Well, my oval jack-plate came in the mail yesterday, and that meant the finishing touches could be applied to the Stone Roses Tribute build and she could be released to the world. She is now finished and, in this builder's opinion, looks absolutely stunning. Dare I say a work of art? Fuck, it's the closest I'll ever come anyway.
In short, I think that this guitar looks amazing. The multicolored Pollock finish is beautiful and is contrasted nicely by the stark white scratch plate, black pickup surrounds and natural neck colour. The scratch-plate itself, with it's 4 black control knobs, retains the classic "Rickenbacker 330" look.
I even managed to source some grommets to raise the higher section of the scratch-plate off the under-plate, adding another layer of authenticity. The Rickenbacker look is also carried over into the awesomely awesome truss-rod cover with its custom decal that proudly proclaims this beastie as a genuine Stone Roses tribute, and does so in quintessential Rickenbacker style.
The choice of satin Nitrocellulose lacquer has been vindicated now that it has cured. It seems to be protecting the Pollock finish nicely with a hard outer shell, without highlighting the unevenness of the finish provided by the Pollock splatter.
Both front and back look balanced in terms of colour and design, and each compliments the other nicely. It remains to be seen whether the finish will stand up to belt buckles and other rigors of continuous playing, but that's a question for the future.
Most importantly the guitar plays very nicely. The custom bone nut has been filed so that the action at the first fret is low and comfortable, and the remaining action all the way down the neck is also nice and low. There's no fret buzz and the stock Pitbull Guitars pickups sound pretty good. They are meant to be humbuckers, and I have no idea even what magnetic material they are made from, but these things growl like single coils. All in all quite a nice, vintage sound - at least to my ear.
All in all an amazingly satisfying build. The final guitar looks exactly as I intended it to look - even better if that's possible. I never imagined that the truss-rod cover would look even close to what is does, and credit for that sits squarely with Andy from City Signs an Print in Port Lincoln SA. The build has taken the better part of 7 months to complete, what with setbacks and so on, so I'm very glad it's over. Time to savor the results!
In short, I think that this guitar looks amazing. The multicolored Pollock finish is beautiful and is contrasted nicely by the stark white scratch plate, black pickup surrounds and natural neck colour. The scratch-plate itself, with it's 4 black control knobs, retains the classic "Rickenbacker 330" look.
I even managed to source some grommets to raise the higher section of the scratch-plate off the under-plate, adding another layer of authenticity. The Rickenbacker look is also carried over into the awesomely awesome truss-rod cover with its custom decal that proudly proclaims this beastie as a genuine Stone Roses tribute, and does so in quintessential Rickenbacker style.
The choice of satin Nitrocellulose lacquer has been vindicated now that it has cured. It seems to be protecting the Pollock finish nicely with a hard outer shell, without highlighting the unevenness of the finish provided by the Pollock splatter.
Both front and back look balanced in terms of colour and design, and each compliments the other nicely. It remains to be seen whether the finish will stand up to belt buckles and other rigors of continuous playing, but that's a question for the future.
Most importantly the guitar plays very nicely. The custom bone nut has been filed so that the action at the first fret is low and comfortable, and the remaining action all the way down the neck is also nice and low. There's no fret buzz and the stock Pitbull Guitars pickups sound pretty good. They are meant to be humbuckers, and I have no idea even what magnetic material they are made from, but these things growl like single coils. All in all quite a nice, vintage sound - at least to my ear.
All in all an amazingly satisfying build. The final guitar looks exactly as I intended it to look - even better if that's possible. I never imagined that the truss-rod cover would look even close to what is does, and credit for that sits squarely with Andy from City Signs an Print in Port Lincoln SA. The build has taken the better part of 7 months to complete, what with setbacks and so on, so I'm very glad it's over. Time to savor the results!
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