8-string multiscale V8 (GBO edition)

[erikbojerik]

OK, so maybe the only thing it has in common with a bass is the 0.085" E-string and the pickups, and the rest is very gu*tar-like...but I'm pretty happy with it anyway.

original body & headstock design
1-piece black limba body (1-3/4”)
bookmatched flamed macassar ebony carve-top (1/2”)
1-piece quartersawn black limba set neck, asymmetric back contour
laminated gabon ebony-birsdeye maple fretboard
macassar ebony headplate & cavity covers
birdseye maple logo, emblem, pickup covers and bridge top (ebony bridge plate)
8-string tuned E-B-E-A-D-G-B-E, multi-scale 25.5” to 28” (12th fret perp)
standard fretwire
Gotoh Kluson repro tuners
Brass nut
EMG 40TW pickups (combo humbucker and stacked single-coil)
Ghost piezo saddles and pre-amp, DIY wood bridge
No knobs on front
pre-cat conversion varnish clear

I'm still getting used to 2 extra strings and the fan, but its coming along. The piezo sound is better than I expected, and I'm very happy with the control layout. I still need to turn out some better knobs (to cover the pot shafts better), and shoot over a big scratch I put in one of the cavity covers last week...

[wilser]

incredible stuff! post soundclips, please?

[scottyd]

Wow Erik that thing is ultra sexy. It’s a shame it’s not entirely a bass but what the hell, sound clips are a must! I really like the way you did the controls. Very ingenious!

[john turner]

wow, that's a beautiful instrument.

[bassksun]

Schweet Erik. Do you play that thing or just hang it on the wall and look at it all day???

[jackcregg]

[erikbojerik]

Thanks guys.

I'm good with constructive criticism, so if there's something that doesn't quite work for you, let me know.

If I had to do it over again, I'd make the perp fret #9 or maybe #7. Fretting Fmaj over 6 strings is slightly awkward with the nut at that angle.

I'm working on some sound clips....any pointers on a good (free) hosting site?

[funkybassplayer]

WOW man. i love how the knobs are hidden from front view

[theshadow2001]

Dear god! if giving guitarist a bass frequency control on amps wasn't bad enough you went and gave em one of our strings!

Nice piece of work though, looks great

[THIRSTYGUMS]

gorgeous, the ebony maple combo is smart! great work, hows it sound? You cant beat that low F (?) cranked out through a overdriven stack amp!

[Lo end PUNCH]

The hidden knob layout is really cool, always invisioned something like that.

[wilser]

Originally Posted by erikbojerik

...I'm working on some sound clips....any pointers on a good (free) hosting site?

I post my mp3s at archive.org ...they have a nice flash based player and it's free. Plus you can post all sorts of info about the clip.

[Ben Lesser]

Wow, that is absolutely stunning.

[erikbojerik]

Originally Posted by Lo end PUNCH

The hidden knob layout is really cool, always invisioned something like that.

It is the standard layout on many acoustic gu*tars these days. If I could have found some really small pots (like on the Taylor T5s) I probably could have gotten away with no recess...just mounted them flush with the edge.

The controls are pickup select, neck & bridge volume (single coil push-pull), piezo volume (bright/dark push toggle), and mag-both-piezo select. The jack is wired up so that, if you use a stereo cable, you'll have separate outputs for the EMGs and the piezo.

[Roland777]

Originally Posted by erikbojerik

I'm good with constructive criticism, so if there's something that doesn't quite work for you, let me know.

Very nice guitar, but the one letdown are the non-slanted pickups. I know you'd have to go custom with the pickups, but the sonic compromise is too big IMO with straight pickups on a multiscale.

[Taylor Livingston]

How do you like those pickups? I'm having an 8-string bass made (doubled 4) with one of those, and I'm curious how it handles such a wide frequency range. My bass will actually have pretty much the same strings as your guitar, but combined in octave pairs, so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

[JSPguitars]

Totally Magnificent! That is one gorgeous instrument, man. How did you route the inside of that thing? Is it chambered or did you route cavities to the controls up top?

[erikbojerik]

So far I like them (EMG 40TWs), I haven't had as much time yet playing it as I would prefer, but my first impression is that they're very capable across the freq range. There's a noticable drop in output when switching the push-pull from humbucker to single coil mode, but not as much as I was expecting.

Very nice guitar, but the one letdown are the non-slanted pickups. I know you'd have to go custom with the pickups, but the sonic compromise is too big IMO with straight pickups on a multiscale.

Yeah, these EMG 40TWs actually have long-enough blade magnets that I could have tilted them somewhat and still kept the outside strings inside the edge of the mag field.

But I really wanted this instrument to retain a somewhat traditional appearance, ergo the straight pickups and straight fretboard ends. I've never been a huge fan of the very trebly Les Paul neck pickup sound, but I can still approach that on this instrument with judicious EQing.

In my case, I also flipped both pickups 180° so that the stacked singles were on the headstock-side of the pickup. I could always flip the bridge one back around....might try that for kicks.

[erikbojerik]

Originally Posted by JSPguitars

How did you route the inside of that thing? Is it chambered or did you route cavities to the controls up top?

Thanks!

Hehehe...there's a story there vis-a-vis the routing. It is not chambered. I normally use a bull-nose bit and rout some U-shaped channels into the body before gluing the ebony cap on. But this time I was in a hurry and forgot to do it... ...remembering only after the glue had set on the cap.

So I did what Gibson used to do on the original 1-piece mahogany LP Customs from the 50s....drill a single big diagonal hole through the body, from the output jack all the way to the bass-side shoulder, using an 18" auger bit. It was frightening, I was just waiting for the bit to pop out one side or the other...but alignment was good, I took it slow, and it worked out fine.

Then it was just a matter of routing the cavities themselves from the back, in the usual way.

[JSPguitars]

Wow! That auger bit looks scary indeed!