Demiurge

Original post is from 2004... I think it's long-gone.

I was just kind of throwing the question out there, but thank you, Rich, that was a very helpful answer.

There seem to be a lot of build threads where the instrument has some unusual/technically unsound aspect about it, where the builder says, "well, that's what the client wanted" or "the client likes it so it should be okay." Maybe the luthier is afraid to lose the business altogether if they question or shoot down a client's idea. But for the Zebrano itself, even if you use a properly dried piece as a laminate in a thick, multilam neck, it may still "move?" I'm still green for the most part, but I thought that Zebrano was one of the heavier/sturdier woods.

Nice work on the finish! The Tru-Oil damn near looks like clearcoat!

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t255/Wa.../LotsOfWood.jpg Nice, but I suppose you're a tad SOL if the piece you like the most is at the bottom.

For what it's worth, and it's regarding a small detail, the electrical tape on the pickup of that Dano-copy is probably to prevent the high E from getting caught on the edge of the pickup bobbin. Steve Vai's main Jem, "Evo" is taped like that, but then again, his guitar has a trem suited for wild bends, where this one appears to be a hardtail. Maybe since there doesn't seem to be that much space between the outer strings and the edge of the fretboard, that probably helps. As far as etching "Jazz" and "JB" sloppily onto the pickup- why oh why?

Also keep in mind that build time for your custom might be quite long. Many of the good custom builders and even guys who just pump out bodies and necks by CNC have long waiting lists. With that in consideration, that equivalent amount of time could easily be parlayed into working on the design yourself- even with a number of instances of trial-and-error- for less money. The confidence you could build by practicing on pine in that span of time could save you in the long run. Also, you could consider outsourcing only certain parts of the process you're not too confident on, like the finish and inlay work, while the rest of it you could work on yourself. Hey, for my first project, I bought a pre-slotted board and decided to let the finishing work be done by a professional- just trying to not lose my fingers to a bandsaw, etc. for the rest of it. Of course, if you have a good idea for what you want as a custom, you'll have a "gotta have it" mentality towards the project, but it's just something to consider.

I actually like some of his designs and some of his unorthodox ideas, but his tendency to slag absolutely everyone is somewhat grating. Taking potshots at Fender, Gibson, and (le target du jour) Paul Reed Smith is very much played out. I'm sure he's put a lot of thought into what he does and his image is well-calculated yadda yadda, but his guitars being good (which they may very well be) doesn't automatically make anything made by a big-time manufacturer evil.

It's stuff like this that scares newbies like me. It's really hard to concentrate on which design principles are best to use when there are so many people out there with their "everything you know is wrong, I'm the one who's got it right" methods/technologies. I wonder what a guitar with fanned, crooked frets, compensated zero fret, and optical picukps would look like...

Now would this hypothetical luthier be selling those components separately or would it just be a mod he performs on the components he buys to assemble his guitars? I imagine in the former case there would be an issue, but in the latter, I'm not sure. That's an interesting question, though.

That's a pretty neat idea.... it's kind of like that Nigel Tuffnel Spinal Tap guitar with the tachometer on it, only it would be a light-up visual. I'm sure there would be quite a bit to do on the electronics end (so whatever component that would display the rhythmic "spike" in amplitude would do so cleanly and not stay on for the entirety of a sustained chord and whatnot.

I think the asymmetry of the bookmatched spalt top looks great. It looks like a column of fire and debris spewing from a volcano.

Haha- well, I guess it works! Then again, how original would it be when essentially, it's cribbing an idea from another musical instrument. I might as well have suggested setting up piano-style hammers to strike the strings... but then again on an old episode of Saturday Night Live, Peter Gabriel's bassist was playing his bass with small, wooded mallets taped to his fingers.

This might sound silly, but ever hear about the hurdy-gurdy? I was reading an article about it and just got an interesting idea of how it could be adapted to guitar. The hurdy gurdy is driven by a crank that turns a rosin-ed wheel that rubs against the string(s), causing an effect much like the continuous bowing of a string, and there are keys played that essentially fret strings at certain intervals. Imagine installing a miniature version of that wheel with a small electric motor (whose speed is controlled with a potentiometer) and hooking it up under or over guitar strings- it would be an effect much like a sustainer, ebow, or an actual bow, but different, too. It might sound like a silly idea, but considering how so many other innovations (shapes, materials, electronics, etc.) have been pursued already to the point where they're considered more as "options" than bona fide "innovations," maybe the way to go is thinking about innovating in the way the guitar is played.

I like how you're going all out with your wood selection. What scale length is this going to be?