St- 1l

[Simon Barden]

You may need to loosen and rotate the jack socket in order to get the jack plate moved nearer the trem end of the jack socket rout.

Because the socket is angled, how it's rotated does affect how much the tip connector sticks out at the front.

[Simon Barden]

You need to know what you are trying to achieve, and then work out how to achieve that.

What you want is for a) the neck to line up with the body so that the strings run down the neck parallel to the edges (not to each other as the string spacing is wider at the bridge than at the nut) and the strings run over the pickup pole-pieces as centrally as possible and b) the bridge is located at the right distance from the nut so that the stings can be correctly intonated within the range of the saddle adjustment.

The neck/body join shouldn't allow much room for movement. Some movement at the moment is good, as you'll be applying finish to the neck, which will make it a bit wider and deeper, so it will then fit more snugly. In general I'd be looking for the beck to fit tightly against the longer edge of the pocket (the low E string/thickest string side) and be firmly up against the body end of the pocket.

Whilst it would be nice to just use the dot markers to indicate the centreline of the neck, on the kits these can be offset a bit, so it's best to use string as Drashkum has indicated, to check for correct neck alignment.

The rout for the trem block doesn't allow for a lot of positioning choice when positioning the bridge. The trem block will normally sit pretty much centrally in the hole, but a bit closer to the front edge to the rear. Whilst you can set the trem up for both upwards and downwards bending; downwards is the main use, so you need sufficient space between the bottom edge of the block and the rear of the trem rout to allow the trem block to move backwards as you push the trem arm down. Too close to the rear and the trem block can be physically stopped from moving before you've got enough drop off in pitch from the strings.

The scratchplate has some positioning movement available at the trem end, but it should fit snugly round the neck at the neck end, so its position is pretty much fixed there.

So you've got some slight movement available at the bridge end to move things so the stings line up correctly, but not a lot.

It helps to look at pictures of the real thing to get a good idea of how the relative positions of items should generally look.



Note how the trem plate sits in the cutout of the trem plate. Pretty well in, with a small even gap all the way around. Note how the high E (thinnest string) saddle is pretty far forward on it's adjustment screw. That's the sort of position you want the high E saddle to be when checking the scale length.

Have you read through the main Pit Bull build guide. It's still not fully comprehensive, and don't set the saddles mid-way when setting bridge position, set them almost as far forward as they will go, but it's better than the quick guide that came with the kit.


https://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-co...s%20Manual.pdf

[fender3x]

Thank you. This is very helpful. Another dumb question - how do I get the strings to attach to the top notch things and the bottom thing (I am sure they have names rather than thingys).

Not a dumb question. However, you might want to take a look at this site so that you can be a bit more specific about the guitar part you are referring to ;-)

https://www.fachords.com/electric-guitar-parts/

[Simon Barden]

For the moment, I’d use cotton or very thin strings (not guitar strings) and just tie knots. You don’t need to fit the tuners for this if you want to, just run the string down the first tuner hole, back out the last one and then back over the nut and back down to the bridge.

[Jetblack]

You can't attach the strings to the "headstock tuners" till you have the "bridge in", that's why it's critical to make sure the bridge is in the correct position firstly. Tape over the body so to be able to make your measurements and pencil mark without marking the body. As said, go to the how to section and have a good look at the video's Utube also have plenty of "how to's" to check on. Good luck.

[fender3x]

You can't attach the strings to the "headstock tuners" till you have the "bridge in"

I actually generally do it in the dry-fit without installing the tuning machines. I clamp the neck in place, leaving space for the E strings to pass on either side. I use string (cotton or nylon) tied at the top. On a Strat you can run it through the E holes and tie it off. As long as you can pull the string tight over the E string slots in the nut it works pretty well for determining bridge placement.

I do it this way because I prefer not to drill holes until I have the finish on. If you prefer to drill first before putting the finish on, then it's probably better to mount the neck and drill for the tuner screws during dry-fit.