mledbetter Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 OK folks.. i've designed my first project.. see what you all think. I especially want to know if there is a design i'm ripping off.. I'm one of those that sees a thousand things and some of it may come out in my designs without me knowing it. So anyway.. here goes.. My next step is a pine prototype to get my sanding and contouring down.. Thanks.. any and all input and or feedback is welcome.. you won't hurt my feelings. -marcus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyykko Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Looks great mledbetter! I'd consider carving the horns and maybe increasing the size of the headstock just a bit. It looks a bit imbalanced to the heavy rear end of the body Otherwise looks great, I can't wait to see the pinewood prototype! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Nice design!! It's smooth and proportional, and looks comfortably familiar without looking like a copy of a well-known guitar. If it feels as good as it looks, you've got a winner!! I'm not crazy about the headstock shape - might want to sculpt it a bit to avoid getting into "trade dress" trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 OK folks.. i've designed my first project.. see what you all think. I especially want to know if there is a design i'm ripping off.. I'm one of those that sees a thousand things and some of it may come out in my designs without me knowing it. So anyway.. here goes.. My next step is a pine prototype to get my sanding and contouring down.. Thanks.. any and all input and or feedback is welcome.. you won't hurt my feelings. -marcus ← Well, obviously it's a "based-on" guitar, but there's nothing wrong with adapting a traditional guitar design to suit your own tastes/needs. I like the way the top of the headstock reflects part of the curve of the body--maybe at the bottom of the headstock it gets kind of sharp, maybe round those point out? (It might help to make the headstock a little larger, like someone else pointed out--that way you'd get a better sense of proportion with the body). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Thanks so far.. Yeah I got some headstock issues.. 1. the headstock is too PRS'ish.. and 2. it's too small. I was working at scale with the body and neck, they are actually dimensioned in freehand but the headstock I just eyeballed and it's too small. I like the straight stringpath though and that kind of forces that shape.. i'll keep playing, as it throws off the balance being so small. Thanks for the input.. i'll be working on the headstock some more.. I thinkn I can tie it more into the non-cutaway horn and have that design tie in.. it's important to me that visually it's all cohesive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Thanks so far.. Yeah I got some headstock issues.. 1. the headstock is too PRS'ish.. and 2. it's too small. I was working at scale with the body and neck, they are actually dimensioned in freehand but the headstock I just eyeballed and it's too small. I like the straight stringpath though and that kind of forces that shape.. i'll keep playing, as it throws off the balance being so small. Thanks for the input.. i'll be working on the headstock some more.. I thinkn I can tie it more into the non-cutaway horn and have that design tie in.. it's important to me that visually it's all cohesive. ← I like what THIS GUY did with his headstock....it's a nice subtle twist on the classic les paul shape... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 thats a ESP headstock. Just incase you dont want to use a companys headstock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Yeah that's pretty cool.. but definitely has an ESP vibe going.. I like pointer headstocks.. like the McNaught phoenix's had.. I don't want a rectangular classic gibson/gretch/guild type of headstock.. It'll have to be a little more contemporary to compliment the contemporary lines in the body.. As it stands, i have a killer piece of ash that is ready to start shaping. A buddy of mine (the one with all the tools) actually ordered it for me and I'm afraid that he got gouged (came as 2 pieces of 2x7x22 stock from Exotic Woods) but it is light as a feather and has beautiful grain. I'm not going to top it.. it'll be kind oflike the old prs swamp ash specials.. except I won't put a cheesy looking single coil in the middle position. lol. I ruined my first neck, will have to try again but maple is a lot cheaper than the ash.. as soon as I have pics of something worth showing i'll throw it up here. Thanks again for the comments and if thee is anything to add, throw it my way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Yeah if you want straight string pull you're stuck with either that shape or a 6-in-line shape, because you want the tuner holes to all be the same distance from the edge of the headstock. On the other had, you could add a kind of "flare" to the end of the headstock, like Ovation does. Ovation headstock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Yeah if you want straight string pull you're stuck with either that shape or a 6-in-line shape, because you want the tuner holes to all be the same distance from the edge of the headstock. On the other had, you could add a kind of "flare" to the end of the headstock, like Ovation does. Ovation headstock ← I'm going to split the difference I think and widen it a bit, and elongate it.. not completely straight string path, but not as bent as a traditional acoustic headstock.. I have a 6 inline version already designed.. and ultimately my goal with this is a body outline that is unique to me, that i can leave flat and dress like a tele, or carve and dress like a LP. I'll use a maple neck with 6 inline peghead for the tele style, and use a mahogany 3x3 peghead for the other style. Scale on both is 25 even. After the two single cut builds i'll do the same with a double cut that can either be a strat style instrument, or a carved 2 humbucker instrument like a carved soloist style. I have all the hardware and electronics to build a tele, so i'll do that one first... I'll follow up real soon with a 2 hum version. On the 2 hum version, I have a friend that does technical airbrushing (nice way to say he's not an amusement park airbrusher and he's getting the technique down for doing this type of flame job. I want the guitar jet black with some flames like this, maybe not quite as strong, lapping up from the lower bout. I think it will look killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 I like it, it's the child of a marriage between and PRS singlecut and a Washburn Idol. Liek it's being mentioned, the headstock needs work, too skinny. A 3+3 is the way to go, but it's missing attitude. On the body I will also add a carve on the lower horns just to help with fret access. that's one think I hate about LPs. Remember this are just suggestions, in the end is your guitar and you are the one that have to be comfortable with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassisgreat Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 That's a terrific morphing of designs! I like it!! with the dual humbucker carved top, I think a subtle flame job, or even ghost flames would look super tasty!! Good luck, and keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushy the shroom Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 I like it a lot, but it looks a whole lot like a Yamaha AES. The differences are that your bevel doesn't go around the whole guitar, your lower horn is smaller, and your upper horn has a semi-cutaway. I think it looks different enough that people will make a distinction, but for a few guitar experts, it may be too similar. Here's a page about the AES: http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/Conten...223450,00.html# . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iced_ink Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 interesting shape..i have a similar project that i intend to start in a few months.Maybe i can post my photoshop design here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted March 6, 2005 Report Share Posted March 6, 2005 I like it a lot! I wonder, though, what it would look like with PRS-esque contours in the cutaways, especially on the top? The large flat area on the top "horn" looks a little incongruous with the rest of the shape, and a little carving nearer the neck would give it some shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Cut the test body out of MDF and started contouring.. Too bad we can't build guitars out of MDF.. that stuff sure is easy to work with I have added a contour that flows from one horn to the other horn.. kind of like fret access contouring. It certainly balances out the design a bunch. I have enlarged the headstock too. I'll post pics once the model is all contoured. I built the neck pocket jig last night per Myka's tutorial. i modified it to use T-slots and moveable hold downs and guide rails. With the modification I can simply make panels for it depending on what kind of guitar I am routing for and have a perfect jig that gets all my cavity routing dead on and I can even cut them after I contour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 7, 2005 Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Looks great so far, good luck with the rest of the project. Is it gonna be a set neck or bolt on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Looks great so far, good luck with the rest of the project. Is it gonna be a set neck or bolt on? ← That's what i'm in the process of engineering right now.. There is no room in my design for a heel and i'm determined to keep it that way, so I will probably do the PRS thing and have a thickerneck with the bolt on tongue lower to ride right under the neck pickup and install from the back with bushings and machine screws.. I guess the term is bolt-in as the tenon actually is IN the guitar. Should be a sustain/tone enhancement. I don't want to get into gluing if I can help it. Sonically I don't feel there is enough advantage when compared to a bolt-on that is properly executed. For now my model has an AANJ style interface but i'm going to make this bolt-in thing work and get rid of that.. The heel should start at about the 20th fret! For a strat player, that's pretty exciting considering I fight this brick like heel starting about the 16th fret. lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.