Duo-sonicish build

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WezVWezV Frets: 16547
I want to do a simple  build before i start the next 3, which will all be a fair bit more challenging

so I grabbed a plank of sycamore and cut out a body.  its got a few knots, a bit of spalting and it was a bit thin and small for anything else  - perfect for a duo-sonic

I have not decided on much, but have a filtertron sized goldfoil going spare so possibly a cabronita, maybe set-neck rather than bolt-on...  It will be short scale, it will be a natural finish to show off the unusual wood choice.


I am tempted to pair it with a softer neck wood, the opposite way round to most fenders

the best bit is around back






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Comments

  • poopotpoopot Frets: 9098
    Thick question: does that “knot” (is it called a knot?)  running the length of the blank make the wood unstable?...
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    edited May 2018
    if it was a knot, it would.... the eye shaped thing and the flecks near the waist are knots, but small enough not to be a issue.

    I think the stripe is spalting, note the black outline does not follow the grain.   Spalt can affect the structure if its too far gone (its the first stage of rot), but  its totally solid on this 
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    tbh, the wood choice is a bit of a trial.  its perfectly stable, but sycamore is closely related to maple, which most wouldn't use for an electric guitar.  It is a fair bit softer than rock maple though

    I have had 2 solid rock maple guitars.  One was a superstrat with floyd and ceramic pickups, and as you would expect it was far too bright.  The other is my john birch, which sounds much more balanced.  never looses clarity, but stays well away from ice pick territory

    I have enjoyed using sycamore for the tops on my last 2 les paul builds, so want to try it for a solid body.  If i was being scientific i would use known quantities for the rest of it... but i am tempted to try either a douglas fir or port orford cedar neck on this (whichever i don;t use will be seen on another build soon).  I expect this dense body/softwood neck to give a very different resonance to a more standard electric guitar. 

    weight is not an issue either, the small shape and thinner body will keep it well under 4lb
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  • DanielsguitarsDanielsguitars Frets: 3261
    tFB Trader
    like the idea of this build,  set neck is right up my street
    www.danielsguitars.co.uk
    (formerly customkits)
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  • meltedbuzzboxmeltedbuzzbox Frets: 10337
    Mahogany set neck with Douglas fir fretboard and jag pickups?
    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    like the idea of this build,  set neck is right up my street
    Yeah, but you know it would be full width ;)

    Mahogany set neck with Douglas fir fretboard and jag pickups?
    That’s an odd mix.  I am not sure a softwood will work for a fretboard.... but I do have some ideas on that 
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  • DanielsguitarsDanielsguitars Frets: 3261
    tFB Trader
    WezV said:
    like the idea of this build,  set neck is right up my street
    Yeah, but you know it would be full width ;)
    Ha Ha,  i have been thinking about doing something like a nod to a through neck and glue the neck in that way, pickup width size and take it back to the bridge, just don't like loosing that side wall

    Are you going 6 in line heastock
    www.danielsguitars.co.uk
    (formerly customkits)
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    There will be plenty of side wall, I have said it before... it just needs to hold the neck in alignment.  the large glue surface on the bottom does all the heavy lifting on a full width tenon

     I have done the full width to the bridge thing a couple of times and I don’t think it adds much... although it might look cool on this, so maybe???

    it will most likely have a 6-in line headstock
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26754
    Have you considered making it "reverse body" so the pretty bit is on the front?
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    I considered having the stripe on the front, but most of it would be lost under hardware
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    Douglas Fir neck blank




    Just need to decide on a fretboard wood.
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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    I have a bit of a thing for Mustangs and similar...loving the concept of this one, will you be going for a 24" scale length?
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    Yeah.  24”, or actually 25.5” minus one fret
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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    Nice! I like the elegance of the Mustang body shape......

    WezV said:
    Yeah.  24”, or actually 25.5” minus one fret
    I often wonder why folk feel they can't get on with the 24" scale, it's just like playing up the neck of a 25.5 a bit....
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • TeyeplayerTeyeplayer Frets: 3137
    edited May 2018
    I’ll be in the minority on this but I always liked the mustang trem. It was the pickup switches that ruined it for me.
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    It won't be getting a mustang trem.  I am currently considering a cut down tele bridge for the Cabronita vibe
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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    Good plan on the half bridge, Wilkinson makes one for not much money.....
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    Last one I did I trimmed back myself, but that was before they were easily available 
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
    starting to look like a guitar


    don't worry - headstock won't stay like that - its currently got the wings being glued on so i can get a decent shape out of it.

    I didn't get a pic of it, but the neck tenon extends all the way under the pickup.  it will be trimmed level with the body  once the neck is glued in.  I am not sure whether to keep it on show, or hide it under a guard...I will make that decision later
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    paulnb57 said:
    I often wonder why folk feel they can't get on with the 24" scale
    WezV said:
    It won't be getting a mustang trem.
    It was the pickup switches that ruined it for me.
    Any or all of these Mustang features is enough to put off some potential buyers. 

    In some respects, compared to some Fender designs, a regular Mustang/Duosonic lacks a distinctive sound of its own.

    For example, John McLaughlin's contributions to the Miles Davis album, A Tribute To Jack Johnson. You can tell what McLaughlin is not playing. (i.e. His usual Gibson or Rex Bogue.) Any listener lacking foreknowledge would struggle to discern what electric guitar he is playing based only on the sounds produced.

    By comparison, the timber choices, construction and single gold foil pickup of the OP project should add up to something very distinctive indeed.
    Be seeing you.
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