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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 8, 2020 11:50:48 GMT -5
THAT is the correct approach, Jim D. My problem is my house is too big and my shop is too small.
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Wrnchbndr
Wholenote
Posts: 353
Formerly Known As: WRNCHBNDR
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Post by Wrnchbndr on Jan 8, 2020 12:57:06 GMT -5
Like whoa dude. I'm freekin out about that neck. That was a very long time ago. That was when I was well... doin stuff differently and takin different medication.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 8, 2020 16:32:08 GMT -5
I've built lots of guitars since then, but the *right one* never happened for the neck. This one is the one. The neck is one of the evil experiments that escaped from your lab with two different fret sizes on it: big and fat down low for easy chording, and narrower wire up high for greasy riff runs. It's also asymmetrical: fat under the thumb and thinner under the fingers. I like it because it has no face dots; it looks really slick. But the real reason I like it is because you made it. I got the pickguard rough cut on the scrollsaw and fitted today. I still need to touch up the perimeter with fine sandpaper and put a bit of a bevel on the top. Here's a pic of the parts mocked up on the body.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 8, 2020 19:52:54 GMT -5
The body is assembled and ready to go. The bridge pickup is a Duncan Five-Two and the neck pickup is one I made with steel poles and a neo bar magnet. They are wired up to a 4-way switch so I have humbucking operation in position 4. I used a Les Paul style jack plate. I plugged it in; everything works and none of the magic smoke leaked out. The assembled body weighs 3.7 lbs and the neck with tuners weighs 1.9 lbs, so with neck screws/plate, strap buttons and strings it should come in around 5.7 lbs or so. Next: drill the neck for screws, attach it, and set up this newborn baby.
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Post by Leftee on Jan 8, 2020 19:58:59 GMT -5
😎
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Wrnchbndr
Wholenote
Posts: 353
Formerly Known As: WRNCHBNDR
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Post by Wrnchbndr on Jan 9, 2020 11:59:52 GMT -5
OH MY!
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Post by Jim D. on Jan 9, 2020 13:00:02 GMT -5
Mr. B, The project concept and your skillset notwithstanding, the pickguard is aesthetically a home run. IMO, classic, iconic forms such as a Telecaster are best left alone, but the pickguard fitment to the bridge plate and the curves are completely complementary to the guitar, as if this was meant to be. Unless ethical or legal implications are involved , I am going to copy your guard design for one of mine* Please keep us updated with photos as you continue. *This one
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Wrnchbndr
Wholenote
Posts: 353
Formerly Known As: WRNCHBNDR
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Post by Wrnchbndr on Jan 9, 2020 14:35:13 GMT -5
A public pledge with witnesses. If that neck is messed up and twisted, I can only imagine... I'll make you another. I can't believe that its still without holes drilled for neck screws. That neck was part of my pursuit in developing my skill set by the seat of my pants many years ago. My guess is that Peegoo doesn't own a wood stove large enough to fit the neck into. There were four of them. One is in California, another is on the ocean in an aircraft carrier, and the third is hanging on my wall. This should be a warning to all that the things you build my come back to haunt you.
That pickguard is 100% textbook peegoo. He's got a great eye for a vintage spin. Stealing ideas is the dirty underbelly of luthery and we are all gonna burn in hell. But those of us who have grown together on the FDP will all bring carrot cake, bacon, and a jam list to our destination and share when we get there.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 9, 2020 14:39:49 GMT -5
Cheers, Jim, and feel free to steal! I approach pickguard shapes in the same manner that an architect lays out a landscape project: you don't fit the grass to the match the driveway and sidewalks; you lay out the grass first, and then overlay the hardscape on top of it. It creates a smooth aesthetic flow that leads the eye and softens hard angles. The shape of the pickguard should also compliment the shape of the outline of the body and try to pick up visual cues from the hardware as well. I'm a bit of a freak about this if you couldn't tell by now To my eye, a pickguard should appear to flow through (not around) the hardware. High-volume guitar makers don't do things this way because it adds handwork/fitting to the process. It's not conducive to mass production, so there are gaps between things to allow for fudge factor. The last time anyone paid really close attention to this kind of thing was on the Fender Jaguar (see below), where all the parts on the face of the guitar fit together like a puzzle. It's particularly curious how some makers, even high-end companies like G&L, have used pickguards and control plates that appear to be afterthoughts. Some Reverends are this way too. I have a few Reverends and they are really good guitars, but some of their models look like they were designed by two teams--the guitar team and the pickguard team--and they were not allowed to talk to each other. Fender Jaguar: good! G&L S500: not so good. "We got three tons of funky metal plates for pennies on the dollar. Slap 'em on." Reverend:
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 9, 2020 14:46:09 GMT -5
wrnchbndr, thanks brother!
I'll make this fine neck work. I will say it is *thick* through the neck heel. I got it mounted in the body, and it is way up there. I thought of using longer saddle screws, but that's a band-aid fix. What I'll do is take about 3/16" off the floor of the neck pocket, which will put the plane of the frets' tops at the right height for the setup to be ideal. At first I was a bit frustrated that it didn't just go together easily, but now I'm liking the thicker neck heel. More to follow!
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 12, 2020 11:12:34 GMT -5
The heavy lifting is done on this. All it needs is a week to settle in, and then I'll sneak up on the final setup. It plays and sounds pretty good right now, but once I zero everything in, it will play and sound even better. It still needs strap buttons, and there's no string tree on it because it doesn't need one. I got lucky and landed on my estimated weight--5.72 lbs. The neck at the heel end is 1/4" deeper than a standard Fender dimension, and I think that's due to the thick-slab ebony fingerboard (wrnchbndr, you can describe your rationale for this if you like...it's not a bad thing!). When I initially installed it in the pocket, it was too high. So I clamped the router template back on the body and took the neck pocket depth from the standard 5/8" deep to 7/8" deep. This worked fine, and the neck fits perfectly. It has no effect on the strength of the neck pocket because there are many makers that shave or bevel the back of the body where the neck plate is to make for more comfortable playing up at the end of the neck. I really like the feel of this chunky asymmetrical neck carve, and the added (subtracted?) feature of no position markers on the fingerboard. It looks totally slick. Thanks again, Mark!
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Post by NoSoapRadio on Jan 12, 2020 12:03:14 GMT -5
I love it Man -- kinda reverse tuxedo look with the old school bridge. And that neck is sick.
Sweet job.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 12, 2020 12:10:11 GMT -5
Cheers, NSR!
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Post by Tinkerer on Jan 12, 2020 12:21:58 GMT -5
That looks fantastic!!!!!!
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Jan 12, 2020 12:47:44 GMT -5
Thanks! Much like most 'newer' designs, I'm not inventing anything new. All I'm doing is putting the neck, the bridge, and the control plate onto a 70-year-old template and drawing a different shape on it
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Post by Jim D. on Jan 12, 2020 13:06:10 GMT -5
Thanks! Much like most 'newer' designs, I'm not inventing anything new. All I'm doing is putting the neck, the bridge, and the control plate onto a 70-year-old template and drawing a different shape on it ...very modest statement as is the norm with you. This is really nice in all respects GB. I hope it dials in well for you. As I said earlier, the aesthetics are stunning.
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