Built in Gtr Electronics/Solid Body Gtr Project-It's Done!!

[Paul Marossy]

Just a little preface on my current project:

I have my ebay Strat body about 50% stripped of the paint now. Made a template for the pickguard that I will need to make (out of aluminum, painted white), have the electronics part figured out and where I will make a cavity in the body for a 9V battery. For the electronics, I will be installing the FET Preamp which I have installed in one of my guitars. I like this little circuit, so I'm going to have the option to use the preamp or bypass it. The other thing that I am going to build is Ansil's Sustainer Mod and have a switch to turn it on/off. I'll probably use a pair of push-pull pots to do the switching for those two circuits.

So, this morning in the shower I realized that I already have a very, very cool fabric that I can put on the front/back of the body. It has a very fine weave, so finishing should be pretty simple. So, now I am really excited about this project, but I am still not sure how you do a fabric top on a Strat body. It seems like it would be a lot more difficult because it doesn't have the same "sharp" lines as an Ibanez RG or JEM guitar. I'm pretty much counting on doing a sunburst on the edges, which also seems like it would be more difficult on a Strat body. Anyhow, this is going to be very cool when it's done.


I'll get a webpage going for my project soon so I can keep everyone posted on my progress. This is going to totally rock!!  :!:

[MartyMart]

That sounds cool Paul, what will you "seal" the fabric with ?
I agree that getting it over a strat body will be quite tricky !
I guess a "sofa/soft furnishings" covering expert would have some neat ideas !
Thanks for the positive comments on the site,

Cheers
Marty. :wink:

[Mark Hammer]

If you can, try to think of a way to make a 2-piece pickguard.  There are few things more exasperating in life than removing a Strat pickguard to work on the electronics.  If you can make yourself a little board with headers that would permit you to completely remove the portion of the pickguard covering the control cavity that would make your life much much easier.

For power, I find that 12v batteries are easily obtained in dollar stores these days.  They are essentially the size of stubby AA's and I gather they are used for hearing devices.  I can't imagine there is all that much current in them but if the circuits you are planning have low current needs then you can save a bit of space and squeeze a little more headroom.

On the other hand, if your plan is to use anything with medium current needs, then I'd suggest opting for a more substantial power pack, such as 6 or 8 AAA's.  If you weren't planning to use a tremolo bridge, then you can easily fit them in the trem slot at the back.

[GreenEye]

Sounds interesting.  I can't picture actual fabric on a guitar body, but judging by your other DIY stuff, I'm sure it will kick arse.

On a similar note, have you ever seen those guitar socks (I forget the actual name of the product) they marketed in guitar magazines in the 1980s?  They could be stretched over strats, and covered most of the back and sides (not the front though).  Maybe your fabric could be like that - a kind of protector of sorts, that could be removed if needed.

Or, maybe there's some type of textured paint, coupled with a painting technique, that would result in a fabric-type look without the fabric.

Depending on the type of fabric, it may wear down, say, where you rest your arm on the top of the body.

[Mark Hammer]

Just out of curiosity, what exactly provided the paisley pattern for the original paisley Telecasters?  Was it thin fabric or simply a decal or other non-woven material?

[Nasse]

I am just looking on a local music magazine, there is a pic of cool Strat-looking guitar with built in effects. Don´t know but maybe it is some Japanese axe, I may be wrong. It says Autowah, Phase and Sustain (the sustain pot suggests "distortion" at extreme setting) and lots of mini switches and four vol/tone pots.

I have been planning some amp top project and been thinkin those "gold piping" cosmetic looking strips on old Vox and Marshall cabinets may serve for other obvious purpose than just good looks. With these (there is slight groove routed for this) it is made possible that "tolex" is easily applied in smaller pieces. Maybe that technique could be applied for guitar covering :roll: ...

Cool-looking pickguard ideas could be borrowed from Burns axes maybe :twisted: .

[Paul Marossy]

I know, a fabric top sounds like it wouldn't work, huh? Believe it or not, it can look killer! Check out this page: http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/mat.htm (be patient, the page takes a while to load)
That's where I even got the idea. Finishing it isn't as hard as it sounds...

The two piece pickguard is an idea. Although, I was thinking of doing a rear route that would accomodate the battery and active electronics so that I never have to pull the pickguard off unless I have to replace a pot or something.

I have also wondered how they did that paisely look. My thinking is that it is some sort of decal.

[vanhansen]

Hey Paul,

If you haven't gone to this site yet, check it out.  Good info on refinishing and there is a forum too.

http://www.reranch.com/

[thumposaurus]

Just out of curiosity, what exactly provided the paisley pattern for the original paisley Telecasters?  Was it thin fabric or simply a decal or other non-woven material?

I thought I had read somewhere that it was wallpaper material, or maybe I just imagined it?

[Paul Marossy]

vanhansen-

Yes, I did see that website before when I was researching what it takes to refinish a guitar body. Cool stuff.

thumposaurus-

Wallpaper could be a likely candidate. That's another idea for something you could slap on the top of a guitar...

[Peter Snow]

The paisley finish is indeed wallpaper. Reference Tony Bacon's "The Fender Book" page 35.  Apparently it did not wear well - no kiddin'!!

Something else to consider for a guitar covering is tolex.  It was used extensively in the 60's by Hofner (Galaxie, etc), Eko the Italian manufacturer and probably others.  Hofner were turning out vast numbers of Strat copies to satisfy the European market for all the up and coming guitar players who could not afford the real thing.  And apparently glueing on tolex was quicker and cheaper than painting.  If I remember correctly the tolex on the Galaxies was joined on the sides of the guitar with a finishing strip covering the join going all around the outside.  Didn't look too bad...

HTH,

Peter

[Paul Marossy]

Tolex, huh?! That's interesting.  

[Nasse]

Our bass players Futurama back side was padded with foam under the tolex, that kind of look like old gangster movies the gangster boss´s office had padded door like that, sound proofed, and that sinful beautiful girlfriend of the gangster boss

[Nasse]

:oops: double post

[Nasse]

:oops: triple post

[Paul Marossy]

I have one more cavity to carve in the body to carve, the 9V battery compartment. I'm going to make it big enough to accomodate a 12V battery, too. For a variety of reasons, I decided that I am going to place the electronics under the pickguard where the pots and pickup selector are. I think that should work out alright.

Pics and commentary coming in the next few days...  

[Paul Marossy]

Well, I have the body prepped for finishing now. Stripping the existing finish off of a guitar body is a PITA! Next weekend I will probably do the fabric top and back.

But for now I am going to focus on the electronics part for the next few days.

Here is what I have so far: http://www.diyguitarist.com/Guitars/SuperStrat.htm

[MartyMart]

Nice woodworking Paul !
You sure dont mind putting the hours in !  Well done.
Was it a brand new chisel? they are very clean edges you've got there !

Regards,
Marty.

[Paul Marossy]

Thanks MartyMart. Yeah, they were brand new chisels, got a set of three for $10 at the local hardware store. Last night I designed a little PCB for the onboard electronics. Tonight I will probably etch the PCB. This has been fun so far. I suppose it helps that I was some shop help at a cabinet shop for a few months when I was 18 years old (AHHH! That's like 20 years ago.  :shock: ), so at least I know how to use an orbital sander...  

[Ben N]

No contribution here, just some musings.  The fabric thing is reminiscent of Waylon Jennings's Tele, although working leather is a lot different than fabric.  If you are just putting the fabric on top, you shouldn't have a problem, other than finishing a curved fabric edge.  Probably some kind of piping worked into a groove around the edge of the face ought to work.  If you want to cover the whole body with fabric, well, good luck!

As for Mark's suggestion about the separate electronics cover, that is a great idea, very much like a Jaguar, Jazzmaster or J-bass.  Of course, they have contrasting materials for that section, but there is no reason just a clean cut shouldn't achieve the same thing, maybe cut at on a bias to make it so the two pieces overlap slightly.

Ben