Hey so I’m working on a new full bodied guitar build and I got to thinking, what better way to bring us all closer together than to share with you the dizzying highs and terrible lows of the process. 

Now from the outset I gotta warn you, this could be a lengthy process and updates may be a little sparse at times. I’m building this one with as few power tools as possible and will be taking each pass with a plane or strike with a chisel as cautiously as possible. 

In this post I was just wanting to share with you the process I used to get the outline template designed and cut. It’s a small step, but even just getting the shape cut out was a bit of a rush. 

In the first photo below you will see two rough guitar outlines, on the right is a tracing of a Les Paul shape guitar, I just whacked the body down and rough traced it. The reason for this is I like the size of a Les Paul, it’s comfortable for me and if I’m going to be really honest, as good as my hand is at rough drawing, scale is not my forte, so I wanted to trace an outline next to where I was going to rough out my body design. The design itself, which is in a really rough state on the left in that photo was somewhat loosely based on a combination of a Les Paul, a Telecaster, A Schecter Solo 6 and a little bit of the Maton Mastersound. On top of all that I wanted it to be a little bit of a throwback to 70’s Japanese models that were often a little more adventurous. So with my scale reference off to the side I started scribbling away and came up with a rough guide to cut.

It’s looking a little bit iffy here and you might be able to see I did a little playing around with the Les Paul outline as well, just to play with giving it an offset look. 

I think at this stage it was resembling at the most a Maton Mastersound with a Schecter Offset and I wasn’t completely set on the design yet. I gave myself a bit of room to move when I cut it out, a few centimetre’s outside the outline incase I wanted to do something dramatic to the design. Sure, not much work had gone into it yet but when you are cutting by hand, everything takes a bit more time. 

I was reasonably happy with the outline at this stage so went about cleaning it up and bringing the excess in to the outline(s). Yeah I got a bit all over the place with pencil marks which only ADDED to the fun. 

Something was just not sitting right with me, the shape was too “friendly” and a little goofy looking, the horns were too bulbous or something, I mean, it looked okay but it was just a bit, meh. You know what I mean? I just felt like I had seen it before and to me, what is the point of doing something that has been done to perfection a million times before? I wanted something original and organic, I like to work that way, it’s why I use hand tools as much as possible, I’m not saying you can’t get the same feeling from a power tool, but for me it feels like I am allowing the shape to show itself by making as much contact as possible with hand tools. 

Welp, things just got a bit spiritual there…

Here’s the revised shape after some tweaking.

I think it’s still wearing it’s influences on it’s sleeves to an extent but I feel like it’s much more of an original look and with the sharper horns and planned pickguard I think the 70’s Japanese guitar look will shine through. 

Once the body template was shaped I just felt like doing some playing around with hardware and neck idea’s. My first thought was to put a Tune o’ matic bridge on there and swiftly threw some parts form an Epiphone on there to have a look, I tried full stop tail and also tried using the stop tail as a rough idea as to how a wrap around bridge would look.

As much as I did like the idea of a wrap around, not only for looks but for tone and sustain I know I am not in a position to chisel out a neck pocket with a two degree angle, not do I want to angle a neck heel, or even put a shim in there because I hate being able to see them, or the space they leave if you don’t use a full pocket shim. \

So what do?! 

I decided the only responsible thing to do on an offset guitar like this would be to use a Fender Mustang bridge. as I’m not looking at doing a string through body here. So the only way I could be sure about that being what I wanted was to mock it up, sadly I didn’t have one lying around that I could use unless I wanted to pull someone else’s guitar apart that I’m meant to be doing a set up on. It was time to get some quick photoshopping on. In the picture you will notice a few things, one a strange colour - that won’t be the colour, two some TV Jones Pickups - I’m actually thinking them or some Lollar’s it’s a bit in the air still, three a CBS style stratocaster neck with jumbo headstock - that is actually the look I will be going for with this build, four all manner of strange pickgaurd ideas - who know’s what I’m doing but yeah, ummmmm, as an idea I actually don’t mind it. 

And that is where this one is at, lot’s of work to do, but I’m looking forward to seeing where the build goes next. IF I BUILD A FLYING V BY ACCIDENT SOMETHING WENT SO SO SO WRONG. 

Later gang.