LukeR

Hi well, its not so much the horns that affect the instrument... it is the mass that is removed when making a horn that has an effect on the tone. It is the amount that is cutaway that affects the body's mass, and thus (ARGUABLY) the instruments's tone. I have to say, I dont *REALLY* understand your question- the strat has 2 cutaways, and the Les Paul has one- and people will argue infinately over which has the better tone- even then, I sincerely doubt that this is the most significanmt tonal difference between the two. Can you please clarify your question for us? thanks, Luke

How much 'pop'? Just a question, how much reverb are you using? If it is what I am imagining, you should turn off the reverb and see if its still happening. Just a theory, Luke

yes, ebay is a good idea. Ihave also seen people convert sewing machine pedal/controller thingies into wahs. might be worth considering. luke

Thanks Litch! I should have remembered Perry's site- thats where I am buying my stuff from! Thanks again man, Luke

Hi everyone, Does anyone know of a 'how to guide' to carve a neck with a vollute? I have searched, and found the word in various posts, but not how to actually make a neck with one. I have one on my SG, and think its a good idea to have one, but an a bit confused as to how to actually go about making one. I have the hiscock book, and have found a fair bit of info on how to shape a neck without a vollute, but I would just like to know how to go about it before i make a huge error. Thanks guys, Luke

Hey man! Your wife looks like Gabrielle Richens! How cool is that! Where do you find another one? Congrats on the ceremony man- Its nice to see you are still happliy married. Hope you enjoyed Fiji, Luke

I concur. Whilst Gotoh are great value for money, and the general structure of the parts are very sound, the finish does have a habit of flaking off. My SG has a Gotoh Tuneomatic, and its a good unit (no problems with its function) but I am always adjusting my action, and I think too much usage has made the chrome flake off). But great value, nonetheless.

The song from at the end of the Wedding Singer is number one in my book (The one Adam Sandler sings to Drew Barrymore on the plane). Not that I particularly like it, but its fairly easy to play, and, well, honestly, I have slept with all 5 girls I have played it for (I think its the magic song!) Now THAT is a cool song! Luke

Will do. Thanks for the tip Setch! Luke

Recently, I read in a magazine actrice about cutting the treble strings solts in a nut using a junior hacksaw blad, with the set knocked out of it. Has anyone tried this- or know ifits a good/bad idea? Luke

hi, Well, active pickups use batteries, and passives do not . (there is obviosly alot more to it than that- circuits as well as batteries, but the battery is the giveaway) The batteries power extra tonal control ability (do to the circuitry). More tonal flexibility. That said, a common complaint about active pickups are that they can sound sterile- not warm. I dont know if i nessesarily believe that myself- I think, like graphite guitar necks, you just have to mess around with your amp settings. With active pickups, there is also the issue of having room to install the battery in the controll cavity- you may not have room- although i assume that you probably would. EMGs make great active pickups; I dont think I know of any other notable active pickup manufacturers myself, but I am sure that there are. There was an aussie company run by Tony Snape called Mastertone pickups- i am not sure if they are around anymore, but they made GREAT actives. Personally, I have only used passives myself (MANY differnt pickups) and have discovered through trial and error what I do and dont like. I think try a few differnt types of pickups, and see what you like. Dimarzio and Seymour duncan have sound samples at their sites as well, which is a help. Hope thats a help Luke

I truely believe that you are looking for an alnico pickup. I honestly believe that the greatest sounding pickups use alnico magnets. Sure, there are a lot of good ceramic magnet pickups availible, but I would recomend an alnico humbucker to you. It seems that you do want a fairly versitile humbucker- if you want Vai sounds AND SRV type tones. All of the players you mentioned used high gain pickups (well, the SRV pickups are said to be hot, if not high gain). Therefore, it seems that you are looking for a 'hot' sounding pickup (more winds- more DC resistance, I believe). I admit that I am VERY biased, but I think that you can get a great high gain sound out of an alnico humbucker, but not a great clean-ish sound out of a ceramic (I am sure that there are exeptions, but as I said, I am VERY biased). I dont think you could get an SRV type sound with ceramic pickups, but I think Alnico may get you in the similar ball park. Therefore, if I were you, I would look for a high DC resistance rated alnico pickup (an alnico 5 would probably be most suitable). If possible (an if money permits)- I would have it scatterwound. Both Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan have the criteria I mentioned for each pickup availible on their respective sites. I hope thats a help, good luck man, Luke

Amazing work- and thanks for the pics! Luke

thats really cool! I have one of those lizards living in my garden- your inlay looks very accurate! Luke

Hi Setch, Great work again (as usual). As you have said, could you PLEASE post some pics on the controll cavity and how you did the angles to fit the pot? (I know you have said that you would try and take pictures of this, I am just trying to show that there is particular interest in how you did it)- I was actually going to ask you about it. Great work again man, Luke

Thanks frank- thats what i meant. years ago, i broke a D on my sg, and, with the shops closed at that late hour, borrowed a D from my accoustic. Luke

I concurr.

From memory, didnt Kurt Cobain use something similar at the unpugged concert? You will have to use electric strings, however.

I like the Chet Atkins Gretschs. The Brain Setzer model with the dice for controls seems a bit tacky to me on such an expensive. I also like (not a signature model per se) but the violin beatle bass. I played a vintage one recently (a left handed one strung right), and it was very cool. It was the funnest bass I have ever played.

Thanks guys!... my eyes must have been playing up on me. Thanks so much for the links and explanations; I really apreciate it. Have a great day guys, and thanks again, Luke

Lovetone Brown Source is used by hammet, as well as a wah rumored to once have been owned by Hendrix. Early on, i believe he used a Ts9 tubescreamer. I believe a lot of the metallica sound comes from the amps- the Mesas et al. As for the new album, it would be im[possible to guess, because there are so many different sounds there. But the Lovetone pedals are used quite often. Luke

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone has or could tell me where I can find a photo of the Neck to body join of the new Gibson Jimmy Page Les Paul (or indeed, JP's no 1). At the gibso site, they have a streaming video, and there is a quick shot of the neck joint of the no.1. It may be just my eyes, but as the neck is very thin, the body and neck joint looks somhow different to that of a generic Les Paul. I am sure that someone here may be able to help me... I think I have exahused google. Thanks guys, luke

Looking real nice Setch! Luke

That sounds very interesting. I mean, Acryic and carbo0n fiber have been used, but i think what you suggest is different. I think it sounds really interesting. I rembeber an intereviewI read with Bob (cant rembember his last name) -the founder of modulous guitars- and he said that the reason alot guitar players dont like the sound of carbon fiber neck, etc, is because they have thir amps inadvertantly 'compensated' tone wise to 'compensate' for the characteristics of the timber. Correct EQ biasing makes the guitar sound wonderful Good luck with it! Luke

That guitar in the photo is a Gordon Smith, isnt it? From what I have heard, they are very fine guitars (a lot of 'humans' as opposed to 'machines' are used in the building process) and they are based out of the UK. They are (or where as I recall) VERY reasonably priced considering... I think they used to use a rosewood veneer as a fingerboard (as opposed to a slab) to cut costsand presrve wood, etc, but I believe they have stopped this. Great value guitars, as far as I have heard. Do you own this guitar, and are not happy with it? If so, you may find that you will have to pay more than 1500 for something you like better. Luke By the way, if you ARE in london- I would DEFINATELY recomend Setch's work- have a look at the Les Paul he is building. (I would use the 'drool' emoticon, but I find it disgusting ) (the emoticon, that is, not Setch's great work)