Fraser Welsh

Brian May's Red Special was partially Oak in construction if I remeber correctly...and that could produce a half decent sound on occasion...

Just to let anyone who's intrested know Guitar Buyer magazine starts the first in a series of articles on custom guitar building this month...I'm not sure of its availability outside of the UK or usefullness to more advanced members but is there if anyone is interested...

I think the technical term is 'whirlygiging.' When I tried to do it I hit myself in the ear with the upper horn of my strat...never again...

Actually on closer inspection it's not just the open strings, though it's definately more prominant on the 3rd - 5th strings...

It does seem to be the open strings rather than the fretted ones and it dosen't rattle when it's shook. When I originally bought the guitar it had a furrel from the machine heads missing which is what I thought was causing the rattle but I've fitted a new one and it's still there. Perhaps a new set of machine heads?

It's definately more of a rattle than a buzz, and does seem to be comming from the neck (though it's difficuillt to tell.) Strange thing is the buzz isn't always there and I can't seem to find a reson for it.

On my acoustic (A relativly cheap but quite good quality dreadnaught) there's always been an annoying rattle that seems to come from the headstock/neck. It's not always there though, but seems to be focused around the 3rd, 4th and 5th strings when it is. I've tried everything I can think of (tightening screws, changing action etc.) but can't seem to permanately get rid of it, any ideas? By the way I bought it second hand so unfortunately there's no warranty...

The neck pocket of the body I've got is routed out for a 21 fret standard strat neck...but I havn't got an actual yet, I just used my Squire Strat neck as a template.

The reason I wanted to know was that I was brousing ebay and came across a 22 fret neck and just wondered about the maths. I havn't decided I want a 22 or more fret neck, it just in theory could I have one?

Thanks

You could be right...mine was just a guess...

Okay, help me out on this one...

If I have a Fender body (Scale length 25 1/4 inch?) will any neck of the same scale length fit it without innotation problems, regardless of number of frets? The way I look it at if a neck and a body have the same scale length they must be compatable, but if it has additional frets surelly that would mean a longer neck which wouldnt be the same scale length anymore, which is a complete contradiction! Please help...

So what kind of glue do I need to do a material finish? Will good quality clear drying wood glue do or do I need something more specialst?

Also whats the best way of getting an even material finish on the side-contours of a conventional strat? Is it just a case of careful sanding during the clear-filler to get a decent edging stage?

Neck Thrus are a bit advanced for me...with my first project I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible...

I find that the neck joint on my conventional strat makes life a little uncomfortable whilst playing higher notes up the 'dusty end' of the fretboard so on my project body I was considering rounding off the exposed corner of the ceck pocket and contoring it so it is more comfortable then secure the neck with three screws and washers instead of four and a back plate. I'm sure i've seen this method used before somewhere but can't find where now i'm looking...

Is there anything I should be aware of before powering up the bandsaw...

Thanks for the quick responce. That's a lot less complex than i thought it would be...i'd heard the wiring was incredibly complicated, though i'm no expert so perhaps it is!

Any one know of a sight with a wiring diagram of Brian May's Red Special? I like the idea of having individual on/off switches for each pickup...

Thanks

Thanks, I'll check that stuff out at my local hardware store. At least I've managed to get rid of that superglue smear with T-Cut...

Does the mean sanding with a low gauge of emery paper? It had crossed my mind but I was doubtful that I trust myself...

Has anyone got any 'magic' techniques for removing scratches? I have a second hand acoustic with a glossy black finish which is covered in scratches, I've tried everything to get rid of them: Polish, T-Cut, Brasso...but nothing seems to have the slightest affect on them. Can anyone suggest anything aside from a total refinish?

Saw this on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...9&category=2384

...and was wondering how to achive a similar fininish, it fits into the traditional but original catogary i'm lookng for for my guitar...

That seems to be pretty much it, except mine has a full lower horn rather than the jazzmaster style cutaway...though it does have additional routing for the extra controls in that area, perhaps mines a later version, or a copy. Thanks for that, it's nice to know what i'll be playing.

Does anybody know if Fender, or anybody else, ever produced a guitar bassed on the jazz bass? The shape and control routing on my new project body are identical but it has three, rather shallow, routing for single coil pickups and a routing for a trem...it used to anyway!!! It was unfinished except for a very thin varnish and had never been on a guitar (no screw holes for a scratchplate) I bought this body cos it had character and individuality but would still be curious to know where it originally came from...oh, and it has a 6 or 9 pressed into the nck socket.

Okay, tell me if this is a stupid idea but, during by a game of tennis earlier today me and my bass player inadvertidly slipped into some air guitar antics and I suddenly thought how rock 'n' roll a tennis racket shaped guitar would be, I was thinking along the lines of Yamaha's silent guitars with no body...surely somebody must've thought of this before though...any thoughts

?

Do you get any benifits tone wise by putting a maple back on a guitar body as well as a cap? It's just I've noticed most manufacturers stop at having a flamed ore quilted maple cap and a plain wood back.

Out of curiosity, has anybody built a mirrored scratchplate. I've seen them on one or two guitars/basses and was wondering how easy they were to make, and what effect they have on the shielding of the electronics...

Thanks for the help, I thought that there would have to a fixed distance for proper inotation. To get a rough idea of where the bridge would be I measured it from my Squire (same body shape) but if I could move the bridge downwards by 1/4 of an inch it would have covered up the wood used to fill in the trem cavity. I'll measure things up properly and hope I've got that extra bit of leway.

Thanks again.