The last guitar project was so much fun I made another. I really like the design by St Vincent (Annie Clark). It has a Jetsons vibe that’s both forward and backward. Can’t think of much I would change about it, except maybe the order of the control placement.
Basswood blank. Glued up from the same timber as the Jazznado. This blank needs to be 1.750″ thick instead of 1.625″ to accommodate the tremolo block on a Wilkinson VS100N bridge. The extra thickness also keeps the pickup routes from peeking through into the tremolo spring cavity routed in the back.
I changed the headstock. Didn’t really like the 4+2 arrangement on the Musicman version. It took longer to get a headstock design that I liked than the rest of the drafting combined. Eventually I just slightly tweaked the Tele headstock.
Making a two-piece neck this time. Still a flat Fender-style headstock, but with a rosewood fretboard. The neck substrate is maple. I manufactured some quartersawn grain by ripping a single board down the middle and gluing the face grain sides together.
No need for a skunk stripe, the truss rod slot it routed on top before the fingerboard is laminated on. I used some cut 6p finish nails to locate the board and keep it from slipping around during glue up. The trussrod slot was masked off to keep glue away.
Once the glue cured (I left it under clamps for 48 hours), the neck was shaped, radius’d, and fretted the same as the Jazznado neck.
The body was also shaped the same as the Jazznado, so won’t repeat those details here either. (The only difference being the front facets on the rear bout, they were done with a hand plane to keep the facet lines well defined.) After the pocket was cut, I located the bridge. The VS100N bridge is much lower profile than the Jazznado, so there was no need to angle the neck pocket. The Wilkinson is a nice bridge, the fit and finish are great and the design is well thought out . Unfortunately the manufacturer doesn’t provide a template or any routing pattern info, so I practiced on a scrap of the same wood to make sure I located the cavities correctly on each side. I based the measurements for the routes on some Stratocaster prints found on the Electric Herald site here. The VS100N is pretty much a direct swap replacement for the original Fender bridge, except the front of the block will need some additional room carved away in the cavity if you want a floating tremolo.
I used mini humbuckers (DiMarzio), the middle and neck pickups are both DP240 and the bridge is a DP241. I had to route some extra depth for the wire runs under the pickups because they are 5-wire pickups and the OD of the shielded outer cable is 1/8″ . The 5 way switch is nothing fancy, just B,B+M,M,M+N,N. I did put the switch behind the volume and tone knobs though, just prefer having the volume control closest to the bridge.
I made the neck bolt plate out of some scrap titanium. I didn’t know what I had at first, I thought it was mild steel until I started working with it. Incredibly strong and light. The cavity covers are made from matte black pickup material, recessed flush with the body. I was going to put the output jack on the back control plate, but there wasn’t quite enough depth for an angled strat-style jack. Ended up using a barrel jack on the side, but reinforced the end grain by laminating a piece of straight grained wood inside the cavity. I also flooded the inside of the hole with superglue to strengthen it.
I blasted the body with sanding sealer for now. Still deciding on colors for this and the Jazznado. Finishing weather is still a few months off. The neck and headstock are finished in Tru-oil.
June 23, 2022
Finally some warm weather after three straight months of March, so was able to spray both guitars. Opted for a primary red transparent dye, dissolved into the lacquer before spraying (the body was sealed first with dilute lacquer). I have a 400+ CFM hood vent, so was able to bring it inside between coats. After 4 weeks of curing, I sanded both through 1500 grit with wet/dry paper, then finished with Maguire’s Compound and Polish. Neither finish is flawless by any stretch, but both have a finish equivalent to a guitar after a few weeks of honest use.