Finished Pics! impmann's Alembic-esque Electric

Andyjr1515

impmann said:

This is looking ace, Andy!

Phew!

Even though the most important opinion is clearly @impmann 's nevertheless, as ever, thanks to everyone for the encouraging words.  Always much appreciated

This will be transformed once the carve is underway, but there are a few things that need to be done while I have a flat surface to work with.  The most important is the pickup chambers...and because of the depth of the pickups vs the slenderness of the body itself, this will need a bit of time and care.

First job here is setting the positions.  The scale is going to be standard Fender 25.5".  Whilst the fretboard will be trimmed slightly shorter than this, this is where the relative components are going to be (suitably squared up, of course   ) 


Again, ignore the PVA blobs at the top - they will disappear with the first sanding.  Likewise, the outline will be 'fine-tuned' before the main body carve.  Nevertheless, I'm quite excited how this is going to turn out visually...

I am going to need some views, though, on the best way of securing the blind pickup covers while retaining the ability to remove them without damage for subsequent adjustment to pickup heights that @impmann may want to do for personal preference after the initial setup.  I was thinking low-tack double sided tape and provide a rubber sucker of some sort to pull the covers off.

Well, if that last sentence doesn't provoke a bit of a thread de-rail, I'll be surprised

impmann

Ah - I was going to suggest gold or black screws in the normal P90 places for fixing/adjustment...

Legionreturns

impmann said:

Ah - I was going to suggest gold or black screws in the normal P90 places for fixing/adjustment...

Nah! Sticky back plastic tastic mate!

Andyjr1515

impmann said:

Ah - I was going to suggest gold or black screws in the normal P90 places for fixing/adjustment...

Forget what the others might say you are, without a shadow of a doubt, a very fine chap! 

That would remove a LOT of headscratching   And yes - gold would work well IMHO 

 

Andyjr1515

As @impmann is clearly reading this when he should be busy toiling away keeping the economy afloat, then rather than pm'ing him, I may as well post one of the next steps on the thread:

These builds go in fits and starts of progress and I try to avoid any unnecessary delays. So, even though the neck carve is a while away, I will be sending him a standard decorator's profile gauge over the next few days and some simple but important instructions for him to send me the shape and dimensions of his favourite playing neck. 

Every guitar feels different for all sorts of reasons, but I do like a guitar or bass I build to have at least a familiarity of feel to the owner and the easiest way is to broadly replicate the shape and size of their favourite instrument.

So, wait with baited breath for a small package to arrive in the post soonish, Tim  

impmann

Cool!! :-)

I need to give that one some thought as to which neck to base it on... :-)

Alegree

You're planning on repeatedly removing the covers? That's asking for trouble  

impmann

Alegree said:

You're planning on repeatedly removing the covers? That's asking for trouble  

No. They will be attached to the guitar in the same way as a P90 - long screws through the centre of the pickup for height adjustment/attachment. :-)

Andyjr1515

To the pickup chambers.....

Again, this is simply the way I do it.  Many builders use a forstner for rough bulk removal and then a template and router for the final shape.  I use the same things but in, perhaps, a different order to most.  The reason is simple - I simply haven't found the foolproof way of positioning and avoiding router disasters with the more conventional method.

I've also learnt how to sharpen a chisel...amazing what that can do when it doesn't have the sharpness of an old screwdriver...

This is how I do it nowadays.

The corners make all the difference to the professional look of the finished fit.  So I drill them first on my little drill press:


I then use the Forstner to take out the bulk and also to nibble right to the very edge of the marked line (which is drawn 1/2 mm larger than the pickup covers all the way round)

If you ever try this, by the way, always clamp the body - nibbling hits the side of the forstner bit so, unsupported, it will shift!

Then I use my very sharp chisel and mallet to straighten up the top ripples in between the original four drilled holes:


And only now do I get the router out to finish route the lower part of the chamber and the bottom to the specific depth I need - because now it is fully safe to use with a short top bearing trimmer bit:


Result is a neat and very accurate chamber:




It's a slight shift from the conventional approach, but works for me

impmann

I can't tell you how exciting all this is...

Andyjr1515

impmann said:

I can't tell you how exciting all this is...

For me it's just got particularly exciting in a good way because the pickups are going to actually fit without sticking out the back of the guitar!

Andyjr1515

During my professional career in manufacturing, I had many interesting discussions with designers.

Which usually ended up as '...and tell me again, out of curiosity - just how is the customer going to actually be able to FIT that?'

So, much as I rate Schaller:


Don't you just love 'em

WezV

that's ridiculous!  on other bridges you could make a slot nicely hidden under the bridge... doesn't look like you have much room for that.

 deep pickups, thin body and P-90 screws sounds like a recipe for, erm, some very careful measurement

WezV

would it work if you added a recess under the bridge side of the P-90 route for the connector block and wires?

Andyjr1515

WezV said:

would it work if you added a recess under the bridge side of the P-90 route for the connector block and wires?

The crazy thing is that there are loads of Schaller pdf installation guides and templates on the Hannes 6 - NONE of which show or refer to in any way to the wires   The only thing that refers to the wire at all is a separate pdf showing how you put a small length of shrink tube over the collector block to stop the connectors falling out.  I think if you have the skills to work out unaided and do the rest of it, that might be in your skillset too without a pdf...  

Then you look on the internet.  Even our beloved (if a little irritating) Crimson Guitars do a long (long, long, hesitate, mumble, long) tutorial on the fitting...of the non-piezo version.  So actually, there is NO guidance anywhere I can find of what you should do.  Not a photo.  Nada.

Having said that, I'm pretty happy what I'll do and it's broadly similar to what you say @WezV .  I'll route a deep but narrow channel under the saddles themselves where the wires are going to be and then drill an intercepting hole (a bit like you do with an acoustic piezo element) into the control chamber.  The individual connectors detach from the collector block so an 5mm hole should do it.

I'm going to sort the the bridge fitting screws and bolt holes and slots (there is a through-string block that needs slotting at the back also) before fitting the fretboard!  There is, peversely, going to be more wiggle room on the fretboard positioning than on the bridge!

Ho, hum....

impmann

TBH, that does look like a proper head fuck. Sorry!

I hope that the sound and feel makes up for it...

Andyjr1515

impmann said:

TBH, that does look like a proper head fuck. Sorry!

I hope that the sound and feel makes up for it...

Not at all...it's just one of those jobs that needs a bit of thought and a lot of care.  I've printed off the general template and will ponder and recheck my intended method while I'm driving to the SE tomorrow.  Probably do the biz on Sunday.

And, although there's a dearth of guidance on aspects of the fitting, there are a lot of respected pro players who are saying 'it's the best bridge I've ever used'

Roland

I'm impatient to hear what you two think of it. They're more expensive than conventional bridges, and look as though there's not much tolerance in fitting. 

Andyjr1515

Still got blobs of PVA that I haven't sanded off yet, but I ran a damp cloth over @impmann 's and my parallel build.  They are going to be a handsome couple:



 

paulnb57

Looking fab Andy, I think I prefer without soundhole, but very nice...as usual! Yaaaawn!!