Roadhouse Blues

Thanks, I know this was old, but sounds amazing from the comments. I did a ratio with a picture on the PRS site, and I'm goin with what I think (1 1/4" mahogany with 3/4" carved curly maple), and I got the other measurements, it's always nice to double check. Maybe I'll email him for some questions. I'm also gonna try out putting a rotary switcher in should be nice!

I was searching as best as I could, and I saw here http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...uitar+thickness that you said 1 1/2" and 1/2". Which one would you suggest? I'm guessing that mine will be sufficient for a non-trem guitar. So is it as you just said, with 1" and 3/4" being good, or what you said in that other post? Thanks Scott! -Matt

Hey, I'm going to make my own PRS copy soon and I was wondering if you had your own site, MKG because I can't view your pictures. Also, would you think I'm good with a 1" piece of mahogany and 3/4" piece of figured maple???? Thanks, Matt

OK no one seems to be answering, can you just tell me what thicknesses the the Mahogany should be with a 3/4" piece of maple on top that will be contoured? If you don't know for a PRS, maybe tell me for a Les Paul or similar guitar what thickenss you think the mahogany would be.

Hello, I searched the forums for PRS measurements/templates(McCarty Model), and I emailed members who had measurements, but they havent posted for years and didn't respond. I was wondering if anyone had any specifics that I may be missing (though I've already almost completed my temples) that you have found on the forum Even if you can't answer that, would you think that for a PRS style guitar 1" for a mahogany back and 3/4" for a figured maple top would be good measurements? Thanks for anything you guys have -Matt

I just read that link to that forum that Matt posted. Is the neck angle really 17-18 degrees on normal stoptail PRS guitars??? I thought they were rather straight. Is the neck angle really that steep? Also, what would it change if I were to use a straight neck angle on my guitar instead? Thanks, Matt

thanks! Yeah, I was basically really double checking

That's what I did/meant... I did from the middle of the bridge I'm guessing it's right, I just wanted someone to tell me if that seems right that the body is smaller than that of a strat

OK so I'm making my own templates for my OWN guitar (no problem with copyrights etc. ) and I just want to know what you think about these measurements. I'm using a picture from the PRS website of a McCarty and I made black outlines of the whole guitar, just the body, just the neck etc. that I'll print out on several pieces of paper and then transfer to thick poster board and possibly masonite for routing out the body. My measurements on the body height came out a little bit (about a half inch) smaller than that of my strat. Would that make sense because of the shorter scale lenght? (btw, my measurements were about 17.3 inches on height from the bottom (vertically) to highest horn and 25.2 inches from the top of the headstock to the bottom of the neck pickup these are from my ratios) Main question: Does it make sense that a McCarty is a little bit smaller than a strat? I guess that's all I really want to know, if anyone knows that for a fact. Also if someone owns a PRS, it'd be nice to know if my measuring is close. If I don't care that it won't be exactly the same as a PRS, would it matter that I'm off by that tiny bit?

I agree with many of the things mentioned above. Many squiers are made of plywood which is one of the worst woods, if not the worst for building a guitar. The necks are usually decent materials, so if the body is a cheap material, buy an un-finished body or a used guitar of better woods. Good luck on whatever you do! -Matt

Yes, building electric guitars by Martin Koch is what I use. It's very informative. A few small parts need some editing (I only found two small mistakes that wouldn't effect a project, just in explanations), and it was self-written/published. I'd say it's the best out there

Exactly what I was thinking... Plane it down, and then glue a new fretboard on. You may have trouble, I don't know how far in the truss rod may be so make sure you don't go too far.

BTW, could anyone give me a really good tutorial on putting on mounted bridges (on posts) and/or on drilling through the body w/ the ferrules? I know there're probably many, but you guys would probably know the best. Thanks, -Matt

Good point, it would be good for an acoustic or possibly a semi-acoustic (archtop) -Matt

Yep, I agree with this one...especially the way the neck and body are mated, that seems to make a big difference. And definitely the scale length and type of construction --angled versus straight neck-- make big differences to the feel of the guitar. As for tone...pfft! There are so many other variables...and especially when you consider that your pickup choice and amp choice probably make the biggest difference there.... Not to mention the FX pedals you might decide to throw in there... And after that, there's the type of venue --your bedroom, your basement, some smell old bar filled with drunken biker types, or a community rec center with a bunch of kids running around and their grandmas and a handful of snotty teenagers with rasta hair suffering through your mid-aged-crisis-rock so they can watch their buddies' band up next.... The upshot, for me at least, is that the choice of bridge comes down to your preference in a) looks, ease of build, c) ease of use (i.e., keeping the tailpiece on when restringing), d) stability in tuning (trem vs non trem), e) perfectionist intonation, etc. ← OK I get it. So I think I'll go with the one piece... it seems that it'll be easier for me to use, and I can always drill two more holes and switch in a two piece if I'd like, because it won't have too much effect on the tone. Thanks all, and I hope it's not mid-life-crisis-rock I don't think I'm old enough yet! -Matt

Yea, I'd do the same. BRT has amazing prices. I guess you could, but also if you were to plane both sides a bit to use it, and put a top on it, you'd have about 1/2" left. Then it'd barely be there at all. Just buy it from another place. BRT will plane whatever piece you want for free. I got my mahogany under $50 including shipping. The decision's yours, but I don't think that even 3/4" would be enough. Good luck anyway! -Matt

Gotcha Do you guys agree or disagree with that some people say that string through guitars have more sustain than top loaded guitars. Just curious of what you think. Jason ← I also would like to know this, I'd like to know soon for my newest project, whether I should have top-mounted or through body.

Definately lengthen, I did the same with my roadhouse strat, and you need to lengthen the strings. Remeber, the shorter the string, the sharper the note, longer string, flatter note. A good way to intonate is use a tuner, tune the strings, lengthen a bit, tune the string, play a high fret into the tuner on each strings (such as 12th fret) and if it is sharp, it needs more lenght, if flat, it needs to be shortened. After each adjustment, re-tune, play a high fret, adjust, etc. It may seem annoying at first, but it really goes by quickly once you get good at it, and with heavy gauge strings it may be hard to lengthen sometimes with the pull off the strings, so you may need to flatten before adjusting. Pain in the ass, but it'll pay off Good luck, Matt

What do you think is not true about it, and do you think there is a difference soundwise between the new Gotoh, and the ferrules with a TOM??? I'll probably either do that gotoh on the Warmoth site or the ferrules with TonePros bridge. -Matt

FWIW (I'm a newb, after all) for the sound I'm looking for at the moment, I wouldn't choose either. Of the 2, I prefer the look of the one piece, but I believe that the 2 piece will deliver more of the vibrations to the body and get more of the tonal influence from the wood. This is because the with the 1 piece the pressure from the strings onto the bridge is toward the nut, so the pressure from the bridge to the wood is basically on the posts away from the neck. The 2 piece has pressure from the strings pushing down on the bridge into the wood, so you get more vibrations into the wood and more colour from the wood. If you do strings through body instead of a tailpiece, there would be even more pressure going down onto the bridge allowing more influence of the wood. That's what I would choose (and what I'm planning to do for my next guitar) unless I have some misconceptions that someone would correct. BTW, I'm using a TonePros TOM since you mentioned that money doesn't matter. More expensive than the Gotoh's but I think it will give a better sound. Cheers, Brian. ← Thanks Brian. I just saw these http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardware,_part...p_Ferrules.html in another topic, and do you think the use of these string-thru ferrules and a bridge would give that better sound with the use of a TonePros TOM?? is that what you're thinking? Also, could you give me a link (preferrably Stewmac) of what else I'd need to have the strings go through the body? I'm a TRUE newbie so thanks for all these answers. -Matt

OK please tell me would you rather have this combination of the Gotoh TOM and stopbar http://www.warmoth.com/hardware/bridges/br...es_tune_o_matic Or this combo one-piece http://www.warmoth.com/hardware/bridges/br...idges_gotoh_510 On a PRS-like guitar. Money doesn't matter, would you rather the one piece, or the two???? This is totally opinionated, I just want YOUR opinion.

How do these work? I'm not familiar with this topic, if you can give me a link, illustration, explanation, that'd be great. They look cool, but I don't understand how the strings are mounted. Thanks. -Matt

Wes and others, What do you think of using a different stop tailpiece with a tone pro's TOM??? If they have the same radius/post spacings, would that be alright do you think??? Well let me know what you think about mixing. -Matt

I may buy the TonePros, but it's so expensive for those two parts!!! More suggestions (cheaper???) would be nice. I may go with the babygrand, but again, I'm just gonna keep thinking of your suggestions until I find the PERFECT combo/ single piece. I'm especially looking for something available on Stewmac (where I'm buying all my supplies for my PRS-like guitar ), so keep suggesting! Thanks, -Matt

Great guys, I just got back from vacation, and I'm glad to get so much help from this forum! Well I may go with the Gotoh 510, but Brian D got me thinking about a stop tail piece and TOM seperate.... decisions, decisions. Well I'm starting the project this week and I have another month or so before I'll NEED the bridge, so I'll be doing more research, and tell me your favorite TOM and stop tailpieces please! I need to stop thanking you so much, but thanks again haha, Matt