My First Build: "dragonrider" Custom 7-string Superstrat

[!!METAL MATT!!]

I saw your design and I thought it needed a couple things, First off I don't think that the top horn protrudes enough seconly, I dont think it looks mean enough, especially for a guitar named "Dragonrider" and also this goes along with number one, I think you will have balance issues as a lot of 7 strings do.

Use parts of my version or none of it, just a friendly suggestion, I'm really looking forward to seeing this one come together, good luck.

CRAP THATS COOL!!! I may just try to do something kinda like that and thats a cool design at the base of the fret board, the only thing I think would make this design cooler is if the botom of the guitar was shaped more like a axe head or a small curve and a bevel or something

THATS IT IM OFF TO DRAW

!!METAL MATT!!

[WarriorOfMetal]

is it strange that even though i haven't even started actually building the first one yet, i'm already thinking about how the second Dragonrider will look?

[Xanthus]

is it strange that even though i haven't even started actually building the first one yet, i'm already thinking about how the second Dragonrider will look?

Heheheh... Same here. Thinking about a hardtail Laiho/RR crossbreed Flying V neckthrough with a reverse Ken Lawrence headstock, myself.

Now, someone needs to scrounge up another $700.......

[Logical Frank]

I, for one, dig the color scheme. It looks just about perfect for playing an epical guitar solo. I was thinking the same thing as NiteFly as far as the upper horn but maybe not so big as his is. I like the subtlety of the original design.

[WarriorOfMetal]

i've made some changes to the original design.

the upper horn has been moved forward by about an inch (that is, the tip of the point is about an inch closer to the headstock, and the back end of the horn has been moved up and out a bit farther). also, after buying an Air Norton 7 and D-Sonic 7 for my RG7620, i'm thinking i'll go with those instead of the original EMG idea....i am planning, however, to get a pair of black plastic pickup covers to give it the EMG look. i have also, after playing a Schecter Hellraiser C7, been thinking about extending the scale length from 25.5" to 26" or 26.5"

other than that, the design is basically the same, and i'll hopefully be starting on construction within the next couple weeks. been reading the Hiscock book as well

[Xanthus]

Sweet! picspicspics!!!

Btw, where would you get said pickup covers? There is nothing better than a nice sexy EMG pickup housing, in my opinion. I haven't come across any in my travels across the interweb, heh. Not that I'm planning on buying any more pickups at this stage, haha. But like you said, maybe...

...for the next guitar I've been toying with the idea of a RRV with the Laiho hand cut and a Ken Lawrence headstock. Just wish I was better at drawing these things, hahaha. Looking forward to everything, good luck!

[drinkchoglit]

Btw, where would you get said pickup covers? There is nothing better than a nice sexy EMG pickup housing, in my opinion. I haven't come across any in my travels across the interweb, heh. Not that I'm planning on buying any more pickups at this stage, haha. But like you said, maybe...

i found some similar to what he's talking about at wd music

here's a metal version metal covers

and here's what i think are the plastic onesplastic covers

[WarriorOfMetal]

Btw, where would you get said pickup covers? There is nothing better than a nice sexy EMG pickup housing, in my opinion. I haven't come across any in my travels across the interweb, heh. Not that I'm planning on buying any more pickups at this stage, haha. But like you said, maybe...

i found some similar to what he's talking about at wd music

here's a metal version metal covers

and here's what i think are the plastic onesplastic covers

like those second ones, yeah.......but for 7-string.

someone on sevenstring.org is working on getting a bunch of them from Kent Armstrong (they have a 7-string humbucker that has them, so we're trying to get just the covers).....still waiting to find out for sure if they'll fit DiMarzios though.

[Xanthus]

Btw, where would you get said pickup covers? There is nothing better than a nice sexy EMG pickup housing, in my opinion. I haven't come across any in my travels across the interweb, heh. Not that I'm planning on buying any more pickups at this stage, haha. But like you said, maybe...

i found some similar to what he's talking about at wd music

here's a metal version metal covers

and here's what i think are the plastic onesplastic covers

Ooooooooooh.... pretty

Not that I know anything about the mechanics of pickups, but wouldn't putting a metal cover over a magnet...

Wait... Nevermind. *is all nonchalant about almost aking a stupid question* Anyways,

Thanks for that website! I'm surprised I've never visited it before.

[WarriorOfMetal]

bought some plywood on friday so i can make body templates.

does it make sense to include the pickup and bridge locations, as well as the location for the control cavity as holes through the plywood? my thinking is that i'd then have one template to use for the outside shape, as well as all those other holes that will need routing, instead of needing to place separate templates on the body for each part, so it would end up possibly being more accurate (provided, of course, that i measure everything properly)

[Xanthus]

The only reason I think it wouldn't be a good idea would be if you didn't measure properly

http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/electricguitar.htm That's how this guy does it, although he usually has the front and back as separate. Depends on how many routes/holes you're going to be drilling, I'm thinking.

[WarriorOfMetal]

The only reason I think it wouldn't be a good idea would be if you didn't measure properly

http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/electricguitar.htm That's how this guy does it, although he usually has the front and back as separate. Depends on how many routes/holes you're going to be drilling, I'm thinking.

yeah, that looks pretty much like how i wanted to do it.....i have 1/2" plywood though (b/c the thinner stuff they had was horribly warped and cracked)....but here's what i'm expecting to have:

neck pocket

2 pickup cavities

control cavity

trem cavity w/ recess (probably will need to make or buy separate templates for the actual bridge routing, however)

spring cavity for trem

....i think that's all. i'd have to make the templates slightly different shapes, also, because of a particular angle i want to do for the "scoops" on the horns

[WarriorOfMetal]

here's a pic of the latest version of the sketch:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/Meta...bodysketch3.jpg

it looks like a few things will end up being changed slightly, as the neck pocket on the sketch is a bit longer than it's going to be in real life, i think....also, on the sketch, the neck is a little bit too narrow, so the upper horn will be altered slightly. the reason for these things is that i didn't actually measure much of anything on the sketch, it's mostly traced and altered. i was taking careful measurements of an RG7620 while working on the plywood for the template and discovered these discrepancies, so hopefully it won't end up looking drastically different.

also, because i've decided to make it 26.5" scale instead of 25.5", but i still want the neck to be able to be a direct replacement for an Ibanez 7-string neck, so i'm going to have a conversion neck made, which will leave more space between the 24th fret and the end of the neck than on an RG7620 neck. first thought: "that'll look a bit odd, that much blank wood...." second thought: "25 frets!"

[Nitefly SA]

I really like your alterations, and I adore the way you've shaped the pickguard. 25 Frets would be cool, you know what would be pretty cool IMO is if on the 24th fret you had inlayed "Dragon" and on the 25th "Rider". Thats just me. I was thinking not the actual letters more like solid pieces of MOP with the letters etched out and filled, like how LTD has the model numbers on the 12th fret of some of their guitars. Any reason for going 26.5?

[Xanthus]

Yeah, I think that'd look pretty sweet too, Nitefly.

Also, if you're planning on going to a 26.5" you gotta have big hands But anyway, if you want it to be a direct replacement for a 7-string neck, make sure that the scale on the neck is 26.5 too, or you'll have one funky-sounding 'tar!

[WarriorOfMetal]

I really like your alterations, and I adore the way you've shaped the pickguard. 25 Frets would be cool, you know what would be pretty cool IMO is if on the 24th fret you had inlayed "Dragon" and on the 25th "Rider". Thats just me. I was thinking not the actual letters more like solid pieces of MOP with the letters etched out and filled, like how LTD has the model numbers on the 12th fret of some of their guitars. Any reason for going 26.5?

i did some re-thinking and because i didn't measure things on the sketch, i ended up having to alter the neck pocket in such a way that the neck will no longer be able to be a direct replacement for an Ibanez neck.....because of that, i think now that i might go back to a 24-fret neck and move the edge of the neck pocket to the location of the 25th fret, which lets me move the neck pickup forward by about 1/4"

i'm not gonna do any inlays, they'll just add to the cost, and it's gonna say Dragonrider on the headstock anyway.

the reason for going for 26.5 is because i played a Schecter Hellraiser C7, which is a 26.5" scale....the neck is thicker than i like on that guitar, but the scale length didn't bother me too much (which surprised me, because i have relatively short fingers), so i started thinking about using a 26" or 26.5" scale length, since the extra tension would help the 7th string ring out more.....especially since i tune the whole guitar down a full step in my band and use a .10-.59 set.

Xanthus, i was going to have a conversion neck made.....basically meaning that it would match the dimensions of the neck pocket on a 25.5" scale RG7620 neck, but it would be 1" longer, with the fret positions adjusted to compensate.....if that had been done, there would have been extra space left unused at the end of the fingerboard, which is why i was thinking about a 25th fret.......but like i said before, now that i can't make the neck pocket the same, i might as well just drop the conversion idea.