pinefd

Thanks! I already have been playing around with that concept a bit (in fact, that was going to be my first design, until Matte told me he wanted just one pickup). I plan to make one like that (I already have the mini-hums), but the problem is, it's quite crowded that way, between trying to squeeze in a toggle switch, and another couple of knobs...but I will try it one of these days.

I'm a relative noobe (or is it newbee, or nuB?) around here, but have been known to hang out at a few other places on the World Wide Web. So, if you've seen this all before, I apologize, but I thought in case there were one or two of you out there who hadn't seen this stuff yet, you might enjoy it. For those of you who don't know me, I'm a guitar collector (Les Pauls), an infrequent guitar player, and now a part-time guitar builder. Until late last year, I was building half scale replicas of Les Pauls (called "Less Talls"), primarily for art/display purposes. The latest chapter in the Less Tall saga began this past November. I was debating what project I wanted to take on next, and was thinking I’d like to make something bigger and fully functional/playable this time, but still not full-size. Then, out of the blue, I was contacted by Matte Henderson, an accomplished guitarist and session musician who, as luck would have it, lives just 20 minutes from me. He had heard of my work, and was looking for someone to build him a Les Paul style octave guitar, for use on-stage, and in the studio. The timing was perfect, and so was the project. Thus was born the Less Tall Octave guitar. In two months time, I went from concept, to (almost) playable guitar. I say almost, because I was still waiting for some (Pigtail) hardware, plus the pickup. Otherwise, the construction was completed on the prototype except for the MOP headstock logo, which I was still waiting to receive from my vendor. This prototype, and all the guitars to follow, feature a Honduran mahogany back and neck (long tenon, of course), figured maple cap and Brazilian rosewood fingerboard (with vintage style inlays). And, for those of you who may not be familiar with what an octave guitar is, it’s a smallish guitar with a short fret scale (in my case approx. 14 ¾ inches) and a normal width fingerboard, that’s tuned one full octave higher than a normal guitar. Here's a photo of day one of constuction of the first prototype: And here's that same prototype completed (in an unfinished state...which is where it still is) Here's a photo of my completed prototype #2: And below are some pics of the guitar I built for Matte, which will hopefully be in his hands within the next week or two (clips to follow, I'm sure). I finally got around to finishing it up last week. I had to wait a month for the lacquer to dry, and then illness struck, forcing me to be sidelined for a few additional weeks. Anyway, here is the finished product: And lastly, here's an indoor shot of that same guitar to show how dramatically different this peek-a-boo flame can look under different lighting conditions: I hope you like it! Frank

I happen to love the way this guitar is coming out. But I suppose, one way to accomplish what avengers63 is concerned about...although it's too late to consider doing this...would be to use matching flamed maple binding on the body and neck to tie into the maple inlays.

I use these shorter router bits for shallower cuts: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_...outer_Bits.html Also, sometimes, I'll make multiple identical 1/4" thick MDF templates (which is easy to do); then, use double sided tape to tape them together and onto the workpiece...start with two or three templates taped together, and remove one at a time until you get to the desired depth.

I don't know if this is the video you're referring to, but it's informative nonetheless: http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/Ski...e.aspx?id=30182