well, that's the short of it. I've always wanted to at least try and shape and carve the body, neck, etc, and actually build a guitar from scratch (minus electronics. not screwing with that shit). I think it would be an awesome experience, even though I'll probably screw up royally on my first try (and my second). On my way through designing how I want it to look and sound and feel, though, I've hit a few roadblocks. Before I go and buy all of the wood and materials I need and start working, I need to get these ironed out.
the specs I'm looking at so far, for the neck/fretboard:
scale length: 25.5"
frets: 24
neck: one-piece neck
neck wood: maple
neck shape: C
neck type: Bolt
truss rod: ?
neck width (nut): 42mm
neck width (last fret): 56mm
fretboard radius: 14"
fretboard wood: rosewood
fret size: jumbo (so broad a term...)
neck thickness (1st fret): 20mm
neck thickness (12th): 22mm
The neck is where I have run into the bulk of my problems. for one, I get the feeling that everything about the neck has to be extremely precise or it will play like shit. I'm also not sure of anything about the truss rod... I'm looking at all the resources online that I can, I'm talking to a few luthiers I know pretty well, and I'm a little lost there. lastly - how the hell do I go about carving the neck? That scares the shit out of me right now. The only place that I can find specifications like that standard from any company is schecter, and they don't sell necks by themselves. So if I can't get that to come out right I'll probably have to settle for a strat replacement neck until I want to try again. frankly I'm not even sure about the tools I need to shape the neck.
as for the body, I'm still working on it. I'll try and upload the drawing I have once I've gotten the scales and lengths of everything worked out. Right now, I'm just measuring all of the stuff on a guitar that has the same electronic setup and basing it off of those, but I already see a few questions that I don't think I'll be able to answer, like:
how far should the strings be from my pickup?
how big should be the block where I'm bolting on the neck?
how deep do I need to make the slots for the electronics/humbuckers?
how the hell do I install a floyd rose?
how far away from the bridge pickup should my bridge be?
who do I know that has a band saw?
so, with all that, does anyone have any tips or advice?
P.S. I'm not new with wood... I know how to use tools etc. I'm trying not to be too naive; I know that this is a very advanced project and I'll have to rely on people with more experience than I if I want to get it done right.
P.P.S. is there something I missed about the neck specifications?
P.P.P.S. I will try and update this thread with pictures and keep it updated for you guys!
the specs I'm looking at so far, for the neck/fretboard:
scale length: 25.5"
frets: 24
neck: one-piece neck
neck wood: maple
neck shape: C
neck type: Bolt
truss rod: ?
neck width (nut): 42mm
neck width (last fret): 56mm
fretboard radius: 14"
fretboard wood: rosewood
fret size: jumbo (so broad a term...)
neck thickness (1st fret): 20mm
neck thickness (12th): 22mm
The neck is where I have run into the bulk of my problems. for one, I get the feeling that everything about the neck has to be extremely precise or it will play like shit. I'm also not sure of anything about the truss rod... I'm looking at all the resources online that I can, I'm talking to a few luthiers I know pretty well, and I'm a little lost there. lastly - how the hell do I go about carving the neck? That scares the shit out of me right now. The only place that I can find specifications like that standard from any company is schecter, and they don't sell necks by themselves. So if I can't get that to come out right I'll probably have to settle for a strat replacement neck until I want to try again. frankly I'm not even sure about the tools I need to shape the neck.
as for the body, I'm still working on it. I'll try and upload the drawing I have once I've gotten the scales and lengths of everything worked out. Right now, I'm just measuring all of the stuff on a guitar that has the same electronic setup and basing it off of those, but I already see a few questions that I don't think I'll be able to answer, like:
how far should the strings be from my pickup?
how big should be the block where I'm bolting on the neck?
how deep do I need to make the slots for the electronics/humbuckers?
how the hell do I install a floyd rose?
how far away from the bridge pickup should my bridge be?
who do I know that has a band saw?
so, with all that, does anyone have any tips or advice?
P.S. I'm not new with wood... I know how to use tools etc. I'm trying not to be too naive; I know that this is a very advanced project and I'll have to rely on people with more experience than I if I want to get it done right.
P.P.S. is there something I missed about the neck specifications?
P.P.P.S. I will try and update this thread with pictures and keep it updated for you guys!
