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GAS has struck!
I received a FBM-1 yesterday (with a TB-4 put away as a Christmas present). My plan is to try a dark vintage type burst using FW stains (jarrah and black). Not sure if I will try the FW wipe on poly or stick with Tru-oil. The body looks good and the neck fits well. Spent a bit of time sanding - good times.
Nice. Hope the burst goes well.
Cut out and sanded the head stock. Will try a burst on some scrap wood next.
I have tried some practice bursts using FW jarrah and black stains. All done using slightly different techniques. They all turned out OK. I just hope I can replicate this on the guitar body!
Tried my FW black and jarrah burst. First coated the body in jarrah stain, then did a thin black burst, then a thicker black burst.
The pictures are showing the burst darker than reality!
Also got on a few coats of tru-oil.
Between a few more coats of tru-oil (15 in total) on the body and neck I have done the soldering.
The electronics cavity in the FBM-1 is quite small. Also the long wires from the switch cavity back to the electronic is only just long enough!
Straightened the neck, then used a 12 inch radius block and levelled the frets using the technique in the build manual.
Put on the neck, pick guard and pickups.
Next I will put in all the electronics.
Looking really good!
Thanks Bakersdozen.
Can anyone tell me the best place to put the neck strap button so as to reduce the possibility of nosediving?
I cannot seem to find any pictures of the FBM-1 which show the strap button placement.
The normal position on a real one would be in the middle of where the neck plate goes, so you could drill a hole in that and screw through. Otherwise you can get a neck screw thats 10mm or so longer than normal, drill out the centre of a strap button so the screw fits through it, and use the longer screw to fix both the neck and a strap button in the upper forward screw position on the neck plate.
Just be careful that any longer neck mounting screw isn’t so long that there’s a risk of it poking up through the fretboard.
Thanks Simon.
I probably should have done that with the FVB-4!
I have google imaged the "real ones" and noticed they are either in the neck plate position or on the top shoulder like with the LP's!
I'll have a think about it.
Top shoulder makes the guitar slightly more likely to be neck heavy. It will also tend to make the guitar sit so the end of the neck is that bit further away from your body, which is already a long way on a Firebird! I’d also recommend straplocks to keep the strap firmly in place, as standard buttons on a sloped piece of body will tend to pull the strap off the button. But it will help keep the top of the guitar sitting closer to you, as with a neck heel button, it will tend to fall forwards unless you hold it in place with your arm or run the strap over the front of the rear of the body. No perfect solution with that body shape.
Thanks again Simon.
Yes the end of the neck will sit a long way out, the same problem I have with a scratch-body franken-explorer I made 30 years ago.
I also use strap locks with my favorite guitars as I once had the strap come off (luckily no real damage was done).
Electronics are in and all working - tested with the screwdriver tap.
Cut out a template for the truss rod cover. Now just have to wait for some black pickguard material to arrive (but it may be a 2 month wait):(
Here in Oz, you will have it faster.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-Ply-Gu...frcectupt=true
Looks great in the pics!
Just check the pickguard material when you get it. On my GSJ-1 I assumed mine had protective film on both sides so just marked out cut away without checking. But it only had the film on one side, so my first effort ended up with what should have been the top all scratched, so that then had to become the template fir the next attempt.
I've just noted that on my 2019 Firebird (and on pics of old ones as well), the rear strap button sits about 1"/25mm higher than the centre line of the neck, the normal place you'd find a strap button. Just in case you haven't fitted yours yet.
Attachment 37567
Thanks Simon,
I have fitted the strap buttons, in the middle rear, and on the front shoulder. She seems very well balanced.
That's good to know.
Put strings on the FBM-1 the other day, then let it sit for a few days for the neck to settle.
I then played around with the string setup. I could achieve quite a low action without any problems.
I have noticed that when the high E string is paying at 8th fret there is some chiming from the A string between the nut and the tuner. This high C note closely matches the note from the A string. A great example of resonance.
I'm using medium gauge 11-49 DÁddario strings.
Has anybody had this problem?
Hi ,
Would a string tree fix the problem, or is it not actually a problem?
Regards
The headstock is angled back, so a string tree shouldn't be necessary. Also, with the large truss-rod cover that normally goes on a Firebird (missing from the above photos), there's not a lot of space to fit one.
Noticeable string resonance on the headstock isn't something I've come across on my guitars, so i wouldn't say it's normal, but then again, my hearing isn't great (badly damaged in a full volume open mic feedback situation during a PA setup test at home) so I may well miss things that others will hear.
But I have seen some people fit a bit of foam between the strings to stop ringing, so it must happen on some guitars. So that's one solution, practical, if unsightly.
It may be a problem with the way the nut's cut, allowing some string energy to pass over the nut and into the string beyond. It may be exacerbated by it being a hollow plastic nut, so swapping to a bone or dense Tusq nut may cure it. In addition, open strings should sound better with a change of nut material. It's really a situation where having your own nut files is beneficial, but they are very expensive for what they are. However, there are no decent cheap alternatives that I've found to the normal selection of Japanese made files. But some fine wet and dry paper, folded in two, and run along the bottom of the slot will help clear away any rough areas which may help with the problem.
I don't think you have locking tuners fitted, in which case using a few more wraps around the posts next time you change the strings, will bring the string position down where it leaves the post, and add a bit more downward pressure to the string as it goes over the nut. I try to get roughly 3 turns around my posts. This may also help with the resonating string issue.
Apart from the foam, the rest are all suggestions which may help with the issue, but no guarantees. But they shouldn't make things worse and it always helps to have the smoothest nut slots you can, not flat but angled back towards the headstock, if only for increased tuning stability.
Simon's post above is everything I would have suggested if I weren't so damn lazy :o.
I'll just highlight a couple of bits:
THIS. Check your string slots in the nut. make sure there string/nut contact the full length of the slot.Quote:
It may be a problem with the way the nut's cut
Nut work takes time to get right (especially if not done on a regular basis). I'm not saying I've perfected it by any means, but lately I've been able to cut strat nuts and not require any string trees.
+1 on the nut material also.
I go 3 on E - D, and 4+ on G - E (unwound strings).Quote:
...in which case using a few more wraps around the posts next time you change the strings, will bring the string position down where it leaves the post, and add a bit more downward pressure to the string as it goes over the nut. I try to get roughly 3 turns around my posts.
Agreed that it looks pretty dodge, but another alternative that is less visually obtrusive, is an elastic hair tie. Just slip it over the headstock and position it just above the nut.Quote:
But I have seen some people fit a bit of foam between the strings to stop ringing, so it must happen on some guitars. So that's one solution, practical, if unsightly.
The thicker ones work the best and you can get them in black (or other colours) so they kind of blend in.
Thanks Simon and McCreed for your replies,
I'll try and remember to try more post wraps when adding strings.
There is quite a decent break angle from the nut to the tuners.
The E, A and D strings seem quite flat in the nut, so I will try to angle the slots down to the same angle of the headstock. I have the needle type nut files (a good set is on my wish list - but it is a looooong list!)
If this does not work I will look into a bone nut.
In the meantime, placing my capo across the headstock and strings fixes the problem. Maybe this is a convenient place to store the capo so that it is always on hand:D
I'd try the hair tie trick. It won't put enough pressure on the strings to effect the tuning, but just enough to dampen the vibration above the nut.Quote:
In the meantime, placing my capo across the headstock and strings fixes the problem. Maybe this is a convenient place to store the capo so that it is always on hand
Today I attacked the nut and filed the back of the nut slots for the E A D & G strings at an angle to try to match the break angle. The needle type files are quite difficult to use with any precision - so a good set of nut files in now higher up on my wishlist.
The good news is that has made a big difference to the strings on the headstock resonating, and there is less buzzing while playing open strings.
Thanks again for the suggestions Simon and McCreed.
I have started playing around with creating some logos for my builds. Still not sure exactly what I want!
I tried using the laser printout with packing tape method and was blown away by how easy it was. I will still need to give a clear coat of something to fix them on permanently.
Maybe the FB design is a bit big!
The headstock is from my explorer rebuild.
Some 3 ply pick guard material arrived in the post, so I have been able to complete my truss rod cover.
The material was taped to my template with doubles sided tap. I used a router table with a trim bit, followed by a 45 degree bit.
Now I need to add a logo.
That's a crazy truss rod cover... but I like it! Good work!
Ooh, yeah I really dig that TR cover too
Thanks McCreed and John,
I tried to model it off a real firebird truss rod cover I googled, but the Pitbull headstock meant it need to be a bit longer.
Hopefully I can get a light coloured logo on to finish it off.
This build was finished a long long time ago, but I have finally got around to putting a logo on. I have tried a number of things but in the end I have just used the KISS principle. The logo is white vinyl cut with the Cricut machine.
Noice Trev! I am making similar use of the missus' silhouette machine.
Thanks. I cannot wait to see your usage!
That looks good.