glimmertwin Posted November 27, 2006 Report Share Posted November 27, 2006 ...trying to wrap my head around something here. I was thinking of starting a Les Paul Special single cut guitar project but as I'm running through the details of the project I came up with a few questions. I was thinking of doing the 50s style Special with a wraparound tailpiece. So how did Gibson do those because they appear to be constructed differently than the modern TOM Specials? The pictures I have seen of the 50s style ones seem to have a bit of wood underneath the fretboard so that the fretboard doesn't sit flush to the body(I guess it never would be "flush" anyway if there is a neck angle). Why did they have the wood underneath and wouldn't that affect the neck angle? ....and just so satisy my curiousity, if you make the guitar with a TOM bridge, I have read that you need a 2 degree neck angle. So where does that leave the fretboard in relation to the body - wouldn't that mean there is a small gap between the fretboard end and the body and how do the newer Specials with TOM appear to have the fretboard flush to the body? I'm totally confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 27, 2006 Report Share Posted November 27, 2006 The Special's just the two-pickup version of the Jr., right? That little piece of wood you see is probably the neck itself --the tenon on those guitars is actually the full neck width. And yep, the fretboard stands proud of the body. The angle seems to vary from 1 to 2 degrees or so. You'd want to set that according to the actual neck and bridge you're using. The higher-end LP's had carved tops that hide the angle, and the tenon is narrower, so it gets hidden in the carve. The lower end Gibsons had flat tops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 27, 2006 Report Share Posted November 27, 2006 5 to 6 degrees is more typical of a regular LP neck angle with a TOM bridge. I have a LP Studio apart in the workshop right now, the neck angle is 5.5 degrees. Don't know what they are on modern Specials, but if you know the saddle height, a little trig will get you a long way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glimmertwin Posted November 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 Thanks for the help guys...I guess I was having a hard time realizing the neck tennon is the full width of the neck. I also reread a few pages in Hiscock's book and it shed a little light on the subject too... Now to find a good template to work from...that's a search in itself. Does anyone know roughly how much width is given to the treble side pocket on those - where they added a little more wood to stabilize the pocket? The only template I have is from the P-90 carved top les pauls but the flat tops seem to be the same shape with that lip added... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvyn Hiscock Posted November 29, 2006 Report Share Posted November 29, 2006 Thanks for the help guys...I guess I was having a hard time realizing the neck tennon is the full width of the neck. I also reread a few pages in Hiscock's book and it shed a little light on the subject too... Now to find a good template to work from...that's a search in itself. Does anyone know roughly how much width is given to the treble side pocket on those - where they added a little more wood to stabilize the pocket? The only template I have is from the P-90 carved top les pauls but the flat tops seem to be the same shape with that lip added... From memory, the lip is about 3/16 in. Again from memory, the tenon is full width of the neck as stated and the angle is routed into the body, not cut onto the neck. The heel also does not step down where it leaves the body but is just the depth of the tenon. remember Gibson were trying to save money so cutting down the manufacturing steps. Don't take any neck angle estimates as gospel, always draw it and check for yourself. MH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glimmertwin Posted November 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2006 From memory, the lip is about 3/16 in. Again from memory, the tenon is full width of the neck as stated and the angle is routed into the body, not cut onto the neck. The heel also does not step down where it leaves the body but is just the depth of the tenon. remember Gibson were trying to save money so cutting down the manufacturing steps. Don't take any neck angle estimates as gospel, always draw it and check for yourself. MH Cool - thanks... I was sitting there with my wife last night telling her how I was looking to put one of those together but I was going to need to pull the specs from a lot of different spaces to make up a template and it was frustrating and made me uneasy. She said why don't you find a real one and take specs from it. I scoffed at first and said something to the effect of "they don't exactly grow on trees"...but then I remembered that one of her good friends comes from a family of musicians and her grandfather was in one of Bob Wills bands and passed on his old Les Paul flattop and tweed bassman to his musically inclined grandchildren....must be nice! I asked my wife if she had ever seen the amp/guitar and she said - oh ya, she lends it out to friends all the time AND she will be in town next week for the holidays. Now is that some sort of cosmic coincidence or what? Anyway, thanks for the help Melvyn - I actually have been re-re-reading your book all week while sitting in airports. Good stuff. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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