[augustwest1]

Thanks for the feedback folks, I really appreciate it.

Which break angle are you talking about?

Neck. The peghead has the traditional 11-13 degree angle.

Absolutely love the look of that headstock. Those angles are killer!

Good eye! Not much margin for error in order for the D and G strings to clear the A and B tuners, but I like the look of it and it's sort of a nod to the practice/custom (or whatever it is) of altering the peghead design whenever otherwise copying an existing guitar.

i bet that thing would twist your spine if you played standing for more than a half hour.

I must have a strong spine. It weighs about 2.5 pounds less than the actual Tiger, which Jerry slung over his shoulder for what, a decade? Guess he had a strong spine too.

[milobender]

I wouldn't go 'less ornate', I think it's perfect for itself, and tastefully done. I also wouldn't do a neckthrough, unless specifically requested... I think the resonance of the guitar is more complex, more 'musical' with a setneck design. I think it's lovely.

[Blacklodgebob]

___ see below

[ac4468]

yeah big no on the set vs thru neck. Cripe knew what he was doing. Sorry but - nope. Sounds like a harmonically complex excuse for not building it properly - which of course takes more time - but again, these types of guitars were made by fans, not meant to be produced at a profit....

Not sure what's "not properly"? It's a Tiger prototype. Tiger is a set neck?? There isn't a right vs wrong. I've built plenty of both and neither is wrong , just a different choice. People can argue til they;re blue in the face about set vs thru neck but both are "right" choices in my book.

[Blacklodgebob]

oh totally thats all i was saying - jerry to my ears - neck thru, everybody has their own pair though! not hatin' - also Jerry kinda sounded like Jerry on any guitar - out of celestion speakers - or amp simulators - the man had his own thing going on. For whatever reason, I can't get there without brass inserts in a bolt on - or neck thru.

another thought - what guitar do you guys think jerry would be playing now - if hed somehow survived this long, frail but coherent and able to pick a bit? 8 gauge double balls on a steinberger?

[augustwest1]

For what it's worth, and at least in my experience, it does not take more time to build a neck thru guitar compared to a setneck. Not only that, there are more opportunities to screw up the latter compared to the former.

A neck thru does involve a lot more wasted material, and in that sense, it is less attractive if you are building with only an eye towards profit. But that's a different issue.

[ac4468]

Definitely trickier to do a set neck in my opinion but agreed, you don’t need to find 40” curly maple!

[milobender]

A set neck and a thru neck are vibrationally very different. I'm sorry Bob finds it hard to imagine, but a set neck is more complex in the way it resonates.

A typical neck thru = tuners, nut, pups, bridge and tail, all mounted right in the neck wood (the inserts for the bridge normally fall outside the edge of the neck, but the space between the insert and the neck wood is so small, it makes it a non-issue) The neck wood/woods are the resonant section, with decorative wings glued on each side, altering/attenuating the main vibration with whatever characteristics the side woods exhibit.

A typical set neck = tuners, nut mounted in neck material --- pickups, bridge, and tail mounted in separate body material. The neck woods resonate, transferring the vibration THRU the body material to the pickups, bridge, and tail, creating two distinct resonance zones. The different materials involved in the total resonance and the way the interact is completely different than the neck-thru and is by nature, more complex.

More complex usually translates to more musical.

[augustwest1]

Any opinions about neck pocket depth and its impact on the sort of vibrational factors Brian just discussed?

[ac4468]

Any opinions about neck pocket depth and its impact on the sort of vibrational factors Brian just discussed?

Are you referring to how far back the set neck goes towards the pickup cavities or how deep top to back of the guitar? Not sure I can tell the difference but short of having two identical builds/materials it’s hard to tell. I prefer to have at least a small “tongue” go under the bridge pickup and have the neck set all but 3/8” or so deep in the body. For strength I try to keep 1 1/2” on the top and 1” on the bottom of body meeting the neck. Non of this is scientific, I just want as much surface contact for the joint without sacrificing access to the upper frets.

[lbpesq]

Jerry played set necks: Les Paul, Starfire, SG, Tiger, Rosebud
Jerry played neck-thrus: Wolf, Travis Bean
Jerry played bolt-ons: Alligator

They all sounded great and musical in his hands.

Bill, tgo

[Ebearius]

Add Lightning Bolt to the list of neck-thru guitars.

[GeneralGoldilocks]

Man, that is a stunner of a guitar. There are some amazingly talented luthiers on this forum, and it is what makes it great. I find the neck through vs set neck vs bolt fascinating. I don't really understand a lot of the science and physics behind it, but I love the sound of a strat. I don't know what it is about the bolt on or if it is the trem block, or whatever, but a strat is amazing. I mean, there is endless proof of how great they sound. Hendrix, Gilmour, Garcia, just to scratch the surface. As far as pure Jerry tones go, neck through vs set neck vs bolt, he used them all, my favorite jerry tones are from the travis bean, and that is an aluminum neck through, just to really mix it up.
I am just thankful for all you guys out there that are true artists and keeping the creative juices flowing with your amazing guitars, all droolworthy. Keep up the good work.

[tcsned]

I agree with GG, there are some amazingly talented cats building some super cool replicas, Irwin inspired guitars, and unique original guitars on this site. It’s really been cool to see this thing grow. Keep up the awesome work!

Augustwest, are you building commercially are doing these for yourself?!

[augustwest1]

Augustwest, are you building commercially are doing these for yourself?!

I've kept one Wolf for myself, and eventually I'll make a Tiger that I keep. All the other Wolfs have found new homes (entirely through this forum).