Build: Seven string multiscale Telecaster with some gimmicks

[Eumldeuml]

A new user emerged from the depths of the internet...

Hey guys!
I'm about to start my second-ish build (the first one was a four string electric ukulele guitar with the shape of a Randy Rhoads Flying-V, so three strings to few for this forum).
And I'm here to make this kind of a diary for the build where I can get roasted for all my stupid mistakes
The 3D model is 90% done, I've already ordered some of the parts which means I'll start in building in a few days
This guitar is designed to distract from my sh#tty playing style (lol) so it will get some gimmicks, that no guitar right now has (or at least no guitar on the internet). But I don't want to tell you right now what it is, I still have to test and evaluate some things, but maybe you can guess from the CAD xD

Anyways, I'd really appreciate some people commenting on this thread to give me some tips (I'm still quite a noob) or to humiliate me for using a CNC

The first pictures are from the CAD program I'm using (Fusion 360).
Hope you'll like it!

 

[Eumldeuml]

Some notes to this build:
The bridge will be compeltely selfmade and designed by me, because I don't want to spend half a car on single bridge saddles.

View attachment 53649

The guitar in itself is quite a rip-off from Fender's Jim Root Telecaster but the headstock is from Ormsby guitars... (I'm not very good at inventing aesthetic and sophisticated shapes, I hope I don't get sued lol).

 

[GXPO]

Don't worry, I don't think Ormsby will be suing you for ripping off that particular head stock..

Well, if you build as well as you CAD this should be one to watch. Good luck!

 

[LiveOVErdrive]

Good luck!

And FYI, there is a no-name set of single string saddles you can usually find on ebay for a good price (20-50 USD depending on color and number of strings). I've been eyeing them for a while.

 

[randomas]

If you're in the USA you can get single string saddles from rondomusic for like 5 $ each or close.

 

[Eumldeuml]

Well, if you build as well as you CAD this should be one to watch. Good luck!

Thank you very much!

If you're in the USA you can get single string saddles from rondomusic for like 5 $ each or close.

I've seen them and they would be ideal if it wasn't for the ~50 bucks shipping costs to Germany

And I also thought about making individual saddles for this guitar by myself (in fact, I already did that for the uke) but I don't see an advantage over a fixed bridge especially considering how much more of a pain in the a## individual saddles are to machine.

 

[bostjan]

Thank you very much!



I've seen them and they would be ideal if it wasn't for the ~50 bucks shipping costs to Germany

And I also thought about making individual saddles for this guitar by myself (in fact, I already did that for the uke) but I don't see an advantage over a fixed bridge especially considering how much more of a pain in the a## individual saddles are to machine.

Too bad I don't have any business trips to Germany on my schedule...

Really, though, nothing beats the satisfaction of engineering and building your own parts.

You got my attention with this mysterious gimmick. What could it be? B-bender? Low B-bender?! B-bender and sustainer? Do you still call it a b-bender in Germany, or is it an H-Beiger? In the southern hemisphere, does the B-Bender need to turn the opposite direction?

 

[InCasinoOut]

Ooh im intrigued. I like the strat output jack on the back, although I can't quite figure out what else is going on there...

 

[Eumldeuml]

Too bad I don't have any business trips to Germany on my schedule...

Really, though, nothing beats the satisfaction of engineering and building your own parts.

You got my attention with this mysterious gimmick. What could it be? B-bender? Low B-bender?! B-bender and sustainer? Do you still call it a b-bender in Germany, or is it an H-Beiger? In the southern hemisphere, does the B-Bender need to turn the opposite direction?

I didn't even know what a B-bender is until I just googled it... So no, it's not an H-Bieger

Ooh im intrigued. I like the strat output jack on the back, although I can't quite figure out what else is going on there...

Well, the strat output is there because I need the space on the edges of the guitar...

 

[bostjan]

Oh, maybe a laser pickup or microtonal frets?
Guitar synth? A selectable/deselectable sitar buzz bridge?
A bottle opener on the headstock? A foldaway guitar case collapsible that firs in the control cavity?
Oh, maybe there's a secret compartment inside for a pet turtle?
Are my guesses desperate enough yet?

 

[Eumldeuml]

Daaaamn, these are some awesome ideas...
But unlucky enough, I've already had difficulties to cram everything inside that body so maybe I'll use your inspiration for another build...

And compared to a laser turtle that picks up the sound and transforms into a turtle shell guitar case my ideas don't seem very cool anymore...

 

[IGC]

A new user emerged from the depths of the internet...

Hey guys!
I'm about to start my second-ish build (the first one was a four string electric ukulele guitar with the shape of a Randy Rhoads Flying-V, so three strings to few for this forum).
And I'm here to make this kind of a diary for the build where I can get roasted for all my stupid mistakes
The 3D model is 90% done, I've already ordered some of the parts which means I'll start in building in a few days
This guitar is designed to distract from my sh#tty playing style (lol) so it will get some gimmicks, that no guitar right now has (or at least no guitar on the internet). But I don't want to tell you right now what it is, I still have to test and evaluate some things, but maybe you can guess from the CAD xD

Anyways, I'd really appreciate some people commenting on this thread to give me some tips (I'm still quite a noob) or to humiliate me for using a CNC

The first pictures are from the CAD program I'm using (Fusion 360).
Hope you'll like it!


View attachment 53646

View attachment 53647

View attachment 53648

Sweet guitar Man! I would like to see a larger view of the saddles if possible.
I'm building, actually rebuilding my first guitar and was inspired to join this forum at the beginning of 2017...Kind of interesting to get feedback from other enthusiasts. Anyhew have fun keep us posted!

 

[odibrom]

(...) I don't see an advantage over a fixed bridge especially considering how much more of a pain in the a## individual saddles are to machine.

Wait, machining individual saddles is more time consuming than an angled TOM bridge? THAT angled TOM bridge?...

 

[Eumldeuml]

Sweet guitar Man! I would like to see a larger view of the saddles if possible.
I'm building, actually rebuilding my first guitar and was inspired to join this forum at the beginning of 2017...Kind of interesting to get feedback from other enthusiasts. Anyhew have fun keep us posted!

You mean those things were the strings actually touch the bridge? I'm always confused when it comes to saddles/bridges/etc. because I think that those terms somheow overlap

But yeah, I also really appreciate people commenting here, there are other forums where the OP basically holds a monologue...

Wait, machining individual saddles is more time consuming than an angled TOM bridge? THAT angled TOM bridge?...

I'm not 100% sure because I haven't started to really make the bridge but seven indiviudal saddles mean at least 14 small pieces that need to be machined on two sides with a lot of material to be removed. Not that easy on a 3-axis CNC so I designed my own TOM bridge with that in mind.
The focus was on the machining which is in my opinion the difference between plain designing (where everything is possible) and engineering (where you have to evaluate how it will be made and how much work goes into it).

 

[odibrom]

I understand your point of view, but still. An offset bridge like a strat hardtail isn't hard to build, one offset base plate plus 7 individual saddles... Cutting this offset baseplate into 7 individual ones should be easy enough. Grinding down saddles from a parallelepiped block of the same size should be that hard either...

Just saying, I do not know anything about CNCing anything, but THAT TOM bridge is surely hard to machine, too many angles...

The major problem I see here is the sourcing of raw materials to work with. Personally, I'd ditch the TOM bridge idea for something else, BUT I must say that the bridge's design looks cool though. Good luck on whatever you decide to go for and keep us posted!

 

[Eumldeuml]

I understand your point of view, but still. An offset bridge like a strat hardtail isn't hard to build, one offset base plate plus 7 individual saddles... Cutting this offset baseplate into 7 individual ones should be easy enough. Grinding down saddles from a parallelepiped block of the same size should be that hard either...

Just saying, I do not know anything about CNCing anything, but THAT TOM bridge is surely hard to machine, too many angles...

The major problem I see here is the sourcing of raw materials to work with. Personally, I'd ditch the TOM bridge idea for something else, BUT I must say that the bridge's design looks cool though. Good luck on whatever you decide to go for and keep us posted!

The big advantage of a CNC is that you don't have to care about angles and stuff, I see the major challenge in the choice of material (steel: hard to mill on a home CNC; Aluminium: easier to mill but not as abrasion resistand), small inward corners (because a round endmill can only produce round corners) and getting the holes for the intonation screws in there as exactly as possible because the CNC can't mill those from above. The first bridge I "designed" for my electric uke was similar to what you proposed and I found that it's very hard to get everything to size so that it fits and works properly.

But I appreciate every single answer on this thread, I didn't expect that and although I registered just yesterday I already love the community here

 

[Eumldeuml]

Well, here's my first question that just dawned on me upon receiving a package from a music store:
I ordered a truss rod for guitar with a length of 490mm (=19.3") since I use a 27.5" scale on the bass side and it seemed that the shorter one with 440mm (=17.3") might not be sufficient. Pictures here (you might want to change the language):
https://www.thomann.de/de/goeldo_ws49g_trussrod.htm

But I didn't pay attention enough because the longer version is a single action whereas the shorter is a double action rod. This isn't a problem by itself (or is it?) but it also doesn't have an allen nut but an (external) hex nut. I wanted to have the adjustement located on the headstock as on most guitars but I'm afraid that I have to resort to going Fender style and having the nut on the body side.
Would that mean that I have to take the neck off everytime I want to turn the nut (I heard it's the case with Fender guitars)?
What do you recommend? I guess this is my first noob question (many more to come )


And yes, I really love brackets

 

[Hywel]

The single action rod might not be a problem but it will give you less control over the neck just in case it ends up not perfectly straight. The hex nut can be used at the headstock (PRS SE guitars use this kind of rod I think) but it will require a larger route to fit and may weaken the headstock area.

I'm not sure how the exact layout of your neck is but I generally aim to get the anchor end just into the neck heel so it has a good thick area of neck to push against. If your truss rod reaches the heel it'll be fine. Anything longer won't be better. 460mm might be long enough for you.

I'd probably go for a hex adjusting 460mm double action rod (if it fits nicely) since it's a bit easier to use and can save a neck from being firewood if it bows the wrong way.

 

[LiveOVErdrive]

Double action is waaaaaaay easier to install, too.

 

[Mr_Mar10]

Yeah. This is going to be sick but I want a guitar with all bostjans ideas on

As for the body truss adjust. You could route a small circular hole at the point where the body n neck join. If u Google heel adjust truss rods you might be able to borrow an idea to make it look tidy. I did this on my girls jaguar (will upload a pic if I remember)
You can do it easy with a 1/2 sphere router bit (soz don't know technical terms )

Good luck buddy teles have always been my favourite