Meteora Esquire Project Finished Pg. 3

[HNB]

I came across this poplar body on Ebay and thought it would be a fun project. I already had a bridge Schecter Apocalypse humbucker. I had the seller just give me the two holes for volume and tone. One of my metal pickup rings fit. He drilled it for a Fender hardtail bridge. It seems to be one piece of poplar which is cool. I was going to make it black, but the wood looked pretty so I am trying green.

IMG_20210413_192906 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

IMG_20210413_192916 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

IMG_20210413_192840 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

IMG_20210413_195640 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

[YALCaster]

I’ve been seeing a lot of meteora love lately. I’m working on one right now also

[CROSS_guitars]

In the prototype Meteora, there's a big "F" printed on the pickguard. It looks really cool.
This would look cool with a Big "L" on it.

[marqueemoon]

This shape looks nicely balanced with one pickup.

[bodhi]

Are you sure that's real? There's just something with the lighting in the first raw wood pictures that make it look like a 3D rendering...

[smjenkins]

This shape looks nicely balanced with one pickup.

Totally agree with this. With only one pickup, the swoopy-ness of the body and pickguard together look really good. I'm excited to see how this one turns out.

[HNB]

I’ve been seeing a lot of meteora love lately. I’m working on one right now also

Cool! What are your plans for yours?

In the prototype Meteora, there's a big "F" printed on the pickguard. It looks really cool.
This would look cool with a Big "L" on it.

That would be cool. I wish I could engrave it. Maybe I will see if I can get a vinyl "L" made for the pickguard.

This shape looks nicely balanced with one pickup.

I think so also. I was SUPER excited that the metal ring I had fit it right and that the humbucker depth was good. Sometimes I have to cut the screws shorter to keep them from bottoming out. The only thing I need to do for it that seems to be forgotten is the bridge ground wire hole.

Are you sure that's real? There's just something with the lighting in the first raw wood pictures that make it look like a 3D rendering...

I haven't worked with poplar a lot, but it was such a nice looking piece of wood, I couldn't go with my initial plan to stain it black.

This shape looks nicely balanced with one pickup.

Totally agree with this. With only one pickup, the swoopy-ness of the body and pickguard together look really good. I'm excited to see how this one turns out.

I am using a Peavey neck for it like I did with my other meteora. I think the headstock shape fits this body more than the Fender one. Comically for both Meteora's I had to buy a Rock Master guitar to get the neck. Since those are under $200, I like to grab them sometimes for their necks.

I did some grain sanding before a second coat. Since the dye/stain is water based, it lifts the grain a little.

IMG_20210414_083729 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

IMG_20210414_083735 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

[HNB]

Started doing clear today. The grain is subtle, but nice.

IMG_20210415_132640 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Then I drilled the bridge ground wire hole.

IMG_20210415_132653 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Since the hardtail bridge came, I used a fancy technique to make sure the mounting holes were drilled in the right spot.

IMG_20210415_144706 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Once the clear is done, it is all set to mount the bridge.

IMG_20210415_145020 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

[JVG]

Interesting project!

I really like the Meteora body shape, but agree that the strat-style headstock shape doesn’t quite suit it. Fender could have been a bit more adventurous there.

Regardless, i feel like the Meteora is a bit of a sleeper, and may well become a fairly desirable guitar in another 10 or 15 years time (especially if they don’t make any more!).

[bodhi]

Did they stop production? I'm not up to speed... But the project looks cool.

The thought sprung to mind, anyone else feel like this would make for a really cool reverse body shape in the vein of the Supersonic? Probably need to adjust the neck pocket a bit and what'd become the lower horn, but it's already kind of like a smoother Explorer shape...

[CROSS_guitars]

Did they stop production? I'm not up to speed... But the project looks cool.

The thought sprung to mind, anyone else feel like this would make for a really cool reverse body shape in the vein of the Supersonic? Probably need to adjust the neck pocket a bit and what'd become the lower horn, but it's already kind of like a smoother Explorer shape...

Me not being a fan of the Meteora design, I agree it could look cool reversed. Firebird hardware, Firebird style pickguard.

[HNB]

Reversed could be cool but some design work would need to be done to access the upper frets.

[wriglarzz]

Anyone who owns or is building a meteora page join my facebook page if you want to? Thanks. We have a tight group with good information. Search "Fender meteora and rarity guitars"

[HNB]

Still wiping on clear coats. I am guessing poplar is more absorbent than ash. I have been wiping on coat after coat and I am finally getting it to where I am liking it. LOL

2021-04-19_08-31-46 by Christopher Louck, on Flickr

[HarlowTheFish]

Still wiping on clear coats. I am guessing poplar is more absorbent than ash. I have been wiping on coat after coat and I am finally getting it to where I am liking it. LOL

2021-04-19_08-31-46 by Christopher Louck, on Flickr

For finishing, it's kinda like basswood -- it'll drink, drink, and drink, until you get tired of wiping stuff on, then suddenly you've gone too hard. When you're getting close to what you want, start giving it some drier coats so it doesn't get overdone.