badsnap

If it's thicker at the horns, that seems like a pretty cool twist on a dime a dozen body style. That would save you the potential of destroying your work and gives you a unique, subtle individuality. The only caveat is if this thicker part gets in the way of your picking hand, but from the description it seems as though you will be clear. I'm not one to look for short cuts over proper execution but this is one of those things that could be a blessing in disguise. Cut the rest of the body, attach a dummy neck and see how it feels before thicknessing it. This could be a "this guitar was meant to be this way" situation. Peace .. Rog

Real Les Pauls are built with a neck angle to ensure proper action all the way along the neck. The body is contoured to hid the angle, so it looks like it is flush against a straight body. It is calculated using nut and bridge height. Any good guitar building book (such as Melvyn Hiscocks) will show you how to calculate and incorporate a neck angle as well as why it is needed. It sounds like, for ease, your kit uses the "Fender" method which is to raise the fretboard above the body (by the depth of the neck pocket) to a level that works with the height of the bridge. Using no neck angle is an easier build, especially for a beginner, which is most likely why your kit guitar is this way. Leave it alone if it plays well, it is correct. Peace ... Rog

I refinished a guitar many years ago and had problems with it staying in tune afterwards. I scraped the paint from the neck pocket and the problem was gone. In my opinion, leave the neck pock bare. This will help create a better fit (assuming the fit is good before finishing) and will aleviate any problems that could arise from a poor neck joint fit. Peace...Rog

Drak is exactly correct. If the existing finish has no peeling or cracking, you can hand sand the paint until it is dull and shoot the new finish on top of it. As long as the existing finish is dull (all over...try not to miss any spots) the new paint will stick just fine. And in case the sarcasm of some of the above posts hasn't hit you yet...please don't believe the nitro celulose myth without doing some good, reputable research. There is no proof, in my mind, that the finish will help the tone, resonance, of any other acoustic characteristic of a guitar, at least to any appreciable extent. Do your own research and draw your own conclusions. Voodoo thrives abundantly in the musical instrument world. Convince yourself...do not arbitrarily believe anything anyone says ... including me. Peace...Rog

I have a Rickenbacker 260jg model from the 80's that I love. The one real issue with it is the dual truss rods. They work very well but are far more difficult to adjust and setup than a single rod neck. If I had the option, and performance was equal (which I believe it is), I would go with a single rod and CF re-enforcement. As far as I can tell, the concept behind dual rods is to have the strength and a far more precise level of adjustment. In theory each half of the neck is independently adjustable. But in reality, they interact and make it far more difficult to adjust properly. It gets great results, not vastly superior to a single rod, but twice (at least) the work. Peace...Rog

Before you decide to fill the pickup cavities and route new ones, I would suggest that you decide what pickups you are going to use, purchase them, and then see how they fit in the bass. It may turn out that you don't need to do any filling and re-routing because the new PUs may fit in the existing cavities. Now, I am not the best source in matters of woodworking but, from what I know, I would route the current PU cavity to an even rectangular shape and then make a plug (as tight fitting as you can make it) out of a similar wood as the body. I would then glue the plug into the route, and fill any gaps with wood dust from the plugs and glue. Sand and finish the body in the normal manner. I have filled unused control pot holes in bodies this way using a dowel, and as log as I am painting the body in an opaque finish, I cannot even tell that the body was not always that way. I have not ever tried this for such a big cavity as a PU route though. In theory, this method should work just fine. There are quite possibly better methods out there and I'm sure someone on this forum with more direct experience will speak up and give you another option. Peace...Rog

OK eljib...I laughed out loud (sorry people, I don't do the text message ancronym thing)!! Thanks for breaking things up...how can one have such good comedic timing on a thread...just what I needed at just the right time! Peace...Rog

Forgive me, I am a bit confused here...nothing new really. Am I understanding that you are comparing a semi hollow with a solid body but attributing the difference to the wood? If that is the case, then you are comparing designs and not woods. I would think the only way to do it would be to have 2 identical bodies, made of 2 different woods, and use all the other pieces in both i.e. hardware, neck, electronics, string gauge (if not actual strings) etc. Then you would have to make sure that your amp was set exactly the same, or go direct to headphones ensuring that your mixer (or driver) settings did not change. Also, any processing or high volume or pre amp gain will start to disguise any difference that might exist. Please correct me if I have misinterpreted the test parameters you have given. I will always take Rich's word in matters of wood characteristics. Peace...Rog

That is absolutely awesome! I agree...black neck and headstock...maybe tuners as well (or green tuners!) Peace...Rog

If you're just going for the look, many people sell very good simulations that are already manufactured to strat shapes and various PU configuations. Some do customs as well. Try Ebay, at least to get an idea of vendors and styles. Peace...Rog

I have been doing mods, repairs, and setups for years on many guitars but I still have not moved to a complete build. I am reading Melvyn's book for the forth time right now and combined with that info and lurking and talking on this site, I am just now confident enough to start putting my plans into action. Plus, my first build is designed as a bit unique but very simple in it's basic construction i.e. single PU, fixed bridge, raised fingerboard (no neck angle)...etc. So, my point is buy the book and read it several times. You will then have the information to ask the correct questions (if you even need to at all). Peace...Rog

I'm not sure if it's hard enough to use as a fingerboard, but my intial reaction was goncalo alves (tigerwood). I am by no means the wood coniseur that Rich is though. Peace...Rog

I have never had to deal with a loose "rattling" truss rod yet, but everything I have read suggests that if the rod channel is a bit larger than the rod itself, wrap it in enough tape, or even plumbers thread tape, to make it fit snug in the channel. I would question (no offense to those who suggested it, particularly if you have done it and know it works) caulking because it is maleable and would simply give under the pressure of the rod and perhaps effect the efficiency of the rod. It won't rattle, but still may move in the channel requiring more adjustment to affect the same action. Once again, I have no direct experience with this issue, but everyone, including Melvyn Hiscock (if I am not mistaken, I don't have the book in front of me), says to wrap it to fit snug. Peace...Rog

While removing woood from the pocket is easier, it will marry that body to that neck. If you were to ever replace the neck, it is quite possible you would need to shim the new neck. So, I would measure to see if the anomaly is in the neck i.e. is this new neck not a standard size? Either way will solve your problem so you need to choose whether you want to be able to easily replace the neck in the future, or easily route the pocket now. By the way, what was wrong with the original neck, why did you replace it? Peace...Rog

My advice is to go through the tutorials on this site and your question(s) will most likely be answered. Also, Dan Erlwine's guitar repair book is an excellent source of information. Have fun...this learning process is one of the most fun parts of repair and building of instruments. Peace...Rog

Thanks to Perry and Rich for jogging my memory and clearing things up! I knew that the string length increased and that the tension was distributed across the entire string. I seem to have fired on a dead brain cell (rock and roll does have it's price!?) with my ensuing tension statements. Thanks for helping me to remember the obvious...that the string tension between the nut and bridge would need to be constant to obtain the correct pitch. My apologies to Mikhail for the misinformation. A little research on my part last night confirmed that I was mistaken, and my first priority upon logging into the forum today was to correct that. Perry...I know you get frustrated sometimes over lazy people not doing the work (as do many of us here) but you need to remember that most of us don't do this for a living, and as such do not have the time and/or equipment to properly (hell, even half assed) perform extensive experiments and research. Hence why we come on here to exchange ideas and information. Some of us consider the discussions on this forum as part of the research. I'm sorry to have caused you any inconvenience and trouble. Thank you very much for the information provided, and in such a nice, logical format. Peace...Rog Edit 12 April 07 10:30 PDT - I hadn't read the rest of the posts before posting the original so now...Todd, I love the term "speaking length". I will use that one. Pardon my lack of in depth knowledge of many stringed instrument terms (I grew up as an organist and drummer). I speak keyboard and percussion well but my guitar leaves a bit to be desired. So sometimes what I'm trying to say doesn't come out quite right, in fact confusing. Thanks to all for the GREAT information...and no offense is ever taken by me if I am being corrected. I'm here to learn as well as participate and (perhaps) offer some knowledge. I't nice to know that I'm not totally off base in the angle perspective. It's also nice to have an exchange of ideas where we all have something meaningful to contribute.

+1...frog. Be sure to pay attention to the thread and or tutorial about mixing stains and clears. I believe it's best to use the opposites together. That would mean water based stain with a oil based clear or vice versa. I could be mistaken so read as much as you can first and pay attention to the guys who have done it before. Also (I haven't gotten through the book yet) but I have a book (forgot who it's by offhand) called "Understanding Wood Finishes (finishing?)". It dispels all the myths about finishing wood. Peace...Rog

I will always be the first to say that anything I say or do could be wrong. I believe I am correct, but if anyone has a differing opinion and or facts...please set me straight. At any rate, it all boils down to overall string length. That is the key component. Peace...Rog

Good day gentlemen, Rich, I was one of the participants in that thread you are referring to. I too actually did some experimenting and I remember most of the results. Everything Rich has previously posted was determined as a factor...especially the change in string length. What was gleaned from that information is that the string tension is constant over the entire length of the string but ipso facto, will change in between the bridge and nut. So, if I increase the length of the string but do not change the scale length, I am in effect changing the tension of the string between the nut and bridge. This is why the strings have a losser feel. Same pitch, same over all tension, but slightly different tension in the playing area. Looking at the after drawing you have decreased one angle but added a very severe angle between the bar (added piece) and the ferrules (or body, if you like). It is this angle that is absorbing the tension (very high tension on that portion of the string), leaving a looser feel for the rest of the string. Peace...Rog

Just add me as another on this forum who owe clarity and sanity in this hobby to you. I, like the others will keep my eyes peeled. Peace...Rog

Dude, that book is the bible to axe crafters. No matter what style of guitar, which hand you favor, what music you play, the book teaches the basics and is applicable to all builds. No one here is going to spoon feed you so you should just listen to them. I have learned so much from this forum it's mind numbing. Do the work and your results will be better than you could have imagined. Stick around and take advice and you WILL learn how to build and how to keep getting better. Peace...Rog

I love the circuit diagram idea...very clever and practical. Peace...Rog

To answer your last question, no, only the two pickups next to each other will "humbuck". All humbucking amounts to is that you have two single coil PU's next to each other that are out of phase. Single coil PU's are usually quite noisy, so this cancels the noise. I have modified guitars to give a whole lot of pickup configurations and many times I can't tell the difference between many of them. This configuration does seem like it will provide a lot of noticable sounds so if you like that ...go for it. I will however note that unless you are primarily a studio player (mostly do recording, home or otherwise) you might find that you only really use a few of the combinations anyway. But...I say have fun with it. At least you will become proficient in wiring modifications. As for parts, I live in the US so I can't help with local shops. However, this site has links to many on line vendors, all of which are reputable and reasonably priced. Peace...Rog

Good choice...makes sense! Enjoy!! Peace...Rog

J - First off, great build. Very stunning looking. The problem with seeing everyone's projects is that I don't get to play them, so I'll take your word that she sounds and plays well. Actually, I name all of my guitars, but mostly so others will know which one I'm talking about..."I used the Jolly Roger on one track and the Purple People Eater on another"... So I usually name them after a physical characteristic...the Roger has scull and crossbones inlays...you get the point. So with that in mind, I suggest "Old Yeller" Have fun with her Peace...Rog