NGD!! Stringmaster T8 - Questions

[Tony Oresteen]

Well, I FINALLY bought a 1978ish Stringmaster T8 24.5" scale in black with the original case. It is in great shape. Only took me 4 years to do it.

Questions:

1. What kind of wood did Fender use to make these in the 70's?

2. Do the front & back chrome diamonds hide access to steel rods that hold the 3 neck together?

3. What is the proper way to disassemble these? No, I'm not going to take it apart - yet.

4. Could a 4th neck be added to make it a quad?


Thanks in advance!!!!!!

[Bill Hatcher]

Well, I FINALLY bought a 1978ish Stringmaster T8 24.5" scale in black with the original case. It is in great shape. Only took me 4 years to do it.

Questions:

1. What kind of wood did Fender use to make these in the 70's?

2. Do the front & back chrome diamonds hide access to steel rods that hold the 3 neck together?

3. What is the proper way to disassemble these? No, I'm not going to take it apart - yet.

4. Could a 4th neck be added to make it a quad?


Thanks in advance!!!!!!

1. my guess is ash.
2. yes
3. pop off the diamonds. unscrew.
4. yes. all you would need is a neck that would be the correct height for either the front or back and a longer threaded rod. this is easily accomplished with more money. that might take you a few more years...

[Jeff Mead]

2 - Yes, there are hex bolts inder the plates that unscrew.

3 - Once the bolts are unscrewed the rods slide out and, theoretically the necks should come apart. However, chances are, it was bolted together before the laquer was dry so that has probably fused together over the years.

Also, if course, wiring runs between the necks so you need to disconnect that before separating the necks.

4 - Yes, theoretically but hard to find. The 4th, front neck (nearest the audience) is slightly thicker than all the others (you'll notice that they step up from 1 to 3) and they are the rarest and don't often come up for sale. Added to that, you'll have to find one that matches the scale length of your existing triple. I guess someone could make one. Maybe Jimmy Hudson but I don't know if he offers front quad necks (of the right thickness) as standard. Also, you'll need to drill a hole through the front of your current front neck for the electronics and you'll lose the front logo as that will be hidden by the new 4th neck. Also you'll have to plug the leg holes on your current 3rd neck. Chances are you'll have to refinish the whole thing. If you want to do a decent job, bearing in mind the amount you'd reduce the value of your triple (assuming it's all original) and the amount of work it'd need, you'd probably be better off selling it and buying a quad. Especially if you don't get lucky finding the extra hardware - buying all the parts separately can cost more than buying a complete one.

Finding a control plate and switches for the pickup selecter neck will be hard. You'll probably have to mod a different control plate

5. Then you need to make a case for it (good luck finding one!)

[Jeff Mead]

You might find this thread interesting about when I built my quad. Funilly enough, I started with a triple too (with a dodgy selecter switch) but, for me, it wasn't just a matter of adding a neck!!!

Mine is also "kind of" a triple converted to a quad or, at least, neck 3 is off of a double or a triple..

viewtopic.php?t=270347

[Robert Allen]

Hi Tony, these are the kind of projects I love to do. Making a 4th neck can be done, but not cheap. Here's what it'll probably look like when you take the triple apart. I made a single lefty from one section of a 26" scale T-8. Replacing the Fender decal isn't a problem.

[Jeff Mead]

4. yes. all you would need is a neck that would be the correct height for either the front or back

Definitely needs one the correct height for the front. The back neck on a triple is already the thinnest one Fender made.

[Stephen Cowell]

Have you ever played the back (front) neck on a quad? I'd give that a go before deciding to go through the hassle. Of course, that nice original case would no longer fit... the neck behind the front neck will have leg sockets in it unless you just hang the new neck over the front (might not be too bad). Quads are unreasonably heavy too... just buy yourself another D8 if you want more than 3 necks going.

So find another Stringmaster, like a D8 in 24", and set it up in front of your T8... this will give you the feel of a 5 neck guitar! Rose Sinclair has a nice picture of this somewhere. My point... fat guy like me can barely reach three necks, let alone four... and your guitar will be worth less afterward. Probably cheaper to just find a quad, they come up often enough.

[Erv Niehaus]

Here's a picture of my quad.
When I bought it it was painted blue, not once, but twice!
I completely disassembled it, refinished it and put it back together again.

[Joe Cook]

Wow Erv, that is a beauty!

[Tony Oresteen]

Thanks all! I don't have enough nerve or good reason to take it apart yet. Some more questions that have come to mind:

1. What did Fender specify for pickup hight on the bass side? Treble side?

2. What three tunings are used most often with the T8?

3. Were extention legs available for a standing position vs sitting?

Thanks!!

[Jeff Mead]

3. Were extention legs available for a standing position vs sitting?

Unless you are sepecially tall, the standard legs should work for either.

Not aware of them offering extentions or alternative legs.

[Steve Spitz]

I wouldn’t want to do the irreversible damage to your existing triple neck.

I think it would be better to save your dough, and buy a quad, then sell the triple. Yes it may take awhile, but after selling an unmolested triple, it might not be too steep.

Finding or making that outside neck , and all the parts would be a workout.

It’s yours to do as you wish, but it would be a drag to butcher up the triple.

[Erv Niehaus]

Some years ago there were some Stringmaster parts for sale on ebay.
I bought them and the fellow said that he had the neck if I wanted it.
I told him to include the neck along with the parts and this is what I came up with.
It wasn't quite finished when I took the picture.

[Tony Oresteen]

Thanks all again. Do not worry! I have no plans to butcher my T8. I am very sure that what I have in mind will be acceptable to all .

For now I am going to use the Fender Stratocaster specs for string height (vintage pickups) - 0.125" bass side and 0.094" treble side (1/8" & 3/32").