Jammy,
Thanks - your 7 string fan-fret was mighty fine too. Did you get any sound clips of that?
Keith & Steve,
Thanks. I like the shape - it's nice and curvy with a full bottom
The wedge really helps with the comfort factor and doesn't hurt the sound.
Sam,
Thank you too. Multi scale isn't really that hard - it's all basic first principles and linear geometry. The priciples are:
- decide your shortest and longest scales
- decide which fret you want to be perpendicular to the line down the middle of the fretboard, like "normal" frets are. I chose the 9th.
- decide the fretboard widths (at nut and body join)and taper you want
- draw the fretboard in (extending the lines past the nut)
- draw the first and sixth strings in, inset appropriately from the fretboard edges.
- draw the fretboard centreline.
- draw in your perpendicular fret (9th in my case)in the appropriate place
- for the first string mark the other frets for the chosen scale length along the marked string length
- repeat for the sixth string
- join the lines from first to sixth string at nut and each fret
- design appropriate end of fretboard at soundhole
- work out a body shape and bracing that fits with appropriate intonation for bridge/saddle design etc(probably part of the first step really
)
Iterate around this until you are satisfied and as they say Bob's your Uncle
I cut the slots by hand - not too hard to do.
Mattia & Chris,
My camera batteries have died so no pics now, but there are basically two ways you can do the headstock geometry - the way that everyone else seems to do it and the way that I did it
. There was a post here on this recently. As Jammy describes (and Tony Karol did too) you do a scarfe joint, mark where the fretboard end will be on the main neck shaft and sand the headstock to this line so that it "twists" and slopes down to the treble side in relation to the fretboard plane. This leaves the edge of the headstock at the same height at the nut edge. I, however, used a technique that Anthony Z posted for getting the fingerboard side purfling to join up with a slot-head bound side purfling. Make a scarfe joint as normal and then mark the edge of the line of the nut on the fretboard face of the neck. Glue a small piece of scrap wood along this edge that has a face perpendicular to the neck and goes back overhanging the headstock slope. Now sand on the existing headstock plane until the scrap piece of wood is level with the neck at the treble end of the nut. This gives you an untwisted headstock plane but it will be slightly higher at bass end of the nut edge. It's all down to aesthetics really - both work.
Micheal,
Thanks. After the accidental "Tweeter" happening I was tempted to open up a few more a bit like Al C's Corker
The others are just EIR inlays.
Waddy,
Thanks. Rosewood is a lot harder to record than mahogany or Limba. The sound is very full with a lot of reverb and overtones.
Hesh,
Everything is crooked mon
I'm glad you like the shape. There is a lot of tribute to the great Stefan Sobell's guitars in it.
Bruce,
Thanks
Billy,
I put Z-poxy on the neck rubbed on with paper towels and when cured rub it back with 0000 wire wool. Then I mask it off and spray pre-cat lacquer on the headstock veneers and heel cap. Then I apply a few very thin coats of Tru-oil on the rest of the neck. It makes a really tactile neck to play.
_________________
Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010
Login
Register
FAQ
(De Faoite bling) and a final twist of fate on final sanding allowed the formation of the “tweeter” sound port in the tops bass-side upper bout just down from the side sound port.
a thousand times
