dpm99

How long do you need it? What I have is 30". And how many laminates?

Tim - Exactly. Except with a 35" scale and nice pickups. Wez - I'm pretty sure I'd just have to build something, or at least modify something. I can't seem to find anything that will accomodate 6 strings at 3" spacing. However, this is not a string through guitar. Those little bridge pieces trap the string ends inside. So really I'd only be leaving six holes behind, and they'd be invisible beneath the bridge.

My workhorse bass is a 2004 Ibanez BTB. It sounds great, and while I've always thought of myself as a guitar player, it seems I play bass more often these days. I'm starting to think I should just switch my focus to bass anyway. Here's the only bass I own: And yes, that's a piece of spalted maple with heavy curl behind it. I'd like to convert this bass to a 6-string, strung E-E, like a normal guitar, only an octave lower. I realize a lot of people may be opposed to the very principle of that, but it's not a new concept, and I want to try it out. The three primary issues are the tuners, the nut, and the bridge. I see two ways to go about this, and I'm torn. The best way: This is the bridge: I could order another one of those individual bridge and saddle assemblies for about $15+shipping. If I grind down all the inner bridge edges by about 1/3 of a mm and squish them all together, I'll be right where I want. I think this is a good, cost effective solution, though it makes some challenges in matching hardware. This is the headstock: Clearly there are a few nicks and dings up here. Like I said, it's a workhorse. These are the original Ibanez tuners in "Cosmo White." They're very difficult to find, but I've identified a set of 4 for $53+shipping. I suppose I'll have to make the nut myself. I have some buffalo horn nut blanks in the garage anyway, and that's a skill I need to work on. Miscellaneous: Look at this thing. What a mess! Whatever. I'll clean it up eventually. There are a couple more things to notice here too though. First off, this five string only has four strings. I'm missing the low B. I have to play it in church tomorrow morning. Who needs that string anyway though. Also, you can barely see a little black knob that should be matching the others. I loaned this bass to a friend for a while, and this is how it came back. Grr. Not a hard fix though, if I ever get around to buying one. Repairs: Check this out! Believe it or not, I bought it like that. Someone knocked it over in the store. I won't say which store, but it's initials are GTRCNTR. Anyway, I ended up getting a pretty good deal on it. The sound was what mattered to me at the time, and this bass sounds exactly like what I think a bass should. Also, if I install another tuner, I really ought to reposition three more, so that it can continue to have the straight string alignment it was designed with. Ibanez put a thin quilted maple veneer on the headstock and gave it a trans black finish to match the body. I'm tempted to go an easier route with ebony to match the fretboard, but I don't know. The logo is a decal, not an inlay. I suppose I could make a new waterslide decal and recreate that if I wanted. But in the end, it's not going to be factory reproduction anyway, because the string spacing will be narrower than on a normal 6. Just trying to figure out what to do, and see if anyone has any good ideas for alternate solutions. I'm open to replacing the tuners, bridge, and knobs altogether, but the string spacing at the bridge is 3", or .6" between individual strings. That's a tough bridge to find. The cheap solution would be to buy that extra bridge/saddle, buy a cheap tuner and just find a spot for it, leave the injuries as they are, and let it relic/Frankenstein naturally over the next forty years or so. It's nice to have at least one guitar you don't have to worry about much. At the moment, I think I'm leaning that direction, but I don't know. All these repairs are certainly within my skill, and it could be pristine when I'm done. But there are a lot of other projects I care about more right now. Any thoughts? I'm hoping some of you might be willing to share advice.

I have Bubinga out the ears right now, but that's not quite what you're looking for.

Sound like the guitar is fine, other than some possible setup issues. Have you tried a softer touch? I have this problem a lot when I play with 9's, because I'm used to heavier strings.

Here are some critical questions to answer that might get you some better help: 1.) Did you cut the fret slots yourself? If so, how did you do it? If not, who did? 2.) What size fretwire did you use? 3.) What string gauge are you using?

I'm from McKinney, up north of Dallas. I think MiKro's from Dallas too. (Incidentally, Mike, have you heard of lint.org? I went to my first meeting Saturday.) I don't have those dimensions, but if you're looking to replicate the design, you could try ordering these templates: http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/Famous-Guitarists.htm Welcome to the forum!

Incidentally, I completely agree with you guys. The OP's schematic was theoretical, and while mine was actually done, it was a learning project.

You can definitely get one. If you're not sure where to look for one, pm me your mailing address. I'll send you one. Or this would work: http://www.amazon.com/0-022uF-500V-Ceramic-Disc-Capacitor/dp/B005FMX7RQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1314718525&sr=8-6 So here's what you want to do for grounding: 1.) Connect all ground wires to one central point. It can be anywhere you choose, as long as it doesn't make electrical contact with any non-ground wires. 2.) Send a wire from the ground to the bridge. It's not that the bridge itself needs to be grounded. It's the strings that need to be grounded, but since on most electric guitars the bridge is made of conductive metal, connecting to the bridge makes sense. 3.) Connect the ground to the ground terminal of your jack. The guitar won't work unless you do this. Hope that helps. David

Found this: http://glennaycockwoodworking.blogspot.com/2010/03/diy-fret-tang-nipper-for-7.html I think I'm gonna try it.

First of all, the capacitor is what makes a tone knob what it is. Without the capacitor, it's just another volume knob. The good news is that a capacitor only costs pennies. If you live anywhere near a Radio Shack, you can get one there. If you haven't developed a definite opinion regarding series/parallel wiring, go with series. Go to YouTube and listen to some recordings. That wiring diagram is fine, although I'd recommend against soldering to the back of your potentiometers. It's a good way to fry them. A good alternative is solder lugs, like the ones you can find here: http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/electrical_shield.htm You place them over the shaft of the pot and solder to them instead of the back of the pot.

+1 on getting Hiscock. Also, try to avoid buying your wood from a major online retailer. Local is best, if you know what to look for.

Today I had the pleasure of attending my first meeting of Luthier's Interactive of North Texas, which is a Dallas based club that meets bi-monthly to showcase work and tips, and has a once a year symposium. I've been looking forward to my first meeting since I first heard about it, and growing my beard out so I'd look respectable to a bunch of old luthiers. Two people there did not have beards. One was a girl, to my shock! Anyway, a stock of wood had been donated from the estate of a recently passed luthier, free to members for the taking. As the new guy, I waited for the best stuff to be taken before grabbing a bit from what was left. Here's what I got! Behold, the world's ugliest soundboard! It's Western Red Cedar, and I'm told it's about forty years old. It's not even close to bookmatched, but it has an amazing tap tone with between 2-3 seconds of sustain - deep, rich, and very warm, as you'd expect from WRC. There's also a piece of what will become brace wood there. Somebody said the stack it came from was more cedar, but c'mon. That looks like spruce to me. Anybody else? I have no idea what these patterns are on the soundboard, but here's a close-up: I'm thinking this will be perfect for my next hybrid project if I put a veneer over the top. I'm aware that will effect the sound, but I can't imagine that with a cheap piezo pickup I'll be able to tell. And if I can tell the difference, EQ to the rescue. Excited.

Y'know what? One of the biggest factors that separates a good guitar from a great guitar is the finish. If you have to redo it, consider it practice.

Bass VI ftw! The world needs more of those anyway.

If you can trust Warmoth, there's also Bubinga, Canary, Goncalo Alves, Purpleheart, and a number of other Rosewoods, including the ever popular Pau Ferro, Ziricote, and...is Kingwood a Rosewood? I think it is. Obviously, there are more as well. I've heard mixed reports on using Acetone to pull oils out of oily woods before gluing. My approach has always been just to plane and glue.

Welcome Bundlez!

Didn't see this earlier. You have to check out this place if you haven't already. Their stock will blow your mind. It's up in Carlsbad, but worth the drive. http://www.anexotichardwood.com/

Just want to say how much I love this thread. The guitar is awesome, but what I really love is how much I can relate to the builder's frustration here. "If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying. 'Here comes number seventy-one!'" ~Richard M. DeVos

Good advice, guys. Thanks. I'm currently working on a bubinga neck that was originally rift sawn, so I ripped it and flipped it. Didn't really think much about the oils, but it's held together pretty well with Titebond for about a month now. Time will test it. Incidentally, the rosewood/teak neck I built years ago was glued up with Titebond, and it hasn't had a problem in the 2-3 years I've had it. All the same, I think I'll use epoxy in the future. Probably safer.

I will say this, as I feel the subject on which I am most qualified to speak is making big mistakes. What took you so long the first time around will go very quickly the second time, if you choose that route.

Has anybody ever tried to put together a laminate neck made of pieces that don't require finishes, like rosewoods, bubinga, wenge, Goncalo Alves, and the like? Once I put a Teak skunk stripe in a Rosewood neck, and it held together pretty well, but now I'm thinking of building a 5 piece laminated neck out of wenge and bubinga, and if they join well, I can't imagine why I might need to put a finish on it. Plus, the mixing of the natural oils between two species may create a checimal synergy that increases my mojo! Anybody ever tried an unfinished laminate neck?

Wez - Does your caul have a curve or is it flat? Can you show us a picture? Thx!

Very nice design. You guys in San Diego have great hardwood stores. It's one of the things I miss about San Diego.

Have you sourced the bridge?