BUILDING A SAGA LP-STYLE

From Greg Gilbert

A SAGA LP Saga

Hello,

My name is Greg Gilbert. I recently bought a Saga LP as something to do during the cold Ohio Winter months. It is my first one I have built. Needless to say, I would do a few things different if I were to try and build another one.

Anyway, I wanted a Blue burst with the white pickguard. I sanded, and sanded, and sanded some more on the body. I eventually went through the veneer-like layer...the blue looked terrible. Plan two- A checkered flag design.

Upon close inspection of the binding, it for some reason only had two black stripes in some areas, which made it look like it was masked wrong. I decided to primer the entire body, thus covering the binding. The rest of the process went pretty smoothly. Not being able to leave anything alone, I decided to lose the pickguard and the "Rhythm/Treble bezel".

I used liquid mask on most of the masking duties, which is originally for masking off RC airplanes and boats. I covered the entire body and neck with a few good coats of liquid mask, drew the design out, and cut it out with an X-acto knife. Most of the painting- except for the airbrushing was done at work where I have access to paints, clears, etc.. Once the black squares were painted and the mask peeled off, I took it home to airbrush the hi-lights, then back to work for a few coats of clear. After drying overnight, the body and neck was wetsanded and buffed, before being assembled.

 

The guitar is pretty heavy, feels solid, and sounds great through just my amp. For some reason, running it through a Digi-Tech RP350, it sounds weird, and there is little to no change in sound from one setting to another on the RP350.  So, I still need to figure that out, and then it's off to a friend who is going to help me set it up.

Guitar Attack was an inspiration throughout the build, and now that it is done, I thought I would share it with others on the site if possible. Attached are a few pics.

Thank you,
Greg

 

(Note:  We asked Greg about his inspiration -- looks like it was car racing!  Look at the awesome detail on the neck!)

PS.  I welcome any question(s) you may have. I was just thinking about the guitar awhile ago, and realized I have not even looked at how high the strings are off of the pickups...I literally screwed the neck on, strung it with the supplied strings, and raced upstairs to see if it would make noise. That was during the Daytona 500, and I have not had the time to mess with it since then. lol I almost threw the strings away, but figured they could be sacraficial in setting it up, before installing better strings.
Anyway, I will mess with it over the weekend and see how it goes. Thanks again!

Greg

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