First Build Multiscale SMS-6Z

[a_novice]

This is what helped me when i was doing my multi scale kit.

[MrRJAnderson]

Current state of the guitar (neck is just placed). I need a black gloss coat on the sides and back of the body and those little cutouts on the front. Then I'll glue the neck and put a clear gloss on everything except the black stripe.

https://imgur.com/gallery/ZZr3Ju5

I am very tempted to try to straighten the stripe edge where it flares out, but I keep hearing "the enemy of 'good' is 'better.'"

[Simon Barden]

You could always give it just one go. Any more and you could end up with an all-black guitar.

[MrRJAnderson]

I finished my coats of black gloss and when I removed the tape, I found a part had already lifted. So there was a stain on the front of the body.
https://i.imgur.com/KDHTP3K.jpeg

I knew if I sanded I could go through the veneer but the alternative was to paint the whole thing which is what would also happen if I sanded through the veneer. So why not try. Some super high grit took it right off and also made me realize how much other black had snuck through. You can see it's darker near the stripe .So I pushed my luck and lightened the whole thing.
https://i.imgur.com/SRRinBp.jpeg

You might also notice that the tape took up some of the end of the stripe and ruined the line. I used a razor and a ruler to make a new edge and then peeled and scraped the paint off to that line.

I did a new test assembly before gluing. It looks like things line up when the neck is against the topside of the hole and a piece of veneer fits on the bottom side to hold it perfectly. I sharpied the edges so they're black and more hidden. I don't know if I'll glue it in ahead of time. It might make it too tight. I'll try putting it on and off a few times beforehand once I disassemble again.
https://i.imgur.com/W69dRhU.jpeg
Back
https://i.imgur.com/5k4P35S.jpeg

The lack of clamps currently is because the pickups are tight enough to hold the minimal tension of the strings. Once glued on, I have to tape the fretboard and stripe and then the gloss clear coat to finally finish and move on.

[Trevor Davies]

Looking good. I cannot wait to see it pop with the clear coats.

[MrRJAnderson]

Finished my clear coats and polished the glossy surfaces. I almost just left with the clear coats but the final turtlewax coat really did give a nice hard coat that I'm less worried about scratching. So anyone else thinking of skipping, don't.
Front
https://i.imgur.com/U1GMpYq.jpeg
Back
https://i.imgur.com/m4FvxuY.jpeg
Flare
https://i.imgur.com/EIrhYYS.jpeg

The wiring is also done and wasn't too much of a problem, since some of it was already done. Hardest part was just figuring out what was left to do.

Putting in the humbuckers was a bit of a problem and I'm not sure I did them correctly. The screws were very long which would be fine for most humbuckers I've seen in videos, but the ones I received had the tabs on the bottoms. If I made pilot holes the full length of the screws, it would have gone through the back, so I started with about half the length.

I dropped the humbuckers in to find where to drill the holes and noted the distance they'd need to be raised to get them close to the strings. I figured out the springs fit around the screws but fully compressed they'd be too long, so I guessed that the foam strips were about the right height.

The second problem was suddenly the neck pickup hole was too small so out came the Dremel. The humbucker is still not level. Between the shallow pilot hole and tight cavity I stripped out one of the screws. I was able to get the other holes deeper and keep taking the screws out until they got to the correct depth.

I wanted to get things setup to see if everything worked before moving on. I does so I'll drill out that screw and get a replacement.

I set the machine heads, adjusted the truss rod and bridge height, and then started working on intonation. I noticed something off as when I was close to the octave, all the other notes were off. It was most pronounced on the thicker strings. I was able to set intonation by using the 3rd and 15th frets (G to G on the E string) and all but the open string are in tune.

I'm guessing I need to do something with the nut. Maybe cut deeper grooves or just sand the whole thing down? I've done the former before but not the latter.

I was still able to capo and play a bit and I like the sound even with the odd humbucker. I just need to figure out the nut issue and put on the 2 covers and I'm done!

[MrRJAnderson]

Found a video I wish I would have seen. Sharing for the next guy. I did a bunch of searches on how to mount humbuckers before I tried myself but they all had the trim rings. So I went off on my own. Here is how to actually direct mount humbuckers.

https://youtu.be/haqIYOGSplU

I of course found this after I tried a 2nd time to mount them myself and ended up drilling through the back to fit the screw... I was able to fill it in and other than feeling a bump I don't think anyone else will notice, but, you know, I will. I was almost convinced I could call this my actual first build instead of a trial prototype. Such is life. Upside is now I feel totally free to mess up - in minor ways. I still want to play it

My strings came in so I filed the grooves in the nut down further while they were off and it helped the dropoff from open to 1st quite a bit. The action is still too high so I need to do some more filing.

The amazon knobs I ordered also came in and plate covers are in place. I'll get some finished pictures up soon and once I get that nut figured out, I might make a video of how it plays (warning: I'm not very good).