Post 35: Back to the 7 strings guitar

      I received the 7 strings pickups yesterday. I plan to use just one mounted directly recessed into the body at an angle with no plastic trim. I will cover it with a fitted brass plate

     I finally bit the nail today and cut out the aluminum blank for the body. I refined the shape sanding the edges.

I also came up with a better fanned-out layout for the 7 tuners. The section of the body they will be attached to will be bent down at an angle as explained in the last post. I am not sure yet whether the trapezoidal sliding parts of the tuners will be made out of a U-channel aluminum or cut out of solid brass.

     The section of 2" aluminum tubing will have to be thinned out some more before I attach it to the back of the body front plate with nine 1/4" screws going all the way through the back of the neck, and then cut off and sanded smooth, showing as 9 brass dot. I believe the guitar will not have a back, just a box covering the preamp, pots, and wires. The wires from the piezo and from the magnetic pickup can be routed through the neck.

       I made a tuner slider out of solid brass, and believe it is the way to go. I will make them a bit wider, out of a 1/2" x 1/2" brass bar I just bought at Metal Supermarket, and then cut them as wedges so they fit together nicely when fully extended.

       The next questions to resolve have to do with the kind of fingerboard:

               Do I fret it or leave it fretless?

               Do I make it out of wood or aluminum?

               Do I leave it flat or make it curved to match the bridge?

       I have a piece of 1/4" Padouk (barely thick enough) and a 5/16" ebony blank (not long enough for a 30" scale). If I use wood, I will need a truss rod of some sort.  

       I have a piece of 3/16" aluminum that could make a "floating fretboard" like the one on my long bass that is bolted over the neck at a slant with adjustable spacers. 

       Would it be possible to form it into a curve? Actually, a piece of 1/8" aluminum would be easier to form and the curve would give it the required stiffness. I need to try on a scrap.