Hello!
I'm not personally doing a build, i have a luthier for that, so i probably don't need luthier advice, but i welcome it greatly since this will be a custom build.
I also need some player input, as this will be my first fan fret and first 7 string guitar. And i need to tell the luthier what i want. So players experienced with 7 string multiscales, your opinions and experiences will be valuable information for me.
I played a 7 string before, but not a fanfret. So i have a bunch of questions.
Here's the not to scale, just rough schematic of what it will look like:
And here is the rough "final" look. No it will NOT be a Halo guitar, i just used their custom creator to make an image. A local luthier will make it.
The questions:
1. Scale lenght and tuning.
I would like to tune to E standard with the 7th string being A, but also have enough scale lenght to tune lower if i want to without it going out of tune and having to use giant strings. Is the 26.5"-27.75" going to be good for E? I plan on using 9s or 10s to get that crisp clear sound, but i like tension on my strings so i thought having 26.5" on the high strings will help with that.
What are some perferred scale lengths on multiscale guitars? Bear in mind, i have really long fingers, and i can play a 30" baritone with no problem so stretching is not an issue.
2. Mutiscale.
Never played one so i have 0 idea what to do with it, what to tell the luthier how i want it.
I came across this tool in my research:
It won't let me post a link so the tool name is FretFind2D. Googling that finds it just fine.
I know what longer and shorter scale length mean, and perpendicular fret, but i have no idea what other stuff means. Do i even need to know that?
Also, about the perpendicular fret. Where are they usually? The "0.5" value on that calculator puts the 12th fret as perpendicular. Is that ok? Or should i make 9th or maybe 7th perpendicular? What's the usual position of the fret, and how will it affect playing?
3. Pickups.
There's not a lot of options for multiscale guitar pickups so i decided to go with Fishman Fluence Tosin Abasi set. I like how they sound and the options they give me.
The wiring will be:
2V, 2T 3-way toggle switch, 2 mini switches
Each volume controls each pickup, and same as tone. 1 v 1 t for bridge, 1v 1t for neck.
Push pull tone selects voices 1 or 2 for each pickup. 1tone for bridge, 1t for neck.
Mini switches select voice 3 for each pickup. 1 for bridge, 1 for neck.
Middle position can "blend" the pickups so i can have Voice 3 neck blended with voice 1 bridge etc.
Now, Fishman told me it's possible, i should just connect what voice i want active to ground, but is anyone here a wiring expert that can draw a schematic of this? Cause it's kinda not standard (which is the point of making a custom guitar), i hope my luthier can make sense of it. It would certainly help if he had a diagram.
Lastly, since they'll be at an angle, what version of the pickup set do i get? THe 7 string or the 8 string version? According to Fishman's diagrams of the sizes, the magnet inside is smaller than the casing, so will it be wide enough for all 7 strings if i get the 7 string version and put it at an angle or do i get the wider 8 string one? They cost the same so...
4. The neck.
No idea about this one. What width, radius, anything... Bolt on, neck through? I mean, that will depend on my luthier i think but still... Please recomend me something that will fith with the scale lengths i provided. Something that will work well and be comfortable to play. I have a Jackson Dinky MG, and Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster Baritone, and both are comfortable for me to play. But i dislike Ibanez necks that are paper thin, my giant fingers are just not suited for that. If that helps with suggestions.
5. Misc.
The bridge will be ABM3210C. I can't get hipshot where i live. Anyone have those? I hope they're good.
Is there anything else i should know about 7 string guitars that i maybe didn't consider? Something experienced 7 string players know that apply to 7 string guitars and not 6 strings?
If you come this far, thank you for reading my post!
I appreciate any help i can get, so i can better decide and build a great guitar.
Thank you!
I'm not personally doing a build, i have a luthier for that, so i probably don't need luthier advice, but i welcome it greatly since this will be a custom build.
I also need some player input, as this will be my first fan fret and first 7 string guitar. And i need to tell the luthier what i want. So players experienced with 7 string multiscales, your opinions and experiences will be valuable information for me.
I played a 7 string before, but not a fanfret. So i have a bunch of questions.
Here's the not to scale, just rough schematic of what it will look like:
![b4VTOqQ.png](https://i.imgur.com/b4VTOqQ.png)
And here is the rough "final" look. No it will NOT be a Halo guitar, i just used their custom creator to make an image. A local luthier will make it.
![F5reyyL.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/F5reyyL.jpg)
The questions:
1. Scale lenght and tuning.
I would like to tune to E standard with the 7th string being A, but also have enough scale lenght to tune lower if i want to without it going out of tune and having to use giant strings. Is the 26.5"-27.75" going to be good for E? I plan on using 9s or 10s to get that crisp clear sound, but i like tension on my strings so i thought having 26.5" on the high strings will help with that.
What are some perferred scale lengths on multiscale guitars? Bear in mind, i have really long fingers, and i can play a 30" baritone with no problem so stretching is not an issue.
2. Mutiscale.
Never played one so i have 0 idea what to do with it, what to tell the luthier how i want it.
I came across this tool in my research:
It won't let me post a link so the tool name is FretFind2D. Googling that finds it just fine.
I know what longer and shorter scale length mean, and perpendicular fret, but i have no idea what other stuff means. Do i even need to know that?
Also, about the perpendicular fret. Where are they usually? The "0.5" value on that calculator puts the 12th fret as perpendicular. Is that ok? Or should i make 9th or maybe 7th perpendicular? What's the usual position of the fret, and how will it affect playing?
3. Pickups.
There's not a lot of options for multiscale guitar pickups so i decided to go with Fishman Fluence Tosin Abasi set. I like how they sound and the options they give me.
The wiring will be:
2V, 2T 3-way toggle switch, 2 mini switches
Each volume controls each pickup, and same as tone. 1 v 1 t for bridge, 1v 1t for neck.
Push pull tone selects voices 1 or 2 for each pickup. 1tone for bridge, 1t for neck.
Mini switches select voice 3 for each pickup. 1 for bridge, 1 for neck.
Middle position can "blend" the pickups so i can have Voice 3 neck blended with voice 1 bridge etc.
Now, Fishman told me it's possible, i should just connect what voice i want active to ground, but is anyone here a wiring expert that can draw a schematic of this? Cause it's kinda not standard (which is the point of making a custom guitar), i hope my luthier can make sense of it. It would certainly help if he had a diagram.
Lastly, since they'll be at an angle, what version of the pickup set do i get? THe 7 string or the 8 string version? According to Fishman's diagrams of the sizes, the magnet inside is smaller than the casing, so will it be wide enough for all 7 strings if i get the 7 string version and put it at an angle or do i get the wider 8 string one? They cost the same so...
4. The neck.
No idea about this one. What width, radius, anything... Bolt on, neck through? I mean, that will depend on my luthier i think but still... Please recomend me something that will fith with the scale lengths i provided. Something that will work well and be comfortable to play. I have a Jackson Dinky MG, and Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster Baritone, and both are comfortable for me to play. But i dislike Ibanez necks that are paper thin, my giant fingers are just not suited for that. If that helps with suggestions.
5. Misc.
The bridge will be ABM3210C. I can't get hipshot where i live. Anyone have those? I hope they're good.
Is there anything else i should know about 7 string guitars that i maybe didn't consider? Something experienced 7 string players know that apply to 7 string guitars and not 6 strings?
If you come this far, thank you for reading my post!
I appreciate any help i can get, so i can better decide and build a great guitar.
Thank you!