Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on March 5, 2015 at 3:24am

I think you're over thinking it buddy. I don't measure the precise angle etc. Just have a look at the pics on my page and you'll see what I mean. With a flat neck your bridge would be, let's say 10mm high, with progressively higher action up the fretboard. With a back angle you can have a higher bridge, more like 20mm+, which will be better at transferring vibrations to your soundboard, and also allow the strings to follow a similar angle to the neck, ergo, lower action all the way down.

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on March 5, 2015 at 7:04pm

Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on March 5, 2015 at 7:07pm

Hopefully the picture above illustrates what I mean. You can see the neck at a slight angle to the box, with a high bridge and the action low all the way down.

Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on March 5, 2015 at 9:23pm

pussy....

Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on March 5, 2015 at 4:14am

One plays one way, and the other one plays another way. There are no set parameters to how or where one approaches his/her strings in playing. And while a neck parallel with the body works, Richey makes a great point that a higher bridge (i.e. higher strings above body) does have a positive affect on the transfer of string vibrations. In addition, a bit more height of the strings over the body can offer more room for fingers to dig into the strings without scratching the surface of the body, and provide a better break angle of the strings over the bridge toward the tail, eliminating the chance for a buzzing string from a flatter setup.

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on March 5, 2015 at 12:08pm

like Richey,i was led this  way by P Kid,the most obvious result i've found is invariably you are improving the mechanics of your guitar,even with the smallest of angles and certainly improves action adjustment and free height over playing area

Permalink Reply by Robert Stapleton on March 4, 2015 at 11:56pm

These are admittedly lo-fi as instruments go, so it's totally understandable that many would want to adhere to the origins and do a basic build. But....they are unique in both sound and appearance and it's also cool to consider making one a bit more deluxe - easier to play, better in construction and sound. There's room for everyone.

On the deluxe end - I'm guessing that there's a reason that high quality guitars are built the way they are, so there's something to learn there. Thanks for all the input - the conversation is interesting.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Stapleton on March 5, 2015 at 11:44pm

Richey, I'd be interested to see the inside of one of your boxes if you have a pic you'd share. Someone mentioned putting in blocks that were bigger in the back of a neck through, but I'm picturing the bigger block being in the front to make the neck lean down.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on March 5, 2015 at 11:50pm

try this http://handmademusicclubhouse.com/photo/thetinyguitarsbodyendscarfj...

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on March 6, 2015 at 9:49am

thnx.  its also pretty universal, i've done it for CBGs, bowljos, a-frame strummers (takes a little care, a strip of lining on the inside..), neck thru solid bodies and many many cookie tins

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on March 7, 2015 at 6:46am

Bandsaw?

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Permalink Reply by gary sheldon on April 5, 2015 at 9:44am

NECK ANGLE MATH/GEOMETRY:

I have always just kind of guessed on neck angle.  Today, I decided to actually figure out how to set it up for a particular angle of neck drop.  And I wanted to make it somewhat simple, so that no trig is involved.

I used TurboCad, a drafting program to help me.  I constructed a few right triangles with a base of 10".  Drew in the hypotenuse at a couple of 1/2" increments.  At 1/2" the program told me that the angle is 3.11 degrees.  I printed it and checked it with my protractor.  Correct, a little over 3 degrees.  It is difficult measuring those small angles.

Using a right triangle rather than an isoceles triangle is cheating a bit, but I don't think it makes much difference at these very small angles.

I was surprised at how big an angle 3 degrees is.  Turns out that my neck drop angles are much less than that.  Maybe half or less.  I also assume that the neck drop angle will change when the instrument is strung up.  How much would depend on the construction method.

So with a neck through body guitar with 3 plus degree neck drop, the top of the neck at the rear of the box would be cut down 1/2".  That is assuming a 10" long box.  This does not include decrease in neck drop after stringing.  The neck is going to bend some, wood will compress, etc.

To calculate for different neck drop angles and/or different length boxes you would use a ratio formula.  Going back to the example of the 10" box and the 1/2 inch difference between the ends of the box, we have a ration of 20:1 between the base and altitude of the right triangle for an approximate 3.1 degree neck drop.

For a different neck drop angle you would use the formula to vary the ratio of base to altitude.

1 to 20 = 3.1 deg

2 to 20 =1 to 10 = 6.2 deg

1 to 40 = 1.55 deg

Then you have to use another ratio to compensate for a longer or shorter box.  But remember, the ratio and angle will remain constant.

You can also just draw it out on paper and measure for box length and angle desired.

Hope this is helpful.

 

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