Dugz Ink

USB works good on a Mac, but I know several people who said that recording multiple tracks simultaneously on PCs (with USB gear) didn't work very well. PCs do much better with Firewire. I don't recommend Pro Tools to people who just want to record at home because the Digidesign hardware and software is fairly proprietary. And, even though the M-Box is put out by Digidesign, comparing it to the professional version of Pro Tools is like comparing Cubase to Nuendo (which are both put out by Stienberg). Yeah, talk to my friends at Studio Central; they're respectful, helpful, and knowledgeable. Some of them may have even better options than I threw at you. They also have a lot of great articles and FAQs. And check out the thread on Inexpensive Software and Demos. D~s

The most important thing is to figure out what you are truly qualified to record. I have no idea what your experience is in this area, so I'm posting this as generically as possible. If a person doesn't know much about setting up mics, then buying something that has enough inputs so they can record mulitple drum mics at once is a waste. Ditto for people who don't have the right environment for recording with mics. However, it's basically impossible to find a less expensive solution; the Delta 66 gives you 4 balanced Ins for less than $200... but there are a lot of options if you want more flexibility... like the ability to set up 6-8 drum mics, which is what we normally run. Personally, I prefer a small mixer or controller. My choices range from using the Yamaha MG124 mixer with M-Audio's Audiophile 2496 pci-card, all the way up to the Tascam FW1884 controller. This type of setup gives you more line/mic inputs and more monitor/headphone outputs, but they also push up the cost... like 100-1000 dollars more. As for software, Cubase and Sonar are running pretty close right now; Cubase might have slightly better algorhythms, but Sonar has better upgrade pricing. Another idea would be Adobe Audition; it doesn't have all of the MIDI stuff that the others have, but it offers multi-track recording/mixing, and some of the best editing/processing tools on the market... far better than anything Steinberg or Cakewalk have put out. D~s

My first guitar body is starting to take shape, and I'm ready to cut out the neck pocket for the "Fender style" neck that I bought. (I'll learn how to build necks after I learn how to build the rest.) The pickups and bridge are also on the way; humbuckers and a tune-o-matic. So, should I set up the neck based on my bridge/pickup height, the other way around? D~s

If I could only have one tool, it would be my half-round file. I simply could not survive without it, or a set of files. The next tool on my list would be my 1/4" chisel. D~s

By "slide" do you mean for playing a guitar/dobro/etc ?

Okay... I put together a short tutorial on "Jewelling" Your Metal. I hope that it's easy enough to understand. Be warned: it really does take a little practice and a LOT of patience. D~s

"Jeweling" Your Metal This is a simple process that requires a lot of patience. However, if it is done properly, and applied to the appropriate piece(s) of hardware, it can have a major impact on the over-all look of the project. Start by putting a small "jewelling" or "engine turning" brush in your drill press. These are readily available through gunsmith supply stores, and probably through some automotive machine shops in your area. NOTE: If you can purchase the type that have o-rings around the bristles, then the bristles will not spread out. (tighter bristles = tighter pattern = better jeweling) If your drill press has multiple speeds, set it to "high". Now, set up your shop/chair/etc. so that you can comfortably sit at your drill press for 30-60 minutes straight. If you are going to attempt something as large as a pick-guard for a Strat, set aside at least 2 hours. Next, cover the metal with a thin coat (about 1mm thick) of "Fine" grade Metal Grinding Compound. The local auto-parts store will sell it as "valve grinding compound"... it's grease-mixed silicone-carbide goop in a tube. The gunsmith supply stores sell it too, but most will charge way too much for it. Now place the metal in/on your drill press. Personally, I have a specially designed clamp that holds the metal part, but can be adjusted forward/backward and right/left by turning two small crank-handles. This is very helpful, but not absolutely necessary. Start at one corner of the metal, with only 1/4 of your brush on the metal. (If the metal has a 90° corner, then the point of the corner should be directly below the middle of the brush.) Lower the drill press until the brush makes complete contact with the metal and JUST starts to spread out. Hold it there for 2-3 seconds, then raise the drill press. You should now have a perfect circular pattern in the grinding compound. Move the metal 1/2 of the width of circular pattern, and repeat this process until you reach one end of the metal. Then, starting at the end where you just finished, move the metal over 1/2 of the width of the pattern, and repeat the previous step until you get to the other end (where you started). Here are two illustrations: the first shows the initial brush placements (working from left to right), and the second shows how your metal will look after 3½ passes. After you have finished the entire piece, CAREFULLY clean the grinding compound off of the metal using a petroleum based liquid and a soft brush or rag. Inspect it closely to make sure that you do not have any grinding compound left on the metal. Then wipe down the metal with a very light coat of machine oil. NOTE 1: You can use devices other than a small "jewelling" or "engine turning" brush; some people have used wooden dowels... but they have to be perfectly straight, and they will slowly grind down because of the compound. NOTE 2: You can stop in mid-project if you have to, but this usually leads to a slight change in the pattern. Most people develop a rhythm and movement as they're working, and stopping the process disrupts both. NOTE 3: The jewelling pattern described above (Up & Back) is the most common pattern, but there are many others, including "Fish Scales" and "Rope". Feel free to expirement, but ALWAYS cover the center of the preceeding spot, otheriwse EVERY circular pattern will have a nipple-like point in the middle of it, and that does not look good. D~s

On hard metals I like to use a technique called "jewelling"... which requires some automotive grinding compound, a drill press, and a very small wire "brush". It's commonly used on custom rifles and hot-rods. I'm having breakfast with another writer in a few minutes, but when I get back I will put together an explanation for everybody. D~s

It has MIDI in/out, so you would use a plug-in program like V-Sampler, Giga-Studio, or SFZ+ to "play" the guitar samples that you wanted to play... Tele, Strat, LP, Jazz, fretless... all at the click of a mouse. The technology still doesn't give us perfect sounding MIDI-generated guitars, but it's sounding better. Of course, the computer can only replicate whatever sounds are already sampled, and it's difficult to tell a computer how to interpret evereything that you can do with a real guitar, so there are still a lot of sounds that we can only create on a guitar. Computers are cool, but guitars still rule. D~s

It only takes me 5-7 minutes to make coffee and smoke a cigarette. Also, different glues in different conditions have different drying times. The old term "tack up" is the best reference; the glue should still be tacky, not dry. D~s

Caster-Ater?

That has never happened to me (knock on wood) but, YES, that would be a mess! A very good point! Touché! I have a 50' roll hanging over my bench... the pre-glued hot-melt stuff. I am NOT impressed by it's long-term durability. I am seriously thinking about chucking it and buying a couple rolls (various woods) of the non-glued banding. It's great for edge strips, accents, repairing small damage, making shims... D~s

Point well taken. And I appreciate you taking my comments so well. It's good to see that two people can list two opposing techniques without it turning into a flame-war. DUGz WAY I start with the usual surface prep, and (as Drak also pointed out) prepping all the equipment. You do NOT want to find yourself in a position where you have to walk across the shop to get something while your veneer curls up. Also, anything that needs to be done to the veneer should already be done. I don't trim my veneer very much before putting it down. If it's a round table top, I might cut a little off of each corner of the veneer, but not much. However, I would repeat Drak's point about marking the veneer with a pencil; it can be helpful in cases where alignment is important. I put the base piece of the project on my Workmate, which will hold it level and secure. Then I put on a light coat of glue and spread it out with a telfon spatula... which I bought for $5. Trust me - this is a GREAT spreading tool, and it's easy to clean even when I've been spreading epoxy. With that done, I go in the kitchen, wash my hands, make a cup of instant coffee, and smoke a cigarette. Yes, that IS an important part of my process. That is just about the right amount of time; the glue is getting stickier and thicker, without drying up. This will help me to keep the veneer from curling. I double check to make sure that I have my tools at the ready, then I pick up the veneer and the roller. I place the veneer on the nearest edge of the project, and start rolling... pushing AWAY from me... forward, to the left, to the right, forward again, and so on. The real trick is doing it slow enough to get any air-bubbles or glue-puddles out, while doing it fast enough to get it secured before it curls. If it's a large piece, I will use my spring clamps to hold what I've rolled, to keep the veneer from peeling up. THIS IS WHERE I USE ONE OF TWO TECHNIQUES, DEPENDING ON THE PROJECT. TECHNIQUE 1: ENTER THE SANDMAN When the veneer is completely rolled and secure, I pull out the sand bags and lay them on the project. I like sand bags because they never pinch or mar the wood. Also, it's easy to make a slight mistake while sanding and end up with an edge that tapers down a little; using a flat board might not hold the veneer tight against that taper, but a sand bag usually will. The only thing to watch is that you don't toss on a sand bag and send the veneer sliding sideways. Again, letting the glue "tack up" before you put on the veneer will help. But adding sand bags to both sides of the project (after the main sand bags are on top) will keep everything from shifting. NOTE 1: If you did a bad job or rolling out the veneer, the weight of the sand bags will not "iron out" your project. Roll it tight, or don't use sand bags. NOTE 2: If you are working on a project that is not easily clamped (like putting veneer on an odd shaped piece of furniture) this is the best way to do it. TECHNIQUE 2: PUT THE SCREWS TO IT When the humidity is up around 80-90%, the veneer will want to curl even before the glue hits it. If the veneer is liable to misbehave, I pull out my Jorgensen "toolmaker" (or "double screw") clamps. They have fairly long jaws, and can be adjusted for anything from +15º to -15º clamping angles. I put a piece of wax-paper covered plywood donw on the veneer, add some spring clamps (to hold it steady) then I start adding the toolmaker clamps... adjusting each one very carefully to ensure that I have constant pressure all the way down the jaws, not just at the front or the back of the clamp. NOTE 1: This is a much longer process, and the clamps were expensive. However, It will ensure that the veneer does not move... even if an earthquake hits. Tornado? Maybe. With either technique, I remove everything after a few hours, to allow the wood to breathe and dry. After 24 hours, I cut and sand the edge of the veneer to match the project. D~s

Since the body of this guitar is primarily Poplar, I was thinking I might need a little extra "brightness"... but I really like humbuckers. The description makes me feel like they will have a little more punch and high end than a humbucker, but still retain the depth and feel of a humbucker... and that could be the ticket. D~s

I found a set of humbucker pickups on eBay that look like what I want, but I'm very cautious about buying something on-line. Here's a link to the auction page. Do these look like a decent set of pickups for my first project guitar? Is anybody familiar with this company or their custom pickups? Your input would be highly appreciated. D~s

Tweak, the forum admin, is a Logic user. He can answer almost any question that you have about logic or Macs. D~s

Some very good points in there, but I feel compelled to add a few notes. I'm not saying that Drak is wrong... he is clearly very experienced and has some good advice... but we have two different ways of looking at a few things. I thought I would share those differences, to provide a second opinion to the thread. If you use your clamps like that, then it stands to reason that "plywood won't cut it." Plywood is not designed for that type of force, so it will crush, buckle, and create tight spots. If a person's fear of ripples leads then to apply 200ft/lbs of torque to each clamp, then they will need something far more stable... hardwood, cast iron, concrete... I've always laid down one edge of the veneer first, then used a roller (not clamp pressure) to work out all of the air-pockets and glue-puddles... especially on a piece that's more then a few inches wide. When I do this right (with the right amount of light glue) heavy clamping pressure does not seem to be necessary. But that's just my opinion and experience. D~s

A while back I was talking to a friend (on another site) about guitars, and he told me about Guitar Projects. I checked it out, liked it, and signed up... and I've been following you guys around like a little brother ever since then. Now that you've gotten to know me (sort of) I thought I would invite folks to stop by my other haunt: Studio Central. We talk about recording equipment and techniques, as well as the craft of writing, and the issues related to getting your music out. They're a little crazy. Need proof? They made me a moderator for the Lyric Writing section. If you're into that, I have a lot of notes posted up there... stuff that I've learned (or trying to learn) here in Nashville. I'm not trying to "convert" PG members; I'm just trying to share another resource. D~s

I checked out the links, too, and noticed that they all have links to his e-store. Sorry if I jumped to the wrong conlusion, but it did smell like spam. D~s

I've only used the "Original"... and only after it was recommended to me by members here at PG. (I've used numerous other types of glues and adhesives, so I do have some experience.) I simply didn't realize that the other Titebond products were prone to bleed through veneer. That information is very helpful. D~s

Hmmm... sounds kinky. Oh... you meant he gets your waste. But, now that I think about it, that sounds really gross. This is a strange language.

Almost always true, unless the hum is RFI that is introduced by something like a large capacitor (CRT video monitor) or high-voltage resisitance (dimmer switch on 110 wiring)... then certain types of grounding can actually pick up and transmit the RFI. That's the only reason I mentioned checking the environment first. If he's playing in front of a CRT monitor, then he needs to take the guiatr to another room to see if the problem persists. If it disappears, then he doesn't need to take anything apart. D~s

Before you start taking apart, you may want to look around the room. Does the problem occur when your in a room that has one of those dimmer switches for the overhead light? Does it happen when you're sitting near a computer that has one of those big fat CRT video monitors? Either one will create hum (even in "hum-buckers") that cannot be eliminated by re-wiring your guitar. Rule out the environmental causes before you tear your hair and your pickups out. D~s

And he's made how many posts since joining? Hmmm... Smells like spam.

YES! It has the exact same shimmer as you turn it from left to right! The only difference is that the color ranges from orangish-red to dried-blood-red, instead of yellow to gold. (Well... color-wise. It's wood, not stone, so it's also easier to cut.) So how big is this piece, and how much did it set you back? D~s