Un-named_yet ex1-a

[Souhail]

I'm very excited to start my first build !!!

First thing: excuse me for the accent

Just received everything and already have questions

(I've made a video explaining my situation)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ge9zsrE8zANtgKrn9

I hope that this is not a true issue

I'm going to really enjoy building this.
And my ambitious is to make a really great guitar maybe new mechanics and pickups. I'll test all the equipment delivered and change the ones that i will find not good enough, but actually everything looks nice.

While I was waiting for the delivery (had some delivery latency but not related to Pitbull that sent the guitar the day I ordered it) I watched hours and hours of video and already read all the documentations.

[Dedman]

Welcome!
you may need to add a small thin piece of timber at the back , and possible on the sides. If you just received the kit wait a few days for the wood to adjust to the climate. It's come from hot Western Australia, then in a freezing cold aircraft hold, so the timber will take a few days to settle.

[Simon Barden]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Yes, it's normal to have a gap between the end of the tenon and the rear of the pickup rout. The glue is stronger than the wood, so there won't be any problem with the string tension pulling the neck backwards.

Also, from a practical point of view, on most neck pickups, with the screw coil facing the neck, the pickup lead is at the top of the pickup rout, so can run in that gap to the hole for the lead. The end of the neck probably wants to be about 1mm forward of the front edge of the pickup rout, as you need some space to fit the pickup ring in so that it covers the rout. If you set the neck level with the front edge of the pickup rout, then you'll probably have a small gap between the pickup ring and the body. I'd use the pickup ring to see just how much further forward the neck needs to be so you don't see a gap.

You don't want the neck too far forwards, otherwise you won't have enough adjustment on the bridge saddles to intonate the guitar properly, but 1mm should be adequate.

As Dedman said, wait for a few days for the wood to settle. My experience is that the neck joints are usually tight on arrival and then become easier to fit, so you may end up with a slightly looser neck after a few days. If this is the case, then you'll probably need to stick a piece of veneer to one side of the neck pocket to get the fit tight again. I'd suggest using maple veneer as it's nice and hard. You will probably find it easiest to get a mixed pack of veneers from eBay, which will certainly have a 0.6mm thick sheet of maple in. Look for marquetry/marqueterie packs.

It's important that you keep any finish (paint, stain, oil, etc.) off the surfaces that will be glued together, so don't forget to mask off the neck pocket and the end of the neck before you apply any finish.

[Souhail]

Thank you so much Deadman and Simon, great advice i start searching for veneers !!!

i'll update with news soon

[wazkelly]

Hi Souhail, nice kit and welcome to the forum.

My 2nd build was a Basswood EX-1 and understand your concerns - hyperlink to that build in my signature below.

Most important thing with any set neck Gibson style guitar is scale length due to minimal bridge saddle adjustment. I saw that you measured 340 mm from 12th fret however you really need to measure 24.75" or 628.65 mm from inner side of nut on treble side to mid point of top of high E Bridge saddle. Best way to do this is by removing the height adjustable bridge posts from their bushing and wrap with enough masking tape so that they will fit snug in the middle of the post holes, then place the bridge on top. Now do your measurements.

For the sideways movement I would suggest loosely fitting both E tuners and run some string, cotton or fishing line as temporary string to see how things line up down both sides of the fretboard. Too much gap on one side compared to the other means you need to slightly move it across to properly line it up - this is what you do on a bolt on neck as there is lots of movement.

For the neck placement as Dedman & Simon have said it does not need to go all the way in. Scale length will determine where it needs to be and on mine, I triple checked before gluing and discovered there was no longer enough room to fit the neck pickup mounting ring and ended up having to 'top load' the pickups. I will post a few shots to show what I mean.



For gluing the neck it is best to use the Titebond Red label as it is very strong and can also be softened if the neck needs to come out at a later stage...


Best of luck and don't be afraid to ask any questions.

Cheers, Waz

[wazkelly]

Should have been this shot...

[Souhail]

Thanks a lot for the advices, it came out pretty good (not glued yet) With a thin piece of wood on the top of the neck hole.
Strings are in the exact position.

Scale length looks perfect


Thank you so much guys for your help

I'll update you with new pictures and how everything is going.

@wazkelly love your build. I looked for exps on the forum and already analysed your guitar a lot of "how to" came from watching your build (removing the pickups plastic and painting the inside of the holes = great )

[Souhail]

After checking 1000times and re-measuring, 6h of sanding, the neck is glued in place. Everything looks perfect and in place.

The pieces of veneer are invisible and everything looks straight.


Yeahhhh !!!

Envoyé de mon STF-L09 en utilisant Tapatalk

[phrozin]

Hi Souhail welcome man you're in the right place when your building you 1st these guys know their stuff, i don't think there's to much they don't know, that's a bit of a gap you got there can't help you much as haven't done a EX yet

[wazkelly]

Looking good buddy.

Personally i would have stained body and neck, added some layers of finish and then glued neck as these guitars are rather long and clumsy to flip around when finishing fully setup as you have done.
Not impossible, just a bit more care required to avoid runs and to maje sure it gets an even layer of finish all over.

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