# L A K U S - My 6 string 30 Inch Build



## L A K U S (Apr 12, 2013)

Hello everyone, I made a guitar.

Specs:

6 Strings
30.2" Scale
Headless - selfmade tuners and tailpieces
Neck-through construction
Body as thick as the neck
Tung Oil finish
Wenge+Maple body and neck
Carbon fiber reinforcements
Padouk fingerboard
24 3100 frets
Alumitone lowboy Humbuckers

total cost: 430 u$d

Im currently planning my second build.

Enjoy

Woods and CFK:







Hardware:






Milling:






More pics and videos soon


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## Stratton (Apr 12, 2013)

What is this going to be tuned to? 30" is used on short scale basses so I'm guessing it'll be pretty low.


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## Webmaestro (Apr 12, 2013)

Great first post, welcome! Looking forward to seeing this finished.


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## isispelican (Apr 12, 2013)

padouk looks great!


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## L A K U S (Apr 12, 2013)

Hello!, thanks. Tuning will be (low-high): F# - B - E - G# - C# - F#
And strings will be: .16 - .24 - .32 - .42 - .52 - .72


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## L A K U S (Apr 14, 2013)

Hello, so here are some more pics of the process. 
My aim was to combine precise machine work for all the milling and neck shaping and handwork for all the body shaping.

All woods glued together and ready for milling:






Milling the mic cavities:











Cavities compleated!






Milling the neck profile:











More pics sooooon!


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## ECGuitars (Apr 14, 2013)

Wow that's cool, haven't seen anyone milling a guitar by hand like that. Gotta be fun counting all those turns! Keep up the good work man!


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## Gregori (Apr 14, 2013)

Where are your safety glasses?!!


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## JEngelking (Apr 14, 2013)

Nice, interesting build! Will be following this.


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## Hollowway (Apr 14, 2013)

L A K U S said:


>



You should really be using a bigger machine. A little machine like that is not designed for a big job like this, and may get away from you while working.


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## skeels (Apr 14, 2013)

^ I know right! I was like, "That's a weird looking chisel and hammer!"


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## TheFashel12 (Apr 15, 2013)

Haven't been this excited for a build thread in a while , it's gonna be awesome


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## Pikka Bird (Apr 15, 2013)

Really nice looking work so far... Did you already reveal what the body shape is going to be? I didn't notice while admittedly skimming.


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## parksed24 (Apr 15, 2013)

mmmm Padouk 

I'm excited for this build!


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## BlackMastodon (Apr 15, 2013)

+1 for using a mill, that's pretty goddamn awesome!


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## UnderTheSign (Apr 15, 2013)

Gregori said:


> Where are your safety glasses?!!


I don't think I know a single woodworker that uses them save for when turning 

Interesting setups you're using!


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## L A K U S (Apr 15, 2013)

haha thanks to you all, yeah there are like 5 safety glasses in the workshop, covered with a really thick dust layer. I got all the safety i needed from my headphones, provided by meshugga's demolishing riffs of "demiurge"!


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## ECGuitars (Apr 15, 2013)

L A K U S said:


> haha thanks to you all, yeah there are like 5 safety glasses in the workshop, covered with a really thick dust layer. I got all the safety i needed from my headphones, provided by meshugga's demolishing riffs of "demiurge"!



Not to come off as an ass or anything, but using a machine like that you most definitely shouldn't have earbuds in and listening to music. Can't hear/tell what the machine is doing, extremely dangerous. But, that being said, really looking forward to the updates on this.


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## youshy (Apr 16, 2013)

ECGuitars said:


> Not to come off as an ass or anything, but using a machine like that you most definitely shouldn't have earbuds in and listening to music. Can't hear/tell what the machine is doing, extremely dangerous. But, that being said, really looking forward to the updates on this.



He's from europe, he doesn't give a fuck.

Jk, can't wait for end results!


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## Brill (Apr 16, 2013)

How are you gonna make the tuners?


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## L A K U S (Apr 18, 2013)

Hello!

Here are some pics I forgott to post, showing the design of the guitar.
Enjoy!

Front: 







Back:






[IMG

Side: Notice the body having the same thickness as the neck, thats 4 real!


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## jonajon91 (Apr 18, 2013)

What?! ... *WHAT!!!*


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## JosephAOI (Apr 20, 2013)

If the body is the same thickness as the neck, especially with a 30" scale neck, that's going to dive like a bitch.

Nice to see more baritones though.


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## Purelojik (Apr 20, 2013)

JosephAOI said:


> If the body is the same thickness as the neck, especially with a 30" scale neck, that's going to dive like a bitch.
> 
> Nice to see more baritones though.



This. i just completed a bass and the body was tiny and the neck dives. not as bad as a BC rich bass but still dives. i used some dumbells to check how much i'd have to counterbalance and i need about 2.5-3 lbs of weight in the control cavity to counter it.


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## jonajon91 (Apr 20, 2013)

Neck dive is a point actually, perhaps make the upper arch a little longer to move the strap lock over?


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## L A K U S (Apr 20, 2013)

Here are some more pics of the body shaping!


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## penguin_316 (Apr 20, 2013)

This looks awesome but I'm very concerned about neck dive as well. Especially using Lace pickups that are super light also. You may have to cave in and add another wood laminate to the back of the body.

Then again there are always those silly weights you put in your guitar strap lol.


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## MF_Kitten (Apr 21, 2013)

penguin_316 said:


> Then again there are always those silly weights you put in your guitar strap lol.



Wait, that's a thing?!


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## Gregori (Apr 21, 2013)

Holy shit, I'm very interested to see how this goes. If it's not neck heavy, this should be awesome. 

If you do another thing guitar like this, you should make it look like a battleaxe! That's what I thought of when I saw this pic:


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## skeels (Apr 21, 2013)

This is pretty cool looking and really, from the looks of that upper horn, I think any neck dive could be overcome easily enough. 

Thumbs!


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## Pikka Bird (Apr 21, 2013)

skeels said:


> This is pretty cool looking and really, from the looks of that upper horn, I think any neck dive could be overcome easily enough.
> 
> Thumbs!



Yeah, especially with no headstock... Otherwise I think the horn would need to be 1½-2 inches longer, but with the headlessness there's really zero concern in my mind.


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## L A K U S (Apr 25, 2013)

Yes, there is no neckdiving, since the neck is really really light. It has no trussrod and no head


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## L A K U S (Apr 25, 2013)

Here are some more pics:

Working on the body's curvature:






My headless locking device prototype installed:


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## BlackMastodon (Apr 26, 2013)

This is turning out way more awesome then I could've expected.


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## L A K U S (Apr 26, 2013)

BlackMastodon said:


> This is turning out way more awesome then I could've expected.


 

Thank you very much!


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## Wesbanez (Apr 26, 2013)

This is looking awesome, keep up the good work, ill be following


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## onetake-jam (Apr 26, 2013)

Interesting work in progress....


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 26, 2013)

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn that's a skinny guitar. I wanna play one that thin.

I'm sure OP isn't the first to have done a no truss rod build before, but how exactly does that work? What happens when the neck needs adjusting?


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## Metal_Webb (Apr 26, 2013)

Konfyouzd said:


> I'm sure OP isn't the first to have done a no truss rod build before, but how exactly does that work? What happens when the neck needs adjusting?



I believe the solution is hope the neck doesn't need adjusting 

@LAKUS, looking sick mate! Keen to hear how the final product sounds.


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## gordon_mlz (Apr 26, 2013)

Pretty sick dude!


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## Hollowway (Apr 26, 2013)

Very cool. I'm getting some Roter flashbacks because of the woods used, but think this is gonna be awesome!


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## patata (Apr 27, 2013)

I don't know how to feel about this.It's like super modern(too modern for my taste)but I think I start to like it.
What's the tuning on this one?


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## L A K U S (Apr 28, 2013)

patata said:


> I don't know how to feel about this.It's like super modern(too modern for my taste)but I think I start to like it.
> What's the tuning on this one?



Thanks man! Aiming for super modern is a good way to put it, I hope it gets there 

Tuning will be from low to high: F# - B - E - G# - C# - F#


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## Allealex (Apr 28, 2013)

Gorgeous! This is going to be really nice


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## patata (Apr 28, 2013)

L A K U S said:


> Thanks man! Aiming for super modern is a good way to put it, I hope it gets there
> 
> Tuning will be from low to high: F# - B - E - G# - C# - F#



I think 30 is a bit too much for an F#,I thought you would tune to C#.But whatever suits you best.Also,nice locking system you got there.


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## wintersun (Apr 28, 2013)

Hollowway said:


> I'm getting some Roter flashbacks because of the woods used



God no.


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## Hollowway (Apr 28, 2013)

L A K U S said:


> Thanks man! Aiming for super modern is a good way to put it, I hope it gets there
> 
> Tuning will be from low to high: F# - B - E - G# - C# - F#



Which octaves? You doing F#1 or F#0? 30" is kind of an in between scale length for me for those notes, that's why I'm curious.


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## L A K U S (Apr 30, 2013)

Hello, here are the "inburns" XD


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## Webmaestro (May 2, 2013)

^ does this fretboard have a flat radius? Looks like it in the pic.


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## L A K U S (May 2, 2013)

Webmaestro said:


> ^ does this fretboard have a flat radius? Looks like it in the pic.



yes it does!


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## mili9152 (May 5, 2013)

Which software did you use for the modeling in post 21? Looks like something that could be done in SolidWorks, but I'm looking for an affordable/free option


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## psikoT (May 6, 2013)

mili9152 said:


> but I'm looking for an affordable/free option



Try Blender, it's free... blender.org - Home of the Blender project - Free and Open 3D creation software


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## L A K U S (May 6, 2013)

Hello! I used solidworks because thats what we learned and got at university. But you can get it "for free" really easy


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## gingerman (May 20, 2013)

How is it progressing?  We'd really like to hear again (well, you know - see)...


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## L A K U S (May 28, 2013)

gingerman said:


> How is it progressing?  We'd really like to hear again (well, you know - see)...




Hi! I made progress but have been busy doing some sculpture, ill post some more this weekend!


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## L A K U S (Jun 3, 2013)

Hello!! It's done! here are some pics!


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## MetalBuddah (Jun 3, 2013)

YESSSSS!!!!  she is freaking beautiful


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## jonajon91 (Jun 3, 2013)

Awesome work! I love the ... dare I say, headstock.
Are you going to do any videos with it? Id like to see this in action


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## NaYoN (Jun 3, 2013)

This looks amazing! Makes me want one


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## L A K U S (Jun 3, 2013)

MetalBuddah said:


> YESSSSS!!!!  she is freaking beautiful



thanks man!


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## L A K U S (Jun 3, 2013)

jonajon91 said:


> Awesome work! I love the ... dare I say, headstock.
> Are you going to do any videos with it? Id like to see this in action



Hi! I got together with friends to jam yesterday and I shot some vids, currently uploading them


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## L A K U S (Jun 3, 2013)

NaYoN said:


> This looks amazing! Makes me want one



Thanks! I will further develop my tuners and then who knows...


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## L A K U S (Jun 4, 2013)

Here are some more pics:


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## dcoughlin1 (Jun 4, 2013)




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## patata (Jun 4, 2013)

L A K U S said:


> Here are some more pics:



where's the bridge pickup?


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## L A K U S (Jun 4, 2013)

patata said:


> where's the bridge pickup?



missing!

I didn't knew anything about these pickups and I didn't want to risk it; but im really happy with their sound. So ill order an extra one together with those for my next build


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## Danukenator (Jun 5, 2013)

Wow, that thing came out really nicely!


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## L A K U S (Jun 15, 2013)

Hello everyone!

here's a video sample of the guitar!

https://vimeo.com/67590350


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## patata (Jun 15, 2013)

L A K U S said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> here's a video sample of the guitar!
> 
> https://vimeo.com/67590350



I expected sick F# progressive metal polyrhythms 

This is cool nonetheless,nice slapping!


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## L A K U S (Jun 15, 2013)

patata said:


> I expected sick F# progressive metal polyrhythms
> 
> This is cool nonetheless,nice slapping!



haha It's on my list, but I moved recently and all the gear I have left is an eq pedal  

but here's some djent with my Ibanez 7string


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## skeels (Jun 15, 2013)

Came out great man! Love the burned in fret markers.


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## L A K U S (Jun 15, 2013)

skeels said:


> Came out great man! Love the burned in fret markers.



thanks man!


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## L A K U S (Jun 15, 2013)

here are two videos of the guitar in a band context; 

once in the bass role:
Harp Attack - McMurdo - YouTube

and once in the guitar role
Harp Attack - McMurdo - YouTube


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## jarnozz (Jun 15, 2013)

Quite some wounded strings on that beast! Looks great!


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## TheFashel12 (Jun 16, 2013)

According to the video date this build was completed quiet a long time before you started this thread 

Anyways really cool axe


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## jonajon91 (Jun 16, 2013)

---edit---

Seriously though, what the f*ck?


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## Danukenator (Jun 16, 2013)

I feel like a 1930's gangster.

"We've been had!"


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## Webmaestro (Jun 17, 2013)

TheFashel12 said:


> According to the video date this build was completed quiet a long time before you started this thread
> 
> Anyways really cool axe



Meh, so it's a retroactive picstory. A little odd, but I don't care.


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## SkullCrusher (Jun 17, 2013)

I feel betrayed.


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## teamSKDM (Jun 18, 2013)

Did you design that headstock tuning pegish idea thing? ive never seen it done before!


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## L A K U S (Jun 20, 2013)

Webmaestro said:


> Meh, so it's a retroactive picstory. A little odd, but I don't care.



Hello! that´s it, and btw, the first line of the first post says: "I MADE a guitar"

Truth is that i did it last year and I created my profile here to post it but then moved and didn't got to it 'till now, didn't mean to betray/offend anyone

I promise i'll livestream the next build hahah


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## L A K U S (Jun 20, 2013)

teamSKDM said:


> Did you design that headstock tuning pegish idea thing? ive never seen it done before!



Hello!

yes, I came up with that thing  aswell as the tuners:


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## blindsagacity (Jun 23, 2013)

Can you go into more detail on how you did the "locks" at the head and the tuners at the body? Also, are you happy with how the tuning system performs. Does it stay in tune well?


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## SD83 (Jun 24, 2013)

That would be very interesting. Especially the tuners.


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## L A K U S (Sep 2, 2013)

Hello! now we recorded a song with it, some argentine bizarre djent; what do you think?

Metal Bailable - YouTube


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## jonajon91 (Sep 2, 2013)




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## Pikka Bird (Sep 2, 2013)

Ha ha! Fucking awesome!


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## L A K U S (Sep 3, 2013)

jonajon91 said:


>



the lyrics are in Argentine


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