Custom-from-Stock! A Real-Time 550 project

Guitars Page
550 Project, page 1 - 550 Project, page 2 - 550 Project, page 3

CHAPTER TWO : "THE WORK"
"Playing With Power Tools Can Be Fun... but Don't Try This At Home!"

Note: A few of the photos taken during this stage were lost or misplaced.
We'll make this page with the few we DO have, hoping it still tells the story fairly well.

Latest Info: THIS THING's GETTIN' HACKED!
The guitar has been disassembled, and most of the work is in progress.
Our customer has made final decisions and the necessary parts have been ordered.

The "handle" has already been cut. Once the decision had been made, this was one of the first steps. Since the guitar has been completely disassembled, it's easy to 'prep' for this procedure. The rear trem' cavity still has to be "blacked-out", and the body will get buffed & compounded for the best presentation/appearance of the original finish...
(more info below)

The neck scalloping is in progress. Bolt-on-maple necks are great for doing a FULL scallop, all 24 frets in this case. Every maple fretboard done here, MUST have a finish/varnish in order for the work to be complete. Some customers may choose a more natural feel, and go with just a few "sealer" coats. Some may want a more varnished feel which requires additional coats...
(more info below)

The electroincs will inclue the on/off switch in replace of a volume control (and other switch options mentioned on the first page). The pickups will be yellow DiMarzio's. X2N in the bridge, FastTrack-1 in the neck. A stacked-single in the middle will be later replaced with an HS-2, but we will be using a yellow cover to complete the look...
(more info below)

The hardware has been modified for the collet-style "Floyd" arm. The original hardware is a most desirable feature of these 550's, so there isn't much of modification to this feature. We were fortunate to find one with the hardware still in very good condition.

More Details...

1. These handles get cut on the drill-press. Sometimes a router can be used with a template for the initial shaping. I've done this so many times that now I can draw/pencil the original design once it's masked, and press the shape (and sanding) by hand.
    Surface cuts have to be done very carefully "inside" the maximum expected size of the finished hole to avoid damaging (or chipping) the original finish. If the guitar was to be stripped & re-painted, damaging the finish is not any concern. This one was completed without a scratch!
    After the initial cutting, sanding drums are used on the drill-press in place of bits. The body gets constantly flipped on both sides so that the final shape is smooth, even, and straight to the measurements. The final "bevel" (along the outer edges) is done totally by hand. That's the tough part when trying to avoid any paint/surface scratches. Experience surely pays off in [this] stage. The bevel adds to the smoothness of the feel, as well as protecting the outer finish for chipping over the years.
    A final "staining" (in several coats of ebony black) will complete the look and protect the natural wood inside the body from handling & exposure.

2. Shown here is a temporary partial assembly for the website presentation. As this page is being made, the pickups have arrived. The only change to later be made, is the middle pickup. You're looking at a stock single-coil stack with a DiMarzio "yellow" cover. The future decision will likely include the HS-2 model in this position. An X2N in the bridge, and a FastTrack-1 in the neck will be added when the body reaches final assembly stages.

3. As you've read before; this "mirror" pickguard was already here, and the customer decided to give it a try. We have no problem ordering another pickguard if he chooses to try a different look. This same model guitar (a JSV owned 550) will be shown on the website with a "pink" pickguard. You'll have a chance to see this color finish with yellow pickups in a slightly different color scheme.
The standard method I use for replacing these 550's with custom pickguards, is ordering them in clear, chosing an EXACT color of choice, then painting them from behind. This method gives the option of virtually ANY color you could think of, and prvides a great clear-coated look with total protection to the finish of the pickguard.

4. One more hole has to be drilled here. The 5-way selector is mounted, and the switching option will be as earlier described: *Master on/off switch (replacing a volume control - optional to the customer's choice), *Neck pickup switch to increase the amount of combination options (to a total of 7), *Bridge coil-tap option switch For when the bridge is used in conjunction with the 'middle' pickup, increasing the combination options to a total of "9". We've already got the 'pink' switch-tip!

Other Veiws...

Here's a chance to see the neck in the process. When a scallop job gets done here, I don't let the customer see it untill it's done, but this was meant for the website project, so everyone gets to see this in progress. There's NO finish as of yet. The frets will be re-leved & crowned to perfection. The back of this neck has also been re-shaped to match the neck of my yellow-550 (seen here). Aside from the original color of the headstock, this neck is getting a total custom tung-oil finish when completed. There were two or three position markers sanded-out during the scalloping process which will be replaced as well.

Another look at the "unfinished" handle. In the pic' you can sort-of see the beveling along the outside edge (on both front and back). You'll also notice the larger "industrial" style screws we're using to mount the pickguard. This is for looks as well as durability. When using a power tool for removing screws (when servicing), these thing never get stripped. The next look you get (of this handle) will be when it's finished in black.

The back trem' cavity has also been 'blacked-out'. We don't yet have a pic' of
this guitar from the back, but it looks very much like my own, pictured below:

We're deciding to use the clear-mirror pickguard for the final assembly/set-up
(you'll see pics of). [The pickguard] is something that can be changed/replaced at a
later date with no difficulty if the customer choses to inhance the color scheme for a
different look, along with the yellow pickups.

The Bottom Line:
We've got some modifications done, and the only big wait is getting the neck finished. The neck takes time because of the amount of work scalloping involves, the fact that the back radius will be modified, and the time it takes to do all the tung-oil coats. I'll be doing the same finish on one of my own necks at the time I'm doing this one. We'll explain the stages of the scalloping procedure and some other details when the finished neck is shown.
It's lookin' great! This thing is coming along better than I even expected. I own the same guitar that will be ready about the same time as this one, but mine wasn't in quite as good of condition when I purchased it. I'll have a different colored pickguard on mine, but other than that they'll look almost exact. Visit again for the latest & to see the pics'.

Thanx' for visiting. If there are any questions, post on the board or contact us.

Still to come,

CHAPTER THREE : "Getting It Together"
"Like YOU have seen one this KoooL"

CHAPTER FOUR : "Job Well Done"
"Wanna' take a RIDE...?!!"

UP NEXT:
The work is a stage ahead of the web pages. Its looking great, and we'll be photographing the finished guitar in TWO final stages; as it's being assembled, and; after it's been set-up to play. The owner/customer of this animal will be posting a testimonial review on the website once he's had a chance to play it through the JSV rack, as well as his own gear.

If ANY of these modifications interest YOU and you'd like to contact us for work to be done, contact us by phone. If you email the JSV address, I'll write back & ask for a number anyway. Questions, options, details are always a discussion before ANY work gets done so the client will be satisfied, and your instrument will be properly cared for.

To reference the pickup model numbers I've mentioned:
X2N® - DP102
Dual-Sound® - DP101
Humbucker From Hell® - DP156
HS-2™ - DP116
FastTrack-1™ - DP181
The "F" has been omitted from the model number, because all pickups
mentioned here are F-spaced.

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Floyd Rose™ is a trademark of Floyd Rose Industries.
Ibanez® is a registered trademark of HOSHINO GAKKI GROUP.
DiMarzio®, Humbucker From Hell®, X2N®, Dual-Sound®, Supre-Distortion® HS-2™,
Fast Track™ Clip Lock®, are trademarks, and registered trademarks of DiMarzio inc.