mpeg2 Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 I've been contemplating throwing together a guitar that I can take with me when I travel by plane - esentially a minimalistic electric guitar, with removable neck. I'm not after anything fancy in tone, but something that I can use to work scales & practice some music when I'm on the road. The intent is something that I can toss into a briefcase as a somewhat protected carryon - thus the removable neck. I'm still working out the body ideas (anywhere from a 2x4 sized thing to something a bit more elaborate). Electronics would be simple - one pickup, no controls - run into a POD or equivalent & then headphones. One thought that I've had was to replace the normal neck mounting screws with some screw in studs (screwed into the neck). These would go through the body holes & neck plate - then be attached with wing nuts (for easy removability). Has anyone played around with this type of design - offer any suggestions? Thanks, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unusual71 Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 well if your building this from scratch, you could get a metal insert, put it on the top of the neck at the heel, put 4 bolts in, then glue the fretboard over top, and that would work out alright, probably the best thing you could do, good luck with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 The threaded inserts idea seems a solid one. Removable neck, combined with the compactness of a Steinberger L-style guitar would be about as compact as it gets. With a removable neck idea, my first thought, though is-- what about the strings? Make sure in your planning phase that you have a way to accomodate the strings. Seems to me that a locking system would work out OK, as long as you can think of a good way to 'manage' the slack strings when the neck is removed. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 Someone Else has done a travel guitar here. This thread may help answer some questions Travel Guitar Thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 Yeah, the bushings in the neck work great. I use regular threaded bolts (recessed into the heel, with washers) and just pack a phillips screwdriver. No problems at airport security so far (n=3 & counting). If I had to do it over again, I'd go with Steinberger gearless tuners on the body (less expensive than the headless ABR system). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 just use locking tuners so you can remove the strings without buying a new set every time you travel. and a headless design would save space also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura999 Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 if you however find this to be a very complicated build, this may suit your needs http://www.fredzon.com/default.asp?SID=10000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmmr Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 another idea for reducing size is use a smaller scale length, like putting a capo on the 5th fret, take that as the nut and work out the measurements from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 Hey, that's a pretty neat idea. I can't believe I've never thought of that before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 if you however find this to be a very complicated build, this may suit your needs http://www.fredzon.com/default.asp?SID=10000 ← That thing's awesome! I wonder how well it works and how well it actually sounds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Alex Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 this may help with the strings: when removing the neck, place velcro at the 3rd fret or so, just after the bridge and the 12th fret, this will keep the strings spaced, and untangled. then just slacken them off and fold the neck away. thats a very handy trick I found on frank ford's site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.