GMS-7F first build

[lickmydoo]

Hello there,

First, i must admit that I'm impressed how quickly the kit get here. Ordered last Tuesday, already here in Switzerland.

Now the kit in itself. First time I got a kit. There's an impression of quality when looking at the wood.

But by looking closely, there are some minor (i hope so) issues. Maybe you can advise me on what to do next.

First, the fretwork:

Frets 12 14 and 15 looks short on the high E side. Maybe not a playable issue but certainly an aesthetic one.


Second, the fretboard:

There's this white line running along the fretboard. What do you think of it ?


Also, a corner of the nut is broken


Third, the body:
There's is a bit of wood missing on the neck pocket.
Not sure if this an issue or not



I just want to know what are real issues and if i must contact PBG.

Thanks

[Simon Barden]

I can’t see anything that wrong with the frets from the picture. If anything the 12th fret looks a bit long. I have the tools, so I’d run a fine file down the edge of the board to try and even things up slightly. You may not feel thus is something you could do or would be prepared to do.

The fretboard is ebony. Not all ebony is solid black, and most ebony is figured. This figured ebony has often been just thrown away before. But now with more and more woods become endangered, it is being used in guitar building. So what you have is perfectly natural. You are not going to get a dark ebony board on a low-cost guitar kit (it is mow very expensive and hard to get), but you get the benefits of the smooth dense wood for the fretboard but with more affordable and less endangered figured ebony instead. I’ve had a couple of guitars with figured ebony boards (some very figured) and I like them. There’s always the option of using a black stain if you don’t like the effect.

The nut is an awkward one as you won’t get a drop-in replacement because of the angle. You’d have to get a blank and cut your own nut slots. Which requires having a set of expensive nut files. I wouldn’t leave a nut with square edges at the ends, I’d round them off, which would take care of some of the damage. On a Gibson-style nut I’d also do a full round-off the rear of the nut, but I’d only do a very gentle rounding of the back of the nut on a Fender-style slitted nut like this. If the nut is quite tall and if the nut slots can be cut a lot deeper, then you can also file down the top of the nut so that the nut is only just tall enough to cover the strings. But without nut files, you’d need to file down the bottom of the nut to lower the slots, which means you couldn’t also file the top and remove the damage. So you’d really need to be sent a replacement nut.

The chipped veneer is the killer though. It’s not easily repairable and you shouldn’t have to. If you were planning on a sprayed sunburst finish, then you could fill in the chip and the sunburst edge should cover it. But if you were planning on a single colour top, then there’s nothing you can do but return it.

[lickmydoo]

Thanks Simon,

I'm quite reassured on the fretwork and rounding the nut should just do.

For the body, i was thinking of a dark purple burst dye. I guess i could just fill the hole and do a darker (blackish) color around the neck pocket.
Even put small bits of black paint if needed...

[lickmydoo]

Hi,

Doing a mock build, i realised that the nut is mounted upside down (don't know if that shows in the picture).



Is it easy to get it off and reglue it correctly?

Also, when i put the neck flush in its pocket, the pickup won't fit in.
If i want the pickup to not touch the body or the neck (picture) then i barely get my scale length on the high E side.


Note that I'm already at what the predrilled string hole allows me to be


Is it gonna be a problem for intonation?

Lastly, pickups cavities are really shallow and wire holes are poorly placed.
The bridge pickup with its wire plus the neck stand out a lot.


I think that's all. I don't know what to think...
Cavities and holes are doable.
The nut... tricky but still doable.
And for the scale length i just don't know.

Thanks for letting me know what you guys would do in the same situation.

[fender3x]

Usually the nut is easy to get out. I lay a block of wood on the front of the nut and give it a slight knock with a rubber hammer. I then repeat on the back side. Usually that will crack the glue and I can tap it out easily. That said, I have had one case where a plastic nut was stuck really solidly to the glue, and a chunk broke off when i tapped it out. That was not a problem since I wanted to replace the nut anyway. It's only happened once to me, and others may have a better technique...but you can break a plastic nut taking it out. It's one reason I use a drop of yellow glue rather than CA to put the nut in. I want to hold it in place, but not bind so well to the nut material that I can't get it out without breaking it.

On the saddle, if the measurement is correct to the saddle it should be fine. If you nee need to move it toward the nut, you can always just replace the screw with one that is a couple of mm longer.

Hard to tell about the pickup cavities. My guess is that once you string it, you won't need to drop the pickup much lower. The strings will ride a bit higher once there is the tension of all 7 pulling. Also, did you run the wire to the cavity? If the pickup is sitting on the wire, that would put it too high. You could drop the bottom, or enlarge the holes...or make a channel for the wire, with a Dremel tool if need be.

[Simon Barden]

Tap out the nut from the ends. Tapping along the main axis of the neck can help free the nut from glue but must be done very lightly as it can break off the end part of the fretboard if you use too much force. But tapping along the slot is fine, though the angled end will make it more frail and prone to breaking. I fear you may still need a new nut sent from Pit Bull.

As there aren't any humbucker rings to fit, you can position the neck so that it lines up with the edges of the pickup rout. You have it slightly forward of those edges in the picture. If the pickup doesn't fit in the rout when you do this then the rout has been cut incorrectly for the pickup.

The intonated length of the top E will be about 1mm-1.5mm back from the nominal scale length position, so as long as you can achieve the scale length you'll be fine. But don't forget to check the bottom string for its 27" scale length position being correct.

That bridge pickup looks very near or is almost touching the string on the high E side. You'll want a bit more clearance than that, so you may have to do some deepening of the rout so you can at least run the cable underneath without it pushing up the pickup. It looks OK on the bass end so it's only the cable that's causing the problem. As Fender3x says, a Dremel is a useful tool in pickup cavities and I've used a sanding drum on one to enlarge and deepen pickup routs many times.

Don't forget the bridge grounding wire route. The wire itself doesn't need to be thick, but if you drill the hole for it to the bridge pickup cavity, make sure that it will fit in to the rout and back out the pickup lead hole without getting in the way of the pickup.

[lickmydoo]

Thanks for the replies.

Those are great advices.
I'm relieved, everything can be fixed with a bit of work.

I'm maybe gonna ask for a replacement nut, between the removal and sanding to round this corner, there's too much chances i break it.

Now sorry to bring that back but what is the best way to fill this hole?



Should I glue the neck than fill? Or trying to rebuild an angle?
Which material is best?

Thanks again

[Chaosblade]

The nut on mine had such little glue holding it that it was loose by the time it arrived. If yours is anything like mine it shouldn't be too hard to get it loose.

The neck pickup cavity is kind of a problem, yeah. The cavities are shallow and I'm not sure there will be room to route the cables under the pickups once they are screwed in. I expect to have to route a spot for them.

Scale length is odd. I'll remeasure with a pickup in the cavity when I get a chance but when I measured before on mine it looked perfect on the high E side and concerning on the low side. My best guess is that the "27 inch" scale has compensation for saddle needing to be back further on the heavier strings. If not I'm not sure it will go back far enough.

That neck pocket damage is really rough. I would definitely be seeking advice here from someone who is better with wood than me, but that will be difficult to make look good with a stain or dyed finish.

[lickmydoo]

Nice thanks.

I'll measure length again on both sides before doing any work.

[lickmydoo]

Little update:

PBG are going to send me another neck as the actual one does not meet their quality standard. Hopefully it will get here as soon as the first shipment.

Now I'm eager to start working on the body but shouldn't i wait for the new neck and re-measure everything before?

Thanks