TLDR;
I've always been a fan of Status and Dingwall, but neither would make a 37"-34" headless multiscale. I knew the luthier, Juho Manninen (of Manninen Custom Instruments) through a friend, and met him in Finland back in summer 2023. We roughed out the basic specs and the order was placed in 09/2023, so the lead time turned out to be roughly 5 months.
Above is the final 3D model I created in Blender which was also used to generate all 2D drawings used in the process. The body was based on the old Status Series 2 shape with some modifications, the shape is a bit elongated and the curves have been streamlined a bit.
I've had some issues with my hands and shoulder, so we aimed for an instrument as lightweight as possible. The final weight is pretty laughable 3.2kg/7lbs flat and the bass balances perfectly (it's even slightly body heavy). The strings are likewise relatively light for a B-standard tuning, the gauges are 35-45-65-80-105 (Rotosound RS66EL with an added .035 G). No problems with tone and the light strings sound fantastic when played up the neck.
The main specs:
- A lightweight poplar body of ~40mm thickness. To be precise, I specified "any light piece of wood" and that's what Juho had sitting around in the shop.
- Chameleon finish over a black base coat using KP HyperShift ZTP pigment mixed in the gloss lacquer.
- A wenge neck and FB with carbon fiber reinforcement rods, 37-34" multiscale, 24 stainless steel frets (Jescar 47104-S), 20" radius, Luminlay side markers and logo, satin finish. I opted to have the grain filled for a smoother feel.
- Nova Guitar Parts hardware.
- EMG 45DC pickups and BTS preamp.
- A bottle opener, to be used carefully as the wood is quite soft.
The finish is impossible to photograph, but it shifts from blues to purples to fuchsia and amber at extreme angles. Also added a handful of shots from the bench below. Thanks for reading!
I've always been a fan of Status and Dingwall, but neither would make a 37"-34" headless multiscale. I knew the luthier, Juho Manninen (of Manninen Custom Instruments) through a friend, and met him in Finland back in summer 2023. We roughed out the basic specs and the order was placed in 09/2023, so the lead time turned out to be roughly 5 months.
Above is the final 3D model I created in Blender which was also used to generate all 2D drawings used in the process. The body was based on the old Status Series 2 shape with some modifications, the shape is a bit elongated and the curves have been streamlined a bit.
I've had some issues with my hands and shoulder, so we aimed for an instrument as lightweight as possible. The final weight is pretty laughable 3.2kg/7lbs flat and the bass balances perfectly (it's even slightly body heavy). The strings are likewise relatively light for a B-standard tuning, the gauges are 35-45-65-80-105 (Rotosound RS66EL with an added .035 G). No problems with tone and the light strings sound fantastic when played up the neck.
The main specs:
- A lightweight poplar body of ~40mm thickness. To be precise, I specified "any light piece of wood" and that's what Juho had sitting around in the shop.
- Chameleon finish over a black base coat using KP HyperShift ZTP pigment mixed in the gloss lacquer.
- A wenge neck and FB with carbon fiber reinforcement rods, 37-34" multiscale, 24 stainless steel frets (Jescar 47104-S), 20" radius, Luminlay side markers and logo, satin finish. I opted to have the grain filled for a smoother feel.
- Nova Guitar Parts hardware.
- EMG 45DC pickups and BTS preamp.
- A bottle opener, to be used carefully as the wood is quite soft.
The finish is impossible to photograph, but it shifts from blues to purples to fuchsia and amber at extreme angles. Also added a handful of shots from the bench below. Thanks for reading!
