Series 3 Prototype

I have been working on my Series 3 Prototype - its a double cutaway hollowbody similar in body shape to my series 1. The construction is neck through so its a really solid guitar for a hollowbody.


The electronics are currently zebra style humbuckers, but I am leaving this aspect fairly open right now - I am thinking fat P90's or 4 conductor pups with coil tapping out of phase via a small switch or push pull pots. Optional speed style or witches hat knobs.

The neck is quite fat, much fatter and wider than my Series 1 production, but the radius is still quite flat.

I am also thinking that a traditional Les Paul Style 2 piece bridge may be a better style.

Red Quilted Strat Build - Part 5

Long post today - I have completed the nut & run the guitar through my neck jig. Here is the process step by step:

Here I am about to cut the slot for the bass E string - I have put my nut slot gauge on the string over the 1st fret and set the dial to zero. This gauge is going to measure the distance between the bottom of the string & the top of the fret:


With the gauge set at zero I press down the string on both sides of the fret - the dial moves backwards and gives me a reading of the gap - here its showing around 0.07" (1.78mm) - I like the gap to be around 0.03" (0.76mm) for the wound strings and 0.02 (0.5mm) for the plain strings. Too high and the guitar will not be comfortable to play and you will get intonation issues - too low and the strings will buzz. So, after taking this reading I can see that I need to cut this slot 0.04" (approx 1mm) deeper.


Here is the nut with the string slots cut and excess nut material removed. I believe that for best tone and sustain you want the most string pressure on the front edge of the nut. To make this happen the slots are cut to gently fall away on the back of the nut. This can take lots of practise as too much and the string will buzz like a sitar, too little and you don't get the maximum tone from the string (and it may not slide too smoothly). If the guitar has a shallow peg head angle I leave a bit more material on the unwound strings to stop them popping out when bending strings. Each slot is fine polished, the the entire nut is polished. At this point I do not glue in the nut as I will need to remove it on the next step.


I am now going to work on the frets - to start I set the relief in the neck to as close to zero as possible by adjusting the truss rod.

Here the guitar has been put into my neck jig - note the dial indicator has been set to zero with the strings tuned to pitch.

Here the strings have been removed - notice how the neck has moved as indicated on the dial. Strings can exert a huge pressure - around 200lbs.

The neck jig is now set to exert the exact same pressure onto the neck as when the strings were on it - see how the dial has moved back to the original zero point. Now the neck is under simulated tension, recheck the relief is zero and I am ready to mill the frets.

Taped off the fingerboard with low tack masking tape, protected the body & the sides of the neck (note that the neck jig has 2 dials taking 2 readings from the neck)

A quick test of the frets using a fret rocker - if it rocks then the middle fret is high etc.

Here is an 18" fretboard sanding beam that has the same radius as the neck (12")

After sanding the frets to an acceptable level you can see how the tops of some are now flat:

Using a diamond coated fret file sized for the frets I re-crown each fret. The pro-cut lube is great stuff - it makes for a faster, cleaner job.

800 grit sanding stick to take out the file marks - the stick is notched to the same crown as the frets

Using a small file to dress the fret ends - this makes for a nice comfortable neck.

Here I am polishing the frets with some micromesh 3200 grit - micromesh was developed for removing scratches from fighter jet windshields to maintain their optical clarity. (Thanks to Tim - guitar and equipment tech for Lemmy & Phil in Motorhead for the micromesh)

Almost done - a quick polish with the dremel, buff with 0000 steel wool:

Finished - looking good and a great foundation for a perfectly set up guitar:

Red Quilted Strat Build - Part 4

Got some parts in for the Strat over the weekend. Tim at Bare Knuckle Pickups is winding the Mothers Milk set this week - hopefully ready by the end of the week. That's what I love about this type of build for my customers - the pickups are being hand wound just for this guitar, not just off the shelf - each step of the build is shown to my customer so he knows he is getting a truly custom guitar made just for him:


Soldered the pots, capacitor, switch and jack socket. Always making good mechanical connection between the tinned ends and the terminals. I have twisted the wires together from output jack to minimise noise pickup. I plan to solder the ground wire from the output jack to the grounded lug on the volume pot – this enables more room on the back of the pot for just the ground wires from the pickups – it is more likely that the pickups will be changed than the output jack at a later date.


Started work on the Nut - this can be really time consuming to do a proper job. I have taken a measurement from the necks nut slot and filed the nut to the appropriate width for a snug fit.


Snug fit:


Marking the string slots. This is a really important step - making sure the strings are correctly spaced makes for a better playing guitar. Here I am using my String Spacing ruler. If you space the strings equally, they don't feel equally spaced. The thicker bass strings seem crowded together. Each gap between strings has to be slightly different to feel right to the player. The String Spacing Rule is slotted so I can quickly mark the string positions onto the nut. I have marked the two outer string positions onto the nut, sliding the rule over the nut to find a set of slots that matches the two marks. Mark the nut with the corresponding positions on the rule.


Time for my trusty nut files - note how they are all gauged for each slot. For example the bass E string on a set of Ernie Ball Super Slinky strings is 0.042" - The file is exactly gauged to that measurement and also cuts the bottom of the slot rounded to match the string:


Here I have marked the slots and slightly cut them (filled with pencil lead so you can see the slots):


Installing a set of strings to aid in the nut filing process - note I have cut the string 2.5 times the distance between the posts. This allows for the proper 3-4 string wraps around the post for correct string to nut angle.

Red Quilted Strat Build - Part 3

Todays task - Tuners, Trem and Shielding.

Installed the tuner bushings – no problems


Using a fret file as a straight edge to align the tuners


Checking the trem block:

I like to check the trem block and top plate prior to installation. I lightly file the edges of the string pilot holes in the trem block to be sure there are no rough edges which may cause string breakage.


Also check the finish in the top plate pilot holes (where the bridge pivots).
Measuring and marking the position of the trem bridge prior to drilling the 6 holes.


Installing the trem claw:


Trem springs – note the really handy trem spring tool – a must for Strat owners.


Installed copper shielding to the cavitys and checked for electrical continuity


Guitar with the pickguard taped on:

Red Quilted Strat Build - Part 2

Started work on Elliots Strat this week.

I believe this involves the most critical step in building a Strat – the neck to body joint. This brings us into the debate regarding “bolt on / set neck” advantages and disadvantages. I think a nice tight fit for a bolt on is key – you have direct “wood-on-wood” contact as opposed to “wood-glue-wood” construction of a set neck. Less sustain arguments are mute as I believe the guitar’s resonance comes from many many other considerations, not just the neck joint. Basically quality construction and materials are key.

Here are a few pictures and explanations of the process:

Checking the body for correct dimensions and cleaning up any excess lacquer in the cavities – this will allow the hardware to install without any issues (in theory)


Drilling the neck holes in the body:

I try to make these holes snug, but not too snug on the screws – friction caused by an undersized hole can snap the screw heads. I apply wax to all the screws as I install them to lessen the chance of them breaking off. This neck is going to be bolted on and off many many times during the build. I clean off the wax periodically as dust, shavings etc can adhere and get into the neck holes.

Checking the neck position prior to drilling the neck itself:

I always check clearances while I am doing a build – I like to check that the neck is in the precise position in relation to the body and bridge saddles. Here I am checking the scale length is 25.5” / 650mm.

Here is the guitar with the neck attached – looking good:

New Strat Build - Step by Step - Part 1

I am building a custom Strat for one of my customers Elliot Ash. I am going to post pictures and details of the build process as it progresses - here are Elliot's specifications:

Ash Body - Quilted Maple top - red stain, high gloss

Birdseye Maple Neck - birdseye maple cap fretboard with Abalone dot markers

Bare Knuckle "Mothers Milk" Calibrated Pickups, Vintage Stagger with Zinc baseplates

Fender USA Vintage Trem
CTS Pots, Sprague Orange Drop Capacitor

White Pearloid Pickguard / Backplate

Wilkinson Deluxe Split shaft tuners

Here is the body & neck:

As the build progresses there may be a few changes but I am going to post each step of the build as I complete it - end of part 1.