# My 8 string build:)



## Adam (Mar 7, 2007)

So I decided that 7 string and 24 frets weren't enough for me I went with the low F# route because with the extra frets I may not need a high A, Ive been tinkering with a cool all access super strat, which is to scale so the guitar will turn out like I've drawn(bridge, p/u's, neck all in the same place as in pictures) P.S. Im no artist:










Here are the specs:
Scale lenth: 27" 

Neck: Ibanez profile multi-laminate maple neck with Purple Heart, 30 fret (Dunlop 6000's) Neck thru 8 string neck which will be built by Mike Sherman

Body wings: 1 piece swamp ash









Finish: natural

Electronics: 2 Active EMG 808's





Controls: 3 way toggle switch, volume

Bridge: Hipshot 8 fixed





Special features: Cooley style cutaway lower horn but more stylish and 4" between tip of lower horn and the neck, beveled front and back lower horn, cutaway meets at 29th fret, depth of cutaway is beyond 30th fret, so access is phenominal)

The cost of this project will be under about $900 american, because Im doing all the work myself except the neck. 

I am going to start this projet in about 2 weeks, when my parts start coming in, should be done before the summer.
Comments? Suggestions?

Heres a pic of my weird cat licking the window clean


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## noodles (Mar 7, 2007)

Nice. 

Who are you getting to build the neck?

Here is a random picture of my cat chilling in front of a fireplace.


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## OzzyC (Mar 7, 2007)

All that talk of a High A, and now you change your mind. 
Looks like it'll be nice. So, when are you going to start on building mine


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## Adam (Mar 7, 2007)

noodles said:


> Nice.
> 
> Who are you getting to build the neck?
> 
> Here is a random picture of my cat chilling in front of a fireplace.


Thanks that means alot to me coming from you.
If you reread my post Mike Sherman is
Cute cats


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## JJ Rodriguez (Mar 7, 2007)

Looks good dude. Here's a pic of one of my kitties giving me some attitude.


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## Adam (Mar 7, 2007)

OzzyC said:


> All that talk of a High A, and now you change your mind.
> Looks like it'll be nice. So, when are you going to start on building mine



 Yeah well I didnt feel like ordering like 50 sets of High A strings from Garry Goodman, besides with 27" I could still have a high A if I got the GG strings, or I can have the low F# Best of both worlds my friend Also with 30 frets theres almost no need for a high A anymore.


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## Rick (Mar 7, 2007)

Hey Jeff, don't you have some randomass pic of a cat somewhere?


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## Pauly (Mar 7, 2007)

CATURDAY?!

Also I like the design, fret access is indeed ftw.


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## skinhead (Mar 7, 2007)

Nice dude, i'm making my own 8 string guitar too.

But i have a doubt, how the fuck are you going to do to put the neck pup? It's very near to the lower horn, it's looking very fragile.

BTW i like the design and the idea for the neck. Ànimo!


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## msherman (Mar 7, 2007)

Since we are showing cats....my cat loves this bass for some reason.
With all the guitars in the house, it`s only this one that he is attached to.
Sound asleep in both pictures


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## OzzyC (Mar 7, 2007)

msherman said:


> Since we are showing cats....my cat loves this bass for some reason



I don't blame it!


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## Adamh1331 (Mar 7, 2007)

Man thats gonna look pretty sick


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## canuck brian (Mar 7, 2007)

I can getcha a good price on the hipshot bridge and hipshot locking tuners if you want.


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## Durero (Mar 7, 2007)

I'm surprised you didn't choose a Kahler 8-string trem. Budget? Or not into trems?


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## charles22880 (Mar 7, 2007)

killer design. i might get a 8 string but 7 suits me just fine, the Low F# doesnt do much for me but on a rhythmic aspect i must say with the right player they do sound nice.


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## D-EJ915 (Mar 7, 2007)

Swamp Ash =  

Sounds cool man, it'll be interesting to see how it turns out!


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## Adam (Mar 8, 2007)

skinhead said:


> Nice dude, i'm making my own 8 string guitar too.
> 
> But i have a doubt, how the fuck are you going to do to put the neck pup? It's very near to the lower horn, it's looking very fragile.
> 
> BTW i like the design and the idea for the neck. Ànimo!



Ive spent many hours on that, the neck EMG is drawn to scale so it will fit, and trust me the lower horn is actually wider than the Rusty Cooleys, It will be as wide as my Ibby but just way farther out, and since this going to be made of swamp ash and not Basswood, it wont be fragile.



Durero said:


> I'm surprised you didn't choose a Kahler 8-string trem. Budget? Or not into trems?



Budget I can get the Hipshot for under $100 Canadian, while the Kahler would be closer to $300 Canadian


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## Apophis (Mar 8, 2007)

It's going to be great guitars. You want to use ash, check this piece 




This strat made my friend who's building also my 9 string


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## Nik (Mar 8, 2007)

That looks great Adam - pretty much my idea of the perfect 8! Looks a tad neck-heavy (because of the cutaway for the extra frets), although I'm sure you've figured all this stuff out. Good luck!  

And sadly, I have no kittie pictures to contribute


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## OzzyC (Mar 8, 2007)

Apophis said:


> It's going to be great guitars. You want to use ash, check this piece
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That's a nice peice of ash! I'd tap that. 

[action=OzzyC] of course, means that in a non-sexual way. Many people tap their woods and listen to hear if it rings, so that they can choose a superior wood, really. [/action]


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## skinhead (Mar 8, 2007)

Apophis said:


> It's going to be great guitars. You want to use ash, check this piece
> 
> 
> 
> ...



 Nice, very nice piece of wood!

* skinhead of course, means that in a sexual way


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## Adam (Mar 8, 2007)

Nik said:


> That looks great Adam - pretty much my idea of the perfect 8! Looks a tad neck-heavy (because of the cutaway for the extra frets), although I'm sure you've figured all this stuff out. Good luck!
> 
> And sadly, I have no kittie pictures to contribute



Yeah, I bought the heaviest piece of swamp ash I could find(12lbs) and Im going to move the strap button to a diffrent area.


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## Adam (Mar 9, 2007)

Ordered the wood This was the best grain he had ATM.


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## Adamh1331 (Mar 9, 2007)

nice grain!


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## Durero (Mar 9, 2007)

Beautiful


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## skinhead (Mar 9, 2007)

Nice grain, but i think that you have to put a quilted maple there, or maybe some buckeae burl (did we have any sex emoticon? )


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## OzzyC (Mar 9, 2007)

skinhead said:


> (did we have any sex emoticon? )


THis is the closest.


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## Adam (Mar 10, 2007)

skinhead said:


> Nice grain, but i think that you have to put a quilted maple there, or maybe some buckeae burl (did we have any sex emoticon? )



You know I saw a very quilted maple venneer, I might do that but just oil it
Ill see how my project turns out before I buy it though.


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## Adam (Mar 14, 2007)

Ive decided to make this guitar a neck through now. 

I also got an email back from EMG regarding the 808's:


> Scott Ferrara <[email protected]> to me
> show details 3:11 pm (2½ hours ago)
> 
> They retail for $127.00 each and are 4 weeks out, so get your order in now!
> ...


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## Durero (Mar 14, 2007)

Awesome, thanks for posting the info about the 808 availability Adam.
Can you order from them directly?


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## Adam (Mar 14, 2007)

Durero said:


> Awesome, thanks for posting the info about the 808 availability Adam.
> Can you order from them directly?



Dont know, try emailing him.


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## skinhead (Mar 15, 2007)

Oh, shit i want an EMG808, but sure they are going to arrive here on 2 or 3 months, so i have to buy the 45DC


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## Adam (Mar 15, 2007)

Got another reply regarding how to get ahold of the 808's



> They are available, however you can only purchase through an Authorized EMG Dealer, any Guitar Center or Sam Ash or one of the following websites:
> guitarpartsdepot.com
> thebassplace.com
> musicsolutionsstore.com
> ...


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## Shawn (Mar 16, 2007)

Sounds great, Adam!  That's going to be awesome. Keep us posted with some pics too.


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## GodBlessTexas (Mar 19, 2007)

Adam, that looks awesome. Two things come to mind looking at it: 

1: 30 frets on a 27" scale length sounds like it's going to be awfully tight at the higher frets. Have you mocked it up to see if it looks/feels doable? N/M. Just did the math, and it looks like it'd be just slightly more cramped than the 23 and 24th frets on a 25.5 scale guitar at the 29th and 30th frets.

2: That neck pickup looks like it may be awfully close to the lower horn on the bottom edge. If you've seen the Rusty Cooley Dean 7 string, you'll notice that they put the neck pickup at a bias to avoid this problem. Have you thought about maybe doing that to give yourself some additional clearance so you don't accidentally rout from the pickup cavity through the horn? I'd be worried that any chipout in that corner could be bad news for the body.


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## Adam (Mar 19, 2007)

GodBlessTexas said:


> Adam, that looks awesome. Two things come to mind looking at it:
> 
> 1: 30 frets on a 27" scale length sounds like it's going to be awfully tight at the higher frets. Have you mocked it up to see if it looks/feels doable?
> 
> 2: That neck pickup looks like it may be awfully close to the lower horn on the bottom edge. If you've seen the Rusty Cooley Dean 7 string, you'll notice that they put the neck pickup at a bias to avoid this problem. Have you thought about maybe doing that to give yourself some additional clearance so you don't accidentally rout from the pickup cavity through the horn? I'd be worried that any chipout in that corner could be bad news for the body.



I have an updated sketch with the upper horn extended to maintain balance, and a bit more wood on the lower cutaway to avoid issues with the neck p/u, and like I stated before it is now neck thru, which eliminated alot of problems.

1. I have mocked it up, and worst case scenario my pinky would cover the last 2 frets, but would still produce an audible sound, remember Michael angelos 29 fret V? His scale was 25.5" and he had no problem play the higher frets:





2. Dont worry, everythings drawn to scale, there will be about 2 cm of wood above it, and about 1 cm from the top corner of the p/u to the edge of the cutaway. 

Thanks for your concern though, I have though this through for a long time, so just about all the bugs are fixed.

I will post the new sketches as soon as my bitch of a sister gives me the digital camera back


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## msherman (Mar 19, 2007)

Plenty of fret spacing there. The Hamer Virtuoso`s we did had 36 frets and a 26.250" scale, and there is plenty o room!


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## Adam (Mar 19, 2007)

msherman said:


> Plenty of fret spacing there. The Hamer Virtuoso`s we did had 36 frets and a 26.250" scale, and there is plenty o room!



BTW I should be getting the cash soon Sherman(my accountant said the governments comp is fucked so I cant get my cheque, because the age I am now doesent match their records, apparently I'm 89 years old, but he said he will mail the info, so I will get the cash) How does a $300 downpayment sound?


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## Adam (Mar 20, 2007)

Updated pics and specs:
The new design(and is now neck thru)









And I also drew the full size template:




The wood should be in any day now! 

I am now going with EMG 808's rather than the EMG bass p/us, since we can apparently order the 808's through any EMG dealer(their words not mine)

Here are the specs for the neck Mike Sherman will be building for me:

Ok so here are the finalized specs:

Scale: 27" 

Cut nut for low F# about 0.70

String spacing need to match hipshot 8 string fixed bridge

Neck thru 

Hardware (tuning keys): black

Fretboard wood: unbound rosewood with off set small pearloid dots

Neck material: Ibanez profile-with flat thin back- 5 piece finished multi-laminate neck with Purple Heart. 

Headstock: Conklin style headstock (like Erics) no cap on headstock like this





Frets: 30 frets - Dunlop 6000 

Radius: 16 degrees

Thickness for plank that goes into the body 1 3/4 
About 12 past the fret board should be sufficient.
Top cutaway meets 22rd fret
Bottom cutaway meets at 29th.


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## angus (Mar 22, 2007)

You might want to check those specs over with Mike- 30 frets doesn't leave a lot of room for two pickups spaced out like that. You can't just add frets forever- something has to give!

This is my guitar almost ready from him: 30 frets, and that pickup route is for the bridge pickup!


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## Adam (Mar 22, 2007)

Ahem






EDIT: hey wait a minute, the one you are displaying is his 32 fret 27.5" model, with those extra 2 frets gone there is room for a neck p/u, also FYI my sketch is drawn to scale, even has the proper scale length 27" and the pickup size on it Also seeing as how Mike has never mentioned that "problem" then it may not be a "problem".


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## msherman (Mar 22, 2007)

No worries Adam,
At that scale with 30 frets, you have 4.750" from the high E saddle to the 30th fret. Subtract 1/4" for F/B overhang and 1/8" for bridge plate overhang, and it leaves 4.325" of room ......enough room to fit two EMG soapbars. 

M


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## angus (Mar 22, 2007)

I see I spoke too soon!  

Haha, Adam, I know it's a point of reference...but man Michael Angelo's guitar is one of the most heinous instruments still left standing from the 80s! I can't tell what goes better with it- leather pants or a construction worker's outfit?


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## msherman (Mar 24, 2007)

angus said:


> I see I spoke too soon!
> 
> Haha, Adam, I know it's a point of reference...but man Michael Angelo's guitar is one of the most heinous instruments still left standing from the 80s! I can't tell what goes better with it- leather pants or a construction worker's outfit?



Nah....I have that one beat! Nothing is as ugly as this one designed by a customer who couldn`t pay the remaining balance just before the paint process. 
Kids, don`t have your luthier build the ugliest guitar and stiff him on it!!!!!

It`s going into the fireplace as I`m sick of looking at it


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## guitarjitsumaster (Mar 24, 2007)

oh no's dont burn gumby!!!*75$#E^(!!


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## msherman (Mar 24, 2007)

guitarjitsumaster said:


> oh no's dont burn gumby!!!*75$#E^(!!




Gumby is on Death Row until next saturday when it will be burned in the bonfire at a party, and only a stay of execution by Pokey will spare his life Too bad, it has a great neck in it, it`s just too ugly for the world.


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## OzzyC (Mar 24, 2007)

msherman said:


> Gumby is on Death Row until next saturday when it will be burned in the bonfire at a party, and only a stay of execution by Pokey will spare his life Too bad, it has a great neck in it, it`s just too ugly for the world.



 You could do some carving and make it into a Steinberger shape! I'm not sure about what you should do with the headstock, though.


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## Durero (Mar 24, 2007)

OzzyC said:


> You could do some carving and make it into a Steinberger shape! I'm not sure about what you should do with the headstock, though.


+1  Brilliant!


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## Cool711 (Mar 24, 2007)

That thing really is hideous.


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## guitarplayerone (Mar 25, 2007)

skinhead said:


> Nice grain, but i think that you have to put a quilted maple there, or maybe some buckeae burl (did we have any sex emoticon? )



burl is fucking sick







Adam said:


> Ahem
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## skinhead (Mar 26, 2007)

guitarplayerone said:


> burl is fucking sick
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Adam (Apr 5, 2007)

UPDATE:
The wood is in and Ive drawn the shape of the wings, cutting will commence on Sunday 




Also another big update, thinking it over, Ive decided to go with the high A route after all, the guitar will now have a 25.5" scale, and will only have 27 frets instead of 30(because with the high A those extra 3 frets are uneccesary) which will also give the neck p/u more room.


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## Nik (Apr 5, 2007)

Good luck!


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## OzzyC (Apr 5, 2007)

Adam said:


> UPDATE:
> The wood is in and Ive drawn the shape of the wings, cutting will commence on Sunday
> 
> 
> ...



I KNEW YOU WOULD!  
Well, other then that, I don't really have much to say. Just don't mess up while your working on that thing.


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## Adam (Apr 5, 2007)

OzzyC said:


> I KNEW YOU WOULD!
> Well, other then that, I don't really have much to say. *Just don't mess up while your working on that thing.*



Thanks?


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## RGGR (Apr 6, 2007)

> Yeah, I bought the heaviest piece of swamp ash I could find(12lbs) and Im going to move the strap button to a different area.



With Swamp Ash the trick is finding the lightest pieces. The parts of the tree that actually been in contact with the swamp. Otherwise your just dealing with Northern Hard Ash.....and that has nothing to do with Swamp Ash.

Sustain and tone with Swamp Ash comes from soft wood in between heavier (more dense) streaks. The combination of these two give you the great tone.

Going for the heaviest peices defines the whole purpose of choosing Swamp Ash to begin with.


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## Adam (Apr 6, 2007)

RGGR said:


> With Swamp Ash the trick is finding the lightest pieces. The parts of the tree that actually been in contact with the swamp. Otherwise your just dealing with Northern Hard Ash.....and that has nothing to do with Swamp Ash.
> 
> Sustain and tone with Swamp Ash comes from soft wood in between heavier (more dense) streaks. The combination of these two give you the great tone.
> 
> Going for the heaviest peices defines the whole purpose of choosing Swamp Ash to begin with.



I got the wood from Louisianna, the whole board weighs about 13.5ibs, but the actual guitar body wings will only be about 6-7 at the most.


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## TheIllustratedLuthier (Apr 9, 2007)

I love swamp ash for 8 strings, I'm using it on 2 8-strings right now with walnut tops. Let us know how those 808s work out


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## Adam (Apr 10, 2007)

TheIllustratedLuthier said:


> I love swamp ash for 8 strings, I'm using it on 2 8-strings right now with walnut tops. Let us know how those 808s work out



Will do
UPDATE:
The body wings are cut out and need 1 final sanding to shape it it a little better.


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## BRUTALIZER GUITARS (Apr 15, 2007)

Umm its really going to suck Clamping things up with the Wings pre cut
ALSO your going to need the edges that glue to the neck to be PERFECT and flat so you need to joint them and with the body cut out already you are going to lose some wood and you may have to mod your design a bit

I hope it all works out man


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## Adam (Apr 15, 2007)

BRUTALIZER GUITARS said:


> Umm its really going to suck Clamping things up with the Wings pre cut
> ALSO your going to need the edges that glue to the neck to be PERFECT and flat so you need to joint them and with the body cut out already you are going to lose some wood and you may have to mod your design a bit
> 
> I hope it all works out man


Ive got updated pics, that was my rough cut result, now after alot of sanding and cutting, the edges lie completely flat and level against a 2x4, all the egdes(except for the one that will lie against the neck plank) have been rounded, the belly cut has been made, the arm countour has been sanded as well, the control cavity has been routed, the back of the lower horn has been sculpted and the output jackhole has been drilled.


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## skinhead (Apr 15, 2007)

Nice, Adam. It's not my cup of tea the bodyshape, but seems that you are working very well in it.

BTW, yeah, clamping before you cut the wings it's a pain in the ass, i preffer to clamp with the solid piece of wood. But you know, the artist with his art.


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## SHREDTOKILL (Apr 22, 2007)

looks liek you need alot more sanding and shaping to get some defined lines like in the drawings dude.


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## skinhead (Apr 23, 2007)

SHREDTOKILL said:


> looks liek you need alot more sanding and shaping to get some defined lines like in the drawings dude.



Yeah, but think that when you do a mockup it's not going to looks = that in the real life. It's only a mockup, to have an idea.


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## Adam (Apr 23, 2007)

SHREDTOKILL said:


> looks liek you need alot more sanding and shaping to get some defined lines like in the drawings dude.



I liked hoe the left wing turned out even if its not like in my drawing, as for the right wing a bit more shaping on the lower horn still needs to be done.


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## BRUTALIZER GUITARS (Apr 23, 2007)

*DUDE get a Spindle sander*





it will make life SO MUCH NICER when sanding that guitar, and if thats out of your price range than get some sanding drums and a drill press.


Also by the looks of things you need to make some Jigs and templates!! with the Spindle sander this is really really easy to do. pick up a few sheets of MDF board from 1/4" thick to 1/2" or 5/8"s depending on your router set up, also do you have a Jointer? Im still woried about your Glue up edge's on the Body Wings.

If theres any thing I can help ya with or walk you thru let me know man


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## Adam (May 2, 2007)

Update:
did a little more shaping on the lower horn and cutaway
Also Mike Sherman is starting on the neck tommorow!


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## yevetz (May 6, 2007)

Adam said:


> So I decided that 7 string and 24 frets weren't enough for me I went with the low F# route because with the extra frets I may not need a high A, Ive been tinkering with a cool all access super strat, which is to scale so the guitar will turn out like I've drawn(bridge, p/u's, neck all in the same place as in pictures) P.S. Im no artist:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Your cat is awesome  Guitar project too


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## skinhead (May 6, 2007)

Adam, maybe it's me, but those horns look very fragile.


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## Adam (May 6, 2007)

skinhead said:


> Adam, maybe it's me, but those horns look very fragile.



Trust theyre VERY solid, Swamp ash is a pretty dense wood, and as stated before they are in fact thicker than Ibanezs lower horn which is basswood, so if mines fragile, theirs is extremely fragile.
Update I am now going with the EMG HZ 40s, at first I wasnt sure, but then I asked Mike Sherman about it and he said this:



> Well, my guitar player who is an amazing player put the 8 string though it`s paces last night at our gig.
> I was amazed how well the HZ voiced in the guitar.
> I kind of knew it would as it falls in the frequency range of an 8 string. My guitar player said "this thing blows away any guitar I have ever played before and all of my guitars feel like toys compared to this one".
> 
> ...


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## Adam (May 24, 2007)

UPDATE!
The EMGS are in! as well as the rest of the electronics(toggle switch, potentioameter(sp?) wiring, outpust jack etc.)








Did a mockup of the control/p/u layoutand yes everythings in the right spot and that is the actual width between the wings)
And yes,before anyone says it, this will be a big guitar, Ive decided to make the body in proportion to the neck for balance and looks, unlike some other designs Ive seen such as ibanezs bright idea of slapping on a 8 string neck onto a 6 string RG sized body 




Now ive been trying to decide which would be better:




or




(note that the fretboard is being dyed black so I find it would contrast the white quite nicely)

Basically the only things missing are the bridge(which should be coming in soon shortly) the .005 GG strings, and the neck from Mike Sherman which is still being built.


O yeah here are the new specs for it:

Scale: 25.5" 

Bridge: black hipshot 8 string 

Neck thru 

Hardware (tuning keys, toggle switch, bridge): black

Fretboard wood: unbound dyed/painted black rosewood with centered small pearloid dots( like the ones on the new Ibanez RG1527)

Neck material: Ibanez profile-with flat thin as possible back- 5 piece multi-laminate neck with Purple Heart. 

Frets: 27 frets - Dunlop 6000 

Radius: 16 degrees

P/U's: 2 EMG 40 HZ's(as recommended by Mike Sherman)

3 way LP style toggle switch

1 500K volume pot

The lower cutaway to meets at the 25th. Fret.

Dunlop strap locks

Finish: TBD

Tung oil for back of the neck

And since the lower cut-away is so deep, wide, and contoured, the neck as thin as the RC model with the biggest frets available and now with the high A string, it is a shredders dream guitar.


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## OzzyC (May 24, 2007)

There you go again, always changing your specs. 


It looks like it's coming along, soon you'll have it complete!


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## Adam (May 25, 2007)

OzzyC said:


> There you go again, always changing your specs.
> 
> 
> It looks like it's coming along, soon you'll have it complete!



Actually those have been the same specs since I decided to go with the high A route a while ago
I just never got around to postin em


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## OzzyC (May 25, 2007)

Adam said:


> Actually those have been the same specs since I decided to go with the high A route a while ago
> I just never got around to postin em



_Sure_


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## canuck brian (May 25, 2007)

How much those EMG's run ya?

(parts are coming! I'm still screaming at Hipshot.)


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## Adam (May 25, 2007)

canuck brian said:


> How much those EMG's run ya?
> 
> (parts are coming! I'm still screaming at Hipshot.)


$83 CND each at stewmac.com


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## canuck brian (May 25, 2007)

Hmmm..that's a pretty decent price. I'll have to keep that in mind. 

As a heads up here, i'd avoid further shaping or sanding until you've got those wings attached to the neck. You're going to lose some material when you do the final sanding, you might put some dents in the wood when you clamp it up blah blah blah. If you've got the cut off's from those wings, they're good for clamping blocks as they fit nice and snug against the wings. 

Big thing to do would be to make templates for ANY cut or drilling you're doing. Even half a millimeter discrepancy is brutal to look at when you're building it yourself. 

I'd **highly** advise looking up any process you're doing on the guitar on Project Guitar to get some pointers. I did that for drilling the ferrule holes on the front and back and they turned out perfect.... 

I think the horns look good, but the lower horn might be pretty fragile.


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## Adam (May 25, 2007)

canuck brian said:


> Hmmm..that's a pretty decent price. I'll have to keep that in mind.
> 
> As a heads up here, i'd avoid further shaping or sanding until you've got those wings attached to the neck. You're going to lose some material when you do the final sanding, you might put some dents in the wood when you clamp it up blah blah blah. If you've got the cut off's from those wings, they're good for clamping blocks as they fit nice and snug against the wings.
> 
> ...


Yeah Im done with the shaping/sanding I like how it is, as for the drilling Im leaving that to my grandfather who is a wood worker. For the lower horn trust its VERY solid, Swamp ash is a pretty dense wood, and as stated before they are in fact thicker than Ibanezs lower horn which is basswood, so if mines fragile, theirs is extremely fragile.


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## canuck brian (May 25, 2007)

Awesome - i can't wait to see this beast done! Another 8 in the wild is just what we need.


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## guitarplayerone (Jun 2, 2007)

as per the PM you havent considered kahler 8 trems?Kahler 8 string tremolo system, Hybrid flat mounted tremolo

EDIT:: sorry read earlier...

swap it out when you get the cash though- youll love yourself for it


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## Adam (Jun 2, 2007)

I dont know if it would be able to handle the high A though(too much tension) expescially if I go tuning it EADGBEAC


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## guitarplayerone (Jun 3, 2007)

Adam said:


> I dont know if it would be able to handle the high A though(too much tension) expescially if I go tuning it EADGBEAC



ooh lmfao i thought you were tuning BEADGBEA

the tension should be fine if you have the correct gauge...

you can always ask gary goodman what his string is rated for


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## distressed_romeo (Jun 3, 2007)

Adam said:


> I dont know if it would be able to handle the high A though(too much tension) expescially if I go tuning it EADGBEAC



That tuning's crazy!!! You could try DGCFADGC if you're concerned about tension. It would also avoid having to get used to the minor third between the top strings.


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## OzzyC (Jun 3, 2007)

distressed_romeo said:


> That tuning's crazy!!! You could try DGCFADGC if you're concerned about tension. It would also avoid having to get used to the minor third between the top strings.



That says a lot coming from you.


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## distressed_romeo (Jun 3, 2007)




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## Durero (Jun 3, 2007)

Adam said:


> I dont know if it would be able to handle the high A though(too much tension) expescially if I go tuning it EADGBEAC


In my experience with Garry's strings I wouldn't hesitate to try that tuning on a Kahler 8-string trem. His strings are surprisingly low tension (depending on which gage you are using of course) for such high tunings.


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## Adam (Jun 3, 2007)

Durero said:


> In my experience with Garry's strings I wouldn't hesitate to try that tuning on a Kahler 8-string trem. His strings are surprisingly low tension (depending on which gage you are using of course) for such high tunings.



Interesting I might go with tuning it BEADGBEA just to be safe though, also is the string spacing on a kahler trem the same as a hipshot fixed bridge? If not Im screwed because Mike Shermans already shaping the neck.


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## Durero (Jun 3, 2007)

The string spacing is adjustable (!) on the Kahler trems - which is a fantastic feature. Guaranteed that you can get the same spacing as the hipshot.


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## NiCkMiLnE (Jun 30, 2007)

BRUTALIZER GUITARS said:


> Umm its really going to suck Clamping things up with the Wings pre cut
> ALSO your going to need the edges that glue to the neck to be PERFECT and flat so you need to joint them and with the body cut out already you are going to lose some wood and you may have to mod your design a bit
> 
> I hope it all works out man



i always cut mine out first, then use the wood that was made scrap as a clamp, since its the perfect shape.


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## Adam (Jul 4, 2007)

Update!
Mike will be shipping my neck out at the end of next week
Also the bridge is coming in any day now(big thanks to Canuck Brian) and the high A strings as soon as Garry is done winding some 
Everythings wired up, all it needs now is to have the p/u holes routed, glue the wings on and drill holes for the bridge. Then a good helping of tung oil will be applied to the whole body+headstock and back of the neck.


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## Rusty_cooley702 (Jul 4, 2007)

skinhead said:


> Nice dude, i'm making my own 8 string guitar too.
> 
> But i have a doubt, how the fuck are you going to do to put the neck pup? It's very near to the lower horn, it's looking very fragile.
> 
> BTW i like the design and the idea for the neck. Ànimo!



cant he angle it like cooley did with his ax???


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## OzzyC (Jul 4, 2007)

Rusty_cooley702 said:


> cant he angle it like cooley did with his ax???



He could, but he doesn't need to.


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## Adam (Jul 4, 2007)

OzzyC said:


> He could, but he doesn't need to.



Absolutely correct kind sir
Ive made it possible to have the c/a meet at the 26th fret and have the deep cooley cutaway and not have to angle it, mostly thanks to the fact that having a 6 string bass p/u in an 8 string guitar is kind of an overkill, while a 5 string bass p/u is more suited to an 8 string both sonically and string spacing wise, with the super long magnets in the 6 string pup, you have too much output on the ouside strings.


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## Naren (Jul 5, 2007)

Can't wait to see this thing finished. Looks like it's gonna be totally kickass.


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## angus (Jul 5, 2007)

Adam said:


> Update!
> Mike will be shipping my neck out at the end of next week
> Also the bridge is coming in any day now(big thanks to Canuck Brian) and the high A strings as soon as Garry is done winding some
> Everythings wired up, all it needs now is to have the p/u holes routed, glue the wings on and drill holes for the bridge. Then a good helping of tung oil will be applied to the whole body+headstock and back of the neck.



Wait, have you been able to get a hold of Mike?


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## Adam (Jul 5, 2007)

angus said:


> Wait, have you been able to get a hold of Mike?



yea its been like 2 weeks for him to respond, but hes really busy moving into his new shop. And hell have internet hooked up there on Friday.


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## Adam (Jul 13, 2007)

The bridge came in and the neck will ship out next week.
Im thinking about satining the guitar, probably black, now I was wondering to seal the stain could I use tung oil?


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## angus (Jul 13, 2007)

Probably safer to worry about the construction before the finish at this point, as you have a long, long way to go!


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## Adam (Jul 13, 2007)

angus said:


> Probably safer to worry about the construction before the finish at this point, as you have a long, long way to go!



I dont have that long of a way to go actually, all I have to do is glue the wings on, the blend the wings to the back of the heel, then route the pickups, drill the hole connecting those routes to the control cavity, then place the bridge drill holes for the strings to go through the body, then drill slightly bigger hole hald an inch deep in each hole for the ferrules, then I drill a hole for the toggle switch then a hole for the vol.pot., the strap holes. Then I have to stain it it then maybe oil it, b ut I dont know if I have to oil it after because the question has not been answered.

After the wings are glued the rest of the work can be done in one night.


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## angus (Jul 13, 2007)

Good luck getting all that done properly and neatly in one night. The hole drilling is not as big of a deal, but the routing, shaping, sanding is. If you think that'll happen in one night without a problem, you definitely have not worked on instruments very much! 

Take your time with this, dude. No point in wasting a nice neck because some routes came out ugly or the sanding was half-assed.

And you'll have a lot of sanding to do, in both the shaping and pre-finish sanding stages.

Wood finishing was never my strong suit (relative to metal/plastics), but you'll have to do more than just sand and then throw color on. There are a lot of options available, obviously, but color is not the first coat. It would be wise to talk to Mike about his preferred method (without a booth, obviously) as he'll have more experience with the various methods than most who post here. 

I'll avoid giving my opinion on it, because as I said, it's not my strongest suit even if I have finished and refinished a number of instruments. I will say, though, that I do not like tung oil on stained finishes, because it will darken the color by quite a bit, and usually it'll add a very slight yellow/brown tint (very slight). Just something to take into account.


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## Adam (Jul 13, 2007)

angus said:


> Good luck getting all that done properly and neatly in one night. The hole drilling is not as big of a deal, but the routing, shaping, sanding is. If you think that'll happen in one night without a problem, you definitely have not worked on instruments very much!
> 
> Take your time with this, dude. No point in wasting a nice neck because some routes came out ugly or the sanding was half-assed.
> 
> ...



The routing and drilling takes me about a night but the sanding yes usually does take longer but the rough routing and rough drilling dont take too long.
If oiling a black stain ends up darkening it so be it


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## msherman (Jul 13, 2007)

Adam said:


> The routing and drilling takes me about a night but the sanding yes usually does take longer but the rough routing and rough drilling dont take too long.
> If oiling a black stain ends up darkening it so be it



Not to spoil your party Adam, but Angus is correct. 
The neck that I have made for you is slightly oversize in thickness where the wings glue on, and you will need to blend (or deck, if you want to call it that ) the neck to the wings.....both front and back after they are glued on.

I did this to allow for error, or "creaping" when you glue the wings on. You will thank me for this after you glue the wing on. 

Also, without having the wings here , the heel is slightly oversized as well and will need to be blended.....so you have a good days worth of blending and sanding alone.

Take your time with it


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## Adam (Jul 13, 2007)

msherman said:


> Not to spoil your party Adam, but Angus is correct.
> The neck that I have made for you is slightly oversize in thickness where the wings glue on, and you will need to blend (or deck, if you want to call it that ) the neck to the wings.....both front and back after they are glued on.
> 
> I did this to allow for error, or "creaping" when you glue the wings on. You will thank me for this after you glue the wing on.
> ...



I already figured out that the part of the neck that the wings would glue on would be thicker, the sanding/blending I know is going ot take a while, I was regarding to the routing and drilling wouldnt take me long, dont worry about it
My Grandfather has been a woodworker for almost 60 years and is the one helping me on this project, so there shouldnt be too many if any problems.
I might end up spending a week on the sanding and blending, but like you said Mike I will take my time
Could you post some pics of it Mike?
Thanks


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## Adam (Jul 13, 2007)

for the pics


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## OzzyC (Jul 13, 2007)

Where da' pics be?


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## Adam (Jul 13, 2007)

OzzyC said:


> Where da' pics be?



I was hoping Mike would put those up


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## msherman (Jul 13, 2007)

The neck is at my shop, I`ll take some pics of it tomorrow.


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## Adam (Jul 13, 2007)

msherman said:


> The neck is at my shop, I`ll take some pics of it tomorrow.



Ok, Great! Thanks again Mike
P.S- Sorry if Ive been coming off as impatient/annoying about the build progress and pics, I'm just eager to continue this project.


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## msherman (Jul 14, 2007)

I found this older shitty photo of the neck blank and F/B before I worked it.
This is all I could find on my home computer.
I`ll post the finished neck tomorrow when I`m at the shop.


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## Adam (Jul 14, 2007)

msherman said:


> I found this older shitty photo of the neck blank and F/B before I worked it.
> This is all I could find on my home computer.
> I`ll post the finished neck tomorrow when I`m at the shop.



Is that ebony?


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## msherman (Jul 14, 2007)

Adam said:


> Ok, Great! Thanks again Mike
> P.S- Sorry if Ive been coming off as impatient/annoying about the build progress and pics, I'm just eager to continue this project.



It`s ok ,Man, I understand.....you do get the award for the most emails during a build though


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## Adam (Jul 14, 2007)

msherman said:


> It`s ok ,Man, I understand.....you do get the award for the most emails during a build though



OMG


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## msherman (Jul 14, 2007)

Adam said:


> Is that ebony?



Yes, Maccassar Ebony


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## Adam (Jul 14, 2007)

msherman said:


> Yes, Maccassar Ebony



Nice


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## Adam (Jul 14, 2007)

So Mike, do you recommend the use of tung oil on the guitar after its been stained?


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## msherman (Jul 14, 2007)

Adam said:


> So Mike, do you recommend the use of tung oil on the guitar after its been stained?



It can be done....but you will need to use a oil based stain.


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## msherman (Jul 17, 2007)




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## Adam (Jul 17, 2007)

msherman said:


>



 Holy shit that is awesome
Its completed now though right? (fretted, tuning keys, nut, fretboard oiled, profiled/shaped)


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## msherman (Jul 17, 2007)

Yes, these were taken before fretting and radiusing the F/B.

You can thank Steve (our resident "Big Toe" Super Mod) as I pirated his UV neck specs for the carve.


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## Adam (Jul 17, 2007)

msherman said:


> Yes, these were taken before fretting and radiusing the F/B.
> 
> You can thank Steve (our resident "Big Toe" Super Mod) as I pirated his UV neck specs for the carve.



Nice! So shes ready to ship out tommorow then? And 
i hope that the plank is longer than wht is shown in the pic


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## angus (Jul 17, 2007)

Looks nice, Mike!

Adam, you need to calm down, dude! You're getting your stuff ultra fast, so give the man time to get it ready to go and get it out the door. Besides, you'll be needing a few weeks probably to finish the guitar anyway, so don't get yourself too hyped up to be playing the thing in a few days!


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## darren (Jul 17, 2007)

Very nice. 

If you don't mind me asking, how much does a finished through-body neck like that cost, and what's the turnaround time like?


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## msherman (Jul 17, 2007)

darren said:


> Very nice.
> 
> If you don't mind me asking, how much does a finished through-body neck like that cost, and what's the turnaround time like?



PM me and we can discuss


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## msherman (Aug 6, 2007)

Adam, 
Check your PM.


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## heavy7-665 (Aug 11, 2007)

pretty..................


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## Adam (Aug 11, 2007)

Neck should be in monday Its ready to be assembled once the necks in 
And the whole thing will be tung-oiled


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## angus (Aug 11, 2007)

So it'll be ready in a few weeks?


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## Adam (Aug 11, 2007)

angus said:


> So it'll be ready in a few weeks?



Yeah, I'm not saying it's not going to be I'm aware how long it will take and if you read ,y post above yours I said ASSEMBLED not finished, so unless you're going to post anything constructive stay outta my thread


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## OzzyC (Aug 11, 2007)

Adam said:


> Yeah, I'm not saying it's not going to be I'm aware how long it will take and if you read ,y post above yours I said ASSEMBLED not finished, so unless you're going to post anything constructive stay outta my thread


So, what are the new specs?  I suspect you've changed them again.


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## Adam (Aug 11, 2007)

OzzyC said:


> So, what are the new specs?  I suspect you've changed them again.



 no new specs, everythings set and final


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## Adam (Aug 16, 2007)

Neck came in today Routed it for the EMG's and drilled the holes for the bridge Will glue wings on soon. Pics as soon as I get my hands on a camera, somebody stole mine


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## angus (Aug 16, 2007)

Why did you drill the holes for the bridge before the neck is glued up???


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## Adam (Aug 16, 2007)

angus said:


> Why did you drill the holes for the bridge before the neck is glued up???



Because I was able to? I dont see the problem here.


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## msherman (Aug 16, 2007)

Adam,
Glad it arrived safe and sound. I would suggest that you let the neck acclimate to it`s new environment before you go too nuts with it.
You probably should have glued the wings on it first and surfaced the front and back before doing any of the pup routing. That blank was not wide enough for the 808`s without the wings on it. 

Slow down my friend, don`t get ahead of your build.

If you need help, or have any questions along the way, just ask, I`m here to help. Ok bud?


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## Adam (Aug 17, 2007)

msherman said:


> Adam,
> Glad it arrived safe and sound. I would suggest that you let the neck acclimate to it`s new environment before you go too nuts with it.
> You probably should have glued the wings on it first and surfaced the front and back before doing any of the pup routing. That blank was not wide enough for the 808`s without the wings on it.
> 
> ...



Alright, but Im going to only surface the back as I will be glueing the wings so that the front is level with the neck while the back has the excess, since I want the fretboard to be as low as possible. I have a couple questions about the neck though, the nut seems a little wide, was it designed for regular string spacing? Because if it is it would seem that there will be alot of space beside the low B and the high A. Lastly the frets seem to be much smaller than my Ibanez's frets, werent you supposed to put Dunlop 6000's?
Thanks


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## msherman (Aug 17, 2007)

Adam said:


> Alright, but Im going to only surface the back as I will be glueing the wings so that the front is level with the neck while the back has the excess, since I want the fretboard to be as low as possible. I have a couple questions about the neck though, the nut seems a little wide, was it designed for regular string spacing? Because if it is it would seem that there will be alot of space beside the low B and the high A. Lastly the frets seem to be much smaller than my Ibanez's frets, werent you supposed to put Dunlop 6000's?
> Thanks



Ummm, dude, those are Dunlop 6000`s.
The nut width on that neck is the same that I use on my Serius 8 string and is 60mm wide. Without strings on it, 8 string necks give a feeling that they are wide, but I think you will find that once you string it up, you will find yourself eating those words that there is too much space between the low B and high A. Perhaps you are not accounting for f/B overhang as well?
That neck was built to your exact specs! 

Adam,You changed your mind soo many times duing this build, I think maybe you have lost track of what your final specs were?

As I mentioned in my post above, I am here to help you with this build. It is obvious that you have never built a guitar before, so I wonder why the student is quizing the teacher


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## angus (Aug 20, 2007)

Any update, Adam?


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## Adam (Aug 20, 2007)

angus said:


> Any update, Adam?



Not really,


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## crazy_cree (Aug 20, 2007)

good job


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## skinhead (Aug 20, 2007)

It looks cool, Adam. Very conklinish that shape.


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## Adam (Aug 20, 2007)

skinhead said:


> It looks cool, Adam. Very conklinish that shape.



Thanks 
And the high A string is working wonderfully Garry


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## skinhead (Aug 20, 2007)

Oh, high A. I forgot that.


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## angus (Aug 21, 2007)

When are you going to put the finish on it?


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## Adam (Aug 21, 2007)

angus said:


> When are you going to put the finish on it?



It actually has 4 coats of tung oil on it, but due to the shitty pics you cant really see it
Its completly finished at this point, strung up and wired


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## Apophis (Aug 21, 2007)

Really nice guitar, but reminds me some Conklin's works.


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## angus (Aug 21, 2007)

Jesus that was fast. 

Why didn't you finish carving the heel on the neck though?!


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## msherman (Aug 21, 2007)

Good to see it together,Adam


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## Adam (Aug 21, 2007)

angus said:


> Jesus that was fast.
> 
> Why didn't you finish carving the heel on the neck though?!



I spent 17 hours a day working on it after I recieved the neck from Mike, I like the way the heel feels so I didnt feel the need to carve it much


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## angus (Aug 21, 2007)

Seriously? Even though it goes to body thickness before the end of the cutaway?

I can't tell from the picture- does it heel match the body thickness at the upper cutaway or before? 

You should post some closeups of the front and back!


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## Adam (Aug 21, 2007)

angus said:


> Seriously? Even though it goes to body thickness before the end of the cutaway?
> 
> I can't tell from the picture- does it heel match the body thickness at the upper cutaway or before?
> 
> You should post some closeups of the front and back!



yep right at the upper cutaway it does match the thickness, as for the lower cutaways heel, it is the bodys thickness about half an inch before the body, thats good enough for me though, as Im able to finger the 27th fret before my thumb reaches that point


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## Aris_T (Aug 22, 2007)

I love the natural finish! Great job!

More close pics please!!!


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## daemon barbeque (Aug 23, 2007)

That's really sweet!
Do you mind to give more info of the high A?
I really want to get a custom 8 with Low A to G...So your guitar would be a good guide for me!Thanx alot!


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## angus (Aug 24, 2007)

I still can't imagine why you wouldn't finish the work on the neck and make it look professional.

You should post up some close up picturs of the front and back though, definitely. It would be cool to see the full view of your work.


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## OzzyC (Aug 24, 2007)

What are the new specs?


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## Garry Goodman (Aug 24, 2007)

Adam said:


> Thanks
> And the high A string is working wonderfully Garry



I appreciate you sharing that info.


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## Durero (Sep 3, 2007)

Beautiful guitar Adam!
more pics would be great


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