Balancing a Build

[markbastable]

Hello there,

I'd like to ask for your advice....

A year ago, I built (with help) a thinline Tele, consisting of a Warmoth body and custom neck made by a local luthier. It turned out very well (I'll post a pic, when I figure out the appropriate place) except that the neck has a tendency to dive a little as soon as I take my hand off it. It's livable with, but it's there.

I'm about to embark on a Strat build, using a secondhand Warmoth neck I bought from ebay on a whim, and a body direct form Warmoth (having spent many, many happy hours messing around with the site's design-your-own-body application).

But the neck-dive thing with the thinline worries me. It was pure luck that the balance of the finished guitar was just about within acceptable bounds. This time I might not be so lucky.

So - how can you know, before you attach the neck to the body, whether or not it'll be balanced right?

And what do you do about it if it's not?

Thanks....

 

[SustainerPlayer]

A Stratocaster will balance if the strap buttons are placed in the standard places. Don't worry about that.

 

 

[swarfrat]

Yeah. The strat buttons arent random like Gibson "oh crap we started the production line already and forgot to put strap buttons on". The button is in line with the 12th fret, so the weight of the headstock is essentially the only torque load

 

[Cagey]

Heaviest guitar neck I have ever encountered has been an Ebony over Satine (Bloodwood) Warmoth Pro (D/A truss rod) w/ locking Schaller tuners. Weighed in at 2lbs even. That's a heavy piece - about double the weight of a typical Rosewood over Maple Strat neck. Bolted it to a Strat-style body (Warmoth VIP) and there's no hint of neck dive, even with a chambered Limba (black Korina) body. I've also used Ebony over Pau Ferro and Ebony over Bubinga "Pro" style necks on chambered (lightweight) Strats without incident.

As long as the top strap lug is forward of the center of gravity, you're good to go.

 

[markbastable]

That's all very encouraging - thank you.

It'll be an ebony on rosewood neck, and black korina solid body. I'm extremely enthused about the whole thing.

 

[mrpinter]

Re your Thinline: I also have a Thinline (all Warmoth, btw) that has a bit of a neck diving issue. I solved that by getting a Mono Betty strap for it - it's wide and has memory foam inserts that help keep the guitar in place. Works great and is very comfortable to boot. Here are a couple pics of the strap on the Thinline:

 

[Cagey]

It'll be an ebony on rosewood neck, and black korina solid body. I'm extremely enthused about the whole thing.

I would be, too. That sounds like a helluva combination. I'm sure you'll be very happy with the results.

Be sure to review this thread on burnishing raw necks. Makes a HUGE difference.

 

[line6man]

Strats don't neck dive. That's just silly.

 

[Cagey]

Awww, don't call him silly. How's one supposed to know? Gotta ask questions. Some of us have built more or less fiddles than others. For what some of these parts cost, you really wanna know you're doing the right thing.

 

[swarfrat]

Dangit. I got more ideas than room for guitars, let alone cash. but thinlines are a recurring fetish. That has me jonesin. maybe that thinline strat will happen after all. But I think it would be cool to incorporte the bass side of the strat pickguard with the treble side of the thinline pickguard.  I never have been keen on the humbucker thinline pickgguard lines, but I could overlook it for something that sweet.

 

[markbastable]

Here's the thinline...

It was built by my dad, my mate Steve and me - though frankly my contribution was mainly to open the wine and make fatuous comments.

So, what we got here is a custom neck, made by a local luthier, from reclaimed mahogany with an ebony board; a Warmoth walnut body, satin finish but slightly buffed up after market; Bare Knuckle Blackguard 55 Stagger pick-ups; pretty good electronics, with a four-way switch; and the brass saddles and the parchment plate and blah-di-blah....

The components were, to be frank, unjustifiably expensive, but the idea of the project was to do something outstanding with my dad, which, as the ads say, is priceless.

 

[Cagey]

Wow! That's sharp!

 

[markbastable]

Re your Thinline: I also have a Thinline (all Warmoth, btw) that has a bit of a neck diving issue. I solved that by getting a Mono Betty strap for it - it's wide and has memory foam inserts that help keep the guitar in place. Works great and is very comfortable to boot.

I'll look into that. Thank you.