7/8 S-type build

[rayi]

This was on my workbench until yesterday.

Warmoth 7/8 strat style, hardtail, rear rout, chambered, black limba body. I got it DIY Paint Ready and finished it with wipe on semigloss poly. I let it cure then buffed it out with a fine polishing compound.

Neck is wenge. Wizard profile, 24 frets, 9" radius ebony freboard, SS vintage frets, Graphtech nut. I did the unthinkable and put 2 coats of thinned wipe on poly (which is already thinned) to the back of the neck. I know most will scoff at this. Put semigloss on the headstock.

Hardware: Obviously mostly gold.
Hipshot hardtail bridge
Guyker locking tuners – there OK but may change them out for Grovers or Fenders someday
Knobs and string retainers, etc. from Warmoth

Electronics:
SD Red Devil Pickup set
SmokeyBs - 19 Tones! Push/Pull, CTS blend, Orange Drop Cap, Oak Switch 5-way switch wiring harness.
Vintage Forge Pickup Rings – I just thought the wood mount looked unfinished.

Certainly not an inexpensive build but the house is paid for and the kids are through college. Me time!

It sounds great! With the wiring harness I can blend the neck and bridge pickup together much like the middle position on a 2 pickup guitar. I have all the standard strat tones and can coil split the bridge and neck pickups. I wired the middle pickup in parallel so it acts as a single coil but it is still hum cancelling. Talk about quack!

 

[syscokid]

Black limba is a beautiful looking wood, and your new build looks amazing! Did the light coats of poly alter the feel of the wenge neck at all?

 

[teleme01]

That turned out Nice.

 

[VanHeGen]

Very nice and apparently sounds great, too!

 

[stultzies9]

That's a killer guitar! I love the korina/limba with wenge combo. Just a great classy look.

 

[ragamuffin]

Looks great! How do you like that pickup set?

 

[rayi]

Black limba is a beautiful looking wood, and your new build looks amazing! Did the light coats of poly alter the feel of the wenge neck at all?

Not really. I did lightly sand it with 1500 grit and it’s smooth as silk.

 

[rayi]

Looks great! How do you like that pickup set?

I like them. A little brighter than I expected but great strat tones.

 

[WarmothRules]

Looks great!

 

[7-8 4ever]

Great knob placement; colour palette is perfect.

 

[meki06]

Hi rayi,
First of all, congrats for your guitar, it s a beautiful build !!
I'm about to order a pretty similar guitar, meaning 7/8 strat with a chambered body.. my last doubt is about the neck balance, I'm afraid that a light body may produce a neck dive.
Could you tell me your experience about it ? What wood did you choose for the body ?

Thanks for your help !

 

[stratamania]

What wood did you choose for the body ?

In case @rayi does not come back to you. It is mentioned in his post. Black Limba, otherwise called Black Korina. No need to be concerned about balance. If you are, go for a solid body.

 

[meki06]

Thanks for your reply @stratamania
Indeed I missed the wood when reading the post !
What do you mean "no need to be concerned about balance" ?
To tell a bit more, I already have a 7/8 s-style (solid body) which I built from warmoth, but always found it a little bit heavy (like heavier than my fender clapton which always surprised me since it s a smaller guitar). Thus I was thinking about a chambered body for the next one. But I really wish to avoid the neck dive problem, which is unbearable to me.

 

[NedRyerson]

The position of the strap attachment has more to do with controlling neck dive than the weight of the body. On an S-style guitar, the top horn takes care of that. If a guitar with a top horn still has neck dive issues, then either the neck itself is too long for the body (l can't imagine a practical scenario for this to be the case), the tuning machines are too heavy, or the strap button is in the wrong place.

I made a Warmoth V-K a few years ago and moving the strap button made all the difference in neck dive. The first spot (red arrow) was next to the neck plate and the guitar kept wanting to dip down. I moved the button to the center of the end of the neck pocket (green arrow) and that completely eliminated the dive problem. No difference in body weight or strap.

Using a Jackson King-V as illustration, but my guitar appears similarly.

 

[supertruper1988]

And the lack of an upper horn on single cuts like Telecasters is why you get issues with neck dive on them more than strats and other double cutaways. You would have to have a very long neck (conversion neck) and/or heavy tuners and/or much chambering to get an S type guitar to neck dive.

SGs have neck dive issues because the strap button is basically at the 20th fret which is even further away from the headstock than a tele. The Warmoth Diamondback doesnt suffer as bad because the shape is shifted around to give more of the body mass toward the headstock.

 

[meki06]

Thanks guys for your insights !

 

[Rick]

Yep, it's geometry.

 

[stratamania]

What do you mean "no need to be concerned about balance" ?

That it is not an issue due to the geometry of the Strat shape and strap buttons placement. This would be better in the thread you started about the subject rather than in someone's gallery thread.

 

[rauchman]

Terrific looking guitar, in IMHO, the best looking wood out there. Beautifully done.

 

[Rick]

I'm curious ... what pots and caps did you put in the guitar.