fookgub

My usual advice is "don't build what you can readily buy," which would lead me to suggest the Red Special or the Aria. However in your case, I say go with one of the Rics. The originals are so wildly expensive that I think it's justified to build your own. Plus you can fix a lot of the weird design choices along the way. I don't think anyone would bother with those basses if they didn't sound so unique and totally awesome. There's nothing quite like a Ric. I don't see any point in building a jazz -- you can get them all day long from a dozen manufacturers at a dozen price points -- SX to Sadowsky. I feel pretty much the same way about the G&L's, too. Just not worth building when the originals are great instruments and reasonably priced. By the way, have you ever gotten up close and personal with one? They sound fantastic. I've always liked G&L bridge design. In fact, I almost ordered one a while back to use on my own project.

Hmm... Interesting point on the V. I'd like to try one someday, but I don't think I'll be using this piece. I've always liked the idea of a King V in gloss black. So many guitars, so little time....

Well, does the world really need another hot chick? Sounds like a lot of trouble to me.... Prostheta - Never been a fan of pickguards for this style of guitar, but I do admit the clear works on your old Washburn. I might give it some thought if I was going HSS, but I'll 95% be sticking with the tried-and-true HH. Anyway, I think I will stick with the superstrat/RG idea, but I may try to sleek-ify the lines a bit. Here's what I currently have for inspiration: Made by Elysian, who I haven't seen around here in a while. I'm reasonably sure this is a Mike Sherman. Metal Matt, who I also haven't seen in a while. Blackmachine -- the one that kicked off the super-thin idea for me.

This may not seem very exciting to our Aussie friends, but I have a couple pieces of Australian Red Gum. The is rare wood in Texas, and I'd like to build something that shows it off. The pieces are highly figured, but are glued up from 2"-wide boards. I know that probably isn't going to blow anyone's hair back, but this piece was hard to get even at that. Besides, whoever did the joinery did a nice job. This used to be a mantle or some-such. The boards measure about 40" x 8" x 1-3/8". It'll be more like 1.25" thick by the time I clean up both sides. They also have some checks and holes in the back, so not everything is usable. I was planning on a Blackmachine-style superstrat. I've been wanting to do one for a long time now, but it seems so pedestrian -- does the world really need another RG-shaped guitar? I've been poking around at some other superstrat styles, especially a couple of Mike Sherman's, but I'm still undecided. Suggestions?

Couple more combinations done. I think I'm finished with Jazz-style pickups for now. I've got some P-bass pickups to try next. I'm also thinking about getting a couple Musicman-style humbuckers for comparison to the MM-style Jazz pickups I have. I originally thought MM-style humbuckers would be unsuitable because I thought the pickups would need to be slanted to help with the string-to-string tonal balance. But my thinking on that may be changing.

I tried a few more pickup combinations. These MM-style jazz pickups sound better than I expected. I'm recording each combination as I go along so I have something to refer back to. Results are encouraging so far.

Test fit Drilling holes for various pickup types/locations I'm calling this one slant/MM Currently strung up with DR DDT's (45-105). It sounds pretty good. A lot like a Musicman, actually. Strings have a piano-like ring. I find the G a little thin (common complaint with MM basses, so may be partly attributable to the pickups, though I think moving down to a .040" G-string would help). The E is lacking definition compared to the other strings, but I've heard worse on 34" scale basses. It's most noticeable playing fingerstyle closer to the neck. The difference is greatly reduced playing with a pick, which I do more than 50% of the time. Dropped-D is a no-go at this point, though I'm particularly picky -- I think it would work for a lot of people. I do like the DDT's -- nice sound. I'm not completely sold on the feel, but we'll see if I get used to them. They remind me of Lo-Riders but without the stiffness. I'd like to move the E up to a .110" or .115", but I'm not sure it would fit through the tuner post. I'll have to look around to see if I can find anything made for short scale basses.

Ok, first coat of finish is on. That mahogany really popped. Good thing I have enough left over for 1.5 bodies.

Well, flatwounds aren't really my thing, but I do agree that higher tension would help. I'm going to try out the DR DDTs. I've also got a pair of Hi-Beams. I recall liking those on prior basses, although I've only had one bass for the past few years and I've only used Dingwall strings on it. I also ordered a balanced set from Circle K, but they haven't arrived yet. I'm not 100% sure they will fit through the slots in the tuner posts, but I can always use them on something else. Anyway, here are a couple more progress pictures. I'm going to sand it out next so I can spray a few coats of varnish... nothing fancy, just something to keep it from getting all grungy while being handled.

Thanks for the kind words you two. Chad - For one, my bit is brand new, so it's still very sharp. Also, I take shallow passes and I work as slowly as possible without causing burning. Cutting very close to the line with the bandsaw helps, as does having a router that won't slow down when you put some load on it. Most importantly I've started to develop a feel for what the wood is telling me, and I'll work extra carefully if I feel like it wants to kick in a certain spot. Sometimes you just have to avoid certain things on the router completely, and the OSS really comes in handy there. Scott - Definitely check out Clark's. I like it better than any of the lumber yards I went to in Austin, and it gets bonus points for being just a couple minutes away from my house. Nice memory, by the way... I moved to Houston in June, and getting resettled is one of the things that has kept me from working on guitars for a while. I certainly will be posting my thoughts as I go along. I've always been curious about short scales, but I'm not interested in vintage styles, kids instruments, or high-end customs, which leaves me pretty much out in the cold for non-DIY instruments. My hope is to sort out most of the variables on this build and use that knowledge to build a solid bass later on. Anyway, hope you guys still like the build when you see what's coming next...

This is basically a test to answer a few questions I have about 30" scale basses. Namely: - Do I like the feel of the shorter scale? - What strings are best? Is it possible to get a balanced feel and a solid E? What about dropped D? - What pickup types and placements do I prefer? The neck is a SX I picked up for cheap over at TalkBass. It's not fancy, but it will do the job. The fretwork actually seems pretty good. The body is 2-piece mahogany. I bought this as a S2E1 board from Clark's hardwood more because it would fit in my car than because I needed them to do the jointing and planing. I had to run it through the jointing setup on my router table anyway, though I did get out of surfacing the blank with my router planing jig. After sanding out the blank a bit, I marked the shape with a sharpie and cut along the outside edge of the line with my bandsaw. Cutting this close takes a bit more time, but it makes routing much easier later. This template is one I had lying around (it's from my Variax project). All I did was make the neck pocket a little wider. Next, I routed it to shape and did the roundovers. This is a 3-flute pattern bit with a 2" cutting length from MLCS. It made routing the shape a breeze. more more more more The pictures don't show the whole process, but I placed the bridge first then placed the neck with strings attached. This helps make sure that everything is lined up correctly. more more more more more more The test fit provides a good opportuinty make sure everything fits and is aligned right. I also checked the balance and marked the forearm and belly contours. more Carving the contours. I used the bandsaw to rough everything out. I've never done that before, but it worked quite well. A few minutes with my microplane rasps and some sanding with a block was all I needed to finish the contours off. more more Also pressing the tuner bushings in -- one of the few uses I've found for my arbor press aside from pressing frets.

Okay... my part of this is done now. Body is sanded out and has two light coats of polyurethane just to seal it up. I'm heading to Houston unexpectedly tonight, and the guitar is coming with me... so it looks like this will be done sooner than I thought.

Did you use any special tools to make the string slots? After fitting the nut, I mark the approximate height with a pencil I sanded in half (like this). Then I place the outside strings where I want them and mark the others using a string spacing rule. I rough in the slots with a .020" kerf saw held against a square piece of steel to make sure the slot is true. Then I finish the slots with nut slotting files from Warmoth. The Warmoth files are not the best... I wish I had bought Allied's files instead.

I made it, but it doesn't take much for tools. I think I used sandpaper, files, a coping saw, and a drill and tap for the holes. I should post pictures again, since I've cleaned it up and made it better. Does your guitar have a top-mount nut, or do the holes go through the back of the neck?

Test fit completed. Dialed in a nice setup with low action and minimal buzzing. I like to set things so that nothing buzzes when I play light, but a little buzzing is okay when I dig in hard. The test is whether or not it buzzes while strumming normally in drop-D (it can't). I also set the intonation to make sure I could. With that all done, I pronounced the guitar a-okay and took it apart. Did a some slight forearm and belly contours yesterday and started sanding it out. I really like the idea of a straight up slab body, but I think I'll be happier in the end with the contours. I kept them pretty small, anyway. It really doesn't take a big contour to make a guitar comfortable. Still in the process of sanding it out, so I won't be done this weekend like I wanted. Next time I'll be able to work on it will be Tuesday, and I'm hoping to finish it then. Front: Back: http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~wrobert/esquire...t_body_back.jpg Overall: Back: http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~wrobert/esquire_testfit_all.jpg Modular connectors: Overall: Back: http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~wrobert/esquire..._connectors.jpg

You could do a conversion nut like this, or glue a little piece of wood to the end of the fretboard and use a regular fender-style nut. Either way should work fine.

doh! the edit button seems to be missing, too....

So, this was originally going to be my attempt at a speed build. As usual, life interfered with my guitar building, and I won't be setting any speed records. Still, it's coming together much more quickly than my builds usually do. Here was the status as of Saturday May 3rd, 7pm: A couple "in progress" shots: http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~wrobert/esquire2.jpg http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~wrobert/esquire3.jpg http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~wrobert/esquire4.jpg And the status as of Sunday May 4th, 6:30pm: Specs: Maple body Fender vintage RI pickup Wilkenson vintage-style 3 saddle "ashtray" bridge 1 volume knob with push/pull tone cut bone nut, roller string trees, electrosocket parts bin hardware for everything else Warmoth rosewood on maple Tele neck with medium stainless fretwire Goals and why: I've been wanting to do an Esquire for lot of reasons. First, simplicity appeals to me on romantic grounds. Most things I build (not just guitars!) are designed for maximum flexibility and are covered in knobs and switches, or otherwise burdened with features. For once, I'd like to build something that does one thing and that's it. Second, I wanted to build this as fast as I could... mostly to see how fast I could build something. And third (and best of all!) I'm not painting this guitar (yay... I hate finishing)! It's being painted by a friend of mine in Galveston. She's an excellent artist, and I wanted to leave the body wide open so she has as much space as possible to work with. What's left: Not much, really. I'm going to test fit it this weekend. Install the nut and string tree, wire it up (I've been using modular connectors lately, so the test fit is as good a time as any to wire it), check everything out and make sure it's all right, then disassemble it and sand it out. I'll probably end up doing at least a forearm contour, too. The simplicity of a slab body with a tight radius really appeals to me, but I was missing the contours during my initial tests with it strapped on. Anyway, I think I can get all that stuff done this weekend. After that it will have to sit for a while until I get a chance to drive it down to Galveston.

Highly possible, provided you have the tools and skills. Take a look at my thread. There is also a tutorial on the main site. One caveat is that it's very difficult to conceal the wood joints. Even if it's perfect when initially finished, the wood will often move a bit over time, revealing the joint as a wrinkle under the finish. This happened to my guitar. My advice would be to veneer the top and back once you've filled in the trem cavity.

Go with the 1 ton. I bought the 1/2 ton because the were out of 1 tons when I was there. It's fine and I've fretted a half dozen necks or so with it, but there are times when the extra reach of the 1 ton would have been nice.

Stewmac discontinued them... ... all the more reason to get the Harbor Freight press. You can make your own caul fairly easily, too. The only thing I would buy from Stewmac would be the inserts.

Don't buy the arbor press from Stewmac. You can get virtually the same press from Harbor Freight for less than half the money. All you have to do is bore out the ram to accept the caul, and drill and tap a hole for a set screw to hold the caul in.

Wow.. prices have gone up! I got a lefty 500 model for about $300 a while back. Musicians Friend was blowing them out.

By all means, yes! I use 80 grit for rough shaping. Use good quality coated paper. It sands faster, loads less, and leaves a more consistent scratch pattern. I sand with 80-grit until the fretboard ever-so-slightly not done, then switch to 120 to finish the shaping. If the fret slots need to be deepened, I'll do it after the 120-grit. Otherwise, I just keep sanding up through the grits. Of course, frequent checking with an accurate straightedge and radius gauges is a given. Also, it's best to have some kind of guide for the radius block so that you're always sanding exactly parallel to the centerline of the neck. The one I use is dead simple: just a piece of plywood, 2 feet of 2" angle iron, and a flat board. Radiusing by hand is definitely a chore, but it shouldn't really take that long to go from 14" to 12" radius.

Funny thing about the scale length... I originally intended for it to be 34.5" to 32.25". When I was printing fingerboard templates about a year ago, I noticed the my templates were coming out about 1/8" short. So when I printed out the final template last month, I added 1/8" to all the scale lengths. It ended up printing exactly to size (must have had different print settings the first time around). The slightly longer scale lengths seemed ok to me, so I just went with it. Anyway, does anyone here have any photoshop expertise? I'd really like to get a preview of what the guitar would look like with the finish. I tried to do it myself yesterday but failed miserably. Mainly I want to see what it would look like with and without the pickguard, and maybe try a couple different pickguard shapes.