BMC Project!

Defy704 · #1 06-11-2009, 02:52 PM

It has begun! Big thanks to Dgbaker and Jaden Rose on the amazing body/neck for this project. I have a few questions, but here are some pics first!(sorry for the bad pics, too cloudy outside right now and it looks like its about to storm)

These pics do no justice to the body or the neck. I currently have a Lo-Pro Edge on order from Rich in black. I plan to use black tuners and hardware with this project. Now on to my questions. First, what pick-ups would you all suggest? I am thinking Evo's, as I want to stay with DiMarzio. Also, should I paint the headstock black with a matching blue Ibanez logo, OR have Dave swirl it to match with probably a white or mirror silver ibanez logo?

Lastly I will show you this pic. Is the neck sitting too high here? If so what would be a good solution to fix this. Sorry for blurriness.

Thanks all,
Alex

brothersnowgone · #2 06-11-2009, 03:03 PM

Wow is all I have, best swirl I've ever seen! The neck does look high though...

TicTac in my eye · #3 06-11-2009, 03:13 PM

I think all of our BMC's should start a gang..

Awesome swirl dude Sgt Baker is the man

Aaron_Jem_FP · #4 06-11-2009, 03:15 PM

Can't see the pics but I can comment on the pickups.

I put an Evo II (b) HS-2 (s) and Air-Notron (n) in my old Floral Pattern and I absolutely loved the sound of that guitar with those pups.

I would do a black head with blue logo IMO.

dgbaker33 · #5 06-11-2009, 03:45 PM

I would use a belt sander and shave a bit off the back of the neck joint area. It has to be totally flat to make a good connection with the body, and deepening the pocket is not recommended. It might look high initially, but i would wait untill the trem is in, and strings are on to determine if its high.

For pickups, i really like a Steves Specail/Air Norton combo in Baswood. Evos have too much high end for my ears. Find out what players tone is your fave, and go with what he uses. If you like Vai, the Evo 1&2 are it. If Joe, get a Fred, or Mo Joe and so on...

Thanks again! Im glad you like it...

Defy704 · #6 06-11-2009, 04:07 PM

Just used a block sander and took the slightest bit off of the neck. Along with that there was some paint that had moved into the neck joint area while it was painted and had a bit of build up that was keeping the neck from sitting completely into the joint. Once I had that all cleaned up it sits much nicer.

As for pups I think i am going to go with a Tone Zone(B), along with Air Norton(N). I am thinking of a FS-1 for the single. I am going to wait for more feedback before I decide on what color to paint the headstock.

Thanks for the kind words!

rob777vdy · #7 06-11-2009, 04:37 PM

yep another fine example of swirling.tell you what i love blue marble swirl.

jonnyboy mills · #8 06-11-2009, 05:24 PM

I would wait until its strung befor shaving anything. As for pick ups its down to personal preferance. unfortunatly none of us get them given to us like Dr vai...god love him :-)

Defy704 · #9 06-12-2009, 12:40 AM

Well after youtubing for quite a while I decided on PAF Joe(Neck), HS-2(single), and the Tone Zone(bridge). My locking nut and lo-pro edge came in(thanks Rich), so now I am just waiting on pickups to arrive, along with my headstock decal and I can get this bad boy put together. I can't wait!

Takin' a Ride · #10 06-12-2009, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Defy704

Lastly I will show you this pic. Is the neck sitting too high here? If so what would be a good solution to fix this. Sorry for blurriness.

Yes, it is too high. The reason why is because dgbaker is using Legacy One bodies. The dimensions are all screwed up on their routing. Don't ask me how you can make this mistake when the dimensions are very clearly published? If you measure the neck pocket, you'll find that it's routed only 16mm deep. The correct dimension is 19mm (technically there should be a slight taper). Similarly, the pickup routes and trem route are too shallow. Also, he skips the hand sanding that is necessary on the AANJ to make it smooth.

The only solution is to get the neck pocket routed correctly. That may leave you with an issue where the trem then sits too high, meaning you would have to get that routed correctly as well. At that point, you'd probably just want to paint out the trem cavity black.

Aaron_Jem_FP · #11 06-12-2009, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Takin' a Ride

Yes, it is too high. The reason why is because dgbaker is using Legacy One bodies. The dimensions are all screwed up on their routing. Don't ask me how you can make this mistake when the dimensions are very clearly published? If you measure the neck pocket, you'll find that it's routed only 16mm deep. The correct dimension is 19mm (technically there should be a slight taper). Similarly, the pickup routes and trem route are too shallow. Also, he skips the hand sanding that is necessary on the AANJ to make it smooth.

The only solution is to get the neck pocket routed correctly. That may leave you with an issue where the trem then sits too high, meaning you would have to get that routed correctly as well. At that point, you'd probably just want to paint out the trem cavity black.

Just curious as to how you know this?

dgbaker33 · #12 06-12-2009, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Takin' a Ride

Yes, it is too high. The reason why is because dgbaker is using Legacy One bodies. The dimensions are all screwed up on their routing. Don't ask me how you can make this mistake when the dimensions are very clearly published? If you measure the neck pocket, you'll find that it's routed only 16mm deep. The correct dimension is 19mm (technically there should be a slight taper). Similarly, the pickup routes and trem route are too shallow. Also, he skips the hand sanding that is necessary on the AANJ to make it smooth.

The only solution is to get the neck pocket routed correctly. That may leave you with an issue where the trem then sits too high, meaning you would have to get that routed correctly as well. At that point, you'd probably just want to paint out the trem cavity black.

The 3 other bodies i have here have between 17 and 18 mm pockets. If your talking 1 or 2 mm, you dont have to re route the neck pocket. If anything, you would shave off a mm on the neck like i suggested. Since were talking about both an aftermarket neck and body, there are always tweaks involved in the process. The only solution is NOT having the neck pocket re routed...

Regarding hand sanding, i do sand the ENTIRE body when i get it. Thats alot of work in itself. Legacy didnt claim there bodies were final sanded anyway, so im not sure what you are talking about.

I, and many oher people have build guitars out of these bodies with no problem...

Takin' a Ride · #13 06-12-2009, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_Jem_FP

Just curious as to how you know this?

I've taken a ruler and measured a Legacy One body against an RG3120 and RG8520. The two real Ibanez bodies had the same dimensions, which coincidentally conformed identically with the published Jem specs. The neck pocket on the Legacy One body was 3mm too short, which will cause the neck to sit up just like in this thread. Take a look at a bunch of the other recent build threads since Legacy One bodies have become commonplace, you'll see the same thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgbaker33

The 3 other bodies i have here have between 17 and 18 mm pockets. If your talking 1 or 2 mm, you dont have to re route the neck pocket. If anything, you would shave off a mm on the neck like i suggested. Since were talking about both an aftermarket neck and body, there are always tweaks involved in the process. The only solution is NOT having the neck pocket re routed...

If you think about it, it's extremely sad that a supposedly CNC'd part can't continuously conform to exactly the same spec. Think about that one. The bodies should be identical every time. Ibanez bodies and necks are 100% identical every time. That's what a CNC mill is designed to do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgbaker33

Regarding hand sanding, i do sand the ENTIRE body when i get it. Thats alot of work in itself. Legacy didnt claim there bodies were final sanded anyway, so im not sure what you are talking about.

I meant Legacy One, not you. The reason I pointed it out is that I see a lot of bodies that have gone through the process of being painted that never had the AANJ shaped correctly. I've even been seeing this on Herc Fede's stuff. Kind of sad, really.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgbaker33

I, and many oher people have build guitars out of these bodies with no problem...

"No problems" is a really relative term. It's a block of wood, what can really be wrong with it? You can still build a guitar that plays perfectly fine, it just won't be dimensionally accurate to the design it's supposed to be copying.

I'm just saying you may want to consider switching suppliers for your bodies to someone who makes them dimensionally accurate. The bodies I'm seen from Sims look right on (saying nothing of potential issues buying frmo him) and Jaden Rose's bodies look spot on.

dgbaker33 · #14 06-12-2009, 04:14 PM

I just measured the pocket on my RG570 and its 18mm.

I dont want to get into a big post war here, but if were talking a 1mm difference, the best solution would be to sand a bit off the back of the neck. Correct?

I dont know what the thickness is of the neck either. It MAY be 1mm to thick?

I understand that you have an issue with Legacy(along with some people here, myself included previously) but thats not going to build this particular guitar.

I really think that saying re routing the neck pocket, trem cavity, and then repainting that cavity is the only solution, is way off the mark.

These were also routed on a new CNC machine that was recently purchased by Legacy FWIW

Defy704 · #15 06-12-2009, 04:56 PM

Ok everyone calm down. I did take a ruler myself and checked the dimensions with another JEM body that I have along with another RG body of mine. The trem cavity was dead on accurate. I then measured the routing for the pickups, which were also dead on. I measured the neck pocket and it sat 1.5mm high. This is not worth a reroute. I simply had to sand down my neck that 1.5mm and everything was fine. I did not take the time to check my other wizard neck, but as Dave says, it could EASILY be 1-2mm thick, along with the body, therefore making it look that high. I simply took a belt sander to the neck, and it sits perfectly now. If i ever use the neck on another body, it is quite easy to shim. You'll always find a small bump in the road on a custom project, and this is mine. It took me 5 minutes to correct.

On another note, all that is left for me to purchase are knobs, some hardware for the back plates, and the jack cover. I'll probably give rich a call on this stuff. Also, I ordered the logo from best decals, which I have yet to hear from in over a week. I'm debating whether or not to put the "jem" logo on there or not, I dont know how it will look on the reversed headstock.