Talking into the f-hole with a cartoon voice has to be the most Matt thing to do while building a 335. I will make sure not to miss this crucial step. Thank you sir!
Good day to y’all! I built this exact same kit when Covid first happened. Mine had a maple top. I ended up painting an orange and red sunburst. I think it came out great! I did replace tuners with locking tuners. Put in a better bridge and Phat Cat P90s. Also found a great resource back in South Carolina that made a vintage style wiring harness. Yeah, I know I put a little more money into it, but that was because the body and neck of the guitar came out so nice I just had to! Had to do a little tweaking with the frets, but after that, it’s just awesome! I highly recommend this kit if you’re looking for one to do. Oh, and by the way, this was my first build! Cheers from the Pacific Northwest!
I'm working on the same kit now. When I hold radius gauges up to the screw holes for the saddles in the kit bridge a 12in gauge clearly lines up better than the 16in gauge does. I think the kit bridge is a 12 inch radius while the kit fingerboard is a 16 inch radius. Assuming 1.75” between high E to low E there will be 0.0161” (about 1/64”) error on the action adjustment. Does the better bridge you installed have a 16in radius?
I’m pretty sure it is. Also, the kit bridge, for whatever reason allowed the strings to just slightly buzz. Installing the new aftermarket bridge, took away all that! No buzzing and really great play ability. The custom wiring harness I got from a company called, cream tone.
I've been considering doing a kit and was wondering about the quality of the body/neck and also the parts. I would definitely be willing to upgrade the parts (bridge/tailpiece) pretty much everything if I was happy with the quality of the basic neck and body. From what you are saying here it sounds like the quality is there to warrant spending extra on higher quality parts. Thank you for your input man!
@@TexasToastGuitars my business partners son in law is a working musician.. studio musician and out of all my guitars he said that one had the most amazing tone of them all
Im thinking you could you fit the shoulders of the neck joint to the body with a freshly sharpened carving chisel and a scribe. Would this not improve resonance over glue and sawdust ? I know this type of chisel work is a skill unto itself, but it is done regularly in fitting furniture joints, a skill I already have. I'm really interested in making guitars, this one in particular.
Any chance you could go over the mahogany/wood glue slurry? When you say "pack it in," how much do you mean? So much that it would "ooze" out when you put the neck in? Appreciate this series - excited to order mine through your guys' link!
Seems like a super fun and fairly easy kit to build. The most mysterious thing to me about it at this point is how to install the wiring harness and do a good job of it. I've never wired up a semi-hollow body guitar. The price is a bargain.
Going back to what Matt said about the joint not usually making contact all around, how do you ensure the neck angle is correct? You had a video about the typical correct angle/height for the fretboard above the body for a Gibson style neck joint and bridge, and for Fender style. Did you check that when you first checked the neck fit? I'll have to go back to the first unboxing video.
When you were checking the neck angle did you consider checking the tilt back so that a straight edge sitting on the frets and extending over the body would be the right height above the bridge position to ensure good adjustability for the action height? Unlikely to be necessary with proper machining, but I would want to verify it.
No, TB LHG is pretty horrible. It has a reputation for being extremely unreliable batch by batch. If you want hide glue, use hot hide glue. Titebond 1 is the one.
I understand checking lateral alignment of the neck but how do you check the other dimension, the angle of the neck’s alignment with the bridge, when there’s no bridge in place yet? That’s an important variable for the action, right? Was that covered in an earlier video I didn’t see? Oh, ooops, already asked. Sorry to duplicate. 🤦♂️
Is it just me, or is top at the left upper bout of the body pulling away from the side. I see what looks like a gap in the neck pocket area, where the top meets the side.
I can't tell if you are being serious or not... In case you are really asking that I'll say this, I don't make guitars that are designed to be repaired
Talking into the f-hole with a cartoon voice has to be the most Matt thing to do while building a 335. I will make sure not to miss this crucial step. Thank you sir!
HAHAHA thanks Ron
A little dab of glue will do. Lol! Focusing on the alignment is the most important part of this step.
Will be watching!!! Looks like a cool kit.
Good day to y’all! I built this exact same kit when Covid first happened. Mine had a maple top. I ended up painting an orange and red sunburst. I think it came out great! I did replace tuners with locking tuners. Put in a better bridge and Phat Cat P90s. Also found a great resource back in South Carolina that made a vintage style wiring harness. Yeah, I know I put a little more money into it, but that was because the body and neck of the guitar came out so nice I just had to! Had to do a little tweaking with the frets, but after that, it’s just awesome! I highly recommend this kit if you’re looking for one to do. Oh, and by the way, this was my first build! Cheers from the Pacific Northwest!
I'm working on the same kit now. When I hold radius gauges up to the screw holes for the saddles in the kit bridge a 12in gauge clearly lines up better than the 16in gauge does. I think the kit bridge is a 12 inch radius while the kit fingerboard is a 16 inch radius. Assuming 1.75” between high E to low E there will be 0.0161” (about 1/64”) error on the action adjustment. Does the better bridge you installed have a 16in radius?
I’m pretty sure it is. Also, the kit bridge, for whatever reason allowed the strings to just slightly buzz. Installing the new aftermarket bridge, took away all that! No buzzing and really great play ability. The custom wiring harness I got from a company called, cream tone.
I've been considering doing a kit and was wondering about the quality of the body/neck and also the parts. I would definitely be willing to upgrade the parts (bridge/tailpiece) pretty much everything if I was happy with the quality of the basic neck and body. From what you are saying here it sounds like the quality is there to warrant spending extra on higher quality parts. Thank you for your input man!
Really digging this build. Gives me the itch!!!
I kinda wish StewMac made a 339-sized flamed maple kit . . . Hmm, maybe there's a potential workshop idea in there--who knows?
You and me both
I can't wait to see how it turns out. Side note I gave the gatemouth brown firebird to my 14 year old son
That was such a cool guitar
@@TexasToastGuitars my business partners son in law is a working musician.. studio musician and out of all my guitars he said that one had the most amazing tone of them all
StewMac is my new Craftsman...Love the warrantee.
Be safe Guys!
Gorilla glue expands, it'll fill any gaps, waterproof, and extremely strong bond. That's what I used anyway, mainly because of the gaps.
Im thinking you could you fit the shoulders of the neck joint to the body with a freshly sharpened carving chisel and a scribe. Would this not improve resonance over glue and sawdust ? I know this type of chisel work is a skill unto itself, but it is done regularly in fitting furniture joints, a skill I already have. I'm really interested in making guitars, this one in particular.
Lookin good guys, I learn a thing or two every time I tune in!! Thanks!!
It would be nice if StewMac did a bass kit like this. Or Wilkinson.
Any chance you could go over the mahogany/wood glue slurry? When you say "pack it in," how much do you mean? So much that it would "ooze" out when you put the neck in? Appreciate this series - excited to order mine through your guys' link!
I'd love to build a second one but, thanks to retirement and Social Security, I'm broke. LOL. God, you guys are the best.
Do any pros we know of by play stew guitars ?
Seems like a super fun and fairly easy kit to build. The most mysterious thing to me about it at this point is how to install the wiring harness and do a good job of it. I've never wired up a semi-hollow body guitar. The price is a bargain.
We will get to that
@@TexasToastGuitars Looking forward to it. I imagine it's akin to putting a ship in a bottle.
@@YTPartyTonight pretty good analogy 👍 lol
It is a bit of a bitch but there are some tricks and tools you can use to make it easier.
Going back to what Matt said about the joint not usually making contact all around, how do you ensure the neck angle is correct? You had a video about the typical correct angle/height for the fretboard above the body for a Gibson style neck joint and bridge, and for Fender style. Did you check that when you first checked the neck fit? I'll have to go back to the first unboxing video.
We just went for it and it seems good
When you were checking the neck angle did you consider checking the tilt back so that a straight edge sitting on the frets and extending over the body would be the right height above the bridge position to ensure good adjustability for the action height? Unlikely to be necessary with proper machining, but I would want to verify it.
We did not check the neck rake. The idea is to follow the directions as written and see what happens. You know how it is
@@TexasToastGuitars Understood.
Would you use tight bond hide clue?
No, TB LHG is pretty horrible. It has a reputation for being extremely unreliable batch by batch. If you want hide glue, use hot hide glue.
Titebond 1 is the one.
How does it compare to the real Mccoy🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
How about neck pitch ?
I understand checking lateral alignment of the neck but how do you check the other dimension, the angle of the neck’s alignment with the bridge, when there’s no bridge in place yet? That’s an important variable for the action, right? Was that covered in an earlier video I didn’t see? Oh, ooops, already asked. Sorry to duplicate. 🤦♂️
The neck angle is built into the neck heal. No adjustment or even measurement needed.
I want to build one of the StewMac kits.
You should Eric
How are the proportions of the kit compared to a Gibson? The LP kits look very strange to me and I’m not a 335 guy.
I don't really know how the size compares
Is it just me, or is top at the left upper bout of the body pulling away from the side. I see what looks like a gap in the neck pocket area, where the top meets the side.
Probably one or the other or neither or something else. Keep watching and we'll keep building
Why did you not use hide glue. ? It would make future repairs easier .
I can't tell if you are being serious or not... In case you are really asking that I'll say this, I don't make guitars that are designed to be repaired
You can use hot hide glue if you want, or maybe even fish glue.
I would never use the clamp directly on the frets like that. Guaranteed it deformed the fret a little.
That one was barely tight. He cranked the one in the pickup cavity
@@anejo333 then that's bad clamping. Needs to be clamped evenly.
You do what you want.
Are these kits Chinese/Asian made?
You have to think they are