Scrappy_Squirrel

You are doing a good job of explaining it all...maybe there aren't many people on the board today. Perhaps noone else cares... Regardless, thanks for all your help thegarehanman! What is the smallest angle a TOM can accommodate without recessing and without the neck being garishly high above the body?

Very nice! I'm glad to see you doing this. I also considered monkeypod a while back and checkened out, lol; it will be cool to see it progress. keep posting.

I see...so, in effect the neck angle, or lack thereof, and fretboard height above the body, are all dependant on which bridge will be used in the build, hmmm... 1. TOM style bridge = Neck angle + fretboard just above body. 2. Fender style = No neck angle + fretboard and a little neck above body top. All depending on more exact measurements determined by the exact bridge used and body top shape. In your experience, is there a neck angle/fretboard height measurement one could use that would be nearly universal for the retrofit of most any bridge on the market? I'm guessing not.

Thanks for the explaination. Sometimes the details can be a bit confusing when it comes to all of these measurements for a new build. Although, I have one more question regarding neck construction, attachment etc. hopefully the original posters question was answered because I've outright hijacked this thread, unintentionally of course. It would be nice to have a lot of this neck related stuff in one thread anyway. Bugman96, If I'm being a dick just tell me and I'll butt out. Anyway, is there a hard and fast rule for how high the fretboard should stand above the top of the guitar after the neck is attached?

White or Black Limba, or Korina as it is sometimes called. White Limba is pretty boring really; in my opinion anyway. Black Limba can have some interesting dark grain patterns. My current build is Black Limba so I am momentarily biased. However, Limba is known for it's mahogany like qualities in many ways.

I used to have a Peavey Padauk guitar and it was a very bright but nice sounding guitar. Although it had a maple neck and fretboard and a brass nut... I really liked the guitar anyway. I sold it because I needed the money. I think padauk makes a very fine guitar IMHO. It's just like any other wood in that it depends on what else you're attaching to it and the quality of the work that determines the sound. It's a hard and dense wood so the sound is probably similar to maple or bubinga. Padauk is a very waxy wood and can be irritating to the eyes and respiratory tract. It can also be difficult to glue and finish so keep that in mind. When glueing it be sure to soak/wipe the joints with acetone first to avoid glue joint failure. Padauk varies in color from orange to dark brown. As far as how it would look it all depends on what you're looking for. It's not a very exciting grain but if you don't care about figured woods then it would probably suit you fine. I personally like some of the very orange pieces of Padauk I have seen. Your mileage may vary.

What is being "compensated" for in the bridge positioning? Also, does the additional compensation still apply to other scale lengths and is there a formula for working out the additional "compensation"? For instance: On a Fender, the true scale length is 25.5. Would the compensated distance of the bridge be 26.011?

To be sure I'm understanding this correctly: Does this mean that the breakpoint will vary from string to string if one were using a compensated nut like the earvana? If so, I imagine the scale length in this instance would be the AVERAGE string distance from the "breakpoint" to the twelfth fret... it is the twelfth fret and not the fourteenth, correct?

What do you mean by "breakpoint"? Is it the top of the nut where it meets the headstock, the bottom of the nut where the nut meets the fretboard or the point where the strings touch the nut?

I like to use Naphtha which is an industrial degreaser & thinner available in most any hardware store. I learned about it in one of the Dan Erlewine books. It leaves no residue when it evaporates and it will not introduce water into your fretboard like windex will. Afterward you can oil the fretboard with mineral oil or rosewood essential oil (Bois De Rose). Sometimes I use sandalwood or cedar oil too. A lot of people also just use plain lemon oil to both clean and oil the fretboard at the same time (one step process). Lemon oil is just mineral oil with citrus terpines in it. My prefered process is the Naphtha and sandalwood oil though. It replentishes the fretboard with natural oils and smells damn good to boot.

You could build a better one within your price range.

Hey Zion, The way I understand it chambering does little to effect tone except a possible minor loss in sustain but with a slight gain in resonance and a bit more bloom. This wouldn't sound anything like an acoustic. Gibson chambers their solidbody LP style guitars. The only difference is that you will need to put a cap or back on it, depending on your design. It seems we're looking for similar tone from our respective guitars. Have you checked out the threads here on commonly used instrument woods and their objective tonal properties? I'm assuming you have. http://jemsite.com/axes/htm_features/wood.htm http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/options/options_bodywoods.cfm http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks....uitar_neckwoods Perhaps if you went for a Limba instead of a mahogany body and Limba neck you'll get what you're after without having to go with a maple neck (more resonance with a bit wider frequency range/more top end). Or, maybe you could try a maple cap with a mahogany body al-a-LP style. The maple fingerboard story does seem a bit off. I don't understand why necks can be built from maple with any fretboard combo but you can't have a maple fretboard...seems really strange to me... Anyway, the woods I chose for my project we're for a very particular purpose that seems to be close to what you are looking for. This is my first complete-from-scratch build so I'm going only by descriptions I have been given for wood qualities...in the end it's all subjective to what you know and want. If you want to know what I've finalized and my reasoning behind it let me know. Since we are looking for a similar sound then perhaps my combo will work for you as well. If it's the look of a maple fretboard you're going for then it may be difficult to get if there is indeed an issue with it. Maybe pink ebony, canary wood or snakewood will do what you want. Check out - http://www.gilmerwood.com/instrument_wood-fingerboards.htm They have photos of the different exotic woods they sell for fingerboards. This might give you a better idea of what your design options are. I hope this overly verbose post has helps you in some way. Alternately, save yourself and run, really fast and really hard because there may be no turning back. May the tone be with you. ~Justin

So, what is it about an LP that would sustain louder and longer than a strat? Woods? bridge? scale? set neck? combination? I wonder if the springs on a strat trem sustain much of the vibration they are talking about?

LOL, this is funny! Anyway, I don't know if it can be bleached or not. I've never bleached a piece of wood honestly. I've whitewashed woods but never bleached them. Seems like it might be difficult to find a wood similar in color and tone to maple but different expansion rate.

*Dejavu* I recommended the Pau Ferro. I don't know if it can be bleached or not but I'm sure someone more experienced can help. I think there's an acho in here... I actually bought a beautiful piece of Pau Ferro to make a fretboard out of but realised my time and tool limits and reconsidered. I went for the StewMac preradiused option instead.

Yeah, I read your post and was like "Damn, this guy's got a similar issue but...it's kinda' not..." LOL. Hopefully between our two posts we'll reach a conclusion through combined efforts (asking a similar question in different ways to get more detailed answers). The only reason I started my own post was because my woods are different than yours and I'm not familiar with the woods I'm using enough to answer my own question. I've read that fretboard woods generally just increase/decrease sustain, sharpen/dull the attack and add/reduce highs... that said, I'm hoping to increase sustain, sharpen my attack but dampen highs without losing clarity, is that even possible?! I'm still considering doing a string through for added sustain but it would be nice to do some divebombs occassionally.

Pau Ferro

I recently had a dillemma with neck fabrication and tools etc... so I bought a pre-radiused compound radius fretboard from stewmac. The one thing I didn't take into consideration, and has me pannicking a bit, is that the scale length has changed from my original design. I was originally going with a Gibson scale but buying the pre-radiused option I had to go with the fender scale; which is ok because it's more comfortable to me anyway. My concern is this: I know that a longer scale adds some highs to the tone but I'm trying to keep a somewhat Gibson LP-like mahogany tone with more bass clarity and better resonance than the standard LP (with the same dampened highs that most Gibsons exhibit). My wood combo and configuration is such and I'm wondering if I should change my order from an ebony fretboard to Indian rosewood fretboard in keeping with my preferences? I'm particularly concerned that Ebony will be too bright for P90's. I originally chose ebony because I thought the bubinga, being oily, would dampen the highs too much if I also had a rosewood fingerboard. I didn't realize, at the time, that the longer scale would also add more highs. Body: Limba (2 piece) Gibson style. Chambered for weight relief Cap: Slightly figured 5/8" Bubinga (1 piece) Neck: Set/laminated 2 piece/25.5/Limba/Carbon fiber reinforced/double exp truss rod Headstock: 13 deg scarfed/grover locking tuners Fretboard: Ebony or Indian Rosewood? Fretwire: Nickle/jumbo Pickups: 2-3 custom wound P90's or some hotter P90-like variation Bridge: Hipshot six string contoured trem While I like clarity in the upper range there is something about a bright sounding guitar that I find impossible to tame. There's a harsh rasp that never goes away even when attempting to dial it out. The only way I can describe it is "stiffness"... if that makes any sense. I prefer more of a fluid clarity as apposed to stiff clarity in the upper range, complex and bell-like harmonic richness in the mids and tight percussive clarity in the lower registers. I also prefer tighter strings, longer necks and a compound radius for low action and clear bends. I think the Fender scale will suit me fine.

Good to hear it! I'm not fond of the chunkiness of Floyds and there's too much stickin' up to comfortably rest the palm onto. Besides, I don't use the trem enough to justify the expense or complication of a floyd anyway. Nobody else uses the hipshot trems?!

I did a few things to my Ibanez GAX70 guitar that increased sustain two-fold! Unfortunately this only works if you have a TOM bridge. 1. I turned my TOM bridge into a Tone-pros TOM using only a drill, and a tap. Just drill two holes in the TOM through to the post, tap the threads into the holes you drilled and buy the appropriate size threaded screws. $11.00 for the tap. 2. I measured the space between the body and the bottom of my TOM, cut a solid block of wood to fit under the TOM, release the thumb screws so that the TOM rests on the block. 3. Grover locking keys -----------------------------------------------------

Maybe there is some hope in accomplishing this before I leave. Only time will tell. Thanks for everyone's input. Moocho grassy-ass.

It's not such a big deal--I'd lost my interest in the guitar anyway, since I always knew it wasn't going to be something I really wanted to play. But I did learn plenty from the project. I purposefully didn't take care to reduce the guitar to exposure from the elements, so that's part of it too. Perhaps if I'd worked quicker, and sealed the wood sooner, I wouldn't have had trouble? Seems to me that's another reason for using sealer. ← That's cool. Sounds like it was an experiment from the beginning. Nice. So, sealing the ends with wax, paint or glue will keep it from drying out and warping?...Maybe I could rough cut and laminate everything in AZ (except the cap and neck joint), seal the edges with something that I can sand off (like laquer based sanding sealer) and then cover in plastic for the road to Oregon. Damn, this is becoming complicated!

Rich Wow, thanks man, that's awesome! I'll be sure to do that, if for no other reason than to drop by and say hi, see what you've built and talk shop. My wife and I will be living at my moms in Vancouver until we can get our **** together; everything we own will be in storage until that point. Meanwhile I'm trying to do as much glueing and milling as I can before we move at the end of August so that all I have left is some finish work. I'm hoping to find a place in the Alberta arts region, or whatever we can find close to where the action is (Hawthorn, etc...). Portland has changed so much in the ten years I've been away... Alberta used to be full on ghetto and now it's the new Hawthorne (Who'da thunk?)! I used to live off Killingsworth and Cleveland when I lived there ten years ago. It hasn't changed much but it's knowhere near the ghetto it used to be. ----------------------------------------- Back to the subject: So, basically the most important part is moisture content?... IDCH: That sucks! I'm sorry to hear it but I guess it's something we all can learn from. Hopefully I won't have the same issue! I ordered a 16x20 piece of 4/4 Black Limba from Eisenbrand once and within a week of being in Tucson it was twisted beyond use and developed a split down the center. There's no way I could build anything from that! I hope that's not the fate of all Limba in Tucson... I'm hearing a dirge grow louder in the distance. Time for more Hey unclej! Which thread are you talking about? I looked several pages back and nothing seemed to fit the subject of wood seasoning.

I already purchased all the lumber I need. I was hoping to glue up the lumber, rough cut the body, cap and neck, cut the mortise pocket and tenon for the neck all before I leave Tucson in one month. If that's not possible, due to warpage considerations, then I'm stuck in limbo for an undetermined amount of time! Although, I really don't want to press the issue to the point of screwing it all up. I want to do it right. See, shop space is the crux of my issue. I need to do what I can do in AZ, now, in a real wood shop, before I hit Portland because I won't have any shop in Portland... My own shop consists of a few power hand tools (general carpentry stuff: jigsaw, palm sander, skill saw, drill, screw gun, laminate trimmer, typical hand and measuring tools...) and whatever basement, garage or backyard I can work in. I used to have a lot of specialty luthiers tools but they all disappeared from storage. As it is I'm having to slowly re-buy all of my **** to get going again. So, until I can procure shop space, a job, a place to live of my own and some new specialty tools in Portland I'm left getting as much done as I can before I leave AZ, otherwise I may get nothing done for a long time to come. I know...TMI. I'm just trying to explain why I want to start this project as soon as possible without screwing the pooch.

I've read mixed reports but I've come to the conclusion that air dried "tonewoods" must be better because they're more expensive...kidding. Anyway, I ordered a mixture of air and kiln dried so I guess I'll find out. Luckily the kiln dried stuff has had plenty of time to air dry in AZ. I'm not sure how to answer your question really as I'm pretty new to building instruments from scratch myself. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in.