Beautiful

Looks great Roland. Nice little Amp too. 

🙂🙏🎸🎶

Stunning! Well done sir! 👍

I have BYO-401 - you must have been on the course before me......

@rashdown_online

Hey Roland, that guitar looks great!

I love the wenge top, great job!

You really can't beat a bit of Swamp Ash for a body.

I've heard it said that, once you've played a Swamp Ash body, no other guitar can ever come close.  You might get seduced by other shiny guitar-shaped things, but, ultimately, they'll only ever disappoint.

That's it.  You've done it.  No other guitars necessary now.

😇

Newest build

English Ash grown in Swampy conditions- see width between annular grain!

Body about 3lbs

Birdseye Maple Neck and Fingerboard 

EVO Gold frets 

Water-based stain

Q: Clear Pickguard or Gold Mounting rings, Waddayafink?

Warmness 

Gold mounting rings if the rest of the hardware is gold....

@eddie6string

Q: Clear Pickguard or Gold Mounting rings, Waddayafink?

Well, since you asked... neither.

Personally I don’t much care for pickguards, pickup frames or gold hardware 😂 so I say mount them to the body and keep it simple, stupid!

But since you asked... clear pickguard, absolutely.

Personally I don’t much care for pickguards, pickup frames or gold hardware

I’m 100% with you on all of those @mattbeels.

You get a beautiful piece of timber with some wonderful grain pattern, get it finished perfectly, and then stick a cheap bit of plastic (scratchplate) over it?  Nope.

You’ve got no cavities to hide, so there’s no functional need for a scratchplate.  So leave the body naked.

Tip for the day; “If in doubt, go naked”.

(Any decision to adopt “tip of the day” is entirely the responsibility of the post reader.  The post writer accepts no responsibility for any losses, direct or consequential, or embarrassment arising from the post reader’s decision to apply the “tip of the day” in inappropriate circumstances.)

You get a beautiful piece of timber with some wonderful grain pattern, get it finished perfectly, and then stick a cheap bit of plastic (scratchplate) over it?  Nope.

@tv101 Hey what’s with the placky bashing? 

If you have a painted guitar body, there’s no point in putting a nice piece of wood there to cover the cavities, you need a nice piece of plastic. #plasticCoversMatter ✊ 

Wood has its place but so does plastic. 

I’ve seen a whole guitar built from plastic, definitely not going to put a wooden plate on that. 🤣

No, having said that, plastic is a massive problem on this beautiful planet that we call home. I hope we (humans) can start making and using biodegradable plastic more so when it inevitably ends up in the oceans or landfill, it will melt away safely. We have proved that as a species we are not responsible enough to all take care of this planet. If we are to clean it up, a top down approach must be used, design from cradle to grave. #ourLivesMatter ✊🌍

@tv101

You get a beautiful piece of timber with some wonderful grain pattern, get it finished perfectly, and then stick a cheap bit of plastic (scratchplate) over it?  Nope.

Yup, you said it bro. But alas, to each their own...

Any decision to adopt “tip of the day” is entirely the responsibility of the post reader.  The post writer accepts no responsibility for any losses, direct or consequential, or embarrassment arising from the post reader’s decision to apply the “tip of the day” in inappropriate circumstances.)

😂😂🤣

#plasticCoversMatter ✊ 

I have to say that I do like a scratch plate.......as I've mentioned many times before that I'm a bit of a Fender Freak...... I am looking into alternatives to plastic but probably can't rule it out altogether. ✌️ 

🎶🎸🙏🙂

 

I have to say that I do like a scratch plate.......as I've mentioned many times before that I'm a bit of a Fender Freak...... I am looking into alternatives to plastic but probably can't rule it out altogether.

@russ Yeah man! ✊

I actually like guitars with and without plastic scratch plates, control cavity covers etc. I’m easy. It does depend on whether the wood will be visible or whether it’s painted. If it’s a stunning piece of wood then I wouldn’t cover it up but if it’s not a brilliant piece of wood (like the Bandsman I’m building now) and it’s painted, then bring on the plastic. #plasticCoversMatter ✊

Cheers@boo.

I have thought about maybe using ebony veneers to make scratch plates but I imagine it wouldn't be scratch free for long. 

🙂🙏🎸🎶

Like this Pickguard 

Wow.... that colour is stunning............. I'd go for direct mounting........ Keep it as clean as possible....

I’m not entirely against pickguards it’s just that they usually don’t appeal to me and I’m not interested in plastic.

Also as a tech I don’t like having to remove all those screws on those pesky pickguards to service the circut/replace pickups etc, ugh. It is what it is.

I am however interested in an anodized brushed aluminum pickguard but as that’s not something so easily attained I’ll stick to without for now.

Plus the only time I would consider using one would be a set neck build without a neck pickup. Aaaand since I’m not the biggest fan of single pickup guitars it ain’t no big deal, boom!

I do believe that there is a place for single pickup guitars though so don’t get me wrong... They have a certain charm and apparently a sound benefit as well due to the lack of the magnets (from said neck pu) not pulling on the strings. 

@eddie6string

Here’s my Root Beer Jem. It originally had pink pickups and a black guard. They both had to go 😂

Can you believe they covered up that beautiful finish with a black piece of plastic?!?