MARCH (MULTISTRING) MADNESS...32 and counting

That's two Twelvers and an Eighter:

#1 -8 string 34" scale bolt on neck 3 pickup G8R "Mardi Gras", Crown Royal Purple metallic from this concept by Fateau Scioppe.


#2 -12 string 34" scale through neck 2 pickup G8R


#3 -12 string 32" scale through neck 1 pickup. This one's for me, I haven't determined the body shape but maybe this:


Bridges will be Schaller 471-8 with modified saddles for tighter string spacing. Steve Soar of ThunderBucker Ranch is working on those and the pickups.

The necks:
top to bottom:
#2 34 3 piece maple, mac ebony, twin trussrod, 'Hamer' profile.
#1 34 maple/ rosewood
#3 32 same as #1


Necks #2 & #3 built by @ctmullins

#1
Template for neck pocket/pup routing mounted to the back of the 1-3/8" blank. Masking tape is to prevent senile operator from putting pup holes in the wrong places since this is a 3 pup build.



Attempting to translate Signore Scioppe's concept to wood .


Slightly different perimeter than the current G8R, pickguard will also have to be updated. Neck pickup location is 5/8" north of usual placement.


Mocked up. Time for lunch, then routing after a nap. @kat888's NR lurking in the background.

kat888 said:

It's like getting pix from the breeder when you're waiting for kittens.

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Kittens? They just magically appear from under the house around here. Then they just as magically disappear after a while. Life in the swamp.

Cut the pup routes one at a time, moving and screwing down 'Wonder Template' for each. Took about 15 minutes. I usually do special pup routes from the top with a handheld but this is actually faster and more accurate.


Bridge pup route is deeper for the single coil that goes there.


Dashed line is the old perimeter.

Headstock. I made a rubbing from my Robelli 8er onto some label paper.



Found the hole centers, stuck the label onto the paddle, and transferred everything. Drilled the tuner holes and the crotch of the Vee. Attached a piece of 1.5" pine to the back of the headstock to get enough clearance for the bandsaw. Cut kerfs into the radius to make it easier to cut with the 1/2" blade.



Shinto rasp, files, scraper, oscillating spindle sander, etc. Next time I'm making a template to route the perimeter. This took too long.


Approximation of the final look. Headstock will match body, TRC will match pickguard.

Novarocker said:

Man that's wicked looking! How'd you attach the pine, just some tape?

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Thanks!

I never use tape to attach templates, etc. if I can avoid it. I screwed it on from the front through two tuner holes with washers.

Okay, this is actually one of the most exciting part of these builds for me.

The Schaller 471-8 bridge I use. It has more adjustment than any other multi bridge I know of, individual saddle height adjustment being the most important to me.

The BIG drawback is that the saddles are narrow and don't allow the tight spacing of a 'tuneamatic' style bridge. Note how wide the gap is between the fundamental and the octaves.

Here's a Tuneamatic style, the saddles touch each other so theoretically there could be zero gap....but there's no individual height adjustment.



Here's my solution:



Yeah, they're tiny! 4 'Wide Stance' saddles to bridge the gap, paired with a stock saddle for each string group.



The first prototype from ThunderBucker Ranch. Needs slight modification but they work well enough for 'proof of concept'. Production saddles will be brass, Steve milled these from 3/8" aluminum.








Then they get cut off like 1/8" aluminum bread slices.

Comparison:


Wide Stances go to the outside. In addition to allowing string spread to be the same from nut to bridge (easier fretting, trust my 70 year old fingers), the total string width at the bridge is reduced by ~5mm. 61 from 66 (2-3/8 from 2-5/8").





That lets me use necks that are 2.5" wide at the 21st fret with plenty of space on either side of the string...Excuse the toothpicks, haven't slotted the saddles yet.

Wide Stance on the Big Bottom:



As I said, I'm excited...doesn't take much these days.

ctmullins said:

Oh yeah. I'll take two dozen of those. Who do I make my check out to?

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I had a feeling you'd have some interest!

The one problem that hasn't been solved is how to reinstall the circlips on the screws that go through the saddles. Removing them is relatively easy. You put the saddle carrier in a plastic bag and pry them off. The bag keeps the clip from flying away.

Jisch said:

This is the thing that frustrated me about multi-strings - getting the string saddles with individual height and intonation. Thanks for documenting, I'm going to come back to this in a few months.

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You're welcome!

Control Cavity. Easier to just draw it on the body and forstner it.


Then connect the circles



Dashed line is the 7/8" dia hole for jack cup.



Shopsmith set for horizontal boring with Forstner. Body blank notch makes access easier.



1/2" spade bit angled thru the 7/8" jack hole for wire access.

Picking up speed...

This AM I put Mardi Gras G8R together to make sure everything is in the right place.



Used the pin router and old template to route most of the perimeter. Bandsawed the revised horns and sanded them correct.



Traced the outline onto some HDF laminate flooring.



Attached it to the new body to pinroute the new perimeter using it as the template.


That triangular piece is to keep it level on the router table

I left about 1/16" to clean up with a file. That avoids the cutter hitting the body.



Minus on the top horn



Plus on the bottom



Another crappy template...one of a series.

Proof of Life.