You Want Steerheads? Wellsir, You Got Steerheads

[mistermikev]

12 hours ago, Drak said:

I think you and I use dissimilar terms for the same thing (i.e. cowskulls/steerheads)

When you say detail gun, I think you mean (what I call) a pint gun.

If true, that's my normal spray gun, I never use quart guns, don't even own one.

Although I do have two detail guns, one with a big(ger) tip for clearcoats and one with a finer tip I usually use for the bursts.

right... I'm not good with words.... or concepts... I struggle with spelling... and ideas.  I have a detail gun (mini spray gun says 'detail gun' on the package) but haven't used it yet.

that green above - would ordinarily not be for me... but you pulled it off well... has a somehow very attractive 50s vibe.  bravo.

[ScottR]

12 hours ago, Drak said:

A shot of how I layout my (active) 5-control scheme.

Would you be willing to detail what those active 5 controls do? I have some guesses.....but you are often more devious than I, so I expect to be surprised.

SR

[Drak]

17 minutes ago, ScottR said:

Would you be willing to detail what those active 5 controls do?

I have some guesses.....but you are often more devious than I, so I expect to be surprised.

SR

I'll detail that whole shooting match.

Top Row, front to back: passive volume control, passive tone control, EMG Afterburner pre-amp (rarely ever used, explanation below)

Bottom Row, front to back: EMG EXG control (happy face EQ), EMG SPC control (frown face EQ w/ gain boost ) these two are constantly used, the main attraction.

So the deal behind that whole thing: What started me building guitars in the first place was when the Fritz Brothers introduced their Roy Buchanan Bluesmaster. That was the goal I had in mind when I started, around 1990-ish. I'm from the DC area, and the DC 'burbs is really a Tele town at heart.

But as I progressed building,...I didn't want to be limited strictly to EMG pickups. So I had to figure out how to blend (anybody's) passive pickups onto an active EMG harness. So I finally figured out how to do that, which involves using exactly what I listed, that's how it works. 'Regular' pickups mate with 'regular' volume/tone, then > into the EMG harness and out.

Back in the day when I started, you couldn't use the EXG and SPC without the pre-amp, you Had to have the pre-amp (Afterburner) to make the other tone pots operate. From what I understand, that's not the case now, I believe you can take any of their pots and use them as a single stand-alone device (with battery, of course). I have yet to buy or try any newer versions that do that, but I might.

So, the Afterburner pre-amp I really have little use for and almost never use it, it just had to come along for the ride. The EXG and SPC are really what's useful for me. The Afterburner is only operable if you pull up on it, otherwise it just sits there, offering power to the other devices.

 

[ScottR]

15 minutes ago, Drak said:

I'll detail that whole shooting match.

Top Row, front to back: passive volume control, passive tone control, EMG Afterburner pre-amp (rarely ever used, explanation below)

Bottom Row, front to back: EMG EXG control (happy face EQ), EMG SPC control (frown face EQ w/ gain boost ) these two are constantly used, the main attraction.

So the deal behind that whole thing: What started me building guitars in the first place was when the Fritz Brothers introduced their Roy Buchanan Bluesmaster. That was the goal I had in mind when I started, around 1990-ish. I'm from the DC area, and the DC 'burbs is really a Tele town at heart.

But as I progressed building,...I didn't want to be limited strictly to EMG pickups. So I had to figure out how to blend (anybody's) passive pickups onto an active EMG harness. So I finally figured out how to do that, which involves using exactly what I listed, that's how it works. 'Regular' pickups mate with 'regular' volume/tone, then > into the EMG harness and out.

Back in the day when I started, you couldn't use the EXG and SPC without the pre-amp, you Had to have the pre-amp (Afterburner) to make the other tone pots operate. From what I understand, that's not the case now, I believe you can take any of their pots and use them as a single stand-alone device (with battery, of course). I have yet to buy or try any newer versions that do that, but I might.

So, the Afterburner pre-amp I really have little use for and almost never use it, it just had to come along for the ride. The EXG and SPC are really what's useful for me. The Afterburner is only operable if you pull up on it, otherwise it just sits there, offering power to the other devices.

 

Yeah, I wasn't even close. Thanks.

16 minutes ago, Drak said:

Roy Buchanan

Man, what a player.

SR

[Drak]

7 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

Is there only that round hole behind the steerhead in your sandwich versions? Easy to store picks in, a pain to get just one out during a gig...

No. They usually are some variation of this, because you need to connect the steerhead cavity to that secret tone chamber in the back to make the secret sauce balance out correctly (I kid, of course). Sometimes more chambering if its a heavy core body wood like Maple or Cherry. This is a 2-piece Alder body, so just the regular recipe.

[komodo]

It's like a smuggler's Tele, except once you glue the top on you'll never get your stash back out.

[Gogzs]

Routing tone chambers into tonewood, has science gone too far?

[Drak]

2 hours ago, Gogzs said:

Routing tone chambers into tonewood, has science gone too far?

It is not science that need be brought under scrutiny or the lash.

It is more the culture of voodoo and its various offshoot -ism's that is the central suspect here.

Could one 'really' think the steerhead is 'simply' a symbol of a bull and that's as far as it goes?

Would that not be a rather limited interpretation of what lies behind the steerhead, hidden in plain sight?

Otherwise, wouldn't a simple surface-mount inlay 'do the trick'?

Once could wonder whether this goes much, much further than that simple observation...

[mattharris75]

4 hours ago, Drak said:

It is not science that need be brought under scrutiny or the lash.

It is more the culture of voodoo and its various offshoot -ism's that is the central suspect here.

Could one 'really' think the steerhead is 'simply' a symbol of a bull and that's as far as it goes?

Would that not be a rather limited interpretation of what lies behind the steerhead, hidden in plain sight?

Otherwise, wouldn't a simple surface-mount inlay 'do the trick'?

Once could wonder whether this goes much, much further than that simple observation...

 

[Drak]

 

 

 

[Prostheta]

On 2/12/2021 at 4:02 AM, Drak said:

 

The bursts are stunning on top of already stunning woods. I've always liked the subtleties within certain bursts - and tell me if you didn't dial this in deliberately - however the "minor" colours within each section are what make it for me. Seeing a bit of blue or green creeping into the contrast gives them a whole new level. My absolute favourite examples of this are green creeping into original goldtops and around the edges from naturally faded honeyburst. Fender-type colour-colour-colour feels flat and 2D. Why would anybody do this to something with depth and character?

Some of yours and @ScottR's guitars would stand up really nicely side by side, especially this one. To my eye anyway.

[Drak]

Well thank you!

I think I can say I 'dialed that in', if you know how I layer most of them, you'd probably agree.

So here's how most of my bursts go down, my standard 'cowboy sunset' recipe:

Basecoat color over entire top, then sandback with differing levels of drama incorporated.

Next color goes over whole guitar, usually wiped on.

Next 2-3 burst colors get shot on, either with airbrush or regular gun, onto wood.

Then I do clearcoats and let it sit for a day or two, then level sand that in prep for shader coats.

Then I'll usually do 2-3 shader coats, whatever I think it needs to really finish it off.

Then final clearcoats.

So...there's a lot of shading going on, both on the wood and in the lacquer.

Both approaches 'give' a 'certain' look, and I like both effects, and I like to combine them, so, best of both worlds.

Which, I would believe, gives them the 'layered overtones' you're referring to.

[Prostheta]

Yep. Those. The subtleties are what make it, not the flash. Most bursts feel like a sheet of coloured acetate without these interacting stages. 

[ScottR]

On 2/20/2021 at 6:40 PM, Drak said:

Well thank you!

I think I can say I 'dialed that in', if you know how I layer most of them, you'd probably agree.

So here's how most of my bursts go down, my standard 'cowboy sunset' recipe:

Basecoat color over entire top, then sandback with differing levels of drama incorporated.

Next color goes over whole guitar, usually wiped on.

Next 2-3 burst colors get shot on, either with airbrush or regular gun, onto wood.

Then I do clearcoats and let it sit for a day or two, then level sand that in prep for shader coats.

Then I'll usually do 2-3 shader coats, whatever I think it needs to really finish it off.

Then final clearcoats.

So...there's a lot of shading going on, both on the wood and in the lacquer.

Both approaches 'give' a 'certain' look, and I like both effects, and I like to combine them, so, best of both worlds.

Which, I would believe, gives them the 'layered overtones' you're referring to.

I take a very similar route.There are some minor differences in the details but the layers and shading of both the wood and the tint coats are very nearly the same.

SR