Another Schroeder guitar complete

[Quinny]

Hey all

This is my Schroeder, a 'Chopper' model.... just finished in the last couple of days, on the way to me this week. :)

Cheers, Q.
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Spec:

One piece Eastern maple top and pickup covers
Black Limba back
Dark East Indian rosewood neck and knobs
Ebony fingerboard, truss rd cover and back plates
Silver outlined Onyx shamrock inlay at the 12th fret
Bare Knuckles P90 pickups
Stainless steel frets
PRS adjustable stoptail
Grover locking tuners
Zero fret with bone nut
Vintage Natural nitrocellulose finish in satin
Schaller strap locks

http://www.schroederguitars.com/photos/Niall%20Chopper/niall%20complete7.jpg
http://www.schroederguitars.com/photos/Niall%20Chopper/niall%20complete.jpg
http://www.schroederguitars.com/photos/Niall%20Chopper/niall%20complete6.jpg
http://www.schroederguitars.com/photos/Niall%20Chopper/niall%20complete3.jpg
http://www.schroederguitars.com/photos/Niall%20Chopper/Niall%20complete10.jpg
http://www.schroederguitars.com/photos/Niall%20Chopper/Niall%20complete9.jpg

[atquinn]

Awesome! Jason makes some great looking guitars!
-
Austin

[DualRectifier]

The more these get posted, the more I like them. I can seriously see me getting one of these for my next custom guitar. That thing is beautiful! Plus great specs.

What is the zero fret all about? I've heard of them, but I don't know what the theory is.

[vangit]

Love it! Welcome to the club!

[Guitar James]

Stunning guitar!

[Pa'ani]

Wow very nice Schroeder!
Congratulations...

[Schroeder]

What is the zero fret all about? I've heard of them, but I don't know what the theory is.

The short answer is that the zerofret is like using a capo. If you use a capo at any point on the neck, the open notes will ring out on the first fret that is on the bridge side of the capo. Have you ever had a guitar that had a nut cut really badly? If you put a capo on the first fret it would play well (so long as the fret work was ok!). So the result of a zero fret is that you get very low action that is very even across the whole board. The nut that is behind the zerofret then determines two things, 1) the down pressure on the first fret and 2) the string spacing. So the nut is still key to a good setup. I experimented with a zerofret on the guitar I sold for the Bill Chapin Relief Fund and it worked so well we did it for Niall's guitar too. He is a brave soul. Another key element is that the zerofret is made of stainless steel so it will not pit as readily as nickel frets. Stainless also has a very slick feel so the zerofret does not sound scratchy if bending notes up the neck. Hope that makes sense!

Thanks for the comments guys.

[Taller]

OK, I'll bite - How'd you match up the grain on the pickup covers with the grain of the maple top so nicely?:eek:

Really nice work there, Jason!

[paintguy]

Very nice!:AOK

Understated elegance!

[Schroeder]

OK, I'll bite - How'd you match up the grain on the pickup covers with the grain of the maple top so nicely?:eek:

Really nice work there, Jason!

Thanks! The pickup covers are from the same piece of wood as the top but from a different section. Since almost all of the pieces on my guitars are made from wood in my shop I always save and label the scrap from necks and tops so that I can do the knobs, backplates, truss rod covers, etc. from the exact board as the other pieces. I oriented the pickup covers to go the direction of the flame which was at a slight angle in the neck position and fairly straight in the bridge position. I think they matched up pretty well! I think our eyes tend to "fix" things like that in our minds too so that we want to carry those flames through. That definitely works to my advantage! Thanks for noticing though.

These are the first pickup covers I have made from wood. I just keep digging a bigger and bigger hole don't I? ;) Doing all of this by hand is very time consuming but I think it makes the guitar look cool. Niall is having me do a set of Indian Rosewood covers in case he changes his mind on the maple.

[prsflame]

:drool That guitar looks amazing! I really dig the Schroder's I've seen thus far. Enjoy it!

[guitarnyc]

Like Stu said...welcome to the club ! It's a fun place to be and some beautiful guitars. I love the all white maple thing going on with the guitar...congrats !