Design Factors
DESIGN STAGE CONSIDERATIONS
The overall design of your guitar is determined by you. We will advise on things like tone wood, hardware & construction methods. And will guide you towards more practical solutions in areas where the initial design concept may be flawed. The design phase is relatively simple, But can be a little mind boggling at times. Below are a few pointers to help focus your vision of that ultimate axe.
TONE WOOD INFORMATION
Aeolian Tone Wood Information
SCALE LENGTH
This will be your first consideration. The scale length can affect playability and feel of an instrument. The shorter scales tend to be able to achieve lower action & strings that are less in tension. This can make for easier playing. The longer the scales tend to produce more volume, have higher action & more tension on the strings. The different lengths all have different fret spacing’s also. The longer the scale, the further apart the frets. Although this has never really affected the playability of any instrument I have ever tried, you may feel differently.
I find that the best course of action is to choose a scale length you are already using & are comfortable with.
For reference, Some of the more common scales are listed below.
Guitar Scale (inches) Scale (mm)
Gibson Les Paul / SG 24.75 629
Fender Stratocaster / Telecaster 25.5 648
Fender Mustang / Jaguar 24 610
Paul Reed Smith 25 635
Fender Precision Bass and Jazz Bass 34 864
Gibson EBO Bass 30.5 775
THE NECK
FRETS
Between 21 and 24 is typical for a guitar. One consideration with a 24 fret neck is pickup location, on some guitars the neck pickup is placed in the 24th fret position (Gibson Les paul). This will place the pickup at the octave position, which goes a long way towards the tone achieved here. If 24 frets are used, it may mean having to relocate the pickup further along the string. This can change the sound significantly.
Fret wire comes in varying sizes & the type used is ultimately up to you. But it is best to stick to what you know here, If you have a guitar you like the feel of then it is probably best to go with whatever that instrument is fitted out with.
PROFILE
Don’t go exploring new territories here. If you have a favourite instrument or a neck you like the feel of then bring it to me. Describing a neck profile to a luthier will never work as well as just bringing something you like.
FRET BOARD
Your main concern here is the board radius & material. The radius can have a massive affect on the feel of a neck as well as playability. Again it is best to stick to what you know. But if you intend on playing a lot of lead, lots of bends & general shred head behaviour then a flatter board is preferable. No less than 9.5 inch radius, 12 inch or more would be better.
WOOD
You are looking at maple & mahogany here. Most other timbers are not stable or strong enough for a neck. A one piece neck is possible & is provided by most large scale manufacturers, but for a truly stable unit you should really consider a laminated neck. 3 & 5 piece
laminates are preferable. I do not recommend figured woods for a neck unless in a 5 piece laminate.
If you are going for a particularly thin neck then maple is your only real option as it is extremely strong & tends to fare better than others at smaller dimensions.
For the fret board highly figured woods are fine. With the exception of spalt, which tends to have weaker spots not suitable to holding frets securely. Maple gives a brighter sound & can be used successfully for a fret board but will require a finish. Alternatively, rose wood, wenge, cocobolo or ebony can be used without a finish. These tend to produce a warmer tone. (Periodic oiling is required for maintenance on all fret board woods except maple or other bright coloured, finished units)
BOLT ON
Most common method of attaching the neck to the body. The neck sits into a cavity in the body and is held tightly into place, usually with a steel plate and four screws. This can sometimes be found with 4 screws & steel ferrules recessed into the body heel.
Gives a Brighter tone. Usually cheaper, easy to replace neck.
SET NECK
The neck is glued tightly into a cavity in the body. It produces a strong neck to body joint that is tonally superb.
Provides good tonal resonance and sustain is excellent, But is very difficult to repair if damaged.
NECK-THRU-BODY
The neck extends the entire length of the guitar. 'Wings' are glued on either side to make up the body (refer to BC Rich for some excellent examples)
Provides good tone and sustain, But repair of a damaged neck can sometimes require a total rebuild of the instrument (extremely costly)
BODY WOOD
If what you are looking for is a strat styled guitar, that sounds like a strat, but with slightly different hardware & more frets. Then the obvious thing to do is stick to Fenders standard materials list, Alder/Ash body & a bolt on maple neck. But ! if you want more warmth & sustain in your sound then why not go for a one piece neck & body made from mahogany with an ebony fret board ?
The body wood used can have a significant affect on your tone/sound. But the best advice here is to keep it simple & stick to what you know. If there is a guitar with a sound you like, then look it up. Its body & neck woods will be a good place to start.
A good basic starting point would be : Gibson style sound = lots of mahogany. Fender style sound = alder or ash bodies. For any elaboration on this I will be building a tone wood library over the next few weeks for your information.
HARDWARE
Bridge, Machine heads, Nuts, Speed knobs etc. Some of these things need to be decided up front as they will have an affect on the build process for your guitar. For example, the type of bridge. This will determine the string spacing over the pickups & at the end of the fret board. In the case of a full floating tremolo unit, the nut provided sets the width at the top of the fret board. So because of this single component we now have determined the width of the neck at the nut & at the body. The bridge will also dictate if the neck is set flat to the surface of the body, or at an angle like a Les paul. As such, the bridge should be decided upon as soon as possible.
Machine heads & pickups should take next priority. Different types of units will require different amounts of space. For example. Imperial rotomatic machine heads will probably not fit to well in the spacing provided for Klusion button head tuners. A standard humbucker requires a different cavity to a single coil or a P90.
Speed knobs & electronics can be decided fairly late in the project as these generally will not affect the design massively.
PICKUPS
There are so many on the market that to try choose from parts catalogues or manufacturers websites is pointless. Use your ears here, If there is a particular player who’s sound you like then let me know. Pickups have a massive affect on your sound, loading 3 identical guitars with a humbucker from 3 different manufacturers will produce different tonal results every time.
If you like the sound someone is getting from their guitar then get that players pickups. If you want Billy gibbons sound you need Seymore Duncan Pearly gates, for Steve vai you need dimarzio Evolution’s. Of course you will also need their rigs, their talent & probably even need to be Billy gibbons or Steve vai.
Either way the process is simple. Listen for a sound you want, Find out what is making it, Get those parts.
The overall design of your guitar is determined by you. We will advise on things like tone wood, hardware & construction methods. And will guide you towards more practical solutions in areas where the initial design concept may be flawed. The design phase is relatively simple, But can be a little mind boggling at times. Below are a few pointers to help focus your vision of that ultimate axe.
TONE WOOD INFORMATION
Aeolian Tone Wood Information
SCALE LENGTH
This will be your first consideration. The scale length can affect playability and feel of an instrument. The shorter scales tend to be able to achieve lower action & strings that are less in tension. This can make for easier playing. The longer the scales tend to produce more volume, have higher action & more tension on the strings. The different lengths all have different fret spacing’s also. The longer the scale, the further apart the frets. Although this has never really affected the playability of any instrument I have ever tried, you may feel differently.
I find that the best course of action is to choose a scale length you are already using & are comfortable with.
For reference, Some of the more common scales are listed below.
Guitar Scale (inches) Scale (mm)
Gibson Les Paul / SG 24.75 629
Fender Stratocaster / Telecaster 25.5 648
Fender Mustang / Jaguar 24 610
Paul Reed Smith 25 635
Fender Precision Bass and Jazz Bass 34 864
Gibson EBO Bass 30.5 775
THE NECK
FRETS
Between 21 and 24 is typical for a guitar. One consideration with a 24 fret neck is pickup location, on some guitars the neck pickup is placed in the 24th fret position (Gibson Les paul). This will place the pickup at the octave position, which goes a long way towards the tone achieved here. If 24 frets are used, it may mean having to relocate the pickup further along the string. This can change the sound significantly.
Fret wire comes in varying sizes & the type used is ultimately up to you. But it is best to stick to what you know here, If you have a guitar you like the feel of then it is probably best to go with whatever that instrument is fitted out with.
PROFILE
Don’t go exploring new territories here. If you have a favourite instrument or a neck you like the feel of then bring it to me. Describing a neck profile to a luthier will never work as well as just bringing something you like.
FRET BOARD
Your main concern here is the board radius & material. The radius can have a massive affect on the feel of a neck as well as playability. Again it is best to stick to what you know. But if you intend on playing a lot of lead, lots of bends & general shred head behaviour then a flatter board is preferable. No less than 9.5 inch radius, 12 inch or more would be better.
WOOD
You are looking at maple & mahogany here. Most other timbers are not stable or strong enough for a neck. A one piece neck is possible & is provided by most large scale manufacturers, but for a truly stable unit you should really consider a laminated neck. 3 & 5 piece
laminates are preferable. I do not recommend figured woods for a neck unless in a 5 piece laminate.
If you are going for a particularly thin neck then maple is your only real option as it is extremely strong & tends to fare better than others at smaller dimensions.
For the fret board highly figured woods are fine. With the exception of spalt, which tends to have weaker spots not suitable to holding frets securely. Maple gives a brighter sound & can be used successfully for a fret board but will require a finish. Alternatively, rose wood, wenge, cocobolo or ebony can be used without a finish. These tend to produce a warmer tone. (Periodic oiling is required for maintenance on all fret board woods except maple or other bright coloured, finished units)
BOLT ON
Most common method of attaching the neck to the body. The neck sits into a cavity in the body and is held tightly into place, usually with a steel plate and four screws. This can sometimes be found with 4 screws & steel ferrules recessed into the body heel.
Gives a Brighter tone. Usually cheaper, easy to replace neck.
SET NECK
The neck is glued tightly into a cavity in the body. It produces a strong neck to body joint that is tonally superb.
Provides good tonal resonance and sustain is excellent, But is very difficult to repair if damaged.
NECK-THRU-BODY
The neck extends the entire length of the guitar. 'Wings' are glued on either side to make up the body (refer to BC Rich for some excellent examples)
Provides good tone and sustain, But repair of a damaged neck can sometimes require a total rebuild of the instrument (extremely costly)
BODY WOOD
If what you are looking for is a strat styled guitar, that sounds like a strat, but with slightly different hardware & more frets. Then the obvious thing to do is stick to Fenders standard materials list, Alder/Ash body & a bolt on maple neck. But ! if you want more warmth & sustain in your sound then why not go for a one piece neck & body made from mahogany with an ebony fret board ?
The body wood used can have a significant affect on your tone/sound. But the best advice here is to keep it simple & stick to what you know. If there is a guitar with a sound you like, then look it up. Its body & neck woods will be a good place to start.
A good basic starting point would be : Gibson style sound = lots of mahogany. Fender style sound = alder or ash bodies. For any elaboration on this I will be building a tone wood library over the next few weeks for your information.
HARDWARE
Bridge, Machine heads, Nuts, Speed knobs etc. Some of these things need to be decided up front as they will have an affect on the build process for your guitar. For example, the type of bridge. This will determine the string spacing over the pickups & at the end of the fret board. In the case of a full floating tremolo unit, the nut provided sets the width at the top of the fret board. So because of this single component we now have determined the width of the neck at the nut & at the body. The bridge will also dictate if the neck is set flat to the surface of the body, or at an angle like a Les paul. As such, the bridge should be decided upon as soon as possible.
Machine heads & pickups should take next priority. Different types of units will require different amounts of space. For example. Imperial rotomatic machine heads will probably not fit to well in the spacing provided for Klusion button head tuners. A standard humbucker requires a different cavity to a single coil or a P90.
Speed knobs & electronics can be decided fairly late in the project as these generally will not affect the design massively.
PICKUPS
There are so many on the market that to try choose from parts catalogues or manufacturers websites is pointless. Use your ears here, If there is a particular player who’s sound you like then let me know. Pickups have a massive affect on your sound, loading 3 identical guitars with a humbucker from 3 different manufacturers will produce different tonal results every time.
If you like the sound someone is getting from their guitar then get that players pickups. If you want Billy gibbons sound you need Seymore Duncan Pearly gates, for Steve vai you need dimarzio Evolution’s. Of course you will also need their rigs, their talent & probably even need to be Billy gibbons or Steve vai.
Either way the process is simple. Listen for a sound you want, Find out what is making it, Get those parts.
