kpcrash

Sorry - was trying to offer the simple stuff. You could treat the KA as neck/mid or add a sustainer and really get some unique tones. Regardless, there are as many ways to wire this as hair on a dog so it's up to what kind of tone you're looking for. You can always go simple and use a push/pull pot to control the KA coils or combine the 5-way with a p/p (have an ibanez I did this on) to split the hum or add the hum as necessary. Also can use various combinations of attaching certain caps to the specific coil split and having a blended sound, on and on. Check out http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/ they have a TON of various diagrams and ideas to get going.

Honestly my favorite is a DiMarzio DP-100. It can be made to sound like anything. It can be made hot or warm (depending on caps), it can be split and for me has been rock solid reliable for less than $80. I am also partial to EMG 81 and 89 combos, but only when I'm making something for harder rock/metal styles of music.

Doing that now... And isn't it funny that we'll build million dollar mansions using stacks of pinewood and perhaps a few metal rods, but the thought of using the same materials to handle guitar string tension is considered blasphemous? I know the reality of the situation - just think it's kind of funny.

Why use a standard 5-way switch 1 - bridge only (hot) 2 - bridge mid (solo) 3 - mid/neck (clean) 4 - bridge/neck (bassy) 5. neck (clean bassy)

Hemp guitar??? Perhaps if I weren't using so much of it 20 years ago I might have thought to do that with the leftovers The plywood bass I built was also extremely inexpensive - Birch top furniture ply - $27 (For a whole 4X8 sheet, bought who knows when) Paddle-top neck/neck plate - $30 pots, switch, jack - $5 bridge - $12 knobs - $4 pickups - $28 strings - $20 tuners - $25 TOTAL - $151

Typically a chunk of Ash will do and sized about 20"*24"*2" will give you plenty of space.

what area of the world are you in?

that's cool! Course, I always like natural finishes. When it comes to hanging (since I've had the same thing happen with less than positive results). I created a hanging rack and a drying cage and faithfully use strips of wood to mount to everything (a handle). Oh... the pain and joy of learning Good job!

There are many places that have various diagrams/mods etc. and I'll admit they're not easy to find. Try http://guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/category/wiringresources/ for some good basics, as well as the free info on StewMac. If you've got a P/J and want to add a hum and wire all three to individual switches- that's not too bad. Don't have a diagram right off, but here is a quick explanation: Each of the 3 switches need to have the + connected to a common wire that goes to the volume pot. You have a 3 toggle already so it will be pretty easy to find the common wire since it's the one going from that switch to the vol pot. Assuming you're going to replace the 3-way with on of the new switches - bring the existing common to the + on the closest switch, you'll then solder a jumper wire from that + to each + on the consecutive switches (see, this one's easy). Connect ground wires to the other side of the switch and all should be complete. This gets a little more complex when you want to throw caps and stuff into the mix. If this were a 4-wire HB with coil splitting, then you could use the existing 3-way switch in the mix so that not only would you have on/off, but on/off/split.

perhaps a bleed cap on the three way? That way in the h and h/s positions it would balance a little better with the warmth of the sc? Just a thought.

Thanks for finding it! That's pretty cool - I like the "neon" effect from the persplex wrap. Check out This is the effect I've been asked to reproduce. Someone though my Ace influence went into my hacking at building guitars as well.

Not necessarily at all. The current in the strings shouldn't be enough to interfere with the magnetic field of passives - it may alter some eddys ??? (psw, speak up here) but unless I'm completely out of caffiene at the moment - I don't see a problem.

I've mentioned this other posts, but it's possible to use the rustoleum's painter's touch clear instead of poly and get above average results. Poly tends to go on easier though.

I have a son that looks like me (poor chap), acts like me and likes to tinker with electronics as I do (at 5 he rebuilt a CD drive I had disassembled) - but won't touch a guitar. He is now 8 and could be a promising drummer It is indeed a wonderful gift as I now compensate for the lack of instruments I had as a child with my guitar addiction - the kids are influenced by the music and at least in this part of the states, music in public schools has waned into oblivion. I have built guitars for 2 of them and bought one for 1 (a lefty) and though they may not be virtuosos as pete's daughter (I'm so jealous), the shear joy the get from "making noise" and the patience acquired from trying to learn a song is invaluable. Back to topic - if it helps - I have guestimated appropriate nut height before (on a case such as yours) by using a lead from a mechanical pencil and lying it on the frets and making a line on the nut. That would be my warning line and then compensate the cuts to that point.

Yes. I have successfully finished a piece in NON-ENAMEL rattlecan paint and poly. The shine is ok imho. The key factor is patience. Something like Rustoleum's Painter's Touch or Krylon (ack) will be ready for poly (minwax) in 48 hours. You "could" do it after 24, but why take chances.

Thank you for the compliments - and don't worry - the second project is more about me being creative with shaping and learning more about curves. The "strip wood" guitar will be my first build of a non-standard template, meaning it's just a simple freehand design. Pic below. Again, thanks for compliments, I was quite surprised by how clear it sounded - and it's not yet shielded. Just waiting on zyonsdream now - maybe we'll trade tracks and see what a plywood rhythm section would sound like

I tried to cover that Have fun with it.

Thanks, and welcome. Any pics you have of that process would be great!

I will not let this thread die! Here is a recording of the bass (tuned to D). My sound card sucks worse than my photography skills so there is buzz. Guitar does not buzz through amp. I will be playing this bass in 2 shows next week here in Northern Virginia. Also, tried to get a couple of close ups. I am quite motivated by this experiment and have started on another project using strips of 4/4 as sort of a "plywood" build. This will be entirely from scratch as I found some curly maple flooring (5/4 x 6") to make the neck.

Amazing what happens when a little soap and alcohol get into the grain isn't it? If it is still there this evening/tomorrow morning and still sticky, a little mineral spirits and one of those ultra fine scrubby pads will get rid of it (don't expect to save the scrubby). Once you get it cleaned up IMHO you have two options - shellac as mentioned (which might limit your topcoat options - but is equivalent to fight fire with fire) or grain filler (flame shield on - but it works!). Scientifically speaking, redwood has an open-celled structure - this makes it great for absorbing finishes but if you happen to get a piece with a little resin/sap in it - that can get displaced by your finish. This is why it's used for decks - it absorbs finishes well. There are also different grades of redwood and I would assume you wouldn't skimp, but at the same time much of the stuff that shows up in shops is a mix of heartwood and sapwood from the tree - even for furniture grade.

Avengers - Just to be clear - were the tacky areas just "wet" or were there little beads? Beading often indicates the sap (redwood is sappy, like a chick flick).

So... the inevitable question here is, who's going to replicate this and post pics for all to learn from?

Kind of where I was going - unless there is a simple "blade" style connection under each fret.

CHEERS!

After further thought (read: more coffee) and watching the video, this would be quite possible by running a wire down the truss rod channel and having a small diode lie in the channel for each fret that would make each fret ground. In the on position, each string is "hot" and when connected to the fret closes the circuit. Forgive the crude drawing, but something like this.... _________@_________ (Where @ is the fret) | - diode connector [] - diode | - diode connector =============== - truss rod | \ - wire through neck to body switch (active) The diode connects the fret wire through the fretboard to a wire that runs the neck to the switch, etc.