dpm99

Bluesy, What sort of electronics do you have in there? Just the single coil, or do you have a piezo too? Pete, The bridge idea is cool. But Adrian Legg is legit. It's one thing to bend using your tuners, but another thing entirely to do it and remain in tune. I looked up JJ Cale's guitar too. Here's a very short, but cool video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BthYuyQs5m0 Have you ever heard of him using it as an acoustic? I'd imagine it would work, but I don't think he really cared about that. -Dave

Do you mean for the mag? Like a Danelectro Bacon N Eggs sort of thing? And to satisfy my curiosity, why just one magnetic pickup? Is that to save money, or is there another reason? The Crowdster Plus just has one too (in the bridge position), but I don't understand why. Regardless, I'm sure you'll figure out a bunch of stuff that will help me. Make sure not to stray from your usual prolific writing when it comes to this project.

Uh...you didn't mention that you have another guitar you have to finish too. And a bass.

Pete, It sounds similar to what I want to do for my second project. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=38514 I'm still just in the brainstorming phase, but my plan so far is to make a double cutaway acoustic with a neck that runs through as far as the bridge pickup, so you essentially have an electric guitar buried inside an acoustic guitar. It will have electric and acoustic pickups, much like you're describing. No sound holes though - only a player's hole. I'm assuming you're still going to be using an archtop bridge. Will you place a piezo beneath it? What sort of strings will you use? And what are you goals, from a tonal standpoint? I'll be really interested in this project. Hopefully you'll help pave the way for mine. -Dave

You can get tinting colors at Rockler. There's one in Lenexa, which is near you. There's also the internet. Ckeck this site's supplies page.

For me, so far it's about $500, but I've borrowed some tools too.

That looks like something I'd do. I completely understand about not wanting to fix it too. Sorry for you, but if it's any consolation, it' encouraged me to know that those things happen to other people too. -Dave

Wouldn't it melt?

Yup! I got thrown off because I'd never thought of it as a hybrid. Nonetheless, it's an awesome build, and it introduces some great ideas. >snip< -Dave Thanks Dave, you are one of the first that understands where this is going and what's in my head Now if the "Good Lord willing" and some help, I might make it work LOL Thanks, Mike Well, when you get it done, maybe you and the good Lord will bless us with some sound clips.

I thought it was pretty good, considering I was half asleep and did it in Paint. Yup! I got thrown off because I'd never thought of it as a hybrid. Nonetheless, it's an awesome build, and it introduces some great ideas. This is an excellent point that I've been mulling over today. I think there's a solution. I think Avengers is right in suggesting the neck go no further than the bridge pickup. Now imagine the pickups not being attached to the top at all. The neck might need a small point of connection to the back or something for stability, but what if the pickup holes were just holes, and between the pickups and the edge I put something like rubber to dampen the rattling. I realize that sounds a little "wonky," but I think it would work if I could make it look right. Then the top would be totally free. I'd have to make a decision on an archtop bridge or a regular acoustic bridge. Late last night I was picturing a Bigsby. Obviously it needs more thought. And even if all that works, there's still the matter of acoustic or electric strings. Thanks for all the help in thinking through this. -Dave

You guys have got me thinking now. Look at this. It sounds like what Avengers was describing. It's basically a guitar inside a guitar. The neck is an electric guitar housed inside an acoustic body. It would be no wider than the pickups. The problem, as stated before, is the bridge. But if I used an archtop bridge with a piezo pickup under it or somewhere else on the top, wouldn't that do the trick? With no sound hole on the top of the guitar, I'd think feedback would be negligible. Then again, I should probably be reading instead of posting. What do you think?

Waaaaaait a minute. You're talking about your resonator guitar, right? You've provided some good details on the build, but could you talk about the pickup system you installed a little more? How does it compare to say...a dreadnought or something?

Thanks guys. I've long been a fan of Tom Anderson guitars, and I've become a fan of David Myka's too. I emailed him once a while back, and he's really nice. Myka has been playing around with this stuff for a while with his Dragonfly guitars. I believe his new Falcon design is supposed to be a hybrid, but I didn't notice that he'd put an acoustic pickup in the first one. His guitars are archtops. That's one way to go, but I think the Crowdster Plus is more of a true acoustic. I think the Crowdster Plus uses an archtop style construction too. The truly innovative thing about that one is that is uses bronze strings. They designed the pickup specifically for bronze strings, which really lends to the acoustic tone. This is is one hybrid guitar I've run into that really seems to work better as an acoustic than as an electric, and I think that's the reason. I think this is an area that deserves exploration. I need to finish my first project before I get into this, but it sure would be a fun one to build Hmm... I wonder what it would sound like if I just taped a pickup in the sound hole of my acoustic. Let the experimentation begin.

Recently I saw an ad in Guitar World for an acoustic guitar with no sound hole on the sound board. It only had a player's hole (similar to the one on Daniel's black limba acoustic). I can't remember now who made it, but it got me to thinking about something. I'm really into the idea of hybrids. I play a hybrid now, and often switch back and forth between acoustic and electric tones within the same song. I like to blend them too. The problem is that most hybrids are much more effective as electric guitars than as acoustic guitars. So here's my thought. What do you think would happen if you made an acoustic guitar (more or less) with a through neck that went no farther than the bridge pickup, leaving the actual bridge unsupported so as to catch some vibrations from the sound board, then putting a player's hole on the side. I'm thinking the neck might kill a lot of the vibration, but that it might sound better than a T5. Then again, I don't know a lot about the theory behind acoustic guitars. It seems like it would work fine as an electric. You'd probably lose some sustain you'd have on a solid body, but that would be ok. Alternatively, consider the same idea, but the neck ends at the body and the pickups are mounted as in an archtop. What do you think? Any opinions are appreciated. -Dave

Wrapping the truss rod in Saran Wrap does the trick. Plus, it keeps epoxy/glue from getting in there and mucking things up.

You can print it on four separate sheets of paper and then tape them together. That's what I did. I don't have CAD, but my brother-in-law does, and he helped. There are other ways to get the job done though. The poor man's method: 1. Draw your template in Paint. 2. Print it. 3. Measure what you printed. 4. Resize your drawing. 5. Print again. 6. Measure again. 7. Rinse and repeat. That's what I did for everything except my body template. I don't recommend that method, but put it there to illustrate that you can work with just about anything. -Dave

Awesome work! You got a lot done really quickly too!

I removed a fretboard in maybe ten minutes with an iron and a utility knife, and that was with epoxy. Just crank the iron up and put it on the fretboard.

Personally, I like the black pick guard. It gives it a subdued look.

Wow. That's really nice. I think anybody would be proud to own that.

Unless your guitar is inspired by the Atari 2600, I doubt it. That picture made my morning.

Ignignot: Let us leave this primitive rock because there's nothing but cavemen here. Ur: Say goodbye, cavemen. Go beat rocks together, you sissies! Freakin' nerds! Well, that doesn't actually answer your question, but I couldn't let an awesome graphic like that go!

What are you finishing the rest of the neck with? Conventional wisdom would say to match them, I think. Your best bet is to do some reading and then make a decision, rather than letting someone else do it for you. Finishing isn't easy. Try some searching on the Inlay and Finishing boards here, and look around the internet. Post pictures of your progress too, so everyone can see!

First to answer the easy question! It depends on the kind of wood you're using. Finish maple. Leave rosewood bare, or put a little lemon oil on it. Then there's the crazy folks that play with epoxy. Hope that helps! -Dave

Why are you asymmetrical around the neck pocket?