My Old Broken Guitar

[CaptNasty]

I hear you, I'm the same way with car projects. I spend lots of $ bringing in correct parts from Germany for my Audis and Porsche. I'm just trying to be responsible as well. for example, the "skunk stripe" has zero impact on playability but costs and extra $50. I'm still likely to do that part, just unsure on the extra $300 for a slight variation in neck profile on a part of the neck.

The neck was a major thing with how that guitar was built. Fretboard thickness, neck shape, fret size, nut width, heel width, fretboard radius, neck thickness were all part of the mojo of the guitar. I personally would be looking to restore that mojo. To end up with a Holdsworth that played like a standard Strat or Charvel would be anti-climatic I think. Make no mistake, the Holdsworth is a very different guitar feel wise.

[castle]

Decided against painting this myself. I shipped it off today to Lee Garver at GMW guitarworks for a repaint.

Now trying to decide between Butala Custom Shop Guitars and Musikraft for the neck replacement. I'm pretty sure I have all the specs now. I'll post them all here shortly too for posterity.

I'm going to do this right

[castle]

For posterity, here are the specs I've gathered for the Holdsworth neck:

2 piece construction
With "skunk stripe"
Right Handed
25.5" scale
22 frets
1 11/16" nut width
1/8" nut slot
2 1/4" at the heel rounded
Single acting truss rod w heel adjustment
Rock maple neck
0.10" Ebony fingerboard
12" - 16" compound radius
Heavy rolled fingerboard edges
10mm tuner holes
1/4" white dots - plastic
2mm white side markers
12th dot spacing narrow
6100 Jumbo frets
Back Profile - 83 92 that is a full rounded D at 12th fret, transitioning to a C at the first

[Number Of The Priest]

I'm still following this thread with great interest. I have no doubt you have your heart set on doing this guitar justice.

Caveat: I am not a scholar on the Holdsworth guitars.

I noticed you selected a single-action truss rod. This seems so antiquated, and "limiting" if you ever need to add neck relief, even if it was "correct" for a Holdsworth. Is there a particular reason you're not going with a double-action truss rod? You're getting the heel adjustment spoke-wheel which didn't exist on the Holdsworth (at least from what I can determine by looking at example Holdsworth pictures in Google Images), so something tells me you're open to deviating from the norm, so why not choose a double-action truss rod?

[castle]

Why not choose a double-action truss rod?

I think ultimately I will - this is something I asked the neck builders too.
thanks for following!

[Bert]

Decided against painting this myself. I shipped it off today to Lee Garver at GMW guitarworks for a repaint.

Now trying to decide between Butala Custom Shop Guitars and Musikraft for the neck replacement. I'm pretty sure I have all the specs now. I'll post them all here shortly too for posterity.

I'm going to do this right

Good move! I had Lee finish an old USA Charvel and it's now gorgeous: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XDURHNdlMXPsjbxw2

[JJ119]

Bert

That is a beauty!

[Bert]

Yeah especially all this guitar has gone through... started out life as a 3-TITE with vintage trem from what I can tell. Then someone modified it for a H-S-S + Kahler. Then in '97, as you can see in the "before" pics there, someone sent it to Jackson to convert it to a Floyd and they also replaced the pointy neck with the horrible hockey puck headstock neck. I got it in that state... I put the strat-style neck on it and had Lee to a proper non-recessed Floyd conversion along with the refin. Now it's amazing looking AND sounding -- my main gigging guitar.

[castle]

Neck is done - I ended up going with Butala. He just sent me the following pics ahead of shipping it to me:





I got this pic from Lee a couple weeks ago. This is before the topcoat final finishing.

[JJ119]

Coming along nicely!!

[SATCH1967]

When are you going to get the body back. The neck looks nice as well. I am looking forward to your completed project. what an awesome story to.

[castle]

Were any of these necks oiled vs Lacquer? I don’t love lacquered necks and am trying to decide how to finish

[Razor]

Totally digging this thread.

[castle]

Making a bit of progress...

I had to do a bit of profiling to make the neck pocket and heel exactly right and then I started on the nitrocellulose lacquer. Decided to keep it as close to the way it was originally.

Firstly, here’s the body now returned to me and somewhat reassembled:



And the neck getting the finish:


I am going to put it back to original spec - just the single humbucker but I bought a couple new pickguards anyway. The top left is the original (which is really scratched up), with the second humbucker hole cut out. Also, a toggle switch hole added. The other two are new - one for single, one for double humbuckers.



Lastly, here is the electronics that will be going back in - need to get the original wiring figured out for the toggle switch on the single humbucker


?

I can’t wait to get this thing back together!!!

[JJ119]

Man Oh Man!!