Advice for those making a frankenstrat project or solving the comon action issue.

[Pat_rocks_and_rolls]

Well with my first frankenstrat build i wanted to keep it the most original possible.

Kne guitars has the most accurate version of the 70's charvel san dimas bodies. the van halen routed version : http://www.kneguitars.com/kit_bod.php

And musikraft makes a perfect copy of the mighty mite neck that van halen bought.

What i found funny is that if you follow the exacte accurate building you'll will get some action issues because the floyd and the combination of the neck and the body isn't suited to work together. He used a 6 screw vintage tremolo before adding the floyd.

Well if you have this issue or expect to make a frankenstrat body here is the solution... And i was very impressed to see how van halen solved it...

In fact there is a 0.6mm pick between the neck joint and the neck lol and that makes the action perfect...

Seriously Van Halen seemed to be blessed by the gods... if you try different kind of pick sizes between the neck and neck joint it would not give you a good action however the 0.6mm picks are a perfect fit for it... And those are what he used...

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Advice for those making a frankenstrat project or solving the comon action issue.

The issue isn't the neck doesn't work with the body, it's just that the bridge is too tall, messing with the string angle. It's a good fix nonetheless, and also works for tune-o-matic bridges on Strats.

 

[Pat_rocks_and_rolls]

Re: Advice for those making a frankenstrat project or solving the comon action issue.

The issue isn't the neck doesn't work with the body, it's just that the bridge is too tall, messing with the string angle. It's a good fix nonetheless, and also works for tune-o-matic bridges on Strats.

Oh yeah you're right ! forgot that he used a vintage 6 screws trem before floyds !

 

[greekdude]

Re: Advice for those making a frankenstrat project or solving the comon action issue.

In fact there is a 0.6mm pick between the neck joint and the neck lol and that makes the action perfect...
Seriously Van Halen seemed to be blessed by the gods... if you try different kind of pick sizes between the neck and neck joint it would not give you a good action however the 0.6mm picks are a perfect fit for it... And those are what he used...

no wander his guitar had like 3 seconds (max) of sustain even under full distortion.

 

[Pat_rocks_and_rolls]

Re: Advice for those making a frankenstrat project or solving the comon action issue.

no wander his guitar had like 3 seconds (max) of sustain even under full distortion.

Lol you should see some footages of the full eruption solo sometimes he gets an harmonic and sustains it during 15 sec. I don't think that necks shims really affect sustain for electric guitars however acoustics aren't the same kind of babies.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Advice for those making a frankenstrat project or solving the comon action issue.

What if I want to make a set-neck Franken LP?

LOL! Naw... I hear ya. I've been inserting shims in strat necks since the 80s... even using picks before as well. The last time I shim a neck was in December of last year, on a [new] Charvel San Dimas Pro. Put a couple of metal washers around the neck screws closest to the body. The advantage that gives is that the shim won't move around when you loosen the screws.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Advice for those making a frankenstrat project or solving the comon action issue.

Lol you should see some footages of the full eruption solo sometimes he gets an harmonic and sustains it during 15 sec. I don't think that necks shims really affect sustain for electric guitars however acoustics aren't the same kind of babies.

I've fought that notion inside my own head over the years. Am I killing sustain? Or not? Never was really sure.

I will say this though... the four Tom Anderson guitars that I've owned have all had his patented two-screw neck pocket. Three of them are/were strat style and I've never owned or played strats that had more sustain than those. Making sure that that contact is solid and possibly giving it more surface absolutely must play a role in sustain. And it's not just electronics, because you can feel it. Part of it is no doubt the thin finish that he uses.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Advice for those making a frankenstrat project or solving the comon action issue.

Well with my first frankenstrat build i wanted to keep it the most original possible.

Knee guitars has the most accurate version of the 70's charvel san dimas bodies.

And musikraft makes a perfect copy of the mighty mite neck that van halen bought.

What i found funny is that if you follow the exacte accurate building you'll will get some action issues because the floyd and the combination of the neck and the body isn't suited to work together. He used a 6 screw vintage tremolo before adding the floyd.

Well if you have this issue or expect to make a frankenstrat body here is the solution... And i was very impressed to see how van halen solved it...

In fact there is a 0.6mm pick between the neck joint and the neck lol and that makes the action perfect...

Seriously Van Halen seemed to be blessed by the gods... if you try different kind of pick sizes between the neck and neck joint it would not give you a good action however the 0.6mm picks are a perfect fit for it... And those are what he used...

View attachment 89595

What is Knee guitars? I tried googling it and got nothing....
I’d like to try my hand at a similar build one of these days and if these are as good as you say, i’d like to check them out.

 

[Pat_rocks_and_rolls]

Re: Advice for those making a frankenstrat project or solving the comon action issue.

What is Knee guitars? I tried googling it and got nothing....
I’d like to try my hand at a similar build one of these days and if these are as good as you say, i’d like to check them out.

http://www.kneguitars.com/kit_bod.php

here you have sir !

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Advice for those making a frankenstrat project or solving the comon action issue.

http://www.kneguitars.com/kit_bod.php

here you have sir !

Thanks!! I was misspelling it.
The prices aren’t bad either.