The Alma model is based on Jerry García’s Tiger guitar. If you know it, you’ll have noticed the influence in the shape of the horns and even more at the controls, with an additional jack for connecting an effects loop.
This is my first solid guitar, and I didn’t want to make something easy, so I decided to make it neckthrough. Eventually my design was easily modifiable, so I’ll be able to change the body shape and make different designs based on it.
If you are interested in the modification that I did for the electronics, I wrote a document that explains it:
https://www.guitarrasjaen.com/AlmaGuitarWiring.pdf
As all the guitars here, this one is just an example. If you want something similar but it is not exactly what you see, please take into account that you can change a lot of things, many without additional cost. Email me and we’ll talk!
Being a neckthrough design, the body has the neck laminations (maple core with two ipé pieces at both sides) plus the "wings", which are made of ovangkol. These are divided in two, top and main body, with a thin in-between laminate, made of natural and black-dyed maple, which reminds the "hippie sandwich" of Jerry's guitar. The top, which is curly, has a recess at the edge. The back side has a belly cut.
The core of the neck is maple, with two ipé pieces at both sides. The scale length is 25.5″ (648 mm). The nut has a width of 1 3/4″ (44.5 mm), made of bone (although eventually I installed a brass nut). The fretboard is ebony, and the frets are stainless steel (Jescar FW47104SS).
The tailpiece is a Kluson Jerry García.
Fishman Powerbridge, with individual piezo saddles.
The electronics is based on Jerry's guitar, which had a effects loop (hence the two jacks). The modifications are the following:
- The buffer that Jerry's guitar uses to drive the effects loop has an additional function as piezo preamp. This is complemented with a blend potentiometer between both sources (magnetic and piezo).
- Jerry's guitar was active at all times. This would be very questionable today, so I installed a passive/active switch.
- The arrangement of the pickups is different (HSH). Also, when the humbuckers are used as single coils, the positions 2 and 4 of the Fender-style switch make a humbucker with the middle pickup.
All this (and more) is explained here: https://www.guitarrasjaen.com/AlmaGuitarWiring.pdf
The pickups are the DP100BK (neck), DP100FBK (bridge, with F spacing, 52 mm) and the DP111BK at the middle position. There is a common ring for the three pickups, made of a ebony. maple and cocobolo laminate. It is reinforced at the neck side (where it is thinner) with an internal fiberglass structure:
The internal fiberglass reinforcement can be seen between the two wooden pieces above and below:
Schaller M6-135 machines, with ebony buttons.
D’Addario EJ21 (11-48) strings.
Nitrocellulose finish, red.
