Sully Guitars thread

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SullyGuitars

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Hi everyone!

This thread will be updated with progress photos (as well as completed guitars, of course), and will occasionally have some photos from some of my guitar building classes (you can read some reviews of the classes here and here). 2015 class dates are here

While you'll see mostly six string guitars, there are a couple of sevens in the build channel (as well as basses, but more on those later). I mostly build bolt on or set necks, but neck throughs happen as well. I'm also quite a fan of stainless steel frets and use them as my default install.

Three of my Raven models in process:

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close up of one of the Ravens in the above pic (neckthru black limba, spalted maple top)

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A couple of my Catfish models (which will be retired this year):

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(Hard to tell in the pic, but the headstock has an ebony overlay)

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One of my 624 models:

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A 624T model:

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Two of a batch of five guitars that I call the Elita. It's inspired by Lita Ford's Hamer Standard that she played in the Runaways, and I'm only planning on building five of them (one is unclaimed). The one on the left is black limba, the one on the right is spanish cedar (which is a wood that I really like using). You can see more of the construction of the black limba Elita here

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One of my Galaxy V models; this one is kind of a "set through" construction; mahogany body, quilt maple top, 3pc maple neck, rosewood fretboard, hollow block inlays, rosewood headplate.

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And finally, one of the prototypes of my singlecut model, the '71. This singlecut model was something I have been working on for years. I wanted to build my own singlecut styled guitar that addresses the issues that I have with the LP. Granted, they're fine guitars, but for some reason, I've never bonded with the ones that I've owned. This is proto #2; I'm about to start on #4, which will have a floyd on it, and a fully carved top version will be in progress very soon. I plan on a few small batch runs of this model, but more on that later.

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I'll go more into detail about each model and kinda where I'm coming from as a builder, but this oughta do for now!

Sully
 

Doombreed

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Speak to us of this unclaimed Elita... :)

Some really nice stuff you have there. Welcome to SSO, I for one am looking forward to seeing more of your work!
 

SullyGuitars

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Speak to us of this unclaimed Elita... :)

Some really nice stuff you have there. Welcome to SSO, I for one am looking forward to seeing more of your work!

Hey, thanks!

Long story medium: I had an explorer template set that I finally got around to using after listening to the Runaways a bit. Since I don't get on well with 24.75 scale guitars (which was what the template set is configured for), I figured I'd offer one up (which sold that day) and then decided that I'd build five of them.

I'm not necessarily keeping all of the specs the same (one of them is a bolt on, one humbucker configuration), and I'm not necessarily building them all at once; two are in the paint process right now, and the other two are early in the construction phase. General specs are:

- Set neck
- Limba, Mahogany, Spanish Cedar bodies and necks (maple necks are an option. Spanish Cedar is great if you want something lightweight)
- Two humbuckers (my default pickups are made by Grover Jackson and are really solid, responsive, and versatile)
- TOM/Stoptail
- V/V/T and a toggle switch
- Stainless jumbo steel frets
- Choice of hollow block, slash, or no inlays
- Binding all around; body, fretboard, and headstock
- Your choice of solid color, metallic, metalflake, trans finish

Thanks again, and lemme know what questions you have.

Sully
 

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patsanger

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Whoo! Sully! I grabbed Elita #1 the second it posted. Can't wait to see even more of your stuff here.

He's great to work with and keeps you updated.
 

SullyGuitars

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Here are some build pix of the 4th '71 prototype. This one will have a Gotoh Floyd and the first one to have a tone knob. This should be the last prototype before the carved top prototypes start in May.

Specs:
Body - Mahogany with quilted "angel step" maple top, ivoroid binding
Neck - Mahogany with quilted maple headplate, Aero headstock, ivoroid binding, ebony fretboard, MOP slash inlays, 22 jumbo stainless steel frets, 25.5 scale.
Pickups: TBD, but either Habaneros made by Grover Jackson or a set of Ormsbys (Nunchucker/De la Creme)
Color: TBD, but likely a clear, watery blue
Controls: Vol, Tone, 3 way toggle
Hardware: Gotoh licensed Floyd, Gotoh tuners, all hardware will be cosmo black


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There will be a small batch of these with some really unique angel step tops, but more on that later.

Sully
 

Myka Guitars

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Hey Sully, good to see you here!~

Those explorer builds look great. I also love the way you added that middle section of spalted maple on the back of the Raven. It looks awesome contrasting the black limba.

~David
 

SullyGuitars

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This is one of my 624 models. Body is african mahogany, and a bit of a strange one; it was somewhat lighter in color than most of the african mahogany my local place carries, and it's really lightweight. Like swamp ash or spanish cedar lightweight. Yes, I know for sure that it's mahogany, but anyway, it got a crimson dye and a few coats of oil and wax. Neck is maple with bloodwood/maple laminations, ebony fretboard, stainless steel frets.

It'll be going home in the next few days, but I wanted to throw some strings on it real quick before moving on to wiring.

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Here's a closer look at the neck:

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Sully
 

SullyGuitars

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Thanks Jay!

I admit that the color match wasn't exactly intentional, but it sure worked out nicely! :)
 

feraledge

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Awesome to see these builds!
+1 spalted maple
+2 supertele with forearm contour
+3 for having a solid 3+3 headstock design
Sully is the kind of dude you just want to buy a guitar from.

Sully, can you talk a bit about your neck profiles/thickness?
 

SullyGuitars

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Awesome to see these builds!
+1 spalted maple
+2 supertele with forearm contour
+3 for having a solid 3+3 headstock design
Sully is the kind of dude you just want to buy a guitar from.

Sully, can you talk a bit about your neck profiles/thickness?

Thanks man!

Neck shapes and thicknesses can fluctuate based on the person each guitar is being built for, but I'm generally on the somewhat thinner side of things (but not necessarily Wizard thin unless it's requested). I'll generally start at .80 at the 3rd fret and end up around .95 at the 12th, but am happy to go thicker or thinner depending on the order. Backshapes are pretty similar to old Jackson/Charvel: C-ish/D-ish.

Glad you like the forearm contour on the 624T! Here's a shot of the back of that body while it was being built.

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One of the things that I really enjoy is working out contours on the back of the body to make them more comfortable. Each guitar generally has a rib contour, heel/cutaway contours, and a lap contour. Here's another example:

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Sully
 

feraledge

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^ Sully, you're saying all of the absolute right things and I kind of hate you for it right now!! Haha. Lap contour? I'm fascinated...
I'm in the middle of paring down my stable considerably for a custom shop ESP, but maybe I'll have to price out a 624T with an OFR and see if I can swing it...
 
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