My First Neckthrough+My workshop

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Author Message   Guitarwhisperer Username: Guitarwhisperer Registered: 6-2007 Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 6:05 pm:    I was Looking through my closet and came across this. It's the first neckthrough guitar that I've made. I put it together from spare wood I had laying around my shop. The headplate is Coobolo rosewood; the fretboard, front and back of the body wings as well as neck center are Bubinga; the neck stringers are Wenge; the neck outsides are Hardrock Birdseye Maple; the fretboard bibding is Flame Maple; and the body wing middle toneplates are Quilt Maple(sandwiched between the bubinga plates). Nowadays I match the headplate, fretboard binding, and front and back plates out of the same wood for consistency, as well as adding accent lines between the fretboard/neck and body wings for some cool effects, but as this was my first go at the neckthrough design, I used spare stuff laying around. I also fully shield and ground my control cavities for quiet operation. There's also a couple of shots of my workshop.   Michaelkaufman Username: Michaelkaufman Registered: 11-2002 Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 8:00 pm:    Very very nice. You mention that you fully shield the cavity, however, except for the wiring itself, I don't see any shielding. I assume the switches are to run single coil. What other steps have you taken to reduce noise/hum? tnx mk   Guitarwhisperer Username: Guitarwhisperer Registered: 6-2007 Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 8:21 pm:    Sorry! What I meant was that on my new ones, I match the wood and fully shield the cavities. This one's random wood and unshielded cavity. I never bothered to pull everything out and shield it after I finished it several years ago. The switches for the neck and bridge are off/on switches, while the middle humbucker is an off/hum/single three way switch. It's also 25 inch scale, with a 12" radiused fretboard. If I ever decided to sell it, I'd line the inside of the cavity and the back of the control cover with copper foil, and attach a ground wire from the foil to the back of a pot. I've been thinking about experimenting with shielded paint, but haven't made any steps in that direction yet. I doubt I'll ever want to sell this one as it's part of my personal history, but I should at least shield the controls. It is rather noisy right now.   Bobzilla Username: Bobzilla Registered: 2-2005 Posted on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 10:36 am:    Nice.   Strings Username: Strings Registered: 1-2005 Posted on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 4:37 pm:    Nice cavity cover...WOW!   Guitarwhisperer Username: Guitarwhisperer Registered: 6-2007 Posted on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 7:01 pm:    Thanx! I made it from the same billet that I made the back plates from, just a little further up, so the grain matches.   Guitarwhisperer Username: Guitarwhisperer Registered: 6-2007 Posted on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 7:02 pm:    Or at least it has the same color and character!   Chazmo Username: Chazmo Registered: 3-2007 Posted on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 8:29 pm:    The back of that guitar, straight up the neck and head, is real art, Guitarwhisperer. Lovely! Wish I had talent like that! Keep it up!   Jchester Username: Jchester Registered: 5-2006 Posted on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 11:37 pm:    Awesome work, GW!!! MORE PIX!!! We wanna see your newer stuff too! It's GREAT to have a real luthier around here! btw... you need a name/logo for your headstocks.   Jcmc64 Username: Jcmc64 Registered: 6-2006 Posted on Monday, September 17, 2007 - 7:59 pm:    Beautiful work Charles. Very impressed. Yes, More pics please when you get another one finished! Thx for the headsup earlier about this thread. Jim   Lofapco Username: Lofapco Registered: 7-2007 Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 - 9:10 am:    GW.... Anybody would be proud to play an instrument that pretty! I love the cavity cover as well! If this was your first attempt at this style, kudos! I can't wait to see what your building now. As more of an acoustic player and wood lover, I am very impressed with the beauty of the different woods. Where can one see your full collection?   Guitarwhisperer Username: Guitarwhisperer Registered: 6-2007 Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 - 10:01 am:    You know, I've never taken pictures of my full collection. Right now I've got three of my own guitars, two bolt's and this neckthrough. Usually I build them and sell them. It's always been kind of a hobby for me. I make my living doing repairs and maintenance, and custom modifications. I'm getting ready to launch my web page. I'll post that when it's up and running.   Guitartim Username: Guitartim Registered: 4-2001 Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 - 10:31 am:    GW~ Very impressive work!! I have to ask however...with all of those fantastic tone woods sandwitched together, what does it sound like?? I think I'll need about six months of noodling to really check it out personally!   Guitarwhisperer Username: Guitarwhisperer Registered: 6-2007 Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 - 9:22 pm:    It sounds full and punchy. I used to be a lamination snob, but not anymore, after playing several neck-through instruments that played and sounded awesome, as well as building many myself. I use a hard glue that transmits energy instead of absorbing it. Before cutting the neck out of the glued up blank, it rings like a bell, with an audible tone measurable by an electronic tuner. I like the passive pickups better than the active pickups that most manufacturers of neck-through guitars seem to prefer. This design has a stronger fundamental content, especially with the strings going through the body. I wanted a brighter sound with this guitar, kind of a Deadish tone, which is why I went with the hum-hum-single pickup configuration, with the middle pickup splittable. The bridge-middle combination with the middle pickup tapped nails it, without the piercing brittleness that the active systems I've heard seem to have. Also, the orange drop cap has a smoother roll-off than a ceramic cap. I turn it down 'till it just starts to roll off the top part of the "presence", about a third of the way down with the .02 orange drop cap. The bass appears to increase, but the highs are still present. on the neck pickup, it presents a clear, full tone, great for jazz chording, or smooth lead runs, clean or distorted, and the bridge pickup sounds warm and crunchy, great for strummed overdrive, or blues/rock rythms, without being harsh. Tim, this guitar noodles nicely! It's definitely a noodler.

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