sirkentesquire Posted May 14, 2005 Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 I am not of the digital camera age, so it wasn't until recently that I thought of borrowing a friend's digital camera to take some shots of my latest project. I figured I would post it on here, maybe inspiring someone to be more creative than just sticking to the norm. Anywho, here's a pick of the beast: It's a double-neck, alright, but while the bottom neck is a standard guitar, the top is a six-string mandolin, more or less. It's tuned in fifths, starting with a low F all the way up to a high E. I did have some string tension issues. To get equal tension for the low F it would have had to have been around 0.078", which is a bass string, so we compromised and went with a 0.060". Still a bit wobbly, but pretty good. Body: -ash with a maple top -three hollow chambers throughout the body to cut down on weight, one in front of the humbucker, one behind the guitar bridge, and the other above the pickup selector -the control and truss rod covers are made from the beautiful, yet annoyingly brittle "Chatke Kok" wood. Don't ask me ow to pronounce it... Necks: -five piece laminate of bloodwood, maple, and purpleheart on the outsides -rosewood fretboards on both, 21 frets, with MOP dots -headstock veneer of...canary wood? I think that's what it was... Electronics: -Seymour Duncan JB for the guitar, and a Hot Rails for the mandolin -each pickup has volume, tone, and a series/paralles switch Hardware: -Schaller tuners on both headstocks; regular for guitar, minis for the mandolin -Hipshot hardtail bridges with string through body -two-way trussrod from LMI in the guitar and a one-way in the mandolin -Graphtech nuts on both, as well as the Buzz Feiten tuning system on both, though I still have to get the offsets for the mandolin from the company I was really pleased with how it turned out, and my customer was blown away, which is always satisfying. Oh, and the finish is Danish oil and wax, on body and neck, giving it a smooooth finish and a nice glow. The headstock is finished with TruOil to give it a glossy look where you can still see the grain quite readily. Here are some more pics: Front Side Back Headstock Rocking out I've probably forgotten many things, so just let me know if you have any questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted May 14, 2005 Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 Looks like a cool project The neck laminates are great and I LOVE that headstock design! Good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted May 14, 2005 Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 Looks nice, well done! Since both sets of controls are the same, you probably could have gotten away with one master set of knobs (with the neck select upstream) and then the mando controls are out of the way when you play the guitar. But overall it is quite nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted May 14, 2005 Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 Very nice, Parker Fly inspired I guess for the body? Looks balanced and comfortable. The only thing I think would be beeter in a different spot is the neck selector switch, I would be hitting that stuff with my arm all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted May 14, 2005 Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 looks cool. I would have finished it diffrently (ie a solid color). But other than that it looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirkentesquire Posted May 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 Ah, you guys think like me, except about the solid colour idea. I like to always see the wood on a guitar. In any event, my customer wanted the separate controls for both necks, so that's what I did. As for the three-way switch, it looks like it would be in the way, but it's actually miles away from where you might hit it with your arm. I was a bit surprised myself! Yep, it's super balanced. My customer was also a bit concerned that it would even play correctly with a strap, but it's spot on. I guess the body is Parker like in the horn direction. A friend and I designed the shape together for a bass I made for him a couple years ago. It's the general shape I've been using for all my guitars, except this one was more rounded between the horns for neck attachment reasons. I'm still trying to improve the heel-less bolt-on design, but for this guitar upper-fret access was completely unnecessary, so it works well and still looks cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura999 Posted May 14, 2005 Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 how heavy is that sucker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirkentesquire Posted May 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 Not as heavy as one would think. I haven't weighed it, but I was playing it with a strap for about an hour with no adverse effects. It's actually lighter than the last bass I made with a solid purpleheart body. I should get some pics of that. THAT sucker is heeeaaavy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eckodanny Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 Looks rlly good, I like the body, Parker style Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haggardguy Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 Not much access to the upper frets, but i must congratulate you on a very unique instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meegs666 Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 omg, i love it. i had a similar idea a while back but had to choose a different project. have you seen the gibson mandolin that has a half scale guitar neck? its tuned like a guitar so you dont have to learn a different instrument. cheating but really cool. it reminds me of that. amazing work bro! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted May 16, 2005 Report Share Posted May 16, 2005 As a matter of fact, I totally dig that! TBH it would have looked a lot better if it were rear routed and the covers were on the back, and in either case, it would have been nice to see the covers sit flush with the surface. Also, the toggle switch would look nice next to the other controls (the guitar ones). That said, the necks are fantastic; I've always loved dark necks with lighter laminates. The bodu shape is wonderfully funky. Personally, I think a satin nitro finish would better suit this particular project over a wax finish, but to each his own. I'm going through a phase where I prefer hard finishes, but that may wear off soon. Who knows? Anyway, congrats on a job well done, and special kudos for ignoring the standard guitar designs and doing something funky and original... even if you did steal the body shape. Keep it up, and let's see that purpleheart monster of which you speak! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted May 16, 2005 Report Share Posted May 16, 2005 haggardguy, you are positively addicted to upper fret access. I have to agree in this case that the neck IS pretty deep into the body. Sweet beast, though! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirkentesquire Posted May 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Nope, you guys are right on. If it was for me, I would want to be able to freely touch every single fret, and it would have had 24 of them, by the way. The guy I built it for is really a fiddle and mandolin player, he really doesn't even play guitar very much. It was created as more of a show piece than a perfectly designed double-neck. The mandolin was exponentially more important than the guitar, in terms of playability, sound, feel, etc. I don't think he even goes anywhere near the 12th fret, let alone all the way to the top, so with him it's a non-issue. As far as finishing goes, I agree with the nitro suggestion as well. That would have looked sweet, and we were contemplating going with a blueburst on it, which would have looked great as well. Truth be told, the guitar was finished in less then two months from conception to birth, which was just nuts. I mean, he came to pick it up for an out-of-town gig not five minutes after I plugged it in and tested her out one final time! Lacquer was just completely unfeasable with the time frame is all. I personally love the look of wood, and the oil and wax just feels so 'organic' to me, ya know? But a harder, more durable finish would have been the preference. I thought about rear-routing the controls, but honestly, I love the look of the wood for the control plates. I think it would have been a bit too bland without it, to my eyes. Like any instrument I've made, I can always see ways to improve upon the design, and that's what's so exciting, you're always coming up with new ideas, new ways of doing things or just plain off-the-wall concepts. I mean, that's what keeps it fresh, right? Right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 I know what my next neck is going to look like! Stunning contrast Great choice of woods. I like the Parker-esque body shape too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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