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#11: Li'l Gib.........

I've long admired the Gibson hollow-body and semi-hollow-body line of guitars like the ES 330. They just look like a proper blues rig.

Since I was between builds and had tuners, pickups, frets, etc sitting around I figured "Why not build a 3-string Gibson tribute guitar". So I found a nice image of a Gibson and resized it to use as a pattern.

Since I don't want to be accused of being a "Chit head" by Uncle John, I've attached a few build photos for reference.

The sides were jig-sawed from 3/4" Poplar. Two courses glued up to create a body that was 1 1/2" deep.

The top and bottom were cut from 1/4" Poplar boards that were thinned to 3/16". The top is glued in place while the bottom attaches with screws. The F-holes were cut with a little hand held hobby saw. Not my favorite part of the job.

The neck is tapered from 1 1/2" where it enters the body to 1 1/8" at the nut. The fret board is screwed in place so it can be removed if necessary. A length of piano wire is used as a zero fret.

The sunburst finish was done with an airbrush. First, a bright yellow stain was applied to the entire body. This is what causes the finish to have warm depth. Minwax Sedona Red stain was airbrushed to create the orange/red fade. Common black latex from Home Depot was thinned and airbrushed to create the black fade. Finally, Orange shellac was airbrushed over the finish to stabilize the finish before several coats of shellac were hand rubbed to create some depth and protection for the finish.

The guitar has a 24" scale and uses a single wound, four-pole bass pickup that I picked up as a two pickup set wired to act as humbucker. Used as a single wound, I was worried about possible hum, but here is absolutely no hum from the pickup. I have a one-meg tone control with a 0.047mf cap.

Still sorting out preferred string diameters, but so far, it is a good player and my tribute to a Gibson blues classic.

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Permalink Reply by Thumper on August 5, 2015 at 4:27am

Excellent job!! Needs another string though LOL

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on August 5, 2015 at 6:51am

Wait!! I think I have on somewhere in the shop............

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Permalink Reply by john mackay on August 5, 2015 at 6:15am

if ya didn't he would've called you chit head

nice work work.

I've done similar awhile back.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on August 5, 2015 at 6:51am

You can count on it, John

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Permalink Reply by Bama Hound on August 6, 2015 at 4:17am

That is a real beauty. I do love the airbrush work,but I really am crazy about the Li'l Gib inlay.Fret marker dots are about as wild as I have ever gotten. Round dot round hole,"Bam",it is in. What you have there is absolutely perfect. It gets your point across to someone who would not know much about guitars, but would instantly recognize your work as a tribute. I like the work in progress photos Great work Tom.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on August 6, 2015 at 4:38am

Thanks, Hound.

I am quickly warming up to Li'l Gib. Did some string bridge changes yesterday and she plays better. Very good for fingering notes and not bad for slide. Compared to my cigar box based guitars, this one has an unusual amount of sustain, which sounds good. I'm just not sure why it has the added sustain. I'll keep looking for the source so I can do it again.

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Permalink Reply by jeffrey ross on August 6, 2015 at 1:24pm

That is a beautiful guitar. Plain and simply a piece of art. Have you made a video yet? I would love to hear the tone it puts out. Great work.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on August 6, 2015 at 1:45pm

Thanks Jeffrey. No video yet. I'm still tweaking action height and string selection, but so far the thing I notice most is that it has a great deal of sustain. Not sure if it's a result of the box or maybe the pickup. Either way, it is nice to hold a note and have it last.

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Permalink Reply by Bama Hound on August 6, 2015 at 5:02pm

After you figure out what size strings you need, I believe I would spring for a set of gold ones like Oily Sprague put the link to the other day. I think it rates a set.