Decibel Javelin dB4 for Dan Spitz: Buildstory!

[darren]

Build:

• dB4

Model:

• Javelin

Body:

• 2-piece Black limba back with 1″ 1-piece figured maple top

Neck:

• 5-piece curly black limba with 2 black-and-white Gabon ebony stringers

Fretboard:

• Snakewood, 14″ to 22″ compound radius (32″ radius at the bridge)
• 25.5″ scale
• 24 Jescar 57110-S (stainless) frets

Electronics:

• DiMarzio Dan Spitz Signature set
• Free-Way 6-way toggle
• Master volume 500k pot
• Master tone 500k pot
• Recessed locking Neutrik output jack

Hardware:

• Bridge: recessed Schaller Hannes fixed 6 (black)
• Tuners: Hipshot Grip-Lock (black)

Start date:

• June 17, 2011

About a month ago, i got an email out of the blue asking if i would be interested in collaborating with Dan Spitz on a guitar he would use on the upcoming Red Lamb tour. There’s no way i could NOT jump at the opportunity to work with a Grammy-nominated metal legend. The next day we had a great chat on the phone and talked rough specs and wood ideas, and have been sending a flurry of emails back and forth over the last month, collaborating on specs and sharing ideas.

Here's where we are now, just about ready to prototype:


This rendering shows the control locations, cavities for the signature DiMarzio pickups being made for Dan by Steve Blucher, and the recess for the Schaller Hannes bridge.



The nature of the deeply radiused top means i have to start with VERY thick pieces of wood. The top starts at 1.5″ thick. The top and mating surfaces are radiused so the body ends up being about a 50/50 mix of the top and back woods, with each being about 1″ thick at the middle.



The radius top allows the controls to be easily accessible, but out of the way at the same time.



Black limba. (body back)



Wild/quilted/spalted 1-piece maple top



Figured black limba. (neck core and headstock)



Black and white Gabon ebony. (neck stringers)



Snakewood. (fretboard)



This shows the geometry for the compound radius fretboard to Dan’s specs. It starts around 14″ at the nut and goes to 32″ at the bridge. (This results in about a 22″ radius at the 24th fret). The headstock face will also have a radius to match the nut end of the fretboard.



The wood layout for Dan’s Javelin. 2-piece black limba back, figured black limba neck with two ebony stringers, snakewood fretboard and headstock overlay. And a SICK quilted/spalted/wild 1-piece maple top.

Since this is my first build with a top/back configuration, i'll likely be running a prototype body in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for updates!

[kruneh]

I wish I was Dan Spitz.

[7slinger]

Congrats, I can only imagine how exciting this must be. Getting a call out of the blue like that must have been awesome...did Danny mention how he found you?

Good luck on the build, and the potential awesomeness that could very well follow.

[ROAR]

That looks absolutely incredible.

[midian]

Why the "reverse" scarfjoint? Good luck with the build!

[darren]

Originally Posted by 7slinger

Congrats, I can only imagine how exciting this must be. Getting a call out of the blue like that must have been awesome...did Danny mention how he found you?

Good luck on the build, and the potential awesomeness that could very well follow.

Yeah, it was pretty mind-blowing. I kept getting goosebumps on the day i got the email.

He's been great to work with and has had a TON of experience over the years building hundreds of guitars with Grover Jackson and Paul Reed Smith (among others) to achieve his very specific tonal requirements. He's currently building an arsenal of guitars from smaller, independent builders who are out there on the edge, and i'm totally honoured to have been chosen.

I did ask how he found me, and he just said, "On the Internet!" I think we probably have some friends in common (e.g. Fred the Shred) and some buzz has spread that way.

[darren]

Originally Posted by midian

Why the "reverse" scarfjoint? Good luck with the build!

Haha! Whoops! I drew that curve the wrong way on the mockup!

EDIT: Fixed!

[Curt]

I love the javelin body style.

[shadscbr]

That's very cool Darren, Congrats!

Shad

[Spitz]

Originally Posted by 7slinger

Congrats, I can only imagine how exciting this must be. Getting a call out of the blue like that must have been awesome...did Danny mention how he found you?

Good luck on the build, and the potential awesomeness that could very well follow.

I was looking for the most innovative luthiers alive and first stumbled upon Darren's incredible design on my surf quest.

I think second was a video of Misha Mansoor with a happy face and a new guitar / weapon.

[ROAR]

^Hey-o is that a new member!?


Looking forward to this buildstory Darren

[Curt]

Originally Posted by Spitz

I was looking for the most innovative luthiers alive and first stumbled upon Darren's incredible design on my surf quest.

I think second was a video of Misha Mansoor with a happy face and a new guitar / weapon.

Hey, dude.

This thing looks like it's going to turn out killer!
I'm sure you'll be happy with the end product.

[raifo]

Very snazzy looking guitar! I can't wait to see this. Between this, and the 10 string Jackson, I have become quite the envious bastard.

[Fred the Shred]

Yeap, that's the plan Dan is following. In the end of all this, he'll have some impressive instruments made with a lot of proximity to the luthiers he's chosen to work with. I am quite anxious to see how they turn up!

In Darren's defense, by the time I vouched for your ideas, Dan's idea was pretty much set, and we just laughed a bit when I showed him the Db3 - we thought of the same thing, basically!

[ShadyDavey]

Dan's choosing some world-class builders for certain - looking forward to see how this all pans out in the end

[larry]

i do hope that mr. spitz will be gracious enough to
indulge us with NGD threads. i am curious as to who the
other luthiers are, but i wouldn't mind finding out via epic,
porn-laden, anti 56k, uber-fapp-thread.

congrats darren, and welcome aboard dan.

[TemjinStrife]

I will say, I am not used to seeing the Javelin as a 6-string

[darren]

Dan requested a black limba back with a crazy maple top, which required me to spend some time thinking of how to achieve that while keeping the design of the Javelin (and AMX) intact with the 16" radius top.

What i've decided to do is a concave/convex mating surface between the top and back, so the two woods will contribute more evenly toward the overall tone.

Doing the model with rough heel and body contours on the back was quite a challenge, especially to keep the model clean and able to be cut on CNC without issues. It's taken DAYS of modeling time to get it just right. (This is why CNC does not necessarily translate into cheaper instruments... there's a lot of time investment up-front to build the models properly.)

‪Javelin 3D model fly-around‬‏ - YouTube

[darren]

Another fly-around with the neck attached:

[Fred the Shred]

I can haz AMX fly-around? Pwease?

[darren]

I'll be carving the first couple of AMXes by hand... once i've got contours i'm happy with, i'll digitize them. But i'll post pics and videos as they get carved!

[Fred the Shred]

My AMX is being done the tr00 and kvlt way, then? Cool beans!

[toiletstand]

cant wait for mass production

[darren]

Spent some time today working on modeling the fretboard with graduated scallops from the 19th to 24th fret:

[Hemi-Powered Drone]

I still can't get over how absurdly gorgeous this is going to be. Dan Spitz is extremely lucky to be getting this guitar!