Congratulations goes out to Jean-Michel Pranno for his guitar build, to earn him Guitar of the Month for April 2020.
Jean-Michel used our ESK-35T DIY kit as the basis to create his guitar.
“Ever since I refinished a Fender Telecaster body I had the idea of getting a kit and building my own. I always liked the ES-335 guitar and since getting a true Gibson is somewhat cost-prohibitive. I found that it would be much more satisfying to build my own rather than getting a lower grade Epiphone. So I bought the ESK-35T and got to work.
The kit was delivered in great condition and the fit between the neck and body was good from the start. I started off using a wood grain filler and since I wanted to accentuate the wood grain, I tinted the filler with a black dye (Craftnique). I sanded the surface to 300 grit and then applied the Saman turquoise stain. I applied 2 coats of the stain and then sanded up to 600 grit before starting to apply the Tru-Oil from Birchwood Casey. I used the same product on the refinished Telecaster I previously did and knew what quality to expect from that experience. I found it to be even nicer on a stained surface as opposed to the bare wood finished I did before. I did seven coats of Tru-Oil and found that the best way to apply it was to use a thin layer and spread it with a coffee filter with very light sanding between coats using a 0000 steel wool.
After letting the Tru-Oil cure for a full 7-days, I started sanding first with 1000 grit, then 1200, 1500 and up to 2500 grit. The last step was to use a regular car polish and properly buff it out.
I then glued the neck and body together with proper clamps and since the fit was great, it was an easier step than first anticipated.
The wiring was relatively easy as I followed the recommendation to use a template to pre-wire all of the components with the exception of the pick-ups which had to be done last.
Some of the personal touches I did were to apply a custom designed Fleur-de-Lys logo on the headstock (to represent me being originally from Quebec) which I applied using a hand-cut stencil and I added a Bigsby B7 tremolo which fits very nicely with the rest of the hardware supplied.
I’m truly happy with how it turned out, how it looks and sounds and its overall feel. I would definitely do another. “
– Jean-Michel
6 Responses to “Guitar Of The Month – April, 2020”
It looks fabulous! Great work!
Thank you. Fun project and now considering the next one.
Looks great. The Bigsby is a nice touch. Congrats.
I am interested in this build using the less expensive B70 Bigsby Trem rather than the B7 which is on your guitar. My question is… Did you use the “Solo Pro Roller Saddle Bridge” with this build? At my end the pictures don’t show enough detail to determine which bridge-Saddle was used. And, if so, what modifications did you do to make it fit? According to the “Solo Support Team” “modification might be” necessary.
By the way, beautiful job on your guitar!
Thank you for the compliments…
I didn’t change the bridge saddle. I used what was in the kit. I may need to change it because the G string location rattles a bit, but other than that, wouldn’t have needed to change it. As for installing the Bigsby, there was no modification to be made other than drilling a couple of holes on the surface of the body to mount it. The kit came with a floating piece that would’ve required any face mounting. But it was very simple.
The only difference I can see with the B70 and B7 (other than the material and manufacturing method) is the strap mount location. Seems like the B7 have a hole that allows room for the strap mount peg to be installed. The B70 may require you to have a longer peg screw since it seems to be going through the mounting hole of the Bigsby.
Sorry for the late reply, didn’t realize that a question came in.
Good luck with the kit. It was a fun project and now I have the ESK-35 coming my way shortly as I want to try another one.
Jean Michel, you’ve inspired me. Really nice job. I like your choice of color too. Letting the grain shine through is a nice touch. I’d like to add a Bigsby too.