curtisa

The ability of the trem to return to it's equilibrium point every time the bar is operated is less important in limiting the sympathetic detuning during bends. I haven't used or seen the Super Vee trem in person, but on watching the videos and looking at the sales blurbs the tensioning system doesn't seem to work appreciably differently than any other "strings vs springs" system. Super Vee do have something they call the Mag-Lok that they advertise as being able to prevent sympathetic detuning during doublestop bends while still allowing uninhibited use of the arm when required, but I'm willing to bet that it still introduces the same quirks to tremolo feel as any other Tremsetter mechanism.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Gilmourisgod is referring to the sympathetic dropping in pitch of all strings when bending one string against the trem spring tension when the trem is set up to float. By bending a string you're increasing tension which pulls the trem forward against the springs, lowering the pitch of the remaining strings. IME there is nothing that can prevent this on a floating trem without some kind of trade-off. Tremsetters and the like will limit this effect but introduce extra friction in the movement which can feel odd.

I'm not aware of a 2 position blade switch (I assume you mean Strat or Tele style) out there. In the past I have modified 3-way blade switches by bending the contacts around to change the switching pattern, or reduced a 5 way switch to a 3 way switch by swapping out the position stepping plate. You may be able to modify a 3-way blade to two positions by doing some kind of mod to the step plate, filling in the middle position ratchet with epoxy or something so that the mechanism slips over the middle position. But you'll have to disassemble the switch and find a way of re-assemblilng it afterwards, and it may not be very robust in the long term. Any aversion to using a different switch altogether? Slide toggle? Rotary? Or using a three way switch and only wiring positions 1 and 3?

Depends on what screw holes need repairing. I'd personally be a bit leary using normal dowels to plug screw holes for mounting a hardtail bridge as the grain orientation in the dowel would struggle to hold in a screw under tension. By plugging the hole with a dowel and redrilling you're screwing into endgrain which will be weaker than the original crossgrain. Strap buttons, pickguard screws, tuner screws, tune-o-matic bridge inserts...anything where the screw is not under significant tension or shear forces, or where it isn't expected to be excessively tightened would probably be fine replacing with dowel. String trees, hardtail bridges, tune-o-matic tailpiece inserts, bolt-on neck screws...You're probably better using something like a plug cutter and making your own dowels where the grain direction matches the wood you're trying to plug. The screw has more of a chance holding firm without stripping out in the plugged hole if the grain runs perpendicular to the screw shaft.

If this is a first time build I'd recommend carefully considering your abilities in installing a trem over a fixed bridge. Aligning and performing all the necessary routes and drilling can be quite challenging for a trem. At the very least read up thoroughly on the subject before committing. Fixed hardtail-stye bridge simplifies things considerably. I'll echo other suggestions and suggest not skimping on the bridge or tuners. If you're determined to do a trem install I personally really like the Wilkinson/Gotoh VS100 system (around $90-$110US depending on source). It won't offer the same level of tuning stability under Steve Vai abuse, but with proper setup will survive a divebomb and moderate manipulation without significant drift. There is a budget Wilkinson version of the same bridge called the WVS-50IIK which goes for about half the price, although I'm not sure how well this performs over (or under) the VS100. Guitar Fetish have something they call the "Wilkinson Stainless Trem" for $50US which looks a lot like the Wilkinson VS100, but appears to lack the Wilkinson logo stamped on the bridge plate. For hardtail options I prefer the Hipshot Hardtail bridge (around $60US on eBay). There are two versions, one has the more traditional "L" profile bent bridge plate, the other having the raised edges that enclose the saddles.

The simple explaination is probably "it just does". In the same way a mike can reproduce the complex sound of a human voice, or a camera can "see" a near-infinite pallette of different colours. Probably what's more interesting/amazing is that a moving string has all that going on in the first place. The pickup is the boring bit. It's the source material that makes it rock.

Very nearly. The string's fundamental tone (the one we hear as the note) has maximum displacement at the mid point of the string's length. Along the length of the string are a number of harmonically-related higher pitched overtones having much shorter wavelengths with corresponding maximum swings at various points. The bridge pickup being near the end of the string cannot hear much of the fundamental, but can hear a lot of those overtones. The higher ratio of overtones to fundamental is what makes the pickup sound brighter. Conversely the neck pickup being closer to the mid point of the string will hear a different balance of fundamental and overtones and sound warmer. The part of the pickup that "listens" to the string is probably only 1-2cm wide, so when it's placed within a few millimeters of the string it's not surprising that moving the pickup a little bit makes a big difference to the tonality of the signal that comes out the other end. Anyone who's experimented with jamming a mike in front of a screaming 4x12 cab will know how much difference an inch of movement will make to the reproduced sound given that the part of the mike that hears what's going on is about the size of your pinky fingernail.

Thanks Scott, and you're most welcome.

There are two required conductors in a guitar in order for rock 'n roll to be made. One is obviously the signal conductor from the pickup(s) carrying all the good juju that we want to amplify. The second conductor is ground, which serves several functions in a guitar - it's used to shield against external noises, earth metal components to minimise hum and (more importantly) provide a return path for the signal we want to amplify. In the same way a battery has two terminals, one to "push" the volts out and one to "return" the volts from a circuit, the guitar needs both conductors to complete the signal path. The construction of a normal guitar jack and socket does not allow the user to insert or remove the plug without inadvertently crossing over the two conductors or having a partial circuit (next time you have a Strat-style jack socket on the bench have a close look at it while inserting a guitar lead to see what happens to the various contact points rubbing on the plug). Guitar plugs and sockets are relatively loose fitting compared to some other plug styles, so the action of inserting or removing the plug may cause intermittent contact during movement. These factors generally result in the circuit being briefly incomplete during plugging in/out. For a fraction of a second the guitar stops being an instrument and acts as an antenna, picking up all sorts of garbage (radio signals, flourescent lights, refrigerator motors, aircon motors, even electrical noise picked up by your own body) which is faithfully reproduced by the amp as a familiar "blaaaaaat", "buzzzzzzz", "pop" or "hummmmm". The (yucky) voltage signal is still being generated by the guitar at this point, not by the amp.

Most definitely. We can't hear DC. The speed of the "Alternating" in AC is what we hear as pitch. The magnitude of the AC swing is "volume" to us.

DC or AC? Depending on your circumstances you may see a handfull of mV "floating" at the input, but 1.5mV is likely to be the error in your multimeter rather than the amp trying to push some juice back up the cable. In general magnetic guitar pickups are low (ish) current/high impedance devices, meaning that they don't have much guts to push several volts of signal over difficult terrain (long cables, low-impedance "heavy" loads etc). A typical humbucker may generate a few hundred mV if you hammer away at a power chord, a signal which probably won't make it alive over a 100 foot cable plugged into a hi-fi stereo line input. If you crack open the top of just about any guitar amp and start tracing the first few components of input circuitry you will find fairly standard and specific building blocks that have been in use for decades, which allow such flimsy pickup signals to be brought up in level (volts) and grunt (current) in order to start moving a speaker. A condenser mike utilises a completely different principle to generate a signal - a flexible diaphragm moving in sympathy with the soundwave hitting it, suspended over a fixed plate. The distance between the diaphragm and plate at any moment causes a change in capacitance between the two which can then be amplified. Electromagnetism plays no part here.

Guitar pickups rely on electromagnetism in order to generate a signal. At its simplest a pickup is a magnet with a coil of wire wrapped around it. Placing a moving ferrous metal object (ie, the string) near the assembly will cause a small current to be produced in the coil of wire which can then be amplified. Increasing the number of turns of wire increases the repreduced signal. Moving the string more (plucking harder), or placing the string closer to the pickup also increases signal strength. Using a magnet made of more powerful material also increases the signal. You may remember experimenting with making an electromagnet at school by wrapping a wire around a nail, hooking the wire up to a battery and picking up steel wool with it. Electromagnetism is somewhat "reversible". The DIY nail electromagnet and a guitar pickup rely on the same principles, only in this case they are being used in a kind of back-to-front order - by introducing an external electric current (the guitar signal) you can create the magnetic field (the pickup) in order to move the steel wool (the guitar string). Very rarely. In 99.999% of situations the guitar is the only thing that will generate a voltage that goes down the cable. Volts coming back the other way either indicates a very specific usage of a particular circuit design which you're extremely unlikely to come across while bashing away at your favorite rendition of Smoke on the Water, or there's something wrong with the amp. The vibrating string is part of the mechanism required to create all the noise. The pickup converts all the movement in the string into an electrical signal which we can then amplify/distort/filter/whatever.

Also worth noting is that an active EMG pickup itself has an onboard preamp and buffer encased inside the pickup - anyone using EMGs is already experiencing what it's like to use a guitar with a preamp. In my experience most guitarists like their guitar controls simple and prefer processing to happen further downstream, whereas bassists are more open to the idea of onboard multiband EQs and preamps.

I don't think anyone will argue that different speakers will sound different. I think anyone could hear the difference between the speakers you list there. But I don't think that is a valid comparison when talking about the differences in timbers. I would equate swapping the speakers with swapping the pickups - they're both the last transducers in the signal path before they go to the next "big thing" in the signal chain (either an amp/pedal or our ears). Your analogy with the swapped preamp tubes is better, but again I think the difference will be much less than swapping the speakers. I'm not arguing that there isn't a difference. It's easily audible in the video above. What I am asserting is that in high gain situations it simply makes less of a difference than some other parts of the signal chain or instrument construction (I think the authors of the video even acknowledge that the difference isn't that great either).

Some Youtubage to stir the pot a bit more: Is there a difference in two identical guitars built from different timbers? No doubt, yes. Is it earth-shatteringly different? Not particularly. Could a different pickup or amp settings make the same degree if not more of a difference? I reckon.

Don't forget that Allen is specifically talking about wood choice vs pickup choice for guitars primarily used in high-gain applications. I still think his argument holds true in this instance (maybe not sold on the percentage breakdown, but still...). Assuming we limit ourselves to solid body (non-chambered) electrics, it may be that in low to mid gain situations the wood has more of an influence but I reckon I could still swap out the pickup and effect a larger tonal change than I could by building a duplicate guitar using a different fretboard and the same electronics. But is that more to do with differences in playing style? Would the difference be as noticable if all three players were instructed to perform the exact same thing as clinically as possible?

I would suggest scale length also plays a big part in a guitars' sound. High strings stretched over 27" vs stretched over 24" have quite a shrill quality that is equally noticeable plugged in or acoustically. The lower strings tend to sound more piano-like at longer lengths too. But by and large I am in agreement with you - For the particular case of high gain shred/djent/doom/grind machines I suspect there's less in the wood and more in the pickup(s). I have an all-mahogany bodied Ibanez RG here with Bareknuckle Aftermath pickups that exhibits none of the "warm" qualities that is traditionally bestowed upon instruments made from the same timber. As you mention above, it sounds largely like a superstrat with Aftermaths.

You're completely right, Prostheta. This month is particularly hard to decide over. I like them all equally for various and different reasons. Eddiewarlock - the big chunky neck lams go well with the clean looks and beefy Tele style, and the "blackburst" around the edges of the body is a nice finishing touch. Sancho Marino - the Wenge top is hypnotic to look into, almost like one of those optical illusions where your brain is fooled into thinking a static picture of swirling spirals is moving by itself. You miust be extremely proud of how that one has turned out. Mr Buttman - beautiful combinations of timbers and clean as a whistle. The triple-sandwich body wings look the biz with the Zebrano featured on both sides. Too hard. Can't decide. Everyone gets a beer - my shout!

I'd say your pots are shot and should be replaced if they're cutting in and out at full rotation. Otherwise it sounds like they're operating as expected. Regarding the buzz in the tone pot, it may be that you have insufficient shielding inside the control cavity. Is the cavity lined with conductive paint or copper/aluminium foil? Any shielding in the cavity needs to be grounded via the sleeve of the output jack. If you can make the buzz change in intensity by hovering your hand over the wiring or moving the bass around the room your shielding needs sorting out. The tone pot is unlikely to be the cause of the buzz, but rather the method of revealing it. As the tone pot is wound down to minimum the filtering action of the tone circuit reduces the apparent intensity of the buzz, similar to winding down the treble control on your stereo while playing a noisy vinyl LP.

Need a bit more information. I'm a bit unclear about how you're testing the pots. Assuming the wiring hasn't changed from your last photo (one pickup, one vol, one tone) try these tests: Unplug the pickup connector and battery. Wind the volume and tone pots to maximum. Set your multimeter to ohms and connect the probes to the two outer lugs of the volume pot - should read 25K ohms. Connect the probes between the centre lug and upper lug of the volume pot - should read 25K. Connect the probes between the centre lug and lower lug of the vol pot - should read 0 (or close to) Rotate the volume pot and repeat steps 2 and 3 at various points of rotation - you should see the resistance recorded at step 2 gradually reduce to 0, and resistance recorded at step 3 gradually rise up towards 25K. Repeat steps 1-4 for the tone pot - should get exactly the same results. Measure between the tip and sleeve lugs of the jack socket - with the pots at max you should read 25K. With the volume at minimum you should also read 25K. Connect one probe to the sleeve lug of the jack and use the other probe to check for continuity to the various earth locations - your meter should read 0 with the other probe touching the upper lug of the volume pot, the case of each pot, the braid of the pickup wire and (if you can fit the probe in) one of the sockets in the pickup connector. Connect one probe to the tip lug of the jack and use the other probe to check for continuity of the signal (white) wire - meter should read 0 with the other probe touching the middle lug of each pot. Plug in a battery and a guitar lead (leave the other end of the gtr lead and the pickup disconnected at this stage). Set your multimeter to measure DC volts. Place one probe on the sleeve of the guitar cable and the other probe on the red wire of the pickup connector - meter should read 9V (or whatever your battery is currently charged to). See how you go. Edit: corrected test 6.

Afterimage Guitars - "Red Planet" Been a while since I've entered one. This was the difficult child. Had to refinish the oiled top 4 times owing to problems with application and drying, but well worth it once the finish finally settled in. Body - Tasmanian blackwood with Tas myrtle burl carved top Neck - Tas blackwood/Tas myrtle with figured gidgee fretboard Scale length - 25.5" Radius - 16" Trussrod - Allied Lutherie Tuners - Hipshot Open Gear Frets - Jumbo stainless steel Pickups - Seymour Duncan Parallel Axis Trembucker neck and bridge Bridge - Floyd Rose Original double locking Electronics - 1x vol, 1 x 3-way toggle

I have used the Feast Watson sanding sealer in the past and wouldn't recommend using it again, irrespective of what topcoat you're using. When the finish first goes on it looks great, but any dents or dings that your guitar gets leaves an ugly opaque mark in the sealer itself under the topcoat that can't be removed without going right down to the bare wood and starting from scratch. In extreme cases I've been able to mark the sealer under the topcoat by pressing my thumbnail into the finish.

Post sound files, please!

A few. Demonx would be the most active one at the moment. Not sure this project would be up his alley though. Probably don't need to spend a fortune on a speaker for the task. You're after something that can rattle some strings, not something that is reknown for it's Hi Fi reproduction of Beethoven's Fifth Look for cheap or broken stereos, tape decks, clock radios...there's bound to be something out there for low or no cost to experiment with. Watching some Youtue vids last night of Sitar players I was actually under the impression that the plucked strings are fairly light guage. The bending of the notes appears to be effortless with quite wide intervals spanned with little sideways movement.

If you're using the angle grinder/sanding disk method do it outside and wear a dust musk. It makes a lot of dusty mess. I prefer using scrapers, block planes, microplanes, rasps and/or spokeshaves. The spokeshave and round microplane get a lot of use for the body relief carve where the cut is concave. Block plane and rasp for the convex areas (elbow relief). Scraper can be used in either type of curve.