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This is my latest singlecut electric. Spalted maple on sapele, boasting 3 P-90's and a very pleasurable and distinct voice. The spalted maple fought me every step of the way, so I am happy to be done with this thing...It just needs some additional set up...

Thanks for looking,
Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

Seriously Stephen, this is one of the nicest looking electrics I've seen. Wow! If you have any other pics of the final guitar or construction please post those. Really dude, nice stuff!

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

Sweet! Really sweet! Reminds me of the Gibson Black Beauty, but with p-90s instead of humbuckers.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I bow down to you. That's F'n amazing.

Man, that is one serious 'lectric... That's probably one of the hottest I've ever seen. That burst makes me feel like I'd want to lick that guitar all over...seriously...

What's the finish and how did you get that fantastic burst!?

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

A real beauty - for sure. Love the idea, shape, and color especially. Masterful work.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Thank you guys so much...you are far too gracious...

The finish is what has become my standard - a two part catalyzed automotive polyurethane (Production Clear from Auto Body Masters). I accomplished the burst (which is really just a fade of black to more black) by periodically mixing in more and more transtint dye and moving outward with my spraying profile...I did this one with a Preval system . I use west systems epoxy mixed with glass beads as a filler, then wiped the whole guitar down with an alcohol / yellow transtint mixture to ensure even coloration in the wood prior to finishing. The west systems works well, but I feel is not optimum for use under this particular finish because I do not think I am achieving a chemical bond.

The more and more I try to finish - the more and more I realize how much of an art it is - and how much greater respect I have for the guys like Tony and Joe - whose work is impeccable. I feel like I have made huge strides in my finish, but still have a long way to go (particularly in corners / edges / tight spaces) to achieve their level result.

The guitar has a vintage set of 90's in the neck and middle position with a super fat 90 in the bridge. Each selection (which is all passive pickup orientation - no phase change or series / parallel wiring) has a distinct voice - suddle in some cases but distinct. It was made for a studio owner who traded a 4 song EP of my wife for this guitar...He is very happy.

Thanks so much!
Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

Hi Stephen,

I want to preface my statements with the fact I am just now building my first guitar, so my knowledge in this arena is limited. With that said, I do a lot of automotive clear coat finishes, just not on guitars. I do them on gunstocks. Even on raw wood, you never get a chemical bond and you will not get a chemical bond on the West Sys epoxies. The clear coat system bonds to substrates just like any other system, by adhesion.

Now I have to ask. Why did you decide to cover the spalted maple? Not a flame, just curious!

Mike

Thanks Mike,

I just wasn't sure if there was some sort of pore filler out there that would allow me to gain cohesion between the layers...If you have any advice, I would gladly take it.

I 'covered' the flamed spalt because the customer wanted a black guitar on spalted maple. I did my best to achieve his vision - with my own touch....

Thanks
Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

Stephen the only advice I would give you is not to sand to too fine a grit. There is also a material that I will be using on this first build of mine that might help you. It's kinda like clear primer, at least that is how I am going to be using it. It is an intercoat clear that is used with custom paint flames, graphics etc that you need to seal to be able to do a little (very little) leveling before applying the clear coat.

I highly recommend Exotic brand for this as it is a single component. I just bought some Planet Color intercoat clear only to find out you had to have a hardner with it. It will set in your gun in about 1 hr at 80 degrees........ask me how I know! The Exotic can be poured back into the original container to use at a later date! Less expensive that way.

I have not tried this yet, but I intend to use the intercoat clear as a filler. I am hoping it will speed the finish process, without having any kind of grain filler. The only thing I am concerned about is grain srinkage later on. I have had it with unfilled gunstocks, but that was without the intercoat. We'll see.

Mike

ps if you give me permission, I will show you a pic of one of my stocks with this type finish on it.....or two!

Show em!

I would love to see them...We will just call this section electric guitars and basses and guns...

Thanks so much for your help. I will for sure check it out...

Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

Very nice Steven! It has a classic and modern look all at the same time (if that makes any sense?)

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jw ( o)===:::

(edited to add...the first and last pic are reversed.

Thanks Stephen,

This first one is my favorite kind of wood. Blistered figure hard eastern maple. I have see two pieces in 17 years big enough for gunstocks, one of which I bought for personal supply, and somebody offered me more than I could afford to turn down.

This was finished with nothing but clearcoat and lots of hard work. Dyed the first color black as a wash cut with lacquer thinner so the softer portion of the wood would not get too dark. Sanded the excess off leaving raw undyed wood for the teal to be applied to. I use House Of Kolor for my tints and my candies. I then redyed the stock, and shot a coat of clear. Let that dry overnight and came in the morning and denibbed lightly with 600 grit paper. Wiped with tack rag, then applied three or 4 heavy coats leaving 30-40 minuted between coats. Let this dry at least 24-36 hrs then dry block sand with open cut paper on blocks to level finish and cut finish back nearly to the wood. If you do fall thru, it is easy to fix!

After this cut back, I then tack, recoat 3 times and let set 24 hrs. After the time has passed, I begin my wet sandind with 800/1000/1500 and 2000. We then hand polish using the blue fiber shop towels as our buffing pad! I know it sounds crazy, but it works. Finish out with a glaze and swirl remover.

The next pic is a laminated walnut benchrest stock with a burled redwood fore tip on it. Finish process is the same.

Last one is a hand rubbed custom blend of Tung oil, spar urethane Varnish and a little mineral spirits.

absolutely beautiful stuff!

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

Great job. That is some guitar...Mike

Nice guitar Stephen!
How do you do your neck tenon? Ive been looking at the les paul axcess standards trying to figure out how they do the neck joints, it looks like the tenon would have to be thinner to accommodate the scoop at the heel

Jebarri

Jebarri,

Simply affix your transition block to the underside of a normal neck - with the exception that you have a good 3" extra material from the end of your FB.

Make your routing template so that the mortise lines follow the lines of your neck, and route pocket. Depending on the thickness of your top veneer, I would route a matching mortise, leaving about 0.25" material above the neck tenon.

The pictures below will probably explain it well enough. I will embellish more later if you want...

Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

Stephen that is pure sex!
It makes me want to play electric guitar, wow!

Super work,
Joe

Is that not the tastiest guitar you've ever seen! Its even better in person!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

[Bleep]-ing beautiful!!!

Question for you and/or others (sorry if this is a hi-jack). How in the world do you get the back covers cut from the main piece with so little kerf? I am having a rough time imagining hands that steady with a coping saw.

I cant answer for Stephen, but I know he has made a serious effort to make his fit and finish perfect, including his back covers.

What I can say is both his bass' and six strings play so nice up at the body to neck joint. I had never seen that style of access where your hand just slips in to the back of the body, leaving you free all the way to the last frets. Its good stuff!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Stephen, thanks for the pics... i'm a little confused about the transition block, is the idea behind it to get the mortice under the top and out of the way of the pickup cavities? now correct me i I'm wrong (its early ) but wouldn't gluing the neck directly to the body itself be just as strong as adding a piece to the bottom of the neck which extends further inside?
Im trying to do a similar style heel/neck joint on a les paul, not sure if the neck angle is gonna effect things?

Thanks, Jebarri

Jebarri,

It is all about surface area and mechanical leverage...The tenon increases the surface area of the glue, and even if it is only 0.25" long, it provides that much a moment arm to counter the torque induced from the string tension. The transition block is just an added design element that shows off the beautiful carving contours of the blended heel neck fit...

Typically, when I am working on an electric guitar with a pickup close to the neck, I try to leave as much material of the tenon under the pickup as is possible. For humbuckers, I drill holes in the tenon for the pole screws as opposed to routing the whole area out...

Really, I cannot tell you that something else will not work...This is just the design that I specifically have evolved to over the past 12 guitars or so. I know it works and is strong enough to hold.

A neck angle will not screw anything up, it just changes the relative orientation of [pick your surface]...You can apply it to the the transition block (or the thickened neck base) / tenon, or to the mortise...

Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

Thanks for all the info!
Hopefully I'll be getting started early next month with my build

That's a real beauty, Stephen!!! Lovely shading on the top... love the color!

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus