GGW

If you want to use your computer, I've had good luck with G-Tune. It loooks like they are now merging with Peterson or something but the much cheaper G-Tune is still available. It has varoius modes of display including strobe type readouts.

I'm seeing the Artec site from here. Some of the pickups resemble the GFS ones, but the surface mount NY pickups are not there. There may be more than one source of GFS's pickups, and maybe some are manufactured to a design? Back to the topic, I'm leaning toward the pickups being a big element in the sound. The thing I see about the Rickenbacker and Gretch pickups is that they are a lower resistance/impedance. This seems to produce more highs but a lower output. I've also wondered why the magnetic soundhole pickups for acoustic guitars sound as good as they do and have learned that they are lower wind as well. The sound of most pickups has gravitated to more winding, hotter sound, more midrange and less highs.

or http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=...,42996&ap=1

Thanks for all the replies. Before, I assumed that sound was the Vox amp as well, but after listening to the Randy Bachman show, I began to think otherwise. He said he saw one of the Byrd guys (maybe Roger McGinn) play a show with a Rickenbacker through a Pignose amp miced an get the sound. I've been reading and I think the British guys had Voxes but the early Americans played them through Fenders, etc. I'd also be interested if anyone can verify the origin of the GFS pups. The site seems to say that they spec the designs. It's probable that they are made in an obscure Asian factory, but he main thing is the sound. DO they do it?

There's a good description of it here: SIngleCoil Site

Very nice job. I like the shade of blue you used as it looks next to the maple. Nice details.

Very nice! Be sure to post a picture when the finish hits that wood.

There's a great radio program in Canada, on CBC, hosted by Randy Bachman of the Guess Who. Unfortunately, it's on Saturday nights and I'm usually busy with other things and they don't podcast it. Anyway, I heard it this weekend and he was doing a show on the sound of the different guitars. I think he already did Gibson and Fender but I tuned in on Gretch and Rickenbacker. For the first time I think I "get" the Rickenbacker sound. It's all over British music but I was really impressed with the way Tom Petty orchestrates the sounds in and out of his recordings. This got me thinking of trying for that sound on my next build. I've been through the archives and read that but still would like a bit more insight. I'm not talking about cloning the guitar visually, just what are the main elements that contribute to the sound. I would think the first thing would be the pickups. Gretch and Rickenbacker seem to use a lower output, more wide range style of pickup. About the only source I see for this style is at Guitar Fetish HERE. Any comments on these and the various models? The next thing would be the scale length. The Rickenbacker site lists the scale length at 24 3/4". I usually get a preslotted fingerboard at LMI and they list the 24.624 Gibson, 24.9 Martin and 25.0 PRS. I'm inclined to go for the longer length, maybe the 25.0". Any comments on that small a variation? What contribution would the bridge be? I see listings for them and I do like the idea of them a bit more than the TuneOmatic. It seems more solid to the wood. I guess it also has to be raised the amount to allow for the height of the surface mount pickups. It also seems that the hollow body must be an issue. Any discussion on any of the above would be appreciated.

Thanks for the comments. ToddW - When you say you carved the top from the inside, to you mean it's thicker under the bridge or something else If you look at the link for "Underside of Top", it shows the from the back down towards the underside of the top. When I routed from the top down, I left the thicker sapelle parts for the neck pocket, two pickup cavities and a thickened part for the bridge. The bridge screws go into this block and the other cavities get routed out from the top. From this view, I carved the bulbinga top from below to thin it out. It may not have been science but I tapped and carved until I got a bit of a resonant tap response. Geo - Care to describe your shellac finishing process? I padded shellac on with a cotton cloth ball. It takes a while to build up but it's nice to do and looks very nice. It seems to scuff and mar very easy though. It's OK because I won't be travelling around with this guitar. I tried spraying laquer on a previous build and thought that was delicate but this is more so. Oil may be the next choice all right. As I mentioned, I'm working on an acoustic right now and I did a few light coats of shellac and a couple of light coats of water based poly. It looks very nice and should be much more durable.

Hollow body w/ bulbinga top Sapelle back and sides Maple and sapelle neck 25" scale length Macassar ebony fret board Kent Armstrong mini humbucker and Lawrence Designed L609 pickups Shellac finish This one turned out pretty good for me. The body is hollow with the bridge floating. I did it by routing out the inside of a solid piece. The top is fairly thick but I carved out the bulbinga from below; sort of a carved top effect. I had it done about a year ago but was not happy with a few details. I took it apart and just finished reworking it. I shaved more off the neck, changed the single coil to a mini humbucker at the neck, and eliminated a neck shim I had though I needed. Now it plays and sounds great. It’s got a woody sound but is still quite bright. Some things I learned are: 1. Go slow on the neck and judge the profile carefully. Luckily I was too fat rather than too thin. 2. It is possible to have too bright a pickup 3. The shellac looks good but is probably too delicate. 4. I won’t carve out all that wood again. Next time I make this type, I’ll do bent sides. 5. I think I’ll always use a two way truss rod in the future. I don’t have backbow, but I have basically no relief. It works because I did a very careful fret level but I would rather there was a bit of curve. I assume it will come with a bit of time. I tried clamping some pressure on the neck but it sprung right back. I’ve been working on a small body acoustic as well. Should be done soon. More Images: Bulbinga Routing Template Routing for Wiring Underside of Top Neck Headstock Body Front Back

I got an Earvana nut for my Gibson and liked it a lot. It fit on and over the fretboard with no modification. When I built my first guitar, I basically used it as a model to make a compensated nut. It was a bit of close work, but I am really impressed with the result.

This company is basically doing this. A bit expensive. http://www.stellartone.com/Index.asp

I've looked at the Feiten nut and it seems to be just a straight nut. I don't know the details, but it seesm the nut is moved closer to the first fret, the intonation is altered and the tuing is altered a bit; everything is fuged a bit. As long as you replace the Feiten nut with a piece of material the same size and in the same place, I think you're back where you were. Anyone know if I'm wrong?

I'd echo what Matttia has said. I did it on passive pickups and was underwhelmed. It seemed that the useful settings were at either end and in the middle. There didn't seem to be a lot of sublety in between. I adjusted the taper with resisters but I still didn't think it was very interesting. I took out the blend pot and put a three way switch in the hole.

Another option is to just use a piece of the same wood, match a portion as best you can and use it. If it's in the back and has some dye/color on it, it looks pretty good. I know it's nice to get to perfection, but it is a suitable compromise. I made my last one with black dye on the back and sides with a black cover on the back. It looks fine.

Is there a good technique to make the knob itself without a lathe? I've been trying to figure out a way to do it. I have access to a lot of machines, but no lathe.

I've thought of using something like this for grounding, as mentioned. Is a plate like this available anywhere?

I like it. At first glance, it's a bit like Jackson Pollack. Actualy, a paint job in that style might be interesting.

It's pretty hard to see all right; lots of jumping around, but I think it is a Bigsby vibrato. StewMac link

A lot of the basics are shown here: http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/bodies/bodies.cfm

SwedishLuthier is right, you may have it located wrong. The principal of this system moves the nut point closer to the bridge by shortening the first fret. I put an Earvana retrofit one on my Les Paul and like it a lot. It has a small piece in the nut position and then another piece on top that slides over the end of the fretboard to shorten the distance. On my first real build I made my own by carving a piece of Trem-nut material. I experiemented with the placement by putting small pieces of wood under the strings as a temperary nut position and then carved the nut to match. Under this method, I cut 3mm off the end of the fingerboard at the first fret. I like it a lot; all notes are in tune. You can see a bit of the basic shape in the main photo: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...c=27790&hl= Another hint is that the high E string is usually close to the length of the theoretical scale length. From the picture of your nut, you can see that the high E is set back too far. You can get the Earvana type that mounts in the slot and then slides out onto the fretboard. Try: https://www.earvana.com/ and look for the "Earvana Retrofit Nut - Fender Style"

I asked this in the Players Forum and there were some helpful comments: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=33489

Has anyone used the varnish oil from Lee Valley? http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=...cat=1,190,42942

There's a pretty good diagram about 3/4 down this page: http://www.1728.com/guitar.htm