Scrappy_Squirrel

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Does anyone have specs and measurements for the Stetsbar? I need the height capability and measurements of the TOM more specifically. I'm in the process of figuring out neck angle for a solid body electric and I have a few questions about that too. I've been told that a 2-3 deg backward neck angle will suffice for the stetsbar and I'm satisfied with this answer. I've also been told my options include: 1. Instead of a neck angle I can have the neck straight and build the fretboard proud of the body. 2. Have a slight forward angle like a classical guitar. I've been told this can really change the sound. My question is: How do the second two options change the sound and playability of the guitar? Will the strings be more "slinky"? Will the sound of the guitar be more mellow or "poppy"?

Good info. Thanks for the clear and concise responses. I think I'm starting to get a feel for what is going on with the headstock angle thing.

I'm smelling a little bit of territorial pissing going on in here. Man, this place gets more uptight with every passing year. I guess being the new guy on the block I have to pay my dues first eh? I stand corrected by the science snob on the process of "science". There were a few comments made by people that were meant to be derogatory towards me, in defense of the OP but thats ok as they were made to protect him, I understand. Sometimes people let their emotions control their actions but that's inherently part of what makes us human. My real intent was to open up communication and dialog about the subject and express my concern for his grade, not to rub his face in the dirt and kick him when he's down. I must have missed the part about it being a high school project and others must have missed the part where I said I was concerned. I started my comments out by saying they might be taken as harsh because sometimes I'm not sure how else to say it. I'd rather express concern in the best way I know how and risk criticism than not speak at all. Next time I'll reserve my concern and post a pretty picture of a puppy or fluffy kitten complete with inspirational corporate cliches about climbing mountains or making lemonade. Hell, concern is overrated anyway. To the OP, good luck on your science project. I truly hope you get what you want out of your class and your project with a good grade to boot. ...The evil eyed squirrel slowly slithers and skulks out of the room...

I'm sure this will come across as harsh but it probably needs to be said so I'll take a flame or two... MickGuard is correct in that there are many, many variables and many types of bridges to test. Unfortunately your results would be meaningless because you are changing more than one variable with each model in your experiment. For a true experiment you would want multiple copies of the same bridge: One bridge would serve as your control and the copies would each have one variance from the control. For instance: You might have four tom bridges of the same brand, size, shape, style and method of attachment into the same guitar but each bridge would be made from a different metal. You can only change one variable at a time with a true experiment otherwise your confounds are too numerous to gather any real information. In fact, in order to establish a true control, prior to introducing variables, you would need to measure the sustain of six, or more, of the exact same bridges, in the same guitar, even before introducing any variables into your bridge experiment. Real science is a pita but going through the motions is what yields real results. I'm not trying to burst your bubble but I just wanted it to be stated for the record in case it makes a difference in your grade. I'd hate to see you get a bad grade.

Is there any benefit to a 15 deg headstock angle vs a 13 deg headstock angle, or vise versa? what is the minimum useful angle for a guitar headstock and why? Is there a maximum useful angle? I'm thinking of using a smaller angle (13 deg or less) to add a bit of strength to the headstock but also for a more "slinky" string tension... wil it work or hurt in the long run?

This is not about price corrections in the market. Believe me proper dealers are raising prices every year (and I take no issue or challenge the validity of the price increases). I am speaking specifically to dealers who have targeted instrument makers as a group that pays more for wood. These dealers are placing the lable "instrument grade" on wood that does not meet the higher grading standards that would set this wood apart from the more common grades, and specifically often have properties that are actually very undesirable to instrument builders. This clearly shows me they do not understand instrument wood grading, they just see a group to target. Doug, If you bought that cut and surfaced as a set you got a good deal (those services cost). If you payed about $7-10 a bd. ft. for non specific sawn select grade lumber you payed about the right price. If that piece was to be tagged "instrument grade" it should be well quartersawn and should have fairly straight vertical grain(your is rift to flat, which is fine), it would also have nice pleasing color and be free of visable defects(as your piece does). If it met the criteria for "instrument grade", then you could start to justify 3 to 10 times the value. Sounds crazy when you think about it, but that falls into what I stated is "reasonable" pricing. I take issue when the pricing is in the 11-15 times range, and is not meeting all the criteria. It's Portland... Look at how many guitar builders, guitar building classes and guitar building newbs there are. Of course they're going to profiteer, they see a demand for it. Ultimately, they wouldn't charge so much if people didn't pay the price to begin with. It's just like anything else, when you have a resource that is in high demand and a large population demanding it then the price will continue to go up until people stop paying it. In the meantime, they look at you with a big grin and wait... they know that guitar builders "Have to have it" if they really like it and will pay anything for it.

I would imagine that with some ingenuity you could get some cool snake skin effects with a lacewood top and a combination of stains.

I don't know of anything but it seems to me that there is a niche market for this. I'm surprised Warmoth doesn't have this as an option.

Well, I'm not really talking about chambering it in the conventional sense. I'm going to use carbon fiber rods from LMI on both sides of my truss rod. I was price shopping carbon rods and found a better price on square stock carbon fiber tubes: http://www.cstsales.com/carbon_square_tubes.html & http://www.hobby-lobby.com/carbonfiber.htm I feel certain these would be strong enough as neck supports but I was considering what it would do to the sound having those carbon fiber channels running into the body of a chambered or hollow-body electric. I know the carbon fiber chambers would be minuscule but it seems that it would transmit something since the carbon fiber usually has direct contact with the fretboard. Here are a couple more links for reasonably priced carbon: http://www.acp-composites.com/acp-cr.htm http://www.hobbylinc.com/prods/rf.htm

Oops... It looks like I misunderstood what I was reading. When I did a keyword search for "chambered neck" it came up as "chambered neck through" but all of the links were for bass guitars, hmmmm... Although, I did find several references to Lap-steel guitars and some aluminum neck Travis Beam guitars as having chambered necks. So, what purpose does the chambered neck serve in a lap-steel. The Travis Beam, I imagine, is chambered for weight but I'm not sure. Anyone have any thoughts as to what effect small chambers, if any, would have on an electric?

Why do some basses come with the option of a chambered neck? Do the chambers just reduce weight? How would a chambered neck effect a 6 string guitar? I was considering using square carbon-fiber tubing (instead of solid stock) for neck supports and realized this might create a chambered effect... Also, why aren't there more guitars, besides basses, that use Bubinga as a neck? How does Bubinga sound as a guitar neck? Is there any reason to not use Bubinga as a guitar neck? What about as a stiffener for a Limba neck, will it add some bright midrange, more bass, more sustain?

This link might answer part of your question. http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/guitars/index.html

I appreciate everyones responses. I agree with Jmrentis and Vinny in that I will continue regardless of the answers and won't let it slow me down. I just wanted to know so that I wasn't making any major mistakes in my design as I wasn't sure how much each factor would compound to the point of detriment; sounds like none of it will matter too much as long as construction quality is high. For the time being my design is going to be a two piece black limba body with a book-matched birdseye maple top, two piece (laminated) black limba neck w/volute, Madagascar ebony fret board, carbon fiber reinforced neck/fretboard with an LMI double action truss rod, angled headstock. I'm considering the Steinberger tuners because they will allow for a direct/straight string-pull headstock (3x3) and give me more slack for high design verses having to design the headstock shape around the tuner knobs. The final decisions I have to make are in regards to the bridge and pickups. Has anyone directly compared he Stesbar, Khaller & Trem-King? I don't like floating trems. Does one of these bridge designs hold a distinct advantage over the others? Admittedly, I like the retro look of the stetsbar... Also, has anyone had experience with Qtuner pickups? Are they really as versatile as they seem? Can I use a Bill Lawrence Qfilter in conjunction with the Qtuner Super High Z's? I'm looking for versatility here. I hope to end up with something as versatile as the PRS 513. Anyone have advice on good pickups? Ultimately I'd love to have two humbuckers that split to give a true P90 sound but I'm not sure if that exists.

Hiya'. Long time lurker here. I'm finally getting to build the guitar I've been planning for three years (Shop access hasn't been easy to come by). I've been given some advice by other builders that seems counterintuitive and I thought I'd run it by you seasoned builders to see what you think. I'm always open to good advice but sometimes it doesn't always make sense. 1. A three piece body/back is better than a two piece body/back, in regards to sustain, because the bridge and pickups are mounted on one solid piece verses the bridge straddling two separate laminated pieces. 2. A glue-in neck sustains better and has better resonance than a neck through because a neck through cancels out some of it's own string vibration due to it being one contiguous piece of wood. 3. Bubinga, rosewood and Pau Ferro are horrible tone woods for solid body electric necks and bodies because they are oily and not very resonant. 4. A hard maple top on any solid body guitar helps distribute all frequencies and string vibrations evenly so that the guitar resonates and sustains better... 5. More glue joints in a guitar = Less sustain and resonance. Also, how do the Stetsbar, Khaller & Trem-King compare in the way of tuning stability, Sustain, resonance & tone sucking? I do palm mute a bit and would like to retain the ability to do so comfortably so I'm looking for a near surface mount, non floating, trem or equivalent. I would think the Khaller sucks the most sustain due to the roller guides. Any advice on good trems (Besides Floyd Rose)? Any advice on which locking tuners are best. I'm considering five in particular: Steinberger locking tuners from stewmac, Gotoh 510-Delta series, Grover locking minis, Planet Waves or Sperzels. I've used the Grovers but have no experience with the others.