My first build diary: TLA-1

[Dan McEvoy]

So, I've finally gotten around to getting a bit more time in on my TLA-1 kit. Got the bridge pickup rout extended, router bit couldn't quite reach the bottom. I'll probably take care of that with a dremel later, main thing is to get things moving forwards so I can do a full mock build:



Bridge mounted:



Done a bit of initial shaping to the body, mainly around the cutaway, to make things line up with the scratch plate a bit better:



Aaaaaannnndddd.........Bugger :









I couldn't find anything on a sure-fire on how to determine the exact centre-line & I used several methods to try and determine it, they all came out within 1mm of where I placed the bridge but there's clearly a much greater distance from string to edge of the fretboard on the treble side sadly. I unscrewed the bridge after this and making sure the two strings were the same length and the bridge square across the guitar, I determined that I would have to move the bridge towards the treble side by 3mm which places the centre-line from the bridge quite obviously toward the treble side of the guitar.

Nut has shifted a bit possibly which may contribute but not the full 3mm it seems to be out by, was going to replace that with a GraphTech one anyway as I figured I'd just do the initial mock build with this one but might have to replace that first possibly?





Anyways, looks like I will have to plug those holes with dowel and re-mount the bridge sadly. Any help or suggestions on what might be my best course of action from here would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Dan

[Simon Barden]

There's normally some wriggle-room when screwing the neck in position. Can you push the end of the headstock to get the strings running more parallel down the neck? If you can, then you'll be able to fix the neck in that position.

[king casey]

Those compensated saddles will sit slightly different with 2 strings over them rather than one.

cheers, Mark.

[Dan McEvoy]

There's normally some wriggle-room when screwing the neck in position. Can you push the end of the headstock to get the strings running more parallel down the neck? If you can, then you'll be able to fix the neck in that position.

I'll just reiterate what Simon said.
It looks like you just need to align the strings by adjusting the lateral neck angle.
If you measure the distance from your centre mark at the neck pocket to the centre of each E string in your photo, they look pretty equal to me.
This is one of the beauties of screw-fixed necks vs set necks, they're adjustable!

If you haven't drill the holes in the heel yet, you're laughing. Set the correct string alignment first, snug up your clamp and mark the hole locations via the holes in the body.
Once you screw the neck on, you be able to realign the strings easy peasy.

There is a tiny bit of wiggle room but the neck sits really tight in the pocket, there is nowhere near enough to allow for enough adjustment to get the strings to align properly, this was the very first thing I tried

[Dan McEvoy]

There is a tiny bit of wiggle room but the neck sits really tight in the pocket, there is nowhere near enough to allow for enough adjustment to get the strings to align properly, this was the very first thing I tried

Right, so looks like I was a bit silly here and didn't take time to back everything off and loosen it enough to shift the angle of the neck when I tried to do it after I finally got the bridge on and getting things aligned (was particularly worried at the time of possibly cracking the thin wood at the top of the pocket on the cutaway side). Finally got a bit more time to put in some work on it and starting again, If I take it slowly and wiggle the neck down just right, I CAN actually tilt the neck over and get it ALMOST lined up right (there's still maybe half a mm difference between the string alignment in relation to the neck) but not without opening up small but noticeable gaps. I THINK I can possibly fix this up with some light sanding around the pocket but I'm super nervous of going to far and then definitely having noticeable gaps around the neck/pocket edges

[Dan McEvoy]

O.k, so a bit of an update. Really wish I had more time to work on this. I've got the neck positioned here so the strings are aligned as closely as possible along the neck with the spacing from string to edge of fretboard as even as I can get it. Pictures are attempting to show (sorry for my crappy camera) the gaps I get around the pocket when I try and align the strings correctly with the neck wedged down into the pocket as hard as I can. Really unsure how to proceed here, I don't want to take anything off and wind up with gaps around the neck or any problems of that nature. Any help on how I should best proceed here would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Dan

[McCreed]

I'll just reiterate what Simon said.
It looks like you just need to align the strings by adjusting the lateral neck angle.
If you measure the distance from your centre mark at the neck pocket to the centre of each E string in your photo, they look pretty equal to me.
This is one of the beauties of screw-fixed necks vs set necks, they're adjustable!

If you haven't drill the holes in the heel yet, you're laughing. Set the correct string alignment first, snug up your clamp and mark the hole locations via the holes in the body.
Once you screw the neck on, you be able to realign the strings easy peasy.

[McCreed]

You're very nearly there. A bit of light sanding on the sides of the neck pocket should get you there. Use a good square piece of hardwood for a sanding block and take your time. Use the bottom of the pocket as your guide for keeping the sanding edge square to the bottom.

Also FWIW, you want enough room in the pocket so the heel, just about drops in. You shouldn't have to press hard or tap it in or force it. Don't forget you have finish going on the neck and potentially some in the pocket, so you need to allow for the thickness of your finish material.

As for gaps, I've seen production guitars with far worse than what your showing. I'm not saying don't try and get it as even as possible, but it's not tehe end of the world if it's not "perfect". By the time it's finished the pickguard is on, I'm reasonably sure the only person that would notice it is you.

[Andy40]

Hi Dan,

I usually don't mind a bit more real estate on the treble e string rather that the bass E string just to aid vibrato.

That being said, when checking the neck alignment try to get each string over the magnet/slug pole piece or that string will sound thin.

[Simon Barden]

That being said, when checking the neck alignment try to get each string over the magnet/slug pole piece or that string will sound thin.

I'd say could sound thin in a worst-case situation. You'd have to be a long way off a pole piece to lose any significant volume.

The bridge pickup will invariable be OK, as the spacing there is determined by the saddle spacing, so it's only the neck humbucker you need to worry about. And the 50mm spacing of the Tonerider pole pieces should be fine for the neck position.