Winter Build Off 2026 - Domed Fretless

[joover]

My Scratch Build entry:
- Hollow body, archtop guitar construction
- Floating wooden bridge
- Height-adjustable neck
- Fretless
- 4 strings
- ~34" scale, aka malicious compliance multi-scale
- No f-holes. Acoustic playing is a non-goal.



I borrow a lot of ideas from Ken Parker archtops. In fact, I'm doing the build to learn archtop building techniques, but I'm not interested in building a guitar. In spirit of experimental build, I'm intentionally using lumber people gave away for free: Douglas Fir (or pine?) for a carved top, maple moldings will become sides, 6" maple board for a laminated neck. I have slotted fretboard which was a test cut for earlier project.

 

[tubedude]

My Scratch Build entry:
- Hollow body, archtop guitar construction
- Floating wooden bridge
- Height-adjustable neck
- Fretless
- 4 strings
- ~34" scale, aka malicious compliance multi-scale
- No f-holes. Acoustic playing is a non-goal.

View attachment 7411331

I borrow a lot of ideas from Ken Parker archtops. In fact, I'm doing the build to learn archtop building techniques, but I'm not interested in building a guitar. In spirit of experimental build, I'm intentionally using lumber people gave away for free: Douglas Fur (or pine?) for a carved top, maple moldings will become sides, 6" maple board for a laminated neck. I have slotted fretboard which was a test cut for earlier project.

View attachment 7411333

Maybe an access port at the rear if a counterweight is needed for neck dive?

 

[13ghosts]

Looking forward to the "malicious compliance multi-scale" part

 

[Lo-E]

Any project that features malicious compliance gets followed by default. In fact, I'm really just in it for the malice.

...okay, I kind of want to see the bass, too.

 

[Crawforde]

minimal or malicious compliance is how progress is made!

 

[postalflunkie]

"malicious compliance" sounds like workig for the post office.

 

[joover]

Maybe an access port at the rear if a counterweight is needed for neck dive?

Do you suggest being able to add weight at the rear after closing the box? My plan is to attempt to balance with larger tail block before gluing the top.

Speaking of access port. Current design assumes no access to the insides except jack and hole for pickups wire close the neck mount. Pickups will be attached to the neck. Person desperate to replace the wire is likely to succeed in fishing new wire through, depending on how desperate they are Alternative is to route pickup cavities in the top. Today neck is at 2 deg angle to the body and pickups barely fit. I'd have to choose between increasing neck angle, experimental pickup position or pickup routes soon.

 

[joover]

@Max Bogosity gets the credit for the malicious complies multiscale

Post in thread 'Summer Build Off 2024: Xena'

Jul 23, 2024

This is like malicious compliance for luthiery.

• Max Bogosity

• 
• 

 

[tubedude]

Do you suggest being able to add weight at the rear after closing the box? My plan is to attempt to balance with larger tail block before gluing the top.

Speaking of access port. Current design assumes no access to the insides except jack and hole for pickups wire close the neck mount. Pickups will be attached to the neck. Person desperate to replace the wire is likely to succeed in fishing new wire through, depending on how desperate they are Alternative is to route pickup cavities in the top. Today neck is at 2 deg angle to the body and pickups barely fit. I'd have to choose between increasing neck angle, experimental pickup position or pickup routes soon.

After final assembly and strung up, a small port on the back, above the neck block, would allow the addition of lead fishing weights for perfect balance.

 

[Max Bogosity]

@Max Bogosity gets the credit for the malicious complies multiscale

Post in thread 'Summer Build Off 2024: Xena'

Jul 23, 2024

This is like malicious compliance for luthiery.

• Max Bogosity

• 
• 

Yay, I helped.

 

[NKBassman]

I'm very interested to see that molding come to shape.

 

[joover]

I've spent some time resawing, cutting and thicknessing large pieces into smaller ones, and then moved on to make larger pieces from smaller ones. All went fairly uneventful: laminated neck blank, sides, top and bottom plates.



I've made an effort to improve dome routing. The jury is still out on how much of improvement it is.

The idea is to cut height outlines precisely without oversized bendy router bases and router tipping. I'm using full size router as it has dust extraction. Perhaps lightweight trim router + dust extraction is an alternative to consider.


For the next plate, I'll create extra template to make height outline continuous. Chiseling it out by hand even in softwood takes more time than I anticipated. I'll route out the rest to make the height ladder. Gauges, tiny planes and scrapes will do the rest.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I've spent some time resawing, cutting and thicknessing large pieces into smaller ones, and then moved on to make larger pieces from smaller ones. All went fairly uneventful: laminated neck blank, sides, top and bottom plates.

View attachment 7423171

I've made an effort to improve dome routing. The jury is still out on how much of improvement it is.
View attachment 7423173
The idea is to cut height outlines precisely without oversized bendy router bases and router tipping. I'm using full size router as it has dust extraction. Perhaps lightweight trim router + dust extraction is an alternative to consider.

View attachment 7423172
For the next plate, I'll create extra template to make height outline continuous. Chiseling it out by hand even in softwood takes more time than I anticipated. I'll route out the rest to make the height ladder. Gauges, tiny planes and scrapes will do the rest.

I know it doesn’t help for your situation but that would be a perfect application for a pin router.