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Permalink Reply by Brendan deVallance on February 11, 2013 at 6:56am

nut to bridge, that is the measurement you need to heed. But im pretty sure you can make it how ever long you like. Fret calculators on line will give you the fret locations. The 12th is always have the distance.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on February 11, 2013 at 6:58am

That sounds kind of long for a neck. Mine are mostly in the 18 inch range from the nut to the body, based on a 24 inch scale, and using a neck through the box style build.

I made a few beginner videos and posted them on my page here. Have a look, it may answer some of your questions.

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/basic-neck-layout

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Permalink Reply by Busyhands Slim on February 11, 2013 at 7:44am

That scale length is in the range for bass necks, so what you're building is a bass, or possibly baritone, if you shorten it a couple of inches (typically ~27").

I think your biggest problem is going to be finding the right strings for it. The string gauge has to be matched to the length and tuning. You may have to experiment with baritone strings or 6-string bass sets to get the right gauge. Bass strings can be pretty expensive (bari strings are comparable to guitar sets, though). How many strings are you planning to have? It might be that the expense of buying a full set of bass strings for half or 3/4 of the set is too much. Going to a bari scale length will make that an easy chore, though.

Either way, the cool factor is going to be high. You'll have quite a growling machine there.

P.S. the added tension of the thicker strings may mean you're going to need a truss rod, too.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Clair on February 11, 2013 at 8:17am

I'm debating going 4 string or keep it to 3 - I've yet to tap the holes for the tuner machines...

If I understand correctly...the longer neck means more string tension - if i were to slap in a regular set of guitar strings into it, its likely to bow then?  I was planning on tuning this a full step down for extra snarl.  Think I'll still run into the problems adding low E, A, D guitar strings vs ADG? 

I take it that I'm likely to run into problems by just tossing in guitar strings into it, eh?  I just started building a couple of weeks ago and only have 1 so far - I still don't have a firm clue what I'm doing lol.  Adding a truss rod would be beyond my capabilities at this time lol.

My goal for the longer neck was just to make it easier to explore/play beyond the 15th fret.   

Thanks to you and everyone else for the great insight and tips so far! 

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Permalink Reply by Busyhands Slim on February 11, 2013 at 8:25am

Actually, it's not the longer neck per se that makes for more tension, but the fact that you have to use heavier strings to get them tuned properly. Baritone strings are heavier than standard guitar strings, bass strings are heavier still, but mandolin strings are much lighter.

With only three strings, you may not need a truss rod.  I'd just give it a go, use baritone strings, and see what happens.

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Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on February 11, 2013 at 12:31pm

Woops, looks like this didnt paste...just look at Stewmac website under fretting calculator to see what I mean.

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Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on February 11, 2013 at 12:29pm

If you look at this fret postition info from Stewmac, you can get access to 24 frets with a neck that extends from box only 19.125", if setting up with a 25.5" scale. But this means your bridge will be 6.375 (6 3/8 inch) from neck end of box back toward tail. By eliminating one or more frets (say 22-24th fret) you still get 21 frets like most solid body electric guitars, and allows for bridge placement further back toward tail of box. You'll still need to figure out neck support (truss rod or the like) for a longer neck, but it will enable you to experiment past 15th fret, as you indicated.    25.5" fret scale
fret		from nut		fret to fret
1		1.431"		1.431"  (nut-1)
2		2.782"		1.351"  (1-2)
3		4.057"		1.275"  (2-3)
4		5.261"		1.204"  (3-4)
5		6.397"		1.136"  (4-5)
6		7.469"		1.072"  (5-6)
7		8.481"		1.012"  (6-7)
8		9.436"		0.955"  (7-8)
9		10.338"		0.902"  (8-9)
10		11.189"		0.851"  (9-10)
11		11.992"		0.803"  (10-11)
12		12.750"		0.758"  (11-12)
13		13.466"		0.716"  (12-13)
14		14.141"		0.675"  (13-14)
15		14.779"		0.638"  (14-15)
16		15.380"		0.601"  (15-16)
17		15.948"		0.568"  (16-17)
18		16.484"		0.536"  (17-18)
19		16.990"		0.506"  (18-19)
20		17.468"		0.478"  (19-20)
21		17.919"		0.451"  (20-21)
22		18.344"		0.425"  (21-22)
23		18.746"		0.402"  (22-23)
24		19.125"		0.379"  (23-24)

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Permalink Reply by jeff maurer on February 12, 2013 at 4:04am

i have an old kalamazoo bass that has this scale length. id make a 2 string bass. you could use a D(65) and G(45) and maybe even tune em up a step to E and A but i dont know poplar will be strong enough to support bass strings

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Permalink Reply by Paul Clair on February 12, 2013 at 4:46am

I got it to the point where I could test play it....it works but is a bit unwiedly...the range on it is a trip.  Surprinsgly the neck doesn't bow much at all....intonation was a bit sharp as I kinda expected it to be.

It does feel like a bass when holding it in hand...so I may turn these two long necks into a bass - or simply cut one down shorter.  I have another neck to work on - so I think I'll cut it to normal scale and get the gumption to fret it.  Fretting seems terribly difficult, let alone trying to do it on an uncommon scale size.

Thank you to everyone for the helpful advice - this place is so helpful and just amazing...thanks again! 

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Permalink Reply by Terry Buehner on February 12, 2013 at 2:57pm

When I do a 35 or 36 inch neck, I will go down 6.5 inches for the headstock and a 1/4 inch to the nut. I normally use a 26 inch scale which leaves a few inches at the tail on a through the box neck. Also I usually use a harder wood like red oak on my 3 strings.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Woods on February 19, 2013 at 8:04pm

The 36" stick would normally be for a thru neck in which the neck goes through the box and extends a couple inches out the other end.  Sounds like you are making a bolt on neck.  You need a much shorter board - maybe 24" or so.  There are some great beginner threads on basic design on the site.  

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