a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread (DONE - Page 5)

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marqueemoon
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a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread (DONE - Page 5)

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:01 am

You have been warned. This is going to be a REALLY slow build. Have the pickups and just ordered the body today.

The most challenging part so far has been the pickups and body style combo. A machinist friend of mine is working on a custom baseplate solution though. This is a prototype/proof of concept thing.

Image

Anyone want to guess the pickups? They are not Tele pickups. We’re just using that mounting hole pattern. The two holes in the middle may give you a clue.
Last edited by marqueemoon on Tue May 21, 2019 7:14 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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nanamour
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Re: a very slow and nerdy build thread

Post by nanamour » Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:57 am

Lipsticks??

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Embenny
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Re: a very slow and nerdy build thread

Post by Embenny » Wed Dec 12, 2018 12:46 pm

Agreed. The two holes in the middle look exactly like the mounting points on my lipstick pickups.

They're also a similar spacing to the mounting points on P90 soap bars, but the bobbin wouldn't fit on the baseplate neatly so I presume that isn't it.
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Re: a very slow and nerdy build thread

Post by nanamour » Wed Dec 12, 2018 1:15 pm

^^^Yep. Also, from what I've gleaned from many a "Can I put lipsticks in my Jag?"/"I put lipsticks in my Jag!" OSG thread, it seems to be a pretty torturous experience mounting traditional (i.e. non 'strat-stick') lipstick pickups in an offset, [perhaps] hence the novel tele baseplate solution.

Whatever it is you're bolting to that baseplate, you've captured my curiosity and attention marqueemoon. I'll be keeping an eye on this space.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Dec 12, 2018 2:04 pm

nanamour wrote:
Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:57 am
Lipsticks??
Nailed it in one! Very impressive.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Dec 12, 2018 4:53 pm

Yes, utter pain in the ass and I haven’t even gotten started yet.

Kudos to Brian at Best Guitar Parts for putting up with me as I worked through how the hell to do this.

I am not really looking forward to talking to pickguard makers about this. One idea I had was to have Sean fab me up a flat dummy lipstick pickup shaped plate that mounts to the baseplate. That way the pickguard maker can rout for the two pickups, then drop the baseplate with the dummy pickup mounted to in into each pickup rout (dummy pickup side down), the use the baseplate to mark the baseplate mounting holes.

Alternatively, if there are pickguard-makers who use robots to do the cutting I could send a file to that could work too.

I owe Sean many beers.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy build thread

Post by s_mcsleazy » Thu Dec 13, 2018 4:42 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Wed Dec 12, 2018 4:53 pm
Yes, utter pain in the ass and I haven’t even gotten started yet.

Kudos to Brian at Best Guitar Parts for putting up with me as I worked through how the hell to do this.

I am not really looking forward to talking to pickguard makers about this. One idea I had was to have Sean fab me up a flat dummy lipstick pickup shaped plate that mounts to the baseplate. That way the pickguard maker can rout for the two pickups, then drop the baseplate with the dummy pickup mounted to in into each pickup rout (dummy pickup side down), the use the baseplate to mark the baseplate mounting holes.

Alternatively, if there are pickguard-makers who use robots to do the cutting I could send a file to that could work too.

I owe Sean many beers.
at first i thought you were talking about me.

anyway. good luck. i put lipsticks in a friend's jagmaster years ago. sounded pretty beasting.
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Re: a very slow and nerdy build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:19 pm

s_mcsleazy wrote:
Thu Dec 13, 2018 4:42 pm
at first i thought you were talking about me.

anyway. good luck. i put lipsticks in a friend's jagmaster years ago. sounded pretty beasting.
I probably owe you beers too.

Yeah, I love lipstick pickups and I love JMs.

I have a vintage keyboard consigned at a local dealer so whenever that sells I'll be able to afford the neck and maybe some other bits.

Here's a basic rundown of the specs as it's planned right now.

Nep-Tone brass case lipstick pickups (slightly overwound, reverse wound neck) with custom baseplates

Best Guitar Parts 2 piece roasted swamp ash body w/ swimming pool rout. Tru Oil finish

Pickguard TBD. Digging this look currently. https://quickguards.com/products/pickgu ... ylic-shell

roasted maple neck with maple board. 9.5" radius. Slightly larger than vintage frets. Possibly stainless.

vintage style staggered tuners (want to try with no string tree first and see how it goes)

likely a Mastery bridge

Tremolo TBD. Probably AVRI or Mastery

wiring TBD, but I will probably keep it simple


Sort of this vibe, but with a darker body.
Image

I'll probably ask my son to name the guitar/use some of his art for the decal. He's really good at naming things.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Dec 26, 2018 7:15 pm

Thanks to a holiday bonus I have enough to get a neck. More news on that soon.

Thinking about this guy for a headbadge.

Image

I'd probably add some circles around it in the background to give it a more uniform look that will tuck into the corner of the headstock a little better, and as a subtle nod to this:

Image

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Re: a very slow and nerdy build thread

Post by fdsaghjkt » Thu Dec 27, 2018 3:52 am

Image
looks interesting pickup.this project will be great :)

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Jan 02, 2019 11:46 am

Took some time to lock this down, but here is the neck (also from Best Guitar Parts). One piece roasted maple with vintage sized tuner holes, 9.5" radius and 6125 frets. Really excited about this. I wanted a non-Fender headstock and this is a nice shape. I think the grain will really pop with a Tru-Oil finish and allow me to go pretty small and subtle with the decal.

Image
Image
Image

My machinist friend also handed off the prototype pickup baseplates yesterday. He tapped the 3 pickguard mounting holes but the plates are thin enough that there's basically only enough depth for one thread. Not really a "load bearing" part though, so maybe nothing to worry about.

BGP told me the body just came off the CNC today so I might have body and neck really soon!

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Jan 02, 2019 12:11 pm

Did a real quick and dirty pickguard mockup (pickup mounting holes not shown). I'm not savvy enough with Acrobat to scale the pickups correctly or round the corners, but this is roughly where they would sit if positioned where the polepieces of normal JM pickups fall.

Image

I don't like an overly bassy neck pickup or overly trebly bridge pickup and since Fender has already "done the math" with respect to pickup placement in the original JM design and it looks ok I'm going to go with it unless someone here has other suggestions.

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by s_mcsleazy » Fri Jan 04, 2019 1:49 pm

oh yeah. i forgot to post this earlier but it reminds me of the jazzmaster one of the guys in beauty pill uses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-AJMUh2_Ug
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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Jan 04, 2019 4:14 pm

s_mcsleazy wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 1:49 pm
oh yeah. i forgot to post this earlier but it reminds me of the jazzmaster one of the guys in beauty pill uses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-AJMUh2_Ug
Those are Strat sized lipsticks though.

As my username might suggest Tom Verlaine is my main inspiration for putting lipsticks where they don’t belong.

Oh, and the body and neck are waiting for me at home. 8)

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Re: a very slow and nerdy lipstick JM build thread

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Jan 04, 2019 6:30 pm

Ok, but seriously folks. How pretty is this body? :w00t:

Image

Body and neck together weigh 5.21 pounds!

Leaning more towards a black pickguard at this point. The neck and body are pretty similar colors and I really don't want to distract from that beautiful grain. Plus cheaper.

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