Affinity JM / Budget XII Build Thread

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Shadoweclipse13
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Re: Thoughts on ordering custom neck from Warmoth? / Budget XII

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Fri Apr 22, 2022 10:12 am

Sentell Pickups

Bootstrap Pickups

2 makers you might want to look into! I've bought from both before. Both make great stuff and are reasonably priced. Not sure about Bootstrap doing custom stuff as much, but Sentell definitely does custom stuff.
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: Thoughts on ordering custom neck from Warmoth? / Budget XII

Post by Nudger » Fri Apr 22, 2022 1:26 pm

copacetic wrote:
Fri Apr 22, 2022 8:18 am
Nudger wrote:
Tue Apr 19, 2022 8:07 am
Mustang pickups you say!!
Image
Yup I have another one on Reverb.
The only one I sold to USA buyer has a duesenberg 12 bridge, Really cool solidly made option for those like myself who dont care for the looks of the Gotoh.
I got a metalwork chap locally who does my plates by hand in his spare time.
Solid brass bridge is by Callaham USA.
Cost wise,a Alpha 3 pole 4 way rotary switch will be cheaper than a toggle.. Just hard work finding Daka-Ware knobs at a reasonable price.
You are so lucky that side of the pond..So many quality suppliers for your XII builds! Novak/musikraft/warmoth/Best guitar parts USA/callaham
I believe thats the one i have! I just finished it up this week, take a look:

Image

Thanks so much for mentioning the daka ware knob!! that was actually the main obstacle to doing a rotary switch, all the knobs i was finding under "fender xii" were in the $50+ range and that was just crazy for a knob lol. Found a few daka ware pieces that are much better priced so it looks like my budget xii will get a rotary switch after all :)
The only change i wish i could make is some XII pickups but Curtis Novak seems to be the only option for those and at $150 a pickup theyre a bit rich for my blood :'(
Aww Man! Is the owner an OSG ER?
This needs showing off :? Lovely and light if I remember rightly..
I remember mailing it to texas, Only took 7/8 days to get there from UK.
I think id go for Novaks if you was going for a XII lookielike, Ive built a 12 based around a hagstrom and used strat pups and it sounded better than my Orig XII "gone now" my Alternate reality XII "gone now" or any of my Fender XII inspired builds.

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Re: Thoughts on ordering custom neck from Warmoth? / Budget XII

Post by Snake Hips » Fri Apr 22, 2022 2:29 pm

HOW AM I JUST LEARNING ABOUT THESE SQUIER MODS TO XII!!! all these mods look great.

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Re: Thoughts on ordering custom neck from Warmoth? / Budget XII

Post by Lost In Autumn » Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:47 pm

My Strat X11:
Image
became a
J Mascis XII:
Image
which is now a Sparkle Motion Zwölf
Image

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Re: Thoughts on ordering custom neck from Warmoth? / Budget XII

Post by ThePearDream » Sun Apr 24, 2022 4:15 pm

Here's my Affinity XII, it has a cheap Chinese neck which is kind of wonky, but it plays pretty decent. I 3D printed the metal bridge plate to use the Gotoh XII saddles.

Image
Doug
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Re: Thoughts on ordering custom neck from Warmoth? / Budget XII

Post by copacetic » Sun Apr 24, 2022 9:04 pm

Lost In Autumn wrote:
Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:47 pm
J Mascis XII:
Image
which is now a Sparkle Motion Zwölf
Image
i remember seeing that blue sparkle on fb when you finished it. shes a stunner!!
ThePearDream wrote:
Sun Apr 24, 2022 4:15 pm
Here's my Affinity XII, it has a cheap Chinese neck which is kind of wonky, but it plays pretty decent. I 3D printed the metal bridge plate to use the Gotoh XII saddles.

Image
That looks really sweet! looks like this first build will be using a similar chinese neck due to lack of other time-efficient options. Mind sharing what exactly is wonky about it? I already expect to have to do a full fret job on it and install a nut etc, but honestly as long as the shape isnt terrible and the truss rod functions, im thinking i should be able to work with it and turn it into a nice neck with some elbow grease and a nitro finish.
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Re: Thoughts on ordering custom neck from Warmoth? / Budget XII

Post by ThePearDream » Sun Apr 24, 2022 9:52 pm

copacetic wrote:
Sun Apr 24, 2022 9:04 pm
That looks really sweet! looks like this first build will be using a similar chinese neck due to lack of other time-efficient options. Mind sharing what exactly is wonky about it? I already expect to have to do a full fret job on it and install a nut etc, but honestly as long as the shape isnt terrible and the truss rod functions, im thinking i should be able to work with it and turn it into a nice neck with some elbow grease and a nitro finish.
Thanks!

A number of other forum members bought necks from the same seller at the same time. Most or all of them were returned for various issues. I kept mine so I could start dipping my toes in to neck work. It definitely took some extra effort on my part to be playable, which was perfect for me. I understand why other people returned them though.

- The fret board/neck edges were uneven in a kind of wavy way. I pulled the jumbo frets and re-radiused the board from 12 to 9.5, then did my first fret install. Since it was pre-finished, I had to strip the rest to match the naked fretboard. It got a thin new finish.

- the heel was wider than standard, so I shaved down the sides under the fretboard - like Warmoth, except slightly off center, I mean "offset" 8) .

- the headstock was a pretty rough approximation of a Fender XII, so I reshaped it to get closer.

- Also, it's hard to tell from the front, but the tuner holes were sloppily located.
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Re: Thoughts on ordering custom neck from Warmoth? / Budget XII

Post by Lost In Autumn » Mon Apr 25, 2022 1:57 am

copacetic wrote:
Sun Apr 24, 2022 9:04 pm
Lost In Autumn wrote:
Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:47 pm
J Mascis XII:
Image
which is now a Sparkle Motion Zwölf
Image
i remember seeing that blue sparkle on fb when you finished it. shes a stunner!!
ThePearDream wrote:
Sun Apr 24, 2022 4:15 pm
Here's my Affinity XII, it has a cheap Chinese neck which is kind of wonky, but it plays pretty decent. I 3D printed the metal bridge plate to use the Gotoh XII saddles.

Image
That looks really sweet! looks like this first build will be using a similar chinese neck due to lack of other time-efficient options. Mind sharing what exactly is wonky about it? I already expect to have to do a full fret job on it and install a nut etc, but honestly as long as the shape isnt terrible and the truss rod functions, im thinking i should be able to work with it and turn it into a nice neck with some elbow grease and a nitro finish.
I had similar issues as ThePearDream, namely the neck heel was 2-1/4" wide. I shaved it to 2-3/16" with a strat neck template. The radius was somewhere between 12-15º, but I just leveled the frets and recut the nut and it's been fine. the wide neck has turned out to be a boon: it plays much better than any 12-string I've ever owned, including a '67 Fender Coronado & a Rickenbacker 330, with ample room on the fingerboard.

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Re: Affinity JM / Budget XII Build Thread

Post by copacetic » Sat Aug 13, 2022 10:11 pm

So, im necroposting to share an update with my thoughts on the chinese XII neck i ordered for this project.
As you guys may have seen, I ended up finishing this "Affinity XII" build as a 6 string with a CV JM neck. Turned out amazing and is sort of a "student model" jazzmaster in effect. Finished in Ford Willow Green nitro and went home to forum member smjenkins!!
Image

The reason for the change to 6 strings you ask? The "faster than getting one built" Chinese XII neck ended up taking about 3 months to arrive, once again proving to me sometimes it serves you well to hold out a little longer for a better product.

When the neck arrived, it was immediately underwhelming. Predictable, sure, but the biggest bummer i noticed was the extremely wide nut width. It has a width of 1 7/8", which is supposedly the measurement of Fender's "D" width, but feels more like an acoustic 12 string neck. I could be totally wrong about it once i get it strung up, as like Lost in Autumn mentioned, some people actually prefer the wider nut, but me being a dude with baby hands, I was kinda bummed that it felt way thicker, bulkier and wider than any electric 12 string neck I've played.

Around the same time, I had ordered an Alder JM body from Reverb for a customer's build, but when it arrived it was heavier than advertised, about 1/16 - 1/8" too thick, and had tiny, cheap looking contours and a thin roundover. Just looked and felt bulky, boxy and cheap. We ended up ordering another body and this one has been sitting around waiting for a project. Once I saw these two chilling next to eachother in the spare parts closet, I knew they were a perfect match.

So my goal with this build became to try and make these parts go from slightly wonky to totally excellent. Planning to use as many spare parts as possible and keep this a budget friendly build. I wanted to see just how great of an instrument could be made with simple attention to detail and some no frills parts.

Starting with the neck: here it is in its original state: wonky, poorly shaped, oversized headstock (even for a hockey stick, its massive) sharp fret ends, poorly cut nut (though it actually appears to be bone!), uninspiring finish, thick/bulky shape.. my work was cut out for me
Image

shaved the sides down to thin the heel to normal jm/strat width, thinned the headstock out a bit, shaved off the bulbous bit from the top, sanded the neck to a slightly sloped shoulder, thinner profile. Rolled the fingerboard edges, dressed the sharp fret ends, reshaped and bevelled the nut, oiled the fretboard and of course sprayed a 'dirty vintage amber' nitro finish! I think this is about as good as the neck can possibly look/feel without totally rebuilding it. Very, very pleased with the look/feel now. Still plan to relic wax the fretboard, micro polish the frets and age the dot inlays. If you can handle the wider profile, I feel confident saying this neck will be as good as any XII neck out there, though it obviously did take a lot of work to get here and I certainly would have been better off ordering from Warmoth or Musikraft..
Image
Image

The body needed similar tlc to get it where I wanted it. Sanded in some wider, smoother contours and smoothed out/widened the roundovers. Grain filled and hit with a coat of white primer, its ready for color coat tomorrow!
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

I'll add more to this post once I get closer to being finished with this one. Planning to spray it in Willow Green just like its affinity JM cousin :)
Owner/Operator - Feelgood Guitars

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Re: Affinity JM / Budget XII Build Thread

Post by rank » Sun Aug 14, 2022 4:11 am

ImageImage
This is my XII. It is a Warmoth neck, Staytrem bridge, Novak pickups, & Faction tail piece.
We are merely moving shadows.

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Re: Affinity JM / Budget XII Build Thread

Post by Nudger » Sun Aug 14, 2022 6:57 am

When the neck arrived, it was immediately underwhelming. Predictable, sure, but the biggest bummer i noticed was the extremely wide nut width. It has a width of 1 7/8", which is supposedly the measurement of Fender's "D" width, but feels more like an acoustic 12 string neck. I could be totally wrong about it once i get it strung up, as like Lost in Autumn mentioned, some people actually prefer the wider nut, but me being a dude with baby hands, I was kinda bummed that it felt way thicker, bulkier and wider than any electric 12 string neck I've played.




I sold a build with a China neck "think same as yours with rounder headstock and wide nut" I dont think ill be retiring soon building XIIs..I usually Just about brake even. Does yours have 10mm ferrule holes and a man made fretboard?

Think its horses for courses regarding nut width..
I found the extra room really comfy and the buyer was smitten but I can see how it could be a problem for smaller hands.
Image

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Re: Affinity JM / Budget XII Build Thread

Post by copacetic » Mon Aug 15, 2022 7:47 am

Nudger wrote:
Sun Aug 14, 2022 6:57 am
When the neck arrived, it was immediately underwhelming. Predictable, sure, but the biggest bummer i noticed was the extremely wide nut width. It has a width of 1 7/8", which is supposedly the measurement of Fender's "D" width, but feels more like an acoustic 12 string neck. I could be totally wrong about it once i get it strung up, as like Lost in Autumn mentioned, some people actually prefer the wider nut, but me being a dude with baby hands, I was kinda bummed that it felt way thicker, bulkier and wider than any electric 12 string neck I've played.




I sold a build with a China neck "think same as yours with rounder headstock and wide nut" I dont think ill be retiring soon building XIIs..I usually Just about brake even. Does yours have 10mm ferrule holes and a man made fretboard?

Think its horses for courses regarding nut width..
I found the extra room really comfy and the buyer was smitten but I can see how it could be a problem for smaller hands.
Image
Mine actually seems like the people making it -tried- to make a vintage style neck. It has a rear adjust dual action truss rod and the tuner holes are around 8mm, and spaced correctly enough that standard kluson style tuners should work fine. Fretboard also does indeed appear to be rosewood or some other darker oily wood. I'd say the only details that arent vintage are the nut width, fb radius and the fret size but again a lot of people might enjoy this, myself included. Time will tell I suppose!
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Re: Affinity JM / Budget XII Build Thread

Post by Nudger » Mon Aug 15, 2022 9:16 am

Mine actually seems like the people making it -tried- to make a vintage style neck. It has a rear adjust dual action truss rod and the tuner holes are around 8mm, and spaced correctly enough that standard kluson style tuners should work fine. Fretboard also does indeed appear to be rosewood or some other darker oily wood. I'd say the only details that arent vintage are the nut width, fb radius and the fret size but again a lot of people might enjoy this, myself included. Time will tell I suppose!
[/quote]


Hmm.. Now wondering if mine was some strange type of dark wood. It had a grain pattern but the colour was so dark and uniform that I thought fake.
Heel truss. Radius was 12 on mine, After fret dress not a bad neck.
Looking forward to seeing the finished product ;)

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Re: Thoughts on ordering custom neck from Warmoth? / Budget XII

Post by bodhi » Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:34 am

JVG wrote:
Tue Apr 19, 2022 2:51 am
For 12-string, Musikraft any day.

- Choice of fretboard radii and heel width (recommend the wider option, or the outside strings will be really close to the edge).

Also has a more vintage-correct shape, if that is important to you. (Warmoth 12 is a bit too “stumpy” on the shoulders of the headstock).

BUT…Musikraft waiting time is also pretty long these days!
By the wider heel, do you (or anyone else) mean the 57+ mm or 62mm alternative? Don't have any experience with 12 strings and basically nowhere to check for reference, outside of maybe some acoustics in a few shops around...
Jazzmaster project (got a body, placeholder neck, some pickups and ideas)
Tokai Telecaster Thinline with Creamery Pickups Filtertron and Tapped Tele
Blake Mills-inspired Strat project w/ Gold Foil and slide pickup

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Re: Thoughts on ordering custom neck from Warmoth? / Budget XII

Post by Lost In Autumn » Thu Aug 18, 2022 1:40 am

bodhi wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:34 am
JVG wrote:
Tue Apr 19, 2022 2:51 am
For 12-string, Musikraft any day.

- Choice of fretboard radii and heel width (recommend the wider option, or the outside strings will be really close to the edge).

Also has a more vintage-correct shape, if that is important to you. (Warmoth 12 is a bit too “stumpy” on the shoulders of the headstock).

BUT…Musikraft waiting time is also pretty long these days!
By the wider heel, do you (or anyone else) mean the 57+ mm or 62mm alternative? Don't have any experience with 12 strings and basically nowhere to check for reference, outside of maybe some acoustics in a few shops around...
I'm guessing that the wider heel option is 62mm, shaved down to 57mm. I recently played a friend's strat that had a neck like that- if your hands can accommodate it, it's wonderful. my 12 is also like that, but it was a diy job and one of my first, so it wasn't as nice as the Musikraft neck. As an aside, I drove past MusiKraft on my way home from the shore on sunday; I knew they were close to me, but I didn't know they were that close- just 30 minutes from Philadelphia.

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