erikbojerik

Worst wood I ever smelled is that really nice-looking dark-striped poplar - apparently it looks like that because it grows close to swamps. But it smells like dead animals.

Also you should pay attention to the string paths between the nut slots and the tuning pegs, so that they don't end up hanging over the edges of the headstock just upstream of the nut.

Yep - very common problem on cocobolo, which many people have experienced here. If it is just a fretboard, I would leave it unfinished - tape it off and finish the back of the neck as you like. I've gotten pre-catalyzed conversion varnish to cure beautifully on cocobolo, and probably a lot of pre-cat finishes could work in this regard. I've heard that you can use nitro if you first seal the coco with McFadden's rosewood sealer (this is Rick Turner's favorite combo), but I've not tried this myself.

Yes, it is important - the Novak patent (now patently expired) describes the frets on paths that all meet at a common point; a method for making a multiscale board that will not intonate properly. For the most part, it is no more difficult than that - provided you lay out the outermost scales parallel to the taper (you want the scale length to apply along the string path rather than parallel to the centerline like a straight neck), so you need to know the board taper accurately ahead of time before you can lay out the scales (which means - listen up newbs! - you need to know which bridge you're using right from the start!) - hard to describe in words, once you lay it out in a CAD program it all comes together. Whether you lay out the nut as "equal centers" or "equal gaps" the difference on the scale lengths is negligible. There are some minor tweeks you want to take into account regarding compensation, but these are no more difficult to figure out than on a straight board. Easy enough on paper - getting the slots on the board correctly is the trick. On the boards themselves - I have found it is not too hard to get used to them, particularly if you make the "perp" somewhere around #7 to #9. My 8-stringer has the perp at #12 and I would have liked it better at #7. For many chording things, I find a multiscale board to be actually more ergonomic than a straight board. On the trademark business - don't go nuts here, no one will send you a threatening letter for just using the word - don't go all Pilotjones on me and start with this f*nned fr*t BS like big brother is reading your post And because this is a trademark, technically what you're not allowed to do is to use the term in the formal name of your (for sale) instrument. Like "Erikbojerik Multiscale"....or "Erikbojerik Fanned-Fret"...those could be a no-no in the country(s) in which the trademark is registered. But such a trademark does not prohibit you from using the term as an adjective to describe an instrument. Like the "Erikbojerik's GBO V8" which is "...an 8-string multiscale guitar with an ebony drop top blah blah blah..."....that sort of usage is perfectly acceptable and legal, even if I did want to sell it (which I don't).

If you have one of these kind of floating binding channel jigs: http://www.mtlutherie.com/china/original_p...nding%20Jig.jpg I would just drop the bit a little lower and use that; you'll need to do some hand work to make it perfect. Install the binding, then sand the contour down to flush with the top of the binding. Scrape and carry on.

They are about 15 minutes from me, and they have Koa out the wahzoo - but it is almost all conference table size and $60/bf as I recall.

NEVER use epoxy from Home Depot, unless it is to fill small dings that will be covered over with something else. Use the real deal. System 3 Mirror Coat is nice and hard and buffs out like the devil - it is the commonly-used epoxy you see on wood bar tops. Next time you're at the pub raising a glass, give it the fingernail test. Good stuff. Here's an example on a 6-string fretless bass fingerboard, the reflection is a tree in my neighbor's yard: BUT - you need to measure out the proportions EXACTLY correct. 2 to 1 by volume, or 2.27 to 1 by weight (easier with a gram scale), if you veer off that ratio only a little, you'll end up with stickiness. And obviously mix it well. It is fairly fluid, so it will flow out nicely on a horizontal surface. Other epoxies are apparently more forgiving on the ratio, but I've not tried them myself.

Haven't tried it, but for sure I do get sympathetic string resonances on my 8-string multiscale, which has a 8" long headstock with a 10° angle and a brass nut. A little strategic felt takes care of it.

Wes did an epoxy finish some time ago - be prepared for LOTS of level sanding. Also, if you apply several coats and end up sanding though the top coat, you will see witness lines when you buff out. But it will buff out to a very very nice gloss if done right. Mirror Coat is the epoxy of choice for fretless bass fingerboards.

Given those two choices, I would go with emphasize. That being said, the thought of the looks of black walnut matched up with the redwood, ebony, and gold hardware would look absolutely stunning. Maybe a nice wavy clairo. It would blend with the sapele neck nicely as well. What are the tonal characteristics of walnut? To my ear, walnut is like mahogany but with more teeth. Sharp teeth, not molars...

This whole question is based on whether you want to emphasize the freq response of the pickups, or balance them. Decide that, and you've automatically narrowed your choice of woods - select among them.

The alnico or ceramic magnets on traditional speakers are anywhere from 3 to 7 lbs for a 12". On neo speakers, they are more like 7-12 oz - so you save 2-5 lbs per speaker. Now all you need is a carbon-foam cabinet....and neo-mag power transformer in the head...

....one reason why using a wood like walnut for the top would be good. Like Wez I also think the color combo would look nice together.

Make sure you have enough body thickness so that #1 the pickups don't blow out the bottom of the guitar, and #2 you have room for both the thickness of the pickups AND a cavity for the trem springs/claw if you're going with a trem.

You need to figure out if it is the frets or the inlays that are crooked - and THEN throw it in the trash.

Yep - the CV I use will dry to the touch in 10-15 minutes at 75°F, but if I end up laying down a coat that's too thick, it will skin over and I'll get tiny bubbles accumulating under the skin as the bottom of the layer tries to gas off.

Click and all shall be revealed....

I've never used pre-cat laqcuer - it is a nitrocellulose product like regular lacquer? I use a pre-cat conversion varnish and I never end up needing more than 3-4 coats, and that's with 20% thinner. It can be levelled after a day or two, but it ends up being much harder, and levels and buffs out nicer, if I let it set for two weeks. After 2 weeks you can't smell the solvent coming out.

Tex Mex are pretty warm as strat pickups go. Pickups are where you can really make an upgrade on a MIM (which, if set up properly, will play just as well as even a custom shop strat); you can spend more on the pickups than the guitar, and it will sound as good as any Strat out there. Personally the best Strat pickups I've ever heard are DiMarzio Area '58 in the bridge, and Area '61s in the mid & neck positions. I installed a set for a guy in his MIA Strat, and best I can describe it - they take the entire Strat vibe (all pickup selections) and make it more obvious and up-front. Almost like all those characteristic Strat freqs are boosted throughout the spectrum. I have Lace Holy Grails in mine, and I like them, but the 58/61 combo is better. Very nice. Go to the Fender forum and look for posts by a guy named SMark - he's tested them all and posted all his results.

The last bass I finished had a neck thickness of 0.77" including the fretboard - I used CF rods of course. 3-piece laminated rock maple neck, wenge fretboard.

I have seen that bracing system - the bridge plate is molded plastic and the "tone bars" are aluminum. IMO that coupling of the bridge to the tone bars must significantly impede the vibration of the top. My guess is a bright tone without much volume.

For sure, the instrument should be capable of low action. And Joe Satriani will love you. But if you build that same guitar for Billie Joe Armstrong, it will buzz all over hell and he'll hate it. Now you'd think that Billie Joe could just crank up the saddles and be happy, but I'm always surprised at how many guitar players don't want to fool with the setup on their own instrument. Even one as simple as saddle height.

Keep in mind that if you replace the saddles with non-metal saddles, you will notice a difference in attack and tone - it will sound a bit like a little treble roll-off. If you block the trem, then screw those 6 screws down tight - but if you ever un-block it again, remember to loosen them again or you'll be bending them or the front of the bridge plate (or both) whenever you dive-bomb.

Add trem springs - I play with 10s on mine with a 54 on the low-E, and I use 5 springs. And yes, MIMs have their own quirky specs - neither a Squier or a MIA bridge will fit. Just replace the saddles.

If you've gone to the effort of having a really level fretboard and have seated all the frets well, then you MIGHT not need to do any fretwork....but the rest depends on the player. The more I do this for myself and others, I've come to the conclusion that the entire setup (neck relief, fret top fallaway, etc) depends heavily on the playing style of the person who will play the instrument. If your picking style is pretty light, you can set up with an almost perfectly straight neck with no relief and no fret fallaway and get pretty low action. If you have a heavy picking style, you'll need more relief in the neck and some fallaway milled into the upper frets if you want low action without buzzing. If you're a mad downstroker - lots of relief, lots of fallaway, and fairly high action. The only thing you could do differently on the neck is to mill the fallaway into the fretboard itself, so that you don't have to do it on the fret tops. I personally find it easier to mill the fallaway on the frets.