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One way to spruce up a translucent black


goSteelers

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Posted

I'll tell you that translucent black is not my favorite. And in my opinion, a translucent black should have an ebony fretboard and a black body. But I found this one that has a neck that I really like, so I went for it. The only problem was that it looked odd with the translucent black top, a rosewood fretboard, a natural mahogany body, and cream pickup rings. So I thought I might try to improve the situation.

 

At first I thought I would go with all black parts, but then I realized that I could not get rid of the "brown-ness" of the fretboard. So I went with rosewood where I could. It's definitely an improvement, but I'm still not sure how much I like it. One of the issues is that, getting the various parts from different vendors, none of the rosewoods are quite the same color, and none of them really matches the fretboard, which is what I was trying to do in the first place.

 

Also, the pickguard has a satin finish, which does not seem very hardy, so I will probably hit it with a few coats of gloss, which will hopefully make it a little more scratch resistant.

 

Anyway, thought I'd share these pictures -- maybe they will give someone some ideas if they want to fix up one of their Heritages.

 

 

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Posted

Interestiing idea... I like the look and am trying to decide what I'd change ,if anything.

 

Have you oiled the board? I think if it were a bit darker , it might present a more harmonious look.

 

( of course, don't overdo the oiling thing... )

Posted

Pickguard -- it may look better, but for me, it wouldn't play as well. This guitar did not originally have a pickguard. I added it because I rest my little finger on it while playing, and can't play as well without it.

 

Fretboard oil -- that's a good idea, but I already have oiled the fretboard. I don't know that this guitar has a lighter than average rosewood board. The parts I added are just dark for rosewood.

Posted

Hit the fretboard with mineral oil. It'll darken it and help the wood.

Posted

I like it, but think that a lot of the focus goes on the pups now. It would probably look great with black pup covers or black open coils.

Posted

I like it, but think that a lot of the focus goes on the pups now. It would probably look great with black pup covers or black open coils.

Good point. I actually thought of that, and may do it the next time I change strings.

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