Here comes Guitar 9

PRS's - "Guitars for dentists" ;-) 

No, I like them, but at those prices, not a chance. ;-) 




Edited by Davesax1965 - April 01 2022 at 03:09

Ha ! Don't worry, it's all solveable, Chopper. ;-) 

You take it to a luthier. ;-)

Irritatingly, the neck is slightly off. This happens a lot with Partscasters, as the tolerances are very tight and parts vary by manufacturer. I've got to clean the neck pocket properly, but the neck is about .5mm out at the 22nd fret. It doesn't sound a lot, but it's enough to throw the string alignment out. 

What I have to do is tidy the pocket and see if I can free the neck up to rotate a fraction of a degree clockwise. It's basically a little out and a little too tight. I'm actually probably going to build the rest of the guitar and leave the adjustment to a trained luthier - which I am not. 

You have to expect these "minor challenges" when building a guitar from parts. I'm also aware that the neck isn't set up, it's not under string tension, the nut isn't cut (more of which below) and I'm replacing the existing saddles with solid brass ones, so it might all change. String tension is higher on the thinner string side of the neck, so that might bring things around as well. 

It's literally a fraction of a degree. Infuriating. And, alas, no, I can't slacken the neck bolts, adjust the neck and re-tighten them as there is quite literally no play in the socket. 

A slightly larger challenge was that the nut wasn't cut for the strings. A set of nut files is $100, and you tend to use them once. There are some cheap alternatives, which I'll look into later. 

Story so far....

Hi Hrychu, yes, it's a hardtail. I'm just going to fit the ferrules now. With a soldering iron. ;-) 

I wanted something a bit different - hardtail Strats are difficult to find, even factory ones. It actually weighs considerably more than a standard body, so you get more sustain but the tone tends to be a bit biting. Which, of course, you can adjust with pickup choice or on the amp. 

Still a long way to go but the wiring got done yesterday and there's two test pickups in there as well. 

Davesax1965 wrote: Hi Chopper, it's quite easy. ;-) Pop over to North West Guitars - there's your body. Jazz or Precision. (I wouldn't even think of trying a set neck, bolt on only.  Get a proper Fender, or licenced neck. The rest is quite easy, the scary bits are installing bridges to the correct scale length, but it's all do-able.  One problem with Partscasters though is that the parts can need some jiggling to fit, but it's really all just minor sanding. You won't save much over the cost of a comparable instrument, but the pleasure is to build something for yourself and get exactly what you want.

Looking good. I'm tempted to make a bass like this but with my DIY skills it would probably be un-playable.

Thought you might like to see my latest guitar project. 

This is a Partscaster - there's a genuine Fender roasted maple neck on the way. The body was supposed to be Sonic Blue - ha, not really. It's a hardtail, I've got a 1988 tremolo Partscaster as well, shown in the photo. Time for something different. 

Anodised gold scratchplate, probably Creamery 1969 pickups as opposed to the Custom Shop Fat 50's on the other Strat. 

Scary drilling bit when the neck comes. Gulp.