The neck joint should not be visible but also with no cover plate so I’ll have to set the neck in and then put a cap on the body to cover the joint.

If it's going to be painted, will the paint not hide the neck join?

What would you guys choose for neck wood?

 

Based on the pickup he's chosen, I'm guessing that this is going to be a simple rock machine.

I'd go with Mahogany for the neck.

Mahogany/Ebony is a classic combination, into Alder will be fine.

If you want to get a little bit fancy, you could make a 3-piece Mahogany neck.  That might also be a bit more stable if you orient the grain patterns of the individual pieces appropriately.

If you want to get a little bit more fancy, you could put some contrasting veneer strips between the 3 piece mahogany.  If it's a black body (and ebony board), then some ebony veneer strips might look super cool.

If it's going to be painted, will the paint not hide the neck join?

@tv1010101 I would say no really. The joinery would have to be out of this world. The only way I think that would work is if filler was used over the joint before primer paint. I would be paranoid that if I just painted over it, the join would show at some point in the future due to expand and contract. I might be wrong. Has anyone else just painted over a joint and it be fine? Is that an acceptable thing to do? 

Based on the pickup he's chosen, I'm guessing that this is going to be a simple rock machine.

I'd go with Mahogany for the neck.

Mahogany/Ebony is a classic combination, into Alder will be fine.

If you want to get a little bit fancy, you could make a 3-piece Mahogany neck.  That might also be a bit more stable if you orient the grain patterns of the individual pieces appropriately.

If you want to get a little bit more fancy, you could put some contrasting veneer strips between the 3 piece mahogany.  If it's a black body (and ebony board), then some ebony veneer strips might look super cool.

@tv1010101 Yeah, I straight up rock machine indeed! 

Mahogany is a nice choice, especially 3 piece with veneer strips. 

thanks for the input. 

Has anyone else just painted over a joint and it be fine? Is that an acceptable thing to do?

Funny you should ask that JohnBoo ...

^^ the spray coat on that is also *really* thin.  I asked the guy to use as little paint as possible, and definitely no grain filler preparation.  if you look at, you can see the grain of the wood on the body.

If you look for it, but *only* if you look for it, you can see the neck join.  But only because the grain pattern is smoother.  If you were aiming for a smoother finish over the body, I reckon the neck joint would become invisible.

Schaller 3D-6 Bridge - > https://schaller.info/en/bridges/336/3d-6?number=12120600 <

He wants the whole thing to be very simple but with high end parts for the best tone and best quality working parts.

So, has anyone made a set neck guitar with no break angle?

That bridge requires a string height above body of 11.1mm.

The white LP Jr has a string height of 12mm at the bridge.  The neck is just set at a really shallow angle.  IIRC, Mark normally aims for ~16mm string height and so cuts his neck angle to achieve that.  If you want lower height, just reduce the angle.

(Either by trial and error, or draw out the side view and calc it).

🙂

Sounds like a nice project you've picked up ... have fun with it!!

I agree with @TV1010101 mahogany would be nice. 

Could you not do a bolt on neck but glue it in. I’ve always thought bolt ons should have a slight angle in any case and that’s why some shim them. Personally I have only don a set neck with an angle.

On the paint and join point, does he want grain showing? If so it’s possible but harder (TV has proved that in the great example above). If he doesn’t want grain so it’s more like a commercial glossy paint job then will be filling the whole body anyway so stops the faff of a cap.

last point on the weight issue be careful not to get the body/neck weight balance wrong. Most people hate neck heavy guitars.

Sounds like a great commission Boo...I look forward to photo progress.

I meant to put in the post ...what I mean by glossy is the same paint and lacquer as one. It’s a similar process but not polished to a shine...it still needs filling (unless you want visible grain).

I’ve been trying thinking about the bridge. You should still be ok with a set neck but the angle may be shallower than say a W/o bridge. What height is the bridge? 

As long as the neck angle hits at the bridge at the height of the hardware it should be good to go. 

Sorry @TV1010101 it looks like you already covered that point..