The Red Special's new home

We brought the Red Special with us on our Thanksgiving trip. While we were in New Orleans, we met up with my former guitar teacher, Austin Scicard. Here are a couple videos of him playing the guitar.

Austin was one of the reasons I chose to build a Red Special. I remembered him being a Brian May fan and owning one of the Guild Red Specials. This was why I wanted to get his opinion on this build. As a show of gratitude for Austin's lessons (particularly the lessons in improvisation) and his friendship, I gave him the guitar.

The Red Special - Build Completed

In the mid 80's my guitar teacher in New Orleans, Austin Sicard played copy of Brian May's Red Special. I always liked that guitar. So, naturally when I started building guitars, the Red Special was on my short list of guitars to build. Here is my take on this classic. Instead of using 18th century Oak and Mahogany, I opted for Maple and Padouk. Yes, I picked the Padouk because of its natural red color. The Fretboard is a 25 inch scale instead of the 24 inch scale of the original. I also chose a Bigsby-type vibrato instead trying to replicate May's tremolo. To compensate for the brighter tone of the Maple and Padouk, I used 250k pots and a .047 uF capacitor.

Now after two years of work I have completed the guitar. Here are the stats:
Maple with a thin strip of Padouk Center
Maple backs with book-matched Padouk tops on the wings
Bolt-On Three piece Maple and Padouk neck with a Curly Maple fretboard
10° angle on the headstock
4° angle on the neck
Three Brighton Rock Vintage Spec Alnico Pickups
Three Phase Shift Switches
Three On/Off switches
Two 250k pots
.047uF Capacitor
24 fret neck
Zero fret
Bigsby-type Vibrato
Gotoh Tuners

This build was really more of a study in wood, electronics, sound quality and shape. The guitar has a bright crisp ring when plugged in. The phase shifting switches help create a variety of sounds, from a thin single coil reminiscent of a Strat or Tele to a thick warm Humbucker. I'm not too pleased with the Bigsby-type vibrato. I may replace it with a real Bigsby at some point in the future. I remember this the next time I see a good price on an ebay knock off.

As far as the shape is concerned, this is a stand up and play type of guitar. The bottom curve doesn't lend itself to sitting down and playing. I find myself having to use more of a classical sitting position with the guitar on my left thigh rather than my right. The neck is thinner than the one I built for last year's Tele. It feels faster.

Overall, I love the look, sound and feel of this guitar. And I've learned a great deal from this build. I've complained about Padouk before. And it will affect whether I choose to use it in the future. I discovered that the sawdust from Padouk causes sinus problems for me. In addition, pairing Padouk with Maple may not be a best choice. Padouk also has a tendency to bleed when applying shellac. But all of this aside, I love the look. Nothing like a naturally red wood.

Would I build another Red Special? And if so, would I do anything differently? Yes, and Yes.

First, I'd use a Mahogany back, with a book-matched Padouk top (yeah, I know. Did I mention how much I love the look of this guitar.) I'd use a three piece Padouk neck with a Padouk fretboard. The neck would be set and glued instead of a bolt on. 

Next, I'd like to try three on/off/on DPDT instead of the six switches. This way I could save some real estate while combining the functionality of two separate phase shifting and on/off switches for each pickup. I'd also consider using a concentric double pot instead of two pots - again real estate.

And finally, I'd spring the extra money for the copy of May's tremolo.

Long Overdue Post - Red Special

So, it's been almost a year since my last blog posting. I have been working (very slowly) on a few different projects. There have been set backs and mistakes. Mostly problems with finishes.

But I am finally putting the finishing touches on the Red Special. The body has been assembled.



























The wiring is a little complicated. The Red Special has three On/Off switches and three phase reversal switches. I used six On/On DPDT switches. After doing a little online research, I've begun to wonder if this could have been accomplished with three On/Off/On DPDT switches instead. At some point in the future I may give it a try.

Instead of working inside the guitar, I used a piece of card board to work on. This way I was able to avoid damaging the back of the body. This also gave me better access to the small terminals on the DPDT switches.

After placing the wiring in the Red Special, and plugging it in, I discovered that I had two bad switches - the phase switch for the neck pickup and the on off for the bridge pickup. Unfortunately, no one local carries these particular DPDT switches. So now I just have to wait until next week for an internet order comes in.

TDPRI Telecaster and the Red Special - Finishing

The Telecaster
It's been a couple of weeks since I posted an update on this project. I have been working on this but there just hasn't been anything picture-worthy in the process. I've been experimenting with shellac, trying to teach myself french polishing. I think I've finally figured it out. A couple of weeks ago, the way I was applying the shellac was leaving ridges. What I was doing was applying in circles and then moving on to another portion of the body. After watching a couple of youtube videos I discovered that I needed to concentrate on a single area and rub the shellac in. I started with mostly shellac and rubbed drop of mineral oil on the pad. As I built up the shellac increased the amount of alcohol and decreased the amount of shellac. Now, I'm getting a smoother reflective surface.

I am now leaning towards just shellac for the body. I know it will be more brittle than if I followed this with a lacquer finish. But I'm thinking about allowing this to age more quickly and naturally relic over the next few years.

As for the neck, It's done, just waiting for the Tru-Oil to cure. I'll be polishing it to a gloss finish in about one week. I'll have photos then.


The Red Special 
So, I've also been working on the Red Special while working on the Telecaster. Padouk has been a problem for the shellac. Since I didn't fill the pores before I started applying the shellac, I have been having to build the layers. I've already done one level sanding and smoothed out most of the finish. But there are still quite a few pores left. after a couple more layers of shellac, I should be able to give it one more level sanding and that should do the trick. The shellac is building up a pretty reflective surface.

The Red Special Shellac

Above are photos of the Red Special after I used the spray method instead of French Polish. The shellac sprayed on smoothly. There was a slight bit of running around the edges. I sanded those spots. Very carefully re-applied the shellac, using a very direct method of French Polish only on a couple small spots. I then sprayed several coats of shellac.

Yes, I removed the frets from the fretboard and started all over again. I wasn't happy with the way the spraying of the shellac was turning out. I also didn't care for the way the frets were sitting. On the fretboard, I started again with  the French Polish method. Since the fretboard is maple only, I don't have to worry about the problems with bleeding and running that I had on the body.


* These photos are all taken with my iPhone. While the quality is descent, I will need to switch to a professional SLR in the future.

Shellac bleeding

 

Several months ago when I first tried French Polishing I ran into trouble with the alcohol in the shellac causing what I referred to as a bleeding affect. This essentially lifted the dye out of the wood and caused a swirling affect. So French Polishing ended up not being an option on the dyed bodies.

This problem also resurfaced last week when I attempted to French Polish the Red Special body. Since I wasn't using a dye on the wood, I thought the bleeding problem wouldn't pop up. But as it turns out the the alcohol in the shellac had the same effect. The red from the Padauk was lifting and running into the maple. It's faint but you can see it in the top two photos.

According to the Wikipedia entry for Padauk "Most Pterocarpus [Padauk] woods contain either water- or alcohol-soluble substances and can be used as dyes."

I switched to a spray method in an attempt to avoid this problem. This worked wonders on the Red Special and the Tele body. However, the Strat still has issues. Instead of the swirling, this time I encountered a bubbling effect. I'm pretty sure that this is being caused by the spray spitting. So, I re-sanded the top (yet again) and re-sprayed. And yet I am still seeing the same effect.

More Red Special Progress

Time to drill the holes for the DPDT switches - six of them. I started by carefully measuring the spots on a piece of paper for each switch and the angle that they would be cut at. I ran a test on a thin piece mahogany. (I'll use this test piece again later when I solder the switches before placing them in the body.)






I tape the paper to the top of the body. First drilling a small hole through the top. I then follow with a 6mm brad point bit, carefully lining the bit up with the hole.


















I fit the switches, the pots and the output jack to see just how this will look once I'm down.










A view from the top of how the switches, the pots and the output jacks will look.










Next, I move onto the rear electronics cavity cover. I will use a piece of padouk picked out to match the front of the body. I found this 3/4 inch piece with a nice figure.






Using the bandsaw I carefully re-saw off a 5mm thick piece of padouk. I then cut a rough shape to match the opening.








I then cut a rough shape to match the opening.





















After carefully shaving off excess wood, I end up with a nice fit. I'll still need sand the edges smooth and drill the holes for the screws.