Dugz Ink

My Washburn AB-20 acoustic/electric (depicted in my avatar) has an XLR out and a 1/4" out, and it has an on-board pre-amp (Equis II) that runs off of a 9 volt battery. The 1/4" jack is a TRS that has been wired to complete the 9 volt circuit when you put in a plug.

The 1/4" jack has a crack in it, which causes intermittent problems, so I'm replacing it.

But I was thinking: While I have the guitar apart and the soldering iron hot, can I set up the XLR jack to deliver phantom power to the on-board pre-amp?

I have one of those cheap "Tube MP" mic-pres, which isn't a very good mic-pre, but it sounds great as a DI/pre for my acoustic/electric bass... and it can provide 48v phantom power. However, I don't know what would happen if I ran the phantom power to an on-board pre-amp that might be designed to only handle a 9 volt battery.

Any thoughts, ideas, or recommendations?

D~s

There are a lot of things out there that qualify as "gold plating" even though they aren't "pure" gold. I did some work on some custom engine covers for a guy's motorcycle, and spent a fair amount of time on the phone with the shop that eventually did the plating for us. The guy at the plating-shop said that I should always specify "24-karat gold" for engine parts; it worked better than 14-karat (for adhesion/wear problems that he explained, but I barely understood) and it was more corrosion resistant than the various alloys that are passed off as being "gold".

Some forms of polish are actually very fine grinding compound; those will eventually "cut" right through plating... and they'll dull (round off the edges of) fine engraving. That's why a lot of people just stick to using a damp cloth for cleaning, and a soft (dry) cloth for shining precious metal.

Although gold has an extremely slow oxidation rate, it's usually plated onto metal that has a high oxidation rate. Therefore, if the gold plating has any cracks or pinholes, moisture will get in to the core metal, and the core will start oxidizing (rusting) UNDER the gold... creating that "bubbled" surface. Drak's clear-coat trick will help to keep that from happening... but once the oxidation has started, the only thing you can do is remove the plating, polish the base metal (to remove the rust) then have it re-plated.

D~s

I would drop the Yellow Pages; people have to pay to be listed in those, and you might do better looking for the small shops that don't bother to advertise.

As I've mentioned before (on PG), I have built a lot of custom rifles. Occasionally, I would need some custom metal work for these projects, and I always used the small machine shops that did custom work for the local racers. They didn't use CNC systems because they couldn't afford them... but they knew how to set up the milling machine (or whatever) to do what I needed.

If you see somebody who has a very nice hot rod or a race car, ask them if they know a good machinist. Tell them that you build custom electric guitars; most hot rodders will think that's cool, and some of those people will actually try to help you.

If you find a machinist, and they cut something out of a square bock of steel for you... but it still looks like a square block of steel... pull out the Dremel tool, some single-cut files, emery cloth, grinding compound, etc. and shape the metal yourself. Just be patient when you're working with hard steel; it will eventually become what you want... if you don't try to hurry.

Afterwards, you can send it off to be chromed, you can polish it to a mirror finish, or you can take it to somebody who can powder coat it for you... another connection you make by talking to motorheads and machinists.

D~s

I've been looking at my brass Hipshot Hardtail (string-thru) and thinking that it wouldn't be that hard to machine a piece of steel to replace the brass... then use the springs, bolts, and saddles on the new base.

Or maybe find the saddles and some springs, then get a local (small) machine shop to mill a piece of metal to your specs. It's just a block of metal that has been cut to specific measurements and drilled at specific locations.

Replicating a Hardtail shouldn't be that hard.

BTW: I bought the one that has 0.1" of brass under the saddles, which puts the top of the saddles (at their lowest adjustment) about 3/8" above the body. However, the saddles can be adjusted up another 3/8"... so there's a lot of room for adjustment.

D~s

My Chinese Ephiphone (electric) basically has a plywood body. I just needed something that I could use for working out chords and rifts while I'm writing songs... but the sound is NOT impressive. Of course, the pickups are cheap, too, so that doesn'thelp... but that body really lacks in the sustain department.

D~s

What did you finish the body with?

So far, I just have some commercial Tung Oil w/ hardener mixture. I'm not sure if I'll finish it off that way, or use a thin coat of Poly on top. It looks better with better lighting; the oil has really brought out the character of the wood; the Poplar has a hint of fiddle-back, and the Black Walnut lights up like reflective tape when the light hits it from just the right angle. (I put the guitar down in my best friend's kitchen, and used his digital camera for those shots.)

Those darker streaks are deep black, blue, and purple against a bright green background

There was a lot more color and contrast in it before I started wiping on the finish... but I still think it's unusual enough to be a cool guitar. (No... I don't like having stuff that looks like everyone else's stuff.)

just remove the 23rd fret and cut it there, then round the heel corners to match your heel pocket.

That could work... if they have a 24 fret neck that isn't blue. I'll check it out.

D~s

i'm trying to trace over a photo i got from the internet

A lot depends on 1) the angle of the picture, and 2) the camera.

If the angle isn't absolutely perfect (perpindicular) then it throws everything off.

Most cameras cause what we call "keystoning"... which is most evident when you take a picture of a square building while standing perpindicular to it. The camera (or, more accurately, the type of lens that can be fitted to most camera bodies) will distort/distend the image.

I would use pictures ONLY for reference.

Of course, if it's YOUR guitar, you can make the dimensions whatever YOU want... so don't feel like you absolutely have to use the exact same dimensions that have been used 8 Gazzillion times in the past.

D~s

Behringer has never spent any money on product development; they basically just buy products from other companies, and build something similar... after the other company has worked out the bugs.

However, some Behinger products (a couple of their "studio" audio monitors and their cheapest mixers) are prone to RFI/EMI... but I think they would be smart enough to shield pedals properly.

I base that last assumption on their DI-100. I own one of those DI boxes, and it is 1) very tough, and 2) very quiet. However, unlike a pedal, it doesn't have any big moving parts, so it's almost like comparing apples and oranges.

D~s

HAve you tried a tele neck?

That's what we discussed in the last thread; the Tele necks end bewteen the 21st and 22nd fret... even on the 22 fret necks. However, this necks ends even with the fretboard... so replacing it with a "standard" neck isn't possible unless I fill in the gap and then re-drill the holes.

D~s

Too bad you got a raw deal on the neck. Guess you should've used that old Epi neck after all.

It may work out; I'm hoping the custom neck will be better than the Epiphone neck.

And there's no dye on this... unless you're talking about nature's "dye." It's natural Poplar, with a unique personality from the things it's roots grew through. (The dark wood is all Black Walnut heartwood.)

D~s

The neck I bought for this project has a slight warp, and it's an odd size. The guys at Guitar Center acted like this guitar body was worthy of a custom neck. Some members of PG thought I should just fill in the holes and gaps with dowels and blocks, then fit the body to a "standard" neck. (Personally, I'm leaning towards sending it to somebody who has offered to build a custom neck that will fit the body.)

So, here's a pic, and a link to three more. Now what do you think?

MORE PICTURES

WES: You said I should try mounting the neck pickup right against the neck...!

D~s

This is what I look for: "Made in _______"

If it says USA or Germany, chances are it's good steel.

If it says anything about China, Taiwan, etc. don't waste your money.

Some of the Stanley stuff says:

Assembled in England

Parts manufactered in China

Read the fine print!

It's better to spend $50 on a plane that will last 50 years than $20 on a plane that never works properly.

D~s

On a related note, I found this page recently: Various Scale Lengths

The only time I've seen (heard) a need for "heavy" shielding was in situations with extremely sensitive equipment in high RFI/EMI areas... but thoses cases usually involved sattelite receivers that had been mounted in the same room as broadcast exciters and transmitters. In those situations, the unit had to be in a completely sealed case that was made of aluminum alloy that was about 1/16" thick.

In other words, you probably will not be playing your guitar in an area where you have to worry about the thickness of your shielding... unless you just happen to have an AM tranmitter in your house.

Having good connections is much more important.

D~s

Again, why not try to build one yourself?

In a word: Tools. My shop shop is already so crowded that we moved my radial-arm saw to a friend's house. Even now, I'm having to move stuff so I have room to work on stuff, then I have to move stuff, again.

What did the other shop quote you for a total?

About $200. (He doesn't use a CNC, so he doesn't have to re-program anything.)

D~s

It may be easier to write the lyrics first, but never throw away a killer rift or melody. You can always write new words to go with it... and you can always right a new melody togo with the other lyrics.

D~s

Just got a reply from USA Guitars...

It's a bit of a problem but I can do it for an extra $125.00 as we would have to program the new style of neck. If that is worth it to you I believe I can help you out!

Thanks again!

Tommy.

Oh well... that made THAT decision easier. I was thinking about going with a small custom shop (they contacted me through PG), but the folks at USA have been so helpful in the past that I didn't want to cut them out of this project... but I can't justify paying 55% more just for the neck.

D~s

any chance of posting pic of body wood???? Would like to see what all the fuzz is about.

I don't have a digital camera, but I'll have to borrow one; one of the people I'm talking to wants to see a pic, too. The funny part is, I made it out of some Poplar that I found on the floor at Home Depot. It had been thrown to the side because it had a lot of mineral streaking and everybody thought it was "bad" wood.

I honestly didn't think anybody would take this project seriously... until I went to GC.

D~s

It's been three months since I bought the neck, so I think all bets are off. Besides, he was hard enough to deal with when I bought the neck. (He threatened to leave negative feedback if I didn't pay... after he cashed my check. When I proved that he had cashed my check, it took him another 5 days to ship it.)

He didn't leave any feedback for me (butt-munch!) so I can't find him in my eBay profile information. I guess I'll look through the checkbook, find his real name, then see if I can find his eBay screen name.

If I find it, I'll post it. (Thanks for that suggestion!)

As for filling the body... it's not going to happen. I'll make a new body (or guitar, in this case) before I have huge plugs in the back of this body. If I can't find a different model of neck that will work (ie: neck as long as a 22 fret 18¾" fretboard) then I'll will have one made. I'm checking with two possible sources right now.

You have to understand, the guitar tech, the manager, and two sales-geeks at Guitar Center flipped over this guitar body... which made me realise that it wasn't my own personal bias that made me think that this was a great looking body.

When the the guitar tech said my guitar could sell for over $1000 (with a decent neck on it) my wife said that she would pay for a new neck if he could find one for under $250. (That came as a complete shock to me.) So this puppy isn't getting filled with dowels and putty.

D~s

There are thousands of words and millions of ways to say things.

Figure out what message/images fit your music, then write about those things in the allotted time. If you feel you need some help with that, check out the Lyric Writing articles that I have written so far. Maybe they'll help.

D~s

Fill the old mounting holes in the neck pocket with dowels.

I'm using mounting ferrules... which are counter-sunk into the body. Those holes will take some pretty big dowels.

That's why I was hoping that somebody knew of a 22 fret neck that had a neck/fretboard that didn't have an over hang.

You did use a 25-1/2 inch scale, right?

Yep.

D~s

My opinion:

3gHz Pentium, 2.7gHz Athlon, or G5 Mac

1 Gig of RAM

medium level vid-card

7200rpm IDE hard drive (I prefer an 80 Gig + a 160 Gig)

DVD-R (So you can archive all of your files from recording sessions to one disc)

Network/internet connection for uploading audio files

120mm fans to provide the most cooling with the lowest noise

LCD screen (CRTs create EMI that is picked up by guitar pickups)

The M-Box is okay, but there are numerous other devices out there that are less proprietary and sound just as good... ranging from M-Audio's "Audiophile 2496" PCI card to Tascam's FW1884 firewire mixer/controller/interface. The M-Audio 410 firewire interface is about $100 bucks less than the M-Box, and it's actually a much better unit with a higher transfer rate.

D~s

If the guitar is scaled for the neck you have now, the new shorter neck may affect the scale length unless you have sufficient space between the end of the neck and the body in the neck pocket.

Exactly!

And since the mounting bolts have been drilled (in the body) for the longer neck pocket, I can't use a shorter neck; one of the lower bolts (screws) will miss a shorter neck, and the other lower bolt will just hit the edge. (I did not use a "Fender" mounting bracket. I use mounting ferrules, which I offest to keep them from being lined up... and strength-related trick I learned building rifles stocks.)

Is that any clearer?

Is there any other style/type of neck that can be substituted/modified?

D~s

I have a 22 fret neck, and there is NO overhang; the neck goes all the way to the end.

The other 22 fret necks are basically 21 fret necks with an overhang for the 22nd fret.

And, yes, the bridge is installed. (I was trying to setup the strings and pickups.)

BTW: Did I mention that it's warped? (That's why it's going bye-bye.)

D~s

So, I've been flailing around with my first project guitar for a couple of weeks now. I've done a couple setups before, and they've turned out pretty good, but this one was driving me nuts! So I took it to a guy who does setups for Nashville session players.

He pointed out that there is a slight warp in the neck that I bought on eBay... and it can't be fixed. So I called the guys at USA Custom Guitars, and talked to Steve for a while. (He was totally cool and very informative!) We discussed some options, and he told me to spend some time at a specific guitar shop that uses their necks, checking out various fret sizes, neck profiles, and so on, before buying a custom neck. That's cool!

After I talked to him, I had to run to an event that the Songwriter's Guild was holding. When I got home, I started looking at the pictures on USA's web site, again. Hmmm... all of their 22 fret necks have an overhang... and my guitar neck does not. (The neck ends even with the fretboard... and my neck pocket and mounting screws were set up for that neck.) I started checking other sites... Warmouth, Mighty Mite, Fender... and all of the necks I saw have a fretboard overhang on the 22 fret necks.

I am soooo pissed off right now! I knew I could end up with a warped neck (from eBay) but I never expected this big of a mess! I wish I could beat that seller with his guitar neck!

So, does anybody have any productive ideas?

The neck is slightly visible between the fretboard and the body, so I hate to patch a piece of wood in there just so I can use a "standard" neck.

I really DON'T want to buy all of the tools (right now) just so I can build a neck for this beast... but the body has turned out so nice that I can't scrap it.

I've already written to the guys at USA, to see if they can make a neck without the overhang. It would be nice if they could... but I have no idea what they can do.

Did I mention that I'm really pissed off?

D~s