Official Luthiers Forum!

Greetings Luthiers (or tena koutou katoa if you speak Maori). It's a real pleasure to post this new subject and I hope that many of you will enjoy it.

Now that I am settling here in NZ from the UK, I am embarking on my own first solid guitar build, just for the love of it, having played for the last 34 years. I am an ex-chippy by trade, after my Father but I am not a luthier and I respect the difference. I wanted your professional opinions on the likely sound of the finished instrument.

For the last 18 months I have been reading up on guitar building, I have a very clear vision of what I want and have prepared a design specification, which I am developing into a method statement and will progress these into a full scale drawing and prototype of similar but cheaper local hardwood. Yes I am very meticulous.

Okay, so it will be a thru the body curly maple neck, 25 1/2" scale, 24 fret and 12" radius ebony fingureboard (1.73" Graph Tech wide nut and volute with Paua round inlays and jumbo frets), DiMarzio F-spaced Super Distortion and Super 2 pickups, 5-way switch and flat top body wings of, (pause for fanfare of trumpets): English Walnut (Juglens regia)!

My Father rescued a couple of display cabinet ends from an exclusive mens outfitters back in the 50s (UK) and its been around ever since! Their around 3/4" thick and beautiful, so I'll laminate 3 together and only rout out enough to comfortably accomodate the screened wiring and hardware to maximise sustain - rather than the usual caverns which the mass producers create.  I like the clean REM sound as well the natural distortion of Led Zep, Bad Company, etc., (thru a Marshall AVT 275).

The finish must be clear nitrocellulose of course and the bridge will be Schaller's 3-way adjustable D6 in gold with matching Schaller M6 locking machine heads.

I want to do it all myself except cutting the fret slots which I have chickened out of - I know my limitations, so it will probaly come from StuMac!

So what do you reckon?  Any view of the sound and advice on the building?  In particular, I haven't actually thought yet how to shape the neck, other than by the usual joinery techniques and a lot of TLC, to be sure of getting it straight, down to a slim C profile.  Supplies here in NZ are also very limited - so any ideas?

All of the design spec decisions have been made based on durability, my own sense of feel and playability, perception of desired sound and long sustain, buildability and quality of the finished guitar, strength and aesthetics.  I am flexible on the Maple (3 or 4A figure), but thought the sound would compliment well with the English Walnut and it would look awesome. (I liked the idea of Les Paul leaving the Epiphone shops for lunch on week-ends and hearing his Log still sustaining when he returned!)

Now I am posting this, I guess I am going to have to actually start it! Bit of of an epic posting - sorry guys, but I hope you all enjoy it.

Please let me know what you all think.  Many thanks indeed.

Mark,
Asking for feedback on the way you are going to make your electric guitar sound is kind of like asking what is the best wine. There is none, it is all a matter of taste.
It seems like you have the whole thing planned out, even to the nut! That is impressive. I have made half a dozen electric guitars and basses and have an different take on it than you by almost 180 degrees. First, the weight. I do everything I can to reduce the weight of the body. It is a common belief that mass=sustain, but I have not found that to be so. If you are thinking of making an electric guitar, you have no doubt done some soldering. On really delicate parts, one clamps a heat sink to the part to draw excess heat away from the part. A high mass guitar is the same thing, but a sound sink instead. The string energy can do one of two things: be absorbed by the mass of the guitar and lost as internal friction, or be transmitted to the air. A lightweight resonant guitar will have tons of sustain and a much more open, 3-dimensional sound. The old Les Pauls and Strats are prized for many things, but lighter weight is way up there on the list.
Pickups are totally subjective as well. Personally, I favor a lower output pickup. You get a woodier sound with more colors and they exert less pull on the strings, which enables them to vibrate truer. But then again, my electric guitars were not for shredding or high distortion applications. They were for the singing blues and roots-style music.
Good luck with your guitar. Using woods from unusual provenance is always a rewarding pursuit.

_________________
Stay with the happy people.
--Reynolds Large

Looks like you have a good game plan.... I do agree and do so myself on the electrics I've built and remove weight from where I can. You want a good solid body and contact points for good sustain but that doens't neccessarily equal heavier...

welcome to the OLF!

_________________
Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

I have built a similar thru-neck electric guitar of curly walnut and maple. It sounds like you have a good handle on things, but I might advise trimming some weight... maple and walnut can make for a -very- heavy guitar. Don't worry, the thru-neck should give it plenty of sustain without breaking your back.





Good luck and have fun building!

Thanks for the feedback and encouragement guys - very useful and much appreciated.  Beautiful figure and finish in the pics Lex - I will need to seriously consider the overall weight, balance and ergonimics of my design when I build the prototype.