MELIBEE'S KIDDEES

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:41 am

Brilliant Paul. I would be most interested in how you selected the colour and whether much trial and error testing was required to get it just right.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:38 am

Peter, the color was matched to a sample of fabric which Melissa sent along with the guitar, which is her favorite shade of purple. I typically formulate a urethane-based dye in a very intense shade, then cut it with reducer and add a touch of basecoat converter (binder and stabilizer). It ends up a very thin and weakish transparent purple. The three distinct colors you see in the burst are a result of thickness of application. In indoor lighting the purple along the edges is almost black. In daylight it comes alive. The pictures in the links above are quite accurate, finally.

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:44 am

The dyes that bind. Marvellous results. Thanks for the additional information.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:48 am

Peter, wouldn't "The dyes that blind" be a good upgrade?

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:18 am

Yes it would, now that you mention it.

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:32 am

Truly a color to dye for!

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:52 am

....Awwww gee, Paul, does that mean you were willing to dye for me?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 9:12 am

And I'd do it again in a heartbeat, schweetheart...

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 9:40 am

Happy to oblige....my 481 awaits.

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 11:48 am

Great work Paul, just gets better and better.

Get those 381 guards back on your 381 though!! That's part of the whole 381 look that you're missing out on.

Have I said '381 enough in this post? 381 381 381

dswp · Post by **dswp** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:25 pm

Good stuff Paul.

Congratulations Melissa,, Enjoy...

squid · Post by **squid** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 3:34 pm

Paul, I noticed from the photos that you've removed the Kaufmann from your 381v69. Did you take it off for cosmetic or playability reasons? Just curious.

firstbassman · Post by **firstbassman** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:20 pm

Paul, thanks for the new pix!
"Oven knobs," huh? I like that name.
On the first picture (headstock) doesn't it look like there is a little rainbow near the very end of the TRC?
You probably planned it that way!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:13 pm

Mark, someone else thought it was a reflection of a flower.

It is, in fact, unplanned, and is a reflection of my Carlo Alberti "Googie" sweater (made in Australia!), which is every darned color of the rainbow and is really unique. It was a brisk morning on my deck Sunday.

I thought the Kaufmann (which is pinned, so it is strictly cosmetic), looked fabulous on the 381. There were no tuning problems. It found its way to the 325 after I did a refin on the 325. Looks very nice there, too...

The 381 will eventually get a handmade vibrato. I'm planning on machining it out of billet aluminum to my own design. It'll be a roller-bearing unit using geometry borrowed from a Bigsby--just different appearance from any Bigsby.

My '60 Capri, which has a badly-worn "Accent by Paul" vibrato, will receive a new Kaufmann which I just acquired, and a new roller bridge, too, in the course of its restoration.

squid · Post by **squid** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:47 am

Cool. Any sketches or plans you can share? I didn't know that you did metal fabrication on top of everything else. If I had those skills, I'd have option paralysis. I wouldn't know where to start. Can't wait to see the results.