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Need a Commercial Pro for a Custom Neck
- Thread starter fu22ba55
- Start date
THIS IS A HUGE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE. Thanks for this info!
I hope you understand that Luthier's Corner isn't a marketplace to shop for Luthiers to do custom work. Per TalkBass rules, we're not supposed to be doing commerce here. Also, the Luthiers who participate here are either pros who are booked up with their own lines, or hobby builders who are building for their own fun. Few of us who are regulars on here do custom work.
I recommended a Luthier that I know to the OP of this thread, who does custom necks. But he doesn't participate here on TalkBass.
The overall motto of Luthier's Corner is: Luthiers talking to Luthiers about technical stuff. Trading design ideas, methods, and tool ideas with each other.
Hi Bruce, mentioned in another thread my first planned construction piece would be a T40 replacement with an angled neadstock. I've never heard the tern "headstock offset" before. Could you or someone explain to me what this means or point to an article or something that does. Sorry for the noob question but I want to get it right.
Headstock offset means that the headstock's top and back surfaces are moved straight down vertically, usually by 1/8" to 1/4". This creates a radiused curve or "scoop" of the top surface up to where the nut is.
Most Gibson headstocks have zero offset. The headstock is tilted back, but the top surface is a flat plane right up to the nut.
Here's a quick comparison from my image files. The headstock in the foreground is 7 degree angle with only a tiny bit of offset. The headstock in the background is also 7 degree angle, but with 1/4" offset. You can see how adding the offset lowers down the inboard tuners. It also makes the access hole for the truss rod better.
These were guitar neck blanks that I made for Mike Lipe many years ago. We experimented with different combinations of headstock angle and offset, and that's the combination we liked best and used in production: 7 degrees and 1/4" offset. This provided good string break angle geometry for all of the tuners, and kept the angle reasonable for strength and fitting in cases. I made about 800 instrument necks like that for Mike.
By the way, you can also add offset to flat (no tilt angle, Fender-style) headstocks. A stock Fender headstock is considered to be zero offset; there's no angle, and the back surface of the headstock is in a flat plane with the heel surface. An improvement on the Fender design is to offset the headstock down by 1/8" or even 1/4", still keeping it flat (no angle). This improves the string break angle over the nut without needing any retainers, and still keeping that flat headstock look. I've added that offset on many custom flat-headstock necks in the past.
Thanks again. I was just wondering about that as the neck is for a T40, it might look better that way, but it's 4am and I'm awake because of insomnia and in the zombie zone.
I'll start my own thread after the move, so about Christmas.
I'll start my own thread after the move, so about Christmas.
OK, so here's the result: a 37"-scale conversion-neck for Fender bodies.
3-ply-maple neck and pau-ferro fingerboard. Amazing work by our own @ctmullins.
Still sorting out the correct string gauges and tuning that I'll end up using on this neck, but the low string is nice and taut. Lots of articulation in the first couple frets, instead of mud-city.
High string (usually G) had a little too much tension, so I'm still sorting out the gauges. Basically the Dingwall B-string scale length, but without the fanned frets. That's what I was going for.
I went with custom extra-long strings from Stringjoy, in drop-A tuning (A E A D), but might switch this bass to C-standard, or maybe D-standard, depending on the project.
3-ply-maple neck and pau-ferro fingerboard. Amazing work by our own @ctmullins.
Still sorting out the correct string gauges and tuning that I'll end up using on this neck, but the low string is nice and taut. Lots of articulation in the first couple frets, instead of mud-city.
High string (usually G) had a little too much tension, so I'm still sorting out the gauges. Basically the Dingwall B-string scale length, but without the fanned frets. That's what I was going for.
I went with custom extra-long strings from Stringjoy, in drop-A tuning (A E A D), but might switch this bass to C-standard, or maybe D-standard, depending on the project.
Some clamp pics and progress pics:
Thanks @ctmullins!
Thanks @ctmullins!
Also, HUGE PROPS to @ctmullins for this neck carve. We only had a couple of phone convo's about my likes and dislikes... and he carved the perfect neck. Blew me away.
Everything I love about Gibson and Rickenbacker necks, rolled into one... with a little extra chonk in the right places for insurance. Feels and plays great.
It's like he's a time-traveling psychic wizard that knew what future-me would want, even though past-me didn't know how to ask for it.
Everything I love about Gibson and Rickenbacker necks, rolled into one... with a little extra chonk in the right places for insurance. Feels and plays great.
It's like he's a time-traveling psychic wizard that knew what future-me would want, even though past-me didn't know how to ask for it.
I didn't do a "before" sound clip, and I'm also sorting out the tuning and the string-gauges a bit, so I don't know how valuable a sound clip will really be. (And frankly, that pickup sounds a bit gnarly without any tone pot, etc....)
If I remember to do it, I could do a REVERSE before and after... record a sample now, and then put the 34" neck back on there and record again.
Problem is, the 37" neck feels too good to take off!
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
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- 31,705
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
