Questions About Building A Guitar.

[rowan_page]

Hi.

Im going to be building an Explorer guitar soon. I want to use a 24 fret neck 25-1/2'' inch scale length. A normal explorer neck normally has a scale length 24.75'', what difference will this make to the guitar. I assume from my research that this will just mean the bridge will be placed further back. And where would a 24 fret neck connect to the body?

Thanks, Rowan.

[Blackdog]

Hi.

Im going to be building an Explorer guitar soon. I want to use a 24 fret neck 25-1/2'' inch scale length. A normal explorer neck normally has a scale length 24.75'', what difference will this make to the guitar. I assume from my research that this will just mean the bridge will be placed further back. And where would a 24 fret neck connect to the body?

Thanks, Rowan.

You're right. The bridge will have to go exactly 3/4" further back from the nut than on a 24.75" scale explorer.

Regarding at which fret should the neck join the body, it's actually your choice. It will be a tradeoff between guitar balance and upper fret access: As long as you continue the neck as much as you can into the pickup cavity there should not be structural considerations. Of course, there will be playability differences too, but I presume it's what you're after with the longer scale length.

I'm assuming you are attempting a set-neck. A bolt-on would be a different problem altogether.

[WezV]

you just need to draw it all out full size and it will start to make sense.

draw a long centre line and mark on the nut and bridge locations... i would then draw the fretboard on - possibly with all frets roughly marked or at least a few key ones like 12th, 24th.

ok, so you have a piece of paper with a centre line, a fretboard and a bridge location. Now take an explorer template/outline and position it on the centre line, the key areas you need to focus on are fret access, how far the neck goes into the body and whether that will work with your construction style and whether the bridge looks to be in the right place, as too far back on an explorer shape can be uncomfortable...

just for reference here is an explorer pro (about 90% size) shape i did with a 25.5 scale length and 24 frets:

key things to note are that the bridge is just a bit back from the waist - further back and that large fin starts to get in the way, and there is good access to all 24 frets. this is a set neck guitar with the tenon extending all the way to the pickup cavity, this allowed me to have a lot of the neck clear of the body. if i was doing it as a bolt on neck i would need to think about having a bit more support around the neck

[westhemann]

This one is also 25.5" scale....I extended the cutaway though so I could have better fret access and still keep the neck inside the body..

[Mickguard]

this is a set neck guitar with the tenon extending all the way to the pickup cavity, this allowed me to have a lot of the neck clear of the body. if i was doing it as a bolt on neck i would need to think about having a bit more support around the neck

You can use an extended tenon with a bolt-on too, if it's a one-pickup design. I'd use inserts instead of a bridge plate though.

[WezV]

of course you can... i actually did it that way on my first ever guitar - i was never happy with the fact it completely ruled out ever having a neck pickup on that guitar, not that i ever put one in anyway

[rowan_page]

you just need to draw it all out full size and it will start to make sense.

draw a long centre line and mark on the nut and bridge locations... i would then draw the fretboard on - possibly with all frets roughly marked or at least a few key ones like 12th, 24th.

ok, so you have a piece of paper with a centre line, a fretboard and a bridge location. Now take an explorer template/outline and position it on the centre line, the key areas you need to focus on are fret access, how far the neck goes into the body and whether that will work with your construction style and whether the bridge looks to be in the right place, as too far back on an explorer shape can be uncomfortable...

just for reference here is an explorer pro (about 90% size) shape i did with a 25.5 scale length and 24 frets:

key things to note are that the bridge is just a bit back from the waist - further back and that large fin starts to get in the way, and there is good access to all 24 frets. this is a set neck guitar with the tenon extending all the way to the pickup cavity, this allowed me to have a lot of the neck clear of the body. if i was doing it as a bolt on neck i would need to think about having a bit more support around the neck

So if i wanted to do a bolt on neck how would I support it more around the neck?

[WezV]

look at westhemans, although thats a set-neck you can see he has more support running down the side of the neck... so something like that could be done - also a neck pocket with a 'tongue' of wood that goes a bit further up the neck will provide support

[rowan_page]

look at westhemans, although thats a set-neck you can see he has more support running down the side of the neck... so something like that could be done - also a neck pocket with a 'tongue' of wood that goes a bit further up the neck will provide support

allright thank you ill plan it all out now.

[psw]

If you don't mind a bit of an alteration in the design, the upper "horn" could be extended more like a 'single cut' perhaps to lend support and possibly better balance on the strap...this kind of thing is used in the iceman design and may be of benefit with an extended bolt on neck...

a guitar that obviously draws on the explorer theme in many respects...notice how the neck is given more support...

Of course...there are dangers to altering such an iconic design too much...but there have been so many explorer variations a long search might find something that meets your requirements...certainly, there have been a few built on this forum...so poke around for inspiration...

pete