jammy Posted March 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 Pic1 Pic2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 2, 2006 Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 (edited) Wow! That is awesome! I love a nice simple binding on acoustics and this one is beautiful. Very nicely done! Whats the tap tone like now that the body is all glued together? Edited March 2, 2006 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted March 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 Great, actually. She's going to be a bright one but that's what I wanted - I've shaved down the sides of the top somwhat and it's got a great rich sustaining "thud" (for want of a better word) to it now Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlrhett Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 The upper transverse brace goes in just before fitting, as it's curvature is pretty critical and measurments need to be taken off the top to ensure it's right. As for the block of manogany with "wings", it's main purpose is to add mass under the fretboard extension, meaning that if you were ever to play that high up over the soundboard the notes wouldn't sound shite. The wings just add a little more support to that pretty in-active bit of soundboard. Interesting...is the rimset radiused (radius dish), or are you gluing the top on flat? Braces arched or not? If you've got a more idiot-proof way of setting the neck so that it all works out, that'd be great; how exactly are you taking these measurements? I'd appreciate it if you documented that well, with pictures and explanations. It's something I'm still not sure on, as far as the 'best' system is concerned. Right now I'm arching all the bracing spherically (25'), gluing to a domed top, and leaving the top thick under the fingerboard extension allowing me to 'level' the area once the top's together. The 25' radius arch puts the neck angle pretty close to where it needs to be. Others brace flat above the soundhole, and sand a small dropoff (less than 1/8", IIRC) from the soundhole to the head on otherwise arched/radiussed rims. The 'L' headblock extension I used on mine does pretty much the same thing your glued on bit does, I guess. Looks like this without the top or the notches in it: http://www.xs4all.nl/~mvalente/guitarpics/Body_GAB1_01.jpg With top in place (different guitar, though): http://www.xs4all.nl/~mvalente/guitarpics/body_gc1_13.jpg Shamelessly stole the idea and design from Al Carruth, so no points for originality there. Ok mattia, so what's with the x-brace on the back? Isn't that too much bracing? Do you get a good tap tone from the back braced like that? What about the final sound? Like it? What made you go that way? Just so you know, I think it looks awesome and am very intreagued. This isn't criticism, I'm really impressed by the cool design! It's just unusual and seems to go against the grain of what people usually try to do with backs (i.e. find ways for less bracing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 (edited) Ok mattia, so what's with the x-brace on the back? Isn't that too much bracing? Do you get a good tap tone from the back braced like that? What about the final sound? Like it? What made you go that way? Just so you know, I think it looks awesome and am very intreagued. This isn't criticism, I'm really impressed by the cool design! It's just unusual and seems to go against the grain of what people usually try to do with backs (i.e. find ways for less bracing). It's getting quite common among custom makers, acutally (variations on X-braced backs, that is). It's also not as massive as it looks; all the fingers and X's are a hair under 1/4" wide (6mm), making the overall mass compared to, say, standard martin bracing about the same. I didn't weigh it, but I guesstimate it's about as heavy as my first, more traditional back bracing was. I'll be lightening it up a little more for the next one, though, because I think it can handle that. Maybe even go double-X! As for 'tap', it puts the main resonance (far as I can tell) just about where I want it, a half-step/semitone under the main resonance for the top (there's a theory that this helps the so-called bass reflex couple, supporting the lowest notes which a guitar's air cavity is actually a bit small for), so that worked out nicely. What I like about the X is that it provides more control over stiffness (both cross and legnth) and gives the heavily domed back a more defined 'bowl' shape from the get-go, not only forcing the length-wise componend of it in via the back's front-to-back taper. Can't tell you how it sounds, because that guitar's not ready to string up yet, but there are many, many people using X-bracing on backs these days. Edited March 6, 2006 by mattia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalien21 Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 sorry, i have very little knowledge on the building of acoustics (or, anything else, really) but you've peaked my interest with that last comment. what, exactly, is a tap tone? or a mainresonance or anything like that. i'm in wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 sorry, i have very little knowledge on the building of acoustics (or, anything else, really) but you've peaked my interest with that last comment. what, exactly, is a tap tone? or a mainresonance or anything like that. i'm in wonder. Mattia will probably answer this better than me, but this is what it means to me. I think of it much like tuning drums(resonant and batter). As you get to the final stages of brace shaping. You notice a change in the way it sounds when you tap the wood(kinda like tuning down a drum head). The sound board will sound "tighter" tward the heavily braced areas(as you would expect) so it is not 100% uniform. This is not really a rocket science kinda thing. It is more subjective, and based on your perception and what you want the surfaces to do. You want the surfaces to respond to your tap, and keep ringing for while(like a bell). The surfaces do tighten back up a bit after you secure them to the rim(so you want them to be a little "loose" sounding before you glue them in place. I hope that made some sense? It makes a lot more sense when you have done a couple(hint, hint...nudge ). Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 sorry, i have very little knowledge on the building of acoustics (or, anything else, really) but you've peaked my interest with that last comment. what, exactly, is a tap tone? or a mainresonance or anything like that. i'm in wonder. Mattia will probably answer this better than me, but this is what it means to me. I think of it much like tuning drums(resonant and batter). As you get to the final stages of brace shaping. You notice a change in the way it sounds when you tap the wood(kinda like tuning down a drum head). The sound board will sound "tighter" tward the heavily braced areas(as you would expect) so it is not 100% uniform. This is not really a rocket science kinda thing. It is more subjective, and based on your perception and what you want the surfaces to do. You want the surfaces to respond to your tap, and keep ringing for while(like a bell). The surfaces do tighten back up a bit after you secure them to the rim(so you want them to be a little "loose" sounding before you glue them in place. I hope that made some sense? It makes a lot more sense when you have done a couple(hint, hint...nudge ). Peace,Rich Yeah, pretty much that; plates are much looser before you fix them to the rims, much more 'bell-like'. Once it's together, it's more like a drum. I'm really pretty much a complete n00b at this, having closed up a mere two boxes; what I meant with the pitch of the tap is the lowest main resonance (I believe it's called the A0; look up some of Al Carruth's post on the subject of tuning tops in the MIMF.com library, registering is free) for top and back is about a semitone apart. This can be 'measured' using so-called Chaldini patterns (glitter or tealeaf patterns formed when you drive the top at a certain frequency, and the frequency and shape tells you something about the plate). Alternately, you can 'find' the main top resonance (or back resonance) by tapping the top at the bridge location (once the box is closed, that is; the way you tap is a single finger, very lightly but firmly); the fundamental (low) note is the A0 resonance; you want the top and back to be close, but slightly out according to some folks. There's another resonance known as the ring+ mode (A1? I forget...I'm crap at the acutal math off the top of my head), and you can hear it like this: very, very lightly rest a fingertip at the bridge location, and lightly (but firmly) tap the top between the bridge location and the tail. What it all means? Dunno. But you really want to flex, tap, listen to your top as you thin it, brace it, shave it, glue it to the rims. See if you can correlate that to what you hear in the end. Dana Bourgeois used to have a couple of great articles on voicing up on his website, but they seem to have dissapeared. There are a bunch of discussions of various methods in the MIMF.com library, thought, that make more sense than my disconnected ramble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted March 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 I've started on the neck joint, and also cleaned the body up to 120 grit stage... That's the tapered end strip, it's a bad photo - but it's actually made out of the same flamed maple as the neck. click Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Beautifully clean work - I love the look of that EIR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted March 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Cheers EIR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 I'm loving that end work and the grain on the rosewood! This guitar has some of the most clean, crisp work I've seen around here in a long time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted March 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 Thanks Godin, that means alot, as it was just what I was working for. Simple but clean... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 12, 2006 Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 One question though. Maybe I missed it but in that last link the neck is sticking really far above the top. Why is that? Obviously thats going to be trimmed down right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted March 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2006 I've not finished the joint yet. Most of the work is done by the router, but the final fitting it done by hand - little adjustments on the male part of the dovtail will make it drop down and lock right into place, I'll then trim some off the base of the heel before gluing it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted March 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Right - After a day of fine tuning with chisels and files I've got the neck glued on. It's a great tight fit 8) The heel cap's also in place, and the heel is shaped up, expect pictures of that tomorrow, but for now have this one from my camera phone.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I've started on the neck joint, and also cleaned the body up to 120 grit stage... That's the tapered end strip, it's a bad photo - but it's actually made out of the same flamed maple as the neck. click Looking great! I might be seeing a shadow in the pic, but is the lower binding BWB and the upper binding BW? If so it looks like the black on the lower edge was clipped at the end strip(that is a nice touch). I usually bind around the end strip and miter the binding into the upper and lower binding, but this method looks pretty nice(simple and very clean ). How about a shot of the back, so we can see how that heal cap looks. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 A couple more pics, as promised The heel - it's still rough, but you get the idea.... Hung on my wall next to the strat http://www.solar.myby.co.uk/misc/andy/acoustic/18.jpg As for the binding and such... The stuff I used is maple, but with an ebony strip running through it (with another mm or so of maple underneath) I just ran it straight past the end strip, no mitering ot anything, and that's how it looks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted March 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwhiteandthemaple Posted March 30, 2006 Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 I LOVE YOUR STRAT!!! It's nice to see an acoustic get built from time to time. So rare Also, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted March 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 The yellow mark is just where the glue seaped out when I was gluing up the blocks. It'll be carved out when the neck gets done - no problem cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted April 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2006 Well, it's making noises, and really nice ones too! More pics to come... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 looks great man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted April 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 Right, there's a better picture - as you can see it's not been sprayed yet. I lost one of the ebony bridge pins, and that's all I had spare, by the way http://www.j4mie.org/misc/dmgdemo.mp3 Thats a little badly recorded soundclip, but it gives the basic idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.Dodding Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 Looks great, sounds great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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