Author Archives: atcguitars

It’s all done and ready to go to its new owner! He decided against a pick guard in the end, which I was happy about. The snazzy Truss Rod cover on the headstock was supplied by the owner, in his custom style. He is a local Northern Beaches musician, so keep an eye out forContinue reading “And finally…”

Once I’ve built up enough coats, I’m meant to leave it for a couple of weeks before I can start sanding and polishing it. It’s so hard to leave it alone though, I just want to get in and keep working on it. The owner has said he wants a pick guard on it. IContinue reading “Getting close…”

I’ve put little access doors on this build to make it easier to get to the wiring. I don’t always do it like this, on the previous Starcaster builds I didn’t, but it makes it a lot easier if I have them. Then it’s onto spraying! I’ve laid down the first couple of coats onContinue reading “Onto the spraying”

The front on this one is carved, not flat. But the Bigsby needs a flat surface to be bolted onto. That means I need to get inventive with it, make sure I don’t carve too much away and cause an issue for mounting the Bigsby. At this point I’ll do a rough carve and seeContinue reading “Carving”

Next step is to carve out the extra wood to make the body more hollow. This part is always hard work and I’m glad when it’s done. The finally, it’s time to put it together and clamp it while it dries… Starting to take shape now.

There’s something about the Starcaster shape. It feels racy. Though it’s not for everyone – for one thing, it doesn’t sit in a normal guitar stand, thanks to the sloped bottom on it. It makes a nice body, the Alder wood, but it can be a bit tricky to machine, especially if your drill bitContinue reading “Body time”

I’ve decided to do something a bit different with the neck of this build. I’ve decided to break up the piece of quilted maple with two mahogany stripes. It’s hard to come to terms with cutting a beautiful piece of maple in two, but it looks pretty striking and adds extra strength to the neck.Continue reading “The Neck”

Pickups can be such a personal decision. Everyone has their favourite types. I’m a big fan of Brierley pickups, made in Adelaide, Australia by my friend Mick Brierley. He makes a range of different types and I always really enjoy using them in my builds. For those of you who like details: these are A2Continue reading “Pickups”

I use a rotary sander to get the wood to the right thickness, so that’s where I start with making the cap and the fretboard, making sure they’re accurate. So here is a picture of the cap for the latest build thicknessed and joined. Happy with how it’s turning out, some beautiful grain in thatContinue reading “Progress”

I’ve been through a few different iterations of F-hole-like cut outs on the guitars I’ve built. Probably more accurate to call them ‘sound holes’, really. The ATC-style. Artistic license. But when the customer wants a Starcaster-type guitar, I thought I should go for the real deal. So here we are. Authentic F-holes this time around.