GregP

Just to add to that post, there are tonnes of multi-in audio cards; the trick is finding one that's not cost-prohibitive. I think the next most important thing to look at after proof-of-concept is going to be: how do you distribute this to the would-be student at a price that makes them want to buy the package? What's the Roland guitar-synth/MIDI pickup like? If you can interface with that, it'd give you a solution to deliver to people who already own that pickup. And if they don't already own it, it can be easily installed without modification to the guitar.

Gotcha.

I believe most Fishman bridges will sum to a mono signal before output. To be honest, I'm mainly going to echo (less effectively, I think!) what fookgub has already said: Most of the project is seemingly not fully planned out-- you may indeed have a brother that's a wiz, but I would wait until he's confirmed that he's able to make all the stuff fookgub has already described. It's non-trivial to the extreme. It's not going to be worth your time making the thing if the interface isn't in place, but really, it's the interface that's going to be the astonishingly difficult part compared to the hexaphonic piezo pickup. What's your intended end-goal? That's the question that needs to be answered before any of us can even speculate properly. But since I enjoy blind speculation, I'll add to fookgub's post--> There seem to me that there are 2 broad alternative approaches if it turns out that your brother isn't able to design an interface, both of which require outlay of cash: 1. Look into the Graphtec Ghost system. It uses Hex piezo elements, and can be sent to a synth module; I'm sure you could bake up your own application for it, if you're highly technical; but the actual hardware design is at least half-complete with such a system. 2. Instead of designing an interface, just look at the cable as a carrier for your signal(s). I would choose a different cable type other than USB... maybe a network cable? There are 8 conductors, but just don't use one of'em. Then buy a multi-input audio card. The network cable (or whatever other multi-conductor cable you use) is just a bridge. At one end is your hex pickup, and at the other end is a box with 6 standard audio cables coming out. These get plugged into your multi-in audio card. I suspect option #2 is the one that would work best for you-- you DO actually need preamps with a piezo signal (even if they're going into the computer), and the multi-in soundcard can potentially provide this. You could even add in the saddles from option #1 and most of the work is then done for you. But, back to the real question: What is your intended end goal? Ie. how will this tool aid your software plan?

I don't get it when people say "you're jealous" when somebody makes a valid critique. By that logic, every time I said something sucked, it would automatically mean I was also jealous of that person/thing. Dragonforce suck. I'm not jealous of them. I'll take their guitar and amp collection, mind you, but that goes for any band out there that has such a thing.

Choosing between Westlife and Dragonforce to listen to for an hour would be a decision to not take lightly. Dragonforce are just THAT bad.

You seem to have researched the history of the neck, but are you completely positive it will fit into the body you plan to purchase?

Heh! Other people must've had a similar experience-- the Synapse line, to my disappointment, is fixed-bridge only! Crazy.

I can't seem to find the parts on either of those sites. I know Allparts used to carry the ABM (non-trem) parts, and they were indeed pricey. But ABM is now defunct. One of them also used to carry the Floyd Rose Speedloader, which I had once upon a time been considering for a headless project. Is that perhaps what you had in mind? I don't see the Speedloader anywhere either now. I wonder if FR has dropped it as quickly as it arrived. I hope not! There's plenty of room in the world for non-traditional approaches. Greg

You can still get Spirits on evilBay. I'm surprised MusicYo is out of them, too, though. Weird.

MusicYo used to be the only place, and when they stopped carrying them the source became getting a Spirit and dismantling it, as you say. I've heard that the cheap copy you're referring to is acceptable but not extraordinary. Given how tricky it is to source these things, "acceptable" ain't bad. I only got that from one source, though, so you might want to continue checking around before investing.

They should be drop-in replacements. If your LP doesn't use 4-conductor wiring, it's a simple matter of soldering the two appropriate pickup wires together on each individual pickup (to put the coils in series), and soldering the remaining wires as they were. However, I understand that's not necessarily as easy as it sounds, so I'd advise just going to DiMarzio's own site and doing a schematic search for LP-style wiring. That'll give you the blueprint you need should you be in doubt. Weird. Went to "dogfood" my advice, and DiMarzio doesn't have a standard LP diagram that I can see. Here's standard LP: http://www.guitarelectronics.com/product/WDUHH3T2201 and here's LP with each volume still working independently when in the middle position: http://www.guitarelectronics.com/product/WDUHH3T2202 Once you've clicked to enlarge, there's a "legend" of sorts for Gibson 4-wire humbuckers. You'll need to create your own "legend" using the DiMarzio colours: http://www.guitarelectronics.com/category/...ckupcolorcodes/ The important thing is to compare the "north start/finish" and "south start/finish" and make them match up to that diagram. Your two sets of soldered wires may be different (though bare is going to be the same) and your "hot" lead might be other than red. But once you've got that part sorted out, the rest is self-explanatory. While you're at it, have a poke around Guitarelectronics.com. It's my go-to site for this kind of stuff, though I've still had to ask for advice here when they didn't cover my specific needs. Hope that helps! Greg

I assume you mean the cover not being magnetic.

Lace Sensor technology is set apart by more than the metal parts. Even the article you yourself quoted explains it in a lot more depth. It's the shape and materials of the magnet structure--not the casing--that make it respond differently. As they say, the entire magnetic field is different than a standard pickup. The metal casing of a tele pickup won't affect the magnetic field much or at all (non-magnetic materials are chosen). Just like a covered humbucker, the casing likey DOES help reject a certain amount of noise. But not to the same extent as the Lace technology. [edit-- didn't read the full page you linked to, but if you scroll down to the technical drawings, it's all right there. The magnetic fields of the pickup aren't caused by the casing (which is usually plastic, incidentally) but by that weird comb-shaped arrangement that takes the place of polepieces]

I actually don't know about plug-ins for ProTools. I know that the "pro" version plugins are the most expensive out there, but if ProTools LE accepts VST plug-ins then you have the same huge variety that the rest of the sequencers have. If you can invest in a Digi desk, you'd have to be crazy to NOT go with Pro Tools, although with the skyrocketing power of processors, the benefit of dedicated hardware is becoming minimized. If I had the money, I'd still go for it.

Pro Tools certainly holds the crown for "industry standard"; however, though the projects are compatible, be aware that Pro Tools and Pro Tools LE/M-Powered aren't the same in a lot of ways, beyond the usual "full version/light version" differences that are to be expected. A lot of Pro Tools power comes from the tight hardware integration, which is absent from the M-Powered lineup. For a "Traditional Sequencer", you're spoiled for choice these days. I do agree that often whatever "comes with your card" is more than adequate--and also more powerful than we had a mere decade ago! For people that have gear that comes with Sonar LE, I think it's the best of the "crippled version" bunch. Cubase LE is acceptable, and Tracktion (which comes with Mackie interfaces) is the only truly full-featured of the bunch. If you're willing to take the time and possibly make an extra purchase, by all means do not walk past Reaper, which has really come into its own since this thread started. I'm a Tracktioneer at heart, but I can't stop myself from recommending Reaper to people on a budget, looking for an alternative, or who like to be on the cutting edge (the developer is a madman cranking out update after update). -- Drak-- by all means, I'm no expert... I'm just a hobbyist who has spent far too much time researching and mucking around. But I for one would like to hear about your adventures, and if there's anything useful I can add to the conversation, I'll chip it in. Greg

Whee! Thanks man! Got $20 at Long and McQuade-- invested in an el-cheapo chromatic tuner by .. Korg? I usually use a tuning fork, but sometimes I misplace it; my backup plan is usually the computer, but sometimes I don't feel like booting it... so, good ol' tuner it is. Also treated myself to Bill Jehle's video. Haven't watched it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

$60! Not bad! A couple more questions if you don't mind humouring me: - did you use guitar frets or mando frets? - did you use any sort of neck support/reinforcement (ie truss rod)? - is there any way to see the inside work? ie. did you take any progress pics? It'd be cool to see a braced cigar box.

Awesome! That's exactly what I was hoping to do for a nice fun project, but I'm not that confident with the box I managed to get. Is the box sturdy enough for the string tension? I was considering doing mine as basically a "neck through".

Looking great! Have you used the QTuner pickups before? How do you like them? What kind of bridge is that?

Yeah, it's the "remember where the knob was" for each pot that probably made it too expensive to make as a commonly-available part. Someone somewhere may have done it, but I've not personally heard of such a beast.

Not quite. Tronical's Powertune is the foundation of the "robot" guitar, and was marketed as a 3rd-party add-on since before Gibson aquired exclusive North American rights to distribution. Gibson didn't 'sic' any dogs on anybody. Though I'm quite sure the appeal was indeed maintaining the instrument's look.

The free instructions for the fretboard mitre box are pretty cool! It's one of those things that SEEMS self-evident once you see it in action... but which most people may not have thought of. Thanks for sharing.

Lots of people do. But that's not what the OP had in mind. I DO think it's the best option, though.

A burstbucker in a Saga kit? Strikes me as a waste of money. Each individual pickup is worth more than your entire guitar! I would consider the options already listed in this thread-- it's good advice. GFS will be fine, or any number of used pickups on eBay. As for the hum-- I agree that it's wiring in the control cavity, not the pickup itself... nobody busts open a pickup to rewire it. even if they color-coded the leads coming out of the pickup wrong, you just reverse them at the spots they're connected-- not inside the pickup! Greg

Nice! Regarding pickup placement, I would *personally* lean more toward the neck position given your criteria. And for other reasons not mentioned as well: the neck position is the richest area for fundamental frequencies; if you need to reduce some bass/mids, you can use an EQ of some variety (a pedal, your amp, etc) and still get desirable results. You can, of course, add more bass/mids to the bridge pickup signal in a similar way, but you can only ever boost frequencies that are already present. From a sound engineering perspective, it is better to cut frequencies for sound-shaping than to boost them. And since the neck position has more of those fundamentals, the results will be more consistent and "better" compared to the "boost" method. That said, the MAIN reason is still the first one-- it sounds like this is the sound you're after. The EQ stuff is just blather.