Classical Guitar Project

makepeace · 2010-03-11T12:51:54+00:00

Hi guys ? Ok so I have this average Maxwell guitar at home which I bought for a few hundred bucks when I wanted to learn to play guitar. I then moved on to electric as my skills developed blah blah blah. http://terryd.co.za/mxc391.html Here it is in all its glory. The guitar has been pretty manhandled/not looked after very well and after getting into playing folkey music, I have decided to refinish it and do some modifications. Nut: It came with a poor quality plastic nut (after taking it off I discovered it was hollow with a bracing wall going through the middle) that was sommer glued on in a very inaccurate position. After doing a bit of research, I was taken by brass nuts and bought a blank on ebay which I promises to arrive shortly. My first question: could any body give me some specs for string spacing at the nut end? I plan on using Ernie ball Ernesto Palla Nylon ball ends (ball end will be explained later) on it with gauges from 1st to 6th: 0.028, 0.032, 0.040, 0.030, 0.036, 0.042. The fretboard width at the nut end is 51.5mm. Second question: if anybody could tell me what heights the string grooves on the nut should be from the fretboard? The frets are between 1.15-1.20mm high. I would have copied the specs from the previous nut but judging by its quality, I don't rely on it to be accurate. Bridge: The bridge it came with is your typical painted black classical guitar bridge. It was made of a very weak wood, may have been pine or something. After about the 3rd restring, the strings had dug grooves into the bridge. I found a good hard piece of Shorea or Meranti as its known in SA and crafted quite a neat looking bridge out of it. I only have one question here, has anybody built guitars with this type of wood? if so, any good? I'll add a picture of my bridge I've made asap. Saddle: The saddle it came with was of a similar material and build quality as the nut: soft cream plastic, very inaccurate. I plan to replace the saddle with a brass one, a blank of which has been ordered as well. Questions here: what string spacings should be used on the saddle? what should the height of the top of the saddle be above the body? The height of the previous saddle above the body was about 12.5mm. Tailpiece: As this is my first guitar project, I decided to be a little creative. I plan on adding a short tailpiece with string retainer (hence the ball end strings). This decision was also influenced by my tentativity as regards crafting the bridge to accept plain nylon strings and the other alternatives (pegs, ferruled bridge/ovation style). I've ordered a bronze tailpiece, measures about 7cm from the hinge to the end. Neck/frets: I am leaving these as is. Pickup: I found an old ceramic piezo disk lying around the house. I fastened it under the bridge plate inside the guitar and played it through my amp and it doesnt sound too bad. Lacks a bit of bass and mid. I found a schematic of a preamp which I am going to build to help sweeten the tone a bit. http://liutaiomottola.com/PrevPubs/Piezo/CoaxTransducer.htm. Has anyone had any experience as regards cheapie DIY piezo transducers? I have researched fancy piezo systems (Fishman, LR Baggs) but I feel they are out of my price range for this guitar at the moment. Finish: The guitar has a plywood body (really average) and was high gloss clear finished on the top, with a dark tint on the back and sides. I want to finish it in a dark tint all over, and do a burst with an even darker tint around the edges, with the same darker tint on the sides. I think I want to go for a satin texture, but might go gloss. Cool. Hopefully if i can get all of the above done nicely I should end up with a unique sound, and a good looker. Would be glad to hear what people think about this project, and obviously I would be very grateful to those who can answer my questions! Thanks! Cheers.

makepeace

I've done a bit of research. It seems that the Plascon WL6 might not be available anymore, but I'm trying to see if they can get it for me. The woodoc stains that they sell are liquid, and come in a small 20ml bottles. Are these the ones you're talking about? I just want to make sure that they are compatible with nitro lacquer.

It says on their website that they are incompatible with Mineral turpentine, Acetone, Lacquer Thinners, Benzene and other solvents.

If not, and if the plascon nitro isn't available anymore, I'll probably have to go with a polyurathane finish.

Thanks!

AlanRatcliffe

I bought a can of their lacquer just over a year ago. No, the Woodoc stain will not work - it's made specifically to mix in the Woodoc finishes.

makepeace

I think I will go with the Woodoc polyurathane sealer. It seems like a much more appropriate option for what I'm trying to do as regards stains etc. Thanks for the help!

makepeace

Hi guys,

Ok so i'm nearly done with the finishing, done the neck back and sides, just the top left, and then a few coats of clear.

I've just got a question regarding placement of the bridge for correct intonation. The guitar has a scale length of 650mm. I've put this into the fret calculator for acoustic guitars on stewmac's website, and all the frets are located correctly. Along with the fret positions, the calculator also gives measurements for correct placement of the bridge. The output is the following:

Distance from the fretboard edge of the nut to the break-angle of the string at the peak of the saddle:

* Treble "E" 652.266 mm (±0.5mm)
* Bass "E" 655.47 mm (±0.5mm)

I was just wondering if this seems to be a correct measurement for a classical guitar, and also if anybody knows the reason for the offset from 650mm.

Thanks!

makepeace

I finished this guitar a while ago. Just thought i'd post some pics ?

Guitar: Maxwell Classical Guitar MX-C391
Bridge: Custom Meranti (Doorframe ?)
Nut: Custom Brass
Saddle: Custom Brass
Tailpiece: Export Brass Short Trapeze Tailpiece
Strings: D'Addario Folk Nylons Brass basses, black trebles
Tuners: Stock Maxwell
Pickup: Custom Piezo

CDee

Good stuff man!

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