Rolf's TL-1A

[RocknRolf]

Hello everyone!
The package has arrived!
During the last couple of months I have found myself scanning this forum for idea's, bits and pieces of information that will help me on my journey in not only making my first electric guitar, but also owning my first electric guitar!

This forum is an amazing inspiration of what power the internet holds, bringing likeminded together and making learning experiences fun! I have been making my own surfboards for a while now, under the motto: "If you are a pirate and they stop making ships and you can't make one yourself, who are you then?", This guitar goes under the same motto I guess.

I have done a small mock-up build and taken some pictures in the process.
- Headstock heel looked a bit off, she was indeed ( 1mm left from right in thickness), Adam said would not be a real issue, sitting in the neck-pocket she is only .5mm off.
- Neck sits loose-ish in the pocket (see picture), Do you guys think I should file in that corner a bit?
- Tuner holes seem pretty darn straight!
- ow and sjeezs, I did pick gold! Pretty pimp, but I trust myself, I probably had a vision

This weekend I'll try to do the bridge placement attaching the E-strings, exciting

Ow, and I need to get an amp too. I really like the way the Yamaha Thr10c sounds, anyone some other suggestions?

Thank you,
Rolf

[I’ll give it a go]

Welcome and looking forward to your build Rolf.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shambrick]

As to amps, opinions are many and varied. I bought the Boss Katana 50 for my daughter. Its exceptional bang for buck and can be set to 0.5 watt mode, which is perfect for not disturbing others too much. As long as space is not your main driver it's worth a good look.

[ILRGuitars]

Hi mate. I got the Boss 100w single speaker amp and it rocks. Great clean sounds and some nice dirty one too, and like Shambrick said, great value for the money.

[McCreed]

- Neck sits loose-ish in the pocket (see picture), Do you guys think I should file in that corner a bit?

Hey Rolf. Welcome.
As for neck fit, that looks more than acceptable to me. If that little bit of difference in the matching of the radii bothers you, you could file it, but don't create a situation where you risk making it worse or creating something else you have to fix. Personally, I'd leave it. Especially if you're going to have a pickguard on there. The joint will be covered.

Here is an excerpt from another post I contributed earlier in the week re: neck fit. I'm too lazy to re-type it all again

That joint looks fine to me. There is nothing to worry about there structurally or sonically IMO. As for appearance, the pickguard should cover up that joint. And don't forget, you will have a build up of finish on the neck (even if very slight) when you do the final assembly.

With a screw-fixed neck you don't want a fit where you have to force the neck into the pocket. You want it to basically "drop in" maybe with a little downward pressure, but that's it. A little space on the sides is a good thing.

This does two things: allows for expansion with humidity changes, and allows for neck adjustment/string alignment.

The more important fit is the mating surfaces of the bottoms of the neck pocket and the heel.

[RocknRolf]

Okay, a lot has been happening, at least in my mind :-D

A couple of things I found out:
1. The bridge has no string through possibility, being a bit of a purist, I was disappointed but happy at the same time, not having to deal with the ferules on my first guitar. Maybe I will replace the bridge in the future.
2. This body has also a binding on the backside: I was planning on making a comfort cut on the backside, but I guess that is out of the question right now. Right?!

The progress:
I removed glue spots, slightly touched up the neck joint to make for a better connection. I decided to bolt down the neck for the bridge placement as it was so loose in the pocket that I did not want to risk the neck sliding in a different position and the strings running of the neck. Other than that, I have made some staining samples. I had ordered a couple of headstock veneers and Crimson stain shots. Because there is no description or reference on the mixing ratio’s I went through it adding a drop at the time. See pictures for the samples, You see I am going to aim for a violin type of burst. After trying different methods I did find the grain pop best after using a light brown wash, lightly sanding it back and applying the burst. This goes against the advice, anyone with a positive result though?

Some questions:
1. I have found a position that is feels good for the bridge but I want to double check here.
From the inside of the nut I use 25 1/5 inch for the Low E and 25 5/8 inch for the high E. is this correct?
2. While test fitting the controls, I found that a capacitor is in the way of placing the controls level to the bridge. I can turn the whole unit around and have a perfect fit though. Can I bend the capacitor to will it into place?

Thanks guys!

[RocknRolf]

As to amps, opinions are many and varied. I bought the Boss Katana 50 for my daughter. Its exceptional bang for buck and can be set to 0.5 watt mode, which is perfect for not disturbing others too much. As long as space is not your main driver it's worth a good look.

@Shambrick, @ILRGuitars, I'll check the Boss out, thank you

[Woltz]

Some questions:
1. I have found a position that is feels good for the bridge but I want to double check here.
From the inside of the nut I use 25 1/5 inch for the Low E and 25 5/8 inch for the high E. is this correct?
2. While test fitting the controls, I found that a capacitor is in the way of placing the controls level to the bridge. I can turn the whole unit around and have a perfect fit though. Can I bend the capacitor to will it into place?

Thanks guys!

The scale length for a TL should be 25.5". Some people aim to have that scale length when the saddles are at their half way point, others aim for anywhere up to 3/4 of the way out. I'm sure other people may chime in on their preference. From memory I aimed for closer to 3/4 to give myself plenty of room for intonation adjustment.

In regards to the control panel. There is nothing wrong with having it flipped around, that's a personal preference thing. And yes you can bend the cap towards the plate to give yourself some more clearance.

I'd also second the Katana. They sound great, loads of features and I was very close to buying one when I got my SG but ended up splurging a bit and getting a Marshall DSL just because I was able to get a great deal.

Given my poor luck with finishes, I'll allow someone else to answer your question regarding finishing process.

[dave.king1]

Most who flip the control plate move the vol pot to the front for volume swells, tone pot in the middle

[RocknRolf]

Not much have been happening, removed some glue spots, pushed the capacitor over so she'd fit.
Today I've been leveling the frets and ran stuck, atleast, with my limited knowledge and not wanting to create a bigger problem, so I just ask :-).

I, checked the neck with a notched straight edge, it's straight. Then marked the frets en gently sanding them down with a fretleveling beam. As you can see in the picture, frets 12 to 19 are relatively untouched. I checked with some backlight and a fret rocker and those frets are lower (by ca. 2/10th - 3/10th of a mill.) as expected by the marker.

- Am I going to proceed till I solve the issue?
- Am I going to continue focussing on 12th - 22nd fret?

Any suggestions are more than welcome, thank you!