CityCaster-012

Remember CityCaster-004 [London] that finally received a Lyon body?

I therfore had an extra body... London based. It was time to make a new neck for it, using the latest LED ligthing techniques I developed.

I used Walnut (once more a piece of my trusted 200y old planks) and Iroko for the fretboard. I did noticed the 650mm scale length I used for this guitar was pushing the bridge to its limits on the 6th string, due to a placement probably a bit too close to the neck (we're talking just a few millimeters here). So I slightly modify the neck, adding 3mm to it which gave me the option for an additional 22nd fret. 

My neck blank was just wide enough for a neck, but barely at 77mm, and the length was just OK at 666mm. The CNC process is quite similar to what I used in the previous guitar (see CityCaster-011), just on a different headstock shape, and a thickness at 21mm. The LED setup process was straight forward, ensuring this time the + and - rails connections would traverse the neck heel to provide contacts to the body.
With the neck carved, quickly sanded to 150 grit, and before I worked on the fretboard, I applied a coat of oil to protect the neck.
Each LED was tested right after installation to ensure there would be no issue when setting the fretboard, finalizing the neck.

The fretboard is made from Iroko. I started with a planed 6mm blank, and carved the inlays that I filled with epoxy. Once cured, the 16" radisu was carved, followed by the fret slots and the contour of the fretboard. It matched the neck perfectly, but this is where I noticed an error I make on the fretboard, carving the side inlays positions using the "INSIDE" setting on the CNC program while the corresponding LEDs on the neck are carved with the correct "ON" setting for the CNC, There is therefore a small (1mm) delta in elements that should normally face each other. Not a big deal, but a lesson for future builds.

Then comes assembly time, with plenty of clamps! After unclamping, I installed the contacts for connecting the + and - for LED control in the guitar body.

In order to provide control to the LEDs in the new neck, the body needs a few changes: adding  a battery box, contacts at the heel pocket, a 3rd potentiometer for LED brightness control and a small PWM controller electronics board.

The result

After futher sanding (to 400grit) and 7 coats of Poly-X semi-matte oil, the neck is very nice. Frets went in with no problem, using my fret press which provides better control at fret install time, limiting the sanding of fret and further adjustments that are needed before fret polishing. the assembly with the body creates a beautiful instrument. After intonation and final setup, the guitar plays beautifully and looks great!