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A different Brian.

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  1. ...um, excuse me. The tutorial link in that topic doesn't work. It's now an Earthlink error page. I'd love to see this tutorial, too. Does anyone have this copied somewhere?
  2. John, I'm looking forward to the pictures. I have other uses for this and I'm very curious about your experience.
  3. I gotta laugh a little. I have two CNCs and 13 years of self-employment experience. Let me give you a short answer to your original question. Forget about it. This is a mature market that is very price-sensitive. I don't even bother, and I have very little to lose.
  4. Is Rustins two-part? I'm thinking about experimenting on some samples, which makes me wonder if I can use just a little at a time, or if I have to mix a larger batch that I either use or loose. I saw Brian May used it on his Red Special. I figure if it was good enough for that Brian...
  5. I have two CAD programs, Bobcad and Rhino. My CAM programs are Bobcad and Milwizard. I'm getting ready to draw & mill my first guitar. Rhino is nothing short of incredible when it comes to drawing. Things that would be incredibly difficult in Bobcad are a breeze in Rhino. If you're a student, you can get a great deal on Rhino at academicsuperstore.com, as well as several other titles.
  6. I should ask what width of board do you consider good for bodies. FYI, 8" is probably the average. Wider boards are starting to get more scarce. I need to go to the lumberyard next week, so I should know soon.
  7. Boy, you guys don't waste any time. I promise I'll keep the board in mind when I'm buying wood. My wife is working on her master's degree and I have no budget for my new found hobby. I'm sure I'll appreciate the opportunity to either trade for components or make a couple of bucks I can use to buy pick-ups and all the rest of the hardware. Don't get too excited, however. I run across maybe 3 or 4 boards like this over a year's time.
  8. I'm really ignorant about this. Can someone explain why do a fretless guitar??? A bass I can understand. The only thing I can think of is I've often thought it would be good to play slide on a fretless neck.
  9. That's some sweet figure. I buy veneer that doesn't look as good as that. I work with wood in my shop during the day and about a month ago I cut up an eight-quarter, 9" x 8', heavily figured Ash board for something that didn't need figure. A couple of days later, I started thinking about learning to build guitars and found this forum. I could kick myself. I'm working right now, finishing up the work I used the figured Ash on. It's such a shame. It would have been a good board to use on my second and/or third guitar. At least it wasn't a Mahogany board. I buy a lot of Ash and the other wood buyers pick around the figured boards, leaving them till last. I guess most of them don't want the figure in a low-end wood like Ash. I guess that's my gain, at least until I move on to Mahogany/Quilted Maple bodies.
  10. I've never been a fan of contests because it focuses too much on attention-grabbing characteristics and not the deeper, less evident qualities. The thought of choosing a winning guitar without playing it is actually a little ludicrous. But it's not like a lot is at stake here, other than a little pride. Godin, never get discouraged by not winning one of these beauty contests. I'm an artist/craftsman by day (with a business degree) and from what I know of your work, you are absolutely on the right track. I mentor other artists and we discuss "branding" all the time. One of the most important factors in branding is having characteristics that are consistent enough to be trademarks. It's not a bad thing to repeat shapes. Just make sure beauty is backed up with quality and functionality. You'll get a lot more in the long run out of developing a recognizable style than winning a beauty contest every month.
  11. I'm a newbie here, and that probably influences my choice a little. I like the carved-top guitars the best, just because I like carved tops. It's probably the same biological attraction I have for breasts... I DO like curves! Anyway... the ONLY thing I don't like about Toddler's guitar is the raised cover on the back. Otherwise, I can't discount the amount of lust I feel for that guitar. I'd love to have it. And for all of the reasons I can find to choose Godin's creation, primal urges dictate my choice. Rashin's takes 3rd. A great-looking guitar that I'd be proud to have built, but lacking the super-model appeal of the others. BTW- I do like creativity and originality very much. I just have a thing for carved-top guitars.
  12. I'm a 43-year-old guitar player. I understand what you're talking about. A lot of us search for daily activities that will bring us the fulfillment that we're looking for. When I look back, I can see clearly what I should have done with my time- at least as a long-term goal. "CREATE ORIGINAL, FINISHED PRODUCTS" A saying I've lived by is "You get good at EXACTLY what you spend your time doing". If you spend ALL of your time building your techniques, you have good "tools", but how you utilize those tools can end up being immature. Sorta like a great workshop that has never built a guitar. I didn't spend enough time working on my own music because as I got good at playing, I fell into the trap of wanting to impress people, including myself, with my skill. It feels good to be able to play well. That feeling is sort of a immediate gratification, like a drug. When I tried writing my own music, it ended up sounding too "beginner-ish" for my taste. I wrote some interesting parts to songs, but nothing finished. I didn't spend much time on it because I didn't want to feel frustrated. My oldest son is in 3rd grade right now. He's the best piano player in his grade, and probably the next couple of grades. I'm encouraging his creativity every chance I get. Soon, we'll start recording some songs on the computer. Some people would have him wait until he was really good and could write better music. My feeling is that we all have to be a beginner before we can be advanced. Now is the time for him to be that beginner and write simplistic songs. His songs will get better with experience. My advice is to continue working on technique, but work in goals for writing (and completing) your own music. Remember to let yourself be a beginner, and have confidence that experience will improve your abilities. FINISH songs and move on. Get yourself a way to record yourself and do it regularly. I used to say that performing an hour on stage was worth 2-3 hours of practice because you are more conscious of how you're playing. Recording is similar. You can't be sloppy when you're recording. ...just my opinion.
  13. I can confirm the increase in strength by laminating. Solid wood seems strong, but there is a natural elasticity that we don't think about. Think of a branch bending in a strong wind. Laminating strenghtens the wood mainly by mixing up the wood grain direction. The glue area also can add a little rigidity, but I don't know how much. Think of it another way. If I glue together 4 layers of 1/16th" veneer, the result is much stronger than if I were to re-saw a solid board to 1/4", even if I glue all the layers with the grain going in the same direction. If you question it, try it. I work with material like this for a living. It's building guitars that I'm a novice at.
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