SenjuYzu

Thank you all. You have been most helpful and these 4 questions have been ansewered. I think that I'll angle the pickups when the time comes... I think it is all for now, thank you very much once again.

Thank you very much, you all have been very helpful. @Ripthorn -thank you for coming by. I dig that fretfind site/application. It's really interesting and usefull, however, I kind of get confused with nut and bridge widths for lack of experience. For me, this AutoCAD way is almost direct, I can start with the number of strings and their spacing's at nut and bridge and then experiment with scale lengths until I am satisfied. @SwedishLuthier - Graphite dust is surely toxic for the lungs and general health. I will not delve on this level of details or graphite sandwich. I am not that experienced nor have the proper tools for that kind of work. One step at a time. It looks awesome, but too risky for me and I do not know where to get those thin layers of Graphite. Does the Graphite glues well with the wood? OK, on to the next question Question #4: I am aiming at traditional 2 passive humbuckers for this guitar, namely DiMarzio's (don't ask why, I'm a DiMarzio guy). Should I leave the pickups perpendicular to Neck/guitar central axis, should I angle them or should I hack them up and slant the coils with a new base? 1st option will have coils poles aligned with strings, 2nd will not and 3rd might have a little. Ok, this is a matter of taste and aesthetics, but what are you common choices, PROS and CONS?

Hello again Latest AutoCAD versions allow for geometry constrains on drawing objects and Dynamic blocks can do a lot of work. I am not that familiar in creating dynamic blocks, but it is possible to build up a block just like what fretfind does, with variable number of strings, frets and so on. Huuummm I think I'll dive on that subject sooner or later... I also think that your suggestions on the use of the block is way more complicated than what I really do. You see, the block only has a scale with fret positions marked. Scaling one of these blocks will not require me to do math work. I use the Scale command with the Reference option, which means I only need a distance and the block positioned in one of its ends. For me, it is way quicker than to use the FretFind tool but if it works for you, cool. Have I thanked you already for your detailed info on deciding the perpendicular fret position? Truly awesome post... thank you.

Back again First things first, thank you very much for your replies. As suspected, and referenced before, the measuring thing parallel to neck axis versus parallel to outer strings was just a bug in my brain, cause the difference is almost none, but your answers cleared any doubts that I had on the subject. Regarding the block thing in AutoCAD, well, I sorry again for thinking everyone knows AutoCAD... in AutoCAD, a BLOCK is a container of things, it can have lots of different uses, and lots of different properties. In this situation, this is a static block with the drawing of the bridge, nut and 26 (I think, could be more) frets, correctly positioned for the original scale length (can't remember, but that doesn't matter). Because it is a block, when one scales it, everything inside scales in the same proportion, so If the original scale length is, lets say, 25 inches from nut to bridge and I need a 28 inches scale length, all I have to do is to scale the length of this block and all the frets will be precisely positioned. So with this one block I can do any scale length without the need to use ever again a fret calculator spreadsheet or that link above mentioned. Scaling a block in AutoCAD is as simple as change its properties or use the scale command with numerical input or previously drawn reference for click input. No need to import anything from any file. I can do Mandolin or Bass guitar scale lengths with the simplicity of a few clicks, just need the scale length drawn. Drawing the frets is another task that will require to draw or copy each line to each place, but that is peanuts... I use AutoCAD because I know how to use it properly, I've been an Civil Engineering Draftsman for quite some time now, working on Dams, Bridges and some roads. From there to guitar drawing/design is just pure joy... If anyone needs some AutoCAD boost, ring me a bell... @SwedishLuthier, that photo cleared all my thougths. How is it to sand the graphite to the final neck shape compared to sanding wood? I once sanded down some metal fillings done to a defretted guitar (to replace the removed frets), and that was weird. Very interesting and nice approach there. Regarding the perpendicular fret, curtisa, this last reply is GOLD, thank you very much, so precious and detailed info there that I have never thought about and makes so much sense... again, thank you very very much.

Thank you very much for your kind replies. I am sorry for not having explained myself correctly and previously. I have an AutoCAD block with bridge, nut and up to 26(?) frets placement. I just have to scale this block to the desired scale length (nut to bridge length) and that's it. I can also adapt it to scale for an existent neck and design the correspondent body and so on. Quite a handful block I must say... For a multiscale guitar, I'll use 2 of these blocks so the job is only to align them on the perpendicular fret, link all the others and voilá, a fanned fret design. As stated in the first post, the question is just a bug in my mind for the difference will be minimum. In a 25.5 to 27 fan, do you measure the top (low strings) and bottom (high strings) scale lengths parallel to the strings or parallel to neck axis? My design aims for a smaller fan, I guess (it's been done for quite some time and haven't rechecked yet), so I was also aiming the perpendicular at 12th fret. This will have to be revised. The design is yet to be finalized so this measures aren't final yet and they're metric, so I'll have to make the conversion for imperial in order to have a decent evaluation of sizes. I want to reuse some doors as wood supplies. I have available 2 solid wood doors (mahogany I guess) and some other large scraps that will be used for this and more guitar projects. These woods are over 40 years old, so I guess they're worth the try. Just have to slice them to proper dimensions. @SwedishLuthier - could you please link to a direct photo of that graphite reinforcement you spoke of? I searched your website and only found front sided guitar photos... sorry, major noob here. Once again, thank you for your kind reply. Some more questions will follow in a few days...

On the drawing software, you should look for Vector kind of software (if it was not previously mentioned). There are 3 basic different kinds: the graphic design (Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw...), the project and planing design (like all mentioned above, AutoCAD kind, if you will) and the 3D modeling (3DS Max, Maya, and so on). These are mostly pro versions for people who work on these cenarios 24/7. I am not acknowledged to freeware, for I use all of these professionally (major AutoCAD user here). For guitar design, planing and concept, maybe one should avoid 3D modeling software, for they aren't very print friendly. As for graphics design software, these can be very nice working tools, for they have nicer spline editing tools than AutoCAD, and can be very friendly when testing finishing colors or designs, for preview purposes. They also allow for 1:1 scale printing and very accurate project design, but lack the dimension tools and 3D options most pro level CAD software have. My choice goes for CAD software, for all the tools these software generally have on dimensions, scaling, math and geometry calculating, 2D and 3D drawing/modeling and print options.

Hi. I have a design in the works for an 8 string multiscale guitar and lots of questions. I think I'll keep posting them here as they come around. Some are multiscale guitar related, others are generally for guitar building... So, question #1: How to measure scale lengths on a multiscale guitar? Parallel to neck axis or parallel to strings? I know the difference will be minimum, but this is a bug in my central processing. Question #2: How to decide where the perpendicular fret will be? Lets say for a 25.5 - 27 fan as an example... Question #3: How to choose the truss rod's length for this kind of fans? Is ther a rule off thumb for scale length versus truss rod's one? 2 truss rods, one alone or one reinforced with graphite (or other material?) bars...

Back, thank you all for your kind wellcome. I shure will keep in toutch for that article.

Hi New member here, 1st post. I was searching for a proper place to introduce myself and this seamed to be it. If it is not, please feel free to move it. On to me. I am a guitar lover and some times player, enthusiast, etc., since 1991. O got into guitar building/modding late 1999 / 2000, however, only 2 guitars were ever made and they obviously have some flaws or are unfinished. Maybe later on I'll recover those projects for something useful. All my electric guitars are modded, some are only on the electric circuit, others are a little deeper. I like to do this because it's a way to make them truly mine. This to say that I am not new to this stuff (though far from mastering anything), just new to this site. I know of this community for quite some time, occasionally browsed these forums, but only now I had the guts/time (?) to join and learn a bit more. This changed a lot since my last visit here, look pretty good and clean. I have some deep knowledge on Descriptive Geometry, Technical Drawing/Draughtsman, CAD and other drawing software, so if anyone needs help on these subjects, ring me a bell and I'll see what I can do to help out. So, I have some questions regarding multi-scale instruments, where should I post them? That's it for now, feel free to ask anything.