Fanned Fret Firebird

WezV

Edit: started as s guessing game

A new build is about to begin.  The pickups turned up today



I will give you another clue.   I get asked to make this style of guitar more than any other,  it wouldn't normally have this style of pickups.

stickyfiddle

The obvious candidates are Strat or Tele.

stickyfiddle

Or Firebird, in which case it's dibs-o-clock!

WezV

stickyfiddle said:

The obvious candidates are Strat or Tele.

I have made more teles than anything else.... but it's not the thing I am asked for most.

prowla

Ric

earwighoney

I'd be inclined to suggest a Cabronita of some kind seeing the 3 Filtertron sized pickups, but I can't imagine that being a very requested guitar.  

Mojo Marc has some posted some very interesting things today, the guy is an absolute machine.  Aside from the strat sized GF I like the look of this 

I have one that looks a bit like similar but with one long blade instead of 6 individual magnets. 

Andyjr1515

Black Beauty Les Paul?

DrBob

Firebird

Danielsguitars

Come on I'm waiting to make tea, chop chop

octatonic

Firebird.

WezV

stickyfiddle said:

Or Firebird, in which case it's dibs-o-clock!

DrBob said:

Firebird

Have a prize (not the guitar).  Dibs have been claimed  by sending me a set of unusual pickups and an idea

it will broadly be a Scott Holiday style firebird, nicely vintage themed for the most part.... but fanned fret.

TTony

WezV said:

Edit: started as s guessing game

A new build is about to begin.  The pickups turned up today



I will give you another clue.   I get asked to make this style of guitar more than any other,  it wouldn't normally have this style of pickups.

Those are as cool as ****




(**** = m o j o, obvs)

WezV

I actually did a little sketch last December,  not to scale, but to see if fanned frets look okay on a firebird



doesn't look too out of place.


It wont actually have 24 frets so i can move everything into the body a bit to have plenty of room for pickups and stop it feeling like a thunderbird.  Next step is to draw it all out full size

this kinda look, but  no bigsby and probably not quite as blingy

Sporky

I know it's just a mock-up, but to my eye it looks like Firebirds should always have had fanned frets - really goes with the shape.

WezV

Yeah, I probably won't angle the end of the fretboard as I need the room for pickups.

 But more weird angles on a design that's all weird angles does seem to work.

mart

Sporky said:

I know it's just a mock-up, but to my eye it looks like Firebirds should always have had fanned frets - really goes with the shape.

Wiz. Every fanned fret instrument I've seen looks a bit odd, especially around the bridge, but your mockup above makes it look the most natural thing in the world. The fact that the bridge lines up with the bottom edge makes a huge difference. 

I'm going to be watching this with a lot of interest!

WezV

It might not line up quite that nicely when I do the full size drawing.  

the bridge will be hipshot hardtail with 18 degree slant,  everything else will be worked out from that.   

mart

Maybe not, but it'll still be a lot closer than any kind of fanned bridge in a traditional body shape.

I reckon it will look fine so long as the angle of the bridge is between the angle of the body edge and the perpendicular. That way the body edge becomes a kind of extrapolation of the fanning, in a pleasing way. Whereas with a normal body shape the edge jars against the fanning, imho.

Roland

Sporky said:

I know it's just a mock-up, but to my eye it looks like Firebirds should always have had fanned frets - really goes with the shape.

I like the way the higher frets line up with the body shape

PhilKing

That was really fast for the pickups.  Marc had said about 30 days, this is only a couple of weeks.  The bridge hasn't arrived yet!  

WezV

He's actually been slower than normal and recently shut the shop to catch up. Bloody Patrick Eggle stealing all his time!


when I screwed up the bladed p-90 last year I sent it back to him on a Tuesday and had it back before the weekend.