Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by tony bradley on December 4, 2011 at 11:03am

I am looking for a three string neck

Permalink Reply by Ian MC Donald on December 4, 2011 at 11:50am

Hi Tony,

I can make you necks what are you after,

let me know,

regards

ian

Permalink Reply by Ian MC Donald on December 4, 2011 at 11:53am

 tony,

Ive got maple,oak and walnut at the moment,

i can make them as blanks with fingerboard bonded ready for fretting,

normally i use scarf joints

ian

Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on December 5, 2011 at 1:13am

I'd definitely encourage you to make your own neck, especially as a simple 3 string fretless for a first time built. One of the problems of making necks for other people is that there's no standard way of doing the fitting to the box etc, so you may still be left with a lot of work to do to fit it to your box, trim the fretboard & neck to length etc, unless you know exactly how it's all going to fit together and can specify the details.

I do make necks for other people... and they aren't cheap, as there's a lot of work in them, but they are right! Here's some on the go right now...finished one on the top , the others are rough shaped..one of a pair for a customer 4 string..(the other is a 5 string with 2 way trussrod)..mahog/oak laminated with rosewood 'ears' & fretboard, abalone markers..the others are going into my reso 3 strings..oak/mahog laminated, with mahogany and wenge fretboards.

At Boxstock we were making 3 string fretless necks from B & Q sawn 38 x 25 softwood...dirt cheap and it works..couple of quid for a length that you'll get two out of.

Permalink Reply by tony bradley on December 5, 2011 at 6:37am

M


ChickenboneJohn said:

I'd definitely encourage you to make your own neck, especially as a simple 3 string fretless for a first time built. One of the problems of making necks for other people is that there's no standard way of doing the fitting to the box etc, so you may still be left with a lot of work to do to fit it to your box, trim the fretboard & neck to length etc, unless you know exactly how it's all going to fit together and can specify the details.

I do make necks for other people... and they aren't cheap, as there's a lot of work in them, but they are right! Here's some on the go right now...finished one on the top , the others are rough shaped..one of a pair for a customer 4 string..(the other is a 5 string with 2 way trussrod)..mahog/oak laminated with rosewood 'ears' & fretboard, abalone markers..the others are going into my reso 3 strings..oak/mahog laminated, with mahogany and wenge fretboards.

At Boxstock we were making 3 string fretless necks from B & Q sawn 38 x 25 softwood...dirt cheap and it works..couple of quid for a length that you'll get two out of.

Permalink Reply by tony bradley on December 5, 2011 at 6:48am

Many thanks for the reply, your necks look great. I will have a think on the way forward, I am happy with the work involved in making the box, maybe when I have tracked a nice one down, I could then talk to you about specifics. I do not mind paying for good quality workmanship as is demonstrated in you photo.

Permalink Reply by tony bradley on December 5, 2011 at 6:55am

Ian, thank you for your reply, I will give some thought to it and make contact.
Ian MC Donald said:

 tony,

Ive got maple,oak and walnut at the moment,

i can make them as blanks with fingerboard bonded ready for fretting,

normally i use scarf joints

ian

Permalink Reply by Gary Williams on December 6, 2011 at 5:32am

John

What are the advantages of adding finger boards as apposed to putting the fret directly into the neck is there any musical advantage or is it just for looks, do you plane your own finger boards or do you buy them Im guessing they are about 4mm. I have made three CBG's plus a big bass but they have all been fretless I am working my way up to trying a fretted neck but it seems a bit scary to me .

Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on December 6, 2011 at 6:54pm

Everything I do is from raw timber, so all the laminations, thicknessing of fretboards etc.is done in my own workshop.

Adding a separate fretboard isn't done for musical or visual reasons, it's a matter of  practicality.

You can set the frets direct into the top of the neck, if you've got the timber thick enough to cut your headstock from it..just as Fender did on the original Telecaster..one piece neck necks with no separate fretboard.  I sometimes do this, but usually the raw timber I'm working with isn't thick enough for it, so I use a seperate fretboard. Also, with the scarf jointed headstocks (tilted back) the fretboard covers the scarf joint in the neck. Adding a fretboard also helps with the "break angle" over the nut when making the 'set-back" (Fender style) headstocks, and adds some overall stiffness and stability compared with a single piece neck. Fretboard timber also tends to be hard, so holds the frets and resists wear from the fingers, but I use a lot of stuff for fretboards that isn't 'traditional' for guitarmaking.

So the decision to add a separate fretboard is really driven by the geometry of the headstock and break angle, and the practical woodworking aspects of covering the joint and building up a thick enough neck.

Permalink Reply by tony bradley on December 21, 2011 at 9:14am

Hi Ian, I would like a couple made with oak, blanks with fingerboard bonded would be great. I would like the neck to be only 1 1/4 inches wide if possible.
Ian MC Donald said:

 tony,

Ive got maple,oak and walnut at the moment,

i can make them as blanks with fingerboard bonded ready for fretting,

normally i use scarf joints

ian

Permalink Reply by Ian MC Donald on December 21, 2011 at 9:39am

Hi Tony,
Have you any idea on headstock ?
I can leave it the same width as neck as you've requested,
I can bond maple or oak to it or walnut ready for shaping by you
I will post a picture of a standard blank with a walnut fingerboard that is fretted ,
It's for a client who just wants a standard (if there is such a thing) 3string
I will of course do it whatever way you want
Once I've posted it let me know what you think,
I've just finished a 3 string guitar this week I've called it " the joker" I will post pics later tonight it's come out great and sounds amazing through my fender blues junior , let me know what you think
Be good to get feedback on it,
Cheers
Ian

Permalink Reply by tony bradley on December 21, 2011 at 10:32am

Ian, look forward to seeing your post and then I will confirm.
Cheers
TonyB