I HATE Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Compared to water-based lacquer, Nitro SUCKS!!! It takes way too long to cure and it never has the same hardness as water-based lacquer. I'm using nitro on a guitar right now and I swear, I'll never use it again. Here's a close up of the surface:

Even after a month, this stuff still is so soft anything that touches it leave an imprint. I spoke with several manufactures, and they basically said that nitro lacquer can take up to a year to fully harden.  The big guitar companies have either abandoned nitro lacquer or they use a special formulation that is cured using UV lights. I'll use Target Coatings water-based from now on. Screw nitro!

The start of something BIG!

I've been hard at work developing my next round of guitar builds, which will be sold under the Highline brand I created last year. What I plan to do is build a couple of standard models to be sold as is. These guitars will be real nice in terms of wood, components and craftsmanship. Every now and then, I throw in a guitar design that'll be really off the wall. In the meantime, check out the prep work for a run of single cut guitars:

5 bookmatched, flame Maple tops, 5 flamed Maple headstock caps
and a pair of Honduran Mahogany neck blanks.

A Nice Canarywood Neck

I picked up a nice mostly quartersawn slab of Canarywood the other day and decided to make a 25.5" scale neck. This one will be used on a new design I'm building, which I will detail later. I like Canarywood, because not only is it easy to work with and relatively cheap, but also because its tone and resonance is amazing. It's a little brighter than Mahogany, but way more consistent and reliable. I also like the grain color.

Check Out The Latest On The Nosferatu Build

This guitar is going to be so WICKED!! Be sure to check out Drkinc Guitars website to see their lineup.

Electric Guitars For Sale

I just posted two of my latest creations on eBay. Both the Highline Improv and Prodigy are now available to bid on. Don't miss this opportunity to own one of these custom, handmade guitars. Here are links to both:

The Highline Improv

The Highline Prodigy

The June Issue of the eGuitar Plans Newsletter...

...is now available. Click here to read it.

This Guitar Is A Bloody Mess!

I added the red lacquer by spraying, splattering and dripping.

The control cavity cover features an image of Count Orlok
from the movie Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens

A Black Nosferatu

This one is for my friend Rob. More to come.

A Refined Truss Rod Access Solution

Every guitar I build is a one-off, handmade instrument. Since each one is different, I often encounter problems, which require a creative solution. While building the Highline Prodigy, I wanted the access to the truss rod adjustment nut to be easy, yet inconspicuous. I kept carving away wood at the heel of the neck, the body and the pickguard in order to make it easy to insert an allen wrench into the nut. However, the result started to look a bit clunky. To resolve this problem, I cut a piece of wood that matches the pickguard and made a nice looking cover. I guess it's true that necessity is the mother of invention. Here are some photos of how solved the problem:

Guitar Pickups That'll Have You Seeing Red

A customer asked me if he could have his humbuckers in red with red rings. The only way I could do it was to use some Krylon plastic paint. I sprayed the bobbins and rings with three coats and let it cure for a week. Seems like a pretty tough finish. I may do a set for myself as a long term test.