Feedback Solicitation: Bass XII Monster

[Damon Palyka]

No... Please do, thats what Im here for... Id rather get torn apart and succeed!
Here is an actual size drawing I did of what I'm thinking

May throw a string tree in the middle for the far pair, just for posterity's sake...

[Peter Wilcox]

I think you need to draw out all the strings from the nut to their peg attachments. It looks like they're going to cross and interfere with each other in your drawing. And there is no clearance over the peghead for the strings going to the horizontal tuners.

[Damon Palyka]

Cool, thanks!
Does this work?

[Barry Daniels]

Trying to feed the string into those small mortises will be difficult.

[Freeman Keller]

Draw it from the side, also including the depth of the nut slots and the diameters of the tuner posts. Even to the location of the holes thru the posts and how the strings will wrap. Will you need string tees? Will the 6th and 7th string hit the little cross pieces? The 3rd and 5th string pass over the 2nd and 4th, is that a problem? The most common string to break is the octave G (however you may have problems with your octave E and B too) - how easy will it be to thread a new one into the tuner? Most slotheads have relieved areas for the string to angle down to the tuner post and it is pretty common for the strings to come close to (or even hit) the sides of the slots - particularly the outside stings (you can see that in my photo). I'm careful when restring a slot head to wrap the string so it pulls away from the sides of the slots.

I've never actually looked closely at Rickenbacker but maybe you should.


[Staff - OK - link to external image]

Since you've said it was OK to comment on some of your other design parameters I'll come back to your choice of scale length, strings and tensions. Your total tension is a bit over 300 pounds, most 12 strings are somewhere between 230 and 260, electrics less. Remember that you have to fret that pair of strings, not just one of them. I would consider trying to get that tension down.

Second, the total area of those strings is almost 0.50 inches packed into a nut that is 1-7/8 wide. You are starting with a premade nut that probably has about 0.100 between the strings in a course and about the same between the outside strings and the edges of the fretboard. You might want to satisfy yourself that all of that fits.

Again, your long scale length is forcing you to use huge strings which can have all sorts of practical issues - intonation, getting them thru holes in tuners and the Bigsby, as well as playability. Not saying it won't work but you are treading in some pretty uncharted water.

Again, I'm going to humbly suggest that you make a full scale plan and profile drawing accurately (use CAD if you have it available), Draw the actual diameters of all the strings, the tuners, headstock thickness and the same thing at the bridge end. Make sure your bridge, tailpiece, pickups and all those things actually work. On your profile drawing make a rough calculation of what 300 pounds of tension on a 30 inch neck is going to do to bending moments, think about your truss rod, neck angle and joint...

Carry on and good luck

[Damon Palyka]

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback!
Ive based the majority of the design on my existing neck, I figure worst possible scenario I scrap the doubling and just go with the existing 6.
I should note that for the side tuners that mortice goes all the way through the headstock, eliminating the aforementioned stringing difficulties.
I also believe I can tighten this design up and make it more compact, I just need to dummy it up first before I do the real deal one and make sure everything fits.
I suck at cad design so Ill just make it out of a piece of pine or something...
You guys have been wonderful and really helped a lot!

[Freeman Keller]

We want you to succeed. Please take all comments in that light.

[Damon Palyka]

Of course! Why would anyone do otherwise?

[Freeman Keller]

Of course! Why would anyone do otherwise?

I'm reminded of the scene in 12 string virtuoso Leo Kottke's dvd Home and Away where he takes us into the basement room "where the bad guitars go". He shows one acoustic that someone has grafted a long scale neck on to a dread body to make sort of a baritone out of it (Leo likes tuning way down with really phat strings). He has cut the end off of the headstock to get it to fit into a case (making it a ten string) and kicked a big hole in the back. Obviously not his favorite guitar....

[Barry Daniels]

Damon, some folks do not accept advice very well. Thanks for being one who does.

[John Mueller]

Where does one find D'Addarrio's tension tool?

[Peter Wilcox]

Is this what you want? http://www.daddario.com/upload/tension_chart_13934.pdf

Or this? http://www.stringtensionpro.com/