TL-1HA first build

[Groovyman32]

Thanks everyone - My bit's and bobs arrived today (including the neck screws) so this evening I enlarged the holes in the body and piloted the neck. A few minutes later the neck was bolted up (it's not really bolted though is it?).



I checked the bridge position for a final time before committing to drilling the holes. Then the bridge went on. I even remembered to put in a bridge grounding wire. I checked continuity and all good there.



I couldn't resist slapping on the junky strings from the kit (two of which broke under tension) to see where things were.

The top E and G vibrate in the nut but adding some tension behind the nut seems to fix it so string trees are in order.

The nut feels a little high but I'm not sure how to measure that. I don't think the slots need to be any deeper so I guess I can take a little bit off the bottom - but I want to experiment with the spare Graphtec I have.

Without measuring it, the neck relief looks okay.

The saddle height is maxed out so of course, the action is crazy high and the intonation needs work but not a disaster.

Generally it feels good - the neck as some chunk to it (which I like) and it seems to sustain pretty well. I haven't done the "back the screws off under tension" trick yet. It also passes the "Slow dancing..." test #modernstairway.

I'm not going to fiddle with the setup until the electronics are in so next I'm going to shield the cavities and then start wiring.



#funtimes

Oh by the way - For anyone in the UK, I've been using https://www.charlesguitars.co.uk/ a lot recently. The prices seem good but they also attempt to minimise packaging by not using the manufacture's boxes for small parts like screws and jack plates - nice.

[Simon Barden]

The nut feels a little high but I'm not sure how to measure that. I don't think the slots need to be any deeper so I guess I can take a little bit off the bottom - but I want to experiment with the spare Graphtec I have

Taking off from the bottom of the nut has exactly the same effect as deepening the nut slots.

But don't do any of that until you've got the neck relief and action sorted. Get the strings sitting just above the 1st fret with a high action, and when you then lower the bridge saddles or reduce the neck relief, there's a strong chance the strings will now buzz on the 1st fret - which means a new nut.

You can set the action with a capo on the first fret, and check for playability, then adjust the nut height. It's a lot easier to cut the nut slots than keep removing the nut and filing the bottom.

[Groovyman32]

Taking off from the bottom of the nut has exactly the same effect as deepening the nut slots.

Thanks - I understood that about half of the string should be above the nut. So once I have a the right depth I should sand the top?