Headless Explorer.

[DarkHeart]

I've been fancying doing something different for a while ever since seeing the thread on the headless T-bird that didn't get off the ground. I managed to get hold of a very cheap new Paulownia Explorer body off the bay, I know that's probably not everyone's cup of tea but it was only £25. I had a pair of Warman humbuckers that were bought for a different project so decided to use these. Paulownia isn't a very chisel friendly wood and as I don't own a router that had to be the chosen route, the pups fit that's all that matters. I had bought some time ago a Jackson alike neck from Tommo Richards off here so decided to chop its head off and go headless (I've a headless flying vee). Ebay provided the cheap (limited budget) hardware and now its all systems go. Its in its mock up stages now and needs some relief behind the bridges but it's coming along, John (KiOgon) has provided a pair of on off switches for the pickups that will be rear mounted and hopefully it will be getting a blowtorch finish. Enough babble here's the progress pics.

[TheGreek]

I'll be interested to see what you think of those £10ish single headless tuners. I've considered ordering just one to check on the quality..

I like a headless bass....if these are any good I'll be converting every neck thru bass I can find.

JOOI, Ebony fretboard??

 

Edited February 9, 2020 by TheGreek

[Paul S]

Just now, TheGreek said:

I'll be interested to see what you think of those £10ish single headless tuners.

Me too.

[DarkHeart]

I`ll be honest with you, if they work its more by luck but I just fancied something different again, so far I`ve changed all the screws as they were crap and as it`s only mocked up I haven`t fully tightened everything down yet just in case I strip something. Not sure if its ebony but it`s a very tight grain and nice and dark.

[TheGreek]

Just noticed how tight the tuners are to the body. How are you going to make them more accessible?

[DarkHeart]

I`m going to recess the body like the new Ibanez headless....thats the plan anyway! At the moment its resting with the strings up to pitch to get the bow out of the neck (it`s working) and to see if it stays in tune (it does)

[prowla]

I've got a headless doubleneck with the "Overlord" Steinberger copy bridge which is pants.

I hope these single ones are better quality.

[Slappindabass]

Gonna be great that. Really.like the look of it.

[DarkHeart]

Decided to move away from the individual bridge/tuner idea and try out the cheap all in one offering, must admit it seems to work better although the individual ones may be better suited to a 6 string rather than bass, I may keep hold of them or let them go cheap as i used the string retainer part, if anyone wants them gimme a shout. Anyway, it`s almost finished, just waiting for new strings, strap buttons and give it a set up then it`s ready to go. here are a few pic`s of project CV-19....

[AndyTravis]

That looks mean as anything!

[prowla]

That green is just right.

[DarkHeart]

45 minutes ago, prowla said:

That green is just right.

Crimson guitars stunning stains green and lots of oil....maybe too much oil 😂 a better wood would have been even better, might try ash next time Paulonia is a bit MEH!

Edited May 17, 2020 by DarkHeart

[DarkHeart]

On 16/02/2020 at 03:38, prowla said:

I've got a headless doubleneck with the "Overlord" Steinberger copy bridge which is pants.

I hope these single ones are better quality.

I`ve used the `Overlord` bridge...but, I googled about it and the main criticism was the thumbwheels mashed into the body of the bridge so I`ve taken the washers off some normal tuners I had lying about, now I have steel/nylon/steel between the thumbwheels and the bridge body, time will tell if its a fix but I can`t see why not.

[prowla]

11 hours ago, DarkHeart said:

I`ve used the `Overlord` bridge...but, I googled about it and the main criticism was the thumbwheels mashed into the body of the bridge so I`ve taken the washers off some normal tuners I had lying about, now I have steel/nylon/steel between the thumbwheels and the bridge body, time will tell if its a fix but I can`t see why not.

Good luck with it. 🙂

With mine, the thread inside the pullers was stripped.

The issue with the thumbwheels is that I think there's a lip where they contact the bridge body there; the plastic washers might work.

The replacement one I got was badly made and the lid over the puller cavity sat too low, so the pullers wouldn't retract inside.

I put vaseline on the screw threads, which makes operation a bit smoother.

The guitar neck's one also has issues.

I guess there's a reason why the quality units cost a lot more.