[Levi79]

Hey guys, after being interested in building for a long time I'm finally taking the plunge. After a few ideas I decided it would be really cool to make a 7 string jaguar. So that's what I'm doing! I have some specs in mind, but they aren't all set in stone yet.
These are the specs I have planned out:
27" scale
24 frets
Bolt on
Jaguar body
Hipshot RG7 bridge (already have this)
Black TUSQ nut
16" radius
3.8cm body thickness
Jumbo Frets
Tung Oil finish
Walnut body - Wenge/Paduak neck - Birdseye maple board

I'm pretty excited to start this. Going to start by ordering woods tomorrow or the next day.The place my dad works has basically every tool imaginable, so that'll help me along the way alot. So will the fact that my dad is a carpenter, so he'll be a big help in the woodworking area of things.

Any advice for me guys? What do you think of my specs?
Also, what's the best tuners I can get for under $60 that are 7 in line? And where can I get them?

 

[eleven59]

The only advice I can offer is that I'd personally not go with a 24-fret neck on that body style. Or, at least, I'd modify the lower horn to reach the extra frets, rather than moving the bridge and neck further out of the body, making it unbalanced and awkward looking.

 

[Levi79]

Oh I'm definitely going to make the upper frets accessible. I'm not making the shape exactly right on with fender, I just want the jag style body.

 

[Psyler]

I don't know if anyone sells tuners for under $60 bucks for a 7 string. But you could try these:

Tuners

And they have Locking ones for like $32. made by Jin Ho. so I don't know how good they are:
Locking 6 In Line Tuners - Chrome, Black, Gold

 

[dpm]

For tuners you might try sourcing Sperzels from fellow forum member Elysian, he orders them direct and might be willing to get a set of 7 for you. I don't know the exact cost, but if you're worried about spending +/-$20 here and there I don't recommend you get into guitar building :lol:


As for the other stuff, I personally wouldn't recommend wenge as I find it unstable and rubbery, I've never seen a neck using wenge that I've been impressed with. That's my 2c and I don't want to debate it further I love padauk, but keep in mind that both padauk and wenge have very large pores, so if you want a smooth feeling neck you'll want to fill the grain as you're doing the finish.

 

[Psyler]

For tuners you might try sourcing Sperzels from fellow forum member Elysian, he orders them direct and might be willing to get a set of 7 for you. I don't know the exact cost, but if you're worried about spending +/-$20 here and there I don't recommend you get into guitar building :lol:

As for the other stuff, I personally wouldn't recommend wenge as I find it unstable and rubbery, I've never seen a neck using wenge that I've been impressed with. That's my 2c and I don't want to debate it further I love padauk, but keep in mind that both padauk and wenge have very large pores, so if you want a smooth feeling neck you'll want to fill the grain as you're doing the finish.

Might want to mention to the guy you build guitars for Oni :yesway:

 

[dpm]

Might want to mention to the guy you build guitars for Oni :yesway:

:yesway:

I'm the Oni guy :lol:

edit - it says so on the left :shrug:

 

[Levi79]

Thanks for the input guys.
As for the tuners, I'd be willing to stretch my budget, but I just thought if there was cheaper but still quality options I'd give them a go. I have no problem with spending more on tuners if that's what's needed to get quality parts. This being my first build, alot of money is going to be sunk into tools. And I'm not what you'd call wealthy. I'm a 17 year old who delivers pizza :lol:
I'm totally new to building so I may have alot of questions.
First of which, your description of wenge has me second guessing. What woods would you recommend using for a natural tung oiled neck?
I picked Wenge mostly because of the dark colour. I wanted it to contrast with the birdseye board.

I found some Gotoh tuners here sold individually that'd run me under $50. Gotoh is pretty high quality is it not?
http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdpr...NameProdHeader=Gotoh%99+Steel+String+Enclosed

 

[dpm]

Gotoh make excellent quality tuners, IMO the best you can get in terms of gearing accuracy.

If you want a primarily dark neck to contrast a maple board I'd look at rosewoods like Voamboana, Palisander and Indian Rosewood. Gilmer has some interesting stuff. Walnut might also be an option, it's not mega dark but will contrast maple nicely once you get oil on it.

This is some (IIRC) Voamboana from Gilmer, it's going to look darker with finish on it. Palisander and IR are darker still. Don't be put off by the IR you see everywhere on fretboards, the good stuff is great stuff, and when properly sanded and finished it's gorgeous.

Shitty old pic, but this is Pau Ferro. It has more red to it so looks better with some woods than others.

More Pau Ferro -

Indian Rosewood -

And some I Can't Remember the Name of It Because I've Had Too Much Wine Rosewood

I've also used Macassar ebony and Ziricote for necks but I wouldn't recommend going there for a first build. They're both expensive and very, very dense woods.

 

[dpm]

Found a walnut one too, this is kind of light-ish in color -

 

[Psyler]

:yesway:

I'm the Oni guy :lol:

edit - it says so on the left :shrug:

Didn't see that :lol:

Those are some nice necks though :yum: making me want to start building... Actually I am supposed to be building something soon hopefully :lol:

 

[7deadlysins]

Guitar Fetish's locking tuners, both the Sperzel style and the style that lock on the top (you lock and unlock with a coin) are actually really nice tuners and are pretty cheap too. You can't get a set of 7, the price of two sets are cheap enough and you'd have a few spare if you ever needed them.

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Now-STA...-Tuners-Sperzel-Style-String-Lock-_p_514.html

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Gotoh-S...s-Six-In-Line-True-Mechanical-Lock_p_392.html

 

[robanomoly]

For a first build, I wouldn't spend a lot of money on wood. Buy good tools and learn on less expensive wood.

 

[Empryrean]

Woah Levi, quite the ambitious build sir! I look forward to seeing this, I too have a soft tingly place for the jaguar

 

[Levi79]

Thanks dpm! I really appreciate the help. your work looks absolutely amazing dude! The only thing I can find at a reasonable price in Canada is Walnut. Maybe I could go with a Walnut neck. Now I'm really not sure what I want :lol: Good thing I made this thread last night. I was planning on ordering wood today :lol:
I was planning on using this supplier for wood: www.exotic-woods.com
But I looked around and found a cheaper option here: Quality Curly, Quilted, Spalted Maple Guitar Tonewood | Bow River Specialty Woods
Now I'm thinking:
Guinea Walnut - New Guinea Walnut Guitar Body Blanks
Flame maple neck - Electric Guitar Necks
Zircote board - Electic Guitar Fingerboards

On thing I'm concerned about is that I can find lots of info on Black Walnut, but not Guinea. I have a black walnut and maple Carvin 7 and love the sound. But what's the difference between Guinea and Black?

Maybe you guys are right. Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew...

 

[dpm]

I definitely agree that you should keep the wood costs to a minimum for a first attempt. On the other hand, good hardware can be used elsewhere if your first guitar sucks.

New Guinea Walnut isn't a true walnut. Doesn't mean it's a bad wood to use. The density looks good for bodies, but it's a totally different wood. A lot of woods in this part of the world (Aus, New Guinea etc.) were named according to what they vaguely reminded people of from back in Europe.

 

[Levi79]

After talking to both Exotic Woods and Bow River Woods on the phone, it'll make alot more sense for me to go with Bow River, so I'm gathering some dimensions right now and getting an invoice.
I've decided on a Walnut body, Flame maple neck and Zircote board. I asked on the phone and they don't have any Rosewood neck blanks, so I'll have to see what I'm going to do for stripes on the neck. Is there anything I should definitely stay away from?
And I gathered these dimensions from measuring my Agile Septor 828 since its my only thing baritone. This should be roughly what I need.
32" x 3.5" x 2" neck blank
24" x 3.5" x 5/8" board blank
20" x 14" x 1 3/4" body blank

Edit: Another thing. Are radiusing blocks completely necessary? $60 for a bunch of angled blocks is a bit much. I could probably make these way easier/cheaper. No?

 

[dpm]

Not sure where you're looking at radiusing blocks. LMII and Stewmac have them individually for under $20. You only need the size that matches the radius you want to use. Making them is actually quite difficult.

 

[Levi79]

Not sure where you're looking at radiusing blocks. LMII and Stewmac have them individually for under $20. You only need the size that matches the radius you want to use. Making them is actually quite difficult.

If they're difficult to make I have no problem buying one. Thanks :yesway:

 

[robanomoly]

Make sure you wear a respirator when cutting/sanding walnut (and quite possibly the Zircote). That stuff is bad to breathe.

Just about any lumber yard will have Ash and regular hard maple. You can make a great sounding (and looking) guitar out of those two woods and not spend a lot of money.

I'd recommend against doing a multi-piece neck for your first guitar. Keep it simple, make mistakes, learn from them, move on to the next build.