If anyone here is interested, they can see the building of my 7 string guitar build at https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=724003 But rathr than make you go to another forum(I'll be updating it more often though), here are some pics of it right now: Enjoy Specs: Maple neck through with fir-wood sides(fir wood is like basswood, so very light) Ebony fretboard Warmoth LFR 7 string lo-pro Seymour Duncan Blackout Pickups (Standard sized) Gotoh tuners Black body with red bevels
Coming along nicely. Would you trust carpenters with it though? They have a tendency to take out more than necessary and replace it with the dreaded beading :
Well I've been overseeing everything. I only get them to do the chiseling because I have no experience with a chisel(i probably should have tried somethign simpler than a guitar for a first time DIY thing) And with the central maple, but it's all come out fine. The body and bevels were cut by me and the necks going to be shaped by me too.. Basically I'm makign sure all the important stuff I do so I have control, just a few things go to the carpenter.
I'm still contemplating on whether to make a 7 string V or Superstrat, I find Superstrat type guitars more comfortable to play on but I after I saw Pat O Brien's 7 string V I became obsessed with it.
I chose the V because it would be more unique and for better fret access. A superstrat is nice, but they are too common. Unles its got a nice crimson flamed maple top....oh...
thanks. It's almost done. just have 3 more steps to do: 1)Shape the neck(half way through) 2)Cut out the ehadstock(should take a day or two) 3)Paint the guitar(should take 3 days at the most depending on how lazy I am) Should be done by end feb seeing as I work slooooooow
Man, do us a favor. Post a summary of what all things you used, the steps and where to get the materials. And if there was any professional help required. This will go a long way. You just started a revolution!!!
Using waterbased finishes of stewmac most probably, but I'll see if I can get paints here for cheaper. 3 days should be enough, maybe 4 max. My woods are non-porous so I save on grain filler and I just need sanding sealer, color coats and a clear coat. Any idea if I can get good quality stuff here? Otherwise stewmac it is. Tools I usedwith electronic alternatives in brackets) Rip Saw(An electric band saw would be better] A coping saw(a jigsaw might work, but for some stuff I deffinitely like the control of a coping saw) A hammer and chisel(A router would also work) A surform which is a sort of file grater to shape the neck(but you could use a lathe) Sandpaper(could use a drill/pillar sander) A plane Thats about it for tools. Of course I could have used mroe to get the job done faster, but those are the necessary ones. Materials and necessary objects: Wood I got from kotla in delhi: Used maple and firwood(like basswood) Tools I got from kotla(near south ex) as well. Fretboard, truss rod, tuners, bridge and pots I'm getting from warmoth Paints I will get from stewmac if I can't find them here Steps: Get building an electric guitar by melvyn hiscock. Very good and easy book. Also look at projectguitar.com I'm not givin more steps because it pays to read all this stuff before going into it. I memorized the book and every tutorial on the net back to front and i drew out my bluepritns meticulously so that it would work as a guitar. As for professional help, unfortunately I needed a local carpenter to come and help cut the maple because it is very insanely hard for a wood, and I got him to do the chiseling. I did the bbody work, neck work and headwork though and I supervised. But that doesn't mean you necessarily need a carpenter. I just needed him to make some headway or if I wasn't confident with something. Unfortunately as indians we have very little in terms of school DIY projects to give experience.
If anyones interested, finished shaping the neck. Just have to sand it down to make it smooth but its shaped to my playing style(flatter on the bass side, rounder and steeper on the treble) updates in the ultimate guitar link
thats a term for the fretboard which is in this case uniform radius. More of a compund profile I guess so it sort of gives me a thumb rest for playing. It's not something you notice looking at it, but it feels comfier to me. https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v334/dagget32002/neck-profile.jpg The link shows the kid of neck. otherwise I find if I'm playing intensly on a rounded neck, i put a lot of pressure on one point of my thumb and it hurts after a while, so this way, my thumb sort of has even pressure.
Hey DagMX, nice work there. Am curius to know the outcome of the fir-wood-for-sides tone. Is it finished or still work is on. ?? Wud love to see some pics of the finishin.... U can checkout my work in the link u see below these lines...... Cheers.....n keep up the good work....
i'll find out about the fir-wood once i get pickups. It's very light though. Though most of the tone would be the maple and ebony. I posted a new thread because I couldn't find this one. The finished guitar is there minus pickups
