Tjensen

It would be a big bummer to go through all the work to build a guitar and not have it playable. I wouldnt chance it. The closer to the bridge the bigger the differance will be. I bought a precut one for my first. I didnt want to spend the 150 bucks it will take to get the template and blade to do it right.

I dont really play metal but, sometimes I play pretty darn hard. I like the ernie ball heavy bottom/ light top set. 52-10 You cant go wrong hitting those hard.

It is interesting how this got back on topic. So if we agree that a solid conection from the neck to the body is made, there will be little differance. Arguably none. The differance between bolt on, set neck, and bolt through, is likely next to nothing. However, I dont think that is a reason not to build it Have fun!

When you say really bad neck joint. Do you mean the joint is not solid(loose neck?). If you have a neck joint that is not solid it will effect sustain(simply dampens the strings). If the neck is solid it will perform. As far as tone related "facts". Well it is not all BS. However the effects are much less noteworthy than if we were talking about an acoustic. Neck wood is noticable because it effects string vibration much more, but then again neck construction plays a big role in this also. All that said. The difference between fresh strings and dirty tired string is so much more noticable. I guess you could dismiss the effects of wood on tone when you compair it to other factors. Then again it does effect the sound of the instrument, so it shouldn't be ignored. Peace,Rich Yes I do agree that most differances effect tone and sustain. its kjust soooo subjective as to what is better, and how much so. The neck joint on my Strat has about 1/16 inch of a gap at the sides of the pocket. I could lossen the screws and pull the neck over so that the strings are claean of the fret board. Still, it is bolted down tight and this so called major flaw to the tone of the instrument.....really isnt one. It sound great and sustains for day. For me, this blows another "fact". I dont think that this does not effect the instrument. It just isnt atomaticaly bad. Of course, I would much prefer it to have a great neck joint.

I use the 1/4 inch as well. What I do is draw out the rough shape on paper, fold in half to get my waist and hips right, then make a half template. Smooth out the half template with drum, and block, sanding. Then I route out the other half template from the first one. One more quick pass with the block to make them even and smooth. I then make a full template from the 2 halves. (trim out the lower horn or bout). From the 1/4 inch, I make a 3/4 MDF template the router makes the edge square, so i dont have to.

I have a Strat with a really bad neck joint (american ) And I have a strat with a perfect joint. I really dont hear any major differance that I could atribute to the joint. The sustain is about the same. Go figure. Seems to me that almost all of the tone related "facts" arent really very factual. I think that well built guitars have an appeal that has very little to do with tone. Heck my $180 dollar 70s aria Epiphone POC sounds differant, but as nice in its own way, as my $3000 dollar custom. They dont compare quality wise, but they are both really fun to play

I was really kind of thinking out loud. the actual dimensions do only matter to me. However, Im sure there are other people with limited space as well, and ideas that would reduce the size of the duplicarver would be useful to them. Cant see the harm in discussing it. I was planing, to plan, for myself. If and when I build it I would share pics, if someone wanted my scribbled plans they could have them. Im nowhere near that yet.

The way i see it in my mind, has the whole unit only about 1 foot bigger that the table in both directions. As far as counter wieght goes what about a levertype action that would place the wieght UNDER the table. I could see the whole thing as 44x36x14 inches. I think I should start drawing.

Thats agreat idea. It could also take up a lot less space I think.Space is a huge issue for me.

I'm wondering....have you played a neck through that has single coils, a 25.5 scale and 250k pots? Im inclined to think those factors have a great deal more to do with tone than how the neck is connected. What do you think?

Angle the pickup?

Ok thanks. I guess I should biuld a jig and make a caul.

I got a Stewmac IRW fret board in the mail. It is still pretty rough IE you can see the routing marks etc. I bought it thinking I could avoid buying a sand caul. Was I wrong? Do you think I can sand with some 600+ by hand or am I asking for trouble? Thanks!

Yikes..... Chisel? Thats scarry. You want to use a router and a template. Also is this an american strat? Your going to kill the value of the guitar. You might want to try some stacked humbucker or higher output singles first. Stomp boxes go along way towards fat single coil sound too. If you dont dig SC sound, you might just need a hum equiped guitar?