled back a bit from the face. In direct sunlight you can see it's not pure black at the edges, but 90% of the time it looks fine.

Finally, I burned through the paint in a couple spots during wet sanding. But honestly, it just looks a bit road worn as a result, and it kinda works with the satin sheen on the finish anyway. It reminds me of a VOS finish quite a bit. All I used to buff was 000 steel wool and then some various guitar polishes like Fender Polish, Music Nomad The One, and Dunlop 65.

Anyway, enough boring words, here are some quick shots I took outside. Once it warms up again, I'll take better shots in sunlight so you can see the wood grain.

Oh, and I painted the TRC screws black after taking these pics. Much more subtle and classy IMO.







And yes, I'll be getting a cavity cover that fits soon enough.

Once I get some better pics in the spring and finish up the last few things, I'll make a new thread and include some sound clips. I'm quite impressed with the GFS Alnico V humbuckers. Dial them up and you get a great T-Top tone, but dial them down and you can get a pretty convincing Gretsch jangle. A little Malcolm and a little Angus in one guitar, what more could I ask for?

 

[cloudstonedkorladis]

Oh hell yeah. That looks fantastic.

Kinda has a NOS vibe even though it's a new guitar, like someone bought it in the mid 70s and then put it in an attic and forgot about it, only rediscovering it decades later.