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Permalink Reply by BT Cohosh on February 5, 2009 at 3:17pm

So far I've built ten guitars (which puts me way behind most of these guys) and I haven't bothered angling any of my headstocks. For the first couple I did the cutback on the face, and then laminated a thin piece to the back so that the tuning pegs would emerge at the right level.

More recently I've been doing three stringers with slotted headstocks -- in my town, at least, the plate-mounted tuners are a few bucks cheaper than the individual ones -- and I've found that with a slotted headstock you don't really need the angle or cutback.

That being said, I have been planning on building a guitar with an angled headstock, but I haven't got a clue how to do it...

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Permalink Reply by Delta Blues Classics - JStoltz on February 5, 2009 at 4:38pm

It is possible to build a fine playing cbg without incorporating neck angle. Jim Farris liked to use neck angle because he said it freed up some picking space at the box, but kept the strings lower to the frets. I personally get around the picking space prob by building conventionally by putting the neck straight through the box just below the lid. Then I laminate on a fretboard that is thick enough to bring it above the lid of the box a bit. The thicker fretboard brings your frets closer to the strings and allows you to run a taller bridge to preserve picking room at the box.

Angle is however somewhat important at the headstock. It helps keep the strings in position, prevent buzzing, and even improves tone. I find that by inserting my nut into the taller fretboard and by shaving a bit of angle into the headstock, I achieve enough angle to achieve the desired result. I usually also add a string retainer to the headstock, atleast on the strings going to the most distant tuners. This insures that the strings will remain in place when you're sawing on it pretty hard.

Just my thoughts on the matter, hope I've been of some assistance.

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Permalink Reply by spencer on February 5, 2009 at 5:50pm

ok...so what angle? I cut one 15 today and thought it was a bit drastic...so I cut one 11 and thought that was better but still more than I like.

I finished my first one the other day and can really see the advantage to putting the fretboard slightly above the box...my action was really low, but no room to pick. once I make my first few crappy ones, I'm hoping to have figured out my system for accurate fretting..I found some good 1/4 inch wood that would do the job nicely.

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Permalink Reply by SecondHandCBG on February 5, 2009 at 5:51pm

Angled heads aren't necessary but I find string pressure on the nut is greatly increased when you have an angled head. Therefore you have less chance of buzzing and string movement on the guitar nut. Anyway, i prefer angled heads but i've seen some great looking CBGs with both angled and straight heads. It's like the old Fender vs Gibson deal. The choice is yours my friend.

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Permalink Reply by Delta Blues Classics - JStoltz on February 5, 2009 at 7:47pm

spencer said:

ok...so what angle? I cut one 15 today and thought it was a bit drastic...so I cut one 11 and thought that was better but still more than I like.

I finished my first one the other day and can really see the advantage to putting the fretboard slightly above the box...my action was really low, but no room to pick. once I make my first few crappy ones, I'm hoping to have figured out my system for accurate fretting..I found some good 1/4 inch wood that would do the job nicely.

Spencer,
I believe that the best string angle for optimal vibrational performance is between 12 and 13 degrees. I don't personally get this technical generally, but I do remember hearing these values quoted before. I wouldn't exceed 15 degrees because it places unnecessary stress on the nut causing premature wear.

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Permalink Reply by JUJU on February 6, 2009 at 1:28am

The last build i made i put a 12% angle on it - by using head angle you place more pressure on the nut which in turn transfurs more sound through the neck and fingerboard which creates susstain on a flat headstock it is common to see string trees been used to create a downword force on the strings to stop them buzzing they buzz because theres no Break angle over the nut or in other words without the use of a string Tree the strings are more or less inline with the top of the nut - it's the same prosess on the bridge if the string angle between the bridge and ball ends of the strings is not great enough you will also get Buzzing - i learned this on my second build see photo the aluminium tail is a string tree i made to create downward pressure on the strings/bridge

on this pic you can see how i made the Scarf joint it differs from how most make them but does the same job but i think this method is stronger as you have a much more Glue contact area plus you have the added strength of the fingerboard glued over the neck and scarf joint.

at the end of the day it all depends how far you want to go with a build and how much time you want to spend building it hope this sheads a little light on the subject Ragards juju.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Werner on February 6, 2009 at 6:01am

There are more-or-less standard neck angles on commercially-produced instruments, but also a lot of wiggle room...
On my mandola, research indicated 5 degrees, which turned out to be near perfect. A nice roomy picking area and enough pressure on the top for good sound.
Banjos tend to use considerably less; 2 degrees or so.
Guitars vary greatly. Some electrics are almost flat and use string trees (notably Fender), whereas a lot of arch-tops use fairly steep angles.
I just saw a page on a fellow who's producing "zero pressure" bridges that are just short of floating....Claims superior sound..... Go figure.

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