Rick500 Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 I'm getting ready to cut the template for the next one... just thought I'd run it by you guys to see if there are any glaringly apparent issues. The incomplete curve at the bottom is the original outline of the bottom of the body, but I decided to bring it in a bit to cut down on the weight (mahogany). I'm going to smooth out the curve on the lower body sides a little, and although the neck is centered correctly on the center line, it has the illusion of being closer to the left side due to the relative size and shape of the horns... I may change that curve a bit. The neck joins the body at the 18th fret on the bass side and about the 21st fret on the treble side. It will be a bolt-on neck, 25.5" scale length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 I like the shape of that, I think it will turn out nice. The only things I would say to change, is where the neck block meets the body. Instead of a fairly sharp corner on the bottom and a very sharp corner on the top, I would round them out a little. The corners will be tougher to get the finish into nicely and to sand and polish. It's just something about the nicely rounded body, with that square angular block in the front. Maybe try something like Ibanez uses for the JEM neck joints, with the rounded block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted April 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 Thanks; yeah I just kind of roughed in the neck portion in the drawing to get an idea of where it would lay. Am I correct that as long as I cut the neck pocket 3" or so into the body, there are really no other requirements for the pocket, structurally? (It'll be standard depth for a Strat style neck pocket, and the body is 1.75" thick.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 I actually like the sharp horn idea, it's a nice update to the classic LP design, and a welcome change from all of these PRS-style builds. To comment on the neck heel as well, I think that a neck-through or deep-set neck would be better, because with the body join so high up on the neck, you're going to want as little bulk on the heel as possible. You could probably follow the "swoosh" idea and carve out a pretty awesome neck joint, considering this is an LP shape. http://public.fotki.com/xanthus/misc/scaledrawing2.html Check out that quick photoshop to give you an idea of what I mean. It's a neckthrough carve more like a traditional strat-style guitar. It might look pretty good ::EDIT:: Always remember neck angle for the bridge you're putting on (I'm guessing standard TOM/tailpiece), and if you're concerned about weight, you can always chamber the body, assuming you want to put a top on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 I like the shape, Vintage have a slightly modified LP shape like that but not as nice. My only comment is concerning the selector switch location. I have a strat type guitar with the switch there & I find that it gets in the way if I want to to some tapping. Les Paul's seem a bit further away & aren't as much of a problem...just something to consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 I like the pointed horns and the swoosh type front on it. I am not sure how to work it yet with sketching for a while, but it might be cool to incorporate that contour into the end of the fret board. If you look at Metal Matt's Impaler, it'll give you an idea (just less evil than his). If I get a chance I'll throw in a sketch later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted April 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 It is really begging for a set neck, isn't it? I haven't tried one yet; just bolt-ons so far. I have planned it so far as a bolt-on neck with no angle, so I'm still considering the bridge options. Maybe a Hipshot hardtail, or a recessed TOM if I get brave. Need to make that decision and get the rest of it drawn out next. I did plan to throw a curve on the end of the fretboard, but I don't have too much room to play with; maybe a half inch. I'm going to repeat the curve of the horns though. The horns are supposed to be reminiscent of shark fins. Repeated in the headstock as well. (The headstock I posted a few days ago will be on this one.) Mahogany body (no top, so no chambers), black limba neck, probably a partial mahogany headstock overlay (about 1/4 mahogany; 3/4 of the headstock will have the black limba showing through). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 A recessed TOM isn't hard to do, so long as you've got a router and a straightedge. If you've got no neck angle (And the fretboard is raised about 1/8" off the body plane), you only need to recess about 1/8" or so, maybe a little more, to make the TOM work. I personally think that a TOM would look much sweeter than a Strat-style bridge, seeing as it's a Les Paul body shape and all. String through ferrules would look nice And again with no neck angle, so long as your wood is straight and your pocket is level, I see no difficulties with doing a set-neck with no angle. Will the curve at the end of the fretboard be concave, or convex? I think a convex curve following the swoosh of the horns would look awesome! And why choosing both limba AND mahogany? From what I hear, they're both very similar, and if you can get limba for the neck, why not get it for the whole guitar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted June 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 I'm still pondering the bridge. I'll probably go with a recessed TOM. I'd like to try a Baby Grand but they're just too expensive. The curve at the end of the fretboard will be the same line as the curve of the horns. At least that's what I'm planning so far. It was originally going to be all black limba (although now I'm thinking since I'll be ripping the neck blank in two to get opposing grain \\\///, I might put a strip of flamed maple in the middle... \\||//), but I couldn't find a black limba body blank nearly as nice as the neck blank I got from SoundAt11. I have a really nicely figured mahogany blank though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 The maple would be a cool accent I wanted to get a BabyGrand for my last project, woulda looked excellent, but I'm poor as well. You mentioned him, so I took the liberty of tracking down SoundAt11. His shop is really nice! I kinda wish I'd stumbled across him before ordering my wood... Well, there's the excuse to build number 3. My girl is never going to forgive me for finding this hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Looks good, although the waist doesn't work for me; assymetry is fine, but only (IMO) if it's carried through to the lower bout - otherwise you're better off maintaining closer symmetry/ratios. If anything, I'd have the treble side of the waist be lower than the bass side, not higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted June 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 I'm not seeing the asymmetry in the waist. It started as a body trace from a Gibson LP. Maybe an optical illusion from the pic? Here's another one. (The right side of the vertical rule is the center line.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted July 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 So far... (I'll move it to In Progress after this post) Rough cut: Neck blank glued up (black limba/padauk/flamed maple/padauk/black limba): http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/rick..._blank_done.jpg [Edit: Moved to "In Progress" forum here...] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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