Making red special

[newbe]

I am about to make a copy of Brian May Red Special.
The only problem is the 2 degree angel of the neck.
Does anyone know what this relates to mm.
I'm not sure of the angle, it's something about 2.2mm but I think this is wrong.
Ano help would be appreciated. 

[cynical1]

You're in luck. Degrees are the same in Metric and English (old money). The only conversions would be the typical ones used for scale length and bridge\neck height. Here's what it means:



It's explained here: Neck Angle Calculator ...it also has an online calculator.

2 degrees is pretty flat.  5 degrees is closer to typical, depending on bridge choice, but as long as the string height is where you want it, all is good.

Does that help?

Cynical One

[newbe]

Thank you cynical1 for the info.
I will use the calculator to set the angle.
I will draw a full length of the side view of the guitar.
I will be making the guitar in one piece  and I have to work out where the fret should be where it joins the body.

[gckelloch]

I wouldn't build the entire guitar from one piece for a few reasons. Working on the neck with all that body wood you'll have to move around will be more difficult, and if you make a big mistake on the neck or body, you may have to start all over with a new piece. There's also more chance of warpage with just one piece of wood. The original Red Special had blockboard body. You could go with that or maybe try sourcing some roasted poplar. It's very lightweight, stable, and looks great. Catalpa might be very nice, too. It's like a soft Swamp Ash.

You could do all the neck and wing work separately, and just glue the wings on b4 final sanding and finishing. My belief is the center-line wood is all that really matters to the string-damping effects, but lightweight wings might allow for some more midrange damping. A multi-laminate neck-though is more likely to stay ruler straight than a one piece, and I assume you will glue on a separate FB as well?

There's also a site somewhere with some Red Special wiring variations that make more sense using the same switches by substituting a switching redundancy for another useful option.

[larsenpeople]

From a practical point of view, no angle will be much easier to implement with a router on a flat surface.

[gckelloch]

You may also be limited in the type of bridge to use with a 2 degree neck angle. FI, might not be able to get the action low enough with a TOM style bridge. You'd likely need to sink a TOM bridge into the body with no neck angle.

[kitwn]

If you don't have it already, I'd suggest you get a copy of the book about the red special by Brian May and Simon Bradley. It has all the details of the guitar including May's original plans plus x-rays and detailed photographs of it in pieces during restoration work. Even if you're not building a copy it's a fascinating read about the guitar and it's makers. Just type "Brian May's Red Special" into Amazon etc.

Kit

[newbe]

I have already made a one piece guitar and this has come out perfect with no warping, also I  fitted two titanium rods in the neck.
I will take on board all the comments as this is good advice. I will not be using blackboard but laminated sections with different species of wood. As I have made the jigs for a one piece guitar it would not be a problem to make another one.