Jester700

It's not "supposed" to do anything. Some players like it to stay put - I'm one of them, and several of us complain about the Ibanez Edge's tendency to swing free when the nylon bushings wear out. The Schaller/Floyd replacement arm can be screwed tight to stay put, but retrofitting it to some trem systems is a bit of work. My favorite is the original Floyd - it stayed where you put it. You want it out of the way, you push it there, and it stays.

Hi i'm a college student who was just starting to pick up the guitar. Anyways im too poor to afford anything so i figured i would build my acoutic guitar. I've not quite a bit a woodworking but i've found that building in instrument is really different than cabinetry stuff.

May I suggest that if cost really IS the issue, you'll do much better getting an inexpensive guitar. Yamaha, Takamine, and others have some playable guitars for $200, and you can even get away for just over half that. Or, get one like that used for even less...

If you want to pick up guitar building as another woodworking skill, great. But it won't save you any money in the short term.

IMO there isn't really a "best". It's all a taste call, and basically it's just magnets & wires. These things ain't worth $60, let alone over $100.

So, find something you like - listen to lots of stuff until something turns you on. I agree with the idea that for the disparate styles you like, you might want a jazz neck & a metal bridge and "take what you get" when combining.

I agree with the JB & 59, But IMO the JB does better when split; the 59 is too weak for me. Of course, we all have different guitar & tastes.

I'm into split sounds enough that I got a custom pup designed to do that well. The only Duncan like this is the Stag Mag, which I like for the neck but not the bridge. For the bridge you may want to check out Rio Grande's Tallboy or Muy Grande buckers. But keep in mind that these compromise on their bucker sound somewhat to improve their split sound.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...ct%5Fid=64-1895

six of these in a single coil sound nice.

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If you were only buying 6, OK. But the ones I got were 20 cents-ish each. There was shipping to pay, but I think once you're buying over a dozen or so, check out wonder magnets.

Can you actually buy laptop motherboards? I didnt think this was possible? Does that mean you could effectively, to a point, build your own?

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Since most laptop parts are proprietary, it isn't a cost effective or flexible way to go like it is with desktops. You could build one, but it would be expensive and the same exact PC as you would be able to buy whole anyway.

But if you HAVE a laptop, you can sometimes upgrade the CPU & video systems, and you can almost always upgrade the memory, optical drive, and hard drive.

I was given a non-working IBM T20 laptop for free ($500-ish on eBay). I bought a motherboard on eBay for $75 (the problem was a well known one and I knew a new mobo would fix it) and voila! cheap backup laptop!

I have some N-Dym mags. I use a 3"x1/4"x1/2" block for charging alnico poles, and I have a bunch of small 1/16" and 1/8" discs for - you guessed it - putting underneath alnico poles to increase output. I want to do this for my middle single coil because it gets in my way, so i want to screw it WAY down. So far from the strings, the added magnetic pull shouldn't give me the "stratitis" effect, and I need more output. I got mine from www.wondermagnets.com

I tried the 1/16" ones and they seemed to add some output. They really add output when stuck on the TOP of the poles, but then they pull on the string. I want to measure the increase here, which is one reason I want to build a gaussmeter. I didn't try the 1/8" ones because they have a greater diameter and once down in the pickup, I don't think I'll get them back out! My singles are the top half of Ibanez C2s - like a DiMarzio HS2 stacked single.

You CAN'T use a block underneath the pickup. It is just too strong.

But I want to measure this stuff. Like, does Alnico "conduct" magnetism the way steel poles do (which would lead to large increase when a ceramic or Ndym mag is beneath the pup) or does it kinda "replace" the field of the lower mag with its own magnetism? Would humbucker steel poles that were milled to have a flat spot where the magnet contacted them conduct more magnetism to the strings, since the contact area is greater?

I could play in my basement with a gaussmeter and some mags & pups for hours...

There is a pickup that uses n-dym - the q-tuner. http://www.q-tuner.com/ Note that the magnets are pretty small. And Fender uses samarium cobalt in their new Lawrence designed noiseless pickups.

If you put like poles together, you will hose up an alnico magnet; they are easily degaussed. You'd want to put opposite poles together, so the ceramic (or whatever) mag will stick right to the bottom of the poles. I THINK this will still increase the power, but I'll need to play with it.

i am not sure if you meant impedance or resistance. but its a general consensus that the higher the resistance, the higher the output.

A general concensus that is also misleading...

i think you are referring to a brass baseplate. by adding a bar magnet under a singlecoil's pole magnets, you will actually demagnetize the pickup. not a very good idea.

Not if you don't put "like" poles together. I think this will indeed add to the magnetic field's strength and thus the output. I'm trying toget the parts to build a gaussmeter and this is one thing I want to test...

I've been a fan of Carvin's necks for a while now, though I put them on Ibanez Radius bodies. One day I will probably get a whole Bolt plus...

I think they're $100 off this month...

Taylor's, i really like their low end models, i think it's the baby series?

The only issue with Taylors is that they really need to have one of those humidifiers for acoustic guitars. They do not deal well with drying out, more so than other guitars.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Taylor talks about this issue, but that doesn't mean their guitars are more susceptible to these problems. ANY solid wood acoustic guitar can be victim to humidity issues. I've had as much issue with my Breedlove and Takamine ones as my Taylor.

Wow... almost $20 for a tool to measure action. I'm sure it's convenient, but I think I paid $4 for my steel rule. Marked in mm AND /64"

My 5 Warmoth necks are on Yamaha Pacifica guitars, so my experience may not be what you'd get buying from them directly. However, it does jive with what a few people have said about them, so...

If you get a Warmoth (they ARE nice feeling necks, with lots of options), count on a fret level & crown, and a little glue job to keep the frets seated. Mine have frets that came up, and the final fret finishing was poor or just not done. Maybe you'll get lucky and not need this, but IME you likely will.

I LOVE the Carvin stuff. It is REALLY good value for money. But the options are minimal, and there's only one profile. So unless you want to mod it yourself or like the neck as it already is, the choices are few.

Why do you need motivation? I like the surfer analogy. Don't force it. If you want to become a high level shredder bad enough, you will. If you want to be at a Ramones-level ability, that's fine too - the ramones touched a lot of people, and that's what music's all about. I listen to "Bowling for Soup" more than I do Joe Satriani these days...

IMO many of the people who practice guitar at the expense of other experiences/relationships hinder some part of communication with other "normal" people. That's fine if you want to communicate primarily with other guitar geeks, but those people are a small % of the population.

I just got some old bootlegs of live 80's concerts, and it's cool seeing my old guitar heroes in their day. I got a Vandenberg show (before he went to Whitesnake), a Whit Lion/Vito Bratta show (what's with all the color/critter band names in the 80's?), Jake E. Lee w/Ozzy...

I always liked the guys who did "other than Yngwie licks". The Shrapnel crowd seemed too similar to me, though I liked Vinnie Moore's phrasing best of those guys.

Anyway, I was surprised at how good some of Glenn Tipton's stuff was with Judas Priest. He could smoke, though I don't think he was thought of as a shredder...

The Yamaha 100 series usually sell for under $200 new, so I don't think I'd call that a great buy. But if you like the guitar, it's up to you - IMO they ARE the best $200-ish axes I've played overall.

And you can still play fast with high action, it's just harder. Yngwie has fairly high action (of course, his Fender axe has a pretty round fretboard radius

Indeed. Here are some "pro" setups taken from Dan Erlewine's Guitar Player Repair guide.

Malmsteen: 4/64 string height at 17th fret and .008 relief at 7th

Clapton: 3/64-4/64 string height at 17th with .010 relief at 7th

SRV: 4/64 string height at 17th fret and .012 relief at 7th

Here is Gibson flat top factory setup specs:

Maximum relief at 7th: .012

Action at 12th: 6/64 low E and 4/64 high E

That is lower than I expected. A thread over at Jemsite hinted at higher action, but I'd guess Dan is the better source... Note: 2mm is roughly 5/64"

http://www.jemsite.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php...t=yngwie+action

ok now I understand,

Generally a guitarist wants his/her action as low as it can be without buzzing. So a rythem player will want it a little higher, and a lead player would want it as low as humanly possiable because it makes you faster.

Not all lead players want it low. Bluesy types often like to "dig in" when bending, and ultra low action makes this tough. Plus, aggressive players hit the strings hard enough to make low action rattle a lot. SRV had high action.

And you can still play fast with high action, it's just harder. Yngwie has fairly high action (of course, his Fender axe has a pretty round fretboard radius). But yeah, most shredder types like it low.

I like mine in the middle - about 4 or 5/64" on 12th fret low E, and slightly lower on the high E.

Godin, you must have a LIGHT touch to not buzz with your action!

Depends on what you mean by "strat-like". If you split the pickups it will be *more stratty* than the standard choices. But it won't really be stratty. Different body shape, neck joint, and bridge design all contribute. But more importantly, split humbuckers (especially weaker PAF types) don't really sound like strat single coils when split. Plus, they're not in the locations that they are in a strat. So, I think it's worth doing for the extra sound (which you MAY even PREFER to a real strat; it's all a taste call), but don't expect it to really cop a strat sound.

Carvin can finish the body and neck in whatever finish you would like. I think it costs an extra $40-$60 dollars and adds about a week or two to the delivery schedule.

$40-60 doesn't buy ANY finish. I think it'll get you their textured black "plastikote" or tung oil on natural, but not a color & clear - that's more like $160, IIRC.

I've had OFRs, Jackson/Schaller JT590, JT580 of 2 types, Ibanez Edge and LoPro Edge, and TRS2. As well as a few cheap knockoffs.

If you want to REALLY whammy, get a real Floyd that locks at the nut, a Schaller copy (or used Jackson JT590) or an Ibanez Edge. These are, IMO, the best there are. The Lo Profile versions vs. regular is a personal choice. All feel a bit different, but all return to pitch very well. I vacillate between the OFR and the Edge as my favorite, but I prefer the NON-lo profile versions.

If you only occasionally whammy, get a Wilkinson with Sperzel or other locking tuners and a graphite nut.

DON'T buy a cheap floyd copy. It'll be fine for a while, but then the softer metal at the knife edge will wear down and it won't return to pitch.

hai, just an additional question, if 2 single coils can be put together to look like a humbucker, with covers as ansil suggest, it can be wired to be a humbucker, right?

Yes. All a bucker IS is 2 singles together, though with some differences.

But it won't sound quite like a "normal" bucker, because of those slight differences.

How about a Carvin Bolt kit for $350? awesome quality, but you need to finish it yourself...

Well, I like Randy best myself. But I DID like Jake, and I REALLY liked him in Badlands. Just didn't seem fair to forget him...