Hardball

I have been trying to work out what I want to do with it, but like music, nothing I "invent" has not been done before. The problem with my design is just that. I thought I had a fairly unique body variation of a strat, and lo and behold there is one exactly like what I was doing already on this site, no less. Hadn't seen it before I got everything drawn up, and figure I am gonna stick with it anyway. I can gut the plan, but why not "do it on the fly" when I am down to the body shaping? The plans I have drawn are finished, but they are going to be tweaked, which is why I am going to throw extra room in for what ever I decide to do with the headstock. I think I'll throw in that extra 1 1/2" as mentioned before and draw it 8 1/2" to leave plenty of room. Thanks for the replies. I am well aware of the plan to build and build to plan. Not my very first rodeo, but I couldn't visualize where I am currently what length would be safe. Hope to be home soon and with pictures to share. (Of the build.)

Guys, I am in the middle of designing a guitar, and have no idea what I am going to do with the headstock at present. I am away from my house, and have to VPN in to get to the internet (don't ask, I can't answer), so where I am is rather... out of the way so to speak. I know that one of my guitars has a headstock, measuring from the rear of the locking nut to the longest tip, of around 7" at about a 13° angle. Another of my guitars has a headstock length of approximately 6" from the nut (not locking) at approximately an 11° angle. These were measured by my son who has no real clue what he is doing when looking at a tape measure and relayed to me over the phone. I have decided to stick with the PG "standard" of 13° angle but I have no idea what I am going to shape the headstock to look like. So... My real question is, what would be a good "average" length of headstock to design in to ensure that I can do whatever comes to mind during build time? 7"? Should I leave extra "just in case"? I am going to have a friend laminate the wood (maple and purpleheart... I loved the look of whoever did that a couple of years ago) and pre-cut it from my plans when I email them to him so that when I get home I can start to fly on it. I will be unemployed when I get home, so I figure I could take a bit to build something that I will enjoy for a while before I start getting serious about working my life away again. Opinions please. Oh, and "Mr. Calvert", I will be back in Florida very soon. Can't tell you where I am presently, but it isn't close. I remember you saying something about coming to the east coast and meeting up a couple of years ago. If it's still an option, I would love to.

Americas Army.

It's always been my experience that the company that goes out of business does so because of a lack of profit, not because of profit potential. They got so little recognition when they were in business that they couldn't stay in business. Now that they are out of business, those who appreciated them are now demanding more money for the product that now no longer get's manufactured. Seems like supply and demand to me.

Thanks again. 3/4" to 7/8" isn't bad. Now had it been the other way around, well, I would have shimmed and nobody would have known the difference. Thanks for measuring for me guys, I appreciate the help and will post pics of the new guitar as soon as I can get them developed. Almost finishing time! I am getting stoked and have to force myself to chill and not try to "hurry" and get it done. Slow and steady all the way through, get it done right the first time, and make the mistakes while playing it. I know there are a few things that will change on the next one I build and there are things that I could have done easier with the proper tools. Limited budget, (3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a now wrecked car) dictates that we buy tools when we can. We improvise when we can't. This is a simple strat guys, so don't hold your expectations of me too high as of yet.

Thanks, Wes. I do appreciate it. For the life of me I couldn't find that dimension anywhere.

Could someone who has either please give me a measurment on the height of the pickup from the bottom of the mounting tabs to the top of the pickup please? I have looked on EMG's site but they only show the outer dimensions and don't get a height. I don't have my pickups yet as they are on a backorder and won't be here for a bit so I want to get the pickup pockets routed and everything else done on the guitar that I am currently building. I would like to hard mount the pickups so the depth of the cut is a bit more critical than that of a "suspended" pickup. Thanks in advance. Chris

Well, I fully intended to make it to the show Friday night, and then again tonight. I, however, have had to deal with a wrecked car and a sore wife. Sorry guys.

Oh, damn. I have lived down here for a while. Walk down I-Drive anywhere and there are plenty of places to hammer some brain cells into submission.

I do hope you are talking about the I-Drive in Orlando. Hell, that is pretty close to me. I think I will need a double XL Brian.

I like it as is. I like the fact that it looks like a good flame job. I had my current project designed to look like flames (with the cut) until I saw this one. I don't think I am gonna do it now. (Don't wanna overplay an idea, nor do I want to be accused of "stealing" an idea.) I will post the "plans" that I had drawn up. Looks like a strat body, but with a flame job cut into it with multi-layered effect like a carved top. Damn, I guess my engineering professor was correct when he said that there are no new ideas, just new applications. . I might still do mine, just because it is different, but it is close to yours. Great work man, I like it. When I get some $ together I might just have you build one for me. For my first project, I feel that I am doing alright, but from what I see, I have a long way to go to get where I want to be.

Gotta be something with my computer. Again I get a weird error I have never seen before.... <meta http-equiv="reply-to" content=" Is exactly what it comes up with, hence my post about the web page. Thank you Brian.

I can't get the main page to PG.com for some odd reason. Could one of you please post the url to the inlays page so that I can bookmark it? Thanks in advance.

It is important on a FR to "stretch" the strings once you have them in tune using the tuners when the strings are new. Gently pull the string up till it puts more tension on it than normal and let it "pop" back. Once this has been done several times the strings will find their natural "length", stop bouncing out of tune when you let it pop, and you can then lock them down once in tune with the fine tuners doing their job. I have been playing Floyds for a long time now and every time I change the strings I spend about five minutes on each string until it no longer "stretches" while tuning. Setup on the FR is not that difficult if you understand the mechanics of them. There is a balance between string tension and spring tension that has to be met. Sometimes it may be necessary to actually stretch the springs, or change to a lighter set of springs to enable the trem to balance with whatever guage string you are using. I personally have used Ernie Ball Super Slinky .09's for at least 15 years, maybe more. They seem to stretch faster, and are easier to keep in tune with the Floyd.

Save the file from AutoCad on a disc as a .dwg file if it isn't already and take it to any surveyor blueprint copy service around your area. There should be a blueprint supply place that can take that file and print it straight on blueprint paper. Make sure that the drawing is to the correct scale before you take it and get it printed, but some will adjust for you if necessary. Usual prices should be between $1.45 and $2.50 per page. It is quite worth it to have true scale plans.