# New fan fret 8 string build!



## Serratus (Feb 11, 2015)

I've got a little way through this build  lots more work to do but I thought I'd share it for now!

Fan fret 8-string 26.5 to 28 scale 29 frets
One piece wenge body with bookmatched myrtlewood front
Brazilian mahogany one piece neck with Pau ferro fingerboard, 16 radius, narrow/high fretwire
Fixed bridge with (initially) a Duncan designed active pickup, to be replaced later!
And it has a extra nut that's one whole tone lower on the bottom 3 strings, with a capo type device that I've built which will hold the strings at the main nut, or allow them to be dropped a tone lower.

Some pics:

The design:






The wenge back (which is actually big enough to do another guitar too):





The front after I'd glued it together:





The front in the sun with the guitar drawn on it:





Neck woods:





Truss rod and graphite rods installed:





Neck started:





Fingerboard slotted:





Side and front dots inlaid:





Board radiused, levelled and sanded, machinehead holes drilled:





Bridge built from stainless steel:





Capo thingy to hold the 3 bottom strings against the normal zero fret. I've got rid of the rubber bands now and there are springs instead to hold them up. The second pic shows all 3 up, but they work independently so each string can be dropped a tone. The magnets will hold them down:


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## M3CHK1LLA (Feb 11, 2015)

nice work...i'll be watching this thread.

interested to see how the capo thing works...


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Feb 11, 2015)

Wow... one piece Wenge body? I'm curious now to see how much this guitar weighs.


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## immortalx (Feb 11, 2015)

So many nice ideas and features on this one


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## Axayacatl (Feb 11, 2015)

I want pondman and serratus to hot steamy bang and create a child that builds guitars. 

I will not respect science until such a thing is possible.


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## Deegatron (Feb 12, 2015)

Axayacatl said:


> I want pondman and serratus to hot steamy bang and create a child that builds guitars.
> 
> I will not respect science until such a thing is possible.


 
Would such a thing not create a black hole and implode the universe?


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## Serratus (Feb 12, 2015)

Haha, thanks guys!

I'm gonna weight relieve the wenge (ie, drill holes in it before the front is glued on), although in its block form it doesn't feel any heavier than a piece of ash or sapelle, etc.

And I'm interested to see if the capo, etc, works too!! I've done some experiments with it so I think it will, but if it really doesn't then I can always just cut the extra nut, etc from the neck and return it to a normal nut. It's all about balancing the pull of the magnets (which hold it 'shut' and hold the strings down) against the spring that holds it open. It will be interesting!


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## Slunk Dragon (Feb 12, 2015)

DUDE! This entire build looks awesome!!!

That capo kind of baffles me as far as how it will work, but I really look forward to seeing this thing come together!


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## skeels (Feb 12, 2015)

skeels likes this


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## Renkenstein (Feb 12, 2015)

I'm intrigued. Say, what are those splines on either side of the truss rod in the neck?


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## Serratus (Feb 13, 2015)

Renkenstein said:


> I'm intrigued. Say, what are those splines on either side of the truss rod in the neck?



They're graphite rods to stiffen that area of the neck. I couldn't get a truss rod that was the correct length; bass ones were too long, and the guitar one that I got stopped a bit short of the neck/body join, so I've used the graphite to make sure that the area at the end of the truss rod doesn't move (so the truss rod will still adjust the head end of the neck, and the graphite will keep the body end of the neck straight).


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## bostjan (Feb 13, 2015)

Wow! That's interesting.


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## shikamaru (Feb 13, 2015)

Very nice ! Lots of creative ideas here, good luck man!


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## BigBaldIan (Feb 13, 2015)

Going to ask a really dumb question at this point, why don't the graphite rods run the whole length of the neck?


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## BlackMastodon (Feb 13, 2015)

I am very intrigued to say the least. Absolutely looking forward to how you partial capo will work out, and I'm liking everything else about this build, too! The bridge plate is also really cool.


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## Serratus (Feb 14, 2015)

BigBaldIan said:


> Going to ask a really dumb question at this point, why don't the graphite rods run the whole length of the neck?



Haha, not a dumb question at all!
I've done a few builds now with graphite rods the whole length alongside the normal truss rod. It does make the neck very stiff, but if you want to put a bit of relief in the neck then you really have to wind the truss rod hard, because you're fighting against the stiffness of the graphite. So I'm giving this a try instead because I figure that you want the body end of the neck to stay flat and straight, and then use the normal truss rod to put a gentle curve in the neck starting from about a third of the way along to get a touch of relief in it.
That's my thinking anyway  (hope that made sense!).


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## Serratus (Feb 20, 2015)

Frets done!


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## bostjan (Feb 20, 2015)

In the last photo, the neck no longer looks multiscale. Weird, huh?

Is the neck as-of-yet unprofiled?

I'm still really interested to see how this turns out.


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Feb 20, 2015)

Serratus said:


>



THICKEST. NECK. EVER.

Nicely done fret ends though...


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## BlackMastodon (Feb 20, 2015)

I was also gonna make a joke about how thick that neck is (getting into coffee table territory) but then I started drooling over the rounded fret ends. Looks amazing, man!


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## Serratus (Feb 21, 2015)

Hahaha, you do realise it's not gonna stay that thick, right? LOL

Anyway, here's a pic from the front which shows the fan better


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## Obstsalat (Feb 21, 2015)

i see you have ball-end frets. how'd you make them?
do you install and then file them or do you trim + round'em up before you put them in?

cuz i tried the first method and destroyed a fretboard with that


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## Hollowway (Feb 21, 2015)

OH MY GOD! That is the best fret job I have ever seen! Bravo!


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## Serratus (Feb 21, 2015)

Obstsalat said:


> i see you have ball-end frets. how'd you make them?
> do you install and then file them or do you trim + round'em up before you put them in?
> 
> cuz i tried the first method and destroyed a fretboard with that



I do each fret first. So I use a micrometer to measure the width of the fret slot, cut the fret to that length, file the ball-ends, then install the fret. Takes ages but it feels really nice, and its so nice knowing that there's no more work needed on the fret ends once they're in


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## vansinn (Feb 23, 2015)

Interesting concepts, will follow.
I like your extended extra note tech solution; like many, I also have been thinking in such direction, though more for bass.


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## electriceye (Feb 23, 2015)

Nice! I think chambering it would be a great idea anyway. Bet it will be much more resonant. Can't wait to see more!


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## MikeK (Feb 23, 2015)

Great work so far man. That fret work is simply amazing.


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Feb 23, 2015)

Serratus said:


> I do each fret first. So I use a micrometer to measure the width of the fret slot, cut the fret to that length, file the ball-ends, then install the fret. Takes ages but it feels really nice, and its so nice knowing that there's no more work needed on the fret ends once they're in



That's cool man, I could understand the reasoning why you round them over before installing them. I never went further than just beveling the fret ends on necks I've built, too much chance to scratch up the wood after the frets are already in. I think I'm gonna try doing it this way on my next build, I don't think I'd mind if it takes longer, I'd rather it be done right than done quick.


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## superash (Feb 23, 2015)

This build is looking fat (not just because of the neck ).

Keep up the good work!


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## Serratus (Feb 28, 2015)

Got the neck roughly shaped. Needs a bit more work to smooth out all the curves but it's not too far from being done. 21mm at the first fret to 22mm at fret 14.


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## Serratus (Mar 6, 2015)

Weight relief in the one piece wenge back, and the electronics cavity (and wire channel to the pickup) cut.





Got the top glued onto the back, and did just a rough mock up (there's no routing done yet - the neck and bridge are just sat on the top). Obviously none of the body woods are cut down to size yet - you can just see the body outline drawn on the top.


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## Renkenstein (Mar 6, 2015)

Boy, you better play all dem frets nyah! 

Awesome! Love that wenge back!


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## Serratus (Mar 7, 2015)

Hah, I will try to play them all!!!lol

I do love the mock up picture - the outline of the top looks like a childs drawing of a guitar!! Looking forward to getting it cut out properly


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## skeels (Mar 7, 2015)

This is looking better all the time! Love those woods!


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## SilentCartographer (Mar 7, 2015)

looking classy! Awesome work thus far, I'm quite the "fan" of this build


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## shadowlife (Mar 7, 2015)

Looking great so far!!!


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## Serratus (Mar 10, 2015)

Got the neck and pickup routs done, the control cavity and cover, and the neck and string holes and ferrules done. All needs cleaning up yet, and then it's on to cutting it out!


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## Serratus (Mar 15, 2015)

Got the body cut out and roughly shaped - lots of sanding to do now!! Sorry its a rubbish pic but gives you an idea of what it will look like:


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## immortalx (Mar 15, 2015)

Such fantastic work, especially the ball end frets!


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## Serratus (Mar 16, 2015)

Got the body pretty much finished, and started oiling it - the figure of the top really popped when the first coat of oil went on!


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## Alex Kenivel (Mar 16, 2015)

GOOD LAWD!


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## JuliusJahn (Mar 18, 2015)

Which oil did you end up using?


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## Serratus (Mar 19, 2015)

JuliusJahn said:


> Which oil did you end up using?



It's a guitar finishing oil that I bought from a uk luthiers supplier. It's quite thick so I think I'll have to do some wet sanding with oil to take away the excess that there is in certain places. Then maybe wax polish it.


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## Renkenstein (Mar 19, 2015)

Yeah, that looks fantastic!


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## Serratus (Mar 28, 2015)

Getting there!!


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## SilentCartographer (Mar 28, 2015)

IS THIS DONE???????


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## SilentCartographer (Mar 29, 2015)

that pickup/bridge ring is unreal


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## Serratus (Mar 29, 2015)

SilentCartographer said:


> that pickup/bridge ring is unreal



Thanks m8 - I mainly did it to help the look of the angled pickup. I usually only like the look of angled coils on fan-fret guitars (where the coil angle matches the angle of the bridge). But as I had an active pickup for this guitar, I decided to do this with the bridge surround to hide the squareness of the pickup. I think it helps the appearance, probably because we're used to seeing a tele bridge with an angled pickup in it, imho 
I also really like that the angle of the flame in the wood matches the bridge angle!!


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Mar 29, 2015)

Wow man, that thing turned out nice. What's the final weight of it? Also is the top flat or does it have a little bit of an arch?


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## SilentCartographer (Mar 29, 2015)

hells ya man, almost like a tele somewhat with that ring.. you got skills, for sure love how the flame is angled the same, would love to shred this mufugga


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## immortalx (Mar 29, 2015)

SilentCartographer said:


> that pickup/bridge ring is unreal


+1000 Im definitely digging the look of it


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## Serratus (Mar 30, 2015)

DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> Wow man, that thing turned out nice. What's the final weight of it? Also is the top flat or does it have a little bit of an arch?



Not sure what the weight is, although its not light! I'm pleased I did the weight relieving in the wenge because without that it would weigh a ton!
And no, the top isn't arched, it's flat - still feels nice and comfy with the big tummy contour and rounded edges though


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## Serratus (Apr 8, 2015)

It's finished! NGD thread here:
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/extended-range-guitars/293056-ngd-fan-fret-8-string-finished.html


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## Renkenstein (Apr 8, 2015)

Serratus...would you mind sharing what screws you used for fastening the Wilkinson saddles to your bridge plate there? I've got to manufacture a bridge plate for the Raze, and I have the saddles, but didn't realize they didn't include those screws. That would be a huge help to me.

...and this build is flippin' RIGHTEOUS!!! Excellent job, bud.


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## Serratus (Apr 9, 2015)

Renkenstein said:


> Serratus...would you mind sharing what screws you used for fastening the Wilkinson saddles to your bridge plate there? I've got to manufacture a bridge plate for the Raze, and I have the saddles, but didn't realize they didn't include those screws. That would be a huge help to me.
> 
> ...and this build is flippin' RIGHTEOUS!!! Excellent job, bud.



Hi m8,
Not sure if you can get the same bolts in the US (I'm in the UK), but this is what I did: The saddles I got actually came with some bolts but I couldn't match the thread, so I bought some M3 dome-headed bolts (3mm thick and about 15mm long, with a hex key top) and an M3 tap. The bridge plate was drilled with a 2.5mm drill, and then I used the tap to put an M3 thread into those holes. Then I routed a slot in the guitar body under those bolts so they can poke out the bottom of the plate.
Hope this helps


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## Serratus (Jun 1, 2015)

I've just put this in the NGD thread but as it's showing the capo thing that I built I thought some of you might be interested and might be more likely to see it in this thread. 
So it's a quick video of me using the capo thing to drop the bottom strings! Only recorded on my phone so it's probably all treble!!!lol But hopefully you get the idea


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## KnightroExpress (Jun 1, 2015)

That is too cool, dude. Nice work!


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## Obstsalat (Jun 1, 2015)

the drop tuning system has so much style. i can't even handle it


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