Clint-Green
slyd wrote:
Boy, don't you just love it when a plan comes together, and the little "oopses" turn out to be not the train-smash you originally thought they were ?
Awesome, awesome !! She's gonna be a looker !
Question: what make/type of stain did u use?
Sheesh, you have no idea how many sleepless nights I've had (and continue to have) over those "oopsies"! Can't wait for the clear to be on there...
I used the ColourTone liquid stain from Stew-Mac, great stuff that!
Clint-Green
Latest update: still waiting to get the clearcoat done, my dad reckons he'll probably only get around to doing it week after next ☹
Also, I've just bitten the bullet (again; because this project seems to be all about bullet-biting..hehe) and ordered a second-hand original Edge trem off of Evilbay since the one I have appears to be the same type of Licensed Floyd Rose which came with the Jackson Performer Series axes, just without the Jackson logo (there is no logo at all).
ZarK
RG 570's are FANTASTIC guitars... Good job!
The original bridge on the 570 should be an Edge or Lo Pro Edge. They are also licensed btw. If that's not what you got, it's definitely been changed at some stage -which is a pity of course... Money well spent on getting a real edge in there however. Imo Edge's and Lo Pro Edge's are the finest floyd's by a mile...
Which pups are you fitting? Stock or after-market?
Looking forward to see the final stages!
Clint-Green
Hey Zark, I've seen those awesome J-Customs of yours on your gear thread...almost had to get a new keyboard after that...haha
Yep, the big giveaway that it wasn't an Edge or Lo-Pro Edge was the fact that the bridge it came with was shorter (ie the fine tuners come up about an inch short of the rout on the top of the body. Took me a while to find pics of trems that look similar to the one on mine, I still don't know exactly what it is but it looks exactly like the cheaper MIJ Jackson ones, just not branded. I 've never tried an Edge but there seems to be a universal consensus that they're second to none so I really can't wait to get mine!!!
As for pickups, I'll be slapping the stock ones back in there for the rebuild since this project has chowed my finances quite badly but the last upgrade will probably be either a Dimarzio Tone Zone/Air Norton combo or the new Liquifire/Crunch Lab. That should tide me over til I can afford a Team J-Craft shred machine ?
ZarK
Clint Green wrote:
Hey Zark, I've seen those awesome J-Customs of yours on your gear thread...almost had to get a new keyboard after that...haha
Yep, the big giveaway that it wasn't an Edge or Lo-Pro Edge was the fact that the bridge it came with was shorter (ie the fine tuners come up about an inch short of the rout on the top of the body. Took me a while to find pics of trems that look similar to the one on mine, I still don't know exactly what it is but it looks exactly like the cheaper MIJ Jackson ones, just not branded. I 've never tried an Edge but there seems to be a universal consensus that they're second to none so I really can't wait to get mine!!!
As for pickups, I'll be slapping the stock ones back in there for the rebuild since this project has chowed my finances quite badly but the last upgrade will probably be either a Dimarzio Tone Zone/Air Norton combo or the new Liquifire/Crunch Lab. That should tide me over til I can afford a Team J-Craft shred machine ?
I had to change my pants every 15 minutes for the first week after receiving my J-Customs and after that no more than once a week... ?
I've had many Ibby's over the years and I can honestly say that a RG 570 with edge (or Lo Pro Edge) trem + one of the Dimarzio pup combo's you mentioned is all you'll ever need. No need to chase after a RG 1-570 Prestige + new pups or RG 8-570 J-Custom unless you're looking to satisfy a 'want' and not a 'need'... Sure I rate my J-Customs to be superior to any of my other guitars past and present which include all the majour mainstream brands but in the end they're all just versions of the original which is a superb instrument in its own right. The reason I was willing to part with so many $$$ to get my hands on J-Customs can be traced back directly to 1991 when I saw my first Ibanez RG 570 in purple neon... I fell in love immediately but back then I could only afford a 'Fender' which didn't even have a name or serial numbers anywhere on the instrument... ...it was that cheap... I think it cost me R100 back then... with a gigbag... :-[
You're going to love the Edge trem. Personally I prefer the low profile version (Lo Pro Edge) but Steve Vai And Satch still prefer using the original Edge. The finest floyd's I've ever experienced bar none. Just remember to wipe that trem clean after every playing session as all the finishes except chrome, blemishes and corrodes quite easily. (The only down side imo.) If you ever need info or parts for an Ibby, visit Ibanezrules.com. The owner, Rich Harris is one of
the Ibanez experts imo...)
The next pup set I'll be ordering happens to be the Dimarzio Liquifire/chrunchlab set... The Tone Zone/Air Norton combo sounds great in my Mahogany bodied RG J-Customs but I'm interested in seeing how the LF/CL combo will compare... I have a sneaky suspicion that I may prefer using the TZ/AN combo in my American Basswood RG/Jem and the LF/CL combo in my J-customs... Only way to really be sure is to test them for myself, of course.
I can't wait to see your project completed. Love the flame top and blue colour! I'm very excited for you! :woohoo:
(P.S. You really don't need a Team J-Craft Shred machine if you already have a pimped original RG 570... Trust me.)
Clint-Green
Haha I don't blame you, I think it would be more than every 15 minutes for me, those axes are truly works of art, imo!!
I have read many, many opinions that the late 80's/early 90's 570's are on par with the newer Prestige guitars but I think the real deal-breaker for me personally is the original Wizard on the older Ibbys. At first I thought that because I have really big hands, they would be a bit of a pain to play on but it turns out they are the freakin' holy grail! Now that I think about it, I would definitely look into getting hold of another original Wiz with a maple fretboard for this guitar at a later stage should I come across one on Ebay or something...that would be pure bliss ?
My girlfriend recently got herself a Cort EVL K-4 which has a rather low-profile Floyd copy and being so used to the much higher profile of the tune-o-matic on my LP, I've found the very low profile of the Cort's bridge leaving me with nowhere to anchor my picking hand without "digging in" too much with the pick and causing me to have to anchor with my fingers instead of palm on the bridge which isn't always ideal. The LFR which the RG came with was a little closer to a happy medium so I'm hoping that the Edge will hit that sweet spot (I recently learned on Rich's site that I can actually put a paper shim in the neck pocket in order to bring the bridge up higher as well which may be pretty cool if neccesary, but I doubt it will be).
Let us know how that CL/LF combo sounds, I know Petrucci used them on "Black Clouds and Silver Lining" and he has great tone on that album (then again Petrucci always has killer tone!!).
Anyhoo, thanks for the words of encouragement there, Zark, my old man came over this morning to do the sanding coats of 2k, this is the really exciting part!! I'll try and post some more pics on Tuesday when I'm back at work ?
Clint-Green
More fun and games...Clearcoated the top yesterday morning, put it out in the sun for a couple of hours to help it dry and when I brought it back inside I found that the clearcoat had cracked in the center seam (only in the small sections between the pickups and between the bridge pup and bridge route) and all of the filler which I'd put in there had disappeared. Now I've sawn it out and fitted some thin strips of maple in the gaps. I know that I probably won't get the stain on these strips to match but I'm hoping for the best. I will sand them flush with the clearcoat when I flat it, hopefully it doesn't stand out too much. I also put some bodyfiller on the back and sides and obviously didn't mix enough hardener in and it just isn't drying, so I'll be working tonight to try and get it off. Kicking myself pretty hard right now ☹
Neon-Gecko
Dude, until 2K has cured, it hates the sun or UV light. The built in UV protection is only really activated at full cure. Best to let it cure in the shade for 2-3 days.
costafonix
Sorry about some of your mishaps dude, but great job so far, looking forward to seeing the end product
Clint-Green
Neon Gecko wrote:
Dude, until 2K has cured, it hates the sun or UV light. The built in UV protection is only really activated at full cure. Best to let it cure in the shade for 2-3 days.
Ah, well it's a bit of a bugger up now, I've had to stick thin strips of maple in there and it's quite obvious. Probably wouldn't have been an issue at all if I hadn't put it in the sun :/
How many coats of 2k do you usually use for a stained top in order to sand it nice and flat? I have 4 thick coats on there which I'm flatting at the moment and had a bit of a sand-through at the center seam on the bit between the bridge and bridge pup, touched it up with some stain now but I'm wondering if I should spray the whole thing with a few more sanding coats since there is still quite a lot of orange peel pitting on the rest of the top.
CostaFonix wrote:
Sorry about some of your mishaps dude, but great job so far, looking forward to seeing the end product
Thanks man, lots of learning curves, I can't wait to finish this thing though so that I can have a little less stress in my life! Haha
Neon-Gecko
Timber has to be one of the more difficult things to paint, so I'd try to put as many coats on as possible on the first application to try and prevent sand through. By allowing around 10-15 minutes flash off between coats you should manage to get around 7 coats on without the paint running, but even it you do end up with runs, they will just sand out anyway.
Don't worry too much about how many coats you get on at this stage because you will most probably sand away around 50-70% of the paint away just to get to a smooth, sealed surface.
Just a tip though, trying to fix mistakes can cost you not only time, but money as well. Sometimes it simply pays you to chalk the whole experience up to a steep learning curve, strip the whole lot off and start again. I've been known to do that on the odd occasion when things don't work out as planned.
Some wise words that I live by, "Anyone makes mistakes. A Tradesman will go to great lengths to cover them up, while a Craftsman will go to great lengths to FIX them up."
Keep at it Clint, you will crack it and the personal achievement will seem all the more great.
TomCat
I'm watching this with great interest as I want to do a RE321 in the very same way with a quilted maple top for my son........
Keep up the good work Clint and don't let mishaps put you down....... ? ?
Clint-Green
Thanks for the words of encouragement, guys! Well I've just sanded the top back down to the last bit of black stain, masked off and clearcoated the "binding" area and will re-stain tomorrow eve, maybe my dad can do the sanding coats on Wednesday or Thursday. What we did initially was sprayed 4 coats of 2k without any thinners, so I'll get him to go for 7 this time around. Dammit, I can't believe I'm having to redo all of this, I'm sure it will be worth it though...I'll keep you lads posted ?
Clint-Green
For what it's worth, here is a pic taken after we sprayed the clearcoat, before any sanding and before I stupidly put the guitar out in the sun to dry and consequently had to sand the whole finish off and start again:
Clint-Green
So another quick update; I have had to mask off and clearcoat the binding,stain, sand back, mask off and re-clearcoat binding, re-stain, sand back, etc. a total of 4 times now since I had to strip everything off this past weekend, just can't seem to get the colour just right...very annoying but I will endure!! Hehe
ZarK
Sorry about the mishaps. Just push through, dude. Still going to play like a RG and still going to be a one-of-a-kind beaut! Love the blue.
Clint-Green
ZarK wrote:
Sorry about the mishaps. Just push through, dude. Still going to play like a RG and still going to be a one-of-a-kind beaut! Love the blue.
Shot, man! I've finished the staining now although the blue came out a bit darker than I had it originally, it still looks pretty cool...we'll do the sanding coats of clearcoat again tomorrow and see how it goes...fingers crossed!!
slyd
I think you're doing GREAT Clint ! ?
Good choice to strip and start again, it's the long way around, but it's the RIGHT way . . ! Wood is very forgiving if you're prepared to take the time to get the issues resolved correctly . . . . . (enough of my useless banter)
The stain colours are awesome . . . I can't wait for the final polished-up product . . . . ?
Clint-Green
Thanks for the kind words, Slyd!
I will post some more pics soon, I re-stained this weekend and my old man did the sanding coats of 2k yesterday. To be honest I was worried that the colour was going to be a bit crappy as no matter what I did it would always come out darker than the first time so I eventually gave up and thought "well, close enough" (with a bunch of expletives thrown in between for good measure.
Anyway, as it turns out the colour now looks freakin' AMAZING, even better than the colour in the pics I posted previously. I think that having to stain and sand back over and over was actually a good thing as it has given the figure the most insane 3D look I have ever seen on a guitar.
Watch this space! 8)
Neon-Gecko
Clint Green wrote:
Anyway, as it turns out the colour now looks freakin' AMAZING, even better than the colour in the pics I posted previously. I think that having to stain and sand back over and over was actually a good thing as it has given the figure the most insane 3D look I have ever seen on a guitar.
Watch this space! 8)
you can't brag without pics Dude ?