Dylan Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 (edited) Hi everyone, A while back I posted a few questions about wiring this guitar in the Electronics forum and its finally done... about a month and a half ago, actually. I just forgot to post the pics. A little background info: I'm a sophomore in high school, and I made this for an independent study... I got school credit for it! Seven months in the making, but totally worth it. Feedback is welcome. Specs: Body Wood: 2-piece Cherry w/Sapwood (Solid) "Rosette" Inlay Around Bridge: Wenge Neck Pickup: Gibson 490R Bridge Pickup: None Other Pickup: Fishman Powerbridge w/ Powerchip preamp Controls: Magnetic Volume, Piezo Volume, 3-Way (Mag/Both/Piezo) Switch Neck: Fender Duosonic 22.5" Scale (Tuned One Whole Step Up: F#,B,E,A,C#,F#) Neck + Fingerboard Wood: Maple Tuners: Gotoh Mini Schaller Style Nut Width: 1.625" EDIT: It needs a name... all I could think of is Cygnus, a cool constellation. Does that sound good? Suggestions? Edited January 13, 2006 by Dylan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted January 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Looks nice. Why did you decide to put the tailpiece so far back and use string trees? Also, can we get some pics of the back of the guitar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 GROSS.......dave mathews. Looks nice, i like the look of the string trees at the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted January 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 The bridge is that far back because otherwise it would be right over the inlay... which wouldn't have been horrible to cover a little of it up, but this way is different and unique. Here's the back... in some ways it actually has nicer grain than the top, but I like the wavy grain on the top and the semi-straight stuff on the back. This picture shows another couple of unconventional things... the pickup cavity is rear routed to keep more of the topwood showing, and it looks cool. Also, the electronics cavity is pretty big. The benefit of that is that the wiring was nice and spread out, nothing like trying to wire a Tele cavity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertonessuckbutigotone Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 im assuming ur in the US, how did u do that (for credits), im a sophomore also. did the school system fund any of it, how does that work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeiscosRock Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Thats awesome. I'm also a Sophomore and I'm looking to start my first build (not counting my Kit) here pretty soon. I have to get some working room in the garage first, then it's smooth sailing (not counting all the screwups) Hope it turns out as great as that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 (edited) Nice work! There some design I've never seen before. ie. the string trees between bridge and tailpiece. I'll bet you get some smooth bending with that longer string setup. Edited January 13, 2006 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted January 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 (edited) silvertonessuckbutigotone- Yeah, I'm in the US, Maine specifically... I don't know if your school has independent or directed study programs, but I just talked to my school counselor and she set me up. However, I did need to pay for it ($400 worth of parts and wood) and find an "outside mentor" (my brother) who was able to watch me through the whole thing to make sure I didn't screw up too bad. I was basically given about a semester or so to do it and just presented it to the guy in charge of independent studies the other day. If you want to get credit, ask your school counselor or whoever you talk to to see if that kind of program is available. TeiscosRock- Cool, are you working with someone? It goes a lot smoother with a knowlegeble carpenter around to show you how to fix it when your router jumps and takes a chunk out of your instrument... that happened, by the way. Southpa- Thanks. The bending and playability in general is real easy, partially because of that longer string length you mentioned, partially because it was a good Fender neck that I used. Compared to my Gibson SG, for example... this thing plays like butter, though it doesnt sound as good. My only big regret is that it's so easy to play that you've got to be careful not to play too hard, so really your attack is limited to fairly light, which is fine for fingerpicking but annoying for flatpicking. Thanks for the comments, guys. -Dylan- Edited January 13, 2006 by Dylan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 cool, nice job first time ive seen a rosette used on a solid body! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 (edited) That's a really cool pickup mounting technique. also.... nice hat Edited January 13, 2006 by JohnA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted January 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 (edited) nice hat It looks funny in the picture... but its probably because my hair is huge and it makes the hat puff out. But that's ok cause I have a cool guitar! Edited January 14, 2006 by Dylan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoughtless 7 Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 I must say that is one of the nicest guitars i've seen. How does it sound and feel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
signguy Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Great Guitar! nice job. I think I need to go back to school. Seems way cooler than when I was there! lol And btw..... You keep that Dave Matthews poster up and show it with pride... ! You gotta give credit where it's due. No, he's no guitar god, but have you ever seen his guitarist Tim Reynolds play accoustic? Get your hands on a copy of his VH1 Storytellers video, it'll blow you away. I know it's off topic, but he'd one of the most talented songwriter / singer / instrumentalists to come around in a loooong time.. One of the most under rated musicians of today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted January 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 I must say that is one of the nicest guitars i've seen. How does it sound and feel? Wow, thanks. As far as the feel of the guitar goes, its very easy to play because the action is nice and low and the neck is pretty fast, but I feel like the short scale neck is a bit restricting because I'm so used to a regular scale neck... I needed a neck quickly and that one was available to me for cheap, but someday soon I'll build a full scale neck for it. Probably before I get out of high school so I can get more credit. Regarding sound, the piezo is great, especially through an acoustic amp or PA. It's very realistically acoustic-sounding. The humbucker is a little to bass-heavy when its clean, probably because its too close to the neck and the warmer, middle-section of the string scale. With distortion its good, but it gets a little muddy if you play too sloppy. If found that if I play clean with a bit of chorus on, the muddiness goes away and I get a much fuller sound. I'm gonna record something with it and post a link to the sound clip later tonight. Thanks again for the comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted January 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 (edited) Here's a link to me playing a shortened Over the Hills and Far Away with both the magnetic and piezo on and a little bit of chorus: Nowhere Radio It's run from the guitar to my Marshall acoustic amp to my iMac. Lemme know what you think. @ signguy- Hell yeah, I've heard Timmy! I've never heard the VH1 Storytellers, but I own Live at Luther College which is just Dave and Tim doing acoustic stuff... it's awesome. Edited January 14, 2006 by Dylan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazingblake Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Thats really cool and different thats something to be proud of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Wow! i realy like this! Just remember that if you get a longer neck, the scale length will be differant, so youl have to remember to mount it higher up, if you just went and say bought a 25.5" scale neck and put it where your neck is just now (im asuming less than 25.5" here as you said short scale) the bridge will be in the wrong place and your intonation will be out. The rossete is a nice touch. Can i just say enter it in GOTM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted January 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Wow! i realy like this! Just remember that if you get a longer neck, the scale length will be differant, so youl have to remember to mount it higher up, if you just went and say bought a 25.5" scale neck and put it where your neck is just now (im asuming less than 25.5" here as you said short scale) the bridge will be in the wrong place and your intonation will be out. Yeah, I know. It's 22.5" now, and I would build have to a special neck to accomodate it without moving the bridge. The rossete is a nice touch. Can i just say enter it in GOTM! How do I do that?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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