Dot Studio conversion to my own Custom Dot?

[brianh]

Not if you're any good and maintain a sharp chisel.

OK, I'm an open minded kind of guy: Let's see some pics of your work.

 

Before, during, and after please...

[weslee_1990]

That seems like a lot of work! I would say just buy what you want, unless you want a project guitar?

[Bad Juju]

@Banastre You are quite inspiring. I like the idea of practicing with some painted laminated wood. I will do that.

 

I am also happy to announce that I have purchased a project body for my first project. It is not, in fact, the Dot Studio that I was originally plannning on stripping. I settled on an Epi LP Standard Plus Top. It does have a laminated top but at least if I burn through I can just sand the rest of the laminate off and have a nice maple plain top. I have also been reading as much of reranch.com as I can. That is a great website!

 

I will practice with a scrap piece, use 80 grit sandpaper conservatively, start with the back, and work on the front last. I feel lime I am taking an oath for the induction into the super secret guitar project society.

 

Now I also need to work on finding a suitable replacement neck...

[snookelputz]

That seems like a lot of work! I would say just buy what you want' date=' unless you want a project guitar?[/quote']

 

Sold it almost a year ago when I moved. No pictures. Seriously, it just takes a light touch...like running a putty knife only a little sharper.

 

Ooops. Wrong quote. Meant to answer Brianh's question.

[Bad Juju]

Seriously' date=' it just takes a light touch...like running a putty knife only a little sharper.[/quote']

 

How old was the guitar? It sounds like it might have been a nitro finish instead of a poly finish. Even so, I plan to go slowly with the sanding. I don't think I can be steady and consistent enough to use a chisel.

[Scrambler]

Bad Juju,

 

I know where you are coming from when you feel the need to have your own custom project guitar. There is something very appealing about having your own one of kind. I GOT the same urge to mod a dot studio, mainly because of the great price.

 

Luckily I found a used one someone already started to mod but had to give up for $200.00, set up, frets marked, and in the original Epi case!. The original finish was a worn brown, however the previous owner had it worked on. I know for sure it was polished and has several coats of poly applied and polished again. It turned out great, I am trying to track down the previous owner to see just what he did to get the look on this Dot Studio.

 

Down the road it's gonna get some seymour duncans, I also have a line on a used Bigsby. After that I will probably call it good. Yeah I know I will have about $400.00 into the thing by the time it is done. But instead of saving for the next 6 to 9 months to buy a $400.00 to $600.00 "better guitar" I will be playing, and learning.

 

Oh yeah, Here is a pic:

This my guitar, there are many like it, but this one is mine........

[Doc Helliday]

Dude,

 

customize away I love mine

[snookelputz]

How old was the guitar? It sounds like it might have been a nitro finish instead of a poly finish. Even so' date=' I plan to go slowly with the sanding. I don't think I can be steady and consistent enough to use a chisel.

[/quote']

 

Was a 2004 LP Junior. Definitely poly. Tried 3 separate chemical strippers, one of them discolored the black paint. That was as far as paint stripper got. Didn't have a power sander of any type or I would have used it, instead, but...when I dropped in and the paint cracked I just chipped away a little at a time over 3 or 4 days. I quit every time my hand got tired, but it was finally finished. The body was 5 several strips of wood with a top and bottom, so I used a rasp to cut a tummy tuck, and reshaped the horn for a little better upper fret access, then repainted it with black poly again. Came out fairly decent for a hack job.

[Iriemon]

 

EDIT: After studying the pots location on the Studio I think it would be better (and easier) to keep just the single volume and tone. Simpler is better, right?

 

I know this thread is old, but for reference, if you want to modify an Epiphone Dot Studio to have independent pickup control (like a Dot or 335 with four pots has), as an option to drilling holes to add two additional pots, you can exchange the stock pots for concentric or "stacked" pots, and have a volume and treble stacked together on each. Gives you the independent pickup control mod without having to drill holes.

 

Here's a pic of my slightly customized Dot Studio. I polished the finish to change it from satin to glossy, and changed out the stock pots for stacked ones.

 

[Whitmore Willy]

Here's a pic of my slightly customized Dot Studio. I polished the finish to change it from satin to glossy, and changed out the stock pots for stacked ones.

Iriemon,

 

Good idea on the pots. Nice looking shine on the guitar...

How did you go about buffing it out? (polish, wet sand, buffing pads...etc?)

 

Willy

[Iriemon]

Iriemon,

 

Good idea on the pots. Nice looking shine on the guitar...

How did you go about buffing it out? (polish, wet sand, buffing pads...etc?)

 

Willy

 

Thanks Willy.

 

I loved the minimalist look of my dot studio the worn brown wood grain, but when I saw a couple spots where my hand rests taking on a shine compared to the rest of the dull satin finish, I wondered why I couldn't do the same to the whole guitar. After some research, I read that the "satin" finish is no different than a gloss finish, except that the finish isn't polished at the factory (to save money, no doubt). I used 0000 fine steel wool with Maguire's rubbing compound to knock off the rough finish, then just Meguire's rubbing compound followed by Meguire's Deep Crystal car polish, and waxed with a carnauba guitar wax.

 

It did take a fair amount of rubbing, I'd say about 6-8 hours total for the whole guitar. I started with the back to get the technique down. I took off the pots and pups and bridge. I did not polish the neck because I like the satin feeling.

 

If I had to do it over I'd consider skipping the steel wool and start with the rubbing compound. It would no doubt take more rubbing, but the steel wool left some very fine scratches that you can see if you look closely in the right light. I could probably polish them out, but they aren't noticeable enough to warrant the effort.

 

 

[Jayyj]

Sounds like a good project to me - a refin on a semi is a challenging one for a beginner, and you might need to be prepared for it to not come out exactly as you wanted it, but if you're brave enough to jump in the deep end good on you. Best case scenario you get a unique guitar that was exactly what you wanted, worst case strip it, get some money back on the parts and somebody else else will gladly take the body off you for few quid to start their own project. Either way you'll learn a lot doing it.

 

If you mess up a sunburt, you can easily just spray a solid colour over the top. There are custom colour Fenders from the 60s with Sunbursts lurking under the top coat so you wouldn't be the first.... and legend has it the Sparkling Burgundy finish on 60s 335s was occasionally used to allow Gibson to recyle bodies where workers had sanded through the top veneer!

[Scott Marlowe]

If the refinish doesn't go as planned, you can always hire a starving artist (there's one in every town!) to do something like this

[semi-hollowbody]

sounds like a fun project...and what your basically asking is if the dot studio is a good backbone...and from what ive seen and read it is

 

if it were me, I wouldnt be trying to convert an epi dot studio to a an epi dot deluxe...id be trying to convert an epi dot studio to a gibson es335...know what I mean...no epiphone pickuops, electronics, or hardware...unless youve already got it lying around...57 classics, 500k pots, switchcraft switch and jack etc...