kevin_lindsay

The black line you see is a replication of the crack in the brass baseplate on Andy's original guitar. The Fender Tribute models have the baseplates split at that point. I'll be keeping my plate intact. Here's a great clip from the Fender Custom Shop describing the features of the Andy Summers guitar: http://youtu.be/2vzStQpEXHQ

I've decided to buff the body up now. That means that over the next couple of weeks, the finish will continue to thin out. It'll also mean that the finish will remain glassy, but with a very slightly aged hue. Should be cool. Do, here's the buffing up beginning. I think it'll look cool when it's done. (All buffing is being done by hand. ) [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/EB4054D7-6BAA-4F8C-8942-2C38BE447ECD-216-0000000DFDB8471B.jpg[/IMG]

How come no-one has mentioned this classic walking bass line? Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love http://youtu.be/EE34cSvZCd8

Low End Bee a that's exactly what I was going to say! It amazes me how many guys boost the low end on the amp in rehearsals and use the sane setting when playing live or in a larger venue. As bass frequencies are omni-directional, they swamp everything else. That's why when you're outside a venue, it's the bass frequencies that throb through the air. Personally, I set the EQ in my Aguilar DB680 flat to give my bass the best chance to cut through. As for the comment regarding P-Basses "cutting through", yup, you're spot on. I love my jazz basses, but on larger gigs, I prefer using a P-Bass to get that middle clank. It cuts through the band sound and sits so well

Looks cool, and it's great knowing that you're enjoying it enough to use in a live setting.

Having to wait until I can get everything tidied up, flattened and glossed, is SO frustrating. I think it's gonna look pretty cool when everything is assembled and set up: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/052DABDF-713B-4D6B-BA1E-FB43217C6BFD-499-00000032E9276CA8.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/56C2D42E-DAEE-418E-85DA-B36EB4356FAA-499-00000032F42D88E9.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/7B342808-8744-4B35-8510-B2522FBDB4D7-499-00000032F8BED79B.jpg[/IMG]

That's the masking removed from the edges and binding. I'll leave the lacquer until tomorrow bag will then clean up the binding. Then, in a few day's time, I'll apply the clear coats. Looking good so far: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/A4AD19C8-8E8E-4C8B-8939-1B461BDA4A7D-1091-000000AC9303990F.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/08D84822-8EED-4E05-8228-43497D5AD6F9-1091-000000AC8E402C46.jpg[/IMG] André here's a couple taken with the flash on the camera: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0B88969B-1197-4734-BC0A-C6D6C600D374-1091-000000B29EC8D435.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/DA3BFB0B-86F1-481B-808A-60CF95EE9769-1091-000000B2A37F0A23.jpg[/IMG]

Here's the rear of the body having the burst applied. White primer applied and then transparent yellow lacquer applied. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/B17E7B9F-80CA-43ED-82CF-14E7CA684160-682-00000060B37A4311.jpg[/IMG] Then the dark burst is applied: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/3C51B499-BDE6-4BAB-B9E9-4C1B2AC932B2-682-00000060A044E45E.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/F87FAAE7-272E-4FBA-A48B-CCBAC4A23E0F-954-0000008C74EEA251.jpg[/IMG] And then the clear red lacquer is applied: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/B4A95E81-F37F-4BD7-9E89-BDF2A3C0C14B-1091-000000A18C920537.jpg[/IMG] I'll remove the masking in a short while, then leave the lacquer a couple of days before cleaning up the binding. Once that's done, the finish will be flatted and then clear gloss applied.

I forgot to post a pic of the Gibson '57 Classic neck pickup earlier. So, here you go: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/DD3EF161-0735-4EFF-BDE1-1B5B7BC79F01-381-0000003407E9230C.jpg[/IMG] As for the bridge pickup. It won't be mounted on the bridge base plate like most Telecasters. Rather, it's going to be mounted directly into the body wood - just like Andy's guitar. In this pic you can see that there's no baseplate mounted pickup screws on the Tribute model. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/72E8A6BB-F616-4A53-9370-C14FCF995C8D-160-00000026F747A739.jpg[/IMG]

Hahaha. Thanks mate. Every time I do a build or refinish, I think "never again!!" Then, a few months later when I'm bored I begin thinking about another project!

Here's a couple of pics with the scratchplate, bridge and control plate in place - just to give you an idea as to how the thing will look. You can see some really raggedy edges on the binding from the dark burst spraying. As I said, I'm about to clean all that up. Next stage will be applying clear coats to seal everything in place. Them it'll be left for a few weeks before final flatting and buffing. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/9D0E6CEE-041E-468B-ADB2-B556936028C3-160-000000123EBD6ABC.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/988DCB0F-AD1F-498F-AC77-34A0D72CC4D2-160-000000124340E98D.jpg[/IMG] I'm having Chris Mcintyre do the final assembly and setup during w/c 7th January, so only 3 more weeks to wait - yippee!!

And then the clear red lacquer is applied: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/52E45036-C208-41B8-B09F-4E7BDCF4C0D2-160-00000012239643D3.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/85B7B3A4-42C4-4E73-85C6-C889397E1C87-160-00000012273553E1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/738E7DB5-5ED9-4DE8-A17A-C8806736541E-160-000000122C341263.jpg[/IMG] And then the masking is removed to reveal the white binding (please remember, the rough edges from the dark to the white binding still has to be cleaned up) [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/63FDEC10-1ADB-4E3A-AA77-135664B94793-160-0000001230C94EE5.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/C0EDEDBB-1D5F-49EE-8693-C76E1B3953E6-160-0000001235854F7F.jpg[/IMG]

To show a better look as to how yellow Andy's guitar was, here's a pic from Guitar Player magazine in the early 80's. you can really see what I mean by the "target burst". (Incidentally, Gibson did something similar , their version is sometimes referred to as "clown burst"). [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/37319625-68BA-4294-8A1E-F8CA3E95A585-160-000000120DC830CD.jpg[/IMG] So, we have the yellow on. Next will be the red of the burst right? Wrong!!!! Researching vintage Fender finished revealed something about three tone finishes I never knew before. Fender actually applied the dark edge sunburst onto the yellow finish. The red was then sprayed over the top of that, and then the whole thing was sealed in clear coat lacquer. My first reaction was "why would you do it that way"? But thinking about it, there are two main reasons I can think of: Firstly, having the thin dark burst section already in place means you can apply just a small amount of red to achieve the warm burst look, rather than having to guess the width of the red band to be applied. Secondly, and more importantly, having the dark lacquer under the red lacquer, means that when flatting the finish before applying clear coats, any rub through of the top layer of lacquer would still preserve the dark edging. If the dark lacquer was on the top layer, a rub through would result in an orangey-yellow area being revealed. Anyhow, here's the dark edging being applied to the body. I masked off the whole of the back and sides of the body to ensure no overspray hit those areas. I then finely masked off the binding using pinstriper's tape. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/906D2204-E905-4AA0-8C40-A7F7003AD6B5-160-00000012165995EA.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/5F1416E0-B512-4F6C-9964-3EDA36DF7A4C-160-000000121A2DA857.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/3A2E1144-5C46-4DCF-8438-D967CBE3AD37-160-000000121E9CCE0D.jpg[/IMG]

The edges of the guitar have now been lacquered. On the old teles, the edges look black, but are actually tobacco brown. This gives the overall look a slightly "warmer" hue. (This pic is immediately after the masking tape was removed. The transition from dark lacquer to white binding still had to be cleaned up and tidied. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0C79BC99-0980-4E73-A935-E4E36A6CE2FE-160-00000011DA66E6D2.jpg[/IMG] Now, you'll previously have seen the pic of the body with the clear yellow lacquer applied. That's what is used on current bursts, and also on early 50's to early 60's style sunbursts. However, Andy's tele body is actually an early to mid 60's item. During this period, the bursts are often referred to as "target bursts". The reason for this is that the yellow is really bright, and is opaque rather than transparent. On some of these style of sunbursts, the yellow used was a milky yellow lacquer which gave the opaque look. Others used a white undercoat, with transparent yellow applied over that. Andy's guitar used the latter method, and it was this format which the Fender Custom Shop used also. You can see the white undercoat best on the rear of the relic where the finish has chipped off [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/F88378A0-4F40-468E-9C02-BECA2F500E4A-160-00000011BBB1C1E5.jpg[/IMG] So, I took the transparent yellow back and applied the white primer coat. Then, the transparent yellow was applied: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/E5241EF3-B61C-4732-86B8-8D087C3D0BB2-160-0000003E0FB53E65.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/768B0050-8A05-4D99-B0BA-A717CD549252-160-0000003E15BEF19A.jpg[/IMG]

Installing the Kluson tuners. The Klusons have bushings which need to be inserted into the front of the headstock. You can't push the bushings straight in as the holes are slightly smaller than the size of the bushings. You need to use a reamer tool to allow the bushings to be inserted part way in, and then use a clamp to press the bushings flush to the headstock face. Here's a great YouTube clip demonstrating the process: http://youtu.be/3ybNwrSc2HU Here's my reamer tool - bought via amazon for £3 including delivery! [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/2259A67F-6A60-429A-AF2F-6FD86409635D-160-00000020C0DAA5B8.jpg[/IMG] When putting the tuners in line, use a straight edge (e.g. a ruler) against the tuner bodies on the back to get the tuners lined up before marking the screw holes for drilling. That'll make sure everything looks neat after installation. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/32021042-372B-433F-B77A-ED9981614BD1-160-0000001200D9F938.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1D6949CB-AE64-44DB-8613-EBEE674C1C4D-160-00000012055E6AB0.jpg[/IMG]

The neck I got was bare wood. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0D00EF56-7B71-4EAA-9BB0-671907D33DA3-570-000000514D3ACB79.jpg[/IMG] When you buy a bare neck, the fret ends are rather rough. So, I re-profiled the ends to make them feel really smooth when you run your hands along the edges. I used a fantastic three edged mini file which is smooth on the two rear edges - ideal! I then sanded the fingerboard edges to get that played-in, rolled edge feeling. The fret ends were then sanded totally smooth with 1200, and then 1500 wet & dry. Here's my little magic file: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/27B057E2-A4E3-4C40-8EEA-3FFE2A1A77F7-160-00000011FB5A0E59.jpg[/IMG] So, time to apply the nitrocellulose lacquer and get the headstock decal-ed up!! Lacquer going on [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/12327334-F690-45C2-8E63-CAA63A2D8B94-570-000000517E150080.jpg[/IMG] Headstock front [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/A960A91E-A2BD-4AF3-93D2-F4BDFA7B515E-172-000000078E6143E9.jpg[/IMG] Headstock rear [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/CE23A6F6-C9BA-42E8-BA9B-579763A79B72-172-0000000793C4338A.jpg[/IMG]

Now on to installing the circuitry. What does it look like under that black plate on the rear of the guitar? Mystery solved! [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/87661053-DDC6-4414-9610-909D798923E5-160-00000011BD8E246D.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/C8C48C2C-166E-4AF9-BA6F-11684F5C4E66-160-00000026F64CD40F.jpg[/IMG] I had Chris Mcintyre rout the back of my tele body to allow for fitting the circuit board, toggle switch, extra pot, and battery. We decided to do our own "tidier" version of the routing. I then sprayed on some transparent yellow nitrocellulose lacquer onto the body. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/9C877054-59DF-44F8-8100-CE73BB795DF9-160-00000011BE24A9B9.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/02CA567C-1348-42F8-B4BE-95C9A97050EC-160-00000011CCFD4888.jpg[/IMG] Chris also drilled the holes on the front to allow for fitting the boost control pot, and the active boost circuit on/off mini toggle switch [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/9EFDC81B-75C6-4244-B22A-42F00B775E46-160-00000011C8804F59.jpg[/IMG] Also, the body I got from www.guitarbuild.co.uk was nice, but the neck pocket was slightly too small for the neck. Chris McIntyre routed the pocket for a snug fit to accommodate the neck. He also re-routed the neck humbucker hole as that too was slightly off.

For pickups, the Tribute uses a mid 60's style unit in the bridge, and a humbucker in the neck. On Andy's original, the bridge pickup was rewound by Seymour Duncan after the original unit was accidentaly demagnetised before a gig. I've decided to use a Fender Custom Shop Nocaster pickup. The reason I'm using that unit is due to the fact that my Fender Custom Shop Nocaster relic's bridge pickup is still by far the best Tele sound I've ever heard. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/020C94CD-0334-4B3C-9C5C-DE40ABEB9B6E-160-00000015F8EF050D.jpg[/IMG] On Andy's original, there was a Gibson humbucker in the neck. I've got a Gibson '57 Classic neck humbucker to use in my guitar.