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darren wilson

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Everything posted by darren wilson

  1. darren wilson
    There is no set "baritone" scale length. You can tune a regular guitar down to baritone range (lots of players downtune to B or A) but you'll get better intonation and tonal response from a longer scale length. For what it's worth, the Ernie Ball/Music Man baritone/6-string bass uses a full 30" scale, and it sounds monstrous!
  2. darren wilson
    Very nice. I prefer the look of direct-mounted pickups, but not everyone does. Cool parts. Hmm... i have a Dean Evo Special 7 that has ring-mounted Seymour Duncans, and i've wanted to put light cream rings on it, but nobody makes them. What would you charge to make a pair of light cream 7-string pickup rings? I can send you a pair for reference if you like... i'd need one short and one tall (like on a Les Paul).
  3. darren wilson
    I've often wondered why someone would want effects (especially dynamic, real-time effects) built into the guitar body. I don't know about you guys, but when i'm playing, both of my hands are usually occupied with, um... playing!
  4. darren wilson
    Spruce has one of the best strength-to-weight ratios of any wood... you shouldn't have much difficulty building a solid body out of it. If a thin, braced top can withstand string tension, a solid body should hold up just fine. Parker has built guitars with Sitka Spruce bodies and Basswood necks. I've never heard one, but i bet it's pretty lively wood.
  5. darren wilson
    PRS-style guitars are just the latest trend. The industry seems to go in cycles from innovation (Parker, Steinberger) to retreating into copying tried-and-true designs. The copycats tend to vascillate between Strat copies and Les Paul copies (and their associated spin-offs), depending on fashion and music trends that are happening at any given time. Right now, Les Pauls and PRSes are big, but the Strat remains the most-copied guitar design of all time. Next week it might be Strats or Teles or pawn-shop specials. Just play what you like. It shouldn't matter much whether you're the only one on your block who has one, or if they're a dime a dozen.
  6. darren wilson
    The big problem with the Warmoth 7-string necks is they use either an oddball 25" scale, or 28 5/8" scale, so they're not a retrofit for an existing body with the bridge placed for 25 1/2" scale. WHY they made that decision i have no idea. You might be able to futz around with the neck pocket to get the scale length to work, but again, more work for you.
  7. darren wilson
    I believe the main difference is that Jazz Bass necks are much narrower at the nut than Precision Bass necks.
  8. darren wilson
    I think some of your fret ends are overhanging the fretboard edges by just a little bit.
  9. darren wilson
    Carvin sells 7-string neck-thru necks.
  10. darren wilson
    You may call it a useless debate. I call it correcting misinformation. If you're happy with letting it slide, that's fine. I prefer not to. Isn't this forum supposed to be about learning? Why is my "pet peeve" being dismissed as some sort of crusade toward political correctness (i honestly don't know where you pulled that from), when i'm trying to educate and correct false assumptions or simple misinterpretations of language? Yes it's a pet peeve, and maybe my first post came off a little aggressive, but upholding clarity in language is something i care about.
  11. darren wilson
    Basses ARE basses. I believe "Bass Guitar" is a term that was invented when electric basses started being built using the same construction methods as guitars. Basses traditionally were not fretted instruments. Bass is bass, guitar is guitar, baritone is baritone. Yes, technically they are their own distinct class of instrument, in between the guitar and the bass. But they're called "Baritone" because of their tuning, not the length of their neck. The low tuning necessitates the longer scale length in order to achieve better tone and intonation, not the other way around. I really don't think i'm being picky. I'm a stickler for using correct terminology so people don't get confused or misled by incorrect information.
  12. darren wilson
    If ESP ships the guitars tuned down to B or A, then technically they are baritone instruments. "Baritone" describes the note range between the Bass and Tenor voices.
  13. darren wilson
    Arrgh. This really drives me crazy! Baritone is the tuning, not the scale length. Long-scale necks are ideally suited for baritone tuning, but the scale length itself does not make the instrument a baritone. You can tune a Les Paul down to A and it will be a baritone. You can tune a 27" scale guitar to concert pitch and it will NOT be a baritone. Can we please start using this terminology correctly?
  14. darren wilson
    Lee Valley has a lot of the basic tools you'll need like spoke shaves, files, chisels, planes, etc. but there's really nothing equivalent to Stew-Mac for some of the more specialized stuff.
  15. darren wilson
    Great ideas, and congratulations for taking the initiative to dream and get started. I can't think of anything more rewarding than designing and building your own instrument, and making music with it. To my eye, the ideal placement of the lower horn would be between where you first had it and where you moved it to, with the lower tip of the horn coming down to almost the same line as where the lower rounded bout is. I'd also beef up that lower horn a bit or thin down the upper one so it looks a little more balanced. The upper horn is just a big heavy "blob" that doesn't look well-proportioned with the rest of the body. Maybe add a Carl Thompson-esque scroll to it.
  16. darren wilson
    That's very cool. I love the blue tolex with the cream grille and white piping. Very classy, and looks awesome with the V-amp Pro's blue face panel up top. Does the V-amp's power switch control the power amps' on/off as well? Where's the volume control?!
  17. darren wilson
    First of all, NOBODY but Americans call it "Canadian Bacon". It's pea-meal bacon, also known as "back bacon".
  18. darren wilson
    Wow, that finish is going to be gorgeous! The maple looks like crinkled paper. Sweet. The headstock looks a little more compact and "chubby" looking than it did in your templates... did you cut it down and round it off a bit, or is it just an illusion?
  19. darren wilson
    Thought this might be interesting or inspirational for you: http://www.industrialguitar.com
  20. darren wilson
    I seem to remember him talking about using an older Lexicon delay unit that allowed modulation of the delay to get a lot of the sweeping/filtering kind of ray gun effects.
  21. darren wilson
    He's not looking for a logo... he's looking for a t-shirt design. (Believe me, i've tried.) I'd love to do a shirt design, but my professional association's code of conduct forbids me from participating in "cattle call" competitions for work where participants aren't compensated, or essentially doing any other design work for free (unless it's charitable work or for family members).
  22. darren wilson
    I'm talking about the ones on the floor where it looks like a lefty (but with the knobs in the wrong place. Reverse that so it's a righty and it looks better to my eye. Here's what i mean: The proportions look more pleasing to my eye when it's that way. The upper horn just doesn't look right to me, otherwise. But that's just me.
  23. darren wilson
    You know, looking at the guitar laying on the floor, i think i like your body shape better upside-down. Have you ever made a reverse version of it?
  24. darren wilson
    I think a transparent swirl would interfere too much with the wood grain, and vice versa. You'd have a big mess, in my opinion. One finish i *love* on ash is used by George Furlanetto on his FBass instruments. He calls it "ceruse", and it's a dark stain with a contrasting filler (sometimes tinted) applied to bring out the grain. It's quite striking. http://fbass.com/images/bn5ceruseblack-whitebody.jpg
  25. darren wilson
    The HM Strats had that heel.
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