24 3/4 conversion strat

[fuzznut]

Ok I got a little more work to do  :laughing7:

 

[BigSteve22]

Looks like an EXTRA LARGE Bo Diddly model!
:laughing11: :laughing3: :laughing7:

 

[fuzznut]

Looks like an EXTRA LARGE Bo Diddly model!
:laughing11: :laughing3: :laughing7:

Hmm, a Plankcaster!  :toothy12: I could play it, and then when I'm hungry, eat lunch on it!  :headbang:

But I think my shoulder would object, so I must do a little whittlin'.

 

[fuzznut]

Still waiting on the template that I ordered so I can build this thing. 

As an aside, I had already built this guitar as a "proof of concept". I don't have crazy flipper fingers, and found it difficult to comfortably use the upper registers of the 24.75 scale neck on a regular strat body. So I moved the neck and bridge about 12-13mm upwards.



The pickguard is funky at the bridge because it originally had a Kahler on it, but it was thin and plinky-sounding. I removed it, replaced the wood, and put a standard trem on it. Much much better.

The neck is moved out of the pocket 12mm, and bolted to the body with a square bolt pattern. I put 2 more screws in just for extra support of the neck plate. Between that and the contoured heel, I have no problem with the upper register.



This is by far my favorite guitar, but it is such a hack job and now I want to build a "real" one.  :toothy10:

BTW, the funky looking neck is another hack. I found the standard thin profile too thin for me, so rather than throw away the neck, I laminated it with veneer and reshaped it. It's now .840" 1st, .900" 12th. I had tiger maple veneer, so it looks kinda silly, but hey it works.  :icon_biggrin: The new guitar is getting a new neck of course.  :glasses10:

[

 

[bagman67]

Seems to me you modified that beast the hard way, even for a proof of concept guitar.  A lot of folks would just have deepened the treble-side cutaway and maybe contour the backside of the neck pocket area rather than relocate the bridge and the neck mounting holes.  Just sayin'.

 

[fuzznut]

Seems to me you modified that beast the hard way, even for a proof of concept guitar.  A lot of folks would just have deepened the treble-side cutaway and maybe contour the backside of the neck pocket area rather than relocate the bridge and the neck mounting holes.  Just sayin'.

Yes or course, that would be the easiest route, but I'm doing it the hard way for personal ergonomic reasons. I have been playing SGs most of my life, with its unobstructed 22 fret access, and bridge way up there off the body, and I'm used to that "feel". I've always felt that the strat bridge was too far back, strings too low,  and I can't mute properly on it. (compared to the SG). But I'm getting old, and playing the SG standing hurts by back for some reason, like its too uncentered in relationship to your body. The strat is well centered, but by moving the neck/bridge up a little bit, I got some of that SG "feel" back. And the extreme forearm bevel I did helps with muting and the shoulder pain I have due to an injury. So basically I am doing it this way because I'm old and falling apart  :tard: :laughing11:

 

[BigSteve22]

Old and falling apart? Hey, I resemble that!  :icon_jokercolor:

BTW, I love the lamination on that neck. Very nice!  :icon_thumright:

 

[bagman67]

I can relate to the getting old thing.  I can't play my dreadnought seated for longer than a half hour because my right shoulder starts to feel like someone stabbed it with a hot knife.  Good times.

 

[Logrinn]

Let me guess: You're resting your dreadnought on your right leg (thigh) forcing your picking hand and the shoulder up? In essence having a very steep slope from right shoulder to left shoulder.
Placing it on the left leg (like classical guitarists do) will lower your right shoulder. And maybe you won't feel that kind of pain.
Could be worth a try.

 

[Cagey]

That's the way Lisa plays, and she's my new hero...

[youtube]o6rBK0BqL2w[/youtube]​

Dr. Viossy plays that way as well - same tune (Moonlight Sonata - 3rd Movement), but with some vibrato warbles that sound weird to me in context...

[youtube]MZuSaudKc68[/youtube]​

Holding the guitar that way puts your fretting hand at the right angle naturally and takes a lotta stress off your back.

 

[Cagey]

Ok I got a little more work to do  :laughing7:

I'll say. There aren't any strings on that there thing  ???

Must be a fun shop. Don't see big ol' Delta shapers like that any more. We'll be expecting very straight things outa you  :laughing7:

Welcome to the board!

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I play with the classical slant too, so much more ergonomic & comfortable.
I came upon it by accident though, from playin on a Ibanez Rocket Roll II  RR550 flying V back in the mid-80's.

:headbang5

 

[fuzznut]

Ok I got a little more work to do  :laughing7:

I'll say. There aren't any strings on that there thing  ???

Well its really quiet that way! No 60Hz hum at all!!  :laughing7:

Must be a fun shop. Don't see big ol' Delta shapers like that any more. We'll be expecting very straight things outa you  :laughing7:

Yeah curly maple should be a visual property, not a physical one  :laughing11:
I have a couple of toys, but will never claim to be a luthier  :glasses10:

Welcome to the board!

Thanks! ccasion14:

 

[fuzznut]

Yay the templates arrived! Now I can make some sawdust!  :blob7:

 

[bagman67]

A lot of folks take those comparatively thin templates and use them to make heavier-duty templates out of thicker material.  If you expect to do multiple builds that will ensure greater longevity for your templates and also less likelihood of them flexing and thus screwing up your work.

 

[fuzznut]

A lot of folks take those comparatively thin templates and use them to make heavier-duty templates out of thicker material.  If you expect to do multiple builds that will ensure greater longevity for your templates and also less likelihood of them flexing and thus screwing up your work.

Well I'm going to make this alder one, and maybe another one out of korina or something, but that's about it. They are surprisingly stiff for 1/4" MDF, and as long as I have good bearings on the router bits, should be ok.

 

[Cagey]

As long as you have the templates, you may as well make a hardtail Strat, too. Everybody should have at least one. Maybe make it without the outside edges rounded over, so it could be bound. That's always fun.

 

[bagman67]

I happen to have two (each) ash and mahogany blanks sitting by my desk here.  They're one-piece blanks, fully dressed and ready for someone to go nuts on'em.  Big enough for basses or jazzmasters if one should get the urge.


PM me if you're interested in one.

 

[fuzznut]

As long as you have the templates, you may as well make a hardtail Strat, too. Everybody should have at least one. Maybe make it without the outside edges rounded over, so it could be bound. That's always fun.

Ooo how about a hardtail swamp ash strat with a metal plate going from the under the bridge to the bridge pickup, with the pickup mounted to it instead of the plastic pickguard to get a tele-ish sound?  :bananaguitar:

I want  a severe forearm bevel so binding wouldn't work. I will say though, in the early 80s I saw the first strat-looking bound guitar, an Ibanez Roadstar, and I thought it looked really cool! I went to try one out, but it turned out to be a piece of crap  :tard:

 

[Cagey]

Or, easier still, just use a modern Tele bridge...

You can bind around the forearm relief on the body...

Warmoth will do it, and there are more examples are in the Showcase. I don't know what they charge; it's not listed as an option in the builder. Modern bindings are made of ABS plastic, so a little heat will soften it to the point where you can shape it a bit. There's probably a fairly early limit on lateral bends, though, so I don't know how severe you could make that cut. The real trick there is cutting the shelf for the binding off the side of an angled top - I don't know that it could be done without a CNC machine, since you have to move in three dimensions. No way for a regular router to follow that depth while making a perpendicular cut.