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Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
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At this stage in the build I had a trip to Scotland, and managed to visit Mark for a design session. He then gave me a router tutorial - at the end of which he put a body blank on the bench and invited me to do the initial rout for the pickups. Given my track record with a router I thought this was brave of him, but the result was good. And now I'm back home I'm practising on scrap.
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And respect too.
There was a break of 10 days in the build process since my last post, during which time the wood for my replacement neck arrived. I built the new neck very carefully, and the result seemed quite good. I left the neck quite thick, planning to reshape it if neccessary after I'd played it for a while. The front dots were easy, but the 2mm side dots were too dainty for my large fingers, so I've ordered 2mm plastic rods which look to be easier to install.
After half a dozen coats of Tru Oil the body is looking good.
Nah - hang it on the wall as a reminder not to do it again
I did actually do this with a neck after carving through to the truss rod
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I find it best to carefully draw a line along the length of the Fretboard, where you want the Dots relative to the edge of the Fretboard, and then to draw across this line to mark the Dot positions. Then use a sharp punch before drilling.
I find inserting Side Dots can be a real pain. If you start to push them in at a slight angle, then they won't go in. You can almost guarantee as you insert more and more of the Dots, that you'll get a bit of glue on your fingers, and you'll pull out the Dot, that you've just put it because it's stuck to your finger. Sometimes an air bubble will get trapped under a Dot and it'll pop out on it's own. Fortunately they all go in eventually!!
I initially installed a Freeway 6 way switch, but was disappointed in the range of tones offered, so re-wired it with two mini-switches. One selects coil splitting, while the other selects north or south coil (if only one pickup selected) or in/out of phase with the pickup selector in the middle position. Wiring diagram was thanks to GuitarElectronics.com. The pickups are Iron Gear Blues Engine, which sound great without costing the earth.
After a few weeks of trials, tribulations and lots and lots and lots of sanding, the guitar was finally finished (except for the side dots).
I'm pleased with the wooden pickups rings that cover the poorly routed pickup cavities. Although I thought that the neck was far too think, after I played the guitar at band practice I didn't notice the neck by the end of the session. I also need to re-oil the neck joint as there was a last minute adjustment to get neck the angle right.
If you want to make the transition from building kit guitars to building guitars from blocks of wood I can recommend the Bailey course (even better, if you have the time - do the course at his studio). Now, what will I do next....?
How about starting a Review thread for the Freeway switch. I like the theory, but it look a little sensitive for live use.
I like a single coil neck pickup for blues solos, humbucker bridge for rythym, and the ability to have in/out of phase for both pickups is a bonus. I do like the tones you get from Jimmy Page wiring, but I can never remember which push/pull to use for what! The final wiring on this guitar gives me the options I like, and it's clear which switch does what.