Canuck Brian

How thin was the Ibanez Frank Gambale model? I vaguely remember an insanely thin guitar....

I'd prefer strats over any LP. I've always hated LP's since i started playing because of their typically heavy weight, shape and (to me) the very clunky neck.

Something i've found really strange though.... I've played mexican strats and epiphone les pauls and I find that both play better than their American built counterparts. I dont' know if i'm alone on that one (more than likely....)

I have an RG770 with a Parallel Axis Distortion Trembucker in the bridge and a bridge model JB in the neck . I didn't have access to a neck version so i tossed it in there. WOW. The PA handles really complex chords with a truckload of gain without issue and the bridge model JB in my neck position is so crisp and clear for soloing.

I've tried all emgs (but not the add ons) and a lot of duncans. My personal preference is Seymour Duncans just on the basis that they sound phenomenal in my 770.

I'm not sure if they still have it but Duncan had a policy where if you didn't like it within 30 days, you could exchange the pickup for another model. I did that a couple of times about 5 years ago.

I've done a bit of searching around but i can't find someting on HOW to actually cut an angled neck pocket....

Sorry to hijack but how do you do it?

Well i cut the body down quite significantly tonight as the upper horn would end up stabbing me in the face. I also thought it was way to wide. I'm going to be rounding the sides of the guitar once i have the pickup hole, controls and neck pocket routed.

I've also scarf jointed the neck but i dont' have any pics of it right now as it's still all clamped up.

I think that they have a couple of the Nevborn 7's but only one of the Nevborn 8's. I have never seen Frederik play a Nevborn 8 but I've seen Maarten play one a couple of times.

They're probably still under an endorsement contract with Ibanez to use their guitars.

I couldn't find the "I'm not worthy" emoticon. Darren....thank you so much.

anyone..... pleeeeeeeze......

Headless 7 String (this is why i need the ABM bridge!)
3 piece birdseye/purpleheart/birdseye neck 24 frets, birdseye fretboard
Carved Quilted Maple over mahogany
Dimarzio Evolution bridge and Tone Zone Neck (both white)
1 volume control

I've been trying to find some more information into ABM's bridges as I'm really interested in picking up one of their 7 string headless setups. Unfortunately, i can't find much information regarding them (including searching this site) but I can find places to purchase them.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

i'd just like to reiterate that a low F# string of at LEAST 70 is gonna be necissary.  i use a 70 for tuning to C and i get about the tension i like.

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I'm currently using a 54 for my low B and it sounds fine. I tested a 65 on my 7 string ibanez and tuned it to G with no issues.

I cut the body out tonight on the bandsaw and took the rest down on a ocillating drum sander tonight. The mock up i had with the original template was far too small, so I made it thicker.

Here's my thoughts:

You can make a solid purpleheart neck, but IMHO it'd look better with a maple stripe down the center. Also, a 3-piece quartersawn laminated neck would probably work better in terms of overall stability. It'd look especially cool if there were maple stripes in between each laminate.

The body shape is cool, but some of the lines aren't particularly smooth. before cutting out a template or the body, I'd straighten out some of the lines, in particular, on the bass side body curve, and on the back cutaway by the bridge.

I've currently got another 2 boards of purpleheart being shipped to me of the same dimensions..... not bad for 5 bucks a board.

With that in mind, i'm going to keep 3 of the boards aside and try my hand at building a neck out of the one board so i don't demolish 3 nice pieces of wood in one shot. If it works out great, if it doesn't, then i'll use the wood to build another neck for this thing rather than something else. I am worried about the balance, but i'd rather lose 5 bucks and one board rather than 3 boards and hours of gluing, joining and cutting.....I'm going to kick myself if it actually turns out though....

The black template that i've been placing on the wood isn't the actual template that i'm going to be using. I just wanted to get a feel for how the guitar would sit (the cut-out) and how the grain would look (the border). The actual template's lines are nice and smooth. I'm going to check it out again later tonight to make sure everything is up to snuff when i cut the body on wednesday.

Any suggestions for that back part? I'm not so sure i like the cut out anymore....

ideas currently include

1) just rounding it off like a normal guitar

2) leave it scooped out (but center it)

3) do something similar to the BC Rich Wave.....

I also have another dilemma..... i haven't thought about how to finish the body. I want to use a stain so that the grain really shows. Any ideas? I don't have access to a spray gun, so it's rattlecans for me or tung oil on an unfinished body.

Hey Matt! Thanks for the advice and kind words...

The green part - I was going to make it come in closer, but then i started worrying about not having the body heavy enough to support the 8 string neck. I figured that if i had the wood still on there, i can take it off later if the guitar already balances..... You're absolutely right about the curve though...i'm going to fix that tonight.

Red - I'm pretty sure that i screwed the centering up on that as well. I'm in the process of making another template without the section taken out of the back. I was also thinking about putting a cut similar to a BC Wave's intead of that cut. I like that cut so much on the GS steinbergers, i wanted to have it on my guitar....not so sure now. What do you guys think?

Dark Red - I tried making it thicker but it just didn't look right to me....I was thinking about making the horn sit further away from the neck but again, didn't like what it looked like. I'm pretty sure that it's not going to interfere with playing....

I think i'm going to use the purpleheart with the carbon rods.....

Thanks for the kind words guys!

I've only been in class for 2 classes at this point and haven't built anything yet. We've mostly been going thru wood selection and simply getting plans together. It took me about 7 hours in total to get the templates correct for the bridge and neck.

I still have that nagging question of whether i can actually make the neck entirely out of purpleheart....

Since the purpleheart is 3 inches wide, i made a mock up of a basic idea of what the guitar could look like.

I was planning on staining the wood some color, but i haven't decided yet. That's a long way off anyways....

I took border of the template material and picked out the best looking area.

Hi Everyone!

I decided to finally dive in and take a crack at building my own guitar. I've picked up almost every tool I could need for this and I have a drill press coming in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, i've been attending a class for building stringed instruments at the Ontario College of Art and Design. I've got access to the bandsaws and scrollsaws (i have been practicing). I've been studying everything I could find on this website as welll and this is what i've been able to get done so far. I already own a 7 string and i've wanted an 8 ever since i saw Fredrik Thordenal from Meshuggah with one and more recently, looking at LGM's creations. I've already picked up the Hipshot 8 string bridge, EMG 45DC and 45J (SA in a really big housing according to EMG reps on the phone), and 8 sperzels (4 and 4) all in gold.

I've picked up this nice 1 piece mahogany and these perfectly dressed 40 x 3 x 1 1/4 inch purpleheart boards. I was planning to pick up another board of birdseye maple to laminate with the purpleheart, but i'm wondering, can you make a whole neck out of solid purpleheart? I've already ordered 2 carbon rods (thanks LGM!) for this guitar.....

I was recently up at my wife's parents place for Christmas and I found a catalogue from a company called Lee Valley. They have locations in Canada and I was wondering if anyone had any dealings with them before. I haven't seen any references on the forum or any links to them...

I'm going to be heading out to the Toronto store some time tomorrow to see what they're like. Maybe pick up a spokeshave.....

That is gorgeous. Bravo!

I'm a huge fan of Derek Taylor. He recorded an album with Scott Stine in a project called Crimeny.

Wow! Thanks for the great responses (LGM definitely)!

I am in fact a fan of Meshuggah and I've wanted to try out an 8 string guitar. I've already received the 8 string bridge from Hipshot and the Emg's are on the way.

I'll definitely take your advice on the carbon rods.

Metal Matt >> no worries about a hijack, more information the better.

Hi all!

I am currently planning to build an 8 string guitar and i was wondering if the single truss rod on it's own would be enough. I was planning to have a neck shape similar to an ibanez wizard.

Brian

Rest In Peace Dime.....you'll be sorely missed.

A Hyundai electric guitar. They made guitars for about.... 2 years i think. I put a dimarzio fred in it and eventually sold it. That was probably about 14 years ago.....

It had 24 frets, floyd, humbucker/single/single, all of the nice body cuts and a nice translucent green finish. It also had a warped neck and an improperly installed locking nut.