KeithHowell

Yes the electronic test equipment can be pretty pricey. Just remember you only need to worry about audio frequencies ie those under 20kHz. The software versions working on your PC's sound card are perfectly adequate and cheap some even free. The hardware versions for audio are more expensive but not as much as the high frequency stuff. I have worked with Hewlett-Packard Spectrum Analysers that have cost as much as my house, but those are for use in the Giga Hertz range. Good Luck Keith

An audio signal generator and an oscilloscope. You can get software for your PC with a soundcard to do similar. Do a google search. you will come up with quite a few. Keith

Thats a 2k6 Ohm resistor which is the RESISTANCE. The power is measured in WATTS and is usually 1/4 watt or 1/2 watt. What do you need, the power or the resistance? Keith

About 6mm deeper in the middle than the ends is recommended. I have done mine like this and they work fine. Keith

When it cuts out is it just the sound or does the whole amp go dead? If the amp dies it could be a power problem else if it stays on but the sound just dies it is something in the signal path. Keith

Les Paul apparently said: "You could injure yourself on those spikes!" or words to that effect. Keith

Yes it will if you used the fret distances calculated for the 24.75" scale length! If you recalculated the frets based on your actual scale length you won't have a problem. Keith

I made up a jig as follows: I took two pieces of wood about a metre long and the same thickness and made sure two of the edges were planed straight and square. On a base board I screwed down one piece of wood and made sure the second piece could slide against it. I then rigged a clamp so that I can clamp and release the sliding board. I then rigged a fence over the sliding board so that the board can slide underneath. The fretboard blank is fixed to the sliding board and the board moved so that the end of the fretboard (nut slot) to be cut is now directly under the fence. I now fix my rule down onto the non-sliding board and line up the 0mm mark with a vernier(more about this later) which I fixed at a suitable point on the sliding board. I can now accurately mark the nut position from the fence. I then release and slide the board until the vernier lines up with the measurement for the first fret, which will now be directly under the fence. I use a small razor saw for marking the board. I can then mark up the rest of the board by simply releasing sliding lining up and cutting at the fence point. All measurements being taken from the nut to fret distance. The vernier gauge: I made this up myself on a CAD package (TurboCAD) and printed it on a piece of paper which I glued to the board. Have a look on the web and find an explanation on how to use a vernier and the theory on how it works. If you e-mail me I'll send you the drawing for the vernier. Keith

What do you want to use the LEDs for? It makes very little sense wiring in a bunch if they are not giving you some information about the amps status eg on, standbye, overload etc. If you want light to read the knob settings or something buy a cheap lamp and plug it into the mains socket. Quicker, easier and SAFER! If you don't know what you are doing electronically stay away from the inside of your amp. You could at best destroy it or at worst kill yourself, burn the house down or all three. THERE ARE MAINS VOLTAGES IN THERE! Keith

What's not accurate? The markings on the rule or your ability to mark accurately from the rule? Use a rule marked in millimeter or 1/2 millimeter divisions. I made a vernier to go with my rule and cutting jig to help with subdividing the sub millimeter measurements. And then only if you use the expensive vellum which is designed to be stable. With lasers etc you are just lucky if you can get printouts accurate enough. Keith

Have a look here:LED wiring Keith

Be very careful printing out templates on paper with any calculation program. The paper distorts giving inaccurate results to use directly. I tried this with both a laser and inkjet printer both were inaccurate! The program gave the correct values but the printing gave a small error which was cumulative over the full length of the fretboard, giving a total error of quite a few millmeters up at the 20 to 24 fret region. I strongly suggest you buy a metal rule! Keith

I agree perhaps Brian should use a system like we use on the hockey(The astro kind with a ball not the Ice kind it doesn't get cold enough for ice around here) field when I umpire: A green card for a warning ie display the persons name with a bright green border or something for everyone to see. Yellow card is a suspension and when allowed back everyone will be able to see this and a red is off the field (or board in our case) completely. Further 2 greens = 1 yellow and two yellows = a red. Keith

Have a look at Jack Orman's Minitubes preamp and MiniBooster. It uses fets and has a great sound. Muzique Keith

The only problem with the passive blend pot wiring as posted is that when the pot is in the middle position ie both pickups at same level they are only at 50% each (if a linear pot is used) In order to have blending with 100% output you need some active electronics. Have a look at Geofex for how to do this. He has an article called "Panning for fun" . Keith

Tube rectification generally used a centre tap secondary on the power transformer allowing full wave rectification with only two tube rectifiers. Which saved quite a bit of money in the old days! Keith

Tube amps are NOT louder than Solid State they just distort more and make things sound louder. The issue is: driving a tube amp into distortion sounds nice but driving a solid state into distortion sounds horrible! For Bass I don't think you would want any distortion so go with a solid state and don't drive it as hard as you would with a tube amp! Keith

I bent sides from masonite years back when I was a teenager. Didn't have much money and didn't know any better. I simply soaked the sides pieces in water for a while and bent and clamped it to a form and let it dry. I didn't know about hot pipes etc and hadn't even heard about Dano style guitars. The guitar was a neck through something like a ES335. Keith

What are the URL's to download the software from? Keith

Go to the Turbo CAD site and dowload TurboCAD LE (Learning edition) It's also free and is more powerful than the version from guitarbuild Keith

Here's an interesting new use for piezos:Piezo Transformers

The U-channel seems to refer to a non-adjustable rod. A Gibson style rod needs a longitudinally curved channel. Deeper in the middle than the ends. It is then covered with a corresponding strip of wood which will force the rod into the curve of the channel. The fret board is then glued over the whole thing. Tightening the nut on the rod will try to straighten the rod and hence generate a force against the pull of the strings. It's the same principal Structural Engineers use for pre-stressed concrete beams! Keith

I presume you mean round UP to the nearest integer? I wouldn't do that as you will introduce a systematic error into your fret distances. Working to a tenth of a millimeter is fine. I put a vernier on my fret jig which makes it even easier Keith

What do you mean by a u-channel?

You can try use the coils from small relays. Keith