First Build - AES-1 AHAHAHAHA

[Bakersdozen]

Looking good. I bet you like the way the grain changes when you move it around in the light.

Chatoyance

[McCreed]

Chatoyance

I had to look it up...

I thought maybe your cat walked across your keyboard

[Bakersdozen]

I had to look it up...

I thought maybe your cat walked across your keyboard

Ahaa, nah that's the technical term.
Although my cat really does like to walk across my keyboard. Especially when I'm trying to do something important or in the middle of trying punch in an overdub

[Scramblermatt]

Whilst I'd still be tempted to leave it a little longer before doing anything to the neck joint, you can obviously start to have a look and see if there's anything in particular stopping the neck fitting in fully. I'd rub some chalk on the pocket join area, push the neck in and the high spots should leave a mark on the sides of the heel. You can sand those down, repeat, sand repeat until it all fits nicely.

Not a great pre-wired harness you've got there. I'd be tempted to start again as the wiring lengths between the volume and tone pots are rather excessive and the wires will tend to flap about inside a bit. The pots with the green capacitors attached are the tone pots, the other two are the volume. The long bits of wire attached to the volume puts are the pot outputs which run off to the selector switch.

The red wire attached to the back of one of the tone pots is the ground wire for the bridge.

It's made slightly more confusing due to the factory wiring the pots in shielded cable, rather than the singles cores the wiring diagrams normally use. In some instances, you want to use the braid as a ground link, and sometimes it only needs to be connected to ground at one end.

So in terms of the neck, in the PGB instructions it tells you not to sand the floor of the neck pocket or the bottom of the heel as there is a break angle incorporated so I’m a bit stuck!

There is a gap on one side of the neck (shown before) and the whole fret board seems pretty high when the neck is in place...I measured it at 15mm from the body to the fret board.

Not sure what to do about this...I know you suggested the chalk technique but without sanding the bottom of the neck or neck pocket how am I meant to sort it out?

Does it sound right or is the neck not right?

[DarkMark]

Chatoyance

I also had to look it up. I never knew there was a word to replace my 11 word description. I’ll think of you when I use it in a current build diary.

[Scramblermatt]

I’ve noticed that the volume and tone pots are the wrong way round compared to PBG advice (A = volume B = tone) does this matter?

I also think I’ve found another stumbling block...the wire from the P/Up selector to output isn’t long enough to reach...any ideas on what to do?

[McCreed]

There is a gap on one side of the neck (shown before)...

That gap on on the treble side of the fretboard does look a bit excessive but the "overhang" of the fb is not meant be joined to the body on that style of guitar. The mortise and tenon are the contact (glued) points of the joint and they're off-centre creating that overhang.
As long as the bottom (and sides) of the heel (tenon) are respectively flat and tight in the pocket (mortise) then there should be no problem. (I don't recall a photo of that part of the joint)

...and the whole fret board seems pretty high when the neck is in place...I measured it at 15mm from the body to the fret board.

I have not built an ES kit, but guitars that use a TOM (Tune-o-matic) style bridge and ring-mounted humbuckers tend to have the fretboard a bit higher, than say a strat or tele, in relation to the body to clear the height of the elevated pickups and accommodate the bridge height.

My set-neck and LP-style guitars all sit about 11mm from the body to the centre of the fretboard radius, so 15 may not be that extreme. Again, I have no personal experience with the ES kits.

I’ve noticed that the volume and tone pots are the wrong way round compared to PBG advice (A = volume B = tone) does this matter?

Yes, and no. Electronically speaking one or the other are not right or wrong. They will each do the job, albeit slightly differently, but convention is A volume; B tone. It's more personal preference and how a player uses (and hears) the controls.

I've recently started using A (audio/logarithmic) pots for both volume and tone, but I have plenty of guitars that are A volume, B tone. I've had lots of import guitars on my bench that have the reverse like yours and I just leave them unless instructed otherwise.

I also think I’ve found another stumbling block...the wire from the P/Up selector to output isn’t long enough to reach...any ideas on what to do?

Sorry to sound like a smart-arse but, solder on a longer wire...

[JimC]

... but without sanding the bottom of the neck or neck pocket how am I meant to sort it out?

I had to mess with the neck angle on my ESB-4 for a non standard bridge. Its not what I'd call super difficult, just need to be slow and painstaking, and I suggest not use sandpaper. I used new Stanley knife blades as scrapers, and a caliper and a little baby steel set square such as are sold for modellers.
Scraping the surface with the blade at 90 degrees to the wood gives you much more control and makes it way easier to keep the surfaces flat. With sandpaper, even with a block, I find it awfully easy to end up with a curved face. Perhaps the trickiest part is to establish whch are the correct surfaces to use as a datum. This involves much measuring with the calipher and much testing with the square. Make sure you check all surfaces are flat too.
With the scraping I usually scribble soft pencil where i want to scrape and check again when removed.
Long job, do it in a comfy chair with dust sheet, but I find the scraping much more relaxing and satisfying than sanding.
Caveat. I have no training, there may be better ways to work, but it seems much safer to me because its slow and controlled, and because he frequent checking required to renew the scrape here scribble makes it hard to go too far as is easy to do with plane or power dander

[Scramblermatt]

That gap on on the treble side of the fretboard does look a bit excessive but the "overhang" of the fb is not meant be joined to the body on that style of guitar. The mortise and tenon are the contact (glued) points of the joint and they're off-centre creating that overhang.
As long as the bottom (and sides) of the heel (tenon) are respectively flat and tight in the pocket (mortise) then there should be no problem. (I don't recall a photo of that part of the joint)



I have not built an ES kit, but guitars that use a TOM (Tune-o-matic) style bridge and ring-mounted humbuckers tend to have the fretboard a bit higher, than say a strat or tele, in relation to the body to clear the height of the elevated pickups and accommodate the bridge height.

My set-neck and LP-style guitars all sit about 11mm from the body to the centre of the fretboard radius, so 15 may not be that extreme. Again, I have no personal experience with the ES kits.



Yes, and no. Electronically speaking one or the other are not right or wrong. They will each do the job, albeit slightly differently, but convention is A volume; B tone. It's more personal preference and how a player uses (and hears) the controls.

I've recently started using A (audio/logarithmic) pots for both volume and tone, but I have plenty of guitars that are A volume, B tone. I've had lots of import guitars on my bench that have the reverse like yours and I just leave them unless instructed otherwise.



Sorry to sound like a smart-arse but, solder on a longer wire...

Smart arses are most welcome!! So for both wires (ground and normal) it’s ok to just solder a normal bit of wire to each to make up the length?

[Scramblermatt]

Thanks for the advice chaps!