hardlyneeded Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Because doing it the right way, or even remotely close to the right way would be no fun I present to you, a work in progress. I know what you're thinking. --> Yes, that my friends, is a guitar body cut from two 3/4" pieces of MDF glued together with a neck slapped on and strung up. Thank you. Thank you very much. Now you're thinking --> leads to leads to I wanted to make sure that I wasn't buying $60 worth of wood and then a crap load of tools and hating it so I did the exact opposite. $4 worth of glued sawdust, a $6 saw, a $9 hammer, a $7 chisel, some free sandpaper, and a borrowed drill. I rule! Everyone else can now feel better about their works in progress. Blog documenting the progress, although only started fairly recently, is linked in my signature. Feel free to say whatever nasty things you can think of. I've said 'em to myself a couple of times already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadmike Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 i think thats a grand job! get some pups in there and report back on what it sounds like!! i was considering using MDF and the only reason i didnt was because of the safety issues with MDF dust. say what you like, if you can make a good guitar from acrylic then why not MDF! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!!METAL MATT!! Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 (edited) HAHAHAHA MDF that's great Finily someone tryed it and posted pics HAHAHA It looks good!! dont paint it just put some kind of a finish on it dont cover that MDF put some pickups in and have some fun. !!METAL MATT!! Edited November 11, 2004 by !!METAL MATT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 To be honest I was in the process of making an mdf guitar out of scrap but I'd rather not comment on its current status hehe. I am curious to know how it will sound because of the density of the wood being so high I would think even low quality MDF would have to some good sustain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dugz Ink Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Dude... its' perfect for the Trailer Park Concert Tour. YEEEEE-HAAAAW! (My prototype was made out of $6 of Pine... which clogged up tons of sandpaper.) D~s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Its not dense at all, only the outer 1mm on each side is dense. It is heavy, doesnt accept screws well, and has no accoustical properties (its used as an insulator of sound), and is suseptable (sp?) to humidity fluctuations, but hey, other than that, its perfect for guitars.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 $4 worth of glued sawdust, a $6 saw, a $9 hammer, a $7 chisel, some free sandpaper, and a borrowed drill. I rule! Uhhh, didn't Connie the Conehead play one of those back in the '80's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Cavanaugh Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 I got a free slab of 2" MDF, and it resonates better than the Mahoghany I'm using on my nice guitar believe it or not... I'm making and LP JR body out of it, and I think I'm going to be making a headless, using a neck whose headstock was destroyed in an unfortunate tuner reaming incident... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stageleft Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 My first from scratch was made on a dare out of a 2x6 found in the basement of my condo.... so at least you started out with something new It looks great, Be interested to find out how it sounds..... George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfcoast Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 hehe Don't feel bad about using MDF. I was looking for something cheap to practice with. I didn't want to spend $50 ish and ruin a good piece of wood. While I was walking thru Home Depot I hit on an idea. I bought a pine 2x8 that was 12 feet long. Had the guy there cut it in 20" lengths. After I got it home, I trimmed the edges and then glued them together. All in all, I spent $10 and had enough wood for 3 guitar blanks. I still have one of these blanks left to practice with. Right now I can't do a thing though. All my stuff is in shipment to Guam from Washington state (Navy) Once I finally get there I'm going to finish one more practice run and start on the nice Alder blank I bought from Stewmac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 I got a free slab of 2" MDF, and it resonates better than the Mahoghany I'm using on my nice guitar believe it or not... No offense, but no, it doesn't. Or you dont know what you are listening for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Cavanaugh Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 No offense, but no, it doesn't. Or you dont know what you are listening for. I went and did an A\B test and yeah, you were right, it's actually very dead sounding, especailly compare to my body with the resonance enhancing contours! Oh wait, that was my Epi Les Paul I compared it to originally... my bad! I checked it again and there are some places on the Paul that are pretty resonant while other spots are really dead. I Think they used like some sort of Asian Pine for the back instead of Mahoghany, it's really very light for a Les Paul! If it were better, why would we waste money on old growth, non-recycled wood again?!?!?! Duh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadmike Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 this thread is giving me all kinds of ideas, the concept that a guitar can be made of materials other than than quality hardwoods.... wheres that old toilet seat! ?? what a mean axe that would make! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Cavanaugh Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 wheres that old toilet seat! ?? what a mean axe that would make! It's been done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 lol at the toilet seat idea. Anyhow how do these guitars made with synthetic materails sound in the end. I have seen acrylic guitars, but one can only wonder if they are more of a show piece then a quality instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 No offense, but no, it doesn't. Or you dont know what you are listening for. I went and did an A\B test and yeah, you were right, it's actually very dead sounding, especailly compare to my body with the resonance enhancing contours! Oh wait, that was my Epi Les Paul I compared it to originally... my bad! I checked it again and there are some places on the Paul that are pretty resonant while other spots are really dead. I Think they used like some sort of Asian Pine for the back instead of Mahoghany, it's really very light for a Les Paul! If it were better, why would we waste money on old growth, non-recycled wood again?!?!?! Duh! sigh...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 There's been a few acrylic guitars that sound alright. The last couple of Foo Fighters albums, Dave Grohl played an Ampeg-Dan Armstrong for most of the songs. I think I've seen Keith Richards and Joe Perry play 'em too. Ibanez also made a few acrylic JS guitars as well. I think the key to using alternative materials is to use things that will actually sort of resonate. You can build a guitar out of MDF, cow dung, and beeswax, but it's still going to sound like crap. However, if you have enough scratch lying around, you could commission Waterford to blow a crystal glass body for your next guitar. Resonant, sure. Bright? Off the chart. Pricey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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