Determining Neck Angle?

[mcbmoreno]

ANyone know how to determine what angle to set a neck. I am going to use a Wilkinson tremolo bridge. Didn;t get it yet so Im not sure how high it sits. Also anyone know what the routing template for the wilkinson is?

and a couple more question.

I wanted to use a 25" scale 24 fret glued in neck. Want to have a double cut away body. Anyone know how much the fret board is supposed to sit into the body (or overlay the body)? And also how do you where to route out the cavities for the pickups (2 humbuckers and maybe one single coil) with a 24 fret neck?

Thanks for any info.

[Setch]

Get yourself a copy of 'Build your own Electric Guitar' by Melvyn Hiscock. This book covers all your questions in depth, and is clear concise and humorously written.

For the time being....

Never never never try to calculate any critical measurements or angles until you have all your hardware in your hands. This goes double for neck angle - get the bridge first.

The amount of fretboard which overhangs the body is entirely up to you. The more the amount of fingerboard over the body the more stable the neck, but with a tradeoff of reduced access to high frets. However you choose to do this ensure you have enough tennon length to create a strong neck joint, especially if you plan to route for a neck pickup.

Finally, the positioning of the pickups is fairly non critical, provided you don't stick the brifdge p'up too close to the bridge, which results in a thin trebly tone. You can measure the positioning from a guitar you like, or just go with what looks allright. I'd advise you to ignore any talk you might hear about harmonic nodes, since these are only relevant if you never fret any stings...

[Brian]

I think I would place no angle between the fretboard and the surface of the body, if you route the correct depth for the neck pocket then determining the hight of your bridge when it is mounted should be a breeze. The fretboard itself can lay just above the surface of the body.

The template for a Wilkinson is basicly the same as any standard Floyd that is top mounted,just click here to see.

For the pickup routes try to make the neck pickup cavity as close to the neck as possible and the bridge pickup cavity would start about 1/4" in front of the imginary line across the body where the trempost's are if your going to go with what seems to be the standard.