Built Me a Baritone - What else can go wrong!

[Fusioninspace]

This is one of those frustrating projects I felt compelled to share.

I started putting together a baritone a couple of months ago. Most of the parts were from my MIM strat - but I got a Dano neck to go with it. By chance, my job and personal life got extremely busy about the same time - so I had to work on this thing in 10 minute segments over several weeks.

So the neck comes in, it turns out it's a tad wider than the neck pocket in the strat body. I figure the neck has more value than the strat body so I chiseled out strat - that parted turned out real nice.

Then I order a loaded pickup cover - It's nice, but p'up covers are white and I wanted black. So I ordered a black trim kit (covers, knobs, etc.). A few days later, I pull off the pickups and swap the bridge position cover - fits perfectly. On the middle and neck pickups the little holes in the new covers don't match the poles on the pickups

Ok, so I dremel out a slot on the covers and now they fit - It actually looks kinda cool. Now simply pop the pickguard on the body....

Um, the screw holes only line up for about half the screws and the Dano neck has a slightly different shape than the pickguard. Now I know that an 11 screw pickguard does not mean 11 screws will line up. Dremel time on the neck area and a few new holes later - that part looks great!

Ok, now simply solder the wires and I'm ready for the next step. Except when it's 11:30 at night and you're extremely tired and you don't realize you soldered the shielding to the tip connection on the jack. But I do eventually realize it down the road.

Ready for strings! - Sort of. Strings go on... The neck is way out of wack and needs adjustment. It's then that I realize (I have a lot of realizations on this project), the adjustment is not on the head of the neck - it's burried under the pickguard, behind some wood in the body. Ok, pickguard off, chisel out plenty of access to the hex bolt - adjust the neck relief, pickguard back on, presto!

And this is where I discover the jack in not wired correctly. Ok, next.

This is where the I must of had a breakdown of some sort. I start tuning the strings to B - similar to what I do on my 5 string bass. From there I do a setup - I still have the strat trem mind you. So over the next few nights, I do the bridge and intonation, etc. It's real funky, slappy, fretless sounding when I play it. And I play it for a few days and nights (again 10 minute segments or less). And it sounds just TOOOOOO weird to me and I don't know what's wrong. This is a project from hell with no end.

So last night I get on Youtube and look up baritone. I suddenly realize I had tuned it a full octive down from a normal bariton!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

Shame on me.

Ok, time to tune it correctly - Trem starts to give way - added the last two springs, trem back in place. Tune away, now the neck is bowed hellishly.

So fellow enthusiust - I'm back to the pull the pickguard, Adjust neck, replace pickguard, reset string height and intonation...

Piece of cake! So I'm almost finished. And I actually think it will sound as good I wanted. Just took me a little more effort than I expected.

BTW, I had also bought two baby ducks about the same time the baritone project started - I had to take care of them and build them a backyard run after work during daylight hours. Ducks are done for now.

 

[Light]

What else can go wrong? You don't even want to know.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Fusioninspace]

Here's follow-up to where I left off before...

So now I'm back to the neck adjustment part - I loosen the strings, take out the pickguard screws, put the screws in the a little container to the side. As I'm carefully removing the pickguard, the D string breaks (would be a G on a regular guitar). Shoot. Ok, good thing I had plenty of extras.

Put the new string on, tune up the guitar, adjust the neck, loosen the strings, put the pickguard back on, start to put the screws back in....

Where the hell did the f-n screws go!!!! They were right there in the little container next to the guitar!!! The little plastic container was just sitting there, clean as a whistle, not tipped over or moved around. It had my screws, some bridge springs and a little hex wrench in there when I started... Jesus, I NEVER loose screws - let alone all eleven! After several minutes of checking the entire shop - I wonder...

Take off the pickguard, and there was all my stuff, on the back, sucked up by the pickup magnets. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

But, I did get the final set up done last night (about 11:45) and got to play at 1.5 on an amp in the shop for about 5 minutes.

The thing is going to be fun! I'm looking forward to spend some quality time with it this weekend.

The lesson from all of this is just to be patient.

 

[Jouni]

Patience..

I would've burned the thing dozen times over!!!

..Funny, I thought you'd have to change the bridge position too, not just the neck.. Live and learn.

 

[muttley600]

Patience..

I would've burned the thing dozen times over!!!

..Funny, I thought you'd have to change the bridge position too, not just the neck.. Live and learn.

You just have to attach the new neck so that the 12th fret is exactly halfway between nut and bridge. Adjust for intonation. Your done.

 

[Lt. Bob]

if you put a baritone neck on a strat and didn't move the bridge ..... the intonation is gonna be seriously off ..... not a little bit but a lot!

 

[muttley600]

if you put a baritone neck on a strat and didn't move the bridge ..... the intonation is gonna be seriously off ..... not a little bit but a lot!

The typical baritone scale length is around 26" to 27" you might be able to squaek it on there with the 12th at the mid point without moving the bridge it depends on the pocket and neck length.

 

[Lt. Bob]

but you'd have to have that neck sticking way to the front of the pocket wouldn't you?

 

[muttley600]

but you'd have to have that neck sticking way to the front of the pocket wouldn't you?

I don't know I've never done it but it wouldn't be hard to trim the neck to fit length wise. The problem comes if you havent got enough. If I was doing it I'd shoot the pocket to fit the neck and clamp it where it needs to go after cutting to length if required. After that I drill through the existing holes to locate the new screw position. Not a hard job if you Kork to the 12th fret as centre.

As I said though I have never done that. To be honest if someone asked me I'd make a complete new neck.

 

[Fusioninspace]

Bridge position.

Naturally on this project, it didn't occur to me that the bridge might be off until after I started setting intonation. So, yea, I did forget to mention this part of my journey:

As I was setting the intonation the first time and suddenly realizing I was having an issue, I found two things:

1. The spring on the bridge became totally squashed before the intonation was correct, and
2. Even it the spring wasn't involved, the screw was going to be to long and end up poking the string.

So off with the screws and springs (at least I didn't have to remove the strings). Dremeled the screws in half, clipped the springs in half.

when I did the final intonation last night, this was not an issue. I still have plently of adjustment in the bridge saddles to screw up the intonation sharp OR flat. But it's certainly another one of those learnings.

After I play it awhile, I'm sure I'll go back and change the string height or something. I sort of averaged settings for the bow/string height between a regular guitar and a bass. So far it's definately in the ballpark.

 

[Light]

if you put a baritone neck on a strat and didn't move the bridge ..... the intonation is gonna be seriously off ..... not a little bit but a lot!

Most Baritone conversion necks are designed to work on a normal strat body without modification. I assume that is what he used. Though I could be wrong, in which case if it worked he is a lucky ass MF.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi