Tommy's Non-Reverse Firebird/Jazzmaster/??? hybrid dream guitar build

[tommycarlos]

My dream guitar for the longest time has been some variation on a Non-Reverse Firebird (NRFB). However, when I was playing Gibsons, they didn't have a model available for a decent amount of money... and now that they do, I am pretty in love with Fender style offsets (especially that vibrato and single coil pickups, etc).

Therefore.. I have had this dream of getting someone to make me a NRFB, but with a bolt on neck, single coil pickups, and a Jazzmaster vibrato. However, that also looked like it could only be done by pawning one of my (actual flesh and blood) children, and I am far too fond of them to do that.

Along comes Pitbull guitar kits, and I start to think that as long as I could find someone to make an NRFB body routed for a JM vibrato... I could build this from parts myself!

Once I talked to Rosser Guitars in North Carolina, it all started coming together. Since I pulled the trigger on getting the body made, I have been sourcing the other parts from all over the place. I _think_ the last parts (a Mighty Mite Tele neck and a good aftermarket JM vibrato) will be here early next week! (until then I have some lower quality parts I can use for mocking up and measuring etc).

There is one sour note, however. The body arrived yesterday and I discovered something I didn't know before. I was under the impression that there were two types of TOM bridge: the older ABR-1 style with the small posts and the wheel for adjustment, and the newer style like you see on many guitars like the Pitbull JZ-1 kit, my Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster, etc. I thought this newer style with the larger posts and the flat-head screw adjustment was the one called a Nashville.

Nope. There are three variations, really. The Nashville is a small post and wheel type, but it sits in thimbles like the newer one instead of going directly into the body like the actual old ABR-1. Sadly, I specifically asked Rosser Guitars for a Nashville bridge route, and that's what I got. D'oh!

I had been wanting to use either a roller bridge TOM or (even better) my StayTrem AOM replacement that is currently on my Squier J. Mascis JM. I was going to decide depending on the radius of the neck I settled on... and since the Mighty Mite is 9.5", I was really hoping to use the StayTrem. It is a drop-in replacement for the newer style TOM with the larger posts and thimbles... but clearly won't fit on the NRFB body that arrived yesterday.

So, before I can do anything else, I need to work out just how difficult it will be to modify the body to take the bridge I *actually* want instead of the one I mistakenly thought it was

Pictures of everything to follow ...stay tuned.

[tommycarlos]

Generally mocked up (I can't find the vibrato I took out of the JZ-1 to mock that up too):



Closer view of the body:



Close up of the post holes next to the closest to Nashville bridge posts and thimbles I have (even these are kinda loose in the holes... metric vs imperial?):



And here with a pair of posts and thimbles the size I actually want to use:



This is the bridge I really wanna use:



And this is what I might have to settle for if I can't make the holes bigger

[tommycarlos]

At the moment I am leaning towards playing it "safe" and using the Nashville roller bridge I mistakenly got for my JMJM ages ago.

Note: I seem to have a history of TOM/AOM mistakes. I should be an expert by the end of this, hah.

[Dedman]

The fender mustang/jazzy bridges are lower than the Gibson style ones. Double check your string height before doing anything. I had to shim the neck up (about 3mm) on my Jazzmaster or I could drive a truck under the strings at the end of the fret board when I used a gibson style roller bridge (and bigsby)

[tommycarlos]

Yeah, the neck pocket of this body is supposed to be angled since it was routed for the Nashville bridge. But worst case, I have some StewMac shims coming with the neck and vibrato.

[tommycarlos]

Ok. Safe is for other people. I bought a set of drill bits increasing in size by 0.5mm from 6mm all the way up to the required 11mm.

Going to go slow and if I bugger it up, I can fall back to plugging the holes and redrilling.

[tommycarlos]

Success!!!

Only had one minor set back... turns out my cheap drill is only a 10mm chuck! I couldn't use the 10.5mm or 11mm bits!


I was trying to figure out what to do about that when I noticed my neighbour was in his back yard. He is a builder by trade, so I asked if I could borrow his "proper" drill for 10 seconds... and TADA 🎉



Note, they are not hammered in yet as I still need to sand the body...

I assume I could put them in before I start to paint and mask them off, or just mask the holes so that no paint gets in there and makes the holes smaller again 😂

[Sonic Mountain]

I follow a guy on instagram that pushes the posts in before painting. He then does a bit of a mask to keep the threads clean and any excess he missed masking comes off when he polishs the finish. You could go to office works and get some dot stickers I reckon.

[Simon Barden]

Remember to put the bushes in the freezer for a couple of hours before inserting them into the wood. They go in more easily and then expand for a tighter fit.

You can buy drill bits with a reduced section (called 'reduced shank' bits in the UK) for use in smaller chucks. I bought a 1/2" one for the longer (and wider) bridge bushes I bought for my ESB-4 build. This one has an 8mm dia. part for the chuck. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[tommycarlos]

Remember to put the bushes in the freezer for a couple of hours before inserting them into the wood. They go in more easily and then expand for a tighter fit.

You can buy drill bits with a reduced section (called 'reduced shank' bits in the UK) for use in smaller chucks. I bought a 1/2" one for the longer (and wider) bridge bushes I bought for my ESB-4 build. This one has an 8mm dia. part for the chuck. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Two great tips! Thanks!!