Robert Fripp hollow build diary..

Here we will follow one of the first Robert Fripp Hollowbody Signature prototypes through from design to completion..
Some processes and details have changed over the years but this is nonetheless an interesting glimpse of the build processes involved in creating a new custom guitar.

 As with any guitar we begin at a timberyard.. I select all my timber by hand to ensure that it is all of prime quality.  I walk around with a moisture tester so that I know how long the wood has to remain in my workshop before it is dry enough to use.. generally six months to a year.. Another prime consideration is that all my timber is ecologically friendly.. this means that as much as possible it has to be from a sustainable farm.  Unfortunately most timber has to travel to get to the UK and therefore some damage is done this way.

 the first process after machining each plank to the correct thickness is to joint the body.  Most luthiers use a powertool to do this but using that method does not ensure a perfect joint.  I use razor-sharp hand planes.. for some things the old methods are still the best!

 once the joint is perfect then the body is glued together.  Over the years I've used many different types of glue, ranging from hide glue, (made from animal skins etc) which is used mainly for traditional violin-building, to various types of PVA.. recently a furniture maker/designer friend of mine introduced me to polyeurethane glue which seeps into the timber and uses any moisture left in the wood to speed up the drying process.  This does two things, it reduces the moistre content of the wood furthur and also means that the joint is generally dry very soon after clamping!! 

All necks on RF models are made using a multi-laminate system.. each piece is placed with the grain running opposite to that of it's neighbour which counteracts the timbers natural tendency to warp whilst under tension and the stresses and strains of a gigging musician.

The truss rods that I use are two-way adjustable and have a very small cross-section which means that after routing out the channel there is as much wood as possible, this is to aid both the strength and sustain of the neck

The truss rod is in place and has small spacers of foam on top to guard against any possible rattle when the fingerboard is glued in place

 After glueing the fingerboard on it is trimmed down to size on first the bandsaw and then using a small router with a bearing cutter.  The bearing cutter follows the exact shape of the neck..

 the fingerboard is then planed, again by hand, to the correct camber.  In Roberts case I use a compound radius which aids playability at both the nut and in the higher regions of the fretboard.

 the scale length, as with much else about this guitar, is based on Robert's penchant for the Les Paul.  Each fret position is marked no the fretboard by hand.. and carefully!

 and then cut with a much modified tenon saw.  Each fret slot has to be perfectly straight and at a right-angle to the fingerboard, also if it is cut too deep you are in danger of removing some of the structural integrity gained by having a seperate fingerboard.

 the small abalone fret markers are glued in place and then filed and sanded flush with the fingerboard.

 I use stainless steel frets with a very low profile of Robert's guitar, these enable a very very low action and superb playability, and as they are stainless steel they last a very long time.. even though Robert plays more in a day than your average guitarist!

 As with all guitars that come out of the Crimson Guitars workshop our frets are installed using both pressure and glue..  the use of pressure, ie. banging them in, adds stability to the fingerboard and the glue fills any small spaces left behind which makes for a completely solid joint.  I've had guitars in the workshop for repair that have had loose frets and this means that any slight change in temperature, humidity or string tension scuppers any tuning stability you might have!

 The fret ends are trimmed off after the glue has dried..

 and then carefully profiled with a small flat file which I've modified on a grinder.. basically the edges have been rounded over in order to guard against damaging the fingerboard.

 The headstock is a very important part of the guitar, and one of the most difficult parts to successfully design!.  The main point that I insist on is straight string-pull from the nut to the tuners, this negates the possibility of the string snagging in the nut slot and causing that horrible creaking sound.  Another important factor is the break-angle of the headstock, to shallow and you have very little tension on the strings and the opposite if you have too great an angle, this is especially important where you are to be using the New Standard Tuning system with the added stress and strain this puts on your guitar.

 the headstock is shaped using various tools including the bobbin sander above, it means that I have ultimate control over headstock design and can change the shape to suit each customer, bearing in mind the parameters discussed above.

 the side dots are arguably the most important visual aid for a guitarist, they usually come in rods of plastic which are glued in 2mm holes drilled for that purpose.  They are then trimmed down and scraped flat to the fingerboard.

 The inlaid 'Squiggle' logo is cut out of a sheet of abalone.. no fancy lazer-cutters here!

 and then scored around with a sharp knife and, using a very sharp chisel, I recess the cavity to the perfect size and depth for the inlay.

 and here you have it. 

 The nut is shaped out of top-quality bone, although I do use carbon graphite composites from time to time, and is placed in the correct position to utilise the Buzz Feiton tuning system.  The extensive carving serves no real purpose except aesthetically.. I like it.

 The front and back of the body blank is planed to the correct thickness in preperation for all the routing to follow and also to create a good glueing surface for the cap.

 All the tone-chambers are pre-drilled, this reduces wear-and-tear on the router when it comes to cutting them to their correct size and depth.

 Which takes a surprisingly long time to do.  Essentially what we have here are fifteen seperate tone-chambers which serve a dual purpose, namely to reduce the weight of the guitar to a manageable level and also to enhance the natural tones of the sustainably farmed mahogany.  The first prototype had just one very large chamber and at high gain/volume microphonic feedback was the unlloked for result, by having lots of seperate chambers that risk is almost completely negated.

 the final result.  Obviously around the controls some of these cavities will be enlarged but I decided to keep this format in case a customer wants to order less than the full complement of electrickeries.

 The neck after being fretted and inlaid is now ready for final shaping prior to being glued into the body.  A variety of tools and methods are used.. most of which I keep to myself, I feel that I need to kep a few trade secrets out of the public domain.

 Needless to say my Japanese saw-file does play a big part!  The neck is based on the measurements I took from one of Roberts 1959 Les Pauls, it makes for a surprisingly comfortable neck.  (although, being a custom shop, this is entirely up for modification to meet your needs!)

 I use a deep-set-neck-tenon joint, this has all the benefits of a through-neck design (massive sustain and warmth with a boosted tonal response) but looks like a standard neck as you can't see it from the back of the guitar.  The main reason for the increased response is that the neck begins directly underneath the bridge and transmits the vibration of the strings effectively throughout the guitar.

 here is the joint after being cleaned up and triple checked for a perfect fit!

 and finally it is all mated together and left underclamping pressure for at least 24 hours to ensure that the glue has fully set.

 The cap in this case is also mahogany, though highly figured maple is an option, this is to add furthur to the tonal response of the guitar.  Mahogany adds warmth and richness to an instrument, and that is what we require!

 the cap is cut to size on the bandsaw

 and then the neck-joint is very very carefully marked out, needless to say what we require here is a perfect fit.

 Nearly every clamp in the workshop is used to ensure that perfectly stable joint.

 We start to have a guitar.. All the control cavities are marked out and double-checked.  Including the positions of all the controls for the various pieces of electrical wizardry that Robert employs.

 everything is predrilled, and the positions are all checked once again, prior to routing.

 which furthur reduces the weight of the guitar, no more 12lb beasts that break your back after a 3 hour set, I'm aiming for a model that weighs in between seven and eight pounds only (bearing in mind that the Kahler 2200 bridge is pretty much a block of solid steel!)

 you see here how large the control cavity has to be to fit the sustainer, GK3 and regular controls in an ergonomic fashion.

The one modification to the body shape that I felt was neccessary was the smoothing off of the neck joint..

to this, it basically adds a few more frets to your range of easily accessable notes, which can't be a bad thing?

much sanding, final finishing and finicky bits are performed prior to sending the guitar off to be sprayed

Some hardware is installed once she returns.. the Kahler 2200 trem system is massively stable and with a Fernandes sustainer and Wizard pickups we have an incredible range of tones to choose from.

and after a final setup.. she meets her new master!