How many of you have "luthier made" electrics?

[iim7V7IM7]

I suspect that I am not alone.

Ron Kirn, Strat - Ash Body, Maple Neck, BRW fingerboard, Lollar Dirty Blonde PUs





Chuck Thornton, Professional, Mahogany/Maple Body, Mahogany neck, Macassar Ebony Fingerboard, Lollar Low Wind Imperial PUs





Those are mine, let's see yours...

[s2y]

About 60% of my stuff is handmade. Taylor Electrics, Peavey USA Basses, and some old Kramer guitars are my non-luthier made instruments. They play about as well as handmade stuff, IMO.

[Dru Edwards]

What beautiful guitars!!

Although I have two luthier custom build acoustics (Russel Crosby) and 1 Taylor BTO, I have no luthier made electrics.

[CFW]

I am enduring the wait of having ordered a custom luthier built electric.

A Sabre Syren 7 string with an Endurneck.



And I'm no luthier, but I've built two electrics from scratch, with a couple more on the way. All definitely custom. That's a nice way of saying no two are identical...

The one on the left (a lefty) has a nice redwood top, and the other has an ash top.

[batsbrew]

just thought i'd share, in case anyone else is thinking about custom builds.


The Williams Special

The Williams Special is a Les Paul-Strat-Mustang-Explorer hybrid, with hollow body cavities, Mustang scale length,
built like a paul with mahagony and maple top, with vintage-dimension strat body, explorer headstock.















(semi-related: my first 'good' guitar was a '75 Fender Mustang.)

This guitar was commissioned in 1986.

It is a Gibson Les paul-Fender strat-Fender mustang-Gibson explorer HYBRID.
-built by Stan Williams, Rome Georgia.

-based on the Fender Mustang scale length at 24.0"....this design is also similar to brian may's red special.

*honduras mahogany body, with air cavities carved in the body below the maple top.
*flame maple top, 3/8" thick.
*vintage-dimension strat body.
*2-piece flame maple neck, with ebony fingerboard.
*no truss rod!
there are (2) rectangular pieces of aircraft aluminum running the length of the fretboard.
*flame maple veneer on headstock; front, sides, and back.
*jumbo frets, nickle alloy
*custom inlays: mother of pearl, diamond shape, with a split diamond around the center pickup.
*Kahler 2300 pro tremelo.
*(3) off/on switches
*master volume, master tone, 3rd pot now unwired-
*Pickups: originally equipped with a EMG SA assembly, and the 3rd knob was the presence control.
--now has (2) bill lawrence L-280's, and a duncan Little 59 humbucker in the bridge.
*explorer headstock shape, true to scale.
*long tenon set neck
*13 degree tilt back headstock
*graphtec nut, with locking kahler nut mounted behind it.



*Wood: the Flame maple used on the top and neck, and veneers, was from a large timber
(139 years old as of 2014) salvaged from a barn in Illinois.

The honduras was acquired long before there were conservation laws on that particular wood
(blank dates back to pre-1980).

__________________________________________________ _________

design criteria:

the les paul connection:
the basics of the les paul (the obvious basics) are:

slab mahogony body;
maple top;
strings on top of body;
2 piece maple neck;
glued in neck, long tenon;
tilt back headstock, no string trees required.


later, in 2008, they started weight relieving the standards, but remember, i built this in 1986.
so, the Gibson nod starts there.

This one has:
Honduras mahagony body -- maple top -- strings on top of body via the Kahler -- 2 piece maple neck
-- a glued in neck with long tenon -- tilt back headstock.

My design tried to improve on my favorite aspects of the 4 different guitars, the mustang, explorer, strat and paul.


for example:

*the volute on the explorer headstock is inherently stronger than the les paul (commonly known over time for breaks at the neck),
plus i liked the headstock shape

*the weight relief is secondary-- the sound cavities i had routed strictly for that semi-acoustic property,
making the guitar, at stage volume, extremely lively - this followed the basics of the Brian May Red Special,
which was my starting point. his guitar is designed more like a 335 than mine, but i went there as much as i could
without floating the top over a central beam

*the ebony fretboard brings out more les paul-style tonal characteristics than, say, a rosewood fretboard would have

*the glue in neck was a must, and unlike the les paul, which has that awkward heel, mine is smoothed out right into the back of the body, without so
much as a line, almost invisible. the tonal effect with the glued in neck, and the long tenon is an obvious connection to the les paul lineage

*the tilt back headstock was unnecessary with the kahler locking nut, but i added it anyway,
feeling that the downward pressure of the strings still helps to maintain a strong connection to the neck,
vibration wise, and this is very much in les paul territory

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by CFW

I am enduring the wait of having ordered a custom luthier built electric.

A Sabre Syren 7 string with an Endurneck.

<<snippet pics>

Cool! What's an Endurneck?

[CFW]

Here's a link to the Strandberg site. They patented the neck shape and called it an Endurneck. Sabre purchased a license to use the neck profile.

http://guitarworks.thestrandbergs.co...the-endurneck/







Here's the info from the Strandberg site:

The EndurNeck allows you to play longer, faster and better by providing not only better support for the muscles and tendons of your fingers, palm, and forearm, but also acts as a guide that helps you straighten your wrist when playing the lower frets. Drawing on concepts like Jerome Little’s Torzal Natural Twist and Rick Toone’s Trapezoid Neck Profile, the EndurNeck is a brand new innovation that requires no special tools or techniques to manufacture or maintain.

The key is a cross section that forms an asymmetric trapezoid, leaning towards your thumb at the headstock end and one that leans towards your palm at the body end. This means two things: 1) when playing in a classical pinch grip, the surface that supports your palm moves gradually closer to the bottom of the neck, meaning that it is easier to reach around the neck with your fingers and 2) when pressing your thumb against the upper surface of the profile, its gradually sharper angle near the headstock helps straighten your wrist and the gradually more shallow angle near the body again also helps straighten the wrist and shortens the distance between the fingerboard and your thumb for a more comfortable and relaxed grip.
In addition, the shallow angle at the lower side of the neck at the headstock gives you more room right where the index finger meets the palm, again helping straighten your wrist. Combined with a slight fan of the frets that also follows the natural angle of your arm as you move up and down the neck in a “windshield wiper” motion, you are bound to be completely unconstrained by the physical limitations of a traditional guitar neck. The effect is greater and more noticeable for wider necks.
Together, these components of the guitar neck design all help to reduce the risk of Repetitive Strain Injuries, such as Cubital Tunnel Syndrome and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and improves your playing as a positive side effect.

[s2y]

Interesting concept. Do you have problems with your fretting hand currently?

I've never really had problems with conventional necks. V cuts seem to make me want to move my thumb away from exactly where I want it. I briefly started thumb wrapping when switching back to 4 string bass and 6 string guitar necks after many years at 7 string guitar and 6-7 string bass.

[CFW]

No, I have no physical problems with my fretting hand.

I'm just very open to new ideas and concepts.

For some interesting but not custom, google Flaxwood guitars out of Sweden. I've got an Aija from them. (Minus the umlauts)

[s2y]

Makes sense. Definitely worth a try. My 7 string bass is a heck of a lot of neck and tended to be fatiguing based on the size. Not sure if there is much to fix that.

[muscmp]

not built by a luthier but it is custom made. it is an rks dave mason signature model. great player!!

[Dru Edwards]

CFW: Thanks for the info on the Endurneck. Sounds ergonomical. I'll be looking forward to your NGD thread when you get it. Happy waiting.

[CFW]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Happy waiting.

Hmm. Customs require waiting.. but i wouldn't call it happy. The last custom (acoustic) took over a year, which was quite a bit longer than originally expected.

I'm just waiting. With positive thoughts....

[Athana]

Yes..
* Fender Masterbuilt Dennis Galzuka 1965 Stratocaster.
(Quartersawn neck w/Ebony Fingerboard..
A Perfectl neck with drop off at end of fingerboard..One Piece Alder body selected for best resonance..Shell Pink..Antiquity Pickups..9.5 Radius ..set up for easiest play)
*Fender Masterbuilt Dennis Galzuka 1956 Stratocaster
(Quartersawn very fat early 55' neck..Perfect neck with drop off at end of fingerboard..Shell Pink..9.5 radius..Antiquity pickups..set up for easy play..
One piece Alder body selected for resonance)
* Carlo Greco Semi Hollow Electric(1989)
(All hand carved with old wood and Original Gibson PAF pickups)

These are Fenders

[perttime]

Unfortunately, my closest connection to an individually built guitar is a T shirt I got from Ruokangas - for making a correct guess on F***book. That and living near to several good builders.