RGGR

I did some research and I only need help with the routing and the neck, I'm going for a Neck Thru Body but I'm not sure how it works and how I'm also not sure how I'm supposed to get decent inlays. Another problem is that I don't have a router and I don't want to buy just any machine, any suggestions?

Just a hunch......but I see a car crash in the making.

and I only need help with the routing and the neck

I think you need some more help then just with the routing.

I'm going for a Neck Thru Body but I'm not sure how it works

A neck thru is a more challenging project for a newbie. I wouldn't start with a neck thru from the get-go. It needs more planning, is more of a hassle to deal with.

I'm also not sure how I'm supposed to get decent inlays

Me neither .... but ordering fretboard & inlays from places like this might save you some hassle.

http://stores.ebay.com/The-Guitar-Parts-Ce...6QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Another problem is that I don't have a router and I don't want to buy just any machine, any suggestions?

Forget the whole idea to begin with. Cause building guitars you have to buy many more tools and machines. (although the heavy equipment (bandsaws, planers, circle saws, tickness sanders) can be sorted by asking around, and for 6 pack most woodworking places (furniture makers, etc) would be willing to help you out here..No need to buy the expensive-only-use-twice-stuff.....but your router and decent bits are essential. Without a router, no custom built guitar. Simple as that. (My $39.95 cheap-ass Chinese router still works like charm, so this is not the expense.)

If you're in for the building experience....you serious need to read up on your stuff. If you're just after the guitar you're describing.....you should order RG550 from fleabay and do some customization. This way you will get some experience playing around with guitars.

That's what I call a swimming pool route!!!!

Maybe i'll just do the control cavity in the back and set it up not to have a pickguard, then make one when I get to that stage and try it out and see how it looks. That way I can have the option of going either way with it.

Based on my own 540Pii

I had Dave of fretsonthenet.com create me a custom neckplate and a custom triple bucket pup ring based on Cad file I send him.

The quality of Dave's work is great and now I can route the neck cavity and install the neck.

I will order a Dimarzio Blaze 7 middle pup and a Dimarzio 7 string Humbucker. I haven't decided which humbucker yet. Still have to figure out which pup will go well with Swamp Ash body. I was thinking a ToneZone.

Any ideas?

The Ibanez Maxxas is really my dream guitar. I love playing my MX-3. No other guitar I touched comes close to the look and feel. (I do realize it's an aquired taste as not everybody loves the Maxxas shape)

I have always had it on my list to recreate something like that. The challenge of building the clambshell body......

At first I was thinking of a 7, but playing around with Photoshop came up with the 540pii idea.

PM your address details and then I can get cracking on the paper drawing.

Woodcraft doesn't seem to sell these products anymore....

Just when I have the hots for similar project....

the thing about the maxxas though, its all CNC made, so the way ibanez hollowed them isn't much challenge for them... for someone else it would be, and i can't honestly think of a way to do it besides a cnc, itd be so time consuming and tedious to do by hand...

That's why it's such a wonderful project. It takes some proper planning and a real game plan. Cause you can't really proper hollow out the separate clambs unless you round the outsides......but with rouding the outsides, you loose the nice surface to glue the two clamb parts back together.....it's your perfect catch 22 guitar.

would you try to hollow it out at all if you did the maxxas? or keep it solid?

I would not try. I would do so.

I think the Maxxas is the best Ibanez guitar ever produced. It was created in an era where innovative ideas were floating around in the company and as a result some awesome guitars were created.

The clamb type hollow body of the Maxxas is a very interesting concept and a building challenge. I don't know if I'm up for that challenge, but one day I'm definitely gonna try.

From all the guitars I have at home.....the Maxxas is my most favorite. The odd shape.......the weird headstock. At first I didn't like the model at all. Appreciated it more for it's innovative construction.

My 540Pii I have here at home, has a perfect halfmoon neck joint. Is will shoot pic of it tomorrow. Here is another example of one.

RGGR, you wouldn't happen the ability to create a 540PII template, would you?

I could stitch couple of A4 pieces of paper together, take sharpie to my 540Pii and copy you the "near' exact shape. Then you can cut out this shape and copy this to piece of 6mm MFD and have create your own template. If you PM me your address info then I could send you the papers in the mail.

Making MDF template myself would be no problem.....but it's more of a pain in the butt and sending it would be more of a hassle. Are you aiming of the shape of the 540Pii, or do you want a completed template???

I'm thinking of doing a 7 string Maxxas version of 540Pii.

Dave from fretsonthenet is currently completing the custom triple 7 bucker pup ring, and the neck plate.

Bumped into this interesting Jackson on the net -Jackson Demon Orphan. It looks a lot like the 540Pii.

If you never worked on guitars or touched a router in your life.......I think you will have hard time pulling this off. Some experienced builders on this site even shy away from installing a Floyd.

You need to be able to build some exact templates, do some intrequed routing, etc. Not difficult......but also not easy for newbie.

My advice would be to have it done.

Seems you have to learn how to deal with a Floyd Rose type trem.

Go here and learn how to set-up a guitar.

I'm in the running for Kahler 7 trem.....but hearing all this about mishaps I might need to reconsider.....

The neckthrough will look like this (if I can pull this off)

Not gonna cover up this quilted maple.

BTW, do you chose any color of them?

Yeah, black.

Someone on Jemsite pointed out to me that this,

and this guitar (right one) are both and the same guitar. Funny, that different lighting and can inspire me to make two slightly different guitars out of them.

But they will be black. I like black guitars.

Finally managed to get some work done on the RGT-7. I cut the Coromandel fretboard and test fitted it on the guitar. I think the streaks in the Coromandel go nicely with the guitar. I like the brown tints in the fretboard.

This weekend I cut two other RG bodies, one Mahogany, the other one Alder. This is the first time I work with Alder, but I have to say it's a nice wood to work with. Here are some pics. For Kodak purposes I put 540Pvii neck on Alder RG body.

Mahogany RG will be turned into 7 like this (right one). This one will be called Cocaine. (Disclaimer: not promoting the use of illegal substances here!!!)

The other one will be called Darkside of the moon, it will also be a 7. Love the dark vibe of the picture.......

As bridges, I'm thinking of a Kahler 7 and a TOM-7. Just to have something different compared to all the Floyd type bridges floating around the house already. And Edge Lo Pro 7 is such a pain to get hold of ($$$$).

On both RG bodies I will shape the AANJ, the forearm contour, and the body contour in coming days......they will get a coat of primer and they will be parked till I finish some of my other projects.

Why not extended some more.....

Bumped into this cool Ebony tree pic today. I never knew it looked like that.

The guitar I was after was a Ibanez K7 with ugly inlay. I was thinking picking up the guitar for cheap and replacing binded fretboard with nice Ebony one. I ended up buying new mahogany body blank and some neck wood to roll my own version.

Body and headstock will get faux-binding, while neck get binding. Will be first for me.

That's the fun part of building guitars, you always can try something new. It's never boring.

One of my next projects, I will have to deal with that whole binding thing.....On body, neck and headstock. Thought of doing Faux-binding on body and headstock....but Setch just pointed something out I had never thought of:

Binding is not purely cosmetic, it also protects the vulnerable edges of the guitar from knocks or bumps. If you bang your headstock against something (uumm, make that when, not if...) you will chip the painted binding, and the result will look cheap and nasty. If you bang a bound headstock, you may chip the clear over the binding, but the chip will be pretty inconspicuous.

You got yourself a Ibanez Pro Line 2660?

Does your guitar look like this or like this this.

Doesn't really matter for trem set-up.

In both cases your guitar probably has Ibanez Edge trem on the guitar. A tremolo equal in quality to the Original Floyd Rose.

From reading your post it seems the whole guitar needs a good set-up.

Read here on everything you need to know about setting up a Floyd equipped quitar.

I say try the rods and Play it safe, theres really nothing to them in size so the routs in the neck wount really hurt any thing where as routs for the trus rod might.

Not really looking forward to the epoxy mess.

The bridge came from ETS today... a little earlier than I expected. It's extremely nice. I'd be totally excited... if it was a SEVEN STRING BRIDGE like I ordered, but it's a six stringer. Now it's got to go back, and I'm thoroughly displeased. ETS's stuff may be great, but they need to fix their customer service before I order from them again.

I had similar experience. I send company with information request concerning one of their 8 string bridges. They send me email directing me to their reseller.

Something I didn't fully understood. Yeah, I understand they sell through resellers, and not direct to the public. But didn't understood why they let reseller handle the information request.

I told them I wasn't impressed with their customer service, and expected better. Hipshot answered me within 4 hours.

Maybe I missed something while reading, but do you plan on using any reinforcement in the neck, such as carbon fiber rods? I would think 2 more strings might make adjusting your truss rod a bit harsh without extra support.

Yeah, I read people using carbon fibre rods, double trussrods, and all that..... as they are worried about neck stability issues.

I'm not sure what to think fo all that. I don't see how cutting an additional trussrod slot in the neck, would help stability. It would only weaken the neck, I think?

In this build I will go for one bass type trussrod. (but have to measure that up exactly).

With all the Wenge and Zebrano in the neck (both incrediable heavy and stable woods) I don't see the need for carbon fibre rods. I see Wenge as a "natural" Carbon fibre. Just a 5-7 piece lamination will already give neck so much more stability....

And Ibanez is having delivery issue with their 8s for completely different reasons. To begin with this guitar is on special order. It's not in your regular store. You have to see this Ibby 8 as a Chrome Boy or any other "special" model they have brought out.

None of these "special" models - Chrome boy, JS PRM, the new Vai 20th......they all will have longer delivery dates.....as they are not produced in the normal Ibanez set-up. They need special tooling, set-ups, etc....... That simply causes delays.