Greetings guys!
So. This has been a project that has slowly been moving forward over the past year, and now that some of the people involved are on vacation and can actually work on it, i figured id ask some questions where i lack the knowledge. I use a CNC, but, my questions here are more for the wood/design aspect.
My brother is quite the bassist. Normally rocks a Warwick 6 string Corvette but when occasion calls, he grabs his Galveston 8 string, and 2 hand taps. Guy has even filled the spot when we're down a guitar player. Anyways, ever since i built my 4 axis CNC a few years back hes been on me for a 12 string extended range.
We have built it in Solidworks, test cut it out of pine, and he picked his woods. Its White oak and black walnut. I've had many guys tell me this is a bad idea, and probably is, but, its already been laminated and glued for the neck. I figure we'll run with it for now. My best friend helping me with this comes from a family owned wood press/bend shop, so, having it all glued and pressed together wasnt an issue.
Heres the design: (i know, the headstock holes need moved)
The different colored rectangles are the stock, white oak and black walnut. Although the outter body slabs are now going to be white oak.
And heres the test cut
Now for the questions i have:
Length: My bro has this for a 36" to 34" fanned fret setup. Are we even going to be able to find strings this long?? Moreso towards the headstock side where the strings go real far from the nut.
Neck attachment: I was showing off my skills at running my own machine more than thinking about the final product. I COULD do neck through design, as this was cut in the test. However, this requires 6 different machining positions, all of which have to line up perfectly, all of which can't have a single failure. Granted my screw ups are far and few in between, this fact has me thinking of going bolt on. Especially since its mostly 2 hand tapped, and i know from experience how much I can improve the action of even the cheapest of guitars by playing with the neck pocket and angles.. Is there a calculation for the pocket? IE how much material should i have neck and body mating? Does this also play into my above question of length? Way i figure it too, say one part succumbs to what everyone's telling me on the wood choice being poor, i still have the remaining (ie neck is terrible i still have the body)
Truss Rods: His 8 string has dual trusses. My Shecter 8 does as well. Its not too difficult to give mine a good setup, as theyre located right next to each other. His 8 on the other hand is a forever ordeal, as they are spaced quite far apart. So, when adjusting, i always have to watch out for things becoming uneven. It was suggested to me i go with carbon fiber rods and one truss in the center. Thoughts? How about diameter? I have my own lathe and access to a mill, so, i just assume I'm making my own. I would lie to be able to adjust bend like a regular bass, as i know he will stop and play it like a normal bass, especially in a live setting rather changing instruments.
Neck Scarf joint: Do i need one? Or should i say, is it stronger? I have an old 1960's kay that doesnt have one. The headstock lies flat, and the strings are angled under a bar just after the nut. The past guitar i did though, we had a slab of walnut that was tall enough for me to mill it all as one giant piece. Id have my wood working buddy do it.
Anyways, once it's machined, the neat part i've never done is going to be the pickups. One of the engineers i work with has built several over the years, and I'm going to have him design them. I'm going to use either my lathe, or the rotary axis on my cnc to do the winding. The inner plastics will either be milled or 3D printed, i havent decided yet.
The bridge will be milled. Possibly by me manually, or, by a handful of machinists i know if they get slow. Havent decided 100% on what metal yet, my brother and i keep arguing over finish. He wants the finish to match the tuners. Im guessing i can find a shop here that will chrome/powder coat to match, but, i know i need to be close on what type of metal my bridge is.
The overall goal here guys is to have a functioning 12 string bass. If we break something in the process, we learned something. I'm doing what i can to make sure this goes smoothly as possible to be a final product I'm proud of, and more importantly, one my brother loves to play.
Thanks guys. Any input is appreciated.
