Les Paul Junior.

[pksocal]

Aloha all.  My son would like a les paul junior similar to the billy joe armstrong model.  any input appreciated.  I am not sure on the warmoth website exactly which body style it should be???
thanks,  pksocal

 

[rockskate4x]

mahogany flattop LP with only a p-90 route in the bridge position. that should do it.

 

[bpmorton777]

while you are at it have them rout for a tune-o-matic bridge so you can intonate the thing once it is strung up. The LP junior has just the stop tail portion of the TOM and cant be intonated easily.

Brian

 

[tfarny]

Well, if you want it to look just like a Jr you could get the gotoh 510 rout and one of the intonatable stoptails from stew mac. That's what I'd do.

 

[rockskate4x]

+1 I wasn't sure what to say about the bridge but this option sounds like the best to me.

 

[bpmorton777]

Tim,

Are you saying that the rout that Warmoth does for the 510 bridge will work for

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar,_non-trem_bridges/Pigtail_Aluminum_Wraparound_Bridge.html?tab=Specs#details

?

Brian

 

[tfarny]

I looked at those specs a while ago and it seems like it'd work. Never done it but it looks right and I seem to remember seeing that done at some point on the board.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

See what the kid thinks.  I kind of liked the Strat hardtail bridge on an LP flat top, although the 510 or Stewmac bridge are a more functional, intonateable version of the Stop Tail wraparound and truer to the intention.

 

[pksocal]

Thanks for the input guys.  My only questions...

BODY:
The Input Jack: From what I found, I should go with 3/4" side jack hole?
Bridge Route:  Gotoh 510, angled pocket  (I will use the StewMac #4507, post spacing 3 1/4")?  Just double checking here.
Mounting holes: none, as it should be filled? (neck glues to body pocket?)
Strat pocket?
NECK:
Scale: Is 25 1/2" out of the ordinary?
Radius: should I go 10to16", or 12"?
Fret size:  looks like 6130 should work
Tuner Ream: 11/32"  ?
Mounting holes:  none, as it will be glued?

 

[TBurst Std]

I would forgo the concept of glued in and go with the mounting holes. For a JR, I would say look at the 24 3/4 conversion scale neck.

 

[kboman]

Personally for the bridge I think a TOM, possibly recessed, with staggered string-through would look fantastic. Otherwise the 510 is the intelligent choice because it can be adjusted. I'd consider a neck pickup too - it's not a replica of what Billy Joel uses but makes the guitar more versatile once your son starts trying out different kinds of music (making it more of a LP Special).

 

[Paul-less]

Leo Quan

 

[tfarny]

Well if you really want to make a Jr, you should go with the wraparound you mentioned from the Stew Mac site. DO NOT glue the neck to the body and think it will be fine. Bolt it on like it is intended - warmoth makes bolt on guitar parts and no other kind. The design of the neck pocket for a set neck (Gibson) is very different. Don't do glue. Yes, strat pocket.
Go with a "conversion" 24.75 scale neck to be more Gibson-like, the 25.5 scale is generally fine but it's a Fender spec.  12" radius if you want it to be more Gibson-like, otherwise get the 10-16 standard compound.
Any fret size will work, most new guitars are more like 6150 though - some people hate the smaller vintage style frets.

Post pics, we don't get too many flat top LPs around here. Also, as much as Green Day sucks, I've played that Billy Joe sig model and it really was nice.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

+1 on the not glueing.  It's been discussed on here before, but the bolt-on neck joint is designed to be bolted on and is not the same neckjoint of a set neck, glued-in variety.

 

[nexrex]

Yeah, I have a mahogany VIP with the Goth 510 and intonation has never been a real problem.

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=13291.15

As suggested I would make it a tribute guitar instead of a recreation, and pop in a set of P-90's to make it more versatile as that way your son will also have a clean sound. You definitely won't be able to make this into a set neck as the neck pocket and tenon just aren't designed to handle it.

 

[bigguspickus]

I wish Warmoth made glue-in, in addition to bolt-on, construction necks and bodies. It wouldn't require any tooling they don't already have; maybe some research and CNC programming. The Fender license might mention neck pocket specs, and these would obviously be incompatible, but they'd be sold separately so there shouldn't be a conflict. Do they think people would screw (pardon the pun) up gluing in a neck and return them? They sell unfinished parts and paintin' ain't easy.

In the mean time, there's a place in New Jersey that makes custom set-neck Strat/Tele/LP Jr. style guitars.

 

[Cagey]

I wish Warmoth made glue-in, in addition to bolt-on, construction necks and bodies. It wouldn't require any tooling they don't already have; maybe some research and CNC programming. The Fender license might mention neck pocket specs, and these would obviously be incompatible, but they'd be sold separately so there shouldn't be a conflict. Do they think people would screw (pardon the pun) up gluing in a neck and return them? They sell unfinished parts and paintin' ain't easy.

In the mean time, there's a place in New Jersey that makes custom set-neck Strat/Tele/LP Jr. style guitars.

First off, I suspect it has to do with Warmoth being a "parts" company, rather than an instrument builder. A glue-up neck joint sorta demands that you put together the neck and body so they become a single unit. After that, it's just a bit of hardware and wiring and it's complete. I don't know that you could sell necks and bodies separately and have things work out well. That joint is going to need some attention, no matter how finely machined it is. Plus, gluing requires knowing what kind of glue to use, how to apply it, how to clamp it properly, how to finish the joint, on and on. Then, if something goes wrong, how do you remove it? And assuming you can, who's gonna want it after that? Both the body and neck are almost scrap. At the very least, the joint isn't clean anymore without some serious work, so then what?

You'll notice that Musikraft doesn't sell those parts separately, either. They're nearly complete guitars when you're done ordering, short of some finishing and the addition of some hardware/wiring.

All that said, it would be nice to have a Strat with nearly no neck heel, sorta like some of the neck-thru designs you see.

 

[Graffiti62]

I honestly prefer bolt-on over set-neck, mainly for the ability to tailor it to your liking, as well as not having to start from scratch if the neck should ever happen to give up the ghost. I also highly agree with using the Gotoh bridge or simply a TOM--the simple stop-bar wraparounds were only really favored by Pete Townshend for some odd reason or another (look at the SGs he used in the sixties--you can see where he'd take the Tune-O-Matic off, mount the stopbar and leave the remaining holes). Even John Lennon switched his famous Jr. over when he had the Charlie Christian pickup added, mainly for tuning reasons. One piece of advice I can give is to take your son to a guitar shop, and have him try out nearly every guitar out there for the neck feel he wants. If he has small hands, a fatback contour could give him grief, but on the other hand, if he has large hands and you set him up with either a standard contour, or even a wizard, he may have even more problems.

 

[drewfx]

Actually, I think Pete took off the terrible trem units on his SG's and replaced them with the wraparounds. Not sure if he ever replaced TOM's.

I will also say the wraparound is the best bridge I've ever used for palm-muting stuff.

 

[-CB-]

If you look at actual Gibson Les Paul guitars that have been cut away to reveal their inner fit, you'll notice that the fit of the neck is not on the bottom of the neck itself, but rather, its sides.  The very old Les Paul had a small gap (or maybe no gap by mere luck) under the neck.  These were the so called "long tenon" neck guitars.  Later, to simplify getting the neck angle right, they switched to a shorter tenon with a curved bottom.  Fit the sides, glue it in, set the angle while its still movable and clamp it.  All the holding of the joint is on the sides of the neck.

Bolt on neck designs do not have wood on both sides, sometimes no wood on either side (V for example).  The grain structure of the wood would be liable to splinter if glued on using the bottom only.  Its just a different design.  Bolt on necks have served well over the decades.  Very well!