Build #3 - ES-1GT

[glenwilliam]

Hi all,

Now that Pitbull is stocked up with kits it was time to jump on what I've wanted to do for a while - the ES-1GT! So I have just ordered and look forward to delivery whenever delivery happens.

I'm going to take my time with this one though with the Christmas holidays coming up I'm sure I'll be keen to get stuck in when I'm not at work.

I am thinking classic cherry red with gold hardware.

Can't wait to rely on the wealth of knowledge here and ask stupid questions along the way!

It's good to be back

[Ricky]

Hi and welcome back!

Great choice with the ES-1GT but I am a little biased.
My experience with the kit was mostly very positive so hopefully you will be the same.

Cheers
Ricky

[glenwilliam]

Thanks Ricky.
I think I will be getting a lot of info from your build diary on this one! It's a little daunting I must admit but I think with some patience I will get something I'm happy with.

[Ricky]

Don't worry about it. The kit is really no more complex than any other (although the wiring installation is 'interesting').

When the kit arrives, check it over very carefully - glue spots, binding, neck fit and angle, contents etc. Decide what faults you can fix and what ones you need advice on.

One thing I advise you to check is scale length and fret relationship. Let me explain.
The scale length is 628mm. This means 12th fret is at 314mm (although many will say just measure from nut to bridge).

On mine I discovered a small but fixable issue or at least it would have been fixable if I had noticed it in time.
The distance between each fret reduces as you move towards the bridge - obvious. On mine the distance between nut and fret 1 was the same as fret 1 and fret 2. There should have been about a 2mm difference. The solution would have been to remove the nut and insert a fillet between the nut and fretboard.
I advise you to check yours - it may be a kit issue or just peculiar to my kit.

Any advice then just ask.

Cheers
Ricky

[glenwilliam]

Thanks Ricky. I will definitely refer to this when I get to this point

[glenwilliam]

My order arrived last week which was fairly speedy from WA given the border closures, checkpoints etc I'm sure it had to travel through. I think around 10 days after ordering.




I did a quick layout and check everything was included in the package



Aaaaand then I got hit by some kind of virus, which has knocked me out for close to a week now. I got a COVID test (negative) and have just been resting and watching terrible Netflix movies for a few days. Perhaps not such a bad thing; advice I've seen is to let the wood rest at its new home for up to 2 weeks to adjust to the climate. While Brisbane is not much different from Perth in terms of climate, it has been a humid week here. Can't hurt though so I'm not too bothered by the short delay in getting stuck in. I'll wait another week before doing anything drastic anyway.

[glenwilliam]

Some small things that I noticed upon doing an inspection of the body:





None of these I am overly concerned about. Seem to be fairly standard for these kits from what I have seen.

One thing I did notice that I wasn't sure about is the area where the neck fits in:



Is it normal for this to have a gradient? I assumed that it would be fairly flat and square with the end of the hole that the neck would fit up against. It's a bit hard to explain but its shallower towards the nut and rises up towards the bridge. I'll whack the neck in there this week and see what angle it comes out on but seems perhaps a bit too much of an angle to it.

[Sonic Mountain]

Yes the angle in the pocket is correct. It allows for the proper break angle of the neck.

You should temporarily install the high and low e tuners as well as the bridge (Just use some tape around the posts, no need to install the inserts) then clamp the neck in place and run some ordinary string down to the bridge. This will tell you that the bridge is properly aligned with the neck and also show that there is enough break angle to allow the bridge to sit up off the body by a couple of mms.

Also it's very rare for the tang on the end of the neck to fit hard up against the cavity wall, there should be a gap there usually. Using the above method also allows you to check the scale length (628mm for a 'G' scale) from inside of nut to the high E saddle when adjusted most of the way forward.

[robin]

Hi there Glen, although I have never build an ES-1 kit it is completely normal (indeed necessary) for the the neck pocket of an arch top guitar to have a few (or more) degrees angle. Being an arch top body the bridge sits higher than on a flat body and the neck angle is needed to "ramp" the strings up to the bridge. When you do your mock-up build you will be able to check to make sure that everything sits right.

And regards to your first post, just know there are no "stupid questions", only stupid answers.

Enjoy the build mate.

Cheers
rob

p.s. Dang, ninja'd by sonic.

[glenwilliam]

Thanks Sonic and Robin!. I thought there would be some angle to it but it seemed like a lot! I'm sure once I put the neck on like you've instructed things will be more obvious. Thank you kindly.