custom ordering a guitar... help & suggestions!!

[erik]

a couple of years ago, a friend of mine showed me his custom made guitar from Bangkok
which was pretty decent and reasonably cheap.
apparently he had 7 guitars made there so i guess the builder is pretty okay.

I am going on a vacation there 2 days later and may hit that builder up if i get a chance
he is known for make sweet-ass PRS copy but i am not really into those.

you guys have any suggestions for me of what would be cool to feature on the guitar?
shape? wood? etc.

I am thinking about a H-S-H pickup setting with mini toggle switch for coil split and perhaps a kill switch.
a Gibson RD shape would be sweeeet but i afraid he can't pull off the exact shape of it....

and yea, what measurement do I have to provide if i want it to feel as close as my main guitar?
i know the scale length but other than that things are pretty foreign to me

i am excited
VACATION

[madmax1012]

i'm liking the sound of the RD body shape, but throw some P-90's in there
as for wood, you can't go wrong with mahogany, but my dream is to own a Koa guitar. Korina would be cool too tho, because it's really hard to work with. i've heard the wood shaving dust is toxic, which results in one badass guitar story that you can tell everyone. ummm other than that, i'm not good with measurements, and you could probably just do a standard stopbar tailpiece, knobs, etc.

[erik]

I typed and the whole message was gone.

anyway..
P90's is badass, i have a Gibson Blueshawk basically is an alter version of P90s and they are good but the Poplar on the guitar may have killed the tone a bit... and the hum noise at some venues made the guitar very unusable...

Anyone knows if there are P90's in the size of normal Single coil???
I might try to fit it on the neck alongside something like a single size Humbucker on the neck.
this will kick serious ass for the tonal ability!

For the finish, my idea is to have natural finish on the guitar
so Koa or Walnut have been on my list, not sure about what tonality they provide, so i guess i need to read up tonight

never heard that Korina is toxic!
this will super weird if i go to a builder and ask for Korina!
won't this be like "come on! it's only toxic, it won't hurt you!"
(btw, the Yamaha studio monitor NS-10 was discontinued because of the wood was toxic or blah blah... same kind of wood??)

anyone about the measurement??? I am pretty stuck on this. grrrrrrr.

thanks!!!!

[erik]

little that i know
"This Seymour Duncan-exclusive design is a direct humbucker retrofit that allows up to three distinct voices: full-size humbucker, P-90, and Rails. Recommended for all styles of music."

[madmax1012]

those P-rails are a really nice pickup. you get alot of tonal options. they do make stacked P-90's fit for single coil spacings, but i've never played one.



here's a Korina tele. not sure what the pickups are, but this is one beautiful guitar...

[htsamurai]

7string prs w/ emgs
bring the brootz to tgp

[erik]

those P-rails are a really nice pickup. you get alot of tonal options. they do make stacked P-90's fit for single coil spacings, but i've never played one.

here's a Korina tele. not sure what the pickups are, but this is one beautiful guitar...

the P-rails is like a new find to me and i am liking the idea of P90 & humbuckers.
will def get those instead of anything else

the korina tele actually looks sexy, is it yours or what?

7string prs w/ emgs
bring the brootz to tgp

i got my lows covered with my baritone, so a 7 strings may not be ideal as a first custom.
i thought of making a 8 strings just becoz i will have MOAR
but yea.. not a fan of EMG at all
had a SG shape LTD guitar equipped with 81 85
good for hi gain stuff but the cleans were ewww.

[madmax1012]

i wish that tele was mine, but i'm rocking a fender american special. it's amazing, but that korina one i found on a random search looks great.

[Noise...]

i'm liking the sound of the RD body shape, but throw some P-90's in there
as for wood, you can't go wrong with mahogany, but my dream is to own a Koa guitar. Korina would be cool too tho, because it's really hard to work with. i've heard the wood shaving dust is toxic, which results in one badass guitar story that you can tell everyone. ummm other than that, i'm not good with measurements, and you could probably just do a standard stopbar tailpiece, knobs, etc.

Off topic entirely, but worth mentioning is the fact that all wood dust is fairly toxic - some more so than others, but in general it will hurt your lungs whether it's Koa or Pine. That's why for any sanding it's recommended that you wear a mask or respirator. Lung damage is no fun.

Back on topic, I strongly recommend going to a big guitar store and playing a pile of guitars with the configuration you want, but with various body woods to get an idea of which sound you like. Personally, I'm a fan of alder, but not so much mahogany. You may prefer mahogany, or something entirely different.

A custom guitar should be something very personal; made exactly how you want. Definitely do as much research as you can before making an order with someone. Know the neck you want, the radius, the fret size, scale length, etc. Every aspect of the guitar is custom, so make sure it's what you want!

[elbandito]

Off topic entirely, but worth mentioning is the fact that all wood dust is fairly toxic - some more so than others, but in general it will hurt your lungs whether it's Koa or Pine. That's why for any sanding it's recommended that you wear a mask or respirator. Lung damage is no fun.

Back off topic: Really? I spend a good portion of my week covered in sawdust from head to toe... maybe I should start wearing a mask. And maybe quit smoking too, for that matter.

[Noise...]

Off topic entirely, but worth mentioning is the fact that all wood dust is fairly toxic - some more so than others, but in general it will hurt your lungs whether it's Koa or Pine. That's why for any sanding it's recommended that you wear a mask or respirator. Lung damage is no fun.

Back off topic: Really? I spend a good portion of my week covered in sawdust from head to toe... maybe I should start wearing a mask. And maybe quit smoking too, for that matter.

Yeah - you'd be surprised. I used to do some woodworking, and ended up getting a pretty severe cough and wheeze going due to the lack of wearing a mask. It took a few weeks to clear up, and was a pain to deal with - I ended up getting put on an inhaler for a while to clear it up. For the most part I was working with pine and oak.

So, yeah - I definitely recommend wearing a mask when sanding heavily. They're cheap, work, and prevent any sort of issue like that.

[erik]

just a little update

I ended up ordering a pretty nice Flamed Walnut Top with Mahogany Back, Oil finished,RD shape body.
Mahogany neck with Ebony fretboard, Satin finish for the neck, no inlay.
25"5' scale, 22 frets
String Thru with Tune-O-Matic that sits very low

now i am stuck on confirming a bolt-on or glue neck!
i am 50/50 on this...
the luthier recommends a bolt on neck like a new ibanez for better reach
but i always prefer how the gibsons sound, don't know if that has much to do with the neck joint.
anyone know if that will make a big difference?? some opinions would be great...

oh yea and i went with his custom pickups. H-S-H with split.
he was going to bring a few guitars for me to try but I did not have time to go back to the shop the next day.
the dude showed so much confidence and love for what he's building so I could not resist but to trust him on that.
and man the dimension on those P-Rails are bigger than normal, don't wanna get stuck with those yet.

[madmax1012]

how much is this gonna end up costing?

[erik]

how much is this gonna end up costing?

around $1100 without a case
mine one is without any fancy stuffs and only better woods
hope it will be worthwhile.

[madmax1012]

if it's worthwhile, that's a pretty awesome deal IMO