mledbetter Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 Next question for this project-- Normal Tele necks are solid maple. There is a darker strip of wood in the back which (apparently) covers the routing path for the truss rod. However, the strip doesn't go the whole way up. Is the neck partially routed for the truss rod, and then drilled the rest of the way? I can't find any seam! Thanks! Andy ← The intricacies of the truss rod channel.. now is when it should be mentioned that you get a book.. Hyscocks book is probably the best. Truss rods on 2 piece necks are straight forward but the one you are talking about is a one piece with a skink stripe.. it's partially routed, then a hole bored in the heel to connect the nut through to the rod.. A book will give you all the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 Stick with the standard Tele headstock and 6 tuners. Put the other 6 tuners in the body. You could put ferrules in the head or contrive some kind of string tree that has stops for 6 strings. Over at the Telecaster Gallery, there's a custom headless Tele with tuners in the body. It looks kind of cobby, but, you can take a little inspiration from it. Maybe do something clever with those Steinberger Gearless tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 Those steinbergers could be useful to you.. you could have 6 standard tuners and have the steinbergers in between them.. get a 12 inline that way, but they would be staggered on top of each other so your headstock isn't 18" long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 Those steinbergers could be useful to you.. you could have 6 standard tuners and have the steinbergers in between them.. get a 12 inline that way, but they would be staggered on top of each other so your headstock isn't 18" long ← I did a full scale mockup in photoshop and this works. I'm just to lazy to post it now you only have to extend the headstock 1" and all the tuners have a strait string path and nothing hits anything. Just remember that the string comes off the middle of the steinberger tuners and off too the side of the regular tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 I think that could look really cool. You would keep the tele shape and everything.. 1 inch is nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terbo Posted March 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 Hmm, while the Steinberger tuner approach seems very promising, I don't feel like dropping $100 into a set of tuners. The picture of the headless Tele posted by Tirapop are really intriguing me. Right now, I'm thinking about that advice. 6 tuners with 6 ferrules at the headstock, and then put the other tuners inside the body. However, I wouldn't have them sticking out like that. I would put the tuners facing the other way with a cover so they'd be entirely enclosed in the body. I'd fasten the cover on with easily removable screws (maybe Zeus buttons?) so I could take it off quickly. Tuning would be a bitch, but I think it would provide the cleanest design. Input? Feedback? The body of my Tele is 2 inches thick. That should be thick enough to hide a set of tuners, I hope? Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted March 24, 2005 Report Share Posted March 24, 2005 terbo,terbo,terbo!!! You have never played a 12-string, have you? Hidden tuners? I think not! You need better access to a 12-strings tuners than to toilet paper with the runs! Keep em out there where you can adjust the "suck" level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted March 25, 2005 Report Share Posted March 25, 2005 You could cut a wedge out of the body and fit the tuners like this. To keep the Tele look, it would be ideal to leave the body intact and come up with a tuner arrangement that visually mimicked the look of a Bigsby, bolted to the top. Maybe something that used trem style fine-tuner screws. Know any machinists? Another advantage of 6 tuners in the body is that you avoid any neck balance issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terbo Posted March 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2005 Haha, played them, but never owned/tuned them. I don't intend for this guitar to be leaving my bedroom much as it is, so I would probably just leave the back off if I made it that way. If I got a good set of tuners though, why would it tend to detune any more than a normal guitar? Plus, half of the guitar would be easily tunable! The wedge idea is interesting... But kinda ugly. I also don't want to have anything specially machined, other than a few cover plates that I'll machine myself, most likely. I got Mr. Hiscock book yesterday, so I've been reading up! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 25, 2005 Report Share Posted March 25, 2005 12 strings don't detune any faster than 6 strings but perfect relative tuning is essential in a 12. One string slightly out of whack and the whole thing sounds terible. On a 6 string one string can go a little off and you won't notice it right away, especially if you're playing lead. but chords on a 12'er - forget it. You'll be tweaking the tuning machines ALL the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevan Posted March 26, 2005 Report Share Posted March 26, 2005 Maybe do something clever with those Steinberger Gearless tuners. ← Wait a second....I think I heard this somewhere before...oh yeah: In regards to small footprint tuners, what about the LSR 'gearless' ones that were around for a while? I think someone said they are still available, but I don't remember where. Idea: 6 regular tuners, and 6 LSR tuners. Top: All Normal Bottom: All LSR. ...or... -Top: Normal, LSR, Normal, LSR, Normal, LSR. -Bottom: Normal, LSR, Normal, LSR, Normal, LSR. Could look kinda cool, but I'm not sure about the spacing that's necessary.← Thought I was goin' crazy for a minute there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terbo Posted March 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2005 Kevan, don't worry, I read your post the first time around... But the LSR tuners are more expensive than the Steinbergs! So that's a no-go, too. Sorry guys, I think the tuner-in-the-body approach is how I'm going. I was playing my Tele tonight, and with the back panel removed, there is more than enough space to reach back and tune easily. It might be a pain, but meh, it'll look cool. People will wonder where the extra strings come from! So, pre-slotted nut, SLIGHTLY thicker neck, ferrules in the headstock, tuners up top, and tuners in the back. Everything else is just like normal, I guess? Now I need to find some SMALL tuners that don't cost over $100! Any other ideas you guys would like to throw at someone who's about to "have the runs and be outta toilet paper?" If it sucks, I let you laugh at me later. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiggz Posted March 26, 2005 Report Share Posted March 26, 2005 if i were u, id fork out 4 the steinbergs, it'd look way better, and if the guitar doesnt go good then u just take them off and put it all down to experience ADMIN EDIT: Beef- please edit your sig. to comply with the rules (2 lines max). Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevan Posted March 26, 2005 Report Share Posted March 26, 2005 ...or sell them here and make some money back. I'm sure there's more than one person who'd like a deal on some of those tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirapop Posted March 27, 2005 Report Share Posted March 27, 2005 Sorry Kevan, I wasn't trying to let your genius go uncredited... When I said "something clever", I was thinking of ways to make the body mounted tuners less obtrusive or hidden. The knobs on those gearless make it possible to recess them into a pocket and still be able to turn them. The string clamping knob allow you to tension the strings, so you won't have to start twirling the tuning knobs with slack strings (save your thumb and fingers with those recessed knobs). So, one idea is to route a cavity into the back of the guitar. Then put in a piece of wood (or two) to which the tuners are installed. Instead of the tuner shafts being perpendicular to the face of the guitar, they'd be parallel to the face of the guitar. This is all like that strange headless Tele except that the knobs don't stick up through the face of the guitar, you'd access them from the back, in the recess. Yeah, this isn't as convenient as having tuners up front or on the head, but, it looks nicer. I'm also partial to using a traditional Tele 3 saddle bridge, for looks, even though the it probably causes big problems for intonation with those octave strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcousticSmash Posted March 27, 2005 Report Share Posted March 27, 2005 it seems so wrong to put 12 strings on a Telecaster im sorry but it is. I have seen a 12 string Les Paul sunburst copy on ebay before and even that looked pretty aweful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terbo Posted March 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2005 Why, may I ask? Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiggz Posted March 27, 2005 Report Share Posted March 27, 2005 i think what he means is some things just shouldnt be done, i think that u can pull off 12 strings with an rg/jem body neck and headstock, but the paddle style looks kinda bad.As for an lp? i dunno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terbo Posted March 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 That's why I'm hiding the extra tuners. The goal is to make the guitar look like a 6 string.... With 12 Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 I think the steinbergers by far are your best bet. Can't imagine how you would hide any other type of tuner. With the steinbergersm, you could route out a cavity, and replace it with a wood plate thick enough to mount the steinbergers on. Then the string would come through the body and into the steinbergers which would stick out the back but further toward the strap button where they dont' get in your way. Then thee is no plate to remove. no one would ever see them unless they saw the back of your guitar. The steinbergers have to have enough room above and below to work properly though so hiding them totally would be a feat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pr3Va1L Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 what about doing something like 8x4 ? i think 6x6 would look ugly... you easily could get tuners on the other side... and that would even more keep the shape of the head (just bigger...) just a suggestion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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