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I got most of my wood ordered and awaiting shipment. Ordering my templates next week. Nobody wants to make a 1.75" wide neck without charging an insane amount of money. Gibson wouldn't even consider a Les Paul with this neck width. Warmoth has them pretty reasonable, however, I can build them for a lot less. Literally, a Fender neck can be made for about $20 not including truss rod, frets and tuners.
Having a wider neck makes a huge difference for someone with big hands/fat fingers....as well as a longer scale length. Some of the 80's Soloists have this neck width, however, very few people realize it or do not want to cough them up......and since I have my father-in-law's wood shop with every wood tool known to man at my disposal....its about time I quit whining and get 'er done!!
I will keep you guys posted as I make progress. Here is the plans as of now...everything receives a 1.75" wide neck except 7 strings :
1: Fender Strat- Pretty basic strat. Everyone needs a strat for that classic blues sound. V-trem, bone nut, Fender pickups, Alder body with maple neck and fret board. I am either going to keep this one basic in wood design or I may go all out with highly figured birds-eye or flamed maple on neck and body. Havent ordered this wood yet as I am still undecided.
2: Les Paul Custom- 25.5 " scale, neck through multi-piece mahogany neck with mahogany body and maple cap, either block or oval inlays on ebony board, all the binding. Finished in antique white with antiqued zebra SD Custom Customs ( SH-11's ). Gold hardware.
3: Jackson Warrior - 7 string, neck through with Floyd, alder wings with Laminate neck and ebony board, either sharks or no inlays, black hardware,....as for paint, I would REALLY like a green ghost flame. However, my painting skills aren't good enough....alas color is still undecided. The template is for a 6 string bolt on, but, it is not hard to convert it.
4: Jem Voyager - WTF? There is no such thing!!! There will be. Its a blend of two guitars, the Ibanez Jem 777 and the Reb Beach RB-1 Voyager....simply put, its a Jem with the tail notched out like the Voyager. Neck through, 6 string, multi-laminate neck, ebony board, alder wings,Floyd, H-H with SD Custom in bridge and Jazz in neck, utilizing the Jem pickguard rather than the Voyager pickguard. Color is up in the air. I am thinking either something insane like Neon Orange or nuclear yellow....maybe a swirl job........or something more subtle like a blue with a chrome/mirror pickguard ornatural finish with a quilted maple wood pickguard.
Maybe 5: I am going to be hard pressed to get these 4 done this year since I am doing it in my spare time and the shop is a 3 hour round trip away. However, if there is a 5th getting done, I am thinking you guys could give some ideas...here are my thoughts on these:
Soloist..... 7 strings......pretty standard.
RR 7 string with 24 frets.
Double RR either 6 or 7 string.
Death Kelly.
You have any ideas? Thoughts? -Lou
Having a wider neck makes a huge difference for someone with big hands/fat fingers....as well as a longer scale length. Some of the 80's Soloists have this neck width, however, very few people realize it or do not want to cough them up......and since I have my father-in-law's wood shop with every wood tool known to man at my disposal....its about time I quit whining and get 'er done!!
I will keep you guys posted as I make progress. Here is the plans as of now...everything receives a 1.75" wide neck except 7 strings :
1: Fender Strat- Pretty basic strat. Everyone needs a strat for that classic blues sound. V-trem, bone nut, Fender pickups, Alder body with maple neck and fret board. I am either going to keep this one basic in wood design or I may go all out with highly figured birds-eye or flamed maple on neck and body. Havent ordered this wood yet as I am still undecided.
2: Les Paul Custom- 25.5 " scale, neck through multi-piece mahogany neck with mahogany body and maple cap, either block or oval inlays on ebony board, all the binding. Finished in antique white with antiqued zebra SD Custom Customs ( SH-11's ). Gold hardware.
3: Jackson Warrior - 7 string, neck through with Floyd, alder wings with Laminate neck and ebony board, either sharks or no inlays, black hardware,....as for paint, I would REALLY like a green ghost flame. However, my painting skills aren't good enough....alas color is still undecided. The template is for a 6 string bolt on, but, it is not hard to convert it.
4: Jem Voyager - WTF? There is no such thing!!! There will be. Its a blend of two guitars, the Ibanez Jem 777 and the Reb Beach RB-1 Voyager....simply put, its a Jem with the tail notched out like the Voyager. Neck through, 6 string, multi-laminate neck, ebony board, alder wings,Floyd, H-H with SD Custom in bridge and Jazz in neck, utilizing the Jem pickguard rather than the Voyager pickguard. Color is up in the air. I am thinking either something insane like Neon Orange or nuclear yellow....maybe a swirl job........or something more subtle like a blue with a chrome/mirror pickguard ornatural finish with a quilted maple wood pickguard.
Maybe 5: I am going to be hard pressed to get these 4 done this year since I am doing it in my spare time and the shop is a 3 hour round trip away. However, if there is a 5th getting done, I am thinking you guys could give some ideas...here are my thoughts on these:
Soloist..... 7 strings......pretty standard.
RR 7 string with 24 frets.
Double RR either 6 or 7 string.
Death Kelly.
You have any ideas? Thoughts? -Lou
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