Some thoughts about electric guitars in general

The process of putting together the Hosco Les Paul Special was an interesting experience. Not only it thought me something about the finishing process, but it also awoke me to think about the electric guitars in general.

The fact is that I own too many guitars. I am not the worst kind of hoarder, I know dudes even in my home town who have like 100+ guitars in their living rooms, but I still have too many considering my actual needs. At the moment, I have a parts-a-caster, two super strats, a Parker Fly, a Warmoth tuned to B, a Les Paul built by my friend, Gibson Midtown and Edwards 335. And the new Les Paul Special. Alone, I have four guitars with P90s installed.

I think that I have been trapped inside some sort of gear addition delusion, where I think that having just another one for the collection is what I need and fills some gap, while actually I don't need anything at all. Owning a humbucker guitrar, a P90 guitar and a guitar with single coils makes sense since they are somewhat non-replaceable. Maybe a guitar with seriously lower tuning than the others could be justified. And if there would be use for something like Filtertrons or Danelectro or similar s needed, that would be ok, but I don't need those for anything. Everything else is just extra, and could be handled by just setting up the amp differently. In the most extreme case you could have one flexible guitar and it would handle everything just fine. Think about Gilmour's strat or Walli's Les Paul for example. I could probably come along with my Warmoth with Duncan P-Rails.

So let's see if I will be able to cut down the guitar department. I already did that with the synthesizers, but ended up getting a sampler and Analog Four, as one of my fried was selling it cheaply. So, actually, that did not go too well. Maybe I will write something about the synths in the future.

However, at the moment I have the following stringed electric instruments:

Superstrat 1: Warmoth parts, SD lil 59s and a no-name single coil in the middle. This is probably the most flexible guitar I have. The tremolo (Wilkinson two point) works great, and the pickup set is really versatile.

Superstrat 2: Squier body, Flaxwood composite neck, SD lil 59 bridge and Duncan Designed single coils. Sounds pretty much the same as the one above, but has a true hot single coil in the neck position

The Black Strat parts-a-caster: Tokai body, Allparts neck, and a mix-up of different pickups just as in Gilmour's black strat. In my scale this one has really vintage and mean sound, and it works extremely well with fuzz pedals.

Warmoth "Les Paul": Bolt on, Warmoth parts with Fender scale. Looks like Les Paul. Tuned to B. This on has really flexible and nice Duncan P-Rails, that sound like humbuckers, P90s and rail single coils. My only baritone-tuned instrument, so this one is a real keeper. And would be worth keeping without the tuning. I think that in normal tuning this is even more versatile than the superstrats.

Handmade Les Paul: My friend built this for me when he was studying to become a luthier. Vintage specs, P90s and really nice neck. What could I say; this truly is a marvelous instrument.

Hosco Kit Les Paul Special: Yeah, this has been discussed. Lighter and thinner than the Les Paul above with easier access to high frets.

Parker Fly Deluxe: Came to me as a part of a trade. The most expensive guitar that I own and in the par with the old Steinberger GM4S I sold a few years back. Good guitar, no complaints. Has DiMarzio humbuckers with split capabilities and piezo pickups, too. I'm not sure if this worth the value. But this is what I think about any expensive guitar, anyway.

Gibson Midtown with BKP P90s: Semi-hollow, thin-neck guitar with high gain P90s. Really nice playability and sound.

Edwards 335 copy with Phat Cats: Semi-hollow, fat-neck guitar with lower gain P90s. Really nice playability and sound. I'm selling this at the moment as the sound is too similar to the Hosco guitar.


Kit built jazz bass: Jazz bass built form German kit with Fender CS pickups. BEAD tuning and my main bass to go.

Ibanez SR505: The jazz bass feels like a tractor in my hands, and this has much sleeker feel to it. Standard tuning with low b in addition. I stripped all the active electronics away.

Carvin LB70: This one has way more growl than the other ones. Think about Geddy in the early 80's. Does not fit into all projects, but if I need a bass that stands out in the mix, this is it.

From the guitars, one super strat, a vintage-sounding strat and any of the P90 guitars would be just fine. From the bass side I guess that the Ibanez would do everything I actually need. The baritone would be a nice addition, but I would be perfectly ok without. If one single guitar should be picked, It would be the Warmoth superstrat or the Warmoth Les Paul, just for their versatility. Parker could probably do also just fine, although it would lack a bit in the single-coil department.

Another thing that I have been thinking is, that there really is no correlation between the price and the quality of the instrument here. I know that an average Squier Affinity does not stand against an average Custom Shop Fender, but in my own collection the price I paid while buying really does not have any correlation with the guitar's value as an instrument. The superstrat 1 is about two times more expensive than the superstrat 2, but really they sound and feel about the same (different but not better or worse) except that one has a different type of neck pickup than the other. The Parker is roughly ten times more expensive than the Hosco LP, but is it any better? I don't think so. I could play stoner rock or doom and the LP would sound better in it. Sure, do some Steve Vai licks and it will be out of the ballpark for the LP (and my fingers, too), but the Parker would feel like home. Of course this has something to do with the fact that I adjust all the guitars to my specifications, so they feel relatively similar in that sense. Yes, I have sold all the guitars that were not good. I have had a dead-sounding Gibson and a twisted-neck Tokai in the past.

Hosco DIY LP Special pt. 8 - The Conclusions

So, how did the guitar turn out in the end, and how would I rate the Hosco kit? Well, the guitar looks nice, plays well and sounds really good. I'm not the kind of guy who believes in magic, even when thinking about musical instruments. I'm pretty confident that if you give me an ergonomic guitar made of decent woods and having good hardware, with a simple fixed tailpiece and comfortable neck profile, and set it up according to my specifications, blindfolded I can't tell if it is a Squier or a Gibson. So to speak. Thus, my 250€ parts-a-caster is just as good an instrument as my Parker Fly, clocking easily a four figure bill. They are different, for sure, and the other has way higher manufacturing costs. Is one better than the other, as a musical instrument? No, if you ask me. So in this scale, this Les Paul Special stands there with the rest of them.

I learned a thing or two while putting this guitar together. Don't use that much stain as it will bloat the pores, and trust that the oil finish will make America great again. Scrape the glue better away from the neck joint. Be patient. Too high a nut makes the guitar ill mannered. Rough frets feel like you're playing a neck made of sandpaper.

For the kit, I would give a 10/10 if you think about the price versus quality. All the essentials are above the thershold. The woods play well, are of medium weight, and fit together nicely. They are playable as well out of the box (e.g. the neck is straight and the neck angle is as it should, etc.), which is the most important part to me. The hardware quality is good, it's not high-end stuff but better than what I expected. The P90:s leave nothing to be desired, they sound to me like P90s should. The pots are small and unbranded, and pre-wired, but man, no scratches or muddyness or any problems at all. The plastic stuff looks ok and feels sturdy. All bolts and nuts and pieces were there. The tune-o-matic works and plays well (you can ask the Fender guys about this and they might have another opinion). The tuners were ok. Maybe a bit on the heavier side. Yes, the wood was not the most beautiful and had a few minor dings. If this was a 500€ premium woods-only kit or a Custom Shop Gibson I would have been disappointed. Not with this price tag.

I'm on the verge of buying another kit and storing it for the summers to come. Not a Special, but something else.

Hosco DIY LP Special pt. 7

So, after some time, I started finally putting the guitar together. First, I used copper tape to provide shielding for the pickups and the electronics. That was an easy job, although the result did not look that professional. But I bet it will do the job just fine.

After that, I installed the pickups and wired the pickup selector. No problems there. Then, I inserted the pots just so that I could hammer down the studs for the bridge and tailpiece (remember that the grouding wire needs to touch the tailpiece stud).

Then, I installed the tuners. All well. Yes, I used the small screws to secure them to their positions.

After that it was time to do the electronics. That went smoothly, as most of the work was done already and there was a good diagram included.

Then it was time to put on the strings that were included and strum the first chords. The guitar played well and sounded really good both acustically and electronically. However, the frets were really rough and felt like sandpaper while bending the strings, so I very quickly came into a conclusion that they needed polishing. I used a nail polish kit I happened to have (I play classical guitar), and that soleved that problem. I also shaved maybe a mm off from the nut. There was no need to adjust the tuss rod. I'm used to set the action so that there is a bit more than 2 mm on the bass side and a litlle less than 2 mm on the treble side, measured from the 12th fret. The guitar plays with that setting as it should.

Now the guitar is ready to go! The conclusions will follow in the next post.

Hosco DIY LP Special pt. 6

So, the guitar drank most of the oil from the first session. I let it dry overnight, and applied a fourth layer of Danish oil using 600 grit sandpaper and wet sanding technique. Now, after another night of drying, the guitar feels better, there is a smooth feeling in all places, and it looks way better than the day before. As I'm aiming for a junior and not a PRS copy, I think that I will stop the coating process here. I'm sure that after another two or three layers, the guitar would start to look relly fancy, but this is not where I'm heading for with this.

The oil smoothed lots of irregularities in the staining, and deepened the colour everywhere. In my opinion, the back of the neck looks especially great! I'm also happy that I took the risk and tried the burst effect with sanding down the stain from the middle of the body.

I'm tempted to start putting the electronics together, but I think it will be better to wait until tomorrow and see if the oil still needs more time to dry.

Hosco DIY LP Special pt. 5

Today, I applied three layers of Danish oil. I have understood that there are roughly two ways of applying it, wet on wet and wet on dry. I decided to use the former one where the oil is added, let dry for 20 minutes, and another layer is added. So, today I applied three coats with this manner, and the guitar is now drying. I have learned that it might take two days for it to dry properly.

Notes:
- I did burn the rags, as told, in the fireplace. Now everyting smells like lighter fluid.
- I did this outdoors, which is good, as the oil smells.

Hosco DIY LP Special pt. 4

So, after gluing the neck and coming into a conclusion that the coat I planned was of a wrong kind, I decided to try finishing the guitar with stain and Danish oil. So, off I went and bought some dark brown stain and ordered a bottle of Rustins Danish oil from UralTone.

I started the staining by sanding the wood down to 360 grit. I'm not sure if that is too much or too little. I also had an idea to leave the bare wood in sight as a decal on the headstock by using a sticker as a masking tape. That did not work out as the stain immediately diluted the glue from the sticker and it fell off.

I applied the first coat with a rag. The result was not very good looking, as expected.

After a few hours of waiting I applied the second coat. At that time it was clear that there were some spots around the neck joint where the stain wouldn't stick. There are invisble traces of glue there that I did not manage to sand off. In that sense it might have been wiser to apply the finish before glueing the neck on. After the second round, I sanded some of the stain off to generate a burst effect. It is difficult to capture the color to a photograph. In reality it is somewhere between the two following figures. Not as red and light, but not as dark either as in the pictures.

After that, I applied the 3rd coat, and did the sanding to that, too. Tried to fit some HW to place just for the looks. The color is about right.

The next step will be the application of the Danish oil. 

Some notes:

- I did not manage to get an even coat. There are places where there is too much stain and there are some parts where there is too little.

- The glue will mess up the stain, so more care should be applied. 

- Making the burst by sanding is not easy and the result is semi-random. With one piece body that might be an easier task. Now the underlying woods are of slightly differet tone. Also, it is very easy to sand too much as it goes pretty much so that at first nothing happens and then suddenly one swipe is enough to sweep away majority of the stain.

Hosco DIY LP Special pt. 3

I bought some wood wax (Osmo puuvaha) for coating, just to find out that it does not get along with mahogany. So, I need to go and buy some teak oil instead.

Hosco DIY LP Special pt. 2

Today I worked with the headstock. The kit comes with a paddle-shaped headstock, so it is possible to cut it to almost any shape. I decided to go with the traditional open book look, and I traced a guide from a Warmoth neck. It is not exactly Gibson style but a bit thinner and with less pronounced open book shape.

After drawing the shape to the paddle using the paper guide, I started sawing the rough outline with a coping saw. The result looked as bad as I thought it would, and it took quite an effort to get anything done. However, sanding was much easier job and the result looks pretty good to my eye, taking into account that this was my first attempt.

A note: When sawing, make sure that the saw is perpendicular to the surface. Especially, as there is an angle between the headstock and the neck, make sure to saw perpendicular to the heastock, not to the neck itself.

I also glued the neck to the pocket using Titebond. I planned on taking photographs, but I immediately messed up my hads with the glue so I did not take any shots after all. The process was easy, spreading the glue and clamping the neck to the pocket. I let it dry with the clamp for 40 minutes, and now it is still drying without the clamp. I'll take some closer shots tomorrow.

Hosco DIY LP Special pt. 1

I have built six years ago a jazz bass from the neck and body blanks from espen.de. The bass turned out great, and I have many times thought that it would be nice to build a guitar, too, someday. I have been thinking about ordering Precision Guitar Kit woods from Canada, but they are seldom available in stock, and with shipping, tax and toll it would make more sense to buy a ready-made Gibson of a same sort.

One day I came across Hosco branded guitar kits from Japan. Like Wilkinson, Hosco is supposed to be a low budget brand with decent quality, and it is rumored that is is actually same company as Gotoh. I have used some Hosco hardware (bridges and tuners) before, and I have been happy with them, so I decided to order a Hosco LP Special kit from Sweden. The cost was around 260 € with the shipping. Not as cheap as a Harley Benton kit (around 150 €), but this kit has full Les Paul specs including a set mahogany neck, mahogany body, a rosewood fretboard and Japanese made P90 pickups.

So, I got the kit today and opened the box carefully. First impressions were good, everything was neatly packed, and there were some Japanese newspaper tolls to fill the empty space inside the main box. Harware came in three plastic bags, and the neck and the body were both packed in separate cardboard boxes. There is an instruction manual of a few pages included, and I ordered a flask of Titebond glue with the kit.

The overall impression of the wood parts is good. The woodwork is mostly neat, there are sopme chips visible, I found one in the body and one in the neck, but overall the impression is really good. The neck joint looks and feels perfect to me, and the neck angle seems to be right. The neck seems straight and with quick inspection with a credit card, the frets seem level. The frets seem to be of medium size, not vitage or jumbo. The neck is also of medium depth, closer to a 59 than a slim taper. There is a scarf joint in the neck and there is some additional wood glued to the heel, so the neck is actually a three-piece construction. Same goes with the body, it seems to be constructed of three pieces of mahogany. Both of them look nice and feel realively light in my hands.

The harware quality remains to be seen. Everything seems to be in place, there are modern style tuners (of heavier side), and P90 pickups. Also, a wiring harness is included. It was a nice surprize that the plastic parts seemed to fit properly, and the tuss rod cover and scratchplate were three-ply instead of being the cheapest kind of one-ply black.

Some observations:

- The neck and body have been somehow matched. There is same number in the heel and in the pocket.

- There are some rough spots in the sanding that need to be ironed out.

- The fret ends do not seem too sharp.

- Bridge pickup cavity seems really shallow, meaning that the pickup stays high in the lowest possible position. It remains to be seen if this causes problems. It will be relatively easy to deepen the cavity with a drill, so I'm not too worried. However, I need to test this before installing the shielding tape. 

- The manual starts with the instructions how to cut the fretboard to the right length, and how to prepare a place for the nut. That is a good way to fuck up the whole guitar. After taking the measures I noticed that this had been done already. Phew!

The next step it to shape the headstock, it is now a big paddle. I'm thinking about going for the traditional open book style. That will be the topic of the next post.

Also, I originally thought of painting this black. However, the wood seems so beautiful that it would be a shame to cover it, so now I'm thinking about dark brown oil finish. I need to go tomorrow to a hardware store and get myself at least a saw and some wood finishing oil.

Long time no see

It has been awfully quiet here. I know! Sorry :)! I think that keeping the blog on the VI album was fun, but somehow I did not get the grips to write any posts afterwards. Yes, I have written two solo albums since.

The first after Synkissä väleissä is called Syksy (Autumn), and it is something completely different. I enjoy ambient music a lot, and listen to it mostly while working, and decided to try to write an album myself. I used only my old and dusty Korg DW8000 synthesizer and some effects along with a sequencer. I'm not that satisfied with the results, as the album turned out still not-that-ambient-but too-much-music, but I did my best. Better luck next time.

The latest one, Kotiseutumatkailua, is a kind of mixture of doom, blues, and Guitar Hero. I had the concept in mind while I improvised the basic drum tracks. I recorded maybe ten takes, and started experimenteing. I composed some riffs on top of the drums, selected the most promising ones, and continued from that to the bass parts. After that came the guitar solos, and in the end I added some synths. Sounds easier now than how it felt while was playing the solos.