I'm sure that I remember that somebody here modified an electric guitar to have a removable neck for travel. Yes, I know that all bolt on neck guitars can have the neck removed. However, IIRC some metal inserts were installed into the neck and the screws were changed over to metal screws so that the neck wood wouldn't be stripped as the neck was removed repeatedly. I think it may have been "gnease" that did this but I don't remember for sure.
Anybody who has done this would you be able to let me know exactly what you did and how it worked out? I'm looking to put together a travel guitar that is "luggagable" but not necessarily backpackable. I have a Traveller Pro Series and I don't find it comfortable at all to play on. I'm thinking about converting a cheap tele style guitar - maybe a Yamaha (I'll watch craigslist and perhaps ebay for deals). Any suggestions on particular types of guitars to convert or not?
How did you install the metal inserts for the neck? Any recommended sources for these? What precaution have to be taken when putting these in to ensure that the neck will line up right? Any suggestions on other changes to make it travel friendly? I was thinking it would probably need locking tuners to save the strings after a neck takeoff?
How do you pack it? I was thinking about cutting up some foam to hold the body and neck and then putting that into a nylon bag for carry on or into a hard suitcase.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
IGNORE: this doesn't come close to answering your question! :roll: Jumped in without thinking.
I have no idea of the cost or playability of these but they got a good review in a recent issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine:
yeah -- did it with a Saga Tele kit I built and modified for exactly this purpose. now, instead of being a cheapo, Idon'tgiveanF guitar for travel it has become one of my favorites ... P90 neck, hot bridge pup, strings-thru-body, better electronics, locking Grovers ... these things just get out of hand. it's the guitar I'm holding in my Avatar pic.
for the neck inserts, I have have used two different sizes (different guitars), 8-32 and 10-24 brass threaded wood inserts from Lowes. 8-32 is nice and beefy, but may seem to be overkill. 10-24 work fine. I pair the inserts with stainless steel, oval-head Philips machine screws. these will be only about 1.25 inches in length. 1.5 inch may be too long for some guitars. 1.25 inch seems short compared to the original wood screws, but the holding force is much greater than for the originals.
warning: these things are fragile, and break easily while being screwed into maple. my recs: make sure the hole is only slightly smaller than the insert. lube the insert with wax (Chapstick works). do not use a flat blade screwdriver to install an insert. put the insert on a short Philips, Torx or Hex machine screw to turn it into the hole, and put it in slightly below flush. then just back out the screw leaving the insert in place. I usually do this with two inserts on a slightly longer screw and leave only the first one in the neck. makes countersinking easy.
the other half of this is the locking tuners. Grovers are okay, but a bit of a PITA to get the strings out and back in. Schallers (thumb screw on back) might be easier. for travel, I simply detune and remove the strings, coil them together while still attached to the body, slip a bag over the coil, pack the body in small equip case and check it with the airline. I carry-on the neck in an plastic poster tube. sometimes the neck gets a chuckle or question in security. serious warning: it's easy to forget the neck in an overhead luggage bin.
-=tension & release=-
Thanks for the reply BluezOldy but that's way more than I want to spend on a travel guitar. I could buy a used low-end Seagull with a good hard case (maybe the Godin TRIC case) and then check that as luggage and be willing to accept a loss of the guitar some times (actually going missing, too damaged, etc) - maybe a total of 6 or 7 complete losses - and still come out at the same cost. Besides, I'm looking for an electric solution.
Gnease, thanks for the reply and the info. I hadn't thought of the poster tube - that's a really nice idea.
I'm going to start looking for the cheap tele style guitar to convert for this project. I figure that a tele like body is a good way to go since there no real pointy bits to cause difficulty in packing or to get broken. As I said earlier, a Yamaha tele would be an interesting one to do since those are cheap enough and of pretty decent quality but they aren't that common. I can see some of those Samick Greg Bennett teles for an ok price on eBay (new for ~$200) but I wonder if I'll need to replace the pickups as well as the tuner upgrade.
Another option is some of the sort of tele-shaped low end Godin guitars - Exit 22 or Radiator for example. Those are a bit more than the Samick (some go for ~$300) but the quality will be a lot better - only need to upgrade to locking tuners. I might also want to check out the two local stores with large consignments sections (Starving Musician and Guitar Showcase). Spend a bit of time looking through their inventory and be open minded about what I'll take.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
the other reason a Tele is a good choice for this: the Tele headstock is more streamlined than a Strat or similar. though even given that, I will remove the rear mounting screws on the E and A tuners and rotate them (about their capstans/posts) to move the tuning buttons to the most compact position for fitting into a carrying tube.
-=tension & release=-
