Author Topic: Peter's Custom 5-string (Read 1558 times)

mica · « **on:** February 26, 2005, 12:27:51 PM »

Mom got the sketches completed yesterday, and we spent our morning coffee time over the mock-up:

The logo is to be goldplated, and is just there in outline. The cloud is black mother of pearl with a tiny silver lining and a mother of pearl lightning bolt. The key is sterling silver attached to the abalone kite with a copper string. The ribs in the kite are silver with a little golden mother of pearl bow. Hope you like!

mica · « **Reply #1 on:** May 19, 2005, 12:35:22 PM »

Here's the back of the body in pieces:

and a preview of how the back will look:

kilowatt · « **Reply #2 on:** May 20, 2005, 01:54:45 PM »

Mica, thanks for the shots of the start of the build. What a great way to start a weekend! I hope your dental work has healed and your back to normal. Pete

mica · « **Reply #3 on:** May 26, 2005, 08:05:34 PM »

Body assembly completed:

Lookin' tasty!

mica · « **Reply #4 on:** June 08, 2005, 06:44:01 PM »

Here's that neck of yours:

and the peghead:

Interior veneers are Maple and Vermilion, to coordinate with the accent laminates. It's very cool looking!

mica · « **Reply #5 on:** June 27, 2005, 04:09:49 PM »

Here's the body halves shaped:

mica · « **Reply #6 on:** June 27, 2005, 11:11:13 PM »

And the body gettign glued to the neck:

Hey, this thing is looking more like a bass every day.

mica · « **Reply #7 on:** July 04, 2005, 03:56:58 PM »

Here's Tony sanding the bass after Bob routed it:

tbrannon · « **Reply #8 on:** July 04, 2005, 04:39:17 PM »

I love those vermillion/maple/ebony necks.

Happy 4th to all those in the States!

kilowatt · « **Reply #9 on:** July 06, 2005, 02:19:41 PM »

Susan, Mica, Valentino and all of the staff, Thanks for the tour last week. We had a great time and everyone was very helpful. Even my wife had fun, (more fun after Susan gave her some web sites to check out for jewlery). My 11 year old son couldn't believe that Mica let him play one of the guitars out front. He also liked the idea Susan had that if he makes the honor roll at school for the year, I would help him get an Alembic guitar. Once again, thanks for all your help and kindness. Pete. P.S. The bass is looking great!

jalevinemd · « **Reply #10 on:** July 06, 2005, 02:31:16 PM »

Pete,

What wood is the bulk of your neck made of? Is it mahogany? I have maple and I've got to be honest...sometimes on a neck-thru without a book matched to center top I think that it stands in too stark a contrast to the coco bolo top. Whatever your wood you chose blends so beautifully. The whole thing has a very rich, almost chocolatey feel to it. Nice combination!

Regards,

Jonathan

kilowatt · « **Reply #11 on:** July 06, 2005, 04:47:53 PM »

Jonathan,
The bulk of the neck is made from mahogany. I am really happy with the way things are turning out. Susan made the suggestion to go with the mahogany. It was done mostly for sound along with the ebony to emulate the sound of Phil Lesh's modified Guild. Believe me when I tell you, that the pictures, as good as they are, don't do any of the instruments justice. When I was in Santa Rosa last week, I was amazed at the attention to detail in every aspect of the building and finishing of everything I saw.
Thanks for the compliment, Pete

mica · « **Reply #12 on:** August 30, 2005, 02:54:08 PM »

The logo is inlaid, and james is ready to inlay the lightning bolt:

James wanted to reduce the size from what you faxed us because the upper part of the bolt comes too close to the logo. In the rough above, the bushings in the template are actually larger diameter than the washers for the tuning keys. Also note the two small grey lines to represent the joints where two pieces of mother of pearl will butt up next to eachother.

Let me know if we're good to go and James will proceed with the cutting.

mica · « **Reply #13 on:** August 30, 2005, 05:02:11 PM »

Hey, here's that picture in RGB mode:

Now you should be able to view it.

kilowatt · « **Reply #14 on:** August 30, 2005, 05:59:22 PM »

Mica,
Thanks for the extra help on the mockup photo. I couldn't open it at first, but my 12 year old son did it in no time. I think the mockup looks perfect and you can keep on rollin. Again, thanks for the help. Regards.

Pete