DIY Guitar Therapy SG Jr Surface finish Prep Part 1
Make use of caution if you're using a bolt-on throat that currently is sealed/finished. You'll need to know what the manufacturer used in order to avoid using an incompatible best finish that just ends up peeling and flaking off! Most bolt-on necks are maple which, as a closed pore wood, does not require as much prep, either. A thin coating of Tung Essential oil maybe all you have to or need. Different woods need different preparation. 1. You will want to check everything for fit and alignment. If modifications have to be made, it is less complicated before any finish is applied. Regarding my SG jr build, I needed to slightly ream out the holes for the control pots as the CTS pots I'm using weren't slipping in as very easily as I love. Some Stikit adhesive backed 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel will the job admirably. A pencil also works. Adhesive backed sandpaper is usually a tremendous assist in the store.
As you can see, I also utilize it to form a control cavity cover template correctly as well. I'll utilize the MDF template to form the cover from a blank of pickguard material. Or click through the next article . Depends upon what I'm sense later. Using the desk saw rip fence to keep the template square while I hand sand. Template prepared for use. 2. Mask off the fretboard, the throat pocket in the body,and the portion of the neck heel that'll be glued in to the body. Glue adheres best to unfinished wood. 3. Contour sand using 220 grit paper, going with the grain. You can soften radius edges to flavor, remove any ragged edges remaining from routing (no ragged edges from Precision: thanks Phil!), and just generally look for rough spots. 4. Raise the grain by wiping all of the sanded areas down with a damp (not really wet) rag. This will cause all the broken/tough end wood fibers remaining from the 1st sanding pass to lift. 5. Sand again-- lightly, and at a slight position to the grain, with a smaller sized grit paper. If you utilized 220 grit for the contour sanding, use 320 or 400 grit.
I'll often do it again with 600 wet/dried out paper on non-maple necks. Stikit adhesive backed sandpaper is a good help. 6. Clean off the saw dust. Brush, vacuum to get the bulk, then wipe the whole lot down with a clean, lint-free rag dampened with mineral spirits. Mineral spirits clean really reveals the organic grain & color. Also reveals any nicks and scratches. Save some sanding dust. If you need to fill in a ding, you'll have matching wood to mix with some glue. 6. While everything is normally drying, you can play around with some recent tests of dyes or stains. A couple of things I'm considering for the SG jr are "pickling" leading of the headstock to turn it black while allowing the underlying grain to be observed, and applying hook stain with the sanding sealer to enhance the natural splendor of the mahogany. I'll use spots in the control/pickup/throat cavities that won't be observed to try numerous mixes. The small black place in the pic can be from my pickling blend. 7. If I do opt to apply a dye tint, I'll do it before applying grain filler. Grain filler, last sanding, seal coats,top coats, and last buffing & polishing.
On the very best of the pedal, you’ll find switches for FS Select, which allows you to improve the gain order, that is indicated by the Level Boost and Drive Boost LEDs. There’s also a switch between buffered or accurate bypass, and to change the LEDs inside the knob off, if you want. That is an overdrive at heart, and as such, the two cannot be used independently. The boost serves to change the overdrive circuit, but I doubt that will be much of a limitation. I like this pedal and I think a lot of players will be able to find a make use of for it. I’m happy Fender went with something similar to this instead of a far more standard single-make use of OD. Shane of In the Blues offers an extremely honest review with some great examples of the noises. While I do enjoy it and think it’s a worthwhile offering, the new price tag is an impression high - it’s more expensive than the D&M Drive, which is both from a smaller sized boutique maker and will be offering far more advanced routing choices.
