Archtop & Solidbody. Languedoc inspired

Neilybob · October 2022

Wow this is turning out to be an amazing build !

grappagreen · October 2022

You always amaze me with your builds.. that is a wonderful thing..

WezV · November 2022

Assembly begins.

PhilKing · November 2022

It is looking great Wez. I love the label in the top F-hole. The pickups really do work with the overall look. How did you figure out which tuner went in which position? I didn't see any markings on them to tell you! I'll be interested to know how you find them when you come to string it up.

tanihhiavlt · November 2022

Keen to know how this sounds, with the tailpiece it's gonna be quite different to a 335

WezV · November 2022

Good point. They are numbered 1-6 on the thumbwheel.... but i think I've put them the wrong way round as thet are subtley staggered. They certainly felt smooth.

I've just tuned it up for the first time and am really happy with the way it sounds acoustically... can't wait to see how it settles in and get it wired up. Usually they sound boxy at this stage, but this already has a nice amount of acoustic volume and natural reverb

Still a few bits to do yet.

The tailpiece is currently shimmed to align properly, but my shim wasnt quite right so i need to make another. This is due to it being a right angle bracket on an offset body. I also need to add some string grounding to it, likely with a brass plate inlaid underneath.

I have a bit of snakewood left that i am hoping can be used for a couple of small details, truss rod cover and things like that.

The back plate is held on by a couple of magnets, but i think it needs a couple more to make it more secure

The finish is thin, but glossy. I didn't grainfill much so it's now starting to sink in nicely on the cherry and walnut grainlines.

WezV · November 2022

tanihhiavlt said:

Keen to know how this sounds, with the tailpiece it's gonna be quite different to a 335

It's very different to a 335 inside.

This is fully hollow solid wood, carved inside and out. No laminates or solid centre block, just 2 big spruce braces running from neck to tailblock.

The body will resonate a lot more than the average 335. It probably wont cope with as much gain as they do, but it's not really built for that.

tanihhiavlt · November 2022

Noice, more like a jazz box then?

WezV · November 2022

Yeah, but smaller.

WezV · November 2022

Just put it on the kitchen scales. Should be less than 5 1/2lb once done.

The relatively heavy neck and locking tuners are throwing balance off a bit, but should be fine if i put the strap on the upper horn.

Andyjr1515 · November 2022

That's looking splendid, @WezV ;

JGTay · November 2022

Very nice, love the colour.

PhilKing · November 2022

Did you pin the bridge, or is it fully floating? I'd probably prefer it pinned, as I am sure to knock it when I'm playing. It is really looking nice and I'm really curious how the pickups sound and balance.

WezV · November 2022

PhilKing said:

Did you pin the bridge, or is it fully floating? I'd probably prefer it pinned, as I am sure to knock it when I'm playing. It is really looking nice and I'm really curious how the pickups sound and balance.

It's not pinned yet, but it can be.

WezV · November 2022

Ive been considering what to do with the tailpiece

Issues.
1. The bracket is at a right angle to the centreline, the body is not.
2. No string grounding as its solid ebony
3. String holes were too small for ball ends, so needed to be strung from underneath

Solution
1. This was shimmed in the pic above. Since then I have removed the bracket and redrilled it to match the angle at the end of the body and filled on the old pin holes with saw dust and superglue

2. I was considering a brass plate inlaid underneath, but would still expect the high strings to cut into and eventually split the ebony on front.

I decided instead to add a fretslot just in front of the string holes. I drilled a tiny hole through the fretslot to allow a wire to be fed through, and routed a channel in the back to take the wire to the bracket. I added a stainless steel fret to the slot. Now I can ground the fretwire via the bracket and don't need to worry about the high strings cutting into the tailpiece. It also ties in aesthetically with the bridge and pickups.

3. These just got drilled a little larger. But it will sace a lot of fiddling on string changes.

Roland · November 2022

Brilliant idea!

PhilKing · November 2022

Wow, that sounds like a lot of work Wez. I can't wait to try this guitar. It is looking awesome.

CoffeeAndTV · November 2022

I’ve been watching this and loving every update.

WezV · November 2022

PhilKing said:

Wow, that sounds like a lot of work Wez. I can't wait to try this guitar. It is looking awesome.

I was on the fence whether to just make a new one or not, but modding it turned out to be relatively simple and I have kept it nice and lightweight... although it did occur to me a big lump of brass may help offset the tuners at the other end.

Think I'm going to stick with the Hofner style bridge, but might replace the saddles with SS fretwire . I might see if I can get it swappable with a TOM though, just to be sure which sounds better

I will add some pickup shims (just reminded myself to order some oil city shims, i have allparts ones here which i have had for 15 years and never used as they are ridiculously oversized). Partly for better height, partly to help isolate the pickups from the body vibration

Then its knobs and truss rod cover... where I am hoping I can incorporate the last bits of snakewood

WezV · November 2022

Super quick delivery from @OilCityPickups ; - thanks Ash!

the standard aftermarket dog ear shim on the left, the oil city ones on the right.

generic

Oil City

I have used the generic ones before by gently scoring around the pickup and trimming to shape, that is why I still have one in the parts drawer... but it's nice to have an option that just fits as it should!

WezV · February 2023

rather close to the finish line now.

Jobs to do are make a truss rod cover and also maybe swap out the magnets on the back plate for something a bit beefier, it holds, but not as securely as I would like

I was having some issues with the Hofner style bridge as the fret wire saddles just don't sit high enough on such a wide bridge. This meant a heavy strum would displace the strings. Slotting them obviously made it sit even lower and was rubbing more on the back edge. I've swapped out for a tune-o-matic for now.

I also pinned the bridge base in place. This is done with 2 small screws hidden under the thumbwheels. Those 2 changes have helped make everything feel a lot more stable

It weighs in ay 5lb 9oz

WezV · February 2023

I was a bit worried about neck dive on this as it definitely has some neck heaviness

excuse the crappy pic, but this shows the guitar balanced on two fingers, putting the center of gravity just behind the strap button.

And hanging on a strap

I think that is going to be okay. If not, lighter tuners or a heavier tailpiece would help it hang in a tilted playing position

Sarge · February 2023

That is gorgeous, great thread, great build!

davros · February 2023

Stunning!!

PhilKing · February 2023

That looks great to me Wez. How do the tuners feel. I've never used the Ratio ones before. Now you've got it wired up, how do the pickups sound?

WezV · February 2023

The tuners feel great, very positive in use.

The pickups suit the character of the guitar nicely and work well with each other. I'm never great at describing sound

I do need to double check the wiring as the neck was cutting out a bit, I think I have displaced a wire when squeezing it all in, I probably should have gone for a right angle toggle instead of a short one to make it easier to fit.

I've also got a bit of sympathetic vibration that I think is coming from the switch, pickups or backplate... just minor troubleshooting, but it will probably still come apart a few more times yet

PeteC · February 2023

Another beautiful build Wez - really great to follow along and see how you developed this.

WezV · July 2023

Now all settled in and much closer to done.

I had a slight issue with the neck pickup cutting out. Turned out I had bent a switch tab squeezing the short toggle in the body. I probably should have gone for a right angle toggle instead

Looks good with the other 2 archtops

PhilKing · July 2023

It really is looking great @WezV ;

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Archtop & Solidbody. Languedoc inspired

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