Baritone 7 routing on bass bodies

[marcofk]

Hello everyone.  I'm not sure anybody else posted it: I've checked about a third of the pages dedicated to the suggestion box and didn't find anything similar, so: apologies if I'm repeating someone else's suggestion.

I'm on the lookout for a 7-string baritone Strat-type guitar.  Not one for metal, but one that would allow me to play a bass-line into a looper before playing my chords and lead lines on the high strings over the loop.  I very much like Warmoth's baritone 7 neck as its length is nearly exactly 2 frets above a standard 25.5in Fender neck, and that makes it really easy to transpose the D'Addario tension charts for my string selection (I'm after a light top-heavy bottom combination for ease of playability on the upper strings and intonation on the lower ones: existing 7-strings tend to use light-ish strings at the low end and I can't imagine them keeping the intonation particularly well, especially as they rarely go above 27in scale, i.e. only one fret above the standard Fender scale).

Now, for all intents and purposes a 60's P-bass looks a lot like a scaled up Strat (it's a compromise I could live with if I pick the right colour), and its neck pocket is only 1/8in narrower than the Baritone 7.  Also, as the lower cutaway comes in pretty straight onto the neck, so the reduced material should not cause many problems in terms of joint stability.  And Warmoth has the routing program for the baritone 7 pocket and (crucially) bridge, anyway... not to mention the program for a P-bass body.

Can it be done?  I'm not mad keen on the two available 7-string bodies as they look a bit too "boutique", but if this mod was available there would be a whole new range of potential Frankensteins (I'd have thought that the J-bass would be suitable too, although more bass-looking...) to entice customers... or maybe not enough customers?  But surely, once they have the CNC programs merged to suit, it becomes just another option available.

Any thoughts?

 

[whyachi]

I know W can do quite a bit for a suitable upcharge, up to carving you an entirely custom design... I'd call them or PM Wyliee on here, as he knows everything about everything. Also, post pictures, cause this could be awesome.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

You could totally do this now, at least 1 way I could think of, though it might be a bit off from exactly what you want.

- Order the standard 25" scale neck without frets, side dots, just a slab fretboard (I had this done specifically for a fretless guitar, $45 upcharge) 

- Order a P-bass body with the pickup & bridge routs done the way you'd want (probs a $45 upcharge, though if you're going with all stuff within the CNC already, they might not.)  You might be able to just get the groundwire hole only done on the bridge, then position the bridge once you have it all on hand.

Once you have it all together, you'd just take it to a luthier to get the frets installed.  Just a quick guestimate based on looking at the bridge on my bass & a 25.5" neck puts it at about 28" scale, so probably less for a 25" neck, maybe 27.5".  You might end up losing some high fret access (maybe only 21 or 22 frets), but that may not matter.

I'll second calling them - you're wanting an unusual combination of stuff, but not something that would require major fabrication.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Warmoth did a Custom Explorer body in a 7-String, yet it is not an option on the Website.  Perhaps they could make a 7-string P-Bass or Strat.  Afterall, if they could just do a 7 string pocket and bridge on any body, the 7 string baritone neck would automatically work.  And BTW, the P-Bass is older than the Strat.  The Strat body is actually borrowed from the P-Bass.

 

[marcofk]

Well, thank you all for the advises offered so far, and apologies if I can't be a bit more active on the board (I only managed today as I've caught the first flu of the season...), but I'm under a lot of pressure these days: I'm hoping in a few weeks time to have more spare time to dedicate to both my project and the board.

Much as I wasn't really thinking about Fender's history when I made the original post, I am aware that the P-bass was the very first solid bodied instrument made by Leo, at least at production level.  I wasn't really thinking in those terms, though, but only in terms of visual appearance: the 60's P-bass is very similar in shape and contour to a Strat, not so much a 51 specimen, though.  Obviously a trained eye can immediately see the difference, but what I'm aiming at is to make an instrument that, despite having several non-standard features, doesn't look like a "what the hell is that?" kind of thing, but more like something that looks like it's been around forever... even if it never has!  Shallow, I know, but when Warmoth gives you the opportunity to choose the wood, the pick-up configuration, the controls and the hardware, all that is really left to be particular about is the appearance: you could build a Strat with 2 PAF's, mahogany body with maple cap, tune-o-matic bridge and rosewood on mahogany neck and you wouldn't be a million miles away from a Les Paul in terms of sound (I personally believe that the neck joint has a very limited effect on tone and a more discernible effect on the dynamics of the instrument...). But if you like the look of a Strat and the tone of a Les Paul, that's the way to go (or vice versa).

The next question would be: is there any restriction (i.e. in terms of license agreements) for Warmoth to do something like my original idea?  I know that for certain aspects of what they do they are bound by licensing terms, so I was wondering if it's still the case and if my idea encroaches on such terms...

Happy strumming, everyone!

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Short of one of the mods commenting, a phone call could answer these questions better than us, but we'll try.  The Cliff's Notes version of the license is permision to recreate the trademarked headstock and that they will not project themselves as a fully assembled guitar maker, atleast with Fender interchangeable parts.  As far as body styles and options, there's no license issue there, as I understand it.  But always call and ask.  If you don't get the answer you like, call back and ask someone else.  This board is constantly producing pics of custom orders of stuff that they don't do.  I'm convinced they can do anything, just not for me.  LOL 

 

[stubhead]

I think they're done quite a few 7-string-width neck pockets, on whatever you want.