Telestrat...what do you think?

[Jesusbot]

So I'm getting married in a couple of weeks and I've been working on a cnc'd strat body as a gift for my future father-in-law, who is a prolific guitarist, for all the help they've given us for the wedding. He has many guitars (about 40), but nothing like the one I'm working on now. While discreetly discussing with him the concept of his ideal strat, he mentioned that every one he has has had the volume closest to the pickups removed because he plays right on top of it and often turns the volume down on accident. He said that if he could get a strat with tele controls he'd be a happy man. Also, all of his strats are hardtails. If anyone has a print of a hardtail so I could figure out the location of the bridge, it would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, what do you think?



By the way...excuse my shoddy Rhino skills...they are just developing.

Thanks,
-Jbot

[Jesusbot]

Really...not one comment?

-Jbot

[RandK]

Sortof looks like http://www.destroyallguitars.com/new...77-dag-telstar

[Jesusbot]

Originally Posted by RandK Sortof looks like http://www.destroyallguitars.com/new...77-dag-telstar

A few things about that...

1.) Nice. I thought I was original for a second, but that's pretty cool.

2.) I really don't like the radius on the top horn and the sharp edges on the bottom horn...that looks weird.

3.) "About Chad: Hailing from Lexington, Kentucky..." Whoa, that's where I live. I've never heard of that guy, though.


Thanks for the link.

-Jbot

[Rot Iron Racer]

First off, let me congradulate you on creating a thank you gift your new father in law will forever hold near & dear.

A couple things I thought of...

1.) Pick his brain without him catching on a bit. Ask him about the volume knob and if he doesn't like it close to the strings, where he thinks would be a more ideal spot for it.

2.) Ask him if he likes the 2 tone knobs, or if there is a different configuration he thinks would be cooler for his style of playing.

3.) Also, discuss the pickup switch with him. If he likes the location of a strat, he may not dig the tele switch location very well.

If he is an experienced player (which it sounds like), he'll be able to play anything. But, if you want him to fall in love with it, make it just for him based on his idea of the perfect guitar...

My own opinion would also be to rout the switch and pot cavity from behind to give the clean look on the face of the guitar (no pick guard look).

Sorry, I don't have any hardtail print. But I believe the screws that hold the vintage tremelo bridge are in the same location as the screws for the vintage hardtail bridge. I have an old hardtail, but it is packed away right now so I can get moved. I won't have access to it for several months, otherwise I could get some measurements off of it for you.

Post pics of the finished result, I'd love to see it!

Take care,

Kevin

[Jesusbot]

Hey, thanks for the suggestions. We've covered alot of what you've mentioned, mostly because he just loves to talk about guitars. I think he'll like the tele controls. And having that clean look is what I'm going for, without having to figure out the rear rout option. This way it'll have just the tele control panel on the front and no pickguard.

One of the trick things I am working on is hollowing out the mahogany I've gotten for the body, ala a warmoth "hollowstrat" and laying a droptop over that. That way I'll also be doing to wiring routs when I do the hollow core.

I'll post some screen shots of the Esprit toolpaths when I get back in class tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's the rhino file.



-Jbot

[Rot Iron Racer]

My only other suggestions would be to be careful routing "tone chambers" in the body. As I understand it, manufactures spend a fair amount of time & material to dial in their placement of these chambers. One wrong move and you could ruin the tone in the body. The only other issue would be balance of the guitar if the body weight is alot less. The most annoying thing about an SG in my opinion is you have to keep pulling the headstock off the floor due to the neck outweighing the body.

Keep us posted!

Kevin

[Jesusbot]

Well, I haven't had a lot of time to work on this project until lately, what with getting married and whatnot. I'm getting real close to making some chips though, and I thought I'd share a few screen shots to see what you guys think.

The first shot is the treatment the mahogany core will receive before it gets a flamed maple cap on it. The second is the body contour. The last is the radius on the front and the back and all the features. Enjoy.

-Judasbot

[wizardrule]

One suggestion, Where you have the Hollowed out portion toward top, I would contour that as well instead of hollowing. Making it thinner toward the top will enhance playability. Mohagany by nature is a very, very good sounding base for a such a guitar as a solid. Hollowing like that may effect the tone you get. If wanting a maple top, look at the way Gibson does thier Les pauls. They use a Mohagany bottom with a maple top Glued and cut. Hope that helps.

[Jesusbot]

Originally Posted by wizardrule One suggestion, Where you have the Hollowed out portion toward top, I would contour that as well instead of hollowing. Making it thinner toward the top will enhance playability. Mohagany by nature is a very, very good sounding base for a such a guitar as a solid. Hollowing like that may effect the tone you get. If wanting a maple top, look at the way Gibson does thier Les pauls. They use a Mohagany bottom with a maple top Glued and cut. Hope that helps.

I'm not sure I understand. What do you mean by "contour the portion toward the top"? Are you refering to the section directly over the "tummy
cut"?

Thanks,

-Jbot

[wizardrule]

Yeppers you got it, Right on.

[Jesusbot]

Originally Posted by wizardrule Yeppers you got it, Right on.

So what do you mean by contouring that part? I've got the tummy cut in there, if that's what you mean...you just can't see if from that perspective.

The reason why I'm using mahog for the core is due to the tone that it would generate as compared to, say, beech or basswood, but I don't want the thing to weigh as much as a Les Paul, which is why I'm hollowing it...ala Warmoth's hollow strat.

Thanks,
-Jbot