Andyjr1515 Q1 '20 Challenge. A real one ;)

Andyjr1515

Next couple of challenges - pickups.  And more importantly, cable access for the pickups.

We're going for an Artec Ric-ish set of Humbucker and mini humbucker that I bought for another project and never got round to using, so I can gift these to Tom's project.  I also rate Artec products.  And for anyone fitting an acoustic under-saddle piezo, particularly their piezos.  Fraction of the cost of many other piezos and, in my personal view, just as good.

Tom prefers the 'full fat' sound of series humbuckers, and also pickups wired in series (I've fitted series/parallel switching in the past for him, but he generally sticks with the series setting).  So these two will be hardwired in series, straight to the jack.

And positioning.   The whole point of multi-scale is to balance the tone of each string.  Putting in pickups at right angles to the strings would completely negate that, by effectively putting the treble strings much closer to the bridge saddles.  So the pickups need to be also angled.  

You can see I've tried a few options, but I reckon this is a pretty good final configuration:

 

I will be making some wenge pickup rings from some last bits of constructional wenge veneer (2mm) that will also be used for the headstock plate.  This will mean that adjustment of the pickup heights to get the balance just-so should be straightforward.

Now - the big challenge.  getting control wire passages in without having to resort to covered channels at the back.

I have some super-long bradpoint drills that would actually be long enough to drill through the back of the neck pocket to both chambers, and also from the back to the rear chamber:

 

- but, this is exceptionally hard wood and the drills are not the best quality.

I will cut the chambers first and then experiment.

It is also not certain yet actually where the rear one would be drilled, as it isn't fixed yet how the jack will be secured and accessed.  Tom and I are thinking rear-edge access and angled - a bit Stratocaster/Ibanez style.  I need to do some careful thinking where the jack needs to be, where the access and fixing needs to be and where the bridge element fixings are going to be - trying to screw a bridge through a wire-filled passage wouldn't be a great idea  

Anyway - a bit more measuring, pondering and experimenting before the first step of cutting the chambers

Andyjr1515

Although this is going to have the wenge pickup rings and so a close fit of the chambers isn't critical, it's nevertheless decent practice to pretend that they are needing to be close fitted.

Each to their own, but regular viewers of my builds know that I don't generally use templates and generally hate routers.  They have their uses but I try to make the arrangement as foolproof and slipproof as possible! 

As always, please regard this as 'this is just the way I do it' - not that this is the way it should be done.

I draw round the pickup directly onto the top, then get a drill of the right radius to get the four corners, and an appropriate drill size if there are lugs like these humbuckers have to do the same to mark the lug positions:

 

 

Then I use a Forstner to hog out to the edge of the line, around 3mm shallower than the final depth:

 

 

I then chisel away the wave peaks up to the line and to at least the depth of my router bit bearing:

 

 

 

Then my most-used router bit - this diddy bearing-guided one to firstly clean up the sides, and then to reach the final chamber depth:

 

 

And I then have the two chambers:

 

 

Into which, happily, two humbuckers fit nicely into

Andyjr1515

And when I say a long drill bit, I do mean a long drill bit



It actually went through pretty well. 

The hole from the rear chamber to the jack connection point, on the other hand, is a longer run and will have to wait until I've worked out just how, exactly, I'm going to fit the socket!  

I may be some time...

Andyjr1515

So - the jack.

This is one of those areas where Tom and I will be PMing in the background to bounce off the ideas.  But the concept is something along these lines:



ie, cable round the strap and then in at the back, from the top and at an angle.  Could be an actual upside down strat jackplate like above, or it could be a carved piece of timber with that kind of shape - not sure yet.

Why not use a strat plate in the normal position?


Because the body is so slim, the jack would poke through at the front!


Using an actual reversed strat plate, then I would use a conventional jack.  If I did a carved solution, then I would probably use a cylinder jack:



Anyway - that's the concept.  The actual solution will develop anon 


 

TTony

The draw-round-the-pickup approach is a good idea.

I generally use a router-plus-template approach, but I've have found - too often - that the pickup size is just *slightly* different to the template, so I end up routering a slightly larger hole, or trying to cover up a slightly-too-big hole.

You're going to have some "interesting" drilling to do, to get the wires into the control cavity, given the thinness of the body ...

Roland

What about using a conventional jack socket, not a Strat socket, on the back edge of the guitar below the strap pin? Then you could drill from that hole into either the control cavity, or into the bridge pickup cavity.

Andyjr1515

Roland said:

What about using a conventional jack socket, not a Strat socket, on the back edge of the guitar below the strap pin? Then you could drill from that hole into either the control cavity, or into the bridge pickup cavity.

Tom specifically wants the 'top-loading' concept, @Roland .  That being said, I will probably have to drill the hole for the wire from the conventional position anyway.  

If I have some form of rear access, then I maybe able to drill from that towards the rear pickup chamber and also from the chamber to it and try and meet in the middle, Channel Tunnel style.  If not, then I will have to drill from the edge and plug it.


This kind of stuff is what makes these type of projects particularly enjoyable 

Andyjr1515

Well, done a bit of experimenting and carving and I have two basic designs to put to Tom to choose between.

These are both prototypes but gives the general idea:


In either case, they would be fitted with a barrel jack, hardwired to the in-series pickups and would be sunk into the body wood by a couple of mm and secured with small wood screws or machine screws and inserts.  



Underneath them would be a small chamber for clearance of the barrel jack overhand and connections but this would be the only 'control plate' at the back.

I've done a bit of air-guitaring with my test-bed guitar and in both cases the jack itself stays well clear of harms way.  So I'll just ask Tom which he prefers and make a final version of whichever one he picks

TTony

Those are nice!!!

Andyjr1515

TTony said:

Those are nice!!!

Thanks

Andyjr1515

OK, Tom's preference is Prototype 1.

So this is the final version, ready to fit:

 

 

The base plate will be sunk the 2-3mm flush with the body and be securely held in place with a fixing screw in the centre of each curved wing.

I know the angle and broad positioning that Tom would prefer but - before I cut the chamber - am going to pop a couple of strap buttons on (it will eventually have the Dunlop insert straplocks so when those are fitted, I will just use the screwholes as my drilling pilot holes) and strap it up to make sure that the jack is going to end up in the right place an inch or so right of the player's right hip.

But next main job is probably going to be making a start with carving the neck profile

Andyjr1515

I'll creep up on the neck over a couple of days.   I'll probably go entirely by feel rather than templates and also there are a couple of areas (especially the volute, re the multiscale and the heel join) where I want time to sit and ponder before removing wood that can't be put back 

I prefer, where I can, to carve the neck fixed to the body (most of my builds are through necks anyway so it's probably just what I'm used to).

Having marked the centre line so I know not to carve into this area, for the rough shape I start with the spokeshave to take the corners off:

 

Then fairly quickly moved onto the micro-plane rasp blade, drawn down the whole length of the neck like a scraper (wearing gloves!):

 

 

And this is where I'll leave it for today to finish it to shape over the weekend: 

Andyjr1515

Bit more work on the volute and heel, but the neck profile is pretty much there:

 

While the neck is on,  I'll pop a couple of temporary strap buttons on and check out the positioning of the rear jack access.  If I get time, I'll have a go at that this afternoon. 

Andyjr1515

Onto the jack socket.

This is broadly where Tom wanted the jack socket to be.  Before I made the cut, I strapped it up to see how much clearance there is between the jack itself and the player's side - there is plenty!  So the chamber was cut 

 

 

So this is how it will sit, with the lead in the standard secure "once round the strap and into the jack socket" position:

 

 

"But surely, you're going to knock the jack with your hip????!!!"

No, actually.  Stood up or sat down, it's miles away.  And, actually, much, much safer than the jack into the front of the jack plate of many Fenders.  Here's the jack in playing position - the blue's my shirt, the grey is my leg:

 

 

So yes, Tom chose a good position

Andyjr1515

While I still make monumental c**k ups every now and again, there is no doubt that the exposure to perfection from other builders round here is making me a touch more accurate at times.

To get a cable channel from the jack socket, I have to get a hole to the bottom of the rear pickup chamber from the edge, intersecting the jack socket cutout.  Basically along this line:

 

 

With a standard length brad-point drill, where it was easier to ensure I was going at the correct angle in all planes, I first drilled from the edge to the jack chamber.  It's a 6mm drill so a standard neck dot will fill the hole at the edge :

 

 

Then got the big b*****d out and went the distance.  It came out at the right place and height!  

 

 

And I'm not sure I could do that again if I tried!

Roland

Who was it said “the more I practice the luckier I get”?

Rocker

Roland said:

Who was it said “the more I practice the luckier I get”?

Gary Player and/or Jack Nicklaus.

Andyjr1515

Andyjr1515

The pickup rings and headstock plate will be using some wenge constructional veneer - 2mm thick.  Strong along the length but very brittle crossgrain.  It'll be fine for the headstock plate - this will be similar to Tom's original African bass.  This is a photo of his original with maple wings added in anticipation:

 

 

For the pickup rings - these will darken when they are sanded and finished - I probably need to add an underlayer either of crossgrain wood or maybe even pickguard material to give it a bit more underlying strength:

  

When I've done that, I will probably also slim the ring around the neck pickup a touch to match the slimmer pickup itself.

PeteC

looking fabulous,  and a real players instrument