Dugz Ink

It's basically just a coil of wire, and a 9 volt doesn't have much amperage, so I doubt it. I remember magnetizing metal spikes by wrapping wire around them and then conecting both ends of the wire to a battery, but it took a while to have a semi-permanent affect... like dozens of hours. So, in theory it could have an affect, but I highly doubt that a few seconds would do it. But I could be wrong. Does it sound different?

I've worked with American Walnut that was light in color and weight, and I've worked with some that was harder and heavier... and then there was the English Walnut, and some Bastone Walnut (which means "bastard" because it's a hybrid), and... I think you get the point. Check out the various species: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walnut

No, I'm not smart enough to get myself out of this big of a mess. It was truly a "God thing." I'm putting these tuners on my guitar, not sleeping with them... and you have my condolences. I will be very careful. Thank you for sharing your pain!

WOW! It's been a year since I started this thread... and the big roller coaster of life has gone full circle. I think the last time I stopped in here was about ½ a year ago, then my life really hit the skids; my wife quit her job, packed her bags, and dam near left with somebody. With only one meager income, I had to sell some of my instruments and gear to pay over-due bills... and this project has been sitting next to my desk the entire time. Well, life may have finally turned around. I was just promoted, with about a 45% pay increase... not counting quarterly bonuses. My wife still doesn't work, but at least she's going through therapy (abused as a child) and she's going to church, and she's thanking me for letting her stay after she gave me every reason to change the locks. And an accountant (who I met through the Songwriter's Guild) got a $1670 tax return for me. So, I'm paying off bills, repairing the car, and BUYING THE STEINBERGER GEARLESS TUNERS! Here's the headstock design... I just need to decide on the material I want to use for the nut.

Well that's a butt-munch; none of them carry the bass parts I was going to buy. EDIT: Well, it looks like AllParts has some stuff that's similar to what I wanted.

I wanted to check the prices on some guitar parts, so I went to Custom Shop Parts. The "Home" page looked fine, but clicking on specific links brings up various messages... none of which look good. This is what you usually find in the Guitar section... Excuse me? That was almost a month ago. And this is what you usually find the Bass section... Who is Zoovy and what has done with the bridge I wanted for my next project? If you DO find a page that's active, it tells you... That is quite strange... even for this planet.

As Les Paul proved, you can build an electric guitar out of a 2x4. That's pretty cheap.

I hadn't thought about doing that to the neck screws. (I've been running drops of Tung Oil in to the holes.) However, beeswax is generally easier to work with. (You can usually buy it at craft stores.)

I know, it's been a long time, but life has a way of going off in it's own direction. However, I plan on getting the project back on track this month; there will be some extra money coming in, so I will finally be able to buy the Steinberg gearless tuners for this project. D~s

I used two small blocks of wood and screws (attached to the feet of the pedestals) to clamp the chassis into the soundhole. You could also drill holes in the body, then run screws into the pedestals, but I don't have the heart to drill holes in a beautiful acoustic guitar. I also used rubber padding between the pedestals and the body, which reduced the amount of noise that was transfered from the body, but it also cut down the sound quality (probably because the rubber sucked some of the energy out of the soundboard), so I'm not sure if you would want to "shock mount" this thing. D~s

If the straps on your tank-top are narrower than the straps on your bra, and you wear them anyway, you might be a redneck. The sad thing is, in spite of the fact that she has a bra and a tight shirt, they still sag a bit. They probably look like silly-putty. - - - - - "Sir... what's your name?" "He said his name is RRRAAAAALLPH." (Cheech & Chong, "Up In Smoke")

Here is THE most referenced thread on the Studio Central forum: How to Set Up a Mixer It contains text explanations as well as detailed graphics. Serously - check it out. As for computer specs, I started doing multi-track digital recording/mixing on a 486DX66. Now I have a 2.7gHz Athlon. The big difference is 1) I can run a LOT more tracks and effects on my latest computer, and 2) a lot of the new software simply won't run smooth on older systems. If you use an older computer, resign yourself to the fact that you won't be able to use very many software effects on your tracks, and you won't be able to run all of the latest software. But do as much as you can do until you can afford to do more. D~s

I recently bought a K&K "Big Shot" piezo pickup, to mount in my acoustic/electric bass. I was looking to add to the sound that I get from the undersaddle pickup. If you don't already know, let me explain that piezos react to vibration, so you have to mount in such a way that it either A) picks up a lot of sonic energy from the sound source (in this case, the strings), picks up a lot of resonance from the instrument's body, or C) all the above. The problem with "A" is that it can also create a lot of feedback if the piezo is too close to an opening... much like putting a mic near the opening of an instrument... so you have less trouble if you keep the piezo buried some place safe. The problem with "B" is that the piezo will pick up ANY vibration, including the sound of your arm rubbing against the guitar body... much like trying to record vocals while holding a Neumann U87 studio mic with your hand. Another interesting property is that piezos respond best when there is a little bit of pressure on them; they pick up more of the low frequencies and do a better job of picking up all frequencies as you increase the pressure. Well, up to a point. If you apply too much pressure, then the piezo cannot vibrate, which keeps it from doing anything. So, with all of those properties in mind, I designed and built a chassis that would hold the piezo tight, shield it from direct sound, and pick up more sonic energy. Here is a simple graphic of what I built: The "soundboard" is a piece of solid hardwood that is about 1/8" thick. The "pedestals" are two hardwood dowels. I haven't included dimensions, because that would really depend on what you mount this in; the amount of space you have for mounting, and the amount of space you have for slipping this in so you can mount it. The two bolts (that hold the piece of wood that holds the piezo) can be tightened until you get just the right amount of pressure to provide the best sound. I also added a thin rubber pad between the piezo and the wood*, which seems to enhance the piezo's ability to vibrate properly. Over the course of several days, I tried sticking the piezo to the guitar's body, clamping it to the guitar's body, and then mounting it in this chassis. The chassis worked the best by a long shot, and provided incredibly deep lows... the kind that shake subs. However, it's not the sound that I want for this guitar, so I'm looking into mounting a mic in the body. However, I am holding onto this chassis for other guitar projects, and I'm thinking about making a similar rig for mounting a piezo inside a djembe. I just thought I would share it, in case anybody wants to experiment. D~s *I failed to mention that only used one rubber pad on one side of the piezo.

I'm a writer, not a performer, but I always keep my latest song-demos on my web site: http://www.DugzInk.com/Music.html There are more in the works, so you can stop in every couple of months and hear a new demo. (I can't afford to spend a ton of money on demos, so that slows down the process.) I try not to "over-produce" my demos, so some of them will sound a little sparce... but that's the whole idea... because I want artists (not Britney Spears, but real "artists") to be able to listen and say "That's nice, but I would like to add this here and that there." Once they invest themselves into the song, it has a better chance of making it onto an album. D~s

A roll in bed with Honey. (She's got hot buns!) D~s

Southpa isn't being silly; you can build a guitar with a zero degree angle. You just have to do something so the end of the strings are low enough to keep pressure on the nut. If you build a "headless" rig, then you already have a little bit of angle and down-force. If the posts (on your tuning machines) stick up fairly high, then you have to do something; angle the head, or offset it. By the way, it looks like the Steinberger "Gearless" tuners put the ends of the strings pretty close to the surface of the head, so that would be another case where you would not need a lot of angle or offset... but I have not seen any of those for a bass. D~s

I know one that's even dumber: A company that puts out scheduling software (for radio stations) sent our latest upgrade... and included a handy magnet that had their name and contact numbers on it. Needless to say, they received more than just a couple of phone calls from frustrated radio stations. Thank God and Sony for CDs. D~s

Okay... this may be completely stupid, but I have to throw this out there... I'm storing my pickups in an aluminum box, to keep them safe from the various magnetic devices that I have in my shop. (Aluminum is non-magnetic, hence it works as a shield.) My concern is not the loss of polarity, but reversing the polarity by getting the wrong end of the pickup's poles too close to the wrong "end" of a stronger magnetic force. This wouldn't be a concern if the pickup has a substantial magnet under the poles, but some appear to be merely "charged" Alinco V metal poles... which could be re-magnetized or demagnetized. Of course, if all of that is incorrect, just slap me... spank me... oh baby... D~s

It's beginning to look like I just need to experiment with a less expensive rotary blend-pot... just run the wires out the sound-hole and tape everything in place while I test the idea. If it sounds good, then I'll call Newark for a good laugh. ("You want HOW much?") D~s

I can't stand to be "normal" so that was a real compliment. And I take another look at what I can do with my design. D~s

They would also be a lot lighter than the enclosed geared tuners. Here's the initial design I have for the head... but it's subject to change as I shape it. So many possibilities... D~s

The AB-20 (in my avatar) comes with whatever under-sadlle transducer that Washburn bought and mounted. Finding the details is very difficult. (The "schematic" looks like it was drawn by a five-year-old!) So I have no idea about the specifics. Meanwhile, I ordered a couple of K&K "Big Shot" piezos. I figured I would try one in this bass, and have another one around for experimenting. I'm not sure if these are better/worse than the Fishman stuff, but the folks at K&K were a lot more helpful (via email) than the folks at Fishman... and I tend to spend my money with people who really try to help me. Kyle... That was a well articulated post. Thank you for the insights. D~s

So, Doug at Sole Mate Guitars built a really nice neck to go with the body that I made... and I'm looking at the rectangular paddle and thinking "What do I want to do? Use my 6 in-line Gotoh machines? Buy some 3+3 machines?" Or should I buy the Steinberger Gearless Tuners? Then I can do almost anything with the headstock design. But will these "machines" (they just look like specially designed bolts and sleeves) actually be as good as a geared machine? Any input is appreciated. D~s

I've been looking around, and haven't found anything, either. Another dumb question; if I use a 500k blend-pot, do I still need to buffer each piezo? D~s

So, you never have problems with color bleed? (From the old finish into the new) That's a realistic problem with some types of finishes (especially certain colors of acrylics)... but I've never used some of the finishes that you guys discuss. I'm just asking to make sure I understand what you're saying about "factory" guitar finishes. D~s