I want to level the body of my guitar - Suggestions ?

[raymix]

There are some annoying things about my guitar and the body design is
one of them.

(Only when I sit down) the back of the body is killing me.
It's litterally digging in my ribs. I had this (crazy?) idea to dig it (revenge you must say ;) )

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9817/jacksonupdh1.jpg

This ain't the same body contour as a Fender Strat (never had any problem with their body design), they are really comfortable , standing up (a little heavy) or sitting down.

Mine has that extra wood at the neck area that is really uncomfortable.

Here's another pic to show where exactly I want to remove some extra wood.
The tiny yellow lines would the area I would level the body.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9425/jacksonoverxg0.jpg

Another place I would sand it down too would be near the neck area at the bottom of the body where you access the higher frets by removing 1/4 " of
wood.

My question is : Will it harm the tone or sound of the guitar ?
I guess not but I want to be sure.

I don't care about the look of the body after that - It's just a low-end Jackson (not that low! but definitly not professional guitar) but I do care about keeping at least the decent sound it gives me.

I'll prolly repaint it this summer with a weird design (and I mean it !)
Any suggestions ? ;)

Thanks for any helps you can provide.

Friendly,

Ray.

[disobedience]

There should be no issues with reshaping your guitar. I would be careful when working with the neck joint though. There's alot going on in that area of the guitar and taking away wood might cause strength and tone issues. Do some research before you start taking away the wood there.

For the horn area, I can't forsee any issues there...as long as the wood is decent under the paint..you should be able to reshape that quite easily.

[raymix]

That was quick response !

Yeah, the neck area would be an issue.

Here's a detailed view of what I want to achieve:

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/6393/jacksonneckhm9.jpg

I would start from almost nothing and dig deeper in between.
This will leave me more space for the pinky.

Ray.

[Kevbocat]

The first area seems to be no problem but I would be weary about that second area you want to chip away at for your pinky. Like Disobedience said, you may start losing tone and strength around there. If what you want to remove is really minimal then it may not make that much or a difference if any.

[disobedience]

Oh...I thought you were talking about taking it from the back of the guitar where the neck joins the guitar.

Taking wood from the bottom horn shouldn't hurt anything at all. Just try no to take too much to create a weak spot ;)

[raymix]

Thanks guys

Oh well, I won't toy around this area then ... too risky !

But the back of the body will get flatter soon, i'm very tired of this darn horn
diggin my chest ....

Problem solved !

Cheers,

Ray.

[Kevbocat]

What are you thinking about doing in terms of design? You going paint, fabric, veneer top, etc?

[raymix]

Paint with clear coat to smooth things up you know.

I want to give it a design that wasn't done before.
I'm not the type of guy who will copy the Frankenstein EVH design
(dont get me wrong, it's very original and great but I want mine original)

Ray.

[Kevbocat]

Nice. Check out Project Guitar, you may get some good ideas from there. I'm thinking about doing my Stratocaster in a Star Wars fabric finish.

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/tutorial5.htm

[raymix]

Kewl, thanks !

Just by the look of this website, it will be a fun experience !

Ray.

[Kevbocat]

Be sure to post some pics along the way. Would love to see your work in progress to finished piece.