Fanned Fret Firebird

WezV

PhilKing said:

 The bridge hasn't arrived yet!  

I am going to get the design drawn out based on the spec sheet, but probably won't cut wood till I can confirm it matches


iirc @Sporky had issues when trusting one of hipshots spec sheets

Sporky

I did. Still need to make a new body for that guitar, it wasn't salvageable. They were very precise and out by about 30mm.

PhilKing

I sent an email to them about a week ago, but still don't have a date for it.  I'm going to call next week to see what's happening.  I've got the machine heads, which will look great on it.  The mock up looks good, it's just the pickup mounting that might be interesting.  Perhaps it could be one in perspex for all 3 pickups (so it looks a bit Gretschy).

WezV

Yeah, I need to figure out how much space I have to play with.  Ideally I would like 3 separate rings with a slight gap between.  But if it's too tight I can do a custom Gretsch style ring.  no ring ay all is also an option as they are purely aesthetic without the traditional Gretsch style base plate

PhilKing

That's true, as they mount directly to the body.  Maybe that would be the best way to do it, with no surrounds.

WezV

Yeah, it works on cabronitas, but filtertrons can look a little small. It may be better to plan for rings and make the decision based on how it looks later

WezV

time to do a bit of drawing.

The only things decided at the moment are that its fanned fret, firebird shaped, has 3 filtertron sized pickups and the hipshot 18 degree bridge.  that's enough to see what works scale length wise


Full size drawing - the main dimensions are to scale, but not all parts are



this is with a 24 3/4-26" fan.  3rd, 12th and 22nd frets are marked.  We may actually be able to get away with a bit more fan and still have room for 3 straight pickups

WezV

I am using fretfind2D to work out the scales.  Normally i do it the manual way but I was using the exact angle on the bridge here.
http://www.ekips.org/tools/guitar/fretfind2d/

It calculates a straight bridge as being 180 degrees, so i need 162 degrees for the 18 degree bridge slant.  You put in your chosen scales and adjust the perpendicular figure to get the bridge angle where it needs to be 

like this

Roland

From a playing point of view I'd give it a bit less fan, and make the 7th fret perpendicular.

WezV

I have done a few of these now... started safely with the perp around the 3rd - 5th. Gone as far as the 12th on some.

here are a couple of my regular players - very different guitars, very different fans

The thinline is 25-27 1/2" with a perp near the 6th fret.  The white guitar is 25-27" with the perp at the 12th.


Edit it for info:  the white one is about as extreme a fan as I would go on a 6 string with 2" difference in scales and a 12th fret perp.  It's still okay for first position chords, but only just.  If I increased the difference in scales I would indeed move the perp towards the nut.

If you look at the second fretfind link I posted it shows the nut end will be more like the thinline, but the reduced difference in scales makes the fan much more even along the board than that one.  With the small difference in scales I can push the perp closer to the 12 fret

Danielsguitars

Looks straight after a few jack Daniels, I'll just do them normal and give a free bottle away much easier 

WezV

Just picked up some wood for this.  None of my current stock was quite the right length for a firebird,  i needed something a little longer


the wood is  massively oversize at the moment - I should easily get a full headstock overlay out of that fretboard blank as well as the fanned fret board.

I am debating whether to split the neck and laminate, or go for a simple one piece and add some other reinforcement to the neck.  Its one piece of African mahogany... just about quartersawn but not perfectly for the whole length.    Once planed it will pretty much be the perfect dimensions for a firebird centre section as it is.   

Then we have steinberger tuners and a hipshot 18 degree fanned fret bridge

Roland

Given the recent discussion about neck stiffness in the "wood does/doesn't affect tone" threads that is going to be an interesting decision. I suppose you haven't got enough wood to make two guitars, one laminated and one reinforced?

WezV

The only real concern is getting enough stiffness in a long necked guitar.  There are two ways I can achieve it so it doesn't make the decision for me

Second factor is aesthetics.  If it was having a natural finish it could definitely be laminated.  The plan is white, but not a thick heavy finish and possible slightly translucent

The wood has a nice tap tone and will make a nice sounding guitar however I decide to do it. 

I wont be building two just because my limited time won't allow it.

rsvmark

Watching this thread..... Dribbling with anticipation!

WezV

i think i made some comments in @Andyjr1515 thread about not getting too excited about flamed ebony because it doesn't reflect the light very well and can look quite uneven


so i am going to be a hypocrite, because i am quite excited about these


quitea lof of colour variation, so if possible i am going to try and keep that.


On with the show

Andyjr1515

WezV said:

i think i made some comments in @Andyjr1515 thread about not getting too excited about flamed ebony because it doesn't reflect the light very well and can look quite uneven


so i am going to be a hypocrite, because i am quite excited about these


quitea lof of colour variation, so if possible i am going to try and keep that.


On with the show

That's my boy 

WezV

terrible pic as its actually more angled above the 12th than it looks here, but i have the board marked up




its all measured multiple times before being deeply scored on the fretlines.  I do a light score and double check before going over it a bit heavier... the frets marked in pencil are where the initial light score was off and corrected before the deep score - it tells me to make sure i get the right line!!   

I currently have fluid build up behind my retina so this was more difficult than it should have been.   I will double check it against my full size plans and chosen bridge once my eyes are less tired.  if its wrong i will sand it all off and start again.  Once totally happy i will slot

WezV

the triple check is done and everything lines up nicely. the bridge will work well, so i can continue to slot this board

a quick placement on the original drawing


I think i can afford to move the fretboard into the body by 1/2" and move everything back a bit.  It will still give really good top fret access - the angle really helps with that.   we were discussing a 6-way blade switch, or originally 2 3-way blade switches, but i might have to think about that a bit more as the body wings are not normally deep enough for that... we will see

There is room for the gretsch style rings, although i am not sure if they will be used yet.  They are only cosmetic so it will be a last minute decision

BigMonka

This is sooo cool, and an amazing selection of pickups!!