GregP

Well, you're best off going THROUGh the front in order to assist popping them out of the back.

Pirates don't hide? In their wee grubby little caves, covered with muck, running away from the Royal Navy and wondering if each day will be their last?

I've read many positive reviews, too. I knew about the 'tone enhancing' thing, but I was just being a bit fecetious. Frankly, I'm surprised the TonePros method isn't the standard one, as it seems to be a butt-simple extra bit of technology... in large-scale manufacturing application, it couldn't work out to more than an extra $1 US per unit. So despite the allegedly better tone (I'm inclined to believe it... but let's face it, there's a whole mythology of tone out there and very little science or practical experience... we tend to believe the hype (myself included) very quickly) I'm loathe to pay an extra $50 for two taps. Greg.

At the end of the day, no matter how cool pirates are, it's gotta be ninjas.

Well, this has already been seen in my project thread, but here's the disaster: I tried cleaning it up, and then mostly gave up. The only thing I accomplished was moving the power tools from the floor to a shelf, and moving the table saw out of the way a bit. Greg

Hi psw! If you get a sustainer system working, there will be PLENTY of people on here who will want to know how to make their own. There are also a few on here (myself NOT included!) who will even be knowledgeable enough to help out and be a sounding board. A strong magnet that needs to be placed far away from the strings could potentially be a good candidate for an 'invisible' (ie under the pickguard or wood) passive magnetic pickup, no? Greg

Haven't held a TonePros and a regular Tune-O-Matic in-hand for a direct comparison... but my local guitar tech seems to think your summary is about accurate. As he tells the story: "The rep from TonePros comes in trying to get us to stock these things. I say, 'So when I'm restringing my guitars, the bridge won't fall off? That's it?' As you can see, we don't stock TonePros." Greg

I like it! I like it a lot.

The low-gain PAF is, indeed, PFA. I think the name's caught on... quick, market it before someone steals it. I'll have two, please, as a balanced set with nickel covers. Actually, I'm half-serious... but that'll be a few projects away, so I can't make an actual order or even a promise.

Too right. <laff> I was born in Portage and spent 4 years in Brandon. When I left Manitoba I swore I'd never return (on a permanent basis). Er... not to rub salt in the wound since you're stuck there. ;-) Back on topic, there's some dude on eBay that sells Bigsby-style tremolos, though I quick search didn't turn one up strangely enough-- I could have sworn I saw them by the dozens last time I looked. Greg

Don't make my cry here by having to choose between so many kick-ass guitars. Any 'losers' in this month's GOTM shouldn't feel bad. Each group had some tough decisions to make... Grr... Bah!!! I guess I'll vote, now, though I'm loathe to.

If you plane your two pieces of wood and use the right glue to join them, I don't imagine you'd lose any sustain. Greg

Agreed. I've gotten satisfactory results from aluminum foil, and I'll likely use it on the pickguards of strat-style instruments again in the future (what's easier than aluminum foil and adhesive spray?); however I threw some copper tape into my StewMac order and I'm looking forward to giving it a whirl. Might even re-do my aluminum-shielded tele. Greg

Last I checked at LMI, the radiusing equipment was indeed still down. I placed an order anyhow, because I wasn't likely to get a 25" scale 15" radius ebony fretboard from many other suppliers. I'll just have to wait a few months... or years....

The different rhythm might be useful in a cover song. Ie. a cover song in which the idea is NOT to copy each note perfectly. I don't mean that as an insult, I just think the rhythm sounded cool even though it wasn't the Iron Man riff exactly. Greg

Hey, those look rather nice! Bolt-in necks if I'm not mistaken, too. [edit: oops, just noticed it was the P-style they have pictured with the bolt-in] Once you get replenished, I'll have to think about doing one. Greg

Sure. Use a balance knob.

Dude, That's seriously sweet! You should be proud of having made a good sounding "2nd Hand-O-Caster". To me that's a badge of honour, not shame. That wiring looked NUTS! Better you than me! <laff> Greg

I agree that intuitive and "Logic" don't belong in the same sentence. I've mucked around with Nuendo using a... er... 'demo' copy, and I recorded fairly extensively with Cubase SX 1.06. I demoed both the latest Cubase and the latest Nuendo, but only very briefly-- I have to confess that I haven't tried either of them for any more than an hour; however part of that is due to the realization that I did not want to wander down that long and winding learning curve yet again. The whole pathway of 'major' sequencers lost its appeal for me when I discovered a few things: 1. All of my needs are met with much less power 2. It's -software- that tries its best to look like hardware, complete with shadowed, chromed, spiffy-looking knobs. Well that's all well and good, but the whole idea of software is that you can do things on it that simply can't be done (easily?) with hardware... so why does software continually try to BE hardware? 3. I wanted to go the path of legitimate software. Once I put myself in a consumer's shoes (rather than the P2P user's shoes I had worn), I realized how incredibly over-priced that stuff is. Unless I owned a studio and planned on charging a fee for others to record in it, I would never plunk down that much dosh for such an enormous piece of bloatware. In a way, it's quite exhilerating discovering that you can do just as well (or better) using cheap and free software. There are other reasons, but those are the main ones. Frankly, I find it crazy how many different menus and windows you have to swim through in Steinberg's software. When a dual-monitor system (even triple) is a necessity rather than a convenience, somebody's done something wrong. In the 2 hours that I 'demoed' Steinberg's software, I completely learned Tracktion. Tracktion's latest version also offers something that Steinberg can only dream of, which is a semi-modular system of routing effects. All of your busing, sending, and in-line effects needs are met, but you can also develop new ways to effect your signal and can easily create super-synths or multi-effectors with a few quick drag and drops. Multiple outputs are taken care of, and can be routed to other tracks, or back into themselves. Really, your imagination is the limit. So, my question to you-- have you tried Tracktion? Or Energy XT? Now, I realize that each of us are simply defending programs which we know and love. I'd hate it for some jackass to tell me that $1,000 was a "stupid" investment to make, and I understand that I may be coming off that way. But let me assure you that if you are using the features to their full extent, and are comfortable and happy with that working environment, and are comfortable with the price you paid, then I honestly and sincerely wish you nothing but good will. I'd just never recommend that path to a newcomer. And no, I'm not a shill. <laff> Greg

Er.. Still can't go wrong with mahogany! If you want something a bit more on the 'exotic' end of things but still with that tonal range, ALLEGEDLY Korina/Limba are a bit more sparkly than mahogany. I'll let you know when my build's done. As for pickups... meh! There's so many to choose from... hit the manufacturer's websites and do some research. Check out webpages of your favourite artists and see what they use. Greg

From Lee Valley, I got a 'contour plane' (actually, a pair) which are the poor man's spokeshave, or at least so it seems to me. I also grabbed a "Microplane Rasp", and I love the way it works so much that I'm not sure I'll even risk using the contour planes. Unlike a conventional rasp, it doesn't leave the wood all 'chewy'. Of course, you'll still have to sand regardless of how -relatively- smooth it is. One thing I'm discovering (slowly) is that it's less important to worry about doing things the 'right' or 'accepted' way than it is to find a way that works for you and that you're comfortable with. Greg

Good stuff, Mi-atch. I'll be rather interested to see how this one turns out! About the tung oil-- do you mean that it'll likely get sanded off during the process and you'll need to re-apply, or you didn't like the feel of it and you're going to sand it off on purpose? Greg

Can't provide any drawings, but the thread in question is HERE Later in the thread, MKG also describes the thickness of the actual PRS.

I guess to each their own, but "intuitive" is never a word I would apply to a single one of the 'major players'. Nuendo and Cubase send you into window/menu HELL, and Logic is a bit esoteric. It has the most features, though, sure. Can't argue with you there. I guess if somebody's going the route of the "P2P discount" or are REALLY fanatic about their recording software it's a good-- no, great!-- program, but there's no way in hell I'd shell out that kind of bread for such a piece of bloatware. It's the Windows XP of recording software. Great program, but bloated... oh, so bloated. As for sound quality, that's mythology. They're all digital. They're all zeroes and ones. It comes down to your hardware for sound quality. I suppose the dithering algorhythm could play a factor, too, but Steinberg's isn't notoriously good. It's like all the others-- it does its job transparently. You'd only really notice sound quality dropping if a program has particularly BAD dithering. Greg

Nice!! I still have it on Betamax somewhere... I wonder where the machine is... hmm.... I have to admit, I still haven't seen American Pop or Eight Crazy Nights. I always want to rent them, but I always also know that the people I'm watching movies with (ie. my girlfriend) will not appreciate Bakshi. The two little priest/rabbi guys doing their prayer-dancing-thing is hilarious, too. Greg