A hybrid mongrel guitar project


original guitars
 I had two defunct guitars. The J&D had neck issues. The problem with the Ibanez was that I just couldn't get the intonation right. I tried every trick I knew without success. Moving the bridge seemed like too much work.

One day I got an idea to combine the best parts of those two to build one playable guitar - why not? They were just collecting dust on the wall.

First job was to fit Ibanez neck to J&Dīs body. Some woodwork was expected, but to my surprise it was a perfect fit - just like that!

filling old screw holesfinished neck

I used barbecue sticks and epoxy to fill old screw holes.

removing wood from bodytwo different bridges


It was necessary to move the bridge a little backwards. First I removed some wood from the tremolo cavity to make space. The J&D had a two point tremolo and it would have been difficult to move that. Luckily I had another, vintage-style, tremolo. As you can see above, the two point tremolo has two notches to fit the posts. The baseplate of a vintage tremolo is straight and so it would move further back from the posts.

new tremolo
 The original posts didn't hold the tremolo properly and they were too thin. I found two machine screws that hold the tremolo in the right place. I got perfect intonation after adjustment. Those screws are not pretty, though.

I took pickups from the Ibanez, they were slightly better (not great). After other necessary adjustments it was time to plug the guitar in. And itīs not bad!

It kind of combines the ergonomics of a strat type body with the easy playability of a short scale neck,

One day I might give the thing a new paint job, and remove those bindings. Yes, they look nice, but I like rounded edges. They make a guitar more comfortable to play.

Oh, and new pickups. And ...
 finished guitar


ĐJukka Korppi 2017
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