Another newb. Another Victorian resident

Hi all,

I received my RC1 this morning as I was heading out. Good timing to be here as the postie arrived and avoid having to pick it up later, but I spent the next 5 hours wishing I was in the cave rather than concentrating on the task at hand. Anyway, have now unpacked it and started planning the build, watching the videos, reading the support info etc. Some very useful hints and tips to get me started on this my first build of a guitar.

If anyone else has built the RC I'd love to hear from them. There isn't much info in the kit re the model I've got so questions will certainly follow, specifically on the set neck and the wiring. But that's a long way off yet. Need to sand, prebuild, dismantle, sand, stain, sand, stain, sand etc....

Also in the guitar stand is my beloved Taylor 214ce, a Yamaha Bass, and a Yamaha dready that's been dragged all over Australia in the 4by but refuses to give in.

Last but not least, having read the state by state rivalry, I'd have to agree that beaches in the West are better than Melbourne, but we have a couple of good ones here on the Surf Coast. Bells, Fairhaven, Johanna to name a few.

Cheers
GlennO

Welcome to our humble forum!
Excuse me while I just remonstrate with our official welcoming committee who really should have been on here welcoming one of his own!

Pest!!!!!!!!!! You are slipping in your welcoming duties........again!

Welcome aboard Glenno.

I am glad to see you have a firm grasp on the old Dingobass mantra of guitar finishing... Sanding :D

As for info regarding your build, you will find a wealth of knowledge here on the forum as well as, to put it as our good mate GlennGP put it, a jerk free community that will give you all the support and encouragement you will ever need.

I would, as will many others on the forum will, encourage you to consider the Wudtone finishes.
Easy to apply and the best bit is no loss of tone....

Hiya! Just got my kit this week as well. Have the headstock all marked up and ready for cutting. That should be interesting...

Welcome indeed, another Victorian (I'm up in the Goldfields, but don't hold that against me).

(Callum must have a non-luthial assignment, he's very lax this evening.)

Don't be fazed by what appears to be a lack on instructions in the box. The videos will give you a nice medium to broad idea of what you need to do. When you get to nitty gritty, search the forum a bit and if you still don't come up with the answer you need, just ask. There's a lot of experience on tap here, not just generally, but with these specific kits.

Above all, savour the experience and enjoy it. If it goes too quickly you'll want to do another one, and that can get expensive ...

Thanks for the welcome guys. I won't hold life in the Goldfields against you, nice part of Victoria. I aim to savour the experience but expect that enthusiasm and lack of patience may see me knock this over sooner than I probably should and go back to the store for another project. ;) I did consider the wudtone but decided to save that for the second attempt and get a kit with nicer wood finish on it. This one, I'm calling project "yoRick" will probably be a solid colour scheme.

Now it's off to Bunnings to buy some sandpaper, a clamp, steel wool, glue and masking tape. 8-)

Cheers
Glenno

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Not Bunnings sandpaper! Their paper is hopeless since it isn't uniform.

You need to get a better quality or you will have scratches all over your guitar body.

DB will be up in a moment and will agree and direct you to either of:

Www.thesandpaperman.com.au

Www.stewmac.com


There is a decent llink below with some discussion on it. In case you don't know about it you can get sandpaper kits from PitbullGuitars which i would expect come from The Sandpaper Man. Seriously...NOT Bunnings Sandpaper!!
http://pitbullguitars.com/?page_id=4...iewtopic&t=107

*sigh* I need to be online more... If only advanced mathematics wasn't so advanced...
Anyways, welcome to the forums!!! Yep, my people are starting to roll in here, Glenn and I aren't so alone after all!!!
1st thing to echo Gavin, don't use Bunnings sandpaper, it's the worst stuff you could probably use, try the links Gav posted to get the best results!!!
Off the top of my head nobody has yet built the RC-1, but the wiring is the same as the LP-1, so you should be fine!

Cheers,
Pest

Welcome! Looking forward to following your build, I'm a big Rick fan and nobody has done a build diary for one of these yet!

Also, bunnings sandpaper can be okay, but it depends on the bunnings you go to. The bigger ones can have better quality paper in stock, but it can be a lottery as to which ones will stock the decent stuff. You're better off following Gavs advice if you want the best finish

Thanks for the tip. Horse had bolted however and the Bunnings paper is working fine for now but I'll file the suggestion away for the next build.

The RC is taking shape but not without teething problems in the set neck department. I'll do a hunt around through the support notes and other forum threads before calling in support.

Some commentary on the challenge to date.

At this stage the neck set is still the one concern and I'll be going to the forum for ideas. There was a very noticeable rocker in the base of the guitar that created an inclination issue. I have smoothed this lump out and think it should be ok with the adjustment in bridge height etc.

The issue I'm now having is the string length between the 12th fret and the bridge. When squared up ( top and bottom E strings parallel and over the fret board) there is 6-8mm difference in string length bridge-12(320) versus 12- nut (314). Because of where the front humbucker recess is set and its relationship to the neck recess, something will have to be altered to get anywhere near the 314 needed. There is also a 4mm discrepancy in string length between top and bottom E strings because the bridge is offset.

Build diary will be kicked off in the next couple of days with happy snaps.

Cheers
Glenno

Hey Glenn, are you measuring from the nut to the crown of the fret wire, not the wood???

Hey Glenn

This might not be an issue and in fact is probably one of the most frequently asked questions . it's great that you have done a mock build before getting going as this will always point to where problems are or where issues will be covered by a pickguard so aren't that important. Often we will pick up a comment on the forum where someone is about to hack away at the neck, body, pickup routings, pickguard etc. because they assume the distance from the 12th fret to the nut and to the bridge should be exactly the same. This isn't the case as one might expect because you need to compensate for the strings. For this reason you will see an angled saddle on an acoustic guitar. The thicker the strings, the greater the distance from the 12th fret the saddle will be if intonation is set correctly. Being an acoustic builder you get one chance at getting the bridge in the right spot. Get it wring then you have to go through the process of removing strings, breaking the glue's grip on the bridge and soundboards and starting again. This is probably why i am so meticulous with this when building an acoustic. Probably also why i dont stress much with building electrics since the bridge only needs to be there-abouts and you can still get great intonation. So before you rush out and start thiñking about modifications you actually dont need to make can you please take some measurements and post the results of those measurements on this thread? I need these measurements in order to help you.

The first measurement I need is for you to measure from the FRET-WIRE of the 12th FRET,to the point where, if you ran your finger along the strings, you would touch the nut. Hence you are measuring the nut from the 'bridge side of the nut rather than from the 'Headstock' side of the nut.

The second measurement I need is from the same point on the 12th FRET,that is, measure from the FRET-WIRE of the 12th FRET. I first want you to use a screw drive and wind the saddles on the bridge as far forward (towards the pickups) as they will go. When you have done this please measure the distance from the saddles to the 12th Fret.

Secondly, I would like you to wind the saddles away from the pickups as far back as they will go. Please re-measure the distance from the saddles to the 12th Fret.

Please provide me with those measurements exactly as they are and I will then try and assist you.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...-12th-Fret.jpg[/quote]

More gold from the Gavmeister! :D

Gavin, can you post this in the FAQ section please?

Posted there!

Thanks Gavin :D

Thanks Gavin. This is gold and I already have some of this info available.

The body is drying at present so can't get all the data til later. I have taken the below measurements per your instructions as I read the how to elsewhere in the forums.

What I do have.

Top E string (bass) N-12 is 314 and 12-B 318.
Bottom E string N-12 is 314 and 12-B 315

This is with the bridge set closest to the nut in both cases and as such no further shortening is avaiable by bridge setting.
This is also taken with the neck squared to a position that had both E strings equidistant from and parallel to the edge of the fret board.
The bridge adjustment is 5-6mm in each position. I had the adjustment screws for the bridge facing the nut.

With the neck in the position that gives these figures, the front pickup will not fit due to the face plate overlapping the neck by about 6mm.

I have photos and will post tomorrow.

Thanks again
Glenn

This image shows the neck fitted in the recess, butted to the guitar per factory finish. With the neck in all the way like this, I get the above measurements but as you can see, the humbucker doesn't fit the recess because of the overlap. I'm a total novice but based on measurements it appears to me that we might be at a point where something needs mods.


http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...4bia-image.jpg

Unrelated but I'm very happy with the early results of the staining so here's a sneak peak.


http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...63t0-image.jpg

Glenn, there is good news and there is even better news

The good news is you bridge is perfect! The even better news is that stain is looking wicked! :)

Just swing the bridge around as the adjustment screws need to face the bottom of the guitar....otherwise you wouldnt be able to get in there and adjust the intonation once the strings are on!

Thanks. And Thanks. AND PHEW.

I guess I'll have to check out more info on the intonation to get my head around it. As you said, there will be something in the physics associated with the thicker string but I would have thought that would be true for the nut to fret section also.

The one outstanding item is therefore the front pickup. Should I cut a recess in the face plate for the neck or do I need to move the whole shebang back?

Cheers
Glenn

Gav, I'm still trying to find where I can change your Forum status from "pro" to "Grand Master Wizard of Intonation" but I don't seem to have that much flexibility.

Still, great work pointing these people in the right direction; intonation wise.

And yes, Glenn, I second Gav's comment, that finish looks amazing.

Quote:

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Quote from adam on April 21, 2013, 20:44
Gav, I'm still trying to find where I can change your Forum status from "pro" to "Grand Master Wizard of Intonation" but I don't seem to have that much flexibility.

Still, great work pointing these people in the right direction; intonation wise.

And yes, Glenn, I second Gav's comment, that finish looks amazing.

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I'll get my 12 year old on it for you Adam, he seems to think he knows how to get and do everything lately! And of course there's always Pest to ask!

Quote:

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Quote from glenno3228 on April 21, 2013, 20:24
Thanks. And Thanks. AND PHEW.

I guess I'll have to check out more info on the intonation to get my head around it. As you said, there will be something in the physics associated with the thicker string but I would have thought that would be true for the nut to fret section also.

The one outstanding item is therefore the front pickup. Should I cut a recess in the face plate for the neck or do I need to move the whole shebang back?

Cheers
Glenn

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You are right in your assumption that the thickness of the string affects the intonation accross the entire fretboard and that it doesnt suddenly go out of tune mysteriously frommthe 13th fret. However, very small pitch differences are acceptable in guitar playing as pitch varies slightly anyway depending on how hard you press down on a string when you fret a note or if you bend a string slightly. However, the thicker the string with standard frets without compensation would be more out of tune at each fret than the less thicker strings? Does that make sense?
This is why you get these 'fanned fretboards' such as the one below.

As far as the pickup at the neck is concerned, i am sure that when the time comes to put it all together the pickup will fit flush against both the body and the neck of the Rickenbacker. As such you will move the neck back (from where you had it in the picture) to accomodate the pickup.

I am currently building an Rc1 and havent picked up any issues with my one as yet. As a course off habit I have 'thickened' the 'f' hole because the caps are so thin. This gives the appearanceof a thicker cap and a more solid body. I use balsa wood to do this.

Quote:

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Quote from Gavin1393 on April 21, 2013, 22:07

Quote:

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Quote from adam on April 21, 2013, 20:44
Gav, I'm still trying to find where I can change your Forum status from "pro" to "Grand Master Wizard of Intonation" but I don't seem to have that much flexibility.

Still, great work pointing these people in the right direction; intonation wise.

And yes, Glenn, I second Gav's comment, that finish looks amazing.

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I'll get my 12 year old on it for you Adam, he seems to think he knows how to get and do everything lately! And of course there's always Pest to ask!

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Haha, so does that mean my status becomes Grand Master Wizard of Pestness or even just Pest???

Quote:

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Quote from Gavin1393 on April 21, 2013, 22:26
]
.

As far as the pickup at the neck is concerned, i am sure that when the time comes to put it all together the pickup will fit flush against both the body and the neck of the Rickenbacker. As such you will move the neck back (from where you had it in the picture) to accomodate the pickup.

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Thanks very mich again Gavin. I get the intonation commentary and will definitely do the f hole upgrade as the top is a bit delicate. I like logic and if I can't find it I struggle. So I'll carry on with the staining and polishing process and work out how to deal with the front pickup when I get to the trial build.

At this stage it seems to me that if I were to fit the neck in a manner that makes the front pick up flush, the bridge -12th fret lengths increase by circa 6mm which the bridge adjustment won't cope with. I'll also have to make a 6mm shim to space the foot of the neck from the body because, as you can see in the photo, to achieve those string dimensions I have it flush with the body. :?

This is my first guitar build and will trust your lead on this. You'll forgive me if I don't glue the neck until I've proven to myself that tuning in the 12-24 fret range is good to go. ;)

Cheers
Glenn

Grand wizard Pest?......... Nah, but I think that Über Pest has a nice ring to it :P

Yea, sounds better!