zyonsdream

I love 3x3 headtocks on teles... who makes the tremolo?

I for one hope this guitar makes it into the GOTM.... I've always wondered what Aromatic cedar would look like under a high gloss finish and what it would sound like.

I'd undo anything that Mick Thompson copied... I'm sure if you ask him, he came up with this idea while he was still in the womb and patented it before age two. Geesh, that guy is a plague on custom built guitars in general.

Thanks for the nice words. I am happy with it, but made my share of boo-boo's during the build.

Rad- real glad you like it. The neck isn't all multi-lam'd out, but I like the tone of a flatsawn maple neck. I blame my early guitars.

John, i found this.

http://www.ibanez.co...tars/Series-mtm << that dude liked my idea so much he stole it and Ibanez let him.

I'll do up a video clip of the rad-o at work. Its a very bassy guitar. Detuned a bit anyway but it does have a J-lo like bottom end. Very large and round but somehow quite fitting and pleasant, with enough going on up top that it's not too lop-sided..

I love everything but the tuners. I know they are top quality butt they look too shinny and new.

Anyone with a hand drill and a cheap tap/die set from Harbor freight can convert a TOM to a tone pros for a few pennies. If the pigtails wrap far enough around the studs, you can easily convert a wrap around too. If the AVT- is aluminum (too lazy to look) then the difference is only in appearance. If the AVT- is steel then you'll notice a big difference between the two. I like the Baby grand bridge but you loose a bit of depth and sustain due to the aluminum. Although there is a difference, I'd go with the one that you think looks better.

I'll take any Agile over any 2,000 gibson any day. The fit and finish beats Gibson and they sound evry bit as good. Many Agiles even come with Tone Pros and Graphtech bridges http://www.rondomusic.com/product5246.html

I hope you don't plan on making it out of solid billet aluminum. The F-holes seem to say that you plan to have a hallow or semi-hallow body with an aluminum top glued on. The adhesives used to glue aluminum are really caustic. If you do plan to use solid aluminum, no one will be able to pick it up and play it. I have a solid acrylic telecaster that weighs 17 lbs.. that's super heavy for a guitar. Can't imagine a solid aluminum guitar.

This is absolutely one of the best threads on this website. I'm in awe of your saw milll. I'd invest in a small kiln or even make one out of an old refrigerator but I respect a man who can wait. I'd be itching to work with that wood so much I'd take it to a local kiln and pay to have it cut up. However,I'll bet that your method raises your profit margin considerably!

Nickelback exposure is deadly... I've heard tale that it even causes cracking and premature rotting off the fretboard. However, if you send an exposed guitar to a boy band I've heard they work just as expected.

You ruined this guitar neck by placing it on something related to Creed!!!Better just start from scratch

Yep it was close to being ruined, it has been recuperating under a pile of CDs and records from Electric Mary, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Thin Lizzy, Metallica, LA Guns, The Baby Animals, Kill Hannah, Backyard Babies, KISS,Scorpions, Lynch Mob, Airbourne, The Screaming Jets, Joe Bonamassa and Mick Ronson. It is recovering nicely, now it had been contaminated with Nickelback it would have been straight into the bin

I've always used Starret dials (not digital) but I started out working in Aeroplastics where accuracy was vital. I kept most of those tools and now use them when I work on guitars. However, at Martin, we use Mitutoyo digital calipers or snap dials for checking the thickness of tops, backs and sides. As reference, when we sand the wood for out tops to thickness, we must hold +- 3. Our nominal for a top thickness is .130. Anything below .127 is no good. .

On a side note, don't ever think that any pair of dials will hold 0.001 accuracy. They aren't intended for that type of accuracy. If you need that, pick up a good micrometer. Also, to help ensure your tools stay calibrated, pick up a good set of gauge blocks to routinely check your tools.

I've seen nice sets of dials at Harbor Freight. Never bought a pair but they looked like good quality to me.

Putting in the side dot rod, PVA pool in the bottom of a can

You ruined this guitar neck by placing it on something related to Creed!!!Better just start from scratch

Hmmmn... not a bad idea. I found these in gold on ebay: PUPS The price is right.

I've used Diesel pickups before in a Warlock inspired build I completed. They actually have a very nice "Filtron" type tone. Little less power than a PAF and with a nice bite. I forget the model of pickup but I'm guessing they are vary similar. Obviously you pan to just use the covers so let me tell you, the gold plating has held up nicely over the last 5 years or so.

we are using a lot of ovangkol at Martin now. It looks awesome with a finish on it. Has lot of golden brown and light green streaking... smells like cow dung when sanding it through. Pretty much the same as zebrawood.

Just about anything you get from a lumbar yard will not be dry enough to use right away unless they kiln dry it for you. Oak has a tendency to split while drying. Just make sure it's about 6% when you start milling it.

Well gents, heres what I decided to do ->

5 Peice multi-laminate neck. Maple/Oak/Poplar/Oak/Maple. The oak is white oak, and will be stained black for the contrast. I will be using white oak stained black to do the fret board. Oak seems to accept stains well, and its a very strong and resonant wood. As mentioned it is also EXTREMELY available at lumber yards and supply stores around here.

Thank you all for your inputs! Searching around and digging up, oak seems to be the red-headed step child of the bunch, usually yeilding surprising results in the end Hopefully I can get some good results from this. Got a bunch of reading left to do though.

I have few thoughts about this and in no way am I trying to be disrespectful but these are a few roadblocks you will encounter with this type of tremolo.

You are asking a guitarist to completely rethink and relearn the way they use a tremolo. All tremolos throughout history have used an upward/downward motion for raising/lowering the pitch of the strings. You are asking the guitarist to rotate the bar across the string path to raise pitch. This could seriously get in the way of their ability to pick strings while they raise pitch. On a plus side, I could see one adopters using some variation of sweep picking with this type of tremolo, which could provide a few neat sounds.

The tremolo requires serious modification to the body. On a custom built guitar, this is not an issue. However, it will be an issue for many people who would want one installed in their current axe. It's easy to install a Floyd Rose on a fulcrum style guitar or one with a fixed bridge but it's not very easy to install a Kahler in a Floyd equipped guitar... this tremolo looks to be along the lines of a Floyd to kahler swap.

I love innovation and a custom guitar forum is a good place to shop your ideas but you might also serve yourself by having serious tremolo guitar players try out your product. Plucking a few strings in a youtube video, admitting you are not a guitarist, will not get many guitarists interested in your product. Jim Marshall built the worlds best amps and never played guitar but he is one of the rare ones that pulled it off. Guitar builders will plop anything into a piece of wood if the price is right and the idea intrigues them (look at Gibson's robot guitars for proof of this) even if guitarists ultimately think the idea is worthless.

I actually like everything about this design... I really like the inlay on the FB and the little alien on the headstock. As stated before, the pickguard and jack looks great and complements the shape of the guitar. I'd like to see satin hardware/pickguard and flat black bridge and flat black paint. That way, you'll retain the actual look of the picture. Anything in gloss would take away from the sleek "alien" appearance.

Oh, and I like the color splash on the fretboard with the colored stars. I think it gives it a bit of contrast and draws the eye.

Why is it that you feel the need or feel that you have the right to illegally use the Les Paul namesake? Highly doubt you've obtained a licensing agreement from the Les Paul estate.. I wouldn't say anything except you build for profit and that you've printed his name on several of your builds before.

however, looking at the missing finish on the edges of the headstock and the dents in the finish on the heel pictures... I'd say the finish quality is right in line with the stuff Gibson slaps his name on these days...

I'm sure the cost is drastic but before I purchased one, I'd want proof that I was paying for some of james dean's wreckage... that would increase the desire of ownership 100-fold. I always wanted to buy the guitar that charles Mason was beat with in prison... yah, I'm odd, I know.

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worry less about 'what's easiest" and focus more on taking your time, thinking out your processes and ensuring proper attention to details and you might find that your first acoustic is a masterpiece... spoken like a true wood-shop teacher (of which I am not...)

Spruce top, mahogany neck and rosewood sides... yields a classic and well proven acoustic guitar tone that any novice or experienced builder should appreciate.

Scott French:

Dude! I absolutely love this guitar- from the wood choices to the design to the matte pick guard. I'll go on record to say that I hate pick guards but this one really enhances the guitar instead of detracts from it. I love the Baby grand bridge. I used it on a Telecaster once and the owner still raves about it's quality. the zero fret and innovative nut setup is great and I've love to play the guitar just to see how that works. The headstock reminds me of old Danelectro headstocks, which is cool to me. I knew when I saw this one, it would be hard to beat... no one was able to dethrone this axe for me so it got my vote! Here's to making you a 3-time GOTM winner.

NotYou :

You clearly achieved the charred distressed look that you wanted to obtain and for that I offer a congratulations. I actually like relic'd guitars but this is on the drastic side for me. That's not a bad thing, it's just not my thing. I will say that I'm not a big fan of the screen or the fact that the bridge pickup is set so far in front of the bridge.

Crow:

Well executed PRS copy. I see no reason that the quality of this axe would not rival that of an actual PRS. The color choices are good and the fit and finish are top notch. I'm guessing the owner loves it. However, since this a competition where the voter votes for the guitar "he or she" likes best and not necessarily the most professional looking, I had to vote for Scott's guitar. I've often said that the last guitar I'd ever own is a PRS... they just seem to sterile to me.

DemonX:

You managed the one extreme shape I don't care for... The sharp V just never did it for me in the world of metal. Again, like above... it's a well executed guitar. I wish you worked closer to Neal... you'd be a great builder for him... or for yourself. Your world has clearly reached pro level in my book.

Campylobacter:

This is will crafted for your first attempt. I'm not sure the narrow headstock works with the inflated upper bout but that's an opinion and everyone has one of those dont they! The fit and finish look good and I love the set neck feel with the bolt on neck. I'm sure this is a fun one to play!

ugh, do a rear cavity and s-can the control plate... with that inlay and the quilt, the control plate is too much

If a Floyd can work, I'm certain that a kahler can work. Not to mention, that a classical has less bracing and a thinner soundboard than a dreadnaught. Now to convince the custom shop at martin to install one for me. However, I might just complete the mod on one of my acoustics before I plunk down the cash for a custom built Martin... even at 50 or 60% off, that's still a lot of cash.

The picture you picked for the custom December Tele is not the best but I really loved this guitar. I voted it for the GOTY. I really like the idea of this competition. Pick the best of the best! Winner should get a special badge under their avatar! That Green zebra top really makes me drool but I can only vote for one guitar and the tele...its everything I would want in a guitar. Junes deep body jazz box is also a killer guitar... the paint job is not my thing though... still, I could look at these guitars all day and struggle to pick the best... indecision is sometimes the best decision LOL

I'm thinking of having a custom acoustic made but instead of a traditional bridge, I want a Kahler tremolo installed such as the one at this link

http://www.kahlerusa.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=25

I do not foresee any soundboard issues if I use a light gauge string set and I know that I'd have to modify the bridge plate and make it bigger. This might also force a reduction in the length of the braces.

My question is, do any of you experienced acoustic builders foresee any structural issues with adding this.

I'm working with Martin to have a custom made. Since I work for the company, I get a 60% discount on two guitars per year. However, the custom shop guys aren't sure if they are allowed to deviate this far from the traditional Martin so I might have to look elsewhere. If you are a builder and you are up for the task, shoot me a PM for a basic Dreadnaught, Sitka top, rosewood back and sides with an ebony fretboard. Chrome hardware is great, no electronics and no fretboard inlays (other than position markers on the side of the board.