mrdevoe

If it's a strat with a tremolo, you can pretty much forget about moving the bridge. If it's a hardtail bridge though, you might be able to do it without too much trouble, depending on how much it needs to be moved and where the screw holes are. If you're lucky, the new placement of the bridge will cover the old screw holes. However if it needs to move too far forward, you'll have to modify your pickguard. To test, just put the neck in the body's pocket and measure back 24 3/4" from the nut and that'll show you about where the saddles of the bridge should be. I do agree with Mr Alex though that any of the other options other than moving the bridge would be far too much trouble and would probably not look very good anyway. Good luck, -Mark

82DeanZ, you are correct that if it is an overhang that it would likely work. I didn't even think of that. However, he is talking about putting a 21 fret neck where there was a 22 fret neck before, so there may not have been an overhang on it because the guitar was produced with a 22 fret neck, and would likely have the bridge placed accordingly. I'm really not sure though, whoofnagle is going to have to let us know. However, if there is no overhang, the number of frets is of paramount importance. A 21 fret neck will have a measurement of approximately 18.25" from the nut to the heel (assuming about 1/4" of wood after the 21st fret) while a 24 fret neck will be around 19.375" from nut to heel(with that same 1/4" of extra wood). That is a 1.125" difference between the two. Assuming it's an existing guitar and the bridge is in a fixed position in relation to the neck pocket, only a neck with the same number of frets as the original will work. Now this doesn't mean that you cannot have a 24 fret neck with a 25.5" scale. It's just that the number of frets has to be taken into account when deciding where to place the bridge. On an existing guitar that cannot have its bridge moved, you are stuck with whatever number of frets it was designed with, unless of course you have a fretboard overhang.

Most likely not. If you put a 21 fret neck on a body that's designed for a 22 fret neck, your scale will be too short by approximately the same distance as there is between the 21st and 22nd frets. Think about it this way (assuming you have a 25.5" scale length): the distance between the saddles and the 22nd fret is about 7.15" and the distance from the nut to the 22nd fret is about 18.35", giving you a total distance of 25.5" between nut and saddle. If you put in a 21 fret neck however, the bridge will now be about 7.15 inches from the 21st fret (not the 22nd like on the other neck). Because the distance from the nut to the 21st fret is only 17.9" your scale length will only be 25.05", thus making your scale approximately .45" too short. Granted, all necks aren't made exactly the same way so these measurements are certainly not exact, however this does illustrate why it probably won't work. I hope I wasn't too confusing. -Mark

I don't know if you've checked Arbutus Music in Nanaimo, but it's probably one of the best music stores on Vancouver Island. I'm not sure if they have basses that are as cheap as you'd like, but if you haven't been there, it's worth a look.

I'm not sure I understand. Aren't you asking about making a neck?? If so, your idea would be much harder to execute than a typical SG neck joint. If you're not that experienced with wood, you should avoid intricate joinery that will be visible once the guitar is completed. If it were executed properly, it might look pretty neat, but it's certainly way easier to do it the standard way. With regards to expense, wood for a neck is pretty cheap. Where I live I can get enough wood for a Maple or Mahogany neck blank for between $5-$7 Canadian (which is around £2-£3). Granted, it may be a little more expensive than that where you live, but even if you just go for it and mess it up, you really won't be out much money and you'll have gained a lot of expereice from your mistakes. Just remember, guitars are built the way they are for a reason; namely that the methods used are the most simple that still achieve the desired result. There's nothing wrong with experimentation, but if you're not that confident in your own skills, you should try and follow the tried and true methods first. Good luck, -Mark

No, I've never found any decent prices for parts locally. I think mail order is the best way to go. If you buy parts locally you still have to pay the GST and PST just like you would when you import something, so the only extra cost associated with mail order is the price of shipping. As much as I'd like to support a local business, I'd rather not pay a huge markup on something that I can easily order myself from a supplier.

Here's what I use, which I believe are based on measurements from a 50s telecaster. Over the years the depths certainly could have changed, so this may not apply to newer ones. Neck pickup: 3/4" Bridge pickup: 7/8" Wire passage: 3/4" Control Cavity: 1 1/2" I initially tried to do a shallower control cavity route, but had to deepen it to 1 1/2" because my switch sits 1 3/8" below the control plate.

If you have the capacity and are willing to thickness plane and join wood, buy whichever of the suggested woods you can get locally for cheap. Where I live, enough Alder for an electric costs me $20 Canadian dollars ($15 or $16 USD) compared to the $50 or $60 + shipping that Stewart MacDonald and others charge for a blank.

For your first neck, I wouldn't even worry too much about measurements. You should do it more by feel. When I did my first neck, I was quite hesitant and worried about screwing up, like you seem to be. However, it was actually quite easy, and it really didn't take that long. My first neck also was a telecaster and I looked at pictures to get an idea of the transitions at the headstock and the heel and then just started carving. If you're worried about thickness, just don't take any off of the middle of the neck until you've shaped the rest of it to see how it feels. I actually left it 1" thick the whole way, but that's because I like those big old 50s tele necks. If you prefer it thinner, then you can take a little off of the middle at a time, checking every so often to see how it feels. I agree with Devon who mentioned above to keep it on the thick side. My advice for a first guitar would be to keep it as thick as you are comfortable with. Good luck, -Mark

Would you settle for 3/32"? I ordered several pieces of white plastic side dot material from Stewart Macdonald (the kind linked to by marksound ), not knowing just how little is actually needed for a neck. I can easily spare a six inch piece. If you're interested, just e-mail me your address and I can mail it off. Since I live pretty close to you, it should only take a day or two. If you really need 1/16", you could try Industrial Plastics and Paints in Victoria, although last I checked they only had 1/16" in clear plastic. -Mark

I'm pretty sure that your layout will work. I'm not totally sure about this, as I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it, but I don't think wiring it as a mirror image would work. Looking at the switch in the photograph of the wiring kit (which I assume is the same one you have), the common connector is on the top right, if looking from the bottom, just like any other switch. So if you were to wire it as a mirror image, the wire from the volume pot would no longer be connected to the common connecter, but rather to one for the first switch position. Your layout diagram is correct because it keeps the volume pot wire connected to the first common, but moves the layout to allow the ground connection (through the .1uF capacitor) to be connected to the other common. It also moves the wire from the neck pickup down one position on the left to accomodate the different layout. So in short, I think that your layout will work as drawn in your diagram. -Mark

I think what confused me, and I'm sure most everyone else, is why, given that you had more than enough wood, you would want to change it to a shorter scale, which would use less wood. I understand what you mean now, I just didn't really get how having too much wood was related to wanting a shorter scale neck. Not that it really matters, as you've cleared it up. With regards to shorter scales, there are a few differences. 30" basses tend to sound a little thinner than a 34", but they can be quite fun to play. I've found that they feel much more like a guitar, since the 30" scale is roughly half way between a guitar's scale and a full scale 34" bass. I have an old Fender Musicmaster short-scale that I love, though it wouldn't replace my Precision. I guess it really depends on what you're going for, but it's definitely something to consider. -Mark

It depends on many things such as your ability, the relative humidity, your choice of color, and whether or not you use primer. I'm only really familiar with lacquer based paints, but normally it takes one can of color and between two and three cans of clear. If you want to learn about using spray cans to finish a guitar go here and read through all of the pages: ReRanch 101 Then if you're still unclear about anything, come back and ask questions or go here and ask them: Guitar Refinishing Forum Good luck, -Mark

You can make a short-scale bass if you want (30" is considered short-scale). I wouldn't go much shorter than that. I don't really understand the question though. What are you making (guitar or bass)? Since you're marking the fret slots, I assume that you've cut the shape of the neck out already. If so, this really isn't the point in the project that you should be changing your mind about what you're making. That said, you can really have any length neck you want, as long as you keep the fret slots spaced within the parameters of the selected scale length. Just remember that regardless of the length of the neck, there has to be between 30" and 34" (or more) inches between the nut and the bridge. So the shorter the neck, the longer the body has to be to compensate. Good luck, -Mark

Greg, I'm not sure how far away you are from the American border (I think Ottawa is about an hour?), but what you can do is order products from the US and have them shipped to a Shipping Center just across the border. There are several that I can think of just in western BC, so I imagine there are many in the more heavily populated Ottawa/NY State area. For around 2 or 3 dollars, they'll call you when your package arrives and then hold it for you for up to a month. Then, whenever you have the time, you can drive down there and pick it up. From what I understand, it is perfectly legal to bring across hazardous finishing products as long as they are only for personal use, just so long as you claim them and pay the requisite taxes. I haven't done this yet personally, but I know of others who have ordered products from ReRanch to these shipping centers quite successfully. It's quite a hassle having to drive across the border, but it's likely the only way to get a decent array of colors in nitro in Canada. And Southpa, I actually live in Mill Bay, just up the highway from you in Victoria, and I've had some luck in finding refinishing supplies. You can get Deft nitro both locally and through mail order (Lee Valley). Also, you can get Mohawk products (I think they have a line of spray can nitrocellulose lacquer) from Slegg Lumber in Sooke or Sidney. They don't keep a stock of the products, but they'll be happy to order them in for you and you should have them within two weeks. Or if you really want a selection of colors in nitro, you could do what I suggested to Greg above. It is quite a hassle given the time and expense of the ferry to Vancouver, but if you're ever planning to go to the mainland for another reason, you could probably make it work. There is a Shipping Center about 500m across the border in Point Roberts, so you can make a half hour detour off of the ferry in Tsawassen and then continue on your way. What I've had absolutely no luck finding locally is grain filler. If you have a source, I'd love to hear it. -Mark