aeli Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 I was inspired by the PRS Santana a few weeks back and made a design similar to it but neck through. Everything seemed to be going well. Too well infact when I noticed that I made the neck too long! When I realized that when I use a 25 inch scale lenght, the bridge is comes so near the end of the body that I can hardly fit 2 humbuckers. Thats not so serious, but then I realized that the fingerboard I get from stewmac is too short for the neck I flipped. Well it can't be too short, of course, but when I allign it with the headstock and put the bridge to where I planned it to be, the fingerboard ends before the body begins!!! But if I move the bridge more towards the body, and close that small space there, there will be a nice little gap between where the nut is and the headstock begins. Which one will be more ridiculous looking? Please help me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 All I can think of now is cutting the neck at an angle and make a new scarf joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 I guess this is a perfect example of why well drawn plans are such a good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 I guess this is a perfect example of why well drawn plans are such a good idea I second good plans. How about converting it to a 27" baritone guitar? Like one of these: Soloway Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 Are the fret slots cut? If not, converting it to be longer scale isn't a terribly bad idea. Think of it as an opportunity to experiment. If the frets are cut, fill them with strips of matching wood, and re cut the sucker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 All I can think of now is cutting the neck at an angle and make a new scarf joint. I've only just done my first ever scarf joint, but as long as you have a way to cut an accurate angle, this isn't such a bad idea. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeli Posted May 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 The baritone idea is the best ever, and I've always wanted a baritone guitar, but the fingerboard slots are unfortunately cut. If the filling the slots with chips of wood and reslotting the sucker advice was hundred persent serious or not, i do not know. But I will try the scarf joint thing. What is it? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snork Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 this is a stretch but if you really want a baritone guitar you could remove the fretboard and cut it again... there is a guide on the main page about how to remove a fretboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 this is a stretch but if you really want a baritone guitar you could remove the fretboard and cut it again... there is a guide on the main page about how to remove a fretboard You mean re-cut the slots? I'm not experienced builder, but that doesn't sound good. Also, the length is already established, which is part of the problem. Also, if it's a purchased pre-slotted fretboard, that indicates that he might not have quick and easy access to a new piece of fingerboard wood. As for the scarf joint, a photo is worth a thousand words-- I bet if you do a forum search, you'll find one. I have photos in my Project Lucy thread, page 4, but they're for a new neck blank and don't account for a shaped neck. I certainly wouldn't want to be doing a scarf joint on a shaped neck-- not that it can't be done, but I don't trust my own skill level at the moment. Also, with the guitar being neck-through, it'll be hard to line up the wood for an accurate cut. Not that it couldn't be done; I'm simply saying that I personally wouldn't want to be the one doing it. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank falbo Posted May 10, 2004 Report Share Posted May 10, 2004 I don't know how far along you are on it, but there are already several good suggestions. Don't re-cut any slots. If you want a longer scale, get a new board pre-slotted from LMI or whomever. If it's a neck through, I would take it to the bandsaw and very carefully cut along the wings' joints on either side. You'll only lose about 1/8" if you do it right. If you're sloppy you'll lose maybe 1/4". After re-planing, you'll either have a slightly narrower body, or you can put 1/8-1/4" strips of fancy wood on either side of the thru-neck for some "stripes," kind of like the abalone stripes the Santana has. But this would allow you to properly reposition the wings farther up on the neck so your current fingerboard is long enough. Again, I don't know how far you are. If we saw pics we could probably tell you exactly how to fix it. Perhaps rather than a baritone, a 25 1/2" scale with an extra 1/2" or so at the headstock end wouldn't look so bad. You'd pick up an whole inch in bridge placement. You could mask it a little with an oversized nut blank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeli Posted May 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2004 What about this: Maybe I could do small nice inlay between the headstock and the nut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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