News And Updates

With build #5 and #6 emerges a new product line, the EGS Pro.

#5, built to specification for Chris Letchford. Wenge/mahogany body, maple/carbon fiber neck, rosewood fingerboard, Lundgren M7 pickups.

#6, Zebrano body, maple/carbon fiber neck, ebony fretboard, Lace Alumitone P-90 pickups. For sale.

Some select features of the EGS Pro line of guitars are:

• Available as 6-, 7-, or 8-string, scale length(s) of choice
• Pictured guitars (#5 and #6) are 7-string, 25-25.75″ scale, straight fret at 8th position
• Neck-through-body construction
• 24 frets
• Belly carve (optional)
• Arm bevel (optional)
• Choice of neck profile
• Choice of all materials, including pickups
• Choice of controls, control placement, knobs, switches

Contact us for prices, delivery times, or any other information you may need. Be sure to visit us on Facebook for more pictures.

EGS Pro 7. Trapezoidal Neck Profile (contact Rick Toone for more information about this neck profile).

EGS Pro 7 – built to specifications for Chris Letchford of Scale the Summit.

#5 and #6 are being finished at this time. They have received a few coats of oil and a round of wet-sanding with oil and are now drying before fretwork and final assembly. #5 had an accident (or two actually) with heads of screws that broke inside the wood! Only explanation is that it was a bad batch of screws. The now enlarged holes have been plugged with mahogany plugs.

#5 will have Lundgren M7 pickups and #6 will have Lace Aluma 90 pickups (which are in fact wide enough for a 7-string). Weights are 1890 grams for #5 and 2130 grams for #6 without hardware. I expect them to weigh pretty much the same after the pickups are mounted, since the conventional pickups are so much heavier.

#5 has received the first pass of sanding and described earlier, it is time to string it up while there is still opportunity to alter its wooden properties. A secondary purpose is to verify that the neck set angle is correct, before routing the individual recesses for the bridges. Note that these recesses are not required, but I find it a nice touch. Here, I have fastened the bridges flat onto the top.

Detail of body

The string locks are mounted in line with the strings, but staggered. Note that there will be a graphite nut fitted, to guide the strings and set an accurate string spacing. On previous guitars that have had a straight nut, I have used just the zero-fret and string locks mounted close to it.

Back side

Heel/back detail

It plays beautifully! Next is routing the bridge recesses and pickup and control cavities.

I am continuing to work on #5 and #6 with the intent of having them both completed before the Uppsala International Guitar Festival, which is headlined by Paco De Lucia this year. Unfortunately, I will be travelling so I can only attend the last two days of the festival, but will be exhibiting for the full four days. If all goes well, #5 will be on its way to Chris Letchford and not at the festival, though.

Below, you can see the neck set of both builds. #5 has an extra 5 mm as it will have a wenge top glued on.

I am removing weight from the body of #6 in a new way. About 250 grams was saved by routing these channels into the body sides.

Here, you can see the neck shapes. #5 conventional thin C-shape, #6 Trapezoidal Neck Profile (contact Rick Toone for more information about this neck profile).

#5 fretboard radiused, inlaid, and fretted:

I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time: gluing the sides on to make the instruments complete.

I am doing things in the following order:

1. glue laminates of neck
2. band-saw away and shape section on underside of neck portion
3. insert truss-rod (while sides are straight and can be used as guides for router)
4. shape contours of fretboard (so that it can be used as a router template later)
5. cut fret slots (while it’s still thin and easily fitted into the slot-cutting jig)
6. glue fretboard (while it is flat so that it can get optimal clamping pressure)
7. use router to shape contours of neck (using fretboard as template)
8. rough shape back of neck
9. radius fretboard
10. finish fretboard (add inlays) and fret neck
11. glue sides (and top)
12. finish shaping
13. sand
14. sand
15. sand
16. rout cavities for controls and pickups
17. sand
18. sand some more
19. finish/polish
20. done

So, it’s an easy 20-step process.

Here, I have created a steamer to soak/heat the top so that it can be bent. The rule says 1 hour per inch thickness, so with a 5 mm thickness, I steamed it for 15 minutes to be on the safe side.

And then I clamped it on top of the body, which was protected by aluminium foil.

I had solicited advice on bending both from the literature, my friend Tommy Jakobsson and Rick Canton. I was nervous not only for the thickness, but more about the graininess of the wenge and having to bend it across the grain on an angle. I did some experimenting on smaller pieces in advance and ended up cutting a groove on the underside of the top where the bend starts. It kind of worked, I think. It’s being glued right now so I will know soon enough.

Full pictorial progress below: