InSasquatchCountry Posted August 18, 2008 Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 I have a question about the bridge. How does it feel? I don't like FRs because they get in the way like the volume nob on a strat but WAY worse and they are ugly. Are these better? I love the pro rock'r bride on the 84 Ibanez Roadstars, and this looks kind of like it. If so then this looks like something I would want for my next built. Would you be willing to make a video of you playing a song and posting it on youtube? Maybe give some specifics so I can build one too? I especially want to know the ins and outs of you sustainer circuit and driver. I would love to build one. I have the tools I just need the know-how (thats you). YOU ARE SOO COOL!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted August 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2008 YOU ARE SOO COOL!! I just wanted to see that written again... I have a question about the bridge. How does it feel? In an earlier post I go into the bridge, and there is a pinned thread on Kahlers. This is the first one that I have used. I have never liked locking nuts nor had or wanted a floyd particularly. These things are not cheap either, but they are exceptionally well made. I quite like strat bridges and find that with proper setting up even cheap strats can be made to play and stay in tune. Theses are very different, strat and floyd bridges are fulcrum trems as are the ibanez variations, the whole bridge swivels like a hinge. On the kahler there is a cam behind the bridge saddles and the strings roll on brass roller saddles...the only thing that swivels then is the part with the fine tuners are where the arm inserts...the frame around it and the saddles all stay firmly fixed. Small springs and the cam move in a 1" deep rout below the bridge. It is a bit stiffer...smooth though and I like it like that (perhaps it is the 10-46 strings I use too) as I wanted more of a bigsby type of effect. It will do the dive bombing and lifting which is fun, but not really a part of my "style"...this really isn't a shredding guitar as it is set up at the moment. I particularly like definition you get on every string and the ability to adjust the string spread at the bridge. The bridge saddles are effectively fixed so there is no problem with palm muting and the strings don't lift but stay level with the fretboard. They are well made, but not cheap and do take a bit of setting up to get the best out of them. Would you be willing to make a video of you playing a song and posting it on youtube? Well...I'd like too...at the moment I am having trouble getting around to recording the guitar and working out how to post it . I was thinking that you tube would be great way of showing off things, but then I have to learn how to make films as well! I found the moviemaker program hidden in the machine and perhaps...probably a slide show with backing rather than a movie...unless someone was going to come around and film the thing! Might be a little while, but I hope to get some sounds up sooner than later. I especially want to know the ins and outs of you sustainer circuit and driver. If you look at the threads linked at the bottom of this post, you will see the main "sustainer ideas" thread...but I would check out the tutorials and stuff first. Sustainers are not easy, the wiring is particularly difficult and it is not suitable to every guitar either. It can be made cheap, but only with patience and if you have the equipment, otherwise it can be a nightmare or may simply not work for you...but it is cheap enough to have a go and many people have made them. The kind of things I make now are after five years with them, and this one is not typical of the usual DIY thing...it does work very well though on this guitar and the design is pretty much the same as that of the typical DIY versions. I do offer support, but I get nothing from it personally, so I can not make them for you with all the will in the world (I get asked a bit). Best is to test your sustainer making skills on a cheap guitar and see how it goes before dedicating a project to something you may find unable to get to work. ..... I have loved a lot of tele players, beck roy, gatton...even a fancy one like this is a really honest working guitar...but I have always found the a bit "difficult" to play. I have tried over the years a few times, but they have never worked for me, but this one plays so well that I am really getting the hang of them. Tele's have a big punch in their attack and are very bright but they can make an incredible sound and cut through anything...the trem and sustainer are just gravy really. Today I fired up the distortion and it can do the metal thing too very well. The sustainer works really well with distortion as the compression and harmonic content allows all the harmonics to come out evenly and consistantly...the guitar literally screams. I was getting a kind of robot like talking effect with the sustainer, extreme threamin like pitch shifting with the arm and the kill switch thing...but as I say, not really what I "do"... I have noticed an improvement in my playing though...I can hardly put it down...hehehe pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted August 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2008 (edited) Ahhhh....I guess you knew it was coming...entered the Blueteleful Telecaster in the GOTM LINK If you like this guitar (what's not to like), if you like to see what can be done with guitar modification, if you like innovation and something a little different and nuvo-retro-cool, if you like pickguards and have voted enough for the grain of the wood, if you have ever tried to read the sustainer thread (come on, at over 170,000 views, it can't all be me!)...vote (or at least make a nice comment when the time comes!)... I will be attempting to post some sound clips before it is time to decide...shameless self promotion I know, but the guitars in GOTM are so good, I have never had the guts to enter before...like a school girl on her first prom... ...no really! pete P.S. If the guitar is up against pointy black metal machines, think of this guitar as ironic...it does a good job at that with full trem kill switching and outrageous feedback potential. If up against the recent crop of fine woody multi-string bass's lately..what can I say, this one is for the guitar players and modifiers around here... Edited August 25, 2008 by psw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted August 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 (edited) SOUND...I think I have got Audio!!!! Got to up the anti now the tele is up against some fine builds... OK...failing to learn anything sophisticated recording wise, I simply plugged in an played so you can here the range of sounds this thing has. A simple 4 bar beat from the BR600 and a modeled very clean sound. All one take, improvised with no edits and only one guitar with one sound. The bass was added in one take over the top. Whole thing was recorded with headphones (no amp, just a basic clean setting with a little echo) there is no compression or noise reduction to give a feel for how quiet this thing is and the balance of sounds. Blueteleful1 Audio Edit So...here is a run down of what you are hearing... After beat intro... Bridge pickup...featuring the "kkkerrrraaanng" like sound of the the Fender "wide Range" pickup (much better through an amp of course)...all the sustainer sounds also use the neck pickup by default. 1:00 Neck and bridge solo 1:50 fundamental sustainer melody...kind of synthy 3:00 Funky N&B out of phase sound 4:00 harmonic sustainer melody...compare to previous sustainer sound 4:50 bluesy sound 5:20 switch to light drive harmonic sustainer (notes fade to harmonic) 6:20 harmonic slide (picked up plastic bic lighter) last note slides from driver to nut then trem to slack on b string 7:58 weird theremin like feedback effects 8:00 chords with harmonic feedback bass notes 10:00 jazzy neck pickup... Opps...exceeded download time so cuts out...probably more than enough telecaster. Even with all that trem abuse still perfectly in tune! Obviously a little rusty but not bad for an unaccompanied improvisation and enough to give a fair representation of the sound of the thing without any tinsel or effects (there are no guitar overdubs or edits!). If people are interested, I will try and add some more samples of what it sounds like distorted...the sustainer is a lot more effective and immediate. Also, the battery was starting to run a little flat, so it lacked a bit of clean headroom with the sustainer on but it still worked out ok... Any tips...besides practice more...or comments encouraged... pete Edited August 31, 2008 by psw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavztheouch Posted August 31, 2008 Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 (edited) Sound great, thats got me inspired to try a sustainer in my next build Edited August 31, 2008 by gavztheouch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted August 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 Oppps....the page turned...previous page announced sounds of the blueteleful Telecaster...see link below or previous post... thanks gav'...that was quick! pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Your sound clip is *Me Approved* I'm especially fond of the neck pickup. I didn't know what to really expect, since I don't play Fenders, but it was a smooth sound! They's some weird sounds in there man. I think you've got all the bases covered, minus perhaps some shredding. Man, the things you can do with a sustainer..... I'm so tempted to put one into my next build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted September 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2008 Ah...thanks...for listening...SOUND LINK yes like my posts a little long..jamming along after midnight with a drum machine and added bass...it cut out 5 minutes before the end so the more sci-fi things went. All of it was one sound super clean and dry, the smoothed out distortion like sounds of the sustainer at high gain are actually the sound produced by my "fireDrive" circuit pushing the string hard. I will attempt to do a distorted clip and I realized as long as it is, I forgot to even push the kill switch! The neck pickup on tele's are amazing...if it is a good one. This is the new SCn and is dead quite and great...some of the more traditional and copies especially are hit and miss. The little tele neck pickup was designed to have a more jazzy tone with thinner wire and tall skinny bobbin and a cover to roll of the highs...still has a lot of detail though and sounds great in combination too (my personal favorite sound on this guitar). I'm glad you noticed how good the guitar sounds despite the sustainer! I'm so tempted to put one into my next build. I have been working away to make this technology far more available, especially to custom builders and may have some interesting developments along those lines...code named "the goblin" Above is a sneak look at this top secret project from an amazing builder in the USA who helped/pushed me to develop the thing still further. The plan has been for some time to make the circuits available if I can do them cost effectively (at the moment they are very much hand built) and possibly a new coil I designed that converts a strat pickup. Since the success of the tele stand alone driver and method of making it, this too may become an option perhaps with a few refinements (this is the only prototype) and possibly a black shaped epoxy shell or something. This guitar is not a shred machine...medium action and heavy strings...but it does take to distortion very well with a cutting sound. The sustainer is far more responsive with distortion too as it makes the harmonics respond immediately and faster with a rich sound...similarly, this was recorded with headphones direct, with a real amp at any volume it is more responsive. There are a lot of things a shredder could do with this...won't help so much with the speed thing, but it can kind of "auto-pick" tapped and legato style notes and "trem-picked" with a kind of scoop into the notes which is enough to set the thing off and drive the string. pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted September 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2008 OK...I found the end of that track...this edit is from where the first cuts out around the neck pickup jazzy solo and includes a weird extreme wammi abuse but still came back in tune. Again...more effective with a high gain sound but this is a demo...obviously running out of ideas on this late night improv Parts 1 and 2 Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalhead28 Posted September 11, 2008 Report Share Posted September 11, 2008 Very cool guitar, excellent work! I want a sustainer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted September 12, 2008 Report Share Posted September 12, 2008 Aw man, I want a goblin head in my quilted maple! Lucky guy, you. Man, now I'm itchin' to play some D&D....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted September 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2008 Well...I thought I'd give this thread a bump...it's GOTM voting time...GOTM LINK There are a wide variety of worthy contenders and for new people well worth a vote and as well as a whole lot of entries it would be good to see a whole lot of voters out there...regardless of who you vote for. 11 entries makes it all the more difficult to decide...all of these guitars are remarkable in their differences, features and quality...obviously my entry early on didn't scare anyone off and it will be a tough call. The more people who vote the better though as often it is only a handful of votes between entries and it will make it more fun... good luck to all... pete ps...nothing new on the tele except that I am really enjoying playing the thing and other guitars just don't satisfy. I intentionally left off a treble bleed cap on the volume control so that some of the tele bite comes off with a reduction of volume and I have been using this sound a fair bit in front of the TV...great for those Cropper-esque Motown/Stax sound.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Just a bit of an update on the tele...hadn't played much electric in a while, let alone the sustainer...due to increased interest in the sustainer project and some doubts as to the response of the thing, I added a little jam this morning a this link...LINK This shows the middle position both pickups on the rhythm riff...and the sustainer, mainly harmonic mode playing along with it...just the two guitars. However, I found a $10 plastic mic and recorded the guitar through the fender deluxe which might give it a more "realistic" sound than the previous direct clip. Beware, some of the sounds are very high to demo the feedback effect, some pinched harmonic kind of things and harmonics at the upper frets. Some have recently had some trouble getting this kind of response from the DIY sustainer and I hoped this might give an idea of what it can do... Still a great guitar...tends to break strings after a fair amount of trem use at the start of the windings before the ball end on the khaler...it's not rubbing on anything, but this is where the strings bend over the fulcrum behind the bridge and so a weak point I guess...something to consider with kahlers I expect if you are doing extreme teme work...eventually something is going to give and this seems to be the place...so far g, a and d strings have all broken over time at this point...but then, perhaps I shouldn't use the trem so hard...or change strings more often. Not sure if others have had the same problem... pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Kahler's need special strings to counter-act that. D'addario make them, I think they're just reinforced at the weak point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Hmmm...that's interesting...I usually use d'addarrio strings...but never seen any especially for the khaler. Nothing is mentioned about special strings at khaler and the string I am using at the moment are SIT which were recommended and I got a cheap deal on ten sets. It's something that people should probably be aware of, there is no sign before they break...however it's not like they break right off...it is more due to the intense strain this kind of extreme free floating trem does I suspect... Anyway...thanks, I'll look into it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 like steinberger strings, they can benefit from a little solder on the end windings... it seems fiddly but its worth doing if you want to save a bit of cash of strings. with the kahlers strings i put the 45 degree bend on them before adding a little solder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Excellent idea with the solder...that will be easy to do...the break is in the actual string core just where the end winding overlap is...2cm from the ball....but I have noticed that the wound strings are cutting through the chrome a bit (no sharp bits though)...so we'll see how it goes...nice tip. I have found that slightly bending the ball before installing the string helps with insertion! good tip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 i have a couple of old kahler flyers and they both have nasty string wear on the cam section so there must be some nasty rubbing going on there, obviously it wont help string life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Hey Pete, This guitar is sweet mate. I happened to have a quick peek before underbelly started last night and i was fairly excited to check this thread out this morning. I just listened to the sound clips and they are brilliant. Im usually one to keep things simple on guitars cause to many knobs and switches scare me, but after hearing the tracks i'm really impressed. I may have to go back to the sustainer thread now and try and understand it! Where abouts do you get your electronic components from in oz? Keep playing that guitar Pete cause its one of the best tele's around i reckon! Cheers Chad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cult Classic Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 this is just my favourite telecaster ever. seriously. i just love it. keep up the great work Jono. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Wow, that's a lot of stuff, even for the virtuoso guitarist. If I were good enough, I don't know what I'd do with it! There's so many things going on that could fuel A.D.D. for hours. If that guitar were around any of my friends, it would never be put away. Extra batteries would be a must lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Hmmm...I got a taste of underbelly last night...just got out of hospital with stitches in my head...but that's another story... Jaycar sell most bits, Dick smith used to sell little rolls of the essential 0.2mm wire but they are getting out of components...if you see a roll, get it ($7) as it is getting harder to locate, especially in small quantities. I am not sure where these particular magnets came from, but I have got similar suitable ones from craft shops like riot or the $2 shops for making fridge magnets or something. The installation can be tricky...the switch needs to be fairly big on any multipickup guitar (4pdt) but on the surface looks like a standard mini toggle. The harmonic switch is a dpdt, in this guitar I made up a pot of the correct value into a switch pot sot he harmonic effect (most of the new clip) is activated by pulling up on the drive control. You can devise different circuits so values change on a lot of things...for a lot of people, you could do without the drive control and just have two switches, LED optional. It is a great guitar, you can hear how far you can push the khaler around with infinite sustain. The neck pickup has a great sound also, very jazzy yet clear. The phase switch is hidden in the volume as a push pull. The new clip has a "better" sound because it was running through an actual amp instead of dry and direct (and silent through headphones) as in the original clip. Glad you liked it...to get a feel for the sustainer project (which is always in progress) take a look at the links to the much shorter tutorial and pictorial in my signature below...but if you are going to do it, join in on the big thread as there have been some new developments. The sustainer thread is a wide ranging thread, so I wouldn't read too much of it...it is been quite active lately with people doing their own thing as always...but the sustainer can be a really fun thing to play with, I haven't touched it for a few months, so it was fun to rediscover it to demo something for the big thread pete Thanks for the compliments...a good squier can be a cool guitar! (got to find a good one!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks Pete. Im finding dick smiths to be really poor of late when it comes to actual electronic components, every time i have been in there lately there stock has been down and not only that it is all jumbled up so its hard to know what values are what on some of it. Anyway just a whinge. I do have a major weakness for teles. Im hoping when i go on my big world trip next year ill have enough money to stop into the fender factory and pickup a tele direct from them. Im off to the sustainer thread, wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted February 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Good luck...but check the tutorials first...then start at the current stuff and read back a few pages till you get bored...don't read from the start...it will confuse and hurt. Just post any "stupid questions" onto the end of the main thread like everyone else does regardless of what people appear to be saying...someone will try to help...possibly me, making the thread even longer and more confusing (but adding to it mythical charm!) Tele's are an acquired taste...this is the first one that I ever really got on with, and even this one challenges me. Odd, cause I have loved a lot of tele players...I was a huge Buchanan fan back int the day, even saw him once in melbourne...brilliant! I am not even sure why, but they seem vastly different from a strat, yet the scale length and stuff is the same. Watch out for the duty bringing the guitar back. I have heard of people going over with an old guitar, leaving it there and coming back with a new one and pretending it is the same one they took over to get around it...just a thought! Rant On! Dick Smith is a major worry...i have personal reasons to dislike them. But seriously, they are getting out of the components business...and obviously don't care. DSE for non-Oz people is like rat shack...i mean, radio shack. Everything woolworths takes over turns to crud...not just my personal vendetta...and the people they hire have no clue. They don't even have a good business sense...electronic components might not be big sellers...but the profit margins are huge...500-1000% often in a DSE. While you might not sell many, what you do sell is all profit and makes you look at least you half know what your doing...which they don't, so I guess that's why. But, they are phasing them out for mobile phones and GPS's...as if those stores weren't a dime a dozen and done better. Also, no profit really...except for the network people...huge profits there. The local management is tempted by the commissions...in the end they will come undone...and I will laugh!!! Also..."dick Smith" is a well known australian who made a fortune with the electronics stores he built up from the introduction of FM radio. His trademark was his head...so woolworths actually bought the rignts to Dicks Head...hahahaha. Now they want to distance themselves from that, rebranding DSE, moving out of "electronics" and ditching the multimillion dollar investments in dicks head (just the logo). My personal inside knowledge of woolworths thought that dicks head was the most appropriate acquisition they ever made and hoped that they would put it into the whole woolworths chain (woolworths of course another name they bought due to a chronic lack of original thinking...hence they call their supermarkets safeway...another recognizable overseas name, but different company completely)...that way you will know when you go in that you are dealing with dick heads...i mean, dicks head people! Rant off I am not sure if you have Jaycar over your side...but oakly electronics, altronics and places like that are pretty good...there are still some around and they mail order local decently if you must. Anyway...good to see people who missed the guitar the first time round, have discovered it again for me bumping the thread again...hahaha...the sustainer is cool, but the guitar is cooler. I never actually intended to put a sustainer on it. In fact, an earlier incarnation had a tremolo modboard in it...didn't work out too well...way too much noise! See you rough the sustainer thread... pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Yeah Dick Smith p****d me off too but not as much as it did you!haha Im pretty sure we have an altronics and jaycar over here. I think their in the city. Cheers Pete im sure i will be asking some questions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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