Combine Newsletter - August 2024
July's Guitar of the Month Winner!
We’re pleased to announce that Mason N. is the latest winner of our Guitar of the Month contest!
Curious about his process? Here is his story:
"I'd like to start off by thanking [Combine] for providing such a quality kit at an affordable price. I had a blast building this and look forward to ordering another in the near future. Though I have customized every guitar I've ever owned in some way, this is the first kit I have ever built. I've decided to enter it in for the Guitar of the Month contest to not only take a crack at that juicy discount for my next purchase, but also to add some inspiration and show your potential customers a unique way of finishing and accessorising these kits to truly make the project their own.
I decided to pull the trigger on one of the B-Stock deals after staring at it on the website for about a week. There were B-Stock options for both the straight pickup and slanted pickup variations at that time, and I opted for the straight pickups as it better matched the final look I was envisioning. The defect was only a minor split in the fretboard running from approximately the 10th to the 24th fret, and I considered this an awesome opportunity to obtain a quality multiscale 8-string to add to my collection! Learning that Combine Guitars is based locally for me solidified my decision, and a few days later the package was on my doorstep.
I immediately took care of the fretboard split with a bit of patience, some CA glue, and a razor blade. Next, I used a rasp and various grits of sandpaper to achieve the body contours that I was striving for. I added a deeper and longer arm contour/bevel on the top of the body, as well as a bevel to the inner horns. I also made the decision to sand off the beautiful maple veneer top to work with a purely alder body. This was all an effort to achieve the final look and finish I was hoping for. After plenty of sanding, the neck was finished with many coats of boiled linseed oil, while a mixture of boiled linseed oil and espresso stain was used for the body. The frets did not seem to require any leveling, though I took a file to soften the edges before buffing each one.
There were a few custom bits of hardware that I decided to fabricate to really challenge myself during this project. Though completely functional, I was not a fan of the original string locking system and decided to try my hand at metalworking to find a solution. I previously have zero experience with metal fabrication, though I luckily have a woodworking shop and plenty of chunks of thick aluminum lying around (don't ask why). I was able to design, cut, file, drill and tap my way to a new string locking system which I am extremely pleased with. Since my shop was already filled with aluminum shavings, I also decided to make a custom base plate for the bridge/tuners to mount to. After routing the body to fit the new bridge base plate, I taped off then spray bombed a few coats of hunter green. I wanted the wood grain to slightly show through the paint so a bit of targeted sanding was required. A satin clear coat was applied only to the painted surfaces.
Custom knobs were made using my lathe and scrap pieces of brass salvaged from some old plumbing. I made a couple as I was still undecided on my final layout for the electronics. The last piece I made was a pearloid pickguard that I cut from a blank on my bandsaw, fine tuned with a series of files, then finished by painstakingly beveling all of the outer edges with a razor blade. There is definitely a better way to do this but life is tough sometimes I guess. Next time I'll likely just buy a proper router bit.
For the electronics, I decided to ditch the tone knob and add in two switches for coil splitting each pickup individually. Once set up and intonated this thing plays like a dream and I am extremely happy with the result!
I'm planning on ordering another kit shortly as I have a completely bonkers idea in mind that will either end up being incredible or an absolute disaster, so stay tuned for that! :)
Thanks again!" - Mason N.
Mason's win has earned him up to 50% off the base price of his next DIY Guitar Kit, and his build has been shared on our website and social media!
His guitar is built using our 8-String Multiscale DIY Guitar Kit with straight pickups.
CLEARANCE SALE!
Our Multiscale DIY Guitar kits are on clearance sale for a limited time! Get them while supplies last!
August's Guitar of the Month Contest
We know you're all busy working away on your builds, and we expect some of you will complete them in time to enter August's Guitar of the Month contest! The winner will receive up to 50% off the base price of their next DIY Guitar Kit, and their build will be shared on our website and social media.