sixstringking713
New member
My EVH build pics (for those interested in the timeline)...
took a month to prep and paint the body..
1) mocked up body/neck/pickup to make sure guitar would fit together. Glad I did this step because found out the back of the FR block was hitting a little bit of wood. Had to remove some material near block
2) filled with few coats of grain filler. still wanted some grain to come thru, but be less apparent. sanded.
3) applied black coats
4) taped off for white next
5) painted white layer
6) wore away black/white guitar according to wear in photos in various books and online sources *KEY step many look over*
7) taped up for red coat (probably took the longest out of process since so much going on all over)
8) wore away spots according to photos
9) play the fuck out of it!!
overall.. build took 6 months including all research, buying the neck/body etc.. My father strongly suggested I pay someone to do a pro paint finish but I'm glad I went this route.. I was convinced if Ed painted the real one with spray paint, why shouldnt I be able to come close too? If I had a pro finish on it, it wouldnt look like Ed's real guitar.
My main goal with the whole project was I wanted to feel like it was legit Ed's guitar as best I could. I spent an immense amount of time agonizing over the details on the build. The details really matter with a project like this.
The main "inconsistencies" with this are I have a D-Tuna on the bridge, and the neck is 22 fret. He swapped necks so many times thru the years, the neck wasnt nearly as important to me as getting the body paint as close as I could. He has swapped many 21 vs 22 fret necks so that was not an issue in my eyes. The 22nd fret and the D-Tuna helps with being able to gig the guitar out more.. Also, the neck pickup is ACTUALLY WIRED, you pull up on the volume knob and it switches to the neck pickup. Again, offers more real world play ability, without compromising the overall detail of the project's look.
I had an opportunity to play my replica vs the $25k fender in a music shop back to back, same rig. They sounded identical.. but I thought mine was the clear winner playability wise and seemed closer to what Ed's real guitar would feel like finish wise.
I'd almost say this is my #1 axe right now.. It gets the most use. Since these pictures were taken, it has more wear on back and on front corner from playing it. When I painted it, my goal was to match the mid 80's condition of the guitar, because my wear from playing it would naturally occur afterwards with time. It's real easy to go too far with the relicing, I wanted to walk somewhere in the middle between fresh paint and heavy relic'ing
took a month to prep and paint the body..
1) mocked up body/neck/pickup to make sure guitar would fit together. Glad I did this step because found out the back of the FR block was hitting a little bit of wood. Had to remove some material near block
2) filled with few coats of grain filler. still wanted some grain to come thru, but be less apparent. sanded.
3) applied black coats
4) taped off for white next
5) painted white layer
6) wore away black/white guitar according to wear in photos in various books and online sources *KEY step many look over*
7) taped up for red coat (probably took the longest out of process since so much going on all over)
8) wore away spots according to photos
9) play the fuck out of it!!
overall.. build took 6 months including all research, buying the neck/body etc.. My father strongly suggested I pay someone to do a pro paint finish but I'm glad I went this route.. I was convinced if Ed painted the real one with spray paint, why shouldnt I be able to come close too? If I had a pro finish on it, it wouldnt look like Ed's real guitar.
My main goal with the whole project was I wanted to feel like it was legit Ed's guitar as best I could. I spent an immense amount of time agonizing over the details on the build. The details really matter with a project like this.
The main "inconsistencies" with this are I have a D-Tuna on the bridge, and the neck is 22 fret. He swapped necks so many times thru the years, the neck wasnt nearly as important to me as getting the body paint as close as I could. He has swapped many 21 vs 22 fret necks so that was not an issue in my eyes. The 22nd fret and the D-Tuna helps with being able to gig the guitar out more.. Also, the neck pickup is ACTUALLY WIRED, you pull up on the volume knob and it switches to the neck pickup. Again, offers more real world play ability, without compromising the overall detail of the project's look.
I had an opportunity to play my replica vs the $25k fender in a music shop back to back, same rig. They sounded identical.. but I thought mine was the clear winner playability wise and seemed closer to what Ed's real guitar would feel like finish wise.
I'd almost say this is my #1 axe right now.. It gets the most use. Since these pictures were taken, it has more wear on back and on front corner from playing it. When I painted it, my goal was to match the mid 80's condition of the guitar, because my wear from playing it would naturally occur afterwards with time. It's real easy to go too far with the relicing, I wanted to walk somewhere in the middle between fresh paint and heavy relic'ing
that is ONE HELLUVA nice job! 
, guitar look killer. I've have always wanted one...patience isn't my virtue however.
yeah 25K and i dont get a neck pu? 
