Willin

Hiya - I tried shielding my fender yngwie malmsteen signature strat as per the instructions at guitarnuts.com. The only problem is that after wire everything to spec, it is still not grounded! I am in the process of troubleshooting. One possible problem may be that my 5 way pickup selector is wired slightly differently than the schematic on guitarnuts. I wired the Stew Mac selector by following the instructions that came with it. I believe it is working correctly, but I was wondering if you all think that this would be a problem? Sorry I am very new to this so forgive my newbiness. Here is a quick drawing I made of how my selector is wired:

Since I have 18 gauge speaker wire that is braided can I just use that? Or is that a no-no?

Hey, guys! I am about to shield my strat as per the instructions at guitarnuts.com. The problem is that I bought solid core 20 gauge wire at radio shack yesterday and I think I may need braided wire instead? Will solid core do the trick as well or am I digging a hole for myself by using it? Also, I have 18 gauge braided audio cable and I was wondering if that would be a suitable alternative or should I take the trip back to radio shack to get some regular braided wire? Thanks a bunch for responses!

I just bought a 5 way pickup selector for my Fender Yngwie Malmsteen signature Strat. I have never done electronics work with guitars so excuse me for my naivete. Is it difficult to change to a 5 way selector? Will I need additional wires to be able to do this? Do I need to purchase anything additional besides the new 5 way pickup switch? If anyone could give me information or tips on how to do this, I would appreciate it. A guide would serve me well, too. I tried searching for information, came up empty handed. It came with a wiring schematic, so do I only have to open my guitar and rewire it according to that schematic and i'm done?? Thanks!

Howdy - I just bought a new guitar off of eBay. Specifically, it's an Yngwie Malmsteen signature Fender Strat. It's a great guitar and I like it a lot, but I am having problems with it not being grounded correctly. When my hand is not touching the strings or bridge or tuning machines, etc, there is a significant buzzing noise. This is *especially* noticeable when my Ibanez TS-9 tubescreamer overdrive pedal is on. I only have a few days as a grace period before I can return this guitar. I also have never worked on a guitars electronics before. Lastly, I am going to be busy these next few days and won't have much time to mess around with the guitar and take it apart, so my main question is how likely is it that this problem can be easily repaired? I understand that I can search the forum and most likely find the solution to the problem, but that is not what I am asking for at this moment. I am more concerned about the signifigance of this problem and how easily it can be resolved. I don't want to be stuck with a lemon. So, is this *usually* an easily repairable problem? Thank you very much for responses.

Gordon Lightfoot is my cousin, in law, he married my cousin ← That's amazing! I wonder how many songs he has written about your cousin?!?!

Doh - I have a floyd rose licensed bridge on my guitar and I was about to replace the strings on it. I've never done this before so while I was researching the process I read that you can't use Ernie Ball Slinkys on floyd rose bridges. Now i'm wondering if I can use this set of 12 dollar Elixirs that I have already bought as well? Can I not use them because they have a coating on them? That would stink. Thanks a lot for any information! Oh and if anyone is wondering, I read that in this article: http://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=103

One of the more beautiful songs i've ever heard: Paul Stookey - The Wedding Song

Hmmm, i'm going to add my NOVICE opinion. I am not a guitar specialist, but I *AM* an apprentice carpenter. I can tell you off the bat that in order to get a stuborn screw like that out, the experienced carpenters use some sort of special drill bit tool to bore into the middle of the screw, then they basically just yank it out. I am sorry that I can't explain further, but I haven't asked this question in about 2 years. I will ask again to try to get some more information for you. Willin

Keep in mind that I have never bound a guitar before, but I strongly suspect that sanding it would just ruin it.

Yes, get the baby taylor with a gig bag. You won't regret it. I love the premiere model Martins, but getting the backpacker is a *big* waste of money. You'll get sick of the thing after playing it a hand full of times. The neck is shaped oddly - like the fat end of a baseball bat. The thing quite literally sounds like a cigar box guitar and to add insult to injury - well... just look at it. Remember, this is all coming from someone who owns one, hahhaa. On the other hand, I also own a baby taylor which is a pleasure to play. Admittedly, I tend to stick to my full sized acoustics, but the taylor is till very nice. It looks like it was made on this planet, and due to some ingenious bracing it booms. Lastly, it's not too much bigger than the backpacker when you take into account case size and such. Trust us on this one and get a baby taylor.

Just watched this and it deserves a *bump*

I bought a backpacker about 5 years ago and I've maybe used it 5 times... Don't bother. It's so uncomfortable. If you want to get a travel guitar, I strongly suggest the Baby Taylor. They sound great for their size and they have a classy look. If you want to get a nice acoustic for around $300, I reccomend Ibanez's, Alvarez's, and I've *heard* great things about Seagulls. Pick what suits you best.

I vote green. It looks like a modest, classy version of a Gibson explorer. I can dig it.

So much controversy over such an inane point. I'm a complete newbie looking for some experienced advice on a painting method which I recently saw in a major guitar enthusiast publication. Anyway, thank you to those who added worthwhile information.

Hey all, I was wondering if this finishing technique found at this site works well or not? http://www.paintyourownguitar.com/ I see some paint jobs on there that are awesome and I want to do the same thing. I just want to get some opinions on this before I shell out 20 dollars. Is it likely that you can get good results using this method with spray paint cans? Thanks for providing information to a newbie...

I really like the floral print on that. How is that done? Is it painted on like i'd assume or is it a material finish? Really beautiful guitars all around. If you could divulge a little information, that'd be great.

Haha, yea, i'm sure Jerry wouldn't mind, he's very nice - I don't know Doyle. I can try asking him a few questions if you'd like, or have my brother do it for me. Give me some specific questions that you want answered, I can give it a shot.

Overall, would it be cheaper to buy a (strat) guitar body and neck from warmoth for around 325 dollars total, or get body and neck blanks, plans, and tools to fashion my own strat out of? I have access to things like routers and saws, but I am concerned about the cost of things like fret-setters and other instrument-specific tools. Thanks for any information - sorry for the newbie question but this is the best place to get answers!

Haha, funny I should stumble upon this thread. Jerry Only's daughter is actually my brothers girlfriend. She's at my house right now. Anyway, I don't have any input into the processes involved here; i'm trying to learn how to make my own guitar myself. Good luck with finishing the Annihilator though. It's lookin' good.

Wow, that sounds insane! I would love to see something like that! Could you possibly post pictures of the "failure" paint?

Great work! Absolute beautiful guitar! The pledge of allegiance is inscribed on the back plate. A very clever touch; I love it!

Could anyone post a link to a guitar with "fiber optics" rather than LED's? I have never seen such a guitar!

I've also heard some horror stories about people buying his guitars. The guitars then play like crap and/or fall apart and Ed Roman doesn't give a crap about the guitar once it is out of his door. People try to contact him to get replacement parts or repairs and Ed Roman gives them an attitude about it. I think he may have damn well brain-washed some people. If you think for a second he is trying to help people out by offering them high quality guitars for a reasonable price then you are mistaken. He is just another greedy person, like all of the other companies he criticizes, who is trying to scam people into giving him their money. It's as simple as that. I personally do not trust him and would never purchase a product from him. His demeanor is child-like and immature. It makes me sad that he could own and run a business.

Hello! First time poster here! I have recently started to look into building my own guitar and I wanted to chime in with my experiences here! I am a carpenter's assistant. I live in Long Island, New York. Many of you have asked questions about that foam roller that tsl used. I can confirm that they can in fact be purchased here in the USA. I used one about two weeks ago to paint a wall at a job we were on. I used the same *exact* model that tsl has a picture of. My boss purchased it and I wasn't with him but I know for a fact that it was either from Home Depot or Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. It was most likely from Home Depot. I did a quick search on HomeDepot.com for that product and didn't get a satisfactory result *but* at Lowes.com I did find a very similar item. Check this link out: http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDet...00001077-03700C Hopefully that link works. If not, let me know. I am sure you can find that same 4 inch foam roller at any major hardware store. Hope I helped someone out! I will try finding out exactly where it came from tommorow!