Prostheta Posted February 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 I have some fine brass tubing that I was considering for that Wez. Instead of epoxy, I was going to pop lengths of the tube into the pillar drill and "core" out 5mm yellow acrylic same as I did with my fluorescent bass markers. I have a love/hate affair with epoxy anyway :-\ The sheet of yellow acrylic I have is for the control cavity and possibly scratchplate, but i've not hit on a shape I really like so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goblin_king Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 I am definitely a fan of the headstock on this guitar and the other 8-string of yours I saw. I've always wanted to do something as sort of a new take on the Kenneth Lawrence headstock, and I never designed anything I liked in the way of that. You have my respect, sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Thanks! I'm going to be using that design a lot more in the near future, and this build is being picked up for completion very very soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachandroll Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Sorry Xanthus - I was a little vague in that respect. Yes - the nut material is (heh) immaterial in that the Corian works great for guiding and is easy to work, but the resonance beyond the nut is a little annoying. The string length from the nut to the tuner is the issue - I always record with tape over the strings on my Explorer or sponge underneath, as staccato playing is ruined by the sustain of the remaining resonating string length. I absolutely know what you mean! I always affix weather stripping foam underneath the vibrato springs on any guitar I own, which eliminates the "spring reverb" effect that steals focus and clarity from the notes themselves. For the length of strings at the headstock behind the nut, I will cut velcro to the appropriate width, then attach two hook pieces to each other back to back using their adhesive sides. I then do the same with the felt pieces. I slide the hook strip under the strings, then velcro the felt strip to it. Non-permanent, lets the strings slide through freely, yet mutes the high pitched ringing left after stopping a chord. I hope this makes sense...BTW, the headstock looks fantastic! Cory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Thanks Cory - that's really appreciated. I never thought about using velcro....excellent idea! It's a lot easier than using black electrical tape when recording :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 Shaped the neck today - will post a photo when I get showered. The flame is starting to appear nicely even at 120 grit. :-D Specs: Thin flat, 20.2mm at 1st fret - 23.1mm at 17mm. IIRC, thats slightly thicker than the Ibanez offering in the higher registers, but i'll see how it feels before I set it in stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 Well that shower was awesome. Having maple-flavoured bogeys isn't, however. Okay! Pictures: Full neck shot Shot down the neck (some scratches visible which will be taken out soon) Contrast raised slightly to emphasis figuring (dampened) Neck dampened to raise the grain (did some scraping after this for the first photo in this post) Note the arrangement of the tuner mounting/locating. I have used a combination of seven tab+screw locating tuners and one "pins under body" style tuner to maintain a compact headstock. I could have used 8x tuners with pins under the body, but I think that the tabs add something to the look of the back of the headstock, pattern or whatever. That's just me I guess :-D It's totally unneccessary, but so are most things when you're building an instrument which is exacting and perhaps left-of-centre! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 looking great. do the necks on those 8 stringers feel really wide? it must be wierd being thing and wide, unlike a bass thats just fat and wide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 Not really, no. You get used to it after ten or so minutes when you dial your brain into having two lower strings or one high and low. The neck definitely does not feel thick either. I prototyped this neck design a couple of times before this build to get a feel for what-is-comfortable and what-is-playable. The original wenge/zebrano prototype was a bit bat-like in profile and i'm going to take the rasp back to that one to flatten it out and take it down another couple of mm, and way out at the sides. If you consider the thickness of the neck at certain points, take into account fretboard radius/thickness and the trussrod depth, there's no reason they can't be Wizard thin unless you're scared of hitting the rod rout (digital calipers are your best friend here) or you've dug that rout too deep by accident in the first place :-D I dropped using Stewmac's Hotrods because they're so damn deep you just end up with baseball bats you can dial relief into. The LMII dual action welded rods are really low profile and do the physical job just as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 The only thing I wish LMI had was a spoke-style truss rod. Once I find some money, I might start on a third project with a locking trem, and I didn't want to compromise the nut area by having the nut bolts and the truss rod taking out so much wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TemjinStrife Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 My recommendation, Prostheta, especially since you're in the UK, is to grab some Bareknuckle passive 8s. They just started offering them in all of their humbucker models. An 8-string Nailbomb would be awesome. Anther note: if you post this (and your other 8-string) in sevenstring.org's "Extended Range Guitar" forum, you'll probably get a pretty damn good response there too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 My recommendation, Prostheta, especially since you're in the UK, is to grab some Bareknuckle passive 8s. They just started offering them in all of their humbucker models. An 8-string Nailbomb would be awesome got to second this suggestion, i'm considering an 8 just because Tim has started offering them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 (edited) Yeah, but it's worked in enough production instruments to have proved a worthwhile design, weakness or no! Perhaps emailing LMII might yield results for spoke ends, as I get mine made to a specific size so it's feasible you can perhaps get some made up.... Temjin: I'll do that once I have this, the WZRG, the ash/purpleheart fanned fret and the semi-hollow complete ;-) I'm busy. Edited May 12, 2008 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 Temjin – I had a quick peeperoonie at the Bareknuckle pups, but I’m going to go for a pair of Swineshead APEX 8-string pickups purely on the basis that they are made locally, plus I can get the bobbins in yellow/black to carry the theme through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 the swinesheads are pretty good actually, i was using them before i switched to BKP.. This is my order of preference at the moment, obviously its a personal thing and certainly not meant to be definitive, varies with each model as well 1, BKP's 2, SD's 3, EMG's or swinesheads 4, Dimarzio Tim (BKP) does have lots of cover options but not on the 8 strings yet - just plain black bobbins at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TemjinStrife Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 Temjin – I had a quick peeperoonie at the Bareknuckle pups, but I’m going to go for a pair of Swineshead APEX 8-string pickups purely on the basis that they are made locally, plus I can get the bobbins in yellow/black to carry the theme through. No biggie. I like that the Swineshead 8s are direct replacements for EMG 808s as well... but from what I've heard (and my very, very limited experience with them) BKPs are really something special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted May 16, 2008 Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 I am not sure passive pickups can reproduce the clarity on the lowend for an 8. I have a 8 string build coming up so let us know how the passive 8's work. Looks good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 You can of course get passive bass pickups...they seem to reproduce it well enough...I think you're perhaps confusing the pickup sound with the mushy sound produced by lower tension short scale eights. Sevens suffer from this too. Baritones have a much stronger presence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted May 16, 2008 Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 You can of course get passive bass pickups...they seem to reproduce it well enough...I think you're perhaps confusing the pickup sound with the mushy sound produced by lower tension short scale eights. Sevens suffer from this too. Baritones have a much stronger presence. Good Point... guess I read to many EMG adds...ha ha ha So any scale around 26.5+ should be ok for an 8? I was thinking a nice round 27" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 I'm using 28" and 30" for mine, except for the multiscale which is 30" through 26.9". That's some wicked fanning....! I think the best balance between string tension, gauge and scale is somewhere around the 28" mark for guitarists whereas 30" tends to be a bit more gymnastic in the lower registers. I use open C a lot on one of my sixes, and the 24.75" scale just doesn't cut it even with a "standard" 10 set. Ibanez did a 7-string RG a while ago with a 27" scale (27.5"?) and i'd very much like to get ahold of one of those. I really didn't like my Jackson 7 because of the short scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted May 16, 2008 Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 i still want to build an 8. but i hate long scales. so it wouldnt really work. anything over 25.5 feels way big to me. and plus its really hard to get parts, and when you do find them they usually cost as much as my whole builds cost. i hope i can find a way though. i would probably go with a 28 if i do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim290280 Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 I'm using 28" and 30" for mine, except for the multiscale which is 30" through 26.9". That's some wicked fanning....! I think the best balance between string tension, gauge and scale is somewhere around the 28" mark for guitarists whereas 30" tends to be a bit more gymnastic in the lower registers. I use open C a lot on one of my sixes, and the 24.75" scale just doesn't cut it even with a "standard" 10 set. Ibanez did a 7-string RG a while ago with a 27" scale (27.5"?) and i'd very much like to get ahold of one of those. I really didn't like my Jackson 7 because of the short scale. I have to agree. I do get a muddy sound out of my 7-string flying V (Epiphone). Normal register is fine but the low B really needs to be on a longer scale than 24.75". I put on a heavier gauge string and that cleared it up a bit, not that I mind it being a little muddy sounding. Oh nice build by the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 Cheers Tim. I should drag myself to the workshop today to start shaving the heel and recessing the ferrules really. Heavy head from too much cider watching V for Vendetta with my wife and son last night. Viva la Saturday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 Progress: Drilled neck bolt mounting holes with recesses for the ferrules. Installed brass inserts into the neck. Brought arm contour back *loads*. Smoothed heel out and improved access to the highest frets. Neck fits snug as anything, and after dry fitting and trying some spare strings, the angle and action are spot on where I wanted them to be, and the string pull is straight as a die. Very very very pleased with today's progress. Back shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 Awesome looking Carl! Cant wait to see the finished product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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