Mmmm...pointy Guitars.

[sakattack28]

Last march-ish i decided that it would be fun to build my own guitar. mainly because the ones i have suck. hard. a squire strat, and an equal as crappy strat knock off. so i started my research and i got here, where i might add, i have found immense knowledge and helpful people.

being rather impatient i sort of started with out doing what i should have done first... reading Melvyn Hiscock's book. (don't worry though, i ordered it and it should be here this week.) so far i have gotten most of my parts, and made a mock up of the body out of cheap pine from homedepot.

then i got sidetracked with moving my workshop because where it is currently really sucks.

old workshop: http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp20/sa...28/DSC01930.jpg

new workshop: http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp20/sa...28/DSC01914.jpg

i am almost done with that, and i have some money saved up for the rest of the stuff i need. too bad i have little time to work as i am a senior in high school and guess what that means! yep, college apps. fun stuff.

anyhoo, my plan is such, modeled after the Gibson Flying V (kinda) it is a pointy v, almost Jackson like. its gonna be silver with the bevel black. im getting a hobby air brush this next week, so i might use that for painting it.

i got (cheap) EMGs, (the EMG Select Humbuckers from StewMac (my new favorite store)) a LesPaul style TOM Bridge and stop tailpiece. i wanted to get the hang of everything else before i try a neck, so i bought one off of eBay. its an Eden neck, and when i asked my friend who happens to be a godly guitarist, he said it was rather good. and since i only paid $55 including shipping, i was happy.

http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp20/sa...28/DSC01934.jpg

so now that intro to this project is out of the way, i still need to decide what body wood i want to use. i was leaning towards mahagony, but since im painting it a solid color, im leaning against it. (and its pretty expensive, isnt it?) so i was thinking either swamp ash, or alder.

also the TOM i bought didnt come with the bushing, and is just the threaded rods, and thumb screws, i was wondering if i could buy just the bushings, cause i would rather do it that way, or should i just tap the wood, and thread it that way?

~Dan

Edited September 29, 2008 by sakattack28

[psw]

Welcome to PG...I can tell you are new cause you have broken all the rules! I am not a mod...but someone will come around an "fix" it I suspect...just so you know

Pics should be limited....and no pics in the signature

....

Anyway...making a mock up is a really good idea and good practice....there appear to be some significant "failings" though in that design so you may wish to reconsider...

The neck joins in such a way that, unusually for a V, upper fret access looks bad!

The controls seem way to bunched up, you have a lot of space to work with on that wing, why bunch them up so small. You might want to consider a two or three know and selector all in a line with a master volume for instance.

Also...the points on the wing look very fragile. Invariably you will be leaning the guitar up and it will be sitting on those points and wear if not break off!

There are V fans who I am sure can give you more advice on this kind of thing and unlike many, by mocking up first you have the chance to strap the thing on and prance about in front of a mirror or whatever and get a feel for the thing.

You may need to do something about the neck angle with a TOM bridge and it would appear that you have the traditional non-bushing bridge...worked fine for gibsons for years, so I wouldn't worry to much, might even be easier to install.

What wood are you planning on using for real?

pete

[Bryan316]

Okay, really cool idea to flare out a King V. But the points are never gonna last. I'm prepping you for miniature tragedies when the corners of the points get chipped off, because it WILL happen.

However, if you can spare some rework, try to round over the points a bit. Maybe a 1/4" radius to the point will make the inevitable paint chips more bearable.

[sakattack28]

ooops, sorry for breaking the rules. my b.

anyway, thanks for the input.

pete, you are right that it looks like it would be hard to reach the upper frets. that picture was taken before i put the bevel on, i just tried it, and its not hard to reach the upper frets for maybe the first 3 string or so, but the lower ones might be a pain. i might consider moving the neck up, as well as the bridge to give it more room. anyway i haven't been too happy with the placement of the tail piece, it has seemed too close to the v to me.

i put the controls close together because i thought it kinda looked cool. also i was almost trying to emulate the Gibson four knob set up, but there wasn't quite room enough. and yeah, it is really cramped, i guess it never occurred to me how close they really are and now that you mention it, it will suck to try and wire/use those. ill draw up some other option.

and the neck angle? yeah, i've realized that after much browsing here. ill have to do something about that on the final.

its a shame i really like those really pointy wings, because (don't tell anyone!) but ive already broken a bit off one of the wings already. so i think im gonna try to get it as unpointy as possible, while it still looks really pointy....if that makes sense..

as for wood, i would really like it to be mahogany, but the cost and the fact i am going to paint it a solid color is making me lean towards swamp ash, or alder.

~Dan

[ihocky2]

Get a circle template, and try fitting a 1/8" or 1/4" circle on the ends of the wings. With how sharp they come down you'll lose a noticeable amount in length. But when you look at any of the pointy vees up close the tips are fairly rounded, it is the bevels that make them look more pointed than they are. I would definitely move the neck up at least two frets.

I'm also moth feeling the crotch of the vee. Everything else on the guitar has a curve to it, but once you get inside the wings it is a straight line to a pointed junction. Maybe try curving the inside of the wings and rounding the juction a little to make it look more like the wings are swept out.

[Walmslap]

You could do something like this to get your point on.

I just threw them squigglys in for fun. I've got a project v I'm doing something similar on. And for my fretboard inlays I am trying to design something pointy yet rounded. I'm no good at drawing so I copy designs into auto cad, simplify them to an outline, and then tweak the lines by stretching them and moving them around. For me it's the best way to take a concept I like and make it look perfect.

Try looking into control alternatives, such as dual-concentric volume pots. Think about your electronics rig a lot. I like a good balance between controls and the features I actually use.

[sakattack28]

oooo, those squiggles are actually pretty cool, ill think about that, but for what i was originally thinking, the bevels would be straight. when i get time i might try that out. those squiggles might also look good with a veneer of one wood on top of a drastically different color wood, and have it stained. too bad im not ready to try something like that.

and yeah i think ill rethink the controls tomorrow during my drafting class. i think i might do a good CAD drawing of my guitar if i have time (and since its at school we have AutoCAD 2009 ) too bad i dont know how to do curved lines yet.

ill think about the crotch of the vee too, i might be easier to make look nice too, cause sanding that tight corner was a total pain.

~Dan

[ihocky2]

This might be a dumb question, but have you done a full scale drawing to layout the proper bridge placement and angle, and the proper neck angle. You mentioned drawing it in ACAD and it just kind of made me wonder why you hadn't drawn it out there first. Also kind of wondering what you are thinking for a finish on this bad boy? With the size of it I would lean towards alder though, mahoganny or swamp ash wil be noticeably heavier.

[zyonsdream]

to fix your tail piece issue use a Tone pros wrap around bridge or go string through. I'd personally use the wrap around just to give the face a cleaner look since you seem to be going to a figure 4 control package.

[sakattack28]

@ ihocky2:

welllll, yes and no. when i started my plans, it was last year and i didnt have access to ACAD, so i used an ancient free version of turbocad i found online, and made a rough design. as i said in my first post i was kinda impatient. so no i really dont have a good plan with all the measurements on it. however, i just got melvyn hiscocks book today, and im starting to read it, so i will be going back and fixing my drawing with all the suggestions ive gotten. you guys have been totally helpful and awesome. thanks a bunch.

for finish, i was thinking a silver/black theme. body silver, and the 45 degree bevel will be black.

i for the tailpiece, i might actually go string through, because i saw this chrome v tailpiece (like the gibson flying v) on ebay, and that might look really cool. im considering redoing the electronics too, im gonna draw up some alternatives when i get a chance, because while it looks cool, its kinda cramped.

~Dan

[ihocky2]

Go for the string through, I think they look a lot cleaner.

As someone said before, decide what controls you need and use that as your basis. I understand a lot of people love the 4 knob Gibson setup, but I don't see a need for it with my playing. I use the volume and rarely ever touch the tone. So even if I wanted the two volumes, I would still only use one tone.

Good luck with the build, Melvins book will help a ton with everything. I've owned it for about 3 years now and have read it cover to cover many times.

[sakattack28]

well ive thought up a few other options. i know the picture is kinda lame, but i think you can figure it out.

so the first one is the origional, and im not gonna use that. number 1 was something i thought up just for kicks. i really dont think it would work to well, the knobs are supposed to follow the curve of the body. and i probably will nix the two tones. 2 and 4 are basically the same, with one volume and tone, because that is basically all i use. i think that would look a little bare somehow, but i dunno. 5 is more or less a strat setup. and number 3 is two concentric pots, i was thinking if i did that, the top would be volume, and the bottom tone. however i dont think ive seen any 500k concentrics anywhere. does anyone make them?

[psw]

I'd say use a master volume and tone...something like 3 without the concentric pots or 4...I am not sure why you want the 4 control set up (unless you want that whole kill switch craze with the selector)...

Concentrics are tricky to use...most people don't use the tone at all, especially with HB's...

String through might be good...but you may want to get the tailpiece to match the V angle to it...otherwise the guitar shape might look a little off.

welllll, yes and no. when i started my plans, it was last year and i didnt have access to ACAD, so i used an ancient free version of turbocad i found online

What ever happened to pen and paper? Especially with a V in which curves are minimal and the guitar symetrical (fold paper, do half, un-fold...perfect plus a centreline)...

Also...making up a cardboard body shape or two is a great idea to get a feel for what the thing is really going to look and feel like in 3D...more so that the most realistic 3D virtual realization because you can hold it, put the actual neck on it, draw the controls and see what is easiest to reach...all those kinds of things that a computer cant do...and to do it well takes a lot of skill. Better, unless you know these proigrams backwards...to spend the time developing the guitar building than the computerplans to start the guitar building...

Still...I am sure you learned a lot from the wood mock up and this will have helped a lot when it comes to the real deal. Keep spending some time with alternatives and stuff though, take on board some of what people have said...like with those fragile points. I had been thinking...you could do the bevel thing sharp but the actual guitar edges round to give you the best of both worlds...