PB-30 w/Tonerider upgrade - First PBG Kit Build!

[Route 58]

Hi, all.

Recently purchased a couple of kits from PBG - one is still on backorder, so the 30" Scale PB style is first cab off the rank.

Intended modifications/variations include:

• 3 Ply White Pickguard (the kit has the option of this, or white pearloid or tortoiseshell
• Tonerider TRP1 Precision Plus pickup
• Dingotone Fidelity Upgrade
• Dingotone Outback Sunset finish for the body
• Non-coloured neck (just Dingotone Final Coat)
• Unsure on whether the headstock shape will be changed
• Custom logo on headstock
• Possibly short-scale strings, if the included strings don't feel right in terms of tension

Route 58 builds are always going to be a collaboration of a husband/wife team. We're looking to have some fun, learn and turn out some beautiful and very playable instruments, especially that can be not too tricky for smaller hands and reaches.

We'll have a bunch of questions, but any tips you can offer based upon the above info would always be appreciated.

Cheers from Route 58!

[Guvna19]

Sounds Great, heaps of great tips and knowledgable people here.

looking forward to see the 30" Scale PB style progress

regards
Guvna

[churchie]

really cool that you and your wife are doing the build together!

[FrankenWashie]

Too cool Route 58! Will watch with great interest.

[JohnH]

Nice to see a husband/wife team! What a great project to work on together. Look forward to watching your build

[Route 58]

Ok, so trying to get started on this and have already hit a few areas of doubt.
The Instruction Manual (which I am very grateful for, and by no means criticising) advises:

1. Test fit the parts
2. Fitting the Neck
3. Checking the Scale Length
4. Fitting the Bridge/Tailpiece
5. Test fitting the Neck
6. Checking neck alignment
7. Preparing the neck
8. Painting or Staining

The PB30 bridge is probably closest to a Telecaster style bridge. Step 4 (Fitting the Bridge/Tailpiece) advises marking centrelines and holes, but doesn't actually talk about drilling and installing the bridge. Is this the point where we should do so (at least temporarily)? If not, how do we test the alignment & break angle?
Step 7 (Preparing the neck) is quite a big section - it looks a bit like it should be broken down into a few different steps, but in terms of preparing for finishes it talks about the fretboard but not anything in terms of the back of the neck nor the headstock.
Step 8 (Painting or Staining) This talks a lot about the body but barely touches on the neck (except for being careful in relation to glued necks), and after that comes the next section of Wiring and Final Assembly.
Thanks in advance for any helpful advice!

[Andyxlh]

Ok, so trying to get started on this and have already hit a few areas of doubt.
The Instruction Manual (which I am very grateful for, and by no means criticising) advises:

1. Test fit the partsż
2. Fitting the Neck
3. Checking the Scale Length
4. Fitting the Bridge/Tailpiece
5. Test fitting the Neck
6. Checking neck alignment
7. Preparing the neck
8. Painting or Staining

The PB30 bridge is probably closest to a Telecaster style bridge. Step 4 (Fitting the Bridge/Tailpiece) advises marking centrelines and holes, but doesn't actually talk about drilling and installing the bridge. Is this the point where we should do so (at least temporarily)? If not, how do we test the alignment & break angle?
Step 7 (Preparing the neck) is quite a big section - it looks a bit like it should be broken down into a few different steps, but in terms of preparing for finishes it talks about the fretboard but not anything in terms of the back of the neck nor the headstock.
Step 8 (Painting or Staining) This talks a lot about the body but barely touches on the neck (except for being careful in relation to glued necks), and after that comes the next section of Wiring and Final Assembly.
Thanks in advance for any helpful advice!

Hello!
A few thoughts,
You should be able to fit the bridge and neck as a test. You will need to make sure that the bridge is in alignment with the neck, to make sure that the strings run over the neck in the correct way. You will also need to make sure that the bridge is the correct distance from the 12th fret too.
If you have a screw on neck, attach it and then you can locate the bridge using a cotton thread running down the centre dots of the neck to mark the centre line of the bridge.
The wood on the neck can be treated as the wood on the body in most ways, it is much harder but will accept stains or paints in the same way. Only the fretboard needs different attention which is why it is addressed separately.
I'm sure others will be able to expand on this further!

[Brendan]

Check out - http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=3048 - technique will be the same for a 30" neck - and yep - get it in position, drill holes, etc before paint / stain as you'll run the risk of damaging the finish if you leave it to later. Break angle should be OK given you are using the stock bridge - if its out, the best way to fix it is via shims that you put in at the late stages - i.e., when you are setting the intonation, etc. as necks will change shape as they are stressed with strings, especially basses. If you get to this point and can't get the intonation right and it appears to need a shim - we can walk you through that step when you get to it. Really at this stage - get your alignment right - key holes in the right spot - then sand, sand, sand...

Back of the neck generally would use a harder finish - such as the Dingotone neck finish you have specified above due to the heavier usage. The headstock can use either neck finish or body - doesn't tend to get much wear and tear. Don't need to sand the neck much - the maple they use is pretty close grained, so shouldn't need much work.

[Route 58]

Thanks, Andyxlh and Brendan, for the advice.
Have progressed a little bit further and should be ok for a little while on the upcoming steps.
However I note that there’s no wiring info with the Tonerider TRP1 Pickup upgrades and the wiring diagrams on the site don’t specifically reference the PB30, (very possibly because it’s a new item in the range). Tonerider don’t seem to specifically mention the bass humbuckers either. I sort of suspect that I can use one of the dual humbucker diagrams and just omit some of the wires, but I’m cautious because the kit description read that the pick guard was pre-wired and it’s not, and the diagrams I see often omit wiring that should already be in place.
I’m also unsure of whether I have to ground the bridge? There’s a hole leading to it from the control cavity, but I’ve seen some info in the past indicating that certain setups require it and certain setups don’t.
Any help for a relative newbie would be great. I’ve only wired one kit before, and that was on a course where I had a luthier walking me through the steps.

[WeirdBits]

Yes, you should ground the bridge. This diagram should have you covered: