First Build TLD-1TP

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15-10-2019, 12:36 PM
ItllBuffOut

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First Build TLD-1TP

Hey all :)

I'm a first time builder and general newb when it comes to guitar building, so of course I went with something different..

The kit turned up this morning, everything was there and upon first test fit of the parts, everything was perfect except for the neck that required some light sanding to the pocket.

Attachment 32487

The fit is tight now and presses in with hand pressure but sits slightly away from the back of the pocket. Should I sand more or is this close enough?

Attachment 32488
Attachment 32489

My main question is about the scale length, the numbers don't seem to add up. The bridge seems to be about 10mm out and the neck is only around 0.5mm out from the end of the pocket. Again, I am new so I have probably missed something obvious. The 12th fret to bridge looks ok but the nut to 12th seems short.

Attachment 32490
Attachment 32492

Thanks in advance,
Tristan
16-10-2019, 08:12 AM
fender3x

The pics aren't centered so it is a little difficult to tell the exact measure. Normally you would measure from bridge side of the nut to the center of the 12th fret. The distance from the center of the 12th fret to the neck side of the high E saddle should be the same. If the distance from the 12th fret center to the High E saddle is longer than that, your neck may not be going far enough into the pocket?

The thing to fix is almost certainly the distance between the 12th fret and the saddle.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
16-10-2019, 08:33 AM
ItllBuffOut

Thanks for your reply :D

Sorry about the pictures, I was trying to do the camera/hold tape measure dance. I'll try and get some better ones soon. The measurement from the 12th to bridge is correct for a 25.5" scale (647.7mm / 2 = ~325mm), but the neck seems short (315mm nut to 12th).

I'll check it again in a bit and make sure I haven't goofed.

Cheers

Edit: I centered the pics on the page, I hope that's what you meant.
16-10-2019, 10:22 AM
fender3x

It may be a Gibson scale length not Fender. 24.75" would be about what you have and would go with a tun-o-matic bridge.

There are a lot of different scale lengths

https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Onlin...Explained.html

It seems more likely that the nut-to-12th measurement is the one to go by. I am sure others will chime in if I have that wrong, but that is always the way I have seen bridge placement done.

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16-10-2019, 10:37 AM
ItllBuffOut

Thank you Sir. This is what I feared. The neck can only move less than 0.5mm down in the pocket if I sand so it seems that the bridge posts have been drilled incorrectly. I'll shoot an email off to support, just wanted to make sure I wasn't mad first.
16-10-2019, 12:33 PM
king casey

Quote:

Originally Posted by fender3x

It may be a Gibson scale length not Fender. 24.75" would be about what you have and would go with a tun-o-matic bridge.

There are a lot of different scale lengths

That is rather interesting.
I don't see any 24.75" 'F' style necks listed in the Pitbull 'Necks' section.
Would be keen to create a 'Mustang' style guitar if they were.

cheers, Mark.
16-10-2019, 04:22 PM
Cliff Rogers

Quote:

Originally Posted by king casey

That is rather interesting.
I don't see any 24.75" 'F' style necks listed in the Pitbull 'Necks' section.
Would be keen to create a 'Mustang' style guitar if they were.

cheers, Mark.

The FS-1 comes with one.
16-10-2019, 04:29 PM
ItllBuffOut

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

The FS-1 comes with one.

I missed that model when I was shopping. Solid contender for my second build :)
16-10-2019, 07:19 PM
fender3x

This is looking more like an "ask Adam". I suppose it's possible that you got the wrong neck for this body. Maybe you got the right neck for an FS-1?

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16-10-2019, 07:26 PM
Cliff Rogers

Nuh, FS-1 kit has a pre-shaped head.
The ES-1TL kit has a 6 in line head but it is undrilled.
16-10-2019, 07:52 PM
fender3x

Quote:

Originally Posted by king casey

That is rather interesting.
I don't see any 24.75" 'F' style necks listed in the Pitbull 'Necks' section.
Would be keen to create a 'Mustang' style guitar if they were.

cheers, Mark.

I don't think Adam keeps everything in stock that he can get. He's quick to respond to PMs ;-)

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19-10-2019, 08:24 AM
Fretworn

Wow! I think this is only the second build diary for one of these. Can’t wait to see what you do with it.
19-10-2019, 01:35 PM
ItllBuffOut

I couldn't find another build on it, I'll have to do some more searching! I bought some Bondi Blue stain for the top and the plan is to shellac the back and maybe the neck. I have to do some experiments on a scrap bit of maple to see the contrast.
20-10-2019, 06:56 AM
SamCoster

Hi, I've just mocked up my MBM1 and where the neck fits really nicely with the scale length But I have a small gap between the bottom of the neck heel and the pocket. Is this normal/acceptable? If I sand the pocket so that the heel sits flush I'm not going to have the correct scale length. It looks similar to the photos above and the note in the original thread but I can't seem to find the answer.
First build, lots of questions.
Thanks
22-10-2019, 07:16 PM
ItllBuffOut

I'd send an email off to Adam. He has been super helpful getting this measurement problem sorted.
22-10-2019, 08:33 PM
Simon Barden

Your neck scale is what it is. It looks to be nearer a PRS 25" scale than a Gibson or Fender scale.

If anything, with 315mm to the 12th fret, you should be looking at maybe 316-317mm from the centre of the 12th fret to the top E saddle - but you really want to measure it from the neck side of the top E nut slot straight to the top E saddle position. It's hard to tell if you've made a measurement mistake because we can't see both ends of the tape measure in the picture.

I certainly wouldn't trust the metal hook end of the tape measure to be dead accurate, so would use just the tape edge starting at 10mm (or even 100mm) and do a simple subtraction for the overall distance. The 12th fret to saddle length will always be a few mm longer than nut to 12th fret position once the guitar is intonated. Wind the top E saddle all the way forwards and measure between that and the top E nut slot (fretboard face side) as that will be your best case/shortest distance between the nut and saddle that you can achieve.
22-10-2019, 09:19 PM
ItllBuffOut

Thanks for the tips Simon :)

I did all my measurements from 10mm but didn't want to cause confusion with the photos. Was doing the whole phone in one hand foot on tape trick for the images.

The neck is the exact same scale as my SG. Ive probably measured this about 1000 times hoping to be wrong :p

Edit: If I can find something/someone to hold the phone I'll get a full length pic
22-10-2019, 09:35 PM
ItllBuffOut

Just stuck the neck back on to measure again to save my sanity and you are spot on with the 25" nut to bridge. Still seems too far out tho... The plot thickens
24-10-2019, 01:55 PM
ItllBuffOut

Huzzah! So the build will go on! I talked it over with Adam and determined the bridge spacing and that the neck is a Gibby scale (24.75"). That plus the string angle to bridge tolerance leaves a small bit of fitment sanding to do.

Thank you everyone that has helped so far with working this out, this novice has learnt a great deal already :)