Tony J Malmsteen Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Hi all, Been browsing the site and forum for a few months now looking for info that will help in my first 'big' guitar project. Most of it has gone in one eye and out the other so to speak! Im very confident with wood, especially using hand tools as i was an apprentice pattern maker a few years ago, before i quit so im looking forward to trying to build a guitar from scratch. However, after reading some of the articles and posts on this board the task seems more and more daunting! Not to worry. Ive arranged for my neck thru blank to be made by Dan MacPherson www.dm-guitars.co.uk as i dont have the tools available, and its a part of the guitar that must be spot on. Dan is also supplying me with my wing wood, fretboard and trussrod. Anyways, guitar specifications are as follows Jackson/Ibanez style superstrat Maple two-piece laminate neck (25.5 scale) Alder wings Maple fretboard, Scalloped (flat, infinite radius, whatever you want to call it) Jumbo frets Sperzel tuners (black) EMG 81 bridge pup Hardtail bridge (black, undecided on type) Danish oil natural finish A few questions, Has anyone ever scalloped their fingerboard before they hammered in the frets to save any scuffing? Im considering a reverse Parker Fly style headstock. Would a 2 piece laminated maple neck be strong enough to have such a head? And a pic of my previous project seeing as im here and all that Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Maple fretboard, Scalloped (flat, infinite radius, whatever you want to call it) ← Yay! Finally someone who's figured out "zero radius" doesn't mean flat ! I can't tell you anything about the Parker Fly headstock, but I'm sure you'll make something good happen - don't forget to show pictures as you progress. Is that picture you posted from a kit guitar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony J Malmsteen Posted June 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Yay! Finally someone who's figured out "zero radius" doesn't mean flat ! I can't tell you anything about the Parker Fly headstock, but I'm sure you'll make something good happen - don't forget to show pictures as you progress. Is that picture you posted from a kit guitar? ← Im expecting my woods sometime next week so i'll make sure to document my project with plenty o pics. The guitar in the picture is made up of a Mighty Mite neck i got for half price (£40) due to a microscopic (molecular even!) chip which was caused when the frets were installed. I then scalloped the whole board as this was to be a Yngwie strat. The body is a 2 piece poplar body made by www.Loristra.co.uk which i got off ebay on the cheap. All of the hardware and electronics except the Sperzels are from a Squire strat which i'll replace in the future. I was going to get it sprayed vintage white but opted instead for Danish oil as i liked the grain and im tired of shiny guitars! I like the natural oiled look of wood so im carrying this theme on to my neck thru strat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haggardguy Posted June 22, 2005 Report Share Posted June 22, 2005 Hey,welcome to the forum I'm glad you have agood idea of what you're doing and no one needs to tel lyou to use the search button. In my opinion I don't think the parker headstock would be strong enough because Parker uses composite materials, you'll want to get a couple more opinions first though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTLguitars Posted June 22, 2005 Report Share Posted June 22, 2005 Hi, and welcome! Thoughts about your headstock question: I think it might be strong enough regarding breaking, but maybe a bit too soft and light weight, -the mass in the headstock makes quite a difference in sustain and tone characteristics. However, as it is a neck through design, that will counter some of those effects.... Maybe choose some of the heavier tuning machines? If you want to reinforce the headstock you can laminate carbon fibre/epoxy on one or both sides and put a nice thin veneer on top of that if you don't want the carbon look... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony J Malmsteen Posted June 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2005 Thaks for the replies. I had a feeling that the Parker Fly headstocks had some kind of reinforcement, so im best avoiding that style. Maybe a more subtle version that does'nt cut that far into the headstock. I'll ressurrect this thread once building begins, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony J Malmsteen Posted July 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 My guitar is now complete so here's a few pictures i took of the process. I did mean to have many pics showing EVERY stage in detail so that other people attempting a similar guitar would have some sort of guide. I'd actually say this guitar is 99% finished as im yet to add side and board dots, and i have some buzzing at the 3-4th frets which needs to be sorted. Ive decided to take a bit more off the neck to create a more ergonomic offest shape as its feeling a bit chunky at the moment A good thing about a danish oil finish is that any changes can be made and no respray is needed! Overall my first real project turned out quite nicely im now thinking of building alot more guitars in the future. http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/ilove...ad/DSCI0028.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/ilove...ad/DSCI0030.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/ilove...ad/DSCI0032.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/ilove...ad/DSCI0033.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/ilove...ad/DSCI0006.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Looks good, but please. Read the rules about posting pics (unless it's changed, it's one pic per post except tutorials, 640x480 max). With so much discussion about it lately, it's hard to imagine that anyone missed it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony J Malmsteen Posted July 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Sorry mate, did'nt realise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemleggat Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Can i asked where you got the wood from? i am from glasgow and i cant find many places to get suitable wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony J Malmsteen Posted July 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Can i asked where you got the wood from? i am from glasgow and i cant find many places to get suitable wood. ← I got my wood from a guy named Dan MacPherson in Essex. A custom guitar builder but also supplies all the bits. www.dm-guitars.co.uk Have you heard of Loristra guitars? This guy is from Scotland and sold me the strat body i posted on the first page. Maybe he can supply you with wood. www.loristra.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony J Malmsteen Posted July 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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