eckodanny Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Hi, I'm Daniel, and I'm a newb at building guitars, since i will will be building my first guitar soon. I would like to build a Les Paul. But i have many questions. I have checked many references like Jon Fisher, and the "luthier than thou" site, but they never speak about angleing the neck. If you do have to angle it, i dont understand how you calculate the angle... Can you help me out? -Thanx Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 do you mean the whole neck or just the headstock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 I was actually reffering to the whole neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Do a search on neck angle, this has been covered probably more than any other topic on this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 but i hadnt taken the headstock into question. Does that affect the angleing of the whole neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 No, headstock angle only effects string pressure on the nut, it has no dependence on bridge height or fret height above the body. Those are the factors dictating neck angle. Why not just look 3 threads down at the neck angle calculator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 thnx, I have another question: how long does it take (on average) to build a guitar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted May 14, 2005 Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 how long is a piece of string? I know its an unhelpful answer, but a majority of people on here would agree that the amount of time varies depending on your budget, time to put into the project, your desired finished product, how much work you do as opposed to buying parts ready made, etc.... As a first build, you should maybe consider buying a ready made neck. Necks seem to be a difficult area to master and if you didnt know about neck angle, I doubt youll know enough to plunge in and make a whole neck with no problems. The advantage of ready made necks are also in the time it will take to build your guitar. You dont have to build it, shape it, install a truss rod, add the fingerboard, fret it, add inlays, etc.... you just bolt it on. maybe you do feel like having a go, and thats great. I wish you luck and would love to see the finished product, but bear in mind, if you ruin it, its the cost of the materials all over again and longer timescale to get your project back on track. still, go for it if you feel competitant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 (edited) thnx Digideus! Thats definitely domething to take into consideration! do you know where i could get a pre meade neck? Edited May 15, 2005 by eckodanny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pr3Va1L Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 www.usacustomguitars.com www.carvin.com www.stewmac.com www.warmoth.com good enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suregork Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 (edited) www.universaljems.com, and you'll help out PG at the same time. edit: I just remembered that he doesn't have Les Paul necks Edited May 15, 2005 by suregork Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 thnx Guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted May 22, 2005 Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 If you haven't taken a look at Setch's thread on building his Les Paul. You should, it is very helpful. He does great work. Peace, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2005 If you haven't taken a look at Setch's thread on building his Les Paul. You should, it is very helpful. He does great work. Peace, Rich ← Thnx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 ok well, I have bought 50's les paul plans (custom, not junior), and I found something which im not sure will work. I have seen Setch's site about building a les paul, and Jon Tirone's as well, and I found that both of their les pauls, have neck tennons that extend further into the body of the guitar than the fretboard does (so that the tennon is under the neck pickup). In the plans, however, the tennon is shorter than the fretboard.. Both fretboards have the same number of frets (22) and join the body at the 16th (at least thats what is says on the plans). Both necks and set necks which are supposed to be glued on. Will the description of the neck on the plans I bought hold together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 It'll hold fine, but the long tenon is easy to do, and allegedly helps sound quality. How much of this is voodoo is open to discussion, but it can't hurt to use the longer tenon if you have a long enough blank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 Thnx Setch, BTW, did you make your own neck tenon and mortice template?.. If so can you provide me with dimensions? -Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 On the other hand... Why is mahoganny the typical wood for Les Pauls? Can I make the body out of a different wood, and still have the same sound quality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiggz Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 les pauls use mahogany as a neck and back wood cos it gives a warmer tone than ash or alder, harder then those 2 so it has more sustain, top wood usually maple, provides a bright contrast on the higher notes, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Churchyard Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 (edited) On the other hand... Why is mahoganny the typical wood for Les Pauls? Can I make the body out of a different wood, and still have the same sound quality? ← Depends on what *you* would perceive as the same sound quality. There are persons who can tell the difference between rio rosewood and non-rio rosewood and so on... I for instance can not (But I am a dumb newbie, so...). On the other two pieces of the "same" wood can be quite different! Best bet is to stick to mahogany and maple for a Les Paul - anything else wouldn't be a Les Paul, but a LP-shaped guitar... And keep the scale length also the same... Edited May 31, 2005 by Mr.Churchyard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Im thinking of making a Les Paul Supreme (whole body and a thin back in order to not have any visible electronic cavities/ covers), should I use all mahoghany?, or the main body maple (this would be the front part) and the thin back cover, mahoghany? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 What do you mean a thin back? Like to make the whole thing thin and removable? A removable back? I guess that's one option. Not the one I'd choose, that's for sure. Whatever the 'majority' of your guitar is going to be, that's what should probably be mahogany. A thick slab of maple and doing the main part of the body with it is a problem waiting to happen, though, imo. The tone will likely suffer for it, too, and won't be Les-Paul like. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted June 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 (edited) Thanks Greg Here's a link to the Les Paul Supreme take a look, it's interesting -Daniel Edited June 1, 2005 by eckodanny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 there seem to be two downsides with the 'supreme' style of body: 1) if you have a dry joint in your soldering that comes undone you've got no cahnce of getting back inside to solder it back on 2) you would also have a time if you wanted to change pickups but if that's what you want go for it. I'd sugest that you went for making is a hollow body as per the supreme but put covers on the back! thenyou get the best of both worlds (if you're wanting the 'no covers 'look you could always make the covers out of similar wood to the back and apply your finish to them at the same time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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