My first Mustang - a new project (advice needed, regular progress pics)

[AliGlenUig]

A shot of the weird roller bridge:



General progress shot of the bits I've got so far. Neck finish is lovely and enjoying the tort with the Daphne. Next are tuners, control plate, pots and hopefully white control knobs if I can source them.

Oh and the small matter of choosing pickups.

[Sauerkraut]

Uuuhh.. that's lovely!

One thing that always bugged me about Mustangs though is the dumb placement of the pickup switches. They couldn't be in a worse place, cause it's hard to avoid hitting them when playing. I know it's a little late now that you have that pickguard, but I'd still consider moving them down to the other side of the strings someplace.

[hpr_hpr]

So have confirmed the neck is 7.25" radius.

Picked up a roller bridge supposedly designed to match Mustangs and jags, I thought the saddles were height adjustable but they aren't, just the whole bridge the same as the standard Mustang bridge.

Spec sheet that came with the bridge says the radius is 12, so I may have fucked it here and have to get something else. Might as well try stringing it up and see though, it's a shame as I was hoping the roller saddles would help with trem tuning stability.

Another question: the bridge pole pieces are loose in the holes in the body - should I tape them to fit snugly or is there supposed to be some rocking action in Mustang bridges? I'm sure I read that somewhere but might be imagining it.

Not necessarily completely . . . with a larger radius bridge either your middle strings are going to have lower action than the outsides OR if you raise the bass, the treble might be somewhat lower than the base ... a 7.25" radius is somewhat unusual on after market bridges these days with most necks tending towards either a flatter (9.5" to 12) or compound radius (Warmoths standard is 10 - 16" for instance, the other common being 9.5 or 10 - 12) . . . SO getting a correctly radiuses bridge for a 7.5" (especially in something that can't easily be modified like a roller bridge) might possibly require a bit of a search. In non roller bridges you can have the groove in the outer saddles deepened a bit to get closer to the 7.25" radius quite easily . . . any competent luthier you trust to make you a nut should be able to do that as well.

I think standard Mustang bridges are like JM bridges in that they are supposed to rock but these have 'fixed' saddles. I really can't see the point of a roller bridge rocking.

EDIT: google . . . it's Jaguar bridges that rock, and Jagstang bridges . . . mustangs may be fixed, thus the roller option . . . rocking in a roller bridge may be undesirable, as the bridge does not 'lock' onto the string there is nothing to 'pull it back upright' thus the bridge will permanently lean either forward or back under string pressure . . . now the only benefit from the rocking is . . . nothing . . . and the bridge falls out when there are no strings on the guitar.

[AliGlenUig]

Not necessarily completely . . . with a larger radius bridge either your middle strings are going to have lower action than the outsides OR if you raise the bass, the treble might be somewhat lower than the base ... a 7.25" radius is somewhat unusual on after market bridges these days with most necks tending towards either a flatter (9.5" to 12) or compound radius (Warmoths standard is 10 - 16" for instance, the other common being 9.5 or 10 - 12) . . . SO getting a correctly radiuses bridge for a 7.5" (especially in something that can't easily be modified like a roller bridge) might possibly require a bit of a search. In non roller bridges you can have the groove in the outer saddles deepened a bit to get closer to the 7.25" radius quite easily . . . any competent luthier you trust to make you a nut should be able to do that as well.

I think standard Mustang bridges are like JM bridges in that they are supposed to rock but these have 'fixed' saddles. I really can't see the point of a roller bridge rocking.

EDIT: google . . . it's Jaguar bridges that rock, and Jagstang bridges . . . mustangs may be fixed, thus the roller option . . . rocking in a roller bridge may be undesirable, as the bridge does not 'lock' onto the string there is nothing to 'pull it back upright' thus the bridge will permanently lean either forward or back under string pressure . . . now the only benefit from the rocking is . . . nothing . . . and the bridge falls out when there are no strings on the guitar.

Right. That's kind of what I thought, the roller saddles should do the job of the 'rocking' fender bridge design but hopefully with more stability.

SO. I'm gonna tape the poles to fix the bridge/stop it rocking. Buy and install tuners. Drill and attach the neck. String it up. See how everything is sitting. Buy a different bridge if needs be.

[AliGlenUig]

So, fitting the neck.

I have fitted a neck from scratch exactly once before in my life. (This is my second build). It went okay, but it was also a pretty cheapy budget build and a really cheap Chinese neck so I was kind of learning how to do it and it didn't matter if I fucked up so I was maybe a bit cavalier with the whole thing.

I've sunk significantly more money into parts for this guitar though and I have high hopes so I really would like to get it spot on.

Would anyone be kind enough to talk me through the best way to do this?

The neck is a perfect snug fit in the neck pocket, which is an encouraging start. The heel of the body has been drilled, so that removes one complication. I've just bought this to use with my cordless drill (no access to a drill press).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0043VUCGO/ ... QAbT52Q9PS

So, as far as I'm concerned the process is:
Sit the neck into the neck pocket, string a high E string into the first and and one into the sixth string positions at even tension, check that the lines of the strings are good with the edge of the fretboard, wiggle the neck if needs be to make sure they're even (not that there really is any wiggle room), clamp it with padding to protect the fretboard, measure the remaining depth of the screw not taken up by the body depth, Mark the drill bit with tape accordingly, drill the holes in the neck with the whole thing still clamped up. I suppose the alternative is to do all the above, use a centre punch through the holes in the body to mark the positions on the neck and then take the neck off and drill it.

Anything I'm missing, any tips, if anyone would like to talk me through their process for this? Any and all ideas and advice much much appreciated!

[hpr_hpr]

So, as far as I'm concerned the process is:
Sit the neck into the neck pocket, string a high E string into the first and and one into the sixth string positions at even tension, check that the lines of the strings are good with the edge of the fretboard, wiggle the neck if needs be to make sure they're even (not that there really is any wiggle room), clamp it with padding to protect the fretboard, measure the remaining depth of the screw not taken up by the body depth, Mark the drill bit with tape accordingly, drill the holes in the neck with the whole thing still clamped up. I suppose the alternative is to do all the above, use a centre punch through the holes in the body to mark the positions on the neck and then take the neck off and drill it.

Anything I'm missing, any tips, if anyone would like to talk me through their process for this? Any and all ideas and advice much much appreciated!

You pretty much got it, the only thing to remember is that the holes in your body may be drilled may be drilled slightly larger than the 1/8th pilot hole that's recommended for a neck screw . . .

Here's my sequence of events for a body with holes, with pictures, I didn't have a bridge in place or tuners fitted so I used the centerline of the neck and body do make sure things were straight.
https://buildsomethinganything.blogspot ... -over.html

The 'nice' part of doing it this way was is that the body itself guides the drill without much risk to it because of the nylon ferrules, no need for a drill press or other extra equipment. I didn't clamp the neck here as much as probably should have as it was quite a tight fit, I could literally hold the neck and pick up the body without any screws fitted . . . when clamping a neck the best thing I've found are the Irwin ratchet bar clamps ... a deep C clamp will work but you need a 'cushion' to prevent it from marking or otherwise damaging the neck, the silicone covers on the heads of the Irwin clamp make that unnecessary . . .

Even better than a center punch . . . a brad point drill bit that just fits the hole in the body . . .

Oh and a piece of tape on a drill bit does NOT count as a positive depth stop . . . . if your bit happens to grab (it does happen sometimes) you can suddenly be somewhere where you REALLY don't want to be . . . invest in something like a set of these:

search for drill bit depth stop on Amazon . . . at some point you'll be glad you did.

[Horsefeather]

That bridge you got will leave plenty of room on the sides of fretboard, as it's narrower than a standard Mustang bridge at only about 2", if yours is the same as the one I have in my parts bin. That's a nice feature.

Regarding the radius issue, if the mismatch turns out to be unacceptable, you could get really adventurous and try modifying the bridge. That is, pulling the inner two rollers out, milling a small amount off their undersides so they sit lower, and then slotting the accompanying bolt holes to allow them to drop a little. Then the same process on the A and B strings but removing less material.

[AliGlenUig]

Regarding the radius issue, if the mismatch turns out to be unacceptable, you could get really adventurous and try modifying the bridge. That is, pulling the inner two rollers out, milling a small amount off their undersides so they sit lower, and then slotting the accompanying bolt holes to allow them to drop a little. Then the same process on the A and B strings but removing less material.

Might be worth trying right enough. It's not like it cost an arm and a leg anyway.

[kdanie]

You pretty much got it, the only thing to remember is that the holes in your body may be drilled may be drilled slightly larger than the 1/8th pilot hole that's recommended for a neck screw . . .

You don't want the BODY holes to be tight on the screws, they should just pass through easily otherwise you may not get the neck tight to the body because the screw will bind in the body before the neck is tight.

ken

[AliGlenUig]

You don't want the BODY holes to be tight on the screws, they should just pass through easily otherwise you may not get the neck tight to the body because the screw will bind in the body before the neck is tight.

ken

Right, okay. The body holes are pretty well tight on the screws, as in the screws need to be turned to get them to pass through the body. Not crazy tight, can turn them through by hand but they don't drop through. Should I try to enlarge the holes on the body slightly then? I'm wary of trying to do this as the holes could end up off-centre of where they should be...

[Deed_Poll]

Looks like a Mosrite bridge!

[hpr_hpr]

Right, okay. The body holes are pretty well tight on the screws, as in the screws need to be turned to get them to pass through the body. Not crazy tight, can turn them through by hand but they don't drop through. Should I try to enlarge the holes on the body slightly then? I'm wary of trying to do this as the holes could end up off-centre of where they should be...

Get some nylon ferrules in the size of the holes and with a 1/8 center diameter . . . works like a charm to center your bit . . . alternatively use a bradpoint (or even a normal) bit in the size of the body holes to mark the centers on the neck before drilling, just give it a few taps with a hammer . . . or turns with an eggbeater drill -- you CAN use an electric drill but be exceedingly careful . . . if the bit grabs you are NOT going to be happy.

The size of the holes in the body doesn't sound bad if you can thread the screws by hand . . . BUT . . . I prefer them to just, drop through and avoid the potential problem altogether . . . but that's me . . . I have a JM body that came that way (possibly because the neck is attached with metric instead of US screws) and my own are made that way . . . I do have a squire JM but I've never taken the neck off as yet so I don't know how that one is.

[hpr_hpr]

Anything I'm missing, any tips, if anyone would like to talk me through their process for this? Any and all ideas and advice much much appreciated!

The One thing I missed . . . when you do drill, however you actually decide to do it, make SURE everything is clamped down tight so nothing - except the drill & bit of course - moves during the drilling . . .

It seems obvious but I've been impatient myself and violated that rule . . . so far all the damage has been to my pride but . . .

[AliGlenUig]

Tonight, friends, I take the plunge. Fit the trem, fit the tuners, fit the neck. Drill holes for the scratch and control plates while I'm at it. Will update once it's done *deep breath*.

[hpr_hpr]

SUCCESS

Think good thoughts . . . take it easy . . . don't rush it . . . and if you don't finish it, there's another day tomorrow.