Meanwhile in Las Vegas...

[John_H]

Thanks Chuck. It sounds, and plays great. The pickups are vintage specs. and sound like you would expect. It's a keeper. I like the neck plates from the 'elite' models. This is the fourth time I've used one. I want to re-finish my ugly strat mostly so I can upgrade. I've never done a parts guitar before, and most of the work was getting the parts to a usable condition. The body was pretty crude. I spent hours prepping it. The neck was way too thick at the heel, and head stock. The frets were undressed. I would recommend beginner builders stay away from them. I've seen better looking parts in cheap kits. It plays really nice. I reshaped the neck. A big neck on such a lightweight guitar would be a bad choice, plus any weight I took off of it only helps it balance overall. It's been getting a lot of love.

I've never had a SG. I bought this Epiphone as a pawn shop basket case a couple of years ago. It was originally a Standard. Another light one at 6.0lbs.

The walnut guitar is ready for finish.

edit; Thanks Dude!

[The Dude]

I love your builds, John. There's an elegant simplicity about them and I mean that in a good way. They're free of "phoof" and the overdone bits that so many builders incorporate- sometimes to the point of being gaudy, IMO. When you build something, what's there is necessary, has purpose, and is well done. The emphasis seems to be on playability and usefulness. That's not to say there isn't beauty in the instrument. Every time you post a picture of an axe, it makes me want to strap it on and take it for a spin.

[John_H]

Thanks! I like my new guitars. The SG was one of many unfinished projects lurking around here.

[g1]

Very nice John!
Agree with The Dude about the 'go vs show' thing, I think you always find a very good spot with regard to form & function.

[Chuck H]

It's been literally years since I've had "disposable income". I'm not whining, really. I'm sure there are many posters here in the same boat. But If I did a John H guitar is on my bucket list. Like Dude said,.. The well implemented economy of features is always brilliant and that applies to the cosmetics as well. Everything John makes raises an eyebrow and makes me want to try it out (but especially the tele builds ) I've never owned a tele. I'd love it if I could get a John H interpretation. There have been at least two posted that made me think:

[John_H]

Thanks for the nice words Chuck, and everyone else too. I knew about 20 years ago when I built my first guitar that I was hooked. It's still very fun. For me it's a combination of so many things that I really like. I've been a woodworker forever. I got into electronics when I built my first kit at 9 years old. I've always loved music, and my first guitar came out of the Sears catalog about the same time. A harmonic convergence is what led me to this fantastic hobby. I'm no master at any of this, but I give it hell. The stuff I build is pretty simple really. I'm all about minimalism when it comes to design. I've made a few that were only two pieces of wood if you don't count the fillet for the truss rod. I don't use fancy hardware, or expensive materials on my guitars. If a guitar has a AAAA Quilted top and some fancy wazoo vibratelo bridge it had better be a fucking amazing instrument in all other aspects or that's all anyone will see, or judge it upon. Also, simple is harder to screw up.

[Helmholtz]

Hi John, glad to see you and your beautiful and perfectly crafted babies back here!

[John_H]

Thank You Roland, I hope that you are doing well.

[nickb]

Really nice work.

I tried to make a guitar as kid. I learned a lot from the experience. The lesson was 'don't try that again!'

[John_H]

Really nice work.

I tried to make a guitar as kid. I learned a lot from the experience. The lesson was 'don't try that again!'

It can be frustrating. That's for sure. I've got a couple here that were never finished. The neck went bad on one. The other was because the finish checked.

[Chuck H]

The other was because the finish checked.

You could get creative with that one Sand through the finish in what would be player worn areas and then rub it with some stain to color up any exposed wood and some of it infiltrates the checked areas, then hose it down with a couple of coats of amber tinted lacquer. Like a refined "distressed" look.?.

[John_H]

You could get creative with that one Sand through the finish in what would be player worn areas and then rub it with some stain to color up any exposed wood and some of it infiltrates the checked areas, then hose it down with a couple of coats of amber tinted lacquer. Like a refined "distressed" look.?.

It's a little late for that. I've already sanded the top back to bare, and flat. This guitar was quite close to being done. When the finish cracked, I was pissed off, defeated, and put it aside. I had other projects going so it was easily ignored. There wont be too much work involved in completing it. I used a vintage short scale Univox Hiflyer to make the templates for the body shape, and the profile of the German Carve. I went my own direction after that. I thought a figured maple top, and a one piece walnut neck would make it somewhat unique. It's a short scale. I knew that I would be using light gauge strings, and needed powerful pickups to compensate. The custom steel pole pickups mimic P-90's, and should be pretty strong. I'm going to switch from black to nickel hardware. I've got a nice bridge to use, and tuners that go along well. I don't think I'll do a transparent finish again. It looked so good, like book matched lava. I don't think I can recreate it. I'm on a fence about what to do. It's a nice top. I did the re-saw of the soft maple on my band saw. I selected the material from the cheap stuff at the local yard. You never know what you'll find. I still have some from the same plank on the wood pile. These are old pictures, but it hasn't changed other than I stripped the top bare, and prepped the rest for finish.

[John_H]

... try this again

[John_H]

Oops. Here are the attachments.

On a lot of my older threads, the pictures are hosted on photobucket. I'm paying the monthly ransom currently, so if anyone wants to visit my older threads, the pictures are all there. If you want links, let me know.

[Chuck H]

Indeed! That wood is too pretty for any kind of distressed finish. I've always liked the inverse horn look too. When I was a young player I had access to an old Tokai Hummingbird in black with the peal pick guard. It wasn't much of an instrument, really, but it looked really cool.