at last. my ultimate blues guitar.

[doctorunderhill]

completed project. Ibanez afs77t- only produced 2 years. full hollow laminated maple body with 2 5/8" depth, 3 pc maple/mahog/maple neck with bound rosewood board.
first converted to semi hollow with glued in rock maple blocks. remove the floating bridge and convert to a bushing mount roller bridge. removed all hardware and replaced with a Bigsby B11 trem in polished alloy and replaced the stock machines with Gotoh chrome units with cream keystone knobs. lucked out and located a set of OEM cream pickup rings. produced a new deco style pickguard with cream/blk/cream ply's that is supposed to age quickly to a match on the binding/trim. created a new truss rod cover.
and most importantly installed a set of genuine Gibson Classic 57 humbuckers (57+ at the bridge) and a complete new wiring harness with cts 525k pots and emerson paper in oil caps- .015uF on neck, .022uF for bridge. and finally a set of Ernie Ball Cobalt Slinkies- .010"-.044"
with the conversion to a semi hollow you can put as much signal into those 57s as you want without "unwanted" feedback. that slim 2 5/8" deep body is super comfortable, neck is nice and fast without being too slim.
and run through my 65 Re-issue Princeton Reverb with a 12" Cannabis Rex speaker she sounds just as good as she looks.

[12bar]

Looks like a great work!
Maybe you can introduce yourself a little bit and post some sound examples...

[Ulysses]

I'm very curious about the sound too :) The guitar looks stunning. What did you mean by unwanted feedback, though? Is that a problem for hollow body guitars? Sorry, inexperienced.

[VikingBlues]

Great looking guitar and a great conversion job too.

A lot of work you set yourself, and made harder by it being a hollow body.
I would think improved sound with the changes and the quality of the gear you've used and it's improved the look of the guitar too.
If you've managed to solve the hollow body feedback issue that is also a huge improvement if you're going to be at higher sonic levels.

It's a real plus to end up with a guitar that is very much your own and pretty unique.

[doctorunderhill]

Looks like a great work!
Maybe you can introduce yourself a little bit and post some sound examples...

I will be posting a some sound bites as I can. i'm having back surgery on the 18th so I'll be out of commission for a while, but once I'm up and going i'll try to post some examples of just how good this guitar sounds.

[doctorunderhill]

I'm very curious about the sound too :) The guitar looks stunning. What did you mean by unwanted feedback, though? Is that a problem for hollow body guitars? Sorry, inexperienced.

thanks for the kind words. even though this was a shallow depth body (2 5/8" deep) there was still a tendency to feedback, especially close to the amp and when you put a lot of signal through the pickups. feedback can be a significant problem with hollow bodies, especially deep ones like a 4" depth. the top starts resonating stronger which gets fed into the signal path resulting in even more resonance which in turn leads to an uncontrolled feedback. now I personally like to get some feedback in certain instances, but I want to control how much and when.
so the center block "tamps" down the resonance and reduces feedback to a very significant degree. if I choose I can face my amp (Fender 65 Princeton Reverb Re-issue with 12" Cannabis Rex speaker) and by positioning close to the amp I can generate feedback and then control the level by altering the distance between the guitar and amp.
like any "effect" the trick is not to over do- it's a "sonic spice"- a little here and there can add to the sound, but too much effects actually detracts from the sound in my opinion.

[doctorunderhill]

Great looking guitar and a great conversion job too.

A lot of work you set yourself, and made harder by it being a hollow body.
I would think improved sound with the changes and the quality of the gear you've used and it's improved the look of the guitar too.
If you've managed to solve the hollow body feedback issue that is also a huge improvement if you're going to be at higher sonic levels.

It's a real plus to end up with a guitar that is very much your own and pretty unique.

it took some work and research but it really does hit that sweet spot. and controlling that pesky feedback (when you're not wanting it) gives this guitar a range that for me is ideal for blues and rock.
thanks for the kind words.

[Ulysses]

I'm very curious about the sound too :) The guitar looks stunning. What did you mean by unwanted feedback, though? Is that a problem for hollow body guitars? Sorry, inexperienced.

thanks for the kind words. even though this was a shallow depth body (2 5/8" deep) there was still a tendency to feedback, especially close to the amp and when you put a lot of signal through the pickups. feedback can be a significant problem with hollow bodies, especially deep ones like a 4" depth. the top starts resonating stronger which gets fed into the signal path resulting in even more resonance which in turn leads to an uncontrolled feedback. now I personally like to get some feedback in certain instances, but I want to control how much and when.
so the center block "tamps" down the resonance and reduces feedback to a very significant degree. if I choose I can face my amp (Fender 65 Princeton Reverb Re-issue with 12" Cannabis Rex speaker) and by positioning close to the amp I can generate feedback and then control the level by altering the distance between the guitar and amp.
like any "effect" the trick is not to over do- it's a "sonic spice"- a little here and there can add to the sound, but too much effects actually detracts from the sound in my opinion.

Interesting. Would a 335 have this problem as well?

[doctorunderhill]

I'm very curious about the sound too :) The guitar looks stunning. What did you mean by unwanted feedback, though? Is that a problem for hollow body guitars? Sorry, inexperienced.

thanks for the kind words. even though this was a shallow depth body (2 5/8" deep) there was still a tendency to feedback, especially close to the amp and when you put a lot of signal through the pickups. feedback can be a significant problem with hollow bodies, especially deep ones like a 4" depth. the top starts resonating stronger which gets fed into the signal path resulting in even more resonance which in turn leads to an uncontrolled feedback. now I personally like to get some feedback in certain instances, but I want to control how much and when.
so the center block "tamps" down the resonance and reduces feedback to a very significant degree. if I choose I can face my amp (Fender 65 Princeton Reverb Re-issue with 12" Cannabis Rex speaker) and by positioning close to the amp I can generate feedback and then control the level by altering the distance between the guitar and amp.
like any "effect" the trick is not to over do- it's a "sonic spice"- a little here and there can add to the sound, but too much effects actually detracts from the sound in my opinion.

interesting. Would a 335 have this problem as well?

335s have a center block so they are not real susceptible to feedback.

[Ulysses]

thanks for the kind words. even though this was a shallow depth body (2 5/8" deep) there was still a tendency to feedback, especially close to the amp and when you put a lot of signal through the pickups. feedback can be a significant problem with hollow bodies, especially deep ones like a 4" depth. the top starts resonating stronger which gets fed into the signal path resulting in even more resonance which in turn leads to an uncontrolled feedback. now I personally like to get some feedback in certain instances, but I want to control how much and when.
so the center block "tamps" down the resonance and reduces feedback to a very significant degree. if I choose I can face my amp (Fender 65 Princeton Reverb Re-issue with 12" Cannabis Rex speaker) and by positioning close to the amp I can generate feedback and then control the level by altering the distance between the guitar and amp.
like any "effect" the trick is not to over do- it's a "sonic spice"- a little here and there can add to the sound, but too much effects actually detracts from the sound in my opinion.

interesting. Would a 335 have this problem as well?

335s have a center block so they are not real susceptible to feedback.

Great. I was thinking of getting one somewhere along the line.

[doctorunderhill]

interesting. Would a 335 have this problem as well?

335s have a center block so they are not real susceptible to feedback.

Great. I was thinking of getting one somewhere along the line.

the only down side to 335's is the price. you might look at a vintage Guild Starfire IV. for a fraction of the cost of a 335 you are getting virtually all the features- semi hollow, thin line double cutaway, humbuckers. great looking/playing/sounding guitars at a much, much lower price than a comparable 335.

[Ulysses]

335s have a center block so they are not real susceptible to feedback.

Great. I was thinking of getting one somewhere along the line.

the only down side to 335's is the price. you might look at a vintage Guild Starfire IV. for a fraction of the cost of a 335 you are getting virtually all the features- semi hollow, thin line double cutaway, humbuckers. great looking/playing/sounding guitars at a much, much lower price than a comparable 335.

https://guildguitars.com/g/starfire-iv/

This one looks great. I don't even like tailpieces, but this one matches it nicely. And the pickguard design with the logo is really neat.

[12bar]

Another one I'd take a look at are the Epiphones:
https://www.epiphone.com/Guitars/Collec ... p/Epiphone

I had the luck to get a used Sheraton in mint condition for a few bucks...

[Ulysses]

Another one I'd take a look at are the Epiphones:
https://www.epiphone.com/Guitars/Collec ... p/Epiphone

I had the luck to get a used Sheraton in mint condition for a few bucks...

No cherry red no game

[VikingBlues]

For a 335 substitute I ended up with a Hagstrom Viking Deluxe.
Bought used on-line in 2008 for £260 (around $470 / 325 euros at the time). Buying on-line used is a risk I've not usually taken, but guitar shops in my local area were very conservative in their taste and had a very limited range of manufacturers whose guitars they stocked.
A risk well worth taking as it turned out, and the guitar is every bit as enjoyable to play as a solid body.
The Viking Deluxe is a discontinued range of course. A fate that befalls most things i buy.

[12bar]

No cherry red no game

https://www.epiphone.com/Guitar/EPIBVY1 ... 335/Cherry

[fenson]

The two I play most for about a year
A japanese tele... (Bacchus)

Butterfly61.jpg (491.21 KiB) Viewed 17503 times

another japanese, ES style...(Momose)

Big Red Mama.png (363.7 KiB) Viewed 17503 times

[Ulysses]

No cherry red no game

https://www.epiphone.com/Guitar/EPIBVY1 ... 335/Cherry

It seems like it won't be long till I open a thread like this myself

@fenson beautiful looking guitars.

[fenson]

@Ulysses
looking good, sounding best!
you may here the tele @ my SC channel,