Daniel Schmolze Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 I've been wanting to do an eight string for a while now, and have finally got around to it. Up-front warning: this probably won't see tons of action until the end of March when school finishes up for me. I decided to make this a one-piece design, which is another thing I've been wanting to try. I got a real nice slab of mahogany for a great price from my local supplier. Here's the design: 27.5" scale length. The fretboard will be ebony. Ebony headstock plate, black horn nut. The plan is to dye the body/neck dark grey, and do some black glazing to accentuate the curves (it will get some extensive carving). Hardware-wise, it will be getting EMG 808s and the Hipshot eight string bridge. Unsure about tuners at this stage, but I'd like to find some lighter weight ones. Any suggestions? Here's the MDF body/neck template: And the blank cut out with the top levelled: I really like this piece of mahogany -- great figure and color, with a really nice tap tone (not that I think that really matters). That's it for now. Next up will be thicknessing the headstock, doing the scarf and routing out the headstock design. Then truss rod and CF rod installation, neck thicknessing, fretboard installation, etc. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 That's so cool! The grain matching all the way along the back side from neck to body will be a total highlight if you decide to do a clear finish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 This is cool. I was just thinking about a 1 piece, but trying to get comfortable with having the fretboard included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helldunkel Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 good luck with your build I've myself built a bunch of "one piece guitars" in the past, here is one of them, the only pictures I can find... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Huf, I noticed you recessed the bridge - was that out of necessity due to material thickness - or just because it's cool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helldunkel Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Huf, I noticed you recessed the bridge - was that out of necessity due to material thickness - or just because it's cool? Would be very cool to actually play on a guitar which had super high action right? A kahler requires either some neck angle or a less deeper neck pocket... This was a one piece guitar so unlike a neck thru you cant really add angle to the neck, so I recessed the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Huf, I noticed you recessed the bridge - was that out of necessity due to material thickness - or just because it's cool? cant speak for huf, but thats my preferred method with kahlers. They are bloody huge when sitting on the surface, feels a lot less intrusive when recessed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Schmolze Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 good luck with your build I've myself built a bunch of "one piece guitars" in the past, here is one of them, the only pictures I can find... Looks sweet. I love your finishes, and will be aiming for a similar look with this build. I'd be curious to hear your take on tone with a one-piece body... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helldunkel Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 I'd be curious to hear your take on tone with a one-piece body... You would need to experiment and build several one piece instruments in order to compare tone and get some real results... Eventually you will notice that a one piece guitar does not affect the tone of your instrument and wont contribute in anyways towards adding more sustain... Its just a big waist of mother nature but I did experiment several times this subject to make sure I could reply to this question one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Schmolze Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 ... Eventually you will notice that a one piece guitar does not affect the tone of your instrument and wont contribute in anyways towards adding more sustain... Its just a big waist of mother nature but I did experiment several times this subject to make sure I could reply to this question one day That's about what I figured. Personally I'm firmly in the camp of "wood species and construction details don't matter too much as long as your building technique is solid". What the heck though, it's something fun and different. Also, I can always hype it up when I try to sell it: "ONE PIECE construction for ENDLESS SUSTAIN!!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helldunkel Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 ... Eventually you will notice that a one piece guitar does not affect the tone of your instrument and wont contribute in anyways towards adding more sustain... Its just a big waist of mother nature but I did experiment several times this subject to make sure I could reply to this question one day That's about what I figured. Personally I'm firmly in the camp of "wood species and construction details don't matter too much as long as your building technique is solid". What the heck though, it's something fun and different. Also, I can always hype it up when I try to sell it: "ONE PIECE construction for ENDLESS SUSTAIN!!!!" its already been used as a marketing argument many times, frankly, if a brand tells you that a one piece brings more sustain and contributes to the tone, I would laugh my ass off! sustain and tone is soooooooo much more superior!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Schmolze Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 ... sustain and tone is soooooooo much more superior!!!! holy hell, that guy kills me: "a lot of luthiers and guitar builders said it couldn't be done", lol! also, it sounds to me like it could just be feedback he's getting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helldunkel Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 ... sustain and tone is soooooooo much more superior!!!! holy hell, that guy kills me: "a lot of luthiers and guitar builders said it couldn't be done", lol! also, it sounds to me like it could just be feedback he's getting It is feedback, he probably set up his pickups really high up to add sustain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 He's almost as awesome as the "jet frets" guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mender Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 He's almost as awesome as the "jet frets" guy. Most decent guitars will give good sustain if played through good amps. Gary Moore played Strat, Tele, Les Paul, Explorer - he played dozens of different guitars, and he always got incredible sustain, but he also had great tone to go with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpcrash Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Based on the following search results: No results found for 'minimum +body +thickness'. Any gotchas on the one piece design with thickness? 1.5" enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Based on the following search results: No results found for 'minimum +body +thickness'. Any gotchas on the one piece design with thickness? 1.5" enough? I could probably manage it in 33mm.... so 1.29" Yeah so you should probably start with a 6/4 piece. Still it is such a waste. I can build 2 full guitars and probably a neck from a piece that big. Sad day for that board... could have been 3 shredders . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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