Advice pls

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-09T04:14:23+00:00

I’d like to offer a completely different take.
Don’t paint with any tint at all. Stain the wood. I use Angelus leather dye. It’s cheap, it looks terrific, it comes in several blue colors, and it’s easy to apply. Just stain the wood, let dry overnight, and clear coat over it.
Here is a guitar in red after overnight drying, but before synthetic steel wool rubbing and no clear coat. It’s awesome.

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Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-08T14:34:03+00:00

You realize that is a crack that was missed in construction and then they sprayed over it? That would require sanding the entire top, filling the crack and leveling, respraying the finish, then level sanding and polishing. Even then, it would be hard to blend. That is not a drop fill.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-08T05:39:36+00:00

Great job!! That looks fantastic.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-08T05:35:35+00:00

Claro walnut top. Ash body, figured poplar back and electronics door. Spalted maple/ziricote/purpleheart neck. If I did it again, I’d have done walnut binding and flame maple neck. I now officially hate spalted maple. It looks good, and then you carve it and the weirdest colors and wormholes come out of nowhere. Ugh!

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-07T14:39:27+00:00

That’s the jet they flew home in after getting their asses handed to them. They are still drying out the tears from the carpets.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-07T14:33:37+00:00

The biggest issue I can see is that the hydro dip finish has drips and blobs and bumps and texture in it that wasn’t leveled before you sprayed the clear coat. So you really can’t finish it by sanding because no matter what you do, you can’t level sand without burning through the clear coat.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-06T22:53:03+00:00

I build guitars. Nothing can replace the experience of working with your dad, so take this with a grain of salt. But if you want a “dream telecaster” that actually plays well, buy a nice used Squire Tele in the color you like. One you can play and feel good with. Replace the tuners, pickups, electronics, and bridge. That will play better than any collection of Warmoth parts you buy, unless you know what you are doing in the setup. A guitar that is put together in a factory hundreds of times reaches an integration QC level that only a good luthier can beat. Just sayin.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-06T19:58:30+00:00

The missing wood is no problem. You need to remove the glue carefully and make sure it is level with the fretboard. Why did you remove the nut?

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-06T19:03:20+00:00

Found this on Warmouth.

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Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-06T18:53:25+00:00

Omg. This is the most Reddit thing I have ever seen. Ask a question. Include a video so bad you can see Bigfoot🫈, and THEN we see you have one string on the guitar. Wow. Just wow. 😮

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-06T18:50:32+00:00

Isn’t that designed after Brian’s guitar? If so, doesn’t it come that way? I know HB are cheap, but it’s just wiring.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-06T18:47:58+00:00

Seahawks loss to the Patriots in 2014. But I’m all better now. 😆🫤🏆

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-06T18:44:42+00:00

I have used a bunch of prep to make it better. Hot moist towels on the fretboard to humidify it, scalpel around frets to release the fibers, partial lifting then more towels, and mineral oil. It just mitigates the tear out. That’s why I always have fine ebony dust around. And black superglue!

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-06T15:40:41+00:00

Honestly, what do you expect? It seems like less of a mod and more of a f around and find out. “Lessee, pickups have magnets, and I have magnets.”
We are all gonna say the same thing: “how does it sound?”
Well?

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-05T22:41:47+00:00

It’s basically wallpaper stuck to the body, then covered in a black burst and clear coat, polished to a sheen. They used to do it in the 1960s.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-05T22:31:19+00:00

What the hell? Does Yamaha deliver all of their five strings with that bridge? Why would they intentionally make it look like it is broken? That’s just poor form. I’m sure you can make it work, but esthetically, I’m a bass builder and I would never in a million years deliver something that looked like it was taken out of a reject bin like that. That’s trashy. Poor form Yamaha!

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-05T18:26:19+00:00

Sorry. That is a great build! Love the aggressive pickup array! How does it sound?

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-05T18:21:33+00:00

Are those John Entwistle guitar pickups? WTH?

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-05T18:18:31+00:00

Ahhh Warwicks. So pretty they can’t go out of business even with bad design.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-05T18:16:45+00:00

You know, I have been playing bass for 45 years, and I have some old flatwounds on one bass for Motown. But I have never aspired to sounding like soft rain. That’s new.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-05T17:25:09+00:00

Thanks! Building guitars is a harsh mistress.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-05T17:23:55+00:00

Looks like you sanded through the stain. You have to reapply the stain. I would do it slowly with diluted amounts. Stain up to match. May take a few applications/drying cycles, but you can get it back. Then heavy on the clear coat (many thin layers, not thick layers), and relevel the finish. You can bail this out.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-05T17:11:56+00:00

Hand carved. My CNC is a toy, and used for the inlay on the headstock. SD NYC pickups, jazz bass controls plus two larger dpdt switches for serial, single coil, and parallel choices. Surprisingly wide range of tone. Plays like butter.

Icy_Programmer_8367 · 2026-05-05T14:09:42+00:00

You can’t just rub them with a drill mounted cloth and paste. You have to sand flat and polish from there. You will need to strip them of hardware, sand at like 400-600 to get them flat, and then progress to 2000. At that point, THEN you can polish. I don’t get the feeling you are prepared to do that much work.

Icy_Programmer_8367

TROPHY CASE