Tallying Up The Cost

The neck is on its way!  I ordered the thing a week ago.  When I went back over the confirmation email, I saw that I had accidentally ordered 3A Flame maple, not 3A Birdseye.  The mistake happened because I had added it to the online shopping cart for comparison purposes, then deleted the wrong wood type.  A direct email to Warmoth's sales department cleared things up, but now I'm thinking about how cool it would have been to have flame maple in the neck.  Whatever.  I've wanted birdseye maple in a neck for a long time by now, so I'm committed to it.

Wait time?  This is what the confirmation email reads:

Obviously the neck isn't getting painted, but it will have a gloss coat applied.  I don't know what the difference is in the application/drying process for these things, but I have to assume it will take the full two months.  Warmoth will send an email with a UPS tracking number once it ships.  (And they're in Renton, Washington, so ground shipping should only take one day.)

Alright, so the design of Big Riff is just about about 95 percent finished by this point, but that doesn't mean that there's not much left to consider.  I'm thinking a lot these days about the cost of the project and if/how I can finish it by March next year.  The neck is the single most expensive piece of this entire build—almost $600 after tax—so I'm glad to have it out of the way early on.  The body will cost around $405 plus tax plus the cost of that extra custom routing job I want for the D-Tuna piece when I beg them for it.  BUT, I won't order the body just yet.

 The Classical: The sum of parts.

So the design of the guitar went like this:

Electronics —> Bridge —> Body —> Hardware —> Neck

But the actual assembly will nearly reverse the order for purchasing:

Neck —> Hardware —> Bridge —> Body —> Electronics

I need a couple of things to happen before I order the body.  Warmoth offers a "stud install" option for a Floyd Rose bridge, meaning that they will drill the holes necessary in the top of the guitar to hold two studs which hold the bolts necessary for the bridge's knife-edge action.  You can order the installation with the purchase of a brand new FR bridge, or you can send the studs from a FR set to them and have them do it for you.  An original Floyd Rose bridge will cost over $200 (I'm not cutting any corners with a cheap knockoff!), so I don't want to add that to the same order with the body.  I expect to be able to install the Floyd's nut on the neck myself since I ordered it with holes drilled through (meaning no special glue job required?  I will consult my tech master buddy Mike).

The selected screws are where the pivot or "knife-edge" action happens; they are screwed into the studs, which are anchored into the top of the guitar.  Warmoth offers to perform this special installation so I don't have to screw it up myself.

The other thing is to get that Tremol-No piece in ASAP so I can test it out with my Soloist before the big purchase.  Not much left to say on that subject.  I've already driven it into the ground by this point.

Electronics like the Sustainiac, the Duncan Distortion humbucker, and all of the pots, need to be ordered last because I want/need the finished body first for spatial judgments.  Let's not forget that the Sustainiac's circuit board will need to be fitted underneath the pickguard somehow.

I'm estimating the total component cost of the build to be somewhere in the ballpark of $1700, with the first $600 out of the way.  So, let's say $1100 left to go for the body, bridge, hardware, and electronics.  Looking at the scope of time for the build and the range of other things I've got going on for the next eight months—including school expenses and plane tickets—it will be possible, but require some discipline.  Still, though, this will turn out way cheaper and much more satisfying once I assemble the guitar myself, with some pro help here and there.

I've been ALL OVER the band Jawbox since I got introduced to them recently.  I love the minor/major feel in this song.  The '90s truly were a special time for rock music.

Finishing The Neck Design

I'm feeling really good about this Tremol-No idea.  Ideally, I should be ordering and trying out the Tremol-No with my gear at home before ordering the body of the guitar.  I was dead set on ordering the body this month as I've mentioned this window of opportunity where I can swing the cash, but I took a second look and it turns out that the neck itself will cost about $100 more than the body.  Seems smarter to order the neck first so I can work with that Tremol-No piece before making hard decisions about the body.

I called Warmoth and got some answers to some of questions in my Neck's Specs blog entry.  Warmoth's "Unique Choice" feature allows a person placing an order to pick a specific plank of wood "for those who just can't take their hands off of the remote control".  I'm set on ordering the 3A birdseye maple for the neck and fingerboard; I trust that they will do a good job and leave it at that.  No need to pay extra to choose the individual wood plank(s).

As for the Floyd Rose prep, R3 definitely seems to be the industry standard to match with the 1 11/16" nut width and 10" radius.  Warmoth's site asks for the user to differentiate between the standard neck prep with mounting holes, which means drilling two holes through the neck to mount the R3 nut, or "shelf only", which means that smaller screws are meant to hold the nut down on the top side.  It was strongly recommended that I go with the mounting holes for more strength, and I have no problem with going for that since I'll be assembling the guitar myself.

I'm about 99 percent sure I will be ordering the peg holes to fit a black 6-in-line Schaller set.  There are more machine head versions of theirs than I care to know about; I just want whatever is considered their standard since I will be locking strings at the nut anyway.

Schaller's "Ruthenium" color choice, but of course I'm going with black.  You get the idea.

...That leaves the binding and the dot inlays.  I've been scoping out photos of binding for maple-on-maple necks and I'm just not inspired.  Black binding works with black block inlays (like on the Geddy Lee Jazz Bass), but I think both would detract from the look of that premium 3A birdseye maple.  The inlays aren't that much of a priority that I should want some exotic look for them (although black mother of pearl does look pretty sweet); I simply want to match the look with the rest of the guitar.  So that means black dot inlays, with no binding.  I'm expecting the birdseye wood grain to be served well by this simplicity.

I should be ordering the neck this week!

These days I'm thinking about adding some additional embellishments to the guitar.

I want to add a couple custom decals for both the front and backside of the headstock.  On the back I want the number 15 encircled, because this guitar will commemorate 15 years of playing after I started at age 15 (by my 30th birthday next year, remember).

...A quick Google image search pulled up something very close to what I'm looking for.

Since my first entry, I've really taken a liking to naming the guitar Big Riff, and I'm considering having a label made in whatever original font is featured on the cover of Cave In's Jupiter record.  The label would take the place of a traditional Fender logo.  Additionally, I want the satellite featured on the same cover to occupy the circular end of the headstock.  I need to find someone, preferably local, who can/will do this kind of custom work.

...And here's the original satellite graphic.  I thought of getting this as a tattoo years ago, but I think it will work better on the headstock.

This thing is coming together.  I can hardly believe it.

It's summer and I have The Cranberries stuck in my head.  Guilty pleasure.

*EDIT 7/16/2014*
Look at what just happened!!!

Solutions!: Trem Blocking Versus Trem Stabilization

A week ago I installed the EVH D-Tuna on the floating Floyd Rose bridge of my capable Jackson Soloist.  The installation was fairly simple: block the bridge, loosen the locked nut, take out the E string at the bridge, take out the screw, put in the D-Tuna screw and reverse the order.  The little piece worked right off the bat although I didn't take the extra time to fine tune it and get it to switch perfectly from E to D and back.  The tuning app on my smartphone displayed what I already knew would happen: sure enough, when you drop from E to D, the other strings do go sharp by about 3 to 4 cents on the meter.  Enough to drive me #$%&ing crazy.

EVH D-Tuna on my trans green Jackson SL2H.  Extra cautious here so I wouldn't mark the body.  As expected, the float caused the other strings to go sharp when I dropped from E to D, but it worked just fine when the trem was blocked by a screwdriver underneath that polishing cloth.

But hey, I still like this thing.  It's easy to use and about 80 percent of the reviews I've read for it have been exceedingly positive.  I'm the kind of guy that will do things very carefully and by the book, so I expect to successfully implement the D-Tuna by fine tuning it correctly.  Plus, the mod doesn't infringe on the look of the body.  It sticks out only about another inch or so from the other bridge screws.  Only a guitarist with a trained eye would recognize it and say, "Oh yeah, that's one of those drop tuner things."

And so, with the window of opportunity to order the body just around the corner, I felt satisfied once again with the decision to go with the angled pocket so the Floyd Rose bridge would be flush-mounted against the top of the body—again, with the purpose of being able to dive down but not raise up.

Throughout this entire process so far, I kept reading about how a D-Tuna requires that the trem be blocked, and that there are several different methods of doing it, whether by purchasing new hardware, or simply jamming a wood block into the cavity to keep the bridge from moving.  I waved all of those possibilities off, not wanting any feature to be second rate to the build of Big Riff.  But I finally decided to put some research into two products on the market: the Hipshot Tremsetter, and the Tremol-No.

The Hipshot Tremsetter is essentially a bigger spring that replaces the middle of the usual three springs in any trem system.  I didn't see anything that explained how it actually works except that it tightens up the springs' response back to their original setting, which makes it a trem stabilizer.  Once I saw that installation of the Tremsetter requires drilling more holes into the cavity of the guitar, I immediately axed it.

Google image search: the Hipshot Tremsetter installed.  See that hole that has to be drilled into the body?  That's a no-go!

The Tremol-No is a trem blocker with a shaft-and-rod setup that clamps between the trem block and the claw plate.  The claw plate itself is provided with the Tremol-no and needs to be replaced; otherwise, no other crazy modifications to the guitar need to be done other than making sure the ground wire is connected.

Google image search: the Tremol-No installed.  Simple, clean, no heavy modifications or mess, and adjustable.

I became very intrigued by the Tremol-No.  The three thumbscrews enable the entire Floyd setup to be used in three different modes: full-float mode (dive and raise strings), dive-only mode (blocked halfway), and fully blocked mode (no movement of the bridge).  If the thing actually does what it's supposed to do, this means that EVERY feature I wanted for my guitar is now entirely possible!!!  This would be a perfect best-of-all-worlds scenario.  I'm certainly not the only person to have thought this.  I've found YouTube videos of guys pairing the D-Tuna with the Tremol-No and it seems to work well given that it's set up properly (again, by the book).

I could leave the D-Tuna in at E and utilize the full float, I could put the guitar in dive-only mode and switch from E to D seamlessly, or I could block the trem completely and use the guitar as a hardtail.

And so with this in mind, I must revisit the possibility of having Warmoth do the custom routing job that I discussed in my fourth post.  I will need to have exact dimensions figured out and agree to never return the body.  All sales final.  I'm going to call them back in the next couple of weeks and insist on a price quote.  I imagine I will wind up saying something to them to the effect of, "No, really, guys, I want this job done and painted..."

There are a few complaints for the Tremol-No that I've seen on various forums.  One is that players would need to remove completely or customize [i.e. cut a hole in] the back plate to reach the thumbscrews.  That would be an easy fix.  The other is that the thumbscrews can fall out while in full float mode, as they need to be loose to allow the shaft to move, but I'm reading up on how to fix that issue as well.

Part of what has made this such a fun and interesting project so far is the pursuit of the "end-all be-all" instrument.  Heavily modified, customized, and entirely practical.  Why should I stop at the trem system?  I've been thinking, too, about having a second pickguard with a different pair of pickups in it so that I could swap it out on the body when I don't want or need the Sustainiac.

It's Independence Day, and...  *sigh*  Whatever.  I was going to try to make a connection between this song and celebrating our nation's heritage, but I give up.  Anyway, Queensryche are one of the few bands I can tolerate from the Monster Ballad era.

Neck's Specs

I made the very first purchase toward the guitar!  The EVH D-Tuna in black came in from Musician's Friend (extra fast on ground shipping, too).  I'm going to test this thing out on my Jackson Soloist, with an extra careful eye not to ding the body since I intend not to block the trem system.  My gear is currently stashed away in a super secret safe place as I type this, so that means it's not at home.  I won't be able to install the thing until next week.

Having this thing in my hands, though, is producing three trains of thought: 1) Holy moly this is actually happening!, and 2) Why wouldn't I just order the flush-mount-style body?  I already have a floating-trem guitar and it's a pain in the @$$ to keep up with the maintenance, and 3) I could write a song where the riffs are structured specifically so that I could only play it by changing the low string mid-song from E to D or vice versa.  I could go back and forth on the floating trem body routing idea, but I think I'm learning to trust my gut on this, at least until I can try this thing out next week.

So in the last post, I was stopped dead in the tracks over the issue of the Strat headstock shape for the neck.  I'm mostly clear on the other stuff I'm looking for, so I'll attempt to move down the Warmoth custom build page with a brief description why:

1. Construction Type: Warmoth Pro Construction
A double-expanding truss rod for more stability, which adjusts on the side of the neck close to the body, is a winner in my book.  Ever tried doing a truss rod adjustment behind the nut when your Floyd Rose is already locked into place?  It's stupid.

2. Shaft Wood / Fingerboard Wood: Birdseye Maple
Because it's beautiful and will keep the brightness of the guitar.  Warmoth offers a "standard" grade and AAA grade birdseye maple.  I'd really like to go with the latter.  The difference in price jumps from $193 to $357.  Yowzers!

3. Unique Choice
This section allows for buyers to choose a specific plank of wood that Warmoth may have on hand in their shop.  I may call them to clear up some confusion, but I don't expect to need to opt into this.  As long as I've got birdseye maple for the neck and fingerboard, I'm golden.

4. Nut Width: 1-11/16" (43 mm)
Whoa.  This is perhaps the most important tech consideration as this (along with the size of compound radius) will determine the correct nut complement to the Floyd Rose bridge.  1-11/16" is considered the standard size for most guitars.  I checked and my Jackson does have this configuration, so I'm happy here.

5. Orientation: Right Handed

6. Back Contour: Standard Thin
Warmoth's Standard Thin contour runs from .800" at the first fret to .850" at the twelfth.  I like a slim, fast neck—but not too slim, like the way Ibanez RG's are.  The Wizard profile does look interesting, though (.750" to .820").  I'll need just to do just a bit more research on my own guitars, including my incredibly comfortable Gibson Explorer, before sticking to anything.

7. Fingerboard Radius: 10-16" Compound
YESYESYESGIMMEGIMME the compound radius!  This means that the shape of the neck flattens out as you move up, which makes it comfortable for chords in the lower register and better suited for soloing in the upper register.  It's one of the reasons why I love my Jackson so much.  Their standard compound radius size sits at 12-16", but I'm expecting Warmoth's 10-16" compound to be a little more forgiving on my fingers.
This is also a factor that affects which nut I will need to order for the Floyd Rose.

8. Fingerboard Length: 22 Frets
Warmoth's standard.  No more than 22 frets needed.  I don't intend to go all Marty Friedman on this thing.  Keeping a standard fingerboard length will help me with matching the body and pickguard, which I've already picked out.

9. Scalloping: HELL NO.

Hey Yngwie, did you catch the time?  Yeah, the '80s are over.  Put the leather away.

10. Binding: ???
My gut reaction tells me no because it might detract from the look of the birdseye maple for both neck and fingerboard.  Also, the $110 charge is pretty hefty.  I need more time to think through on this one.

11. Fret Size: Stainless Steel Jumbo (SS6150)
The stainless steel adds $20 to the cost, but hopefully should save money in repair costs in the long run compared to standard nickel/silver fret wire.  The jumbo size matches my Jackson.  Warmoth does offer a specialty SS6115 jumbo which adds an extra peak at .004"...  I think I should just stick to what I know.

12. Tuner Hole Size: ???
I just want whatever will correctly fit the same tuners that are on my Jackson (I bet you're sick of hearing about this guitar by now, eh?).  The tuners on that are smooth acting, not ornate, and never touched after I lock at the nut.  I'm pretty sure I'm looking for Schaller tuners.

13. Inlay: Dots
Oh gosh, I totally had no expectations for this one and there are a whole bunch of options...  Dots this time around; no sharkfin inlays.  One can't go wrong with black dots on a maple fingerboard, and it would match the black hardware intended for the guitar, but on the other hand, abalone does look pretty sweet...  Need some more time on this one.

14. String Nut: Floyd Rose R3 Prep
The R3 prep will match with the 1-11/16" neck width and work with the 10" radius as part of the compound radius configuration.  The nut itself would come in directly with the Floyd Rose bridge rather than pre-installed on the neck.

15. Mounting Holes: Standard 4-Bolt

16. Finish: Clear Gloss
I've read and heard the debates over whether a player of the Shred persuasion should choose a satin finish for a "faster" feel.  I've only recently come to understand how/why players go for that, but I think it looks ugly, or plain at best.  Also, players tend to talk as if gloss finishes are evil because they claim that their sweat sticks to the neck.  However, I've always loved the look and feel of a gloss finish and I don't have corrosive sweat.  The birdseye maple will look exceptionally sweet with gloss over it.

It's late and I'm tired.  Enjoy this new Failure jam.

The Headstock: Go Big Or Go Home

I have a window of opportunity in July to purchase the body of the guitar, which will cost me $405 without any hardware.  (I just dropped $555 on a community college math class last week, so for those who may be concerned, please understand where my priorities are.)  Before I do that, though, the plan is to get that Floyd Rose D-tuna piece in as soon as possible and try it out with my floating Jackson setup.  This will help settle my mind on whether or not I will ask Warmoth for that extra custom routing job on the top of the body.

The rest of the pieces will be ordered in increments over the next six to nine months.  The Sustainiac and the Floyd Rose bridge each will cost over $200.  The Duncan Distortion TB-6 will cost about $80.  I'm expecting the pickguard and hardware(s) together to cost me about $60.

The last thing for the design phase, then, is to choose what features I want for the neck.

Oh boy.  I thought this was going to be the easiest part.  Definitely not.

SO.  If I'm going to have a maple body, it only follows that I would have a maple neck with a maple fretboard.  I haven't owned a guitar with a maple neck fretboard and in the past few years I've been interested in trying it out, given my playing style.

Let's take one step back.  I recently acquired this old Charvel Strat from my buddy Andy.  He's had it kicking (and kicked) around his practice space for a long time.  We think it's from the early '90s.  He wanted to sell it, so I agreed to take it home and clean it up for him.  It was DISGUSTING.  Years and layers of dirt, oil, dried sweat, cobwebs, and who-knows-what-else caked on it and in all of the crevices.  I completely dismantled the bridge and got rust off of all of the individual parts with WD-40 and a toothbrush.  Something rotten was all over the neck and fretboard, so I cleaned that up, too.  I put everything back together and while it still could never be sold for more than $50, it turned out to be a somewhat playable and fun guitar.  This would be perfect to put some stickers on and throw it around in a punk band.

Andy agreed to let me have this Charvel.  I still owe him a portion of a nice bottle of Japanese whiskey that I've got.  Fair trade.

I've been banging out some power chords on this thing at home and paying attention to how its maple neck affects the tone.  Bright and...  spanky.  Is spanky a word?  That's the best description I can come up with.  The strings practically jump off of the fretboard.  I like the lively feel of this guitar and would be happy to implement it into a much higher-quality instrument like what I'm expecting with Big Riff.  Not as much sustain as my neck-through Jackson, but that's a given.

Right off the bat, Warmoth's custom build portion of their website forces The Issue:

Traditional Strat headstock style...

or 1970's CBS fat headstock style.

When I was fifteen and learning to play on my Squier Affinity Strat, I was unimpressed at the time with the large headstock and wondered if/when I would own a "real" Fender with the normal headstock.  But then I got away from Fenders altogether, and years later, I now know the story of CBS's ownership of the guitar brand and the change in the Strat headstock design.

My inner Romantic is scratching its head.  Do I move away from my old Squier years and CBS headstock (which I covered up with an American flag sticker) or do I boast it loud and proud?

Enter my next guitar hero: Billy Corgan.

Say what you will about his, erm, eclectic range of interests (pro wrestling, tea, animal shelters, etc.), but this man is carrying the torch for not only the '90s alternative rock we know and love, but '70s big arena rock and prog as well.  With the drama of the first incarnation of the Smashing Pumpkins long over, Corgan is still committed to the passion of the electric guitar.  His main guitar approach is usually based around some combination of a Marshall [or Diezel these days] half-stack, a fuzz box...  and a Stratocaster with that big headstock.  There's just something big and defiant about it.

Strike the power stance, bend a wide note, be as loud as possible.  I'm getting the CBS headstock.

More on the neck design in my next post.  For now, enjoy some of the classic fuzz that helped to define a generation:

Contrasts And Components

It's been about a month since I last posted.  I went through what I called Music Madness May: Moog's marketing director contacted me and offered to send me all five pedals in their new Minifooger line, for free, in exchange for making new demo videos for each and putting them up on my YouTube channel.  A friend helped me with a film shoot for six demo videos and I recently just uploaded the first one.  Aside from that, I worked on some new material with my friend Jackie who is getting a backing band together for her singer-songwriter thing, went to see one of my top favorite bands, Failure, play on their Tree of Stars reunion tour, watched my friends over at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar play a kickass Weezer cover show under the moniker My Name Is Jonas Brothers, and got to hang with producer Steve Evetts and Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman at CreativeLive in Seattle while they taught a taught a two-day class on guitar recording.  All of this on top of the usual balance of work and school.

Everything is cool when you're part of a team!...

Yikes!  June is most definitely a period of necessary rest, so here I have some time at home to be back at the blog...  In between bouts of editing and uploading the other Minifooger videos, that is.

Alright, so I left off my last post having chosen the wood and solid color for the body of the guitar.  A heavy maple body for a bright sound and fast attack, matched with Warmoth's seafoam green because I've always wanted a fun surf-inspired color in a Strat.  The last thing, then, is to choose what hardware I will put on it before I start designing the neck.

Aaaaaaaand it shouldn't come as much of a surprise, that in keeping with my metal interests, I should want all of the hardware to be black.  Black Floyd Rose bridge, black strap pegs (I use Dunlop strap locks), black screws, et cetera.  My one exception is that the pickguard should be a three-ply black-white-black because EVERY pickguard should be multi-ply.  It gives extra dimension to the look of the guitar and honestly, the angle of the cut is forgiving on the picking / strumming / windmilling hand.

Here it is...  VOILA!

I present to you...  BIG RIFF!

See how striking the black looks against that seafoam green?  In the past I've always joked to my friends about how I need my guitars to be "lookers", but it's true.  Wherever I perform, I want someone who watched it to walk away remembering something about the experience, which I just poured my heart and soul into for them.  Of course this primarily means the way in which I approach playing my instrument, but the look also matters.  The guitar needs to have character and draw attention to itself, so I can communicate what I need through it.  I see that I'm crossing over into nonsensical territory.  However, just remember: the classical and the romantic are always intertwined.

Somehow I feel that this touches on another point that I want to make.  I love to straddle the lines between rock, punk, and metal.  As soon as I move a little far in one direction, my brain wants to kick in reverse and do the other thing; kind of like the difference between the wave and particle theories of light.  When I was playing with Overcome, I always sort of insisted on being the least metal dude in the band.  When the situation called for a traditional metal look or ethos, I performed better when I approached with more of a punk spirit.  The contrast just fit right for me.  I usually performed with a collared shirt on because I think there's something neat and smart and punk about it.  Where the rest of the metalcore bands we played shows with were trying to look tough with their sleeveless shirts and synchronized moves and LTD Viper guitars, we would spaz out and throw our Jacksons all over the place on stage.  I distinctly remember the times where I would turn on one of my Moogerfooger pedals during a break—the head of every chatty and bored person in the room would snap to attention.

Think of a whole room full people wearing black metal t-shirts, making this face: "What in the blazes is going on?  What is that noise I'm hearing?!  I think I shall faint, or die!"

The same is true in the opposite sense.  I've played music in churches for something like twelve years by this point.  I'm more experienced as a live musician doing praise and worship music than anything else.  But every time I come in to play, I throw in some little lead line, or flip on a pedal in a place where it isn't expected, or drive my pick a little (or a LOT) harder into the strings, baring my teeth a little and letting folks know that there's a metal edge underneath the surface.  I vehemently reject the notion that I should mimic U2's / The Edge's sounds just because I'm a guitarist who is also a Christian.

And so Big Riff is intended to be equally capable as a rock guitar or a metal guitar in appearance, playability, and sound.  It's not common to see actual Strats in metal anymore, but the black hardware here will give it a proper nod.  And the surf rock color is a high-five to my fifteen-year-old noob self.

By the way, the pickup I intend for the bridge position is a Seymour Duncan Distortion humbucker.  I've used it on multiple guitars in years past.  It's punchy and has a great balance of lows, mids, and highs.  Should react well with the Sustainiac.  Duncan makes both a "regular" version (SH-6) and a "trembucker" version (TB-6) that's shaped a little bit differently to fit Floyd-equipped guitars; I will need to order the Distortion trembucker, then.

Since this is my blog, I get to plug my own demo video for the Moog Minifooger line:

But, um, yeah, let's close with a Weezer song because I just can't get enough of it lately:

All 'Bout Dat Body

So in my last post, I made some decisions about the more technical adornments to be installed on Big Riff.  I was feeling pretty good about my conclusion until my hilarious, uber-talented, and very red-headed Jazzmaster aficionado buddy Mike insisted that I revisit the issue and go for the floating Floyd Rose / EVH D-tuna idea.  (His words: "I JUST WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY!")  More research to ensue on that.  I'm nowhere near ready to order anything yet, except perhaps the D-tuna piece itself for about fifty bucks, which I can test out ever-so-carefully on my beloved Jackson Soloist.  Over the past few days with that guitar, I've noticed that I do tend to pull up on the trem arm for vibrato far more often than I push down.  I have plenty of time to change my mind if I like.

So it's time to shout out what I already know I'm looking for:

Hell yes.  I want the body wood to be dense and heavy for the brightest sound and fastest attack possible.  One of my biggest peeves about about Fender bolt-ons in the past has been the lack of sharpness when I'm trying to play some heavy-handed palm muting.  To me, Fenders tend to have a sag when I dig the pick into the strings, some of which can be attributed to their bridges (Is there anyone else on this earth who hates those Tele three-saddle bridges the way I do?  Staying away from those height adjustment screws is seriously distracting when you're trying to palm mute and haul @$$.), but for this reason also I'm deliberately going to avoid the usual alder and swamp ash altogether.  Also, I know that I want the guitar to have a solid color paint job, so it doesn't make sense to spend extra money on some really exotic wood from, I don't know, Hawaii or Madagascar or the Amazonian rainforest, only to have that rich wood grain covered up.

Classical question: "So Nick...  If you want so much brightness and attack out of your maple body, why cover it up with a paint job?  Wouldn't that kill the kind of resonance you're going for?"

Romantic answer: Because it's cool.  Leave me alone.

I've always wanted a guitar with a surf green color.  This goes right back to when I was fifteen years old, enjoying my Squier Affinity Stratocaster and wondering about the new possibilities of the world that had just opened up to me.  Somehow the Musician's Friend catalog made its regular appearance to my house, and I loved flipping through the pages and pages of guitars.  I had no idea what the differences in features or price were, but I felt the passion and the connection with rock and roll...  through gazing at photos of surf-inspired Strats and Teles.  Weezer, punk, hardcore, and metal would all happen to me in waves across the next several years, but for that first year of guitar, it was all about the surf thing.  I never carried it further, but always looked back on it and wondered when I was going to get that dream guitar.  I guess now's the time.

Warmoth offers two versions of a solid green color that both look fun:

Surf Green

Seafoam Green

I'm picking the seafoam green because it will have a bolder contrast with the black hardware I intend to put on the guitar.  I'll save that stuff for my next post.

Also, notice how the traditional Strat input jack hole is right there on top.  (Shouldn't it be called the output jack?  Think about it.)  It shouldn't be a big deal to anyone else, but for some reason in my mind it's simply vitally important that I stick with the original design here.  Perhaps, with as many design liberties as I'm taking with this thing, I should still be able to look at it and properly call it a Strat.

I came across this blog today and loved all of the points offered, except for #6: "Your guitar (and amp) doesn't matter at all".  That's utter B.S.  Building your chops, practicing, and developing your playing style can and should be matched with your gear choice(s).  Start small and work your way up.  My USA Jackson performs in a particular way that suits my playing style.  The fast and heavy palm muting I love doing so much on that guitar can't be done in the same way with the same results on, say, an Epiphone semi-hollow body.  I get Bryan Baker's point that every guitarist should be well-rounded enough to be able to handle any musical situation that comes across, but the truth is, there really is something crucial that happens when you've got an axe in your hands (and amp cranked behind you) that's doing exactly what you want it to do.  It takes your focus off of the gear itself, you feel great, your muscle memory kicks in sooner, and you perform better.

To borrow from the synthesizer world, let's leave it to Dr. Robert (Bob) Moog to describe this mystical connection between the head, hands, and the musical instrument.  Fast-forward to the section between 11:47 and 15:21: