I was getting obsessed about buying one of those ESP Arrow guitars. It’s a Flying V for Klingon warriors. Guitar prices have followed food prices perfect so I had 3 strokes when I saw what these were going for. I decided that building a guitar would keep me distracted.
I found a kit for like $110 or so. I went for it.
Guitar after removing finish nd painting it the mandatory Stealth Bomber black
Problems
- It’s a Strat.
- Single coil in the bridge is not happening.
- The finish was gloss on top of mohogany.
- The neck was fat
- The tuners sucked
- The nut sucked
- The neck heal was huge.
Solutions
I want my guitars to be weapons. They should look like hummers with the doors blown off or whatever Mel Gibson did to Tina Turner. (It’s been a while since I’ve seen Mad Max: Beyond The Thunderdome. Should I see that again?)
Angle Grinder To The Rescue
The secret to using an angle grinder is to close your eyes and spin around 27 times first.
This is better. Notice the custom pickguard. I whipped that up in Fusion 360. Notice the covers for the pickup selector and volume pot. Those are my design. The design is called “nothing”. I plan to remove the volume pot altogether as it’s unnecessary. A simple toggle switch for off/on is fine.
I’ve got an Ali Express hot rail pickup. I don’t get excited about pickups because I know what an RLC circuit is and I can work a parametric EQ. I just really need a parametric EQ in front of my guitar processor thing. That’ll be solved soon enough.
Neck Joint / Upper Fret Access
I have no idea why guitar companies put a tree trunk in the neck heel. Some of us work for a living and need full access to the upper frets. I took a grinder to this one and fixed it. I’ve experienced zero problems from this solution. We’ll see.
Tusq Nut Required
You can’t see it in the picture, but a Tusq nut is required for all my guitars. If you haven’t tried one, get on it. Huge improvement. Normally strings die in about 2 or 3 days for me. Now they die in about 7. Even then they don’t die as much. Tuning is a bit better with Tusq nuts but not perfect.
Locking Tuners
I’m not sure if locking tuners are required, but I bought them anyway. I may go with standard tuners next time as I hear it saves weight. I can’t remember what tuners I used on this. I thought they were “mid-grade”. They hold tune about the same as any other guitar I’ve ever had. Not bad but not perfect.
Jumbo Frets
I replaced the frets with stainless steel jumbo frets from Amazon. Stainless steel is not the material to learn on. Jumbo frets make vibrato much easier but playing rhythm in tune is more challenging. I predict a scalloped guitar neck will be in my future. We’ll see.
Final Product
I don’t play my 1991 PRS Custom 24 anymore. This guitar is fine. There are some cosmetic things I don’t like. I don’t like the fret markers, but I never see those when I play anyway. It’s a bit too chrome for my tastes. But as far as playability, it’s tip top. I’m happy.
