/r/Luthier

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Everything about making musical instruments

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  • If you are looking for help with a problem, you must include a specific description of the issue somewhere in your post or in the comments as well as what steps you've already taken to try and resolve it.

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  • Posts must be related to the actual practice of luthiery.

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    /r/Luthier

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    3

    I can feel the seam on the this skunk stripe, some of which is visible in the photo. Will this become a problem?

    Is this an indication of a future issue? I'd rather not feel it while playing (bought the neck used and somehow didn't notice) Can I just lightly sand with some 2000?

    1 Comment
    2024/12/14
    20:46 UTC

    1

    Martin D-15M - cracks or scratches?

    Hi all, I’m looking to purchase this D-15M from a private seller. They said it has two small cracks on the back and provided the picture in the post.

    I’m going to look at the guitar in person sometime this week, but wanted to ask y’all’s opinion here - do these look like cracks, and if so, how big of an issue would this be? Thanks!

    1 Comment
    2024/12/14
    20:23 UTC

    1

    Nut slot advice?

    Hey all, working on a new guitar, and wondering what is an acceptable amount of “sharpness” at 1st fret. I’ve got it slotted to .010 on high e, and it still pulls sharp at the 1st fret. Do you all file until you’re truly in tune, or is a few cents sharp as close as I’m going to get? All other frets are in tune, with normal variance, and I’m a little hesitant to file any deeper. Thank you for any advice!

    3 Comments
    2024/12/14
    20:16 UTC

    1

    New Charvin electric - neck seems a little loose to the body?

    Hi folks,

    I bought a charvin electric guitar about a week ago. I love the sound and the feel. It's seemed like a really nice guitar.

    A few days agoI was removing the shoulder strap and felt a 'pop' , then found it was out of tune. I took it back to the shop the next day and explained. They guy there couldn't reproduce the issue, but he said the nuts may be a bit loose. He tightened them and said it was probably ok.

    Last night it happened again more than once, and it's worse. I have sent them an email that I'll be returning on Monday.

    What is going on here? Can the bolts just be tightened up like winter tires after 100 kilometers?

    I think I'm going to demand either cash or credit for a new guitar.

    0 Comments
    2024/12/14
    19:43 UTC

    2

    Thinking about making a 20” scale fretless guitar.

    Just a rough sketch don’t judge me. I want to try and make a 1-piece micarta neck for it. Every 5mm equals 1in for scale on the ruler.

    5 Comments
    2024/12/14
    19:23 UTC

    3

    Murphy's Oil Soap to clean fretboard?

    Changing my strings and considered using Murphy's Oil Soap to clean my fretboard? Google is split (but leaning toward "yes it's fine"). What's the consensus here?

    10 Comments
    2024/12/14
    19:21 UTC

    4

    Unfinished maple fretboard

    Hi all, I’m assembling a kit which has an unfinished maple fretboard and I am wondering how I should finish it. I used a furniture oil on the pawlonia body, which I optically like. Can I use the same on the neck and fretboard? Is it an option to leave them unfinished? Any other options that aren’t too costly?

    0 Comments
    2024/12/14
    18:59 UTC

    3

    Saturday morning glue up.

    0 Comments
    2024/12/14
    18:38 UTC

    17

    Does shielding tape make a difference?

    I've had this guitar for around 22 years, repainted it about a dozen times, and I finally put in some shielding tape. I don't have any buzzing or static out of the amp, but I didn't before either. Just curious if it's necessary thanks!

    21 Comments
    2024/12/14
    17:35 UTC

    3

    Best body wood grain for hot branding?

    Hi all,

    First time partscaster build. Planning a Warmoth Tele build revolving around my great-grandfather’s cattle brand. What I’d originally envisioned was a one-piece ash body with tortoise binding, but I’m worried there would be “too much” going on with the brand, the wood grain, and the binding. Would they clash? I was planning on a natural finish. Is there a wood grain that y’all think the brand would complement better color-wise?

    I was also planning on a padauk neck with ebony board to complement the colors of the brand and the binding, if that provides any context.

    4 Comments
    2024/12/14
    17:21 UTC

    146

    I just found the coolest drop top

    It’s roasted ash. From my wood guy. I think I’m going to make a thinline tele type guitar out of it.

    12 Comments
    2024/12/14
    16:11 UTC

    1

    Building an Electric Strat Style Guitar

    Hey everyone! I'm trying to make a strat style guitar for my first guitar build. I haven't built any instruments ever before, and i don't have too many tools at my disposal. I'm not sure if I have everything that I need for the build, and I have a few questions. Firstly, I'm a little confused on where to find a cheap neck. Can i take one from a acoustic guitar? Also, I need some advice on where to buy my components. I'm in the US btw. Here's what I have right now:

    Pickups - 20$

    Bridge - 10$

    Tuners - 10$

    Input Jack - 10$

    Thanks for reading this, please drop some advice down below!

    8 Comments
    2024/12/14
    16:03 UTC

    1

    Harley Benton CST-24 ground issues? How to fix the hum?

    I bought a Harley Benton CST-24 HH kit and assembled it. I wasn't playing it much but today I tried it with a new practice amp (Boss Katana Mini, previous amp had a pretty loud hum problem even unplugged) and noticed that it buzzes a lot especially with heavy distortion. Amp works well with other guitars so that's probably not the problem. Tried a few other cables but the hum is still present. When I touch the strings or bridge it gets a bit better but not totally quiet.

    I am aware of a similar problem with HB teles where the whole underneath of the bridge is coated so the ground wire won't touch bare metal and it can be solved by scratching the plate a bit. Could this be a similar problem? I used the stock presoldered controls, only replaced the jack since it was loose.

    5 Comments
    2024/12/14
    15:51 UTC

    2

    Neck joint and intonation issues, help!

    So here's a classic case of partscaster screw up; The neck comes from a Chinese DIY kit, and the body was custom ordered (not for this neck).

    Long story short, I'm not sure it's got enough glueing area to ensure a stable neck, but the main issue is that the holes for the bridge were not drilled where they should've been, they're supposed to be a bit further back.

    I'm really at a loss here, maybe there's an ingenious solution I'm not seeing? I know it's a stretch XD. Anyway, what would you guys do? I'd really appreciate any feedback at all!

    https://preview.redd.it/gcs6lgb92u6e1.jpg?width=1848&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=482301c455c40884d187121289d498a86ec15819

    3 Comments
    2024/12/14
    15:32 UTC

    45

    What do you guys think of this? Made from dead parts from around the shop.

    6 Comments
    2024/12/14
    14:46 UTC

    8

    High e rolling off fret board

    So I finally tried out my new budget guitar for $380. I went to go play the intro of "Mr. Brownstone" from Gun's and Roses which involves a lot of pull offs on the high E string. Each pull off I rolled right off the fret board. When pulling off on more mode scale type shredding. Just a basic decending pull off on the high E. I rolled right off the fret board again.

    • how can I fix this? Is it string spacing? My own playing that I'll have to relearn? Or is it just the guitar? It's a Floyd Rose Special. Do I have to get a new Floyd Rose with different string spacing and/or a locking nut? Kind of pissed
    16 Comments
    2024/12/14
    14:41 UTC

    24

    First ever build

    Never built a guitar before, this is my first, took me about 3 months though most the time was me not working on it and thinking about what to do next because I have a bad adhd brain and constantly put things off…

    Couple questions, I made this as a gift and the person receiving it I know doesn’t love Floyd rose, I have a block for it, but without googling it I’m confused on whether I make it a permanent fixture or place it in under spring tension to hold it, I’ll google it at some point just figure since I’m posting I’d ask.

    1 Comment
    2024/12/14
    13:37 UTC

    0

    What dimensions should be the wood used for a bass body ?

    Hi, as the title says, I'm planning to shape my first ever solid body electric bass, I'm lucky enough to have several wood sellers/importers, so I'd like to know what would be the dimensions to carve a Rickenbacker inspired body.

    4 Comments
    2024/12/14
    12:57 UTC

    47

    Les Paul style

    Maple neck bolt on. Mahogany and zebrano top. Sounds really good in my opinion.

    4 Comments
    2024/12/14
    09:59 UTC

    9

    Dialing in the Kiesel Vader 8: Fretwork & Tone Upgrade!

    In this video, I’m routing a cavity for a new pickup, adding a switch slot, and leveling the frets on this Kiesel Vader 8. Fret leveling is something every guitar needs—yep, even the high-end ones!

    0 Comments
    2024/12/14
    08:46 UTC

    2

    Feedback gets worse when i put my hand on the strings

    4 Comments
    2024/12/14
    08:45 UTC

    1

    Pickup switch

    So i have a Ibanez RGRT421-WK but it turns out im not a huge fan of humbuckers and i was wondering if i could switch the pickups the guitar comes with to a Fender Pure Vintage 59 pickups which are single coils?

    1 Comment
    2024/12/14
    08:36 UTC

    7

    Carvin AC50 Truss rod replacement update

    With the help of a local craftsmen, the truss rod has been successfully extracted.

    Currently, the bass is with a local Luthier while he makes me a truss rod. I may get him to install it too. All in all the extraction went very smoothly. Once the maple strip was routed out and the rod was exposed, I used a drill to break the old rod into two pieces. After that I unscrewed each end out of the square nuts at either end of the neck. To extract the square nuts I used a soldering iron and heat gun to loosen the resin, then used some pliers to lift the nuts out. If you look closely at the bottom square nut void you can see the wood got a bit scorched, lol.

    2 Comments
    2024/12/14
    05:18 UTC

    1

    Aluminum necks

    I’ve long pondered making an aluminum necked guitar but I have always heard of the whole “thermal expansion will knock it out of tune just from playing”. As a welder I find it hard to believe but I want know if anyone here can attest to it or if it’s just some kind of fudd lore thing circumventing the internet. I know aluminum isn’t the most common neck matierla by any means but it’s far from dead. I’ve studied the Velenos, bean, and rickenbackers as much as I could as well as reading up on the specifications from the American welding society on 6061 aluminum which is what I’d use and see nothing indicating anything of concern. Thanks a lot!

    14 Comments
    2024/12/14
    04:47 UTC

    22

    My first parts caster

    Warmth 59 round back profile, tone rider hot classics pickups, harness with a 4 way pickup selector. Wired so position 4 is both pickups in series, like a humbucker. Sounds great.

    2 Comments
    2024/12/14
    04:21 UTC

    2

    Using ASH wood that is infected with a black fungus

    I had a friend cut a chunk of his ash tree for me and its been sitting around my office for 4 years. Now that im ready to cut it into a Tele body, I noticed it has a few black streaks going down the grain. You can see them on the ends too. Someone told me its a wood fungus. Will it still be stable enough to make a guitar body out of? Or is it now firewood?

    3 Comments
    2024/12/14
    04:18 UTC

    7

    Can this be fixed?

    So this guitar body was my first go at drilling for a string thru. I’ve since got the hang if it, but I still have this one hanging around that i’d like to make something of. I know it doesn’t look like it, but it’s really only the second hole from left that’s too high. Before I do trial and error I’m hoping someone can give advice on this? Is it possible to fix this and still install individual ferrule plugs? I did order a ferrule block just incase. But still, what’s the best way to get that hole lined up with the rest? TYIA guys!

    8 Comments
    2024/12/14
    03:09 UTC

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