I love watching full builds videos. Especially, when you are free to experiment with something completely new and alien. Maybe new materials? Glass? New shapes? I am open to any content with your full creativity!
Yeah! I wish Ben would set out to watch these videos and note out some ideas for the next build: Sunburst by burning? Hell yeah! Solder perfling on the body? Why not! Control cavity with a metal tray? Go on! This build has been just as much about ideas left on the table as ideas actually made real.
I think videos where you just chip at wood with hand tools are the most motivating to get me to try and build something (whenever I can afford it). Obviously, if you have a factory, using machines and power tools is more efficient. But most of your audience probably aren't luthiery businesses with a factory, rather people who would do an amateur build or two sometime. And the idea that "all you need" is a pencil, some geometry tools, and a few hand tools to get there, that is way more motivating than watching someone take a piece of wood from one machine to the next. Plus, it's more relaxing to watch, and since it takes more time and is quieter, we can learn more along the way.
Yes, in my country the knowledge is half a meter thick. Spread across Europe. Wow. They say the SG was the prototype for the Stone Tables, because every band has an old man playing an SG. Can you believe this? I'd say this is a classic model.
Ben, Want to thank you for a great tip on white glue and saw dust mix. Kind of forgot about that and have used filler in the past that NEVER seems to match the wood color and when stained sticks out like a sore thumb. Just lost control of a router table this morning and cut a 1/16" deep area of wood not meant to be cut (loss of focus). Had just watched this episode and used the sawdust from the cut to make a putty and you could never tell after setting. Thanks for the tip and is now in my go to box for screw ups!
for me i'm enjoying full builds, watching u thinking, constructing, solving Problems, getting inspired by the things u r doing and adding more and more Details while getting lost in Details 💪🏻 absolutly fantastic! never stop being Ben ✌🏻
For me, Ben, watching your mind, your imagination, working on a full build is the most entertaining, enjoyable, and exciting content that you produce. It's really what drew me to your content! Keep up the amazing workmanship!!!
When you mentioned burning my heart sank. Thank goodness you dismissed that idea with this gorgeous build. An awesome video as always and I can't wait to see further videos in this build.
Hey Ben, I'd really like to see more of the finishing processes - not just wipe on poly or Danish oil, but finishing to a high gloss. How to finish porous woods, grain filling and leveling. I find my builds go relatively well and then I'm let down by poor finishing.
I’m intrigued by the superglue finish you used on the neck of the ancient wood build. I’m getting a kit for my birthday (you got to start somewhere!) and I’d really like a high gloss finish with (relatively) little pain. I’ve never been able to get a great gloss finish using varnish on my furniture. Really hoping you’ll be showing us how to do that soon 😊
High gloss paint and clear are difficult because imperfections really stand out. Its one of the reasons people specialise in it and why people send their work to a painter. If you want to do it, I'd say, go for it but be prepared to redo it a number of times before its right.
What do I want? Builds. Just builds. Crazy builds. Elegant builds. Power tool or hand tool. I only watch the builds. Keep turning lumps of wood into amazing or wild instruments.
I personally love watching repair videos especially the old headstock breaks, but enjoy watching electric guitar builds and modification videos. I think people love watching a skilled craftsmen do their thing 🤟🏻
I love build videos like this the most. Tutorial style vids especially focusing on fixing things that go wrong would be great or more tutorials on high gloss finishing by hand. Love crimson guitars. Thank u for sharing your knowledge Ben! Cheers V!
@Crimson Custom Guitars Ben you're absolutely amazing at your craft! It's so amazing watching you create beautiful AX'S! Such a joy finding your channel can't wait to see the final product! The wood grain in this beautiful piece of wood is amazing! Thanks Ben! Stephen Penor Bremerton, WA USA
Following on from your comment about 'a lot of guitar building is about fixing the stuff that happens along the way', perhaps a series of tutorials on fixes would be good? I suspect fixes are more frequent for less skilled builders such as us mere humans. I'm really looking forward to the headstock fix, cutting and matching the grain is something I would never have considered.
Thank you Ben, you just gave me a great idea for at work. We run lean and if it works, it might actually help save tons of money. If it goes well and can be implemented at all our locations that would be great.
I have to say, I am very happy to see that you changed your mind about the copper shielding cavity. I didn't want to think too negatively about it but it just looked so messy compared to the rest of the build. I think if it were properly fabricated and welded it would have looked amazing, but the rough hammering was a step too far for me
Glad to see you enjoying the soft wood life Bun, I still have some Balsa spare if you want some... 😂 Hope you have fun at Glasto, please let me know if Lil Nas X is good live, thanks 😊
I'm really enjoying the current style of videos. I like full builds split into many, shorter episodes, which are all related to a single topic. What i miss is some good music. If i think back to older videos of you, like Shred or Nebula II, those were perfect and i rewatched them many times. The typical >> Ben carves a neck >> Heavy Rock Music and then it stops when he takes out his Isotunes. Those parts alternating with moderation or explanations. That was just fun to watch. The current videos are more educational with a touch of ASMR. You hear wood being cut with a chisel, the plane creating fine shavings, and so on. Personally i'm not the biggest ASMR fan, but if you wanna go that route, you need to go full or nothing, which involves placing a high quality microphone right at the edge of the camera shot and a lot of post processing. In the current state you hear fans going in the background, when doing quiet stuff and the "natural" noise of the microphone, because the volumes need to be boosted up in order to hear it. The videos, which originally got me hooked were the timed builds, like the 2020 challenge or the 9 hour build. Those were also great and i really like the "Keep the camera rolling and put on some voice over" aspect of them. You could see a bit of behind the scenes and daily interactions within Crimson HQ. Ben running around the building looking for something was just fun to watch. That was just a bit of input from me, but the most important thing is that no matter what you do, you are passionate about it. This is what counts and makes the videos enjoyable. Have a great weekend and see you around.
This Redwood looks about as hard/soft as pine. You've often said building with pine was not recommended. Would you still say this? If you could get a knot free piece of pine that is. This is a great looking build. I see SGs in a whole new light now. Think I want one now. Thanks Ben.
The whole process was very enjoyable, more like this please... Howzabout a proper neck-thru Firebird? I've tried several examples that had twisted necks - is it more prevalent with neck - thrus? Or a single cutaway, smaller bodied, ES 330 / 335? Cheers, Pete.
I agree this style neck joint is superior. The electronics and the amp determine the sound. But if you limit sound degradation then you'll have better sustain (of course), and I think a bolt-on neck is where a lot of energy from the sound gets lost. With a bolt on neck and reasonable hard woods (long grain) you're getting as much honest sound from the strings to people's ears as you can. Other variables are fairly arbitrary and often get buried under a thick layer of effects anyhow.
Love this build, Ben!!! Love SG's!! Regarding future builds. I would like to see something along the line of a Steinberger headless guitar (say, like a Spirit model) with a variety of woods finished naturally like you did with this SG redwood inlay top build; OK, you can burn it if you want! :-)
Hey Ben, I'm at the beginnings of building an SG out of recycled Kauri so watching these videos with great interest but I think I've missed the bit with putting the 2 or 3 deg angle in the neck joint. Is the angle in the bottom of the tenon or in the tenon slot? Cheers, Tim
Ben, I really enjoy watching your process. You are definitely unique, a world-class artisan and luthier. Hope to one day visit CCG and meet you. Also, impressed by your business model and the talented people you surround yourself with. Blessings.
Didn't he do that a few weeks ago on the kauri build? Copied the original slightly asymmetric fender acoustasonic neck onto the kauri blank using DIY templates (the templates would've been a whole lot easier using a bit of bendy lead, but that's a different story).
Personally I only watch your build videos. I tried the shorts, breakdown etc but struggled to get into them. I just really enjoy your knowledge, enthusiasm and the guitars you create. What I would enjoy watching is some more bass guitar builds. Maybe this neck joint would be cool on a bass. Maybe a really short scale bass (guitar size) That's my feed back 👍
There are lots of bits from this series that could be snipped and edited into a really useful guide - eg ALL the steps involved in this neck joint from cutting both the mortise and the tenon to produce such a very fine and tight joint.. By the way, how are you certain here that the main section of the joint - the back side of the tenon and top side of the mortise are finished tightly enough as so to be in continuous contact so that it’s a secure glue joint? I can’t see at the moment (it’s late) how this can be checked with the fingerboard in place? Enjoyed seeing a ‘proper’ build again though. By far the best kind of video/series for my taste. 👍🏽
Build Idea! I saw your video where you went over your dream PRS and talked about the things you did not like about it after receiving it. Being that my dream guitar has been a green PRS Custom 24 for 25 years, I would love to see you make your black PRS from scratch with the changes you would make to make it perfect for you 😉. That would be awesome to watch!
I love the way this build is shaping up Ben, gutted I didn't win it :( In terms of what I'd like to see on the channel: I like the full builds best, but the little tutorials that you do along the way are really helpful. Are you recovered enough from The Complication to dive back down the rabbithole and build something truly bonkers again?
Yeah Nah, that lump of copper wasn't the finest pice of master luthiery we've seen from you, Ben. Good call. I'm damned disappointed that it wasn't me who won this awesome guitar!
When I first watched the copper video I assumed the plan was to cut through to the front of the guitar so that you would get a little patch of copper showing. Then maybe toughened glass on the reverse so you can see the pots and beautiful soldering. I still think that might look cool - if an electrocution hazard? Then again - it is a beautiful and simple design as it stands. You could even hammer “Crimson” or a we logo into the copper bottom. Not sure about how the transition between wood and copper though unless it was done incredibly precisely.
P.S. I agree - I love watching full builds episodically. I don’t do any kind of wood work and don’t have space for it. For some reason I just like being along for the ride.
Hi Ben, love the SG woods combination so much. About a new video, please, I believe that you can help with an intonation one, There is a channel that claims, that the "only way", for "perfect intonation" of all the fretted notes, in every string, on the fretboard, you need to use an odd shaped, "bigger" compensated nut, (not just a properly cut and shaped, normal nut), if its an electric, and if it is an acoustic, the same odd shaped compensated nut and a compensated saddle, for "perfect intonation- concert pitch", but I really wonder, if that is, a written in stone fact? the majority of builders and techs that fixes or builds guitars, that I have watched, never present the notes in the whole fretboard, just the open string and 12've fret fretted note, as the "whole intonation" process, so what about all the bone, plastic, brass, tusq, nuts that are being sold? so most of all guitars new and old, are not properly, fully, reasonably intonated? I know that there is another way of intonating without changing the nut, that is to tune down some strings a notch, "James Taylor, compensated tuning" to have proper full intonation without a "compensated thicker odd nut" as this video suggests:ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GBwQJ71V9DE.html&ab_channel=CSGuitars I know that there is no "perfect", and as well the modern fret placement, string tension and gauge, the fingering position, point of contact, amount of pressure - force, type and new or old strings, and the right hand attack, are as well, things that will affect the tuned notes sound, but regardless, then why all the manufacturers and builders, do not use, compensated bigger nuts, if really needed. Cheers.
Trapped by your Kauri build, enthralled by the SG build(major SG fan), waiting for each video with bated breath. Question? Do you have any or are you going to do any tool sharpening videos? I thank you for these tutorial type videos.
There are some on the channel somewhere (or maybe on the Extras channel), both on sharpening chisels and planes with whetstones Vs scary sharp system, and also on sharpening gouges etc.
Don't stain it Ben.. I wonder what the wood is going to do with a nitro high gloss finish, maybe checkered like you said.. But this wood is too pretty to stain I think 😍 Have fun at Glastonbury guys! Wish I could be there as well, though Muse in The Hague was awesome too a couple weeks ago.
GLUE BOTH SURFACES!!! Thats the #1 thing my wood shop teacher always stressed to us. Who cares if you have more squeezout to clean up? It’s worth not risking a dry spot failure
Please consider making some bass plans and templates at Crimson. Every band with an electric guitar in will also have a bass guitar in, and given the technology is identical I find it incredible that you have virtually nothing in the bass related product line.
I've made a couple of headless basses lately and there isn't a lot of guidance out there for them. One set of hardware worked in a relatively straightforward way, the other was a nightmare. Worth a go though as I had fun - especially headless multiscale. I'm going to have to call you out on the obvious mistake though. You didn't do the obligatory picking up of the guitar with the neck at dry joint stage in the video that I'm pretty sure is etched in RU-vid law for fitted necks 😂
Ideas needed? 🤔 Rebinding a guitar. I'm working on a Les Paul type guitar and it needs the binding replaced but I'm painting it black, what do I do first and how? It's the only thing I can think of. 😀👍
How about a 7 string headless hollow bodied build? Should make for an interesting series and as you say, "get out of your comfort zone" 😊 Nothing to with me really wanting one btw 😂
Hi Ben, I have bought the Crimson Template - Acrylic - Trapezoid Inlay and the Router Base with Bushing, is there any chance to do a tutorial on how to use these? Cheers
I’ve mentioned elsewhere but thought I’d say here. My video request is for a tutorial on how to get a high gloss body finish using super glue. You did the one for the neck a while back and tantalised us saying you would do a full tutorial at some point. Can you make that point now please so I can finish my guitar build 😂
Beautiful neck joint Ben. I dont see any way for it to make the slightest difference to the tone but I guess we have to have something to argue about :)
You know me by now- Besides your explanations of why you choose to do what you're doing, I love the carving, the details, the minutae, and probably what others consider the "boring" bits. To be honest, I'd watch you reading the dictionary, though- and enjoy it.
Because you chipped that piece on the front I'll give you 50 bucks for it 😂 just kidding obviously. That thing is gonna be insane when finished. Glad you came across me. Can't wait to see it done. Very nice work Sir 🤘🤘 love my SG I have as well as my Les Paul's. But love how you used redwood for this. Gonna be one helluva guitar 🤘🤘
Man you gotta do the solder inlay where the dissimilar woods meet. It will be subtle yes, but it will look amazing. Also a dark cherry burst. It’s just my opinion but damn it would be pretty. This guitar just….it needs some kind of red.
Hi Ben, quick question, I've been given a bass guitar but it has a small problem it has a crack in it going from right to the centre of the guitar just before the neck, how can I fix it, great videos
Can I ask why your design for the back plate for the electric cavity goes right to the edge of the guitar rather than being inset? Just curious but looking forward to seeing how this looks! Nitro finish is always a win!
About sanding the soft wood.. I have a big problem with my 15mm spalted apple wood top.. I carved out a bit between the bass side horn and the neck with a rasp I already had but I just can't sand it flat and smooth now.. In a different place with a convex curve i fixed it using a straight piece of wood as a sanding block, but this piece between the left horn and the neck is concave which is giving me trouble.. Already ordered a sanding stick a few days ago. Hopefully that is going to help.. Any tips?
I am a bit concerned about the neck. Having removed so much from it, the use of a tenon rather than a dovetail, and the softness of the body wood, should this guitar ever need a reset (and that is a matter of when, not if), will the reset absolutely destroy the neck? It's looking to be a thing of beauty, and I'm looking forward to seeing a natural finish on it.
Why do you think it Will definitely need a neck reset? Such an operation seems pretty rare on fixed neck solid/semi solid body guitars as far as I’ve ever seen, and almost infinitely rarer than on aging acoustic instruments.
@@paulneeds Of course it depends on how an instrument is treated during their lifetimes. If it's well cared for, kept in a case, and is not exposed to rapidly changing conditions, it might never need a re-set. And I'm thinking in terms of 30 to 100 years. However, there's a reason Leo came up with the bolt on neck and as one may discern from my concern, I'm firmly in that camp.
I have a couple old reclaimed boards of western red cedar sitting in my garage, now I really want to build something.... It's funny, there is a slight delay on the video, so I hear the sound of tools like planes and rasps cutting on the pull stroke. Dumb little detail, but as someone who owns these tools and know how they work, it's a little distracting
