Archive for February, 2009
Got Wood?
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building, Uncategorized on February 28th, 2009
My latest electric guitar building podcast is now available on iTunes! It’s all about selecting wood for a solid body guitar. Hope you like it and don’t forget to post a review.
To Buck the Hum or Not to Buck the Hum
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building, Uncategorized on February 27th, 2009
For my current guitar project, I am making my own pickups. But instead of purchasing existing components, I have had to resort to custom fabrication. Why you ask? I can’t find anyone who makes or will make what I need. For example, I want to keep the bobbins the same width as what is what you normally find (about .69″), but I want them to be slightly taller. That way I can wind a taller coil for what I expect will be a subtle improvement in clarity. Also, I am going with a baseplate that is the same dimensions, but has the bobbins attached with a small amount of space running between them. I’m just curios as to what impact this will have on the tone. This maybe a bit difficult to determine, because I plan to mismatch the windings. Unfortunately, it’ll be a while before I can report back on their performance as I haven’t built the guitar yet! But, I can and will at least report my ohm readings.
Stradivarius Didn’t Have A CNC Machine (Thank Goodness!)
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building on February 23rd, 2009
Humans are funny in that we tend to go from one extreme to another, while ignoring or overlooking the middle ground. Take, for example, the technology of CNC machining. With the advent of smaller and more powerful computers, we’ve seen a drop in the price of CNC costs, which resulted an explosion in the variety of products made using this technology. Hobbyists can even purchase or make their own CNC equipment. While this is a great leap forward in terms of precision manufacturing where exact duplication is necessary for consistent mass production, it seems to be having the undesirable affect of raising expectations for products that have traditionally been made by hand. For example, the most beautiful acoustic guitars available, even today, are lovingly handmade by luthiers who blend craftsmanship with fine art. However, if they wanted to mass produce their efforts, they would have to rely on CNC machining in order to satisfy consumers, who have come to expect perfection over and over.
One of the reasons I picked up the hobby of building electric guitars was to enjoy the thrill of making something with my own two hands. Sure I use power tools to help out (some of which were made using CNC technology), but I make every effort to do as much of the work by hand as possible. In fact, for my current project, I’m planning to make my own humbuckers. And I don’t mean just winding them. I’m going to make all of the parts. Crazy you say? Maybe. But let me explain why I chose this route. At first, I thought I’d buy a cheap set of used pickups off ebay, which I would then rewind to my own specs. But, I’ve had a hard time find pups cheap enough to make it worthwhile. I could buy brand new parts from stewmac.com for around $50 for a set, not including wire. In the end, I’d pay about $70-80 to make my own set. I figure I can make my own parts from scrap wood and brass. The only expense will be for wire, magnets, parafin and few odds and ends. But the main advantage will be in what I gain knowledge wise from the experience and the ability to say, “Yeah, I made those myself!”
In the end, I think CNC machining has its place. But so does making things by hand. We as a culture need to get over our excitement regarding digital technology and realize it needs to coexist with handmade art. If we continue to turn up our noses at things which have been made by hand, choosing instead to favor those made by machines, what’s going to happen if the flow of electricity gets too expensive or even stops?
I hope I don’t come across as sounding apocalyptic. I just think everyone needs to realize that digital technology is JUST A TOOL! Maybe then, the work produced by artists and craftsmen will regain some of the luster lost in the scramble to get the latest cellphone or mp3 player.
In closing today’s blog post, I leave you with a photo of my first homemade humbucker bobbin. It took about an hour to cut, drill and glue. An hour I wouldn’t trade for anything.
I Love It When A Plan Comes Together
Posted by admin in Making The Caractacus Guitar, Uncategorized on February 22nd, 2009
The fretboard inlay is done! Now I can move onto the next step, the radius. I’m going to go with a 12″ radius to go with a tune-o-matic bridge. Also, I thinking of winding my own pickups for this one. I have some theories I want to test out with regard to varying the number of turns. I’ll explain later. In the mean time, here’s a shot of the finished fretboard. Let me know what you think.
Progress On My Fretboard Inlay
Posted by admin in Making The Caractacus Guitar, Uncategorized on February 21st, 2009
I’ve cut out all of the shapes for my design and routed out the fretboard. Now I am gluing in the pieces using 60 minute epoxy mixed with sawdust from the fretboard wood to give the glue some color. I’ll be adding more how to information on inlay (or at least how I do it) to my web site very soon. I’ve even shot some video to show how it’s done. Here’s a photo of the progress so far. By Monday I should have it pretty well sanded and ready for slotting.
The Clarksdale Is Done!
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building, Uncategorized on February 19th, 2009
It took a little more time than usual, but the plans for the Clarksdale are finished and now available on my order page. The reason it took so long (about two weeks) is because I drew it with a Bigsby tremolo tail. Now you might be wondering about the name. If you know your blues, you should know that Clarksdale, Mississippi is where it all got started. At least that’s what the good people there claim. And who am I to argue. If anyone can prove otherwise, I’ll change the name of the guitar.
An Open Letter To My High School Teachers
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building, Uncategorized on February 18th, 2009
I can remember when I was a know-it-all high school kid, complaining to my parents about having to study algebra and geometry. “Why do I have to learn this stuff?” I hollered from the kitchen table where I did my homework. Of course, they just rolled their eyes. Now I have a 15-year old son and find myself in the same position as my parents. I’m trying a different tactic than what my mom and dad used by trying to show my son why math–among all the other important subjects–is so important. After all, if I hadn’t learned basic math principles, there is no way I could design and build electric guitars. Now, for example, I know that .4375″ is the decimal equivalent of 7/16″ and 11mm is the metric designation. In truth, I really honed my math skills years ago when I designed and built my own telescopes. I had to grind mirrors, calculate focal points and so on.
Today, I can honestly say–and if you’re a teenager, pay attention here–I can’t imagine how depressing my life would be if I hadn’t stuck with it back in high school. For that reason, I want to thank Mrs. Pam McCann, my high school algebra teacher. In fact, I really need to thank all of my teachers from that period in my life. I am who I am because of who they were–and hopefully, still are.
My Latest Electric Guitar Design
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building, Uncategorized on February 17th, 2009
This week I’ve added the Neckromancer, and I’m working on the finishing touches to another new design, which I’ve named the Clarksdale. What kind of a name is that you may wonder? It was picked as an homage to the town of Clarksdale, Mississippi. And for those of you who live and breath the blues, you’ll know that Clarksdale is regarded as the birthplace of the Mississippi Delta Blues. This guitar will feature single-coil pickups, a tune-o-matic bridge and a Bigsby B5 tremolo. All things considered, the Clarksdale should make for a sweet blues machine.
Introducing the Neckromancer
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building, Uncategorized on February 16th, 2009
Ok, it’s a play on spelling, but the name best describes my latest design, which features an neck-through approach. I love the look of this guitar and I think it will appeal to hard rock/heavy metal players. Check it out and let me know what you think.
To order the plan go to the eGuitar Plans order page.
Preparing to Build My Next Electric Guitar Project
Posted by admin in Making The Caractacus Guitar, Uncategorized on February 15th, 2009
My next electric guitar will be built using my plans for the Asmodai. However, I’m going to tweak the plan slightly to incorporate a thicker piece of Mahogany I purchased from my local lumber supplier. I’m also thinking of topping it with a bookmatched piece of 1/8 inch thick quilted Maple, but we’ll see. One of the aspects of this hobby I enjoy is being able to change direction so long as I don’t interfere with my choice of hardware. After all, the hardware precisely determines the layout and playability of a guitar.
I have finished cutting out my design for the fretboard’s inlay and have about half of it routed into the Orange Agate. Hopefully I can finish the routing and start gluing this week. I’ll post some pictures as I proceed.