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x189player

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Everything posted by x189player

  1. I've been thinking about glass fretboards. If you have a kiln, you can stick a chunk of glass into a mold and melt it into whatever shape you want- they make slumped sinks that way. Another way would involve fusing rods on as fret- makes lot sof sense to me, but I've never done torchwork. I do have a kiln however, so I've been thinking a lot about glass fingerboards. What was that fretboard shaped like a stairstep- that seems like a really good way to do it.
  2. Can anyone point me to a list of standard strat trem spacings? The ones I find are: 2 1/16" Mexican (or 'economy') 2 3/16" US-standard 2 7/32" vintage I know these are probably all over the map- I found at least two major bridge makers who offered other spacings. I've also run across people called 2 1/8" US standard. Is there any standard nomenclature about this at all? Is there a standard 'import spec' like there is with US & import pot shaft splines? And all that's for strat trems. What about tele spacing and the world of hardtails? And then we get into the world of Gibson, and everything with a fixed-post tuneomatic? If we're talking acoustic guitars, does that bring us into the land of terms like 000 and stuff? You see why I asked if there were a reference. It seems like something somebody would have put in a chart already... if not, I'll gather what I can and post it for reference. This issue comes up for those of us who aren't refinishing as much as restoring- i.e. reconstructing, 'fixing up', 'bringing back from the dead' etc. For vintage import stuff especially, there's a lot of variation, and any idea of what standard somebody was imitating would be a beacon in the soup. Many thanks, Paul
  3. People age differently. Some grow faster than others. Some people stagnate at teh same issues they did when they were seventeen, while others graduate to harder challenges. Sounds like you and the guitarist might want to cut loose and do your own thing for a while. Then maybe find some new people wh are more on your track.
  4. blend pots are great! I'll never go back to 3-ways (if I can help it). BIG improvement, the more so if the two pickups are different sounding. here's a diagram: http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/i-4137.html
  5. nice! I really like your original body shape. nice to see somebody thinking for themself rather than imitating a known shape. nice the way you're trimming the headstock down to match the body, too!
  6. Yup. The dry film thickness of a coat of nitro is .003". The dry film thickness of poly is .030"- ten times thicker. And sure, you might use more than one coat- with nitro people use at least 9 coats but as much as 30 coats... but that's still the equivalent of only 3 coats of poly. If you want a thin finish, nitro is definitely the way to go. It's also the reason you have to use grain filler with open grain wood and nitro, because it has so little capacity to fill.
  7. use nitro. nitro lacquer is very thin, which is why we like it (and it looks and feels great). Poly is thick, ugly,a nd, well, plastic. i recommend highly the guitar-formulated lacquers at the Guitar Reranch: http://reranch.august.net/ their refinishing forum is excellent too: http://reranch.august.net/phpBB-2.0.4/phpBB2/
  8. I like the idea of NO GUITAR PARTS. I mean, if you're going to use existing guitar tuners and fretwire, you can pretty well make a guitar out of anything without too much trouble... 2x4's or whatever. the real challenge is doing without those things. To me that's the fun of a cigar box guitar.
  9. Yeah, dangit, I got busy too and so mine's not ready yet. The neck and body are good but I still have to get to the tuners and frets... I know, the hard part... Maybe we can have a 'second running' contest for all of us who get ours done late?
  10. How about a blend pot? At either extreme you have the two separate channels, and then you can dial in a mix inbetween. Here's a schematic for blend pots: http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/i-4137.html
  11. whoosh, the clock is ticking with hours to go! I finally got my neck sanded and slappin' that ol' nitro on it now. There's definitely some interesting technical challenges to this!
  12. Fabulous, I can't wait to try it! And thanks for the links to this tutorial and the sound clips. Do you have a link to whatever preamp circuit you're currently recommending? I think I saw you mention that the Felzer/Ruby preamp wasn't effective for the harmonic mode, what's working best? Or is it jsut any old preamp? thanks, Paul
  13. For graphic design stuff in general, check out the book "The Graphic Artist's Guild Handook of Ethical Pricing Guidelines". It will not only tell you typical hourly rates, but typical total charges for different jobs- not guitars per se, but it's mighty similar to other decorative arts, illustration, airbrush, auto custom, etc. Generally jobs like this involve two seperate charges- one for the mechanical craft of executing the design on the object- i.e. painting it on. The other is for the actual planning of the design- if it's something simple you might give them this part for free ("I want a big 01 like the General Lee") but if they want something complicated, and need to have their hand held as you lead them through the design process, giving them options ("I want something hip that I can also use as the logo for my business") then the extra time that will take gets billed seperately. It's vital to separate the charges this way, because if you don't, and you skip the design process (as fine artists are prone to do- they think their first version will be accepted as 'finished') then you get into the region of hell known as 'design by assasination'- where you do the work, the client rejects it, you do it over, he rejects it, etc etc. Since we're talking about design process, I'd heartily recommend following something like this: First meeting: Gather data, find out what they want, they decide if they like you. Sketches Meeting: Show them 6-20 sketches of possible different concepts. The sketches should not be refined at all, just indicators of different ideas. The client's job is to pick which idea. Drafts Meeting: Show them a worked-up but not final version of the design. Now is the time to do any fine-tuning, make color choices, etc etc. Often this will mean showing color test swatches, etc. Go over each detail with the client and get their decision/agreement whcih way it should be. Final Delivery: you deliver the finished work, and they love it. Better yet, they love you: "It's so easy to work with you, I didn't even know what I wanted and you helped me get it." And that's where the word of mouth starts spreading. Your customers are not jsut satisfied, but ecstatic, and they tell all their friends, and you get more work. If you follow the above process, you'll do well. Note that the process not only helps you do good work that makes the client happy, it also protects you. If the client comes back at the last minute and changes their mind, you say "OK, that will cost extra" and you bill them extra for any work you have to do over as a result. This is a VITAL factor in ensuring you get paid fairly for your work, and a key point in your contract.. BTW, the Graphic Artists' Guild Hbk mentioned above has not only pricing, but sample contracts you can use, or adapt the wording to your own. When the customer is ordering standardized stuff, a simple order form will suffice ("one Mary Kaye strat body in alder please") but when it comes to doing design work you really need a proper contract- and your client will understand that it protects them as well- and makes you look good. (FWIW, I've worked as a professional designer of all kinds for nearly twenty years, and I teach design at the Art Institute of Seattle, so I'm not just making this stuff up. I've used this process countless times with success, and so have my students, on everything from business cars to custom motorcycles. If I can help with specific details on the business of design, let me know)
  14. All right, I'm in too! I just spent an hour on the porch whittling a neck, surprising how much fun!
  15. Ooh, I was jsut thinking about a cigar box mandolin. Post pics!
  16. Most dial tones are in B flat (with a higher D note sounded too). In a pinch you can pull a note off the phone.
  17. You should try searching ebay for old violins. There are a million of them out there, starting 50$ or so. Fake strads outnumber all the other violins in the universe- there was a huge market of them to sell to servicemen, especially after WWI, who thought they were getting somethign rare. The original strads had labels in old Italian, so they all have fakes that look the same. To be fair, it may be a great instrument. The fact you can play it in person means a lot, because you can't really tell by the grain how it will sound. One detail that will tell you a bit about the quality is whether the purfling is real or painted on (that's the pinstriping around the edge). It should be real superthin layers of ebony and maple, sometimes you can see with a magnifier, or where the finish has been chipped. Granted, this is not an indicator of high quality, but it will sometimes help weed out the really bad ones. Be careful. You might find a gem, but if you're spending 200$ a pop to find out, c'mere, I'll sell you 200$ violins all day.
  18. Hi, It sounds brilliant! You're asking great questions. When you look at the way most people build instruments, you'll find that very few are really trying new things. Oh, we draw weird body shapes and make little improvements, but c'mon, most people are building strats and P-basses, and using conventional hardware, when in doubt, imitate something safe and known. So... I love your question, it's like a ray of intelligence. The answer? Nobody knows, somebody should try it! So let me suggest this- it's about your approach, not your ideas. Doing lots and lots of research before starting is very good. But I caution you against the idea of thinking you are going to make one very perfect instrument, and doing your research and preparation in that direction. With the innovative questions you are coming up with, you need to make a dozen of them (or at least several). Try new things, see what works better. Maybe you'll discover something you didn't expect! I can also guarantee that the second one you build will be easier, and you can include improvements based on your first experiment. So look to the future- version two, three, four, etc etc. Another way to look at it is to build several different bodies so you can try out different string mounting ideas. Or build a first one as a test mule, drill a million holes in it and run it through the paces. Then make another one based on the best of what you've learned, sign the test mule and hang it on the wall of your studio- when you're fifty it will mean a lot to you, believe me! It's easy to get the angles of the holes consistent if you clamp a block of wood next to your body, and drill the angle you want through it- then by moving it sideways you can drill a series of holes at exactly teh right angle, the block will guide the drill bit and keep the angle perfectly steady. btw- I highly recommend you buy a long drill bit for this- they make bits about a foot long, most hardware stores have them.
  19. OK, what you have to realize is that on a push-pull pot, the switch and the pot are uncinnected. aside from the fact that the shaft controls both of them, it's otherwise like having a seperate switch and pot. ok, on your drawing you connected all the pup leads to the switch. so it's not connected to anything. here's a diagram of how to wire a switch for coil tap (and also phase reverse, good options for push-pulls). It's the same diagram for normal switches. jsut wire the switches as switches, and wire the pots like normal pots for the type of guitar you have. hope this helps make it clear. shout if you need more help.
  20. I know the answer, me me! (for once) the best paint for handbrushing over another coat of paint, with minimal worry about lifting what's underneath, is One Shot enamel. It's an old brand sold for hand-painting signs, and it's very good for putting down a smooth coat with a brush. Very forgiving, and easy to touch up with a razor blade when it's first dry- it turns into a soft rubbery coating before it finally hardens up, giving you time to go back and clean up. Then go over the whole thing with a good water-based polyeurethane varnish- I like Diamond varathane. You will have zero problem with this reacting over anything. I like the semi-gloss finish for a non-glossy lustre that buffs nicely to the texture of vintage paint. For One Shot sign paint, look in your local yellow pages under 'Sign Supply'. Although a much bigger part of their business nowdays is vinyl banners, suppliers like this sell the same materials to pinstripers. Here's their website, though it doesn't give much useful info. http://www.1shot.com/products.html But you could email them and find out who your local distributor is. It's not particularly expensive, and just great to work with. While you're there, pick up a couple pinstripers' brushes and discover how incredibly easy it is to make perfect lines when you have the right tools...
  21. You should use gorilla glue (urethane glue). It's ideal for neck and headstock repairs. The key thing is getting all the pieces to fit back together correctly, so that the grains mesh back together. Then wet the surfaces, apply teh glue and use tape to hold it together correctly. Should be no problem. Neck and headstock breaks seem awful but really they're a common repair, many great vintage guitars have them (what percentage of old gibsons?) so don't panic.
  22. call me a lowlife... but i'd fill those whoppin' big craters with super glue, harden em with accelerator, level em down with a razor blade, sand it down to 2000 grit and polish it glassy smooth. Sure, you'll always be able to see the marks, that's irreversable, but you can level and fill so that the smooth surface is unbroken. From more than 10 feet nobody will know the difference.
  23. I don't know this particular brand, but there are a handful of cheap pedals coming out these days in this same 40-60$ USD range. The thing is, these circuits are very well known, any company can source the schematics to make any of these based on copies of what's out there. Danelectro, for instance, sells a range in this same price range, they work fine but somehow they're a little susceptible to die out after a while, or so I hear. So, at that price, why not? You've got nothing to lose. The really cool one IMHO is the EQ, although knobs instead of sliders has got to be a bit of a pain. Then again, once you set it, you pretty much leave it!
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