Finished pics! Dreadnought for me?

Andyjr1515 · September 2018

Not quite as finished as it looks, but the only way of seeing if the bridge is in the right place is to string it up!

And so that's what I've just done.

And I'm very pleased with how it looks. And more to the point - even though the frets haven't been levelled and the relief, saddle height or nut height haven't been touched yet - it sounds fantastic! I'm thrilled and surprised in equal measure!

Oh, and yes - against all the odds - the bridge does actually seem to be in the right place

So still to do is:

- Levelling/crowning frets

- Cleaning up fretboard

- Installing electrics

- Setting up saddle and nut

- Strap button on heel

- Fine tuning neck profile and final slurry and buff

- Final polish once varnish is fully cured

mart · September 2018

Really pleased to hear that it sounds as good as it looks!

Andyjr1515 · September 2018

mart said:

Really pleased to hear that it sounds as good as it looks!

Thanks! Me too

I'll do some clips as soon as it's been properly set up

Andyjr1515 · October 2018

Tried to finish this off. Almost did it, but not quite.

First popped the magnets onto the truss-rod cover:

...and hey presto:

Then installed the Shadow Doubleplay electrics. It comprises a blendable under-saddle piezo:

and a mini magnetic pickup at the end of the fretboard:

I suspect that this is intended for a flatter fingerboard radius (prob 12" - I've build closer to an electric neck with 10" rad and locking tuners. Makes it easier for me to transfer from my electric to the acoustic) so I sunk it into the top to make sure it didn't foul the top and bottom E strings:

As it turns out, I've overdone this and will, at some stage, take it off and pop a shim underneath.

I then installed the preamp / blend unit that sits inside the soundhole (I'll photo it in the 'finished' shots) and the rear strap pin / jack socket.

Before I put the strings back on, I cleaned up and oiled the fretboard.

The frets - well, at the moment there is absolutely no buzz anywhere so I haven't even polished them! When I get a moment, I'll at least do that but there is probably no need for levelling and crowning. But before you go thinking I know what I'm doing, that is a first...

And - other than the low nano-mag pickup being a bit quieter than the piezo - we have electric amplification.

Lastly, now the strings are on, I do my usual 'sit it like a cello and scrape the neck to the final shape by feel, spinning it round and playing it then re-scraping until it feels like I want it. This is followed by a quick tru-oil slurry and buff and it's good to go within an hour.

Am I the only one that does this? I always thing that no matter how well you fit a neck to the profile templates, I can't really tell if it's right until I play it. So that's what I do. And the most subtle tweaks can make all the difference!

Remaining jobs:

- Replace the nut with a slightly wider one (plays fine with the present one but it isn't quite wide enough

- Raise the nano-mag pickup (ditto)

- Side dots! It's a big b****r and there is no way you can see the top of the fretboard when you are playing it

- Final polish in about a week's time

- Take the arty farty photos