#6, My FIRST electric !!!

Ron Wisdom · Post by **Ron Wisdom** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:32 am

Well, I've just finished my first electric. It is based on the Gibson CS 336, hollowed out mahogany body with spalted maple top (THANKS Uncle Bob C.). The back stripes are b/w fiber and walnut, ebony fb, headplate, and binding; Schaller gold tuners with ebony buttons; pickups are Gibson 1957 classic and classic plus, pearl is white/gold mop from DePaul.

THE PHOTOS are lousy, I know that.

It sounds really, really, really good and I'm just happy I didn't electrocute myself.

If the pictures post, thanks for looking!! If they don't, I'll look like a dork.

Ron

Hesh1956 · Post by **Hesh1956** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 9:46 am

I am still amazed at the pictures that I saw of this guitar on the OLF.

Incredible work Ron my friend.

sebastiaan56 · Post by **sebastiaan56** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 11:05 am

Wot Hesh said,

I love the laminations through the body, very cool Ron!

Ron Wisdom · Post by **Ron Wisdom** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 11:43 am

Thanks, guys. This was also my first time to have the truss rod adjustment at the peghead, so I learned something to carry back to acoustics.

I was also amazed at how tight I was able to bend the ebony binding around the horns without a break!! (couple of cracks, but no break)

Ron

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 1:11 pm

Ron, this guitar looks great. I have wanted to make myself one (ES 335ish shaped)for a while and now you have nudged me along a bit.

Can you tell me how you have arranged things inside. Is the body hollowed out totally or did you make cavities under each wing. Is it solid under the pickups and bridge? I have seen the Gibson setup where they seem to use a bit of spruce under the bridge to support the top but that was on an Eric Clapton model 335.

Any details will be eagerly plagiarised into my own guitar.

Again, nice work.
Dom

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 1:50 pm

Top work Ron, this is a fantastic guitar put together with skill and tastefulness.

Cheers

Kim

Ron Wisdom · Post by **Ron Wisdom** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 2:14 pm

Thanks, fellows.

Dom, here is a very rough sketch of the inside. It has a solid pennisula down the center to hold everything, the edges are about 3/8" to 1/2" thick, the rest is hollow.

Ron

Bob Connor · Post by **Bob Connor** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 3:57 pm

Sensational job Ron.

The spalted Maple looks superb. How did you carve it?

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 5:09 pm

That's a rip-snorter , Ron.
Very tasteful all over and I do like the spalt cap . Nicely done.

So what's the second electric gonna be? You can't just build the one electric, they get around in pairs, you know!!

cheers, Stu

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 5:16 pm

Nice looking electric there Ron.....very nice.

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 6:16 pm

Looks like I'm a little late to the party Ron, so I'll echo everyone elses comments. Really nice combo of wood and contrast / complimentary embellishments of pic guard, knobs, and pickups.

Colin S · Post by **Colin S** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 7:04 pm

Ron, that is awesome! I have never been so up about an electric. The spalted maple top is georgeous, and I love the twin tail grafts. An outstanding effort from a standout guy. Love it.

Colin

gratay · Post by **gratay** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 8:13 pm

Ron Wisdom wrote:Thanks, fellows.

Dom, here is a very rough sketch of the inside. It has a solid pennisula down the center to hold everything, the edges are about 3/8" to 1/2" thick, the rest is hollow.

Ron

Considering the highly detailed plan you have I can't believe the mess you made of that guitar

Seriously though. That is such a stunning looking beast, Ron. Mighty fine looking work . Congratulations..It doesn't get much better than a great sounding 335 in the electric world.

Ron Wisdom · Post by **Ron Wisdom** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 11:10 pm

Again, thanks to all,

Bob, the top was carved with a RO sander and hand sanding mostly. That spalted wood was a little too soft to get smooth with planes and chisels.

Stu, at the moment I don't think I'm building a second one. This is for my personal use and I have my next 5 acoustics in my head and that will take me 2 or 3 years at my pace.

Colin, my friend, that's actually NOT a tail graft. Those are laminations I used through the body. I would dearly love to hear you play it, I'm such a hack with an extremely limited repertoire (?). I loved the Ventures as a teenager and can play some of their stuff. I like to play Memphis ala Johnny Rivers, a little CCR, and a few others. I stopped "rockin'" in the early 70's and became a strummer & hummer.

Ron

WaddyT · Post by **WaddyT** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 12:45 am

Ron, thats a killer of an electric. What beautiful wood. Appointments are perfect. Great job. Have one on me!

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:37 am

WOW Ron ! That is a STUNNER!. This guitar is nothing short of awesome !

335/6's Have always been my favorite electrics,but the aesthetics on yours have surpassed any others I've seen.

Brilliant work Ron ! Bravo !

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:42 am

Thanks for the pic Ron. On the Gibson site I found a few more details. They call the body 'tonally carved' . Did you 'tonally carve' your body?

The 366 also has a slightly smaller body than the 335. And their 356 is up speced with a gold bigbsy trem and other bling and looks very cool.

Did you follow all the Gibson specs and where did you get the plans from? I seriously want one.
Cheers
Dom

Ron Wisdom · Post by **Ron Wisdom** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:13 pm

Dominic wrote:Thanks for the pic Ron. On the Gibson site I found a few more details. They call the body 'tonally carved' . Did you 'tonally carve' your body?

The 366 also has a slightly smaller body than the 335. And their 356 is up speced with a gold bigbsy trem and other bling and looks very cool.

Did you follow all the Gibson specs and where did you get the plans from? I seriously want one.
Cheers
Dom

Dom, I did not "tonally" carve the body, I just hollowed it out with the router, the bottom is flat.

The plans came from the link below and all of you guys might want to check out this site, he has a bunch of nice plans and they're not just electric.

http://www.guitarplansunlimited.com/

Ron

Ron Wisdom · Post by **Ron Wisdom** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:17 pm

Thanks, Craig, you are too kind.

Ron

Taffy Evans · Post by **Taffy Evans** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 3:01 pm

You must be really proud of that guitar it looks very classy, a good mix of everything, and as it also sounds good, well what a winner. Well done. How much inspiration can one man have? I'm back off to the bench".

matthew · Post by **matthew** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 5:42 pm

Why am I thinking of baklava?

That guitar is sweet. Fairly dripping with class...

cheers MT

Dave White · Post by **Dave White** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 7:22 pm

Nice one Ron - the top is a work of art in itself. How about doing us a soundclip?

Lillian · Post by **Lillian** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 1:48 am

Ron, there have been only a handful of guitars posted that I'll come back to repeated to admire while the thread is active. Even fewer that I have saved copies of. Yours has been saved to my favorites gallery. Its wonderful. Simply wow!

Dom, there is a guy on eBay who has plans for the 335 and the 336. He doesn't take Paypal. If you want a set I could get them and then mail them to you. He has the 335 up right now.

Stephen Kinnaird · Post by **Stephen Kinnaird** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 5:04 am

Holy cow, Ron, that's beautiful!
Well done, senor Wisdom.

Steve

Ron Wisdom · Post by **Ron Wisdom** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 5:59 am

Gee guys and gals, I really appreciate it. It really is a beautiful piece of maple. Uncle Bob, swap meet 2007.

Ron

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#6, My FIRST electric !!!

#6, My FIRST electric !!!

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