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I am going to get the design drawn out based on the spec sheet, but probably won't cut wood till I can confirm it matches
iirc @Sporky had issues when trusting one of hipshots spec sheets
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The only things decided at the moment are that its fanned fret, firebird shaped, has 3 filtertron sized pickups and the hipshot 18 degree bridge. that's enough to see what works scale length wise
Full size drawing - the main dimensions are to scale, but not all parts are
this is with a 24 3/4-26" fan. 3rd, 12th and 22nd frets are marked. We may actually be able to get away with a bit more fan and still have room for 3 straight pickups
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http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/
It calculates a straight bridge as being 180 degrees, so i need 162 degrees for the 18 degree bridge slant. You put in your chosen scales and adjust the perpendicular figure to get the bridge angle where it needs to be
like this
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here are a couple of my regular players - very different guitars, very different fans
The thinline is 25-27 1/2" with a perp near the 6th fret. The white guitar is 25-27" with the perp at the 12th.
Edit it for info: the white one is about as extreme a fan as I would go on a 6 string with 2" difference in scales and a 12th fret perp. It's still okay for first position chords, but only just. If I increased the difference in scales I would indeed move the perp towards the nut.
If you look at the second fretfind link I posted it shows the nut end will be more like the thinline, but the reduced difference in scales makes the fan much more even along the board than that one. With the small difference in scales I can push the perp closer to the 12 fret
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(formerly customkits)
the wood is massively oversize at the moment - I should easily get a full headstock overlay out of that fretboard blank as well as the fanned fret board.
I am debating whether to split the neck and laminate, or go for a simple one piece and add some other reinforcement to the neck. Its one piece of African mahogany... just about quartersawn but not perfectly for the whole length. Once planed it will pretty much be the perfect dimensions for a firebird centre section as it is.
Then we have steinberger tuners and a hipshot 18 degree fanned fret bridge
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Second factor is aesthetics. If it was having a natural finish it could definitely be laminated. The plan is white, but not a thick heavy finish and possible slightly translucent
The wood has a nice tap tone and will make a nice sounding guitar however I decide to do it.
I wont be building two just because my limited time won't allow it.
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so i am going to be a hypocrite, because i am quite excited about these
quitea lof of colour variation, so if possible i am going to try and keep that.
On with the show
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its all measured multiple times before being deeply scored on the fretlines. I do a light score and double check before going over it a bit heavier... the frets marked in pencil are where the initial light score was off and corrected before the deep score - it tells me to make sure i get the right line!!
I currently have fluid build up behind my retina so this was more difficult than it should have been. I will double check it against my full size plans and chosen bridge once my eyes are less tired. if its wrong i will sand it all off and start again. Once totally happy i will slot
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a quick placement on the original drawing
I think i can afford to move the fretboard into the body by 1/2" and move everything back a bit. It will still give really good top fret access - the angle really helps with that. we were discussing a 6-way blade switch, or originally 2 3-way blade switches, but i might have to think about that a bit more as the body wings are not normally deep enough for that... we will see
There is room for the gretsch style rings, although i am not sure if they will be used yet. They are only cosmetic so it will be a last minute decision
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