Solo Tele Style DIY Electric Double Neck Guitar Kit
Copyright © 2011 Solo Music Gear. All rights reserved
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and by turning counter-clockwise you will increase the gap. Never turn the truss rod screw more than
1/4 turn at a time! Now return to the 'Adjusting String Height' section and re-adjust your string height so
you have nice low action on the strings without buzzing on the frets! If you do have 'string or fret buzz',
you will either have to increase the neck relief slightly, or increase you string height.
Adjusting Intonation:
There are several factors that come into play when setting the intonation on your guitar. For this kit, we
will adjust to the basics and leave you to research the rest for yourself. Essentially, e ach string played
open, should have exactly the same pitch as that string fretted on the 12fth fret (the 12fth fret is the
halfway point between the nut and the saddle). You will want to use your guitar tuner for this
adjustment.....play each string open and adjust them to their prescribed notes (E,A,D,G,B,E thickest to
thinnest or 6th - 1st). Now play each string while you fret at the 12fth fret and adjust each saddle
toward the 12fth fret or away until the fretted note matches the open note. If the fre tted note is sharp,
you must move the saddle away from the neck.....if the fretted note is flat, you must move the saddle
closer. Intonating your guitar properly will help to ensure that it plays in tune up and down the neck,
and that chords sound correct.
Adjusting Pickup Height:
The final step in your guitar set-up is setting the pickup height. Pickups work on a magnetic field that is
affected by the vibration of each string. You can be too close to the strings and you can also be too far away
from the strings with the pickup....too close will create 'ghost tones' that will make tuning your guitar difficult
and will also affect the sound of your guitar in a negative way. Adjusting the pickups too far away reduces the
effect of the magnetic field and therefore reduces the output of the pickup....so the guitar will sound quieter
and have less dynamics.
You will find one or both of two types of pickups in your kit....either single coil or humbucker. Because
humbuckers use opposing magnets, they can be adjusted much closer to the strings than single coils can... Set
your volume on full for each pickup and the tone control at halfway...plug your guitar into an amplifier and
start adjusting the pickup height closer and away from the body while you play each string or strum.....you
should notice an obvious difference in volume and tone by doing so. Adjust each pickup to where it sounds
best. There is no universal rule for pickup height because it relies on string height, string gauge, pickup type,
magnet type etc...so by experimenting, you will find an adjustment that provides the best sound.
Recommended Books
1.
Melvyn Hiscock. Make Your Own Electric Guitar. NBS Publications, 2003. ISBN: 0953104907
2.
Dennis Waring. Make your own Electric Guitar & Bass. Sterling/Tamos, 2001, ISBN: 1895569702
3.
Martin Koch. Building Electric Guitars: How to Make Solid-Body, Hollow-Body and Semi- Acoustic Electric Guitars
and Bass Guitars. Koch Verlag; 2001, ISBN: 3901314075
