Been a woodworker building furniture for about 15 years. 1) The skill required being a Luthier is exponentially greater than building furniture. 2) Do any of you know how good this guy really is?
Former F-Bass co-op student from 20+ years ago. I actually helped get that Hammertone line up and running. The line feature those electric mandolins you mentioned, but also included PRS style guitars and contemporary (and more affordable) basses. They did cut some tele-style necks in my time, so I suspect strat style weren't far off.
You do excellent work, and your videos are such a pleasure to watch. Thank you for taking the time to make them and putting them here for us to learn from and enjoy. If I ever need any major work done on any of my guitars you'll be at the top of my list!
Thank you! I’m in process of reworking a Starcaster after having built a Strat from MIM and American parts. My tools are few and my skills young. This ( especially the carbon paper ) helped me quite a bit.
There is no doubt this chap is rather skilled. That's what makes such satisfying viewing even for hacks. One of my best friends is a high-end steel-string acoustic guitar builder [Carter-Poulsen in Santa Cruz]. How high end? Starting price is about $8600. Sounds like a lot, but he is competing in class against another builder that starts around $25K. It is materiel, man-hours, design, and skill. But more to the point is that builders and luthiers have a network that they freely share tips and tricks because no one can know everything. And every day there is a different problem to overcome. It is such a pleasure to see him improvise solutions.
I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say I hope you'll show the finished Strato-Tele and the work processes you used. Thanks for sharing your great knowledge and skill, Sensei.
I think a good pair of flush cutting electrical nippers will take care of the strings poking out. Xuron snips or something similar should work well to get in right up close. But I'm sure you thought of that and couldn't get in close enough, but just an idea. I also like them for trimming ends of wires after slodering. Great videos, keep u the great work.
I did that same job except my neck didn’t need surgery with plugs and my neck went on a 1951 butterscotch blonde solid brass individual saddles on the telecaster modern style bridge and the 1987 Matsumoto Japan FugiGen GaKki roasted flaming neck is worth a bundle it’s the last of its kind with a rosewood fretboard and brass nut custom cut by hand. This mate is spectacular and she blows doors down on a Marshall 40 amp 4 ft off the floor
Lot's of effort for such a strange guitar. For the overall costs of this guitar the customer would have gotten a decent instrument. ...but i like the love and knowledge you put into this "repair"
Thank you for your knowledge. Just one question when you have different thickness in bodies for example USA strat vs Squier. Does the neck/neck pocket change in thickness and depth?
I am having trouble with my knockoff strat where the high frets are all buzzing where the action is lower than about 4mm. I have shimmed the neck to angle it up but to get the action even close to where it should be it needs way too much angle and the bridge bottoms out. My question is should I be deepening the socket on the body to adjust the angle the strings run at from the higher frets, or something else? This issue is only when I am using the frets over the body. I have now adjusted the neck angle so the strings just touch the front fret with the bridge at the lowest, but am dealing with way too high action.
At 7.49 while Ted is drilling the neck, what purpose does the wood block serve? It doesn't look like he is holding it, is it over a hole which has already been drilled and has a screw part way in as a guide?
I hope it sounds good, because it looks like crap. No offence to the luthier, he did a great job, but that neck just does not go with that body. Like putting a giraffe neck on a pig.
What's the story behind these two pieces, and what made you decide to bring them together? How much wood did you end up removing to get the neck to fit?
I don't know much about the two pieces. The client procured them and wanted them assembled. I'm not sure how much material was removed. -"Enough" is probably the right answer, but if I had to guess, about .020".
@@twoodfrd So wood that be .010 + .010 (L+R)? The real question would be Absolute humidity, is the shop a controlled environment at a consistent moisture? And is there an ideal % for this type of precision fitting?
I recently bought a guitar body and a neck such that the neck is a bit too wide for the pocket. Do you recommend removing material from the pocket or the neck?
The Rockin' Donkey it's a case by case thing. Most people like to work on the pocket and leave the neck alone if it's been prefinished because it's usually pretty square and acts as a good reference.
MrUniman69 no nothing wrong at all my friend but be patient and don't get frustrated if you mess up I messed up the scale length and scraped my first one for parts and my second one just came yesterday from China of all places and to my surprise very high quality but I bought the wrong trem i will save that trem get a Floyd rose and build another guitar so i don't waste 30 USD
My friend messed up and removed too much material so I'm gonna have to fix it for him today xd wood is very forgiving thankfully wish me luck and rock on
Okay so it it only scale length that matters for fitting a neck as I have managed to find a 25.5” neck with a 3+3 headstock. Would this be fine to put on the strat body? (All other measurements are correct as well)
The most important thing is to check where the 12th fret will end up when the neck is mounted in its final position. If the 12th fret is exactly half way between the nut and the bridge saddles (with a little room remaining to move the saddles further back), then it should work. Not all necks are the same, regardless of scale length. The heel can be positioned slightly differently based on scale length, number of frets, and fretboard overhang, so figuring out the 12th fret position is important. (unless you're willing to move the bridge, too). The majority of random aftermarket necks do tend to be built fairly close to fender spec, though, so it's worth checking, since many will work. You're not even necessarily stuck with the same scale length. As long as it's laid out so the 12th fret is half way between the nut and bridge line, it should work. Of course other fit issues can come into play. Pocket depth and neck thickness (as mentioned in this video), or variance in string spacing can make some combinations impractical to make work.
nwimpney thank you so much, I’ve never known how precise a guitar has to be in measurements and so on. It’s a great project and I love learning and seeking help to improve my knowledge of it. Thanks again for helping! :)
Summary: The task involves fitting a neck into a hybrid guitar body with a Stratocaster body and a Telecaster style bridge. The neck is unconventional, possibly from the F bass company, typically known for smaller electric string instruments. Adjustments are needed due to differences in neck angle and pocket size, potentially requiring filling of existing holes and adjusting placement. Techniques for fitting include the use of carbon paper to mark areas needing adjustment and gradually removing material to achieve a snug fit. To fill mismatched holes, maple plugs are made to match the neck material, ensuring a clean finish and structural integrity.
lol. "we could get, like a toothpick...no. we're gonna use maple" best practices, i like your style. i must hand it to you, sir, you stick to the book. all of these videos are quite handy (and correct) compared to most of the lutherie on YT. you're really very good.
At 6:07, fitting neck to pocket and checking string alignment: "once we get close to the target we can kinda 'zsyuzsh' it..." Looks to me like it needs to be squidged just a scosh to the bass side, maybe a tad less, more like a sliver. (Edit- I love the technical language of woodworking)
floodland99 the neck was lacquered and it would have felt weird to do it that way. Nothing wrong with it though. Best to do one or the other, not a combination.
What great job? Did you see if what he did really worked? This he show you how the guitar play? Of corse not! He does a lot of stupid things that don’t work but he doesn’t show you the results. Don’t believe anything you see on “TV”
@@ThEN003tr0ll there is a lot of math involved. Practical reasons too - Gibson necks are a different width. Basically, if you wanted it to work you would have to reposition the bridge so the saddles would be 24-3/4" from the nut, rather than than 25-1/2" on a Strat. It's more complex than that, though. The pickup polepieces are a different width apart, and the neck pocket would have to be angled.
twoodfrd Aw man, I’m currently remaking an old guitar. Just finished painting the body and waxing it today so al be looking for parts now. I take it you can’t get that Gibson headstock on a 25.5 scale neck then :(
Shame that we have come to this- "White Pine" for a strat body. About one degrees of separation from Agathis. Makes basswood look like a miracle tonewood.
Very nice...yet in all these videos(which are helpful),not everybody has a bench press or other machinery.Closest luthier is about 2 towns away.Maybe more to find a good luthier.Nobody shows how to do these things with basic tools.
The drilling of the holes in the neck got about a half-second coverage - far too quick to see what was going on. Any more information about how you did that? Why not transfer the holes and use your drill press?
Been a woodworker building furniture for about 15 years.
1) The skill required being a Luthier is exponentially greater than building furniture.
2) Do any of you know how good this guy really is?
He is very, very good.
Additionally, he seems to actually enjoy what he is doing, and that comes through with each task/job he completes.
He’s 110%!!👍🏻
This guy is fully legit
You need to get better at furniture…
I have just enough skill to see the mountain from where I stand.
I'm binge watching your vids from the beginning.
me too
And me
Yeah I do that every evening 😁
They are really great information and they are very true.
Your not the only one
I enjoy watching your videos. Fascinated by all the skills needed to do guitar restorations. Thank you.
Former F-Bass co-op student from 20+ years ago. I actually helped get that Hammertone line up and running. The line feature those electric mandolins you mentioned, but also included PRS style guitars and contemporary (and more affordable) basses. They did cut some tele-style necks in my time, so I suspect strat style weren't far off.
You do excellent work, and your videos are such a pleasure to watch. Thank you for taking the time to make them and putting them here for us to learn from and enjoy. If I ever need any major work done on any of my guitars you'll be at the top of my list!
I've used wooden golf tees (sanded the gloss finish off and glued them in) to plug neck holes, in a pinch. They worked.
I like the use of the carbon paper to check where material needs to be removed!👍😎🎸🎶
A gifted artisan and a nice guy. I enjoy your videos. Thank you.
This is exactly the situation I'm in with my kit! You are a life saver. :)
Good video for sure. You kept things simple and effective.
Thank you! I’m in process of reworking a Starcaster after having built a Strat from MIM and American parts. My tools are few and my skills young. This ( especially the carbon paper ) helped me quite a bit.
Holy crapola twood man! You really updated your presentation since 2016.
Started my day off with bit of optimism. Thanks.
Wonderful! Very Helpful to remove material bit by bit.
Very good stuff! I really like this!
You do great work.....as a repairman,I am humbled.
There is no doubt this chap is rather skilled. That's what makes such satisfying viewing even for hacks. One of my best friends is a high-end steel-string acoustic guitar builder [Carter-Poulsen in Santa Cruz]. How high end? Starting price is about $8600. Sounds like a lot, but he is competing in class against another builder that starts around $25K. It is materiel, man-hours, design, and skill. But more to the point is that builders and luthiers have a network that they freely share tips and tricks because no one can know everything. And every day there is a different problem to overcome. It is such a pleasure to see him improvise solutions.
Thanks for shoving how to do. Stay healthy.
I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say I hope you'll show the finished Strato-Tele and the work processes you used. Thanks for sharing your great knowledge and skill, Sensei.
That carbon paper trick was brilliant.
Great video. Thanks .
I think a good pair of flush cutting electrical nippers will take care of the strings poking out. Xuron snips or something similar should work well to get in right up close. But I'm sure you thought of that and couldn't get in close enough, but just an idea. I also like them for trimming ends of wires after slodering. Great videos, keep u the great work.
Fascinating, as always. Thanks for sharing
I did that same job except my neck didn’t need surgery with plugs and my neck went on a 1951 butterscotch blonde solid brass individual saddles on the telecaster modern style bridge and the 1987 Matsumoto Japan FugiGen GaKki roasted flaming neck is worth a bundle it’s the last of its kind with a rosewood fretboard and brass nut custom cut by hand. This mate is spectacular and she blows doors down on a Marshall 40 amp 4 ft off the floor
very nice, thank you.
Lot's of effort for such a strange guitar. For the overall costs of this guitar the customer would have gotten a decent instrument.
...but i like the love and knowledge you put into this "repair"
Thank you for sharing! Well done.
Interesting and exciting to mix different parts together. How does the guitar sound??
good job wow
very very nice.. Much nicer end result than the chainsaw/nail gun method.
Carbon paper... Great idea!
Thank you for your knowledge. Just one question when you have different thickness in bodies for example USA strat vs Squier. Does the neck/neck pocket change in thickness and depth?
Nope
I want to see it finished please
I am having trouble with my knockoff strat where the high frets are all buzzing where the action is lower than about 4mm. I have shimmed the neck to angle it up but to get the action even close to where it should be it needs way too much angle and the bridge bottoms out. My question is should I be deepening the socket on the body to adjust the angle the strings run at from the higher frets, or something else? This issue is only when I am using the frets over the body. I have now adjusted the neck angle so the strings just touch the front fret with the bridge at the lowest, but am dealing with way too high action.
That tele bridge plate on a strat would sound different i hope
At 7.49 while Ted is drilling the neck, what purpose does the wood block serve? It doesn't look like he is holding it, is it over a hole which has already been drilled and has a screw part way in as a guide?
Do you have footage of you playing this? A telecaster pickup on a strat sounds awesome
I hope it sounds good, because it looks like crap. No offence to the luthier, he did a great job, but that neck just does not go with that body. Like putting a giraffe neck on a pig.
You need a lovely VOX tube amp. If you get one I may have some vintage valves for ya,
What's the story behind these two pieces, and what made you decide to bring them together? How much wood did you end up removing to get the neck to fit?
I don't know much about the two pieces. The client procured them and wanted them assembled. I'm not sure how much material was removed. -"Enough" is probably the right answer, but if I had to guess, about .020".
@@twoodfrd So wood that be .010 + .010 (L+R)? The real question would be Absolute humidity, is the shop a controlled environment at a consistent moisture? And is there an ideal % for this type of precision fitting?
I recently bought a guitar body and a neck such that the neck is a bit too wide for the pocket. Do you recommend removing material from the pocket or the neck?
The Rockin' Donkey it's a case by case thing. Most people like to work on the pocket and leave the neck alone if it's been prefinished because it's usually pretty square and acts as a good reference.
Thanks for the explanation.
I spent eight minutes waiting for the one second flash shot at 7:50.
Yeah! What a swizz! And I didn't like all that space between the end of the neck and the body. Surely a little carving...?
It would then be a matter of checking that the bridge is at the right distance depending on that of the neck...
vintage Ted!
But which is off, the neck too wide or pocket to small. and what about the neck body overhang?
Great skill, very interesting. I suppose there is nothing wrong with kit guitars, if they are well made and have quality hardware.
MrUniman69 no nothing wrong at all my friend but be patient and don't get frustrated if you mess up I messed up the scale length and scraped my first one for parts and my second one just came yesterday from China of all places and to my surprise very high quality but I bought the wrong trem i will save that trem get a Floyd rose and build another guitar so i don't waste 30 USD
My friend messed up and removed too much material so I'm gonna have to fix it for him today xd wood is very forgiving thankfully wish me luck and rock on
Okay so it it only scale length that matters for fitting a neck as I have managed to find a 25.5” neck with a 3+3 headstock. Would this be fine to put on the strat body? (All other measurements are correct as well)
The most important thing is to check where the 12th fret will end up when the neck is mounted in its final position. If the 12th fret is exactly half way between the nut and the bridge saddles (with a little room remaining to move the saddles further back), then it should work.
Not all necks are the same, regardless of scale length. The heel can be positioned slightly differently based on scale length, number of frets, and fretboard overhang, so figuring out the 12th fret position is important. (unless you're willing to move the bridge, too).
The majority of random aftermarket necks do tend to be built fairly close to fender spec, though, so it's worth checking, since many will work. You're not even necessarily stuck with the same scale length. As long as it's laid out so the 12th fret is half way between the nut and bridge line, it should work.
Of course other fit issues can come into play. Pocket depth and neck thickness (as mentioned in this video), or variance in string spacing can make some combinations impractical to make work.
nwimpney thank you so much, I’ve never known how precise a guitar has to be in measurements and so on. It’s a great project and I love learning and seeking help to improve my knowledge of it. Thanks again for helping! :)
Summary:
The task involves fitting a neck into a hybrid guitar body with a Stratocaster body and a Telecaster style bridge.
The neck is unconventional, possibly from the F bass company, typically known for smaller electric string instruments.
Adjustments are needed due to differences in neck angle and pocket size, potentially requiring filling of existing holes and adjusting placement.
Techniques for fitting include the use of carbon paper to mark areas needing adjustment and gradually removing material to achieve a snug fit.
To fill mismatched holes, maple plugs are made to match the neck material, ensuring a clean finish and structural integrity.
great fitting job. But you did change pickup positions on the strings by a hair (when it comes to counting hairs).
There's not really a magic pickup position, though, contrary to what some people will tell you. A couple millimeters isn't going to matter.
@@nwimpney i beg to differ completely
lol. "we could get, like a toothpick...no. we're gonna use maple"
best practices, i like your style. i must hand it to you, sir, you stick to the book. all of these videos are quite handy (and correct) compared to most of the lutherie on YT. you're really very good.
At 6:07, fitting neck to pocket and checking string alignment: "once we get close to the target we can kinda 'zsyuzsh' it..." Looks to me like it needs to be squidged just a scosh to the bass side, maybe a tad less, more like a sliver.
(Edit- I love the technical language of woodworking)
Great job. Could you have sanded the neck instead?
floodland99 the neck was lacquered and it would have felt weird to do it that way. Nothing wrong with it though. Best to do one or the other, not a combination.
Okay. Thanks.
What great job? Did you see if what he did really worked? This he show you how the guitar play? Of corse not! He does a lot of stupid things that don’t work but he doesn’t show you the results. Don’t believe anything you see on “TV”
@@twoodfrd not only that, but removing material from the body means replacing the neck is easier if necessary.
Back?
maybe some masking taaape or like a tooooth peeek... you know man like on my mim jazz bass lol
👍👍😎✌️
My dentist loves carbon paper
Could I stick a Gibson neck on the strat body fine?
It would play horribly out of tune, but sometimes you just need to follow your dreams.
twoodfrd Would there not be a work around this?
Is there a video explaining how guitar necks function
Do the measurements have to be very precise ??
@@ThEN003tr0ll there is a lot of math involved. Practical reasons too - Gibson necks are a different width. Basically, if you wanted it to work you would have to reposition the bridge so the saddles would be 24-3/4" from the nut, rather than than 25-1/2" on a Strat. It's more complex than that, though. The pickup polepieces are a different width apart, and the neck pocket would have to be angled.
twoodfrd Aw man, I’m currently remaking an old guitar. Just finished painting the body and waxing it today so al be looking for parts now. I take it you can’t get that Gibson headstock on a 25.5 scale neck then :(
twoodfrd Would I be able to find a 25.5 scale neck with a 3+3 headstock is what I am essentially trying to ask
You could have added in "back when mimeograph machines were popular"
For a sec there I thought this was filmed in 2008.
I'm surprised you can still buy Carbon Paper.
I use it when transferring a sketch to canvas prior to starting a painting. It has many uses.
Shame that we have come to this- "White Pine" for a strat body. About one degrees of separation from Agathis. Makes basswood look like a miracle tonewood.
Very nice...yet in all these videos(which are helpful),not everybody has a bench press or other machinery.Closest luthier is about 2 towns away.Maybe more to find a good luthier.Nobody shows how to do these things with basic tools.
It is wild a video about a musical thing can have such bad sound
The drilling of the holes in the neck got about a half-second coverage - far too quick to see what was going on. Any more information about how you did that? Why not transfer the holes and use your drill press?