The Electra Forums

The wood looks really nice and so does the neck and headstock. I would consider only a slight trim of the top bout to balance it out but it is hard to say without holding it standing and sitting. Great work so far.

Hello all-sorry I haven't posted updates recently,work has went beserk since it got warm-not enough hours in a day
Last post I was contemplating changing the design,as the days wore on that upper bout seemed to mock me every time I looked at it -looked like one of those overthought,over the top novice attempts at something different. After more than a few barley pops I decided the offending appendege had to be amputated to keep my sanity-here's the result:
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... t001-1.jpg
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... ect005.jpg
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... ect008.jpg
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... ect011.jpg
One piece solid mahogany body w/koa top plate,mahogany neck w/koa veneer headstock,Dimarzio humbuckers(little too hot for my taste),Schaller hardtail roller bridge,CTS pots,vitamin Q caps(these are way cool),master volume with individual tone pots,micro switches for parrallel,series,and single coil,electrosocket jack,Grover deluxe tuners. Sounds like a LP on steroids ,great balance and slightly lighter than an LP. Just need to do the final setup,get rid of the graphite nut for a brass or bone nut. or let me know Joe

I quite like how it turned out.

Very nice; great job!

RCSBlues

That is one beauty of an Axe. Great Job and I bet it plays well. This is a very professional custom build in my opinion. The grain of the wood turned out great. I salute you on a job well done and the final version of the upper bout looks awesome. Hope to see more of these in the future and thanks for letting us see the build.

I think you made a good call on the body shape. You've come up with something much more elegant. It looks like you're doing a very nice job of it.

Thanks guys,appreciate the kind words-mortarman,if I were to ever start a proprietary brand,you would have a job as my pr guy!
Let me pose another question...what do you fellas think this would bring pricewise if it were for sale? I know what I have in materials,no way I could recoup the hours of labor,and of course all things are subjective,but a general concensus would be cool
I just got a burl walnut neck with a teak fingerboard,brass position markers-thinking about a walnut/teak laminate body,try a different design
My syndrome is out of control,I probably need to be medicated
Joe

Thanks for the kind remarks, must be all those days of recruiting still lingering around in me somewhere. That is a nice Axe and I would think it would be par or better than some of the carvin natural wood body guitars on the market today. I would say in my humble opinion ( without playing it it's a tough call) but I would think somewhere in the $500-$800 range at the lowest and high range maybe $1100. I have never had a custom build guitar before but I can see good workmanship and craftsmanship which in my book go a long way. I could be wrong and there are many here that keep up with the price ranges much better than I but I can say to the right player it would be worth the price that a quality guitar would bring. Good Luck and congrats on a beauty of a build.

To paraphrase Electraman, who observed in another thread...
viewtopic.php?f=40&t=4688



Being custom, it's unlikely that you'll find someone who wants the exact combination of features that you have put together-- no matter what the quality of parts and workmanship. We have seen that the playability and quality of an instrument does not directly impact it's market value. For reference, please note all the "great" Electras that are such good value in the used market. That's what we like about them, no? Bang for the buck?

Custom, or more specifically hand made guitars that closely resemble popular models of mass produced guitars have a slightly better chance, it seems. Please note the moderate success of boutique made Fender relic style guitars from makers like Nash and K-line, among many others.

You may do better using your guitar as an example of the work you can do, and then pre-sell a unique guitar made to order for some potential customer.

But what do I know? People surprise me all the time. Put it on the market and see what happens. Ebay it and let the market dictate the value.

Nice guitar! I like it. Excellent job. I'd keep it if it works for you. Prototypes/one offs are funny things. They can work excellently but no one wants to give you a chance, that is, until they play it or hear it and ask "WHAT is THAT?" I usually don't sell my prototypes, I usually trade them off for something I like, want, need, or can sell more easily. It isn't easy being relatively unknown.

What dimarzios did you wind up using? I am always interested in that kind of stuff because of the pickup, body wood combination, neck wood combination and other factors - how that all interplays.

I have a thin bodied dean icon. The body is mahogany, the top is maple (rather thin), the neck is mahogany, and the fingerboard is rosewood. It has weight close to an SG (less substantial than yours). I did the dimarzio 30 day thing, and you can call them up and exchange pickups for free until you get a set you like (no kidding). Several years ago I think I did this like 3 times or so. I wound up with an air norton F spaced in the bridge, and a virtual vintage bridge model in the neck. They don't make that VV Bridge model pickup any longer (it was replaced by the PAF Anniversary models). The neck PAF anniversary model uses the same model number as the regular PAF - a DP103. It sounds GREAT in the neck. I wanted something that balanced in the bridge that was not too hot. Now they have the anniversary model DP223 (I think, from memory so you may want to double check it) model. It is as hot as the air norton is, and has a little bit of grit to it. The air norton sounds great too, and it has that "wah" sort of midrange tone that works really well in the mix. Both of these pickups will balance well in the bridge position with a PAF class pickup in the neck, and both are a tiny bit hotter (I would say HOT VINTAGE class). On that guitar the pickups have 3 distinctly different sounds in positions in the 3-way switch. The middle position sound really clear, much more so than other combinations that tend to sound like the neck pickup to me. I'd give the neck pickup an A, and the bridge air norton pickup a B.

I put the anniversary pickups set in a thin bodied LP copy I have and they sound pretty good (I'd give an A to the neck pickup, and a B- to the bridge pickup - a pretty good score overall). Other dimarzio bridge pickups I have considered on the vintage to medium output range are the Fred, a Norton, or a MoJoe bridge model.

Yours will sound different. Thicker body, more substantial top, bolt neck, different bridge. I have an older harmonic designs humbucker pickup in my X330 (the original pickup was weak when I got it and had to be replaced). That harmonic designs gets an "A+" with that X330. I put a set of them in another guitar and didn't like them (they were later ones, covered, and potted). That guitar had a thick maple top over mahogany, set neck, tone pros, and ebony board. Way too bright in that guitar. I sold them. The duncan JB and 59 in that guitar sounded best (I normally don't like that hot of a pickup, but it sounded great in that guitar so it went back in). I think hotter pickups better with ebony boards for some reason.

Now I have been trying some other brands too. I have a WCR Godwood in the bridge of an Epi Wilshire reissue and it sounds great. I have had a set of Timbuckers in a LP and they sounded fantastic (you can't get those any longer). I need to start winding pickups!

Thanks for the feedback guys-I believe all points are valid-"custom"builds are just that,specific to an individuals wants or needs,not usually accepted openly by the masses which transfers directly to value. Unfortunately(or fortunate for we Electra fans) most are are brand oriented and not receptive to anything but what the majority considers the "must have or your lame" standbys. One of the best playing guitars I have ever owned was a hollowbody Teisco body with a modified Epi neck and Dearmond single coils from a Harmony bobcat! Talk about sneers and giggles until it was played and heard!It now lives in a recording studio in Australia.
Not really interested in selling,just trying to get a feel for value from an unbiased source-this was more a test bench to gauge my abilities with finish,electronics,etc. than anything else-this was only my 3rd build.
Thorny- I think your method for bartering your protos is the best possible answer for an unknown. I was offered a 67 Bassman head and cab for my Mosrite copy after it was played-all the tolex was stripped off and had been varnished,but sounded great-just don't have any use for that size of equipment but gave me an idea of value. The Dimarzios were picked up in one of my horsetrading adventures- DP155 and J58 combo from a USA Charvel San Dimas,excellent midrange and highs but low E seems a little muddy to me,maybe a setup issue or possible effect from high wind? J58 gets a B+,DP155 a C+...Personally I like a more vintage sound. Joe

a DP155 tone zone has a LOT of bass response. I think it is designed for a basswood body guitar because to me is sounds really "woofy" on the bottom end on guitars with mahogany bodies that I have tried one in (it had a maple top). The problem you are having is the way the pickup sounds in a mahogany body.

I have one in a basswood body Ibanez and it sounds pretty good. I think the woofiness compensates for the tone (or lack of bottom end) in a basswood body guitar. This is all just my opinion!

Another pickup will work better. A couple PAF-like ones might sound great. Maybe if it is hotter something with less bottom end. A JB or Custom might sound good. The dimarzios I mentioned all might work well in that guitar. Good luck in the quest!

Ok,so here's the latest creation-after lessons learned from prior build,this is the result
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... on1005.jpg
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... on1011.jpg
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... on1006.jpg
http://i929.photobucket.com/albums/ad13 ... on1004.jpg
walnut/teak body,burl walnut neck with teak fingerboard,brass nut and position markers,25.5 scale,Schaller roller bridge and Schaller tuners,electrosocket jack,CTS pots,vitamin Q pio caps,Gibson burstbucker pro pickups.
I am currently working on a single coil version-Lollar blackface pickups,designing pickguard for this version.
Any thoughts,suggestions? Joe

Looks great!

Seems that they only get better. This one is a thing of beauty. How does the fingerboard play with that type wood, looks nice. Great job and craftsmanship on this one. How much does it weigh out at?