Digideus

Hi there, The most electric shocks Ive seen guitarists get is because they dont earth their power leads and then use Mics on stage which cause a shock from the lack of earth. If youre not sure, ask questions, and before you got doing stuff, use the SEARCH facility to see if other people have already attempted it. Their experiences are a valuable learning tool. Oh and TAKE PICTURES! passing the info on you learn is sort of what this community is about.

...and heavier Just remember that Speaker cabinets for Guitar amps are not like domestic speakers that need volume for air movement in the cabinet. Take Pics! Post them here. Do a tutorial!

Sure thing. got a link for it? What format is it in?

Thats an old trick on ceramic tiles as well. A little insulation tape prevents the drill bit cracking the enamel coat on the tile.

Ok I have it to scale, but I will not provide a direct link to it here in case it infringes any rules and regs of the Project Guitar forum. If you want it, E-mail me on digideus@ntlworld.com and I will send it back to you via e-mail. If you have any comments or requests regarding this, please feel free to contact me.

You might want to consider angle-ing the pickup for better bass string response, otherwise it might sound a bit boomy. I dunno why, but all the 8 string manufacturers seem to do that. its looking nice tho bro. I cant wait to see this one take shape so get out there and build it already!!!

Work so far.... Not looking too shabby. Now I just have to scale it up. I have a Jackson neck here for reference so I will do that and post it wherever you guys think is best. If you need any information on it, now would be the time to ask Anyone?

Not too sure I understand what you mean "low". If the springs are popping off, surely they arent under any tension. Have you put strings on?

I could draw you a CAD of it if you like, but it will just be the shape. 25.5" scale, etc.... What headstock you want on it? The Charvel/Jackson style one? let me know

Do the body in white with a bloodsplatter effect in trans red. Like Rick Rozz from Death & Massacre had on his white warlock. Very black metal!

The impressive thing is that these were offcuts!!!! I will be going back to the wood yard this week and see if I can get some more!

no, i didnt. sorry that it looks kinda close, but i just doodled it at school one day. Hehe no biggie. I think you need to make the lines cleaner, and the cut out at the back isnt really well shaped. Go for it tho. I designed mine because I didnt like the standard strat shape and came up with something ergonomic, which i think is missing from your design. Just have more of a think about why things are there or not and then make adjustments as YOU see fit. its your idea after all!

I never thought of that! Cheers man!

Ive done a search on finishing sapele in the inlays and finishing area but cant find anything specific. Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to finish these? black grain filling perhaps? I want to try and keep the grain pattern "as is" for the flying V im building as the grain actually follows the lines of the V quite nicely.

Isnt the EMG 707 big enough to work with 8 strings?

I found another useful reference from Briggs Veneers. take a look Briggs Veneers - Veneer colour and figuring page

Kewl! Nice bass! The Zebrano and Wenge will go together well I think. Im sort of regretting not getting a pre slotted one now, but I gotta at least have a go at cutting my own!

Thanks man. The Headstock was just slapped on to get away from the standard Gibson one. Although theres nothing wrong with the original, I do want my guitars to have some originality. I think im ok for measurements as well thanks dude, its all gone a bit non standard anyway. 26" scale with a slightly larger body and the angles are slightly different too (although the drawing looks the same as a standard and is just for reference). Au Natural I think. Theres a nice grain on the Sapele which I *COULD* use on the top. In fact im erring towards a neck thru with a recessed bridge now! I think its obvious that I didnt really think about this enough before starting it. Im going back to the wood yard to pick up some more Sapele for the bottom and ill laminate it all together with the neck wood (a Mahogany blank is in order I think) Ill keep you all posted!

ahem ahem! Didnt copy my STRAT-O Design did you???

I agree with Mr Heeley. For simplicity, do the bolt on and when youre happy with your knowledge of necks, neck tilt, scales etc.. then tackle a set neck or a neck thru. you *COULD* just jump in a do a neck thru, but unless youre confident, making a mistake could turn it into expensive scrap. Not that youre never going to make mistakes....

OK, the plan as it was has developed into something completely different. read on.... First some pics of my wood... Sapele Back boards Meranti neck bank Wenge Fingerboard And here is the new modified design of the V... The V1 (mk2) The main differences here are the size, which is now BIGGER than a standard V, simply because I have 9 inch boards, so I sketched the design out on one board and it looks somehow more together than the smaller Gibson original..... Its also going to be an archtop with a wenge cap over the Sapele. I doubt ill tackle binding this time round. The other main difference is that the headstock design here is 3 dimensional... its flat on top, but the rear of the head grows thicker towards the nut and connects to the neck in a Volute. Its an idea I had a while ago when I was considering volutes for my other designs and I think it looks pretty good and is fairly original. I cant say ive ever seen it before. Its not going to be THAT thick, starting at the 10-15mm mark and graduating up to about an inch at the nut, and then sculpting into the neck profile. Its a bit of a gamble, but I hope it comes out ok. Tuners will be recesed into the headstock to preserve the height of the strings on the top side of the headstock. I should have enough Sapele to use for the headstock, simply because I havent got anything else at the moment. Should it prove to be do-able, Ill get some nice woods for the neck and build it from a laminate of Maple and ebony. Watch this space

Yeah, I understand what you mean about to much wenge. I need to find something thats a contrast but wont clash with the hardware. An Archtop V!..... Hmmmmmmm the possibilities! Ok, I have just decided to get the Wenge top and find an alternate board. I think the Gibson is 1 & 3/4 inches thick. Im pretty sure the wood yard can do me a single piece of the right size should look prettly good...... Meranti is a bit of a grey area isnt it... if it is no good for necks, I guess it will make a nice... stick Ill have a bash at making a neck out of it for the practice if nothing else, and Ill go for a bolt on this time around so I can change out the neck if the worst happens. I have a tuneomatic bridge and tail already, plus more machine heads than I can shake a stick at so im ok there. I also have a DiMarzio Invader sitting in a body doing nothing. Might use that to get me up and running and retro fit the EMG later. Pics to come... Need batteries Dammit!!

Although ive been lurking on PG for years, I have never built a guitar from scratch before, so this is going to be a challenge... THE V1 - Gibson Flying V completely to Gibson specs (24.75 scale) Sapele back Meranti neck Wenge Fingerboard Quilted Maple cap (?) Tuneomatic bridge and Tail piece single pickup (EMG85 or Bareknuckle/Kent Armstrong) Today I visited a wood yard and I was like a kid in a sweet shop! I managed to get some Sapele slabs for the body, some Wenge for the fingerboard and a huge lump of Meranti for the neck, enough for 2 necks in fact, possibly a neck thru and a a bolt on! I think I need a figured top or more Wenge. I guess someone is going to pick up on my choice of wood for the neck. I was concerned that it wasnt up to the job myself, but it seems Meranti is a suitable replacement for Mahogany. Yamaha has been using it for a while in their guitars apparently. I also discovered from the wood yard that Meranti has differing density and weight characteristics, and the bit ive got is fairly light and has a really bright tap tone, so I hope its a bit of an all rounder tone wise and will help to keep the body and neck quite balenced. I guess once I reinforce it with a truss rod that it will be fine, but if not, Im gonna learn that pretty fast! I will need to scaff a headstock on the business end of the neck. Im also not sure about the idea of neck thru or bolt on. I am keen on a Neck Thru but the concept of a neck thru is scary. The sapele slabs I have are only 1" thick so I need to get a top of some kind. The wood yard I went to has Wenge in vast proportions (1-50mm thick, as wide as you like and 20ft long!!!!). Either that or some figured top would be nice for this one I guess. Any suggestions? I need to get some glue and some clamps to get the body started, so bare with me, but I hope this is gonna be a half decent guitar

FOUND IT!!! VIGLER MARILYN TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS NECK Neck-through body, featuring the 10/90 System™ (10% carbon with 90% naturally dried and aged maple wood). FINGERBOARD Phenowood RADIUS OF THE FINGERBOARD 11.81in / 300mm SCALE LENGTH 25.59 in / 650 mm ZERO FRET Hardened technology FRETS 24 ACTION AS SUPPLIED AT 12th fret treble .0047 in / 1.2 mm 12th fret bass .0059 in / 1.5 mm WIDTH OF NECK AT nut 1.653 in / 42 mm 12th fret 2.00 in / 51 mm DEPTH OF NECK AT first fret .767 in / 19.5 mm 12th fret .900 in / 23.0 mm STRING SPACING AT nut 1.38 in / 35 mm bridge 1.97 in / 50 mm MACHINE HEADS by Schaller BRIDGE Combined bridge/tailpiece STRINGS Vigier, Stainless Steel, 9-46 Custom-Light BODY Naturally dried and aged alder wood (1.57 in / 40 mm thick) FINISH Over 10 coats of varnish, 2 months drying time. WEIGHT Approx. 6.39 lbs./2.9Kg ELECTRONIC CAVITY Sprayed with a shielder. PASSIVE ELECTRONIC CONTROLS Master volume Pickup selector Tone Control PICKUPS 2 DiMarzio X2N WARRANTY 2 years COLOR Black

Low tuneing F# - 27" Hmmm, I checked out Dougs notes on the Blackmachine 8 strings. heres what he has to say regarding the scale length.... I think this is why people have problems getting the F# to intonate on 8 string guitars. The tension just isnt there for the string to be playable. I guess you could get away with 29"? What do you think Matt?