Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Oli on September 17, 2008, 06:52:33 PM
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Thought that i'd split from the 'custom guitar in the works' thread, so as not to derail it.
Well, during the build of the fanned-fret 7, i bought some bits and pieces, including an 8 string bridge. A few weeks ago i started to crack on with building the guitar, and i've been making some speedy progress:
Less than a week ago, this was the state of play:
(http://oli.doom-metal.com/8string1.jpg)
And today this is how it looks:
(http://oli.doom-metal.com/8string/8string_3.jpg)
I'm really happy with how it's coming along, i feel it's of much better quality than the 7 (which isn't bad :)). The neck needs a little more work on the heel, and a final look at the carve of it, but it's pretty much there. The fretboard needs to be radiused still, and i haven't decided on the inlays yet, so there's that to do. Next up is to mount the bridge, and draw up the control cavity. Pickup cavities will be routed when i can afford to get a pickup for it, but i'm unsure of which pickup (bareknuckle or otherwise) i'll be getting yet. The body will have come carving for the arm and the gut-cut, but that's the general body shape :)
A final photo of the neck join- using ferrules and bolts instead of screws and a plate. you can see where i need to recede the carve of the neck a little to blend in with the body:
(http://oli.doom-metal.com/8string/8string_5.jpg)
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Very nice. The body construction looks more like a bass than guitar, is there some reason for this choice? Does it have more sustain this way, especially on the 7th and 8th strings?
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Looking nice, very Fodera's bass... :D
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Love the shape.
Looking pretty good!
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That's a LOT of work in a week!!
Good to see more love of multiscales here, and this one really looks interesting :)
Roo
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Nice man, I'll be regularly watching this thread, few things though, why are fretboards radiused in the first place? I saw one on youtube that wasn't the other day and wondered since... + why fanned frets on a 7? What's it tuned to? + there no way you can file that neck joint down more? Looks like the higher frets might not be so comfortable to play.
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oppro: i came up with the shape because i really like the look of single cuts, and you tend to see them mostly on basses unfortunately, so i thought that because an 8 string is getting near bass territory, that it'd be appropriate :) Sustain should be good, as i'm really happy with the neck join- even without the bolts, it's a very good, snug fit... time will tell though, but i'm hopeful at the moment.
Roo: this instrument isn't going to be multiscale i'm afraid, it'll be a standard 28"- when i bought the bridge, I hadn't considered it as a fanned 8 string bridge (or 8 individual saddles), would be prohibitively expensive for me at the moment. I'll leave the 1st multiscale on this forum to Philosoful, but our other fanned-fret ambassador (WesV) is planning a multiscale 8 at some point, so keep your eyes peeled! :)
Philosoful: Fretboards are radiused to provide more comfort, but radius suits different applications; a flatter radius suits playing (and bending) higher up the neck, whilst open chording and stuff lower on the fretboard suits a greater radius. Take a classical guitar and try and play some regular chorded stuff- it feels a bit weird because of the flat radius, but do some shredding on an old strat, and it'll seem a bit odd (don't tell Yngwie that though)... that's some pretty big generalisations there, but that's a very rough explanation.
Fanned-frets on the 7.... it was my first build, and i was very curious about multiscale, so i fancied giving it a shot, thankfully it paid off, and i'm loving the results. I've had really good positive feedback from everyone that has played it :) The fanned fret 7 is tuned to BEADGBe, and this 8 string will be the same, but with a low F# too. The neck join will have a little more taken off of it, it'll be fine for playing the higher frets... it's my first time of trying this style of neck construction with using ferrules and bolts instead of screws and a plate, so in a couple more builds hopefully i'll have it down much better.
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Sweet man :)how long'd it take you to get used to your 7s fans? + you have pics of it? Going to be kind of daunting getting used to a guitar that's scale lengths I've never played before + as wide as an 8 string neck + fans :o
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i like it a lot so far, i really like the singlecut bass styling. if i was to criticize the shape i think i would make it a bit slimmer in the waist - but i like them curvy
i think access will be fine but i would consider reworking some of the heel a bit - you say there is wood to remove anyway
here was my first bolt-on singlecut:
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/IMG_0047.jpg)
i basically went for the 4 standard bolts at the end with an extra couple on the extension for support and tried to keep it as far over the bass side as possible - makes a nice thumbrest
i would consider tapering your heel section if you have room
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Beautiful looking guitar!
I really like the idea of having the body travel further up the neck. It looks so much more stable and sustainful!!!
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You got a front shot of that? :o
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Looks great, especially the neck. It's hard to tell from pics, but I think the horn could be a problem. You'd probably need to sculpt the back of it so it doesn't get in the way of your hand.
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You got a front shot of that? :o
me?
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/wv22.jpg)
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Looks great, especially the neck. It's hard to tell from pics, but I think the horn could be a problem. You'd probably need to sculpt the back of it so it doesn't get in the way of your hand.
From my initial feel of it, it's a little tight, but i was planning on carving out the inside of the horn a little more anyway.... i don't think this guitar will be primarily a lead instument anyway! ;)
They've got a couple of the ESP 8 strings in Rockers on Denmark St at the moment- i tried the Steven Carter signature model, and it felt quite nice to play, picked up a couple of .074" strings in preparation for this build :)
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From my initial feel of it, it's a little tight, but i was planning on carving out the inside of the horn a little more anyway...
Having that done on my 8 so any high notes/streches up high = no horn digging into the back of my hand.
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You got a front shot of that? :o
me?
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/wv22.jpg)
That looks like a lot of work with the pickup covers being flamed too! A great looking bass though.
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(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/wv22.jpg)
Every time i see this my mouth gapes wide open! :D
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i didnt mean to de-rail oli's thread but thanks guys
That was my first time doing wooden pickup covers, turned out easier than i expected. i had a thinner bit of the cranberry coloured acrylized maple i was going to use as a headplate - but i decided the headstock looked better plain. The pickups are SD basslines soapbars with 1/4" ziracote frame around the edge and about 1/8" of the maple on top. they are quite chunky but that makes for a good thumbrest. if i was really clever i would have done it so it had the sapwood in the maple continuing through the pickups :?
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(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/sqol/other/8inlays.jpg)
Been busy with a few other builds, so this one has been a bit slow, the inlays have been installed, and fretting started. Need to route for the pickup (which hasn't been ordered yet, no funds available :(), and then start the final sanding for the finish :)
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gotta love a bit of toob... looks really good against that wood... a very nice touch that rises it aove what people can purchase easily... i like a lot and may steal ;)
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Wez, am I right in thinking the bloke from Esteban uses one of your basses?
They played at my college a while back, great band.
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Hah, it's actually much cheaper than normal inlay dots too! a piece that was over 1m long (from B&Q, shhh), was only a couple of quid. You can't really see it from that picture (i'm gonna try and get a closer shot at some point), but the inside of each tube has a little piece of abalone in it, but it doesn't really show much... especially as the tube is only 2mm diameter outside!
I'm a big fan of cocobolo, it looks great, and i find it a nice wood to work with too.
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Wez, am I right in thinking the bloke from Esteban uses one of your basses?
They played at my college a while back, great band.
esteban are pretty great and a good local band you should listen too. ricky had a fretless bass made by me but the record company they signed with ensisted on him playing lakland basses. since then ricky sold his MIJ J bass which was almost his signiture instument and he also sold the fretless i made him. he still has a fender custom shop Jazz which is the only instrument he kept after the endoresment deal
i have worked on almost all of ricky's basses
he never got on with fretless as much as he expected to, being classicly trained. i offered yo fret the bass for him free of charge... at the end of the day he sold it to a guy that happened to be a bass collector and he payed me to fret it for him... because he realised fretless anit for him and wanted it to be a bass he could play
i have no ill feeling with ricky and still regularly muck about with his basses, but it does show how hard it is to get my stuff in the hands of an up and coming band... most of the record companies offering deals are already in bed with manufacturers they want you to use.... on the upside, ricky did offer me trade prices on any orange amp i wanted... i can see the appeal of endorsements
oli, i have used the b&Q tube for dots many times... but please done tell anyone ;) the pinkish bass i posted earlier had B&Q brass tube with gold pearl inside as the side dots
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They both look great, you both have great skills!
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Looking nice!
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Wez, am I right in thinking the bloke from Esteban uses one of your basses?
They played at my college a while back, great band.
esteban are pretty great and a good local band you should listen too. ricky had a fretless bass made by me but the record company they signed with ensisted on him playing lakland basses. since then ricky sold his MIJ J bass which was almost his signiture instument and he also sold the fretless i made him. he still has a fender custom shop Jazz which is the only instrument he kept after the endoresment deal
i have worked on almost all of ricky's basses
he never got on with fretless as much as he expected to, being classicly trained. i offered yo fret the bass for him free of charge... at the end of the day he sold it to a guy that happened to be a bass collector and he payed me to fret it for him... because he realised fretless anit for him and wanted it to be a bass he could play
i have no ill feeling with ricky and still regularly muck about with his basses, but it does show how hard it is to get my stuff in the hands of an up and coming band... most of the record companies offering deals are already in bed with manufacturers they want you to use.... on the upside, ricky did offer me trade prices on any orange amp i wanted... i can see the appeal of endorsements
oli, i have used the b&Q tube for dots many times... but please done tell anyone ;) the pinkish bass i posted earlier had B&Q brass tube with gold pearl inside as the side dots
Oh ace, good to know. :drink:
I don't think I could ever deal with being told what gear I can and can't use. :lol:
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Well, the oil has dried, and it's been wired and strung.... sounds great :) The low end sounds thunderous! It's got an EMG 45DC pickup in it (sorry Tim! There'll be a BK8 in another build.... that's in progress :)), and even with an old battery, it sounded so full yet clear. Only spent about 15mins playing with it as i'm just off out, so pics and sound clips will have to wait until tomorrow evening. The nut needs to be done properly, but as i've only got half of a 0.010" nut file, and some needle files, it's not great yet, but still playable :)
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tease ;)
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That looks wonderful man :)still looking foward to seeing the finished deal. No new pics of mine yet I'm afraid, got to wait till about Febuary before I should ask for more.
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Ta-dah!
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/sqol/8%20string/8string_front.jpg)
Really comfortable to hold and play:
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/sqol/8%20string/8string_hold.jpg)
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/sqol/8%20string/8string_body.jpg)
3rd fret chord; the neck isn't too wide to be unplayable, actually feels quite comfy.
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/sqol/8%20string/8string_hand.jpg)
Couple more here (http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/sqol/8%20string/). After playing on it for a couple of hours this evening, my thoughts are that it's going to take a while to get used to, going from 7 to 8 strings seems a much bigger step than the 6 to 7 was. As i said before, the nut will be re-done when i get a chance, and also, the cavity cover will be done again, as it's going to be a magnetic one; the current one is just a temporary one to hold the battery in :)
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Nice one! :D
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Clips!
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Patience! It's got a fresh battery in it, so i'll see if i've got some time over the next couple of days to get some clips :)
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Whooooooah! Haha that's mental! Can't wait to hear it man. How are you tuning it again? F#?
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whoa! Hahah that's sweet! Next one is a fanned fret, then Oli? Great stuff :)
Roo
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whoa! Hahah that's sweet! Next one is a fanned fret, then Oli? Great stuff :)
Roo
Thanks :) Yea, from playing this (28" scale), i'm not liking the high strings as much as i'd like- they're a little too tight for me, even with 9's on there!
It seems to be a much greater challenge to incorporate the extra string into my playing- i'm not a Meshuggah style player, and i don't want to just be playing on the F# just for the sake of having a lower tuning; i'd like to make better use of it, so i think i'm going to have to step my playing up somewhat :) It still feels incredibly comfortable, the neck is great, i love it!
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I just switched to a different tuning; EEEADGBE. The lowest E is the E on a bass, the 2 above that are the standard E on a guitar (both in unison), and the rest as standard. The result? The biggest sound, i've ever heard! It's just perfect for playing as if in a 2 piece- something which i've wanted to try for a while, and now can!-, i'm gonna be doing to clips of it this evening, it just sounds great, and so fun to play :) I much prefer it to the F#, but i'm not done with that tuning yet, just gonna give it a break whilst i have some fun!
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Bet it sound damn nice! Like having 2 bass players in the band: F******* punchy!
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Hahaha man, that's mental, tune that 3rd E up an octave and give us the lowest rendition of Get Out Of My Yard we've ever heard :lol:
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(http://www.tindeck.com/audio/image/b/dyzu) (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/dyzu/8string--E--test1)
There's a clip of this E'EEADGBe tuning, although no soloing, so the top 3 strings aren't in use in here. One single take, pretty poor recording (far too much fuzz!), but you get the idea :) Just a quick little EQ and compression applied, and a reverb, no fancy stuff. It amazes me how heavy it sounds, and it's in standard tuning! I'll try and get something coherent with drums in the next couple of weeks maybe.