GregP

And ETS seem slow to respond to individual queries... if there were a good dealer channel, that'd be fine, but there doesn't seem to be one of those either.

Those are 2 questions that you will be able to answer for yourself as you delve into the literature that's available. Check as many online tutorials as you can find, and perhaps buy a book by one of the more well-known authors such as Melvyn Hiscock or Martin Koch.

The first question is one that's fundamental and will be obvious to you once you learn more about guitar construction in general. The second one is a bit trickier and you'll discover that there are 2 main ways to do it (neither of which require you to glue bits on unless you've messed it up pretty badly and need to shim).

I'd definitely wait for some real reviews. The clips aren't helpful, and Harmony Central is a complete and utter waste of time when it comes to its user reviews. Worse than worthless.

Howzabout no headstock at all?

I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking-- pics would be appreciated from your direction. Reason being, there shouldn't be anything weird or interesting about stringing up. If I could see a pic, I might be able to say "aha! That's why it's weird!" but until then it just makes me wonder why it'd be any different from stringing up any other style of tuner.

Or you could do something similar to the way Atomic Amps does their thang... make a standard-sized "housing" and then you can substitute whichever effects unit you want. Could be Pod, V-Amp, Gt2, whatever.

Actually, it seems literally broken right now! :/ I can't seem able to perform any sort of search whatsoever.

Anyhow, here's a pic of the finished product... the weird extra metal near the bridge is an Epiphone EZ-Bender... and neither of those tone bars are in usage right now since an actual bullet bar or shubb bar works better than a "guitar steel" which is more suited to Dobro playing.

I built one and it was a very easy but very satisfying project. I'll see if I can find the thread for you. I'm surprise "lap steel" didn't turn one up in the search! Stupid broken search...

ward's got it right. Just as an amplifier has circuitry to "do something" with your analogue signal, there has to be circuitry to "do something" in your computer. This "something" is analog-to-digital conversion, which is something that any soundcard can do. But a USB port is not a soundcard, and it doesn't 'tap into' your soundcard's converters either.

If you want something like what you're describing, but not as a DIY solution, there are a few products on the market. The one that springs to mind is the IK Multimedia Stealthplug, which includes Mackie Tracktion 2 recording software (worth the price of admission by itself!) and a lite version of Amplitube, an amp-modeling software. The Stealthplug isn't the best 'soundcard' on the market, but it does an adequate job and the price can't be beat for that package.

I went into Long&McQuade's with a $20 gift card after Christmas, intending to get a cheapo tuner. Saw the same D'Addario pack and asked the guy, "do I REALLY get a tuner with that?? $20 easily spent!" He was like, "I wouldn't. Get the strings if you need strings, but get a different tuner. That thing sucks." I said, "How exactly does it work?" His reply: "It doesn't. Not very well at least."

I'd be curious to know if he's totally just full of crap or if the thing is a bit dodgy. I ended up buying el-cheapo Korg chromatic tuner. Can't go wrong with those.

Pretty neat, and I definitely appreciate your posting it!

However, ultimately I can't imagine this being useful except as a bit of a gimmick. The MicroUSB and other similar devices (IKMM Stealthplug) do the same job only a wee bit less elegantly. And they're replacable. It doesn't say if the microSD has the right preamps for the low-Z signal generated by the pickups, either. At least the Stealthplug is targeted at guitarists.

No mind-changing. I even had an eBay search set up for the cheaper speedloader-equipped guitars when it proved impossible to find them as standalone units anymore. I also mentioned them as a possible resource for headless guitars on Robert's blog. Pointing out some flaws in a plan doesn't mean the whole plan is crap. It's true that I raised concerns about the longevity... they're not really pushing the thing, you know? So I had been pondering how one could jury-rig a clamping system if the strings become unavailable. Never cared about whether they cap the end of the neck, either. Easier that they're screw-down, actually.

<shrug>

Are you kidding? I love the idea of using a Speedloader as headless. Not against it at all. The proprietary strings are definitely something to consider (especially since FR isn't exactly backing the Speedloader design with all guns blazing) looking forward, but that wouldn't stop me from using it.

<drools at Drak's neck joint and belly carve>

I typically prefer flat top, but as other people have already said, it depends on the specific instrument of course. I think a lot of the flat-topped PRS guitars look rather nice, actually!

The MCU is pretty widely supported. You should research how easy to use it is in an Acid environment just to be sure, but I've never heard of anyone having any terrible things to say about the MCU.

Love it so far-- many of those features are ones I've always considered a good match, such as marrying the Alumitones to a forward-thinking headless design.

Looking forward to tracking this one as it goes!

I love Steinbergers, headless guitars in general, and "brave new" approaches like your 89+Sustainiac.

Words cannot express how cool this guitar is to me. Amazing work JS-ifying the shape.

That's the typical scenario, yes. I use a washer in the control cavity as a common ground instead of the back of a pot, but it's the same idea. Really, though, as long as the wire ends up joining the common ground path without creating a ground loop, there's no actual rule. Whatever it takes.

There's nothing special about bass components that would make it work on a bass but not a guitar.

Just do it the same way, substituting components of the right "values" (pots, capacitors) where appropriate. Depending on your pickups, you might also have more than 2 wires coming from it, but that's just another shift of approach-- wire humbuckers in series (the normal method) and you're left with 2 conductors and a shield wire. Proceed as usual.

There's no reason you can't do 2 vol 1 tone.

The letters are so stylized that I'm not sure you even need the guitar outline. The letters suggest the shape well enough on their own!

Any graphic designer could tell you that the basic logo could be refined, but without refinement it has a fun homegrown appeal to it that matches the text.

I've heard of people doing what seems to be an easier operation-- putting a compound radius on the frets themselves rather than working the whole fingerboard from scratch. I've never done any "real" fretwork so someone else will have to step in, but my understanding is that as long as you're not going nutz with tight radius at nut and broad radius at the highest fret, it can be done.

A very good point. I wasn't thinking in terms of getting the lowest possible action, which is never really one of my personal aims anyhow. I dislike having action that low. But yeah, if you had an absolutely excellent fret job and a great setup, having them all the same level WOULD make more sense.

Greg

Why not? As long as it's not some sort of absolutely insane dropaway (a few micrometres isn't much), you could potentially remove possible sources of fret buzz. In theory at least. If that logic doesn't stack up, I'd be curious to know why not.

That makes sense, Wes. It's not personal jealousy (the poster himself being jealous of the fame/acclaim) but rather the feeling that there are more deserving talents out there than the one being bashed. I'd agree with that. In some cases, though (the ones left over from your 'most'), it's just seeing a band that is so cringe-worthy it makes you go "why??" For me, that's the feeling I get from Dragonforce. They just make me cringe and wince. I don't have anybody that I really compare them to, personally.