Ripthorn

The only issue with what ansil suggested is that it is active. If you want to go active, you can do the rc design as it is very simple, or if you need a higher Q, you can actually use active parts to simulate an ideal inductor and use it with capacitors for a higher precision filter. If you do go active, it might be easier just to buy something off the shelf. I can look to see if I have a schematic for a higher pole filter around here, or some other way to boost the Q. The only thing is that the Q for a passive filter (and most active filters) is symmetric about the resonant frequency. I think you would have to be clever to get an asymmetric rolloff for a notch filter. Let us know if you want to go active or stay all passive.

Hey ToddW, no problem. As with all electronics projects, there are more than one way to skin a cat.

I guess I need to state that I have never built one of these for a guitar. What I gave above was from a filter design book from my filter design class. If there is something easier that someone else has already developed, then go for that, I am just thinking from a purely electrical engineering standpoint. Though you wouldn't have to wire it up for a pot at all, you could just hook it up to a push pull pot (or toggle switch) where the switch simply engages the notch filter (if you get it to sound how you want). Though I guess a pot would let you choose your cut amount. Lots of options.

If you have a signal generator or something that can put 550 Hz into your inductor, you can just measure the resistance across it while the signal is going through and use that value as Rs.

The calculate for your resonant frequency is still the same, but to determine the attenuation, you want Rs/(Rs+R1)=0.316 to have a 10 dB drop at 550 Hz where Rs is the self resistance of the inductor at 550 Hz. Hope this helps, let me know if you need more info. Edit: I know the inductor drawing sucks, it's paint, what can I say?

Your math is a little off. 4.65e-8 is actually 46.5 nF. That is a fairly typical value (47 nF). Looks like you need a Q of about 2, which is really quite low, but that is because I usually think of this stuff applied to things like wireless communication, where you need really high Q's. In order to get the proper design, I would need to know a little more about the inductor (what is it's self resistance at 550 Hz, in particular), but other than that, you can use your same inductor and capacitor. Once you know the inductors resistance, finding the attenuation at 550 Hz won't be hard, and the schematic is just a resistor, inductor and capacitor in series where you take your voltage out after the resistor but before the inductor and capacitor to ground. I will see if I can whoop up a schematic in paint real quick and post that.

If you wanted to leave out the inductor, it's possible by cascading an rc lowpass and an rc bandpass. Your crossover frequency would be 550 Hz and for a 6 dB drop, 550 Hz has to be the 9dB down point for each of your filters. You can tinker some with the Orcad Pspice demo and get all your frequency response plots with that to help tweak the values. Of course, something else you will need to take into account is the input and output impedances, as those can shift the notch frequencies of your filter. If you are fine with an inductor, that will facilitate things and you can achieve a higher Q if you want. If you still want more info, I could maybe get a schematic with some values up and going in the next couple days or so. I would just need to know what kind of Q you are looking for. Then again, the above link might be all you need.

Passive notch filters are a little tricky because most topologies require an inductor (or multiple inductors, depending on how many poles you want the filter to have) and inductors are not too accurate, can generate noise and have very strong magnetic fields inside and near them in addition to non-linear resistances (with respect to frequency). If you wanted to go active, that would be much easier and take less space because the 9v battery would probably take up less space than the inductors needed to realize a passive notch filter. You might be able to chain up simple resistor/capacitor low pass and high pass filters, but those aren't terribly accurate. I would say if you want to make the circuit yourself is to use capacitors and an inductor-simulating opamp arrangement. You get much more control that way. Of course, if you go active, you might be able to find an off-the-shelf mid cut circuit.

Just a random thought, what about something like the sonus lightwave pickup system with a sustainer . . . I guess the only problem is making your own photosensor pickups. Those with piezos, you would have the most unconventional electric guitar pickup system ever devised.

You will probably at least want to check the tires to make sure that they aren't cracked or bulging too much. Also, try to determine what kind of tension they put on the blade and whether it was constant or not. Also, check the guides to see what kind of shape they are in. Worn guides (at least in such a short period of time) can be indicative of misuse. Also, see if they will let you turn it on and see how it runs. Listen for strange noises and maybe take some scrap wood to make a few cuts on if you can and see how it feels. Those are my best suggestions.

If there was a spark, it is possible that it weakened the solder joint to the hot wire. Take a peak and see what is going on. Don't forget to use your voltmeter to check for continuity.

I think I like the right one best too, I think it has to do with how bold the grain is in that one compared to the other two. The left one also has pretty good grain, but I think the right one edges it out. Of course, that could have a lot to do with the piece of wood, but all things equal, I like the right one.

This is very common for body shaping, and I see no reason why it wouldn't work for rough shaping a neck. For the router bit, you can check MLCS and Freud to see if they have ones long enough with the bearing guide.

I recently had a similar problem when rewiring up an old build I just refinished. My pickups have that braid shielding and that braid shielding was touching (ever so slightly) the hot wire, so there was nothing coming out. Also, if you are using stranded wire, it is really easy for one stray strand to ruin everything. I suggest going through with a multimeter and testing all connections, etc. Worked wonders for me on another recent project.

One good schematic for a simple piezo preamp is cafe walter's pzp-1. It is easy to make, though I needed to put a larger trimpot in it than the 100k it called for to balance with my magnetic pickups. What I was saying about wiring is to make sure that you don't inadvertently send any signal from your magnetics (closer to the driver) to the sustainer system which means that the piezo signal will need to be buffered and split prior to a switch. Then things should be pretty simple after that.

Just my two cents regarding a piezo, I think you could use it, but I think you would need a buffer stage between your piezo and your sustainer amplifier simply because of the impedance of the piezo. I don't see why a piezo wouldn't work if you had a buffer stage though. If you had a piezo feeding the driver and then other magnetic pickups, your wiring would probably have to be pretty elaborate because you would want your piezo signal going to the driver, but not any of your magnetic pickup signal to prevent screaming. This would mean that you would have to split your piezo signal prior to sending it to the switch and completely isolating the amplifier/driver circuitry from the the tone and volume controls as well as the pickup selector switch. I'm sure Pete will be along shortly and will overrule anything erroneous I have just said, I just wanted the brain exercise. If you do go through with it, I would be very interested in how it turns out.

2 tone 1 vol into a 5 way switch is really common, check stewmac.com. You could definitely do it, though any board you make yourself will be much larger than a commercially produced one. If you want to see what effects you can make, check generalguitargadgets.com and runoffgroove (they have tremolo and faux phaser circuits you can build).

That is one amazing guitar. Maybe one day I will be able to make one that good.

You can also could probably find an electronics supply shop. The one here locally has more stock than radio shack could ever dream of and for better prices. Electronics is a very fun but involved area, so you will need to do some good studying. Also, understanding things like signal flow and the like will help you to be able to design your own guitar wiring (how to wire different switches and pickup combinations, etc.).

What I would do is either finish the wood before hand, or put it in and leave it just a shy thin and then mask off everything but those blocks and put something like nitro or poly and then level it after it cures. Best I can think of right now.

One thing I have seen that gives great black results is india ink. Do a search and you should find some cool pictures and good conversation. Aniline dyes are also really good. The grit you sand to kind of depends on the finish you will use. For nitro or poly, you could sand to about 320, but not much beyond that so that there is some minor roughness for the finish to "grab". Sanding sealer kind of depends. Last time I dyed (not stained) wood, I put the sealer on after the dye.

If you feel like you absolutely must have things as they are but still have more output from your single coils, I would suggest a buffer circuit. That could also potentially reduce the loading between HB and SC's. Of course, depending on what kind of input impedance it needs to see, the design could be anything from a simple JFET or op-amp stage to something much more complicated. The buffer would go between the SC's and the switch. You could put in a trimpot to be able to adjust the gain the buffer provides. That is the only real solution I can think of.

Very pretty guitar, I like how the wood tones swing from very light to very dark.

I have seen some necks that are basically uniform along the length of the neck (like some fender-ish necks). I think you might gain a little bit of backbow resistance with a neck that gets gradually thicker, but that is just conjecture on my part.

exoticlumberinc.com, it is a lumber yard that does online sales and ships. I have used mail order stuff before with no problems, and it helps if you tell them it is for an instrument, they usually get the best pieces for you they can.