Ibanez PGM30 / Telesavales Hybrid Project.

[CaptainEO]

Ahoy Gilbert fans! How far would you go to have a Telesavales?
My name is Tye and I thought I would share a some photos of a project I thought you might be interested in. Shortly after deciding to really focus on my playing I did the modern day thing and searched YouTube for some free information. After watching the inrto to Intense Rock 1 I immediately bought the DVD and then set out to find a guitar to transform. I started trolling CraigsList for RGs, and never found one that could play. So after some late night searching I decided to write to Paul and the next morning I had a reply with almost every bit of info I needed. (THANKS PAUL!!)
Still no guitar, I knew these things. It was a custom RG with an ebony board, It had a Seymour minibucker, Kahler bridge, all covers and neck included were painted a custom purple. etc..
After searching a while I found a PGM30. Needless to say it was junk. The kid was so desperate to sell it he threw in a ton of extras. He needed to pay rent. I felt bad. I drove home with a box of cool equipment and a really crappy PGM.
This opened a cool door. I thought the project could move into more of a Hybrid. a Modern yet Retro Gilbert tribute guitar. So.. thats what it is now!
Being a guitar making apprentice with Tom Ribbecke the last 7 years, and owning my own custom guitar shop www.shreddercustomguitars.com I dove into the guitar hoping to make it better. after 2 fret mills and endless neck tweaking I slipped a chisel under the fret board and started popping it off one fret at a time. as I got to the 7th or 8th fret KANBLAM!!!! The truss rod and finger board shattered all over the shop. clearing most of the board off the neck, Making my work easier!
Your asking.. How far are you into this project?
I have since upgraded everything about this neck. I first installed a double action truss rod, Cut a solid ebony fingerboard with a carbon fiber underlay and slapped that on with some slow curing marine epoxy. This thing isnt going anywhere now! Absolutely no chance of any neck problems at this point.
I have also plugged the Trem cavity with hard rock big leaf maple and Wenge. Two very solid pieces integrated in a cheap body. I wanted it to sound and feel like the original yet sound better than the original (which it will). Not really worrying about replication to the T I have decided to remove the rest of the trem cavity in the back to make the body a tad lighter so I can play it on stage and not feel it in my back at the end of the night. I can remove this material because I have blocked the trem up with such hard wood it makes up for the loss of material in the back. Plus it looks cleaner than the cheap sawdust and spray paint job the Koreans put in it.
I am working with EvilGuitars.com on hooking me up with the Kahler 7300 and Kahler string lock. I am working with pickguard paradise on making me a super clean pickguard to accommodate the minibucker in the neck. JM graphics is making me a replacement ibanez decal and a custom "Gibert-Telesavales Hybrid" decal for the headstock. And my cousin is shooting the purple. I have never seen this guitar in person so I have to keep sampling colors againsed my computer screen of the couch pictures here on jemsite. I think we have a close match called "May Magic"
Its going to have a 20" radius and no dots.. at all.. If someone wants to buy it and needs dots, hey I make guitars, I can do that! but I want a dot-less guitar HAHA! Here are some pictures of the project up until last night..
If anyone has any information about the real (Original) Telesavales I would love to know more about it. I promice the rest of my posts will be much shorter. Thanks for reading and enjoy the project!
Tye
P.S. If anyone would like to make me an offer of the guitar I might be persuaded to sell it for the right price. Thanks!

Ill post more as I go on. Its going in for paint on Feb. 1st so if anyone can help me with the ACTUAL color it would be much appreciated!

[Batchimp RG]

I'll be following this thread Thanks, dude.

[LonePhantom]

Awesome stuff, cannot wait to see the progress on this!

[Tubarão Guitars]

awesome, keep it up.

[CaptainEO]

Its getting better all the time! Today I sent in the drawing of the pickguard to pickguard paradise, so we should be seeing that by the end of the week. I also have My Kahler Shipment coming in with the 7300 and the Pro string-lock. Like I said Im not sure if the 7300 was used on the original but thats whats going on there! I do know that the pro-lock was used, an 'after the nut' type string lock which I think is better than a "locking nut" because this way I can use a bone nut which in my opinion sounds better, and allows the string to move more naturally meaning better tuning before you lock.
As you can see in the pictures I have decided on a color, again I have no freakin clue what color the real one is so I picked one close that I liked. the picture looks nothing like the real thing. sorry.
I also got the 20 radius in the board and the frets pounded and glued in. I am going to put this baby on a PLEK machine for optimum fretage provided by my great friend Gary Brawer at Real Guitars San Francisco. (If you want GREAT frets, and Killer set ups get ahold of Gary!
The next post will be the set up. But I thought I might post these for now.
Thanks for watching!
Tye

[LonePhantom]

That fretboard is looking very tasty indeed.

[CaptainEO]

This is the first time experimenting with a carbon layer under the board. I usually rout channels on the sides of the truss rod slot and epoxy those into the neck. Over the last few days it has remained completely flat, which is remarkable considering the swelling and contracting wood normally does under gluing conditions. I am very happy with this neck. Its stronger than and Team J Craft I have ever played. The fret installation went great! When I checked it this morning nothing had changed overnight so this neck has been stamped and we will be epoxying this on tonight.
I will also be routing the rest of the spring cavity out tonight. Just to take that ugly cavity and make it a smooth, meaning-less cavity! This is where I will put the "PGM / Telesavales Hybrid" decal and it will have enough room for a autograph maybe =)
I will keep everyone posted. I should have an update monday night!
Thanks!

[CaptainEO]

Ok Ok.. its before monday but I made some progress.. here it is
Nut is seated nicely and the cavity is going to be filled with a flame maple (For sound not looks.. you wont be able to see it anyway..) Enjoy!

[Jemface]

Why flame the filler maple? If anyting, flame will sound worse due to the inconsitencies in the wood.

[CaptainEO]

I have a hard time believing that this guitar could have sound any worse than the original due to wood inconsistencies. Although I do believe in dead woods providing the guitar a service by soaking up tones (most times unwanted spikes in notes). I decided to use a light bouncy yet super hard wood as the filler and a super hard and super fast wood as the base to the bridge. I did NOT fill the back with Flame but Birds eye, Thats right 3 Different types of wood under the bridge. The wood is quarter sawn so its strong as can be, its got the great super ball type response when I put a tuning fork on it, and after epoxying, this morning the body had a new focus it didnt have before with an empty cavity and cheap alder. So to answer your question, Because I know what woods work well together this guitar has the capability to transfer frequencies into the body at a much more efficient rate. Unlike alder that tends to eat tone and not give it back.
I use 5 Different kinds of wood in my custom 335 style guitars which sell for around 12g's, and I used a similar basic idea when approaching this project. With the carbon and ebony neck, the maple and wenge will work great with the alder body and neck HAHAHAHA.
Not to mention that when I cut into the body yesterday, the body looked to be a few different kinds of wood itself HAHA. I think everything I have done so far is in the best interest of the guitar.
I cant share my 335 secrets but feel free to check them out. www.ribbecke.com Not my name, but I am lead forman at Toms custom shop, Have been with him my whole career!
Im not being a jerk, I just love talking wood! thanks for watching! We get the hardware today so we should be playing before sunday night ya'll!

[marianozz]

Lots of work, good parts, money and whatnot invested in a rather piece-of-crapish axe to begin with... Why not build a good one from scratch? (specially if you know how to do it and have the tools)

[CaptainEO]

I just thought it would be fun. I actually bought the pickups for my jem. I decided after I bought the guitar I would just start another project.. The Bridge and String lock came in today. I would get the bridge cooking tonight but I need to run to woodcraft tomorrow and pick up some template ply for my routing jig and I think we will have strings-on by tomorrow night! then we wait for the pickguard then prep sand! JOY!

[CaptainEO]

The 3 inches of Blood was blaring as I Installed the Bridge and string lock and got the nut slotted. Everything lines up and that means were almost done. I think Im going to string it up later and let the neck sit under some tension for a while, see how everything is sitting. Thanks for watching!

[LonePhantom]

Very cool!

Just a question, seeing as you are making a Telesavalas replica, are you going to fill the control holes, and lay out the controls like on the Telesavalas, or will you stick with the PGM style layout?

[CaptainEO]

Maybe the pictures dont show it but I filled the switch and knob holes with epoxy. I have the guitar strung up and set up. It shreds! I am waiting on the Custom pickguard so I can mount the pickups then I can drill pilot holes where the mini toggle and the volume go (Just like the original Telesavales) then rout the top so all the wires can end up in the original cavity in the back.. Its such little work at this point I can honestly say this project is almost finished! I did decide to inlay dots on the side incase someone wants to buy it, although I am having a ball without them.
Someone asked me why I was fixing up a crappy guitar. I saw it as just a fun project. but after playing this thing all day I feel good knowing there is one less crappy guitar in the world. It was so much less work than making one that I dont see it as a loss at all. Its a really great guitar. I cant wait to see it finished!
Thanks for watching!