Prostheta Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Okay, onto the next build on the table which is going slower than the others as I have a few techniques to confidently master, and time is not a factor in comparison to getting it right. The idea behind this one was to make what I call a "mid-scale" instrument with features consistent with the look of my wife's Washburn EA20SDL acoustic guitar. The acoustic has quilted back and sides, a rosewood fingerboard and headcap, a scarfed maple neck with cream neck and headstock binding, and multiple cream/black binding on the body. Rather than make a straight copy, i've adapted bits here and there along how I like to make electrics, such as neck laminations etc. The body style is an RG-type instrument with slightly adapted horns for balance practically and visually. I'm staying with my bolt-on arrangement as I have invested in a bunch of threaded inserts for the neck, ferrules and coloured allen bolts. On the subject of colours - maple, rosewood, red, cream and black are predominant in that order. The neck will be a five-piece built of (outside to inside) flame maple, bloodwood and rock maple. The headstock will have a rosewood headcap, matching the fingerboard. Again, I am using a zero fret and a 56mm x 17mm x 7mm Corian guiding nut (unless I can get ahold of some other nice ivory-coloured material - suggestions?) with a four-a-side kidney tuner arrangement with a more traditional style of headstock. Inlays will be offset pearl dots on the bass side. Side markers, simple black plastic rod as per the acoustic. Bridge arrangement is still in the consideration phase. I'm bored of seeing the same old Hipshot bridges on 8-strings so i'm planning on milling a more decorative baseplate out of rosewood and fitting eight Graphtech Wilkinson VS-100 tuners in TUSQ with brass inserts to reinforce the saddles in place. The stringing arrangement will be through-body with eight recessed ferrules. Pickups are slated to be a pair of Swineshead Eclipse, or perhaps an Apex and an Eclipse with rosewood bobbin tops. Control arrangement a 5-way blade, volume and tone. Additionally, the 5-way will have a top-mounted rosewood "cover" and switch cap similar to those seen on the Ibanez S series instruments with turned maple knobs with a rosewood top and bloodwood indicator line. The body is maple with the majority of the wood hogged out to make a ~1cm thick core over which I am having bookmatched ~7-8mm burl maple with natural voids and inclusions. The back will have either the same, or possibly bookmatched quilt. I am unsure on this one to be honest. I would have to buy some quilt for this, and I already have two sets of burl to hand. Plenty of time to make this decision. Anyway. The maple core itself needs to be "undersized" as the outer edges will be having quilt maple steam-bent around to give the looks of my wife's acoustic, but with the solidity and stability of a solidbody. I am planning doing this very simply - routing and coarse sanding the core to the correct size as per the design, cutting a binding channel around 5mm deep (not wide) extending it to 10mm and then template cutting around the body to bring it undersize. The maple will then bring the body back up to spec. The control cavity will be carefully cut from the burl using a scroll saw, and have posts from the central maple core to rest on with magnets to secure it. The binding will be cream presenting, with laminates of black and cream on the top. The corners of the upper and lower horns and the centre of the back where the rear straplock is located will also be bound cream. The straplock button's bases will be slightly recessed. Hardware colour will be chrome to match the acoustic, with the tuner buttons being replaced with either cream/ivory or rosewood. Pickup rings will be rosewood of course. An ambitious project, but as people know, i'll design things out to the nth degree before putting pencil to wood. I'm probably going to go bandsaw and rout the body now....got the urge.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 As is traditional, the CAD mockup....the body doesn't have the binding shown and the colours aren't an accurate representation of the actual materials of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bygde Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Looks awesome! Can't wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 I'm looking forward to this one also. The shorter scale will be different, that's for sure. I'm probably going to have to either incorporate a slight angle to the neck because of the way the bridge will raise the saddles, or just mill the saddle area nice and thin, say 1-2mm. I'm going to have to measure up the VS100 saddles to design this in I guess. I will most probably change the shape of the bridge. My wife likes the bridge on my own Washburn acoustic, so i'm going to mock it up and see how it looks. I think the RG shape is a lot more contemporary, so a bridge with a large footprint probably won't suit it....i'm very open to opinion on this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Hmm. After a bit of mocking up, I might actually drop the rosewood bridge idea as it makes the instrument look too acoustic-y. Also, the pickup rings seem unnecessary. I'm going to mount the pickups differently....won't blow this one too early on advice from my wife :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Final mockup, hopefully. I'm happy with the changes i've made after throwing this together. I'm going to sack off the bridge altogether and go direct mounting. May have to inset some hard material so the height adjusters on the saddles don't eat the maple. Didn't do any work today. Weather was cold miserable and wet. Stayed indoors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 (edited) This is my wife's acoustic, for reference. Am hoping to match as best as possible the colours on the maple etc. PICTURE 1 PICTURE 2 I may also put the central stripe down the back. Going to shop for some quilt now :-D Edited May 26, 2008 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Fair amount of progress today, but not just on this project. The body core is a three-piece blank of 34mm thick maple. The body was cut on the bandsaw and template routed to the RG template I have, except for the horn tips which were cut pointed. I then routed a channel around the body using my binding cutter, and then switched back to the template cutter to remove a little from around the entire circumference of the instrument. The edges were sanded on the bobbin sander et viola!! Oh yes, that's a different project's neck underneath there ;-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Dude, Pro, this project is going to be insane! I'm pumped about everything except maybe the headstock shape, but that's neither here nor there. Are the bridge pieces high enough so that the fretboard doesn't sit flat on the body? I myself don't really like the feel of the strings being so close, and I really don't know if the two thicker strings are going to make that harder to play. But then again, you've made more 8-stringers than I have It's funny, I'm planning a very similar build at the moment. 6-string RG-style hollowbody, 2" thick, all mahogany body, top, and back with maple/walnut/maple neck and Kahler trem. You move much faster than I do, though, so I may be forwarding some questions to you, if you don't mind. Such as... How much are you leaving from the sides, when you hollow it out? I'm planning on leaving about 1/2", and your mockup looks nearly the same. I can't decide whether I want to cut out the wood behind the bridge or between the pickups. I'm aiming for more of a jazzbox feel than a full-on acoustic, like you are. Good luck! I'll be keeping my eye on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 Thanks :-D I don't work that quickly though, believe me! Time isn't something I have in abundance, although that said, it does help to be a little slower with builds so errors don’t get blundered into blindly at full speed…. I’ve not yet measured VS100 saddles, but if they have (like I suspect) a similar range of string height adjustment to “standard” Strat saddles then I’d like to bring them up a few mm using a baseplate or whatever. This is (I guess) the only malleable design point. I play with my hand in the palm muting on/off position a lot so my picking tends to be more parallel to the strings rather than attacking from the sides, so height doesn’t affect me too much. My bass playing is completely the opposite however (whaling!) but that’s another story. I sketched out around 1” or so on the basis that I would be hogging out the wood by hand and wouldn’t like any unexpected nasty surprises ruining the work. I’m planning on taking it down safely to around ½” using the spindle sander before the maple is bent and glued around the outside. It’s not hugely important I guess. I’m not going into acoustic territory really, but yes, perhaps a little jazzbox-y as you say! 2” thick is quite large. This is already 37mm thick with an additional 5mm either side when the maple top/back are applied. I am toying with the idea of the core having a mild radius on both the top and back so the central thickness is in the region of 47mm (just under 2”) and dropping it around the edges, I don’t particularly like the idea of steam bending the burl to achieve this plus I don’t have access to a vacuum bag which would suit this job perfectly. This most probably won’t end up on the finished instrument, although a bent forearm contour probably will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkRockerLuke Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 Nice bass Prostheta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 It's not a bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 It's not a bass. ..... Do you think 2" is too thick for a still-mostly-solidbody? I'll be carving down my tenon to 1-1/4" and putting a 1/2" top and back on, with a thin veneer in between each. I didn't mention that I'd be carving down the insides of the top and back to about 1/4" or so. Structurally, I don't think I'd feel safe were it any thinner than that, because it's not a laminate, just regular wood. http://www.blackmachine.net/assets/884bL.jpg http://www.blackmachine.net/assets/Snake2.jpg I like the way BlackMachine raises up their bridges. In most pictures I've seen, they just cannibalize Wilkinson bridges and steal the saddles hahahaha. Maybe an idea for you. Pretty pictures, if nothing else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 i plan on doing it the blackmachine way on my baritone... they are awesome guitars!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkRockerLuke Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 Sorry bout calling it a bass then... Still looks awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 Looking at the Blackmachine guitar, yes, that's how I envisaged this bridge. No screws at the back holding it to a plate. Directly mounted through the saddles into threaded inserts. Will update....need to find somewhere that will break TUSQ saddle sets up to make me up an 8-string set.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Alright! Here's (most of) the wood being used on this project. Absent is the rosewood for the fingerboard and headstock. Left to right: - quilted maple for the sides - 2x 3mm bloodwood laminates for the neck - quartersawn rock maple for central neck laminate - flame maple for the neck - burl maple for the top - burl maple for the back (outlines for reference...am adjusting the positions so the inclusions don't run over the edge binding) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 SNAP!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 DUDE! I've almost bought from that guy a number of times. I keep getting outbid. How well dies he package the wood? I just got some redwood burl from a dude in Oregon who wrapped it in brown paper - no padding at all - and handed it over to UPS. A bid corner of both pieces got broke off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 usually pretty well packaged... i go for the BIN stuff as its quite reasonably priced i am guessing its the same tree as prostheta's stuff - similar intrusions and they have a dark band across them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Totally. Very well packaged, and worth paying the extra for express air shipping for the reasonable prices. What are you doing with yours Wez? I presume you bought that, or are considering doing so.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 i have had it a few months.... i want to do an 8 string with it... but i cant see that happening anytime soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 I bought a really nice piece of birdseye maple from him last year. It was packaged really well and was a good deal. I haven't used it yet, but it's going to make some great fretboards eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Well, this will be the fourth 8-string on my table, Wez....go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reantel Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 Alright! Here's (most of) the wood being used on this project. Absent is the rosewood for the fingerboard and headstock. Left to right: - quilted maple for the sides - 2x 3mm bloodwood laminates for the neck - quartersawn rock maple for central neck laminate - flame maple for the neck - burl maple for the top - burl maple for the back (outlines for reference...am adjusting the positions so the inclusions don't run over the edge binding) Where did you get your wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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