ST-1JR ...but it may not end up that way.

[apkane]

The purpose of this build is to finish with something that my 8 year old daughter can comfortably play.....

Along the way we will see:
a. Is building guitars suitable mantherapy (and therefore supported in future by She Who Must Be Obeyed),
b. What will a guitar essentially designed by an 8 year old girl look like,
c. Does Dad have mad skills that have been dormant for 46 years,
d. If a father and daughter who have questionable trade talent can build something together that's playable and looks cool, and
e. Is it possible to turn an ST1JR into a short scale bass?

WTF have I started....

[FrankenWashie]

Now that's an intro!
a. Yes, mostly. Though it can lead to GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) which most likely will not be supported by SWMBO.
b. I think we all need that question answered!
c. You may surprise yourself, your daughter and SWMBO
d. Review some of the other threads, consult the Oracles (The same knowledgable and helpful names pop up in every thread, start with DingoBass and Wokkaboy) and read through the How to Section, you'll do fine.
e. Not sure if you can without having a specialist neck made, as I imagine (I don't know for sure) that the fret spacings will be different @DB, can you advise?

Above all, just have fun with it! At the very least you have a sanding assistant, that's a step up on the rest of us!

[andrewdosborne]

Welcome to the Forum Tony! Looking forward to following your build.

In answer to your questions (from my experience..)

a. Is building guitars suitable mantherapy (and therefore supported in future by She Who Must Be Obeyed),
Yes, but you will struggle with the Ministry of Finance & War after half a dozen builds...

b. What will a guitar essentially designed by an 8 year old girl look like,
Pink or pink/purple. A pink or purple strap is also required. It may involve flowers or Hello Kitty

c. Does Dad have mad skills that have been dormant for 46 years,
Yes, we all have an inner luthier buried somewhere inside us

d. If a father and daughter who have questionable trade talent can build something together that's playable and looks cool, and
Most definitely and is good bonding time

e. Is it possible to turn an ST1JR into a short scale bass?
Not sure on that one!

[J.P]

Kudos to you Tony.

I've been thinking about building a hello kitty Jr. Strat for my daughter so I am keen to see how you go and what your daughter comes up with

[Dedman]

Hell No Kitty is kooler

[andrewdosborne]

Nice one Dedman love kitty's fangs

Sent from my GT-I9506 using Tapatalk

[apkane]

Dedman you would be spot on for Miss 8's psychopathic little sister, and yes andrewdosborne it will involve some pink....ok maybe a lot of pink.

[wazkelly]

Hi Akpane, like your thinking but not sure it can be done without a few mods such as...

a) the 6 peg holes would need to be filled and then re-drilled to take the larger Bass Machine Heads. Also not sure peg head would be big or strong enough.
b) would require a new nut with just 4 slots not the 6 as comes standard with the kit
c) cannot even think what guage bass strings you would need as if they were super light it may not sound too much different to a guitar
d) agree with others that the Hoffner might be best bet as it is the smallest body, semi hollow plus 30" scale

[Muzza]

a) Also not sure peg head would be... ...strong enough.
c) cannot even think what guage bass strings you would need

Answer a) Not a problem as there will be much less tension than a regular tuned 6 string. Because of the shortened scale, you'd need to really loosen off the strings to get it down to E A D G tuning.

Answer B) I'd start with the biggest, thickest strings you can get. If they're too thin, they'll just flap around like over-cooked spaghetti.

I'm thinking a good place to start would be E - 0.130, A - 0.100, D - 0.080, G - 0.065. Basically a 5 string set without the 0.045 G string.

[wazkelly]

I'd start with the biggest, thickest strings you can get. If they're too thin, they'll just flap around like over-cooked spaghetti.

I'm thinking a good place to start would be E - 0.130, A - 0.100, D - 0.080, G - 0.065. Basically a 5 string set without the 0.045 G string.

Good suggestion Muzza. Just hope an 8 year old girl can get her tiny fingers down on such thick strings without too much trouble.