Archive for February, 2010
A Little Mid-Week Inspiration
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on February 24th, 2010
A Walnut neck thru Legato.
Finally, A New Electric Guitar Plan
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building on February 23rd, 2010
It’s been a while since I added to my stack of plans, but here’s a new one called the Redondo.
I really like the shape of this one. Kind of makes me think of riding the waves back in California. Like around 1962. If you like it, it’s available at the top of the order page.
P.S. Special thanks to David F. for the idea and inspiration. Free plan for you!
The New Craftsmanship
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building on February 19th, 2010
Who are today’s craftsmen? Are they the people pushing buttons on CNC routers? I don’t think so. Don’t get me wrong, I know it takes training and skill to properly operate today’s high tech machines, but are they craftsmen? I contend the craftsmen are the folks who design the products as well as the technicians who write the software controlling today’s computerized manufacturing. Unfortunately, their work work goes largely unnoticed by the consumer public.
If you own an electric guitar made in the late fifties or early sixties, take a close look at the quality of craftsmanship. No doubt you’ll see tool marks here and there that illustrate how the instrument was made largely by hand. Aside from the tone these guitars possess, handmade craftsmanship is one of the reasons we cherish instruments from that era so much.
A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at new guitars at a local Guitar Center. What struck me was the number of reliced guitars for sale. These were brand new instruments that had been made to look old. In fact, some of them had tool marks added to make them appear more authentic. The irony was obvious. The manufacturers make a guitar with a CNC router and finish it by faking some of the traits found on old, handmade guitars. How weird is that?
The reason I’m bringing this up is because, like so many other hand builders out there, I struggle to match the precision of robot made guitars. I simply can’t do it. I can carve a nice neck with a spokeshave, but if you analyzed it with laser beams, you’d probably find some inconsistencies. Of course the true test is how it feels in your hands. The problem is, there’s a whole new generation of buyers who expect precision only because it’s possible. Never mind the fact that their brains aren’t sophisticated enough to notice. They just want to know it’s perfect.
Personally, I admire craftsmen who whittle a guitar out of a hunk of wood with basic hand tools. I’d much rather pay for a guitar that took a master luthier six months to build rather than one from a robot that took six hours start to finish. But, that’s just me.
The Dirty Secrets Of Electric Guitar Building… Part 12
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building on February 16th, 2010
Without a doubt, pickups are the single most controversial component on an electric guitar. Ask five players what they like and you’ll get five different opinions. And in some cases–depending on who the five players are–the discussion can get rather heated to say the least.
I try to keep an open mind regarding pickups. Since I always wind my own, I tend to try different methods in order to achieve varied tones. I know what I like, but that doesn’t matter if I’m building for some one else. However, when it comes to building your own guitar, there are a few dirty secrets you need to be aware of.
First, there’s the issue of pickup placement. How do builders decide where to locate each pickup? Some luthiers like to finish the guitar first so they can play it acoustically in order to determine optimum placement based on the maximum amplitude of string vibration. Others–myself included–try to best utilize the given space between the bridge and the fretboard’s heel. In other words, I locate the bridge pickup as close to the bridge as possible and the neck pickup right up against the fretboard’s heel. This approach maximizes the difference in tone between the two pickups.
If you try to place the pickups as close to the string’s maximum amplitude of vibration, the effort becomes futile. Why? Because the maximum amplitude of vibration–also known as the sweet spot–changes depending on where you pick and fret the strings while actually playing a song. In my opinion, the goal should be to maximize the difference in tone between the bridge and neck pickups rather than trying to pinpoint an ever shifting sweet spot.
Another approach would be to fill the space between the bridge and the heel of the fretboard with as many pickups as you can stuff in there. But, this method only works if the pickups are radically different from each other in design and tone. For example, you could use a high powered, ceramic or neo mag pickup in the bridge position, a medium powered alnico V mag pickup in the middle and a low power alnico II mag pickup in the neck position. Of course I’m talking about humbuckers here since millions of Stratocasters have shown that multiple single coils work very well this way. Regardless of the style pickups you select, keep in mind that should the pickups be too similar in design, the result will be almost monotone as you switch or blend them.
Next is the issue of installation. Single coil pickups are usually installed by routing the pockets into the front of the guitar and covering them up with a pickguard. This approach is a no-brainer since you can do a sloppy routing job and cover it up nicely. The problem is, if the pockets are crude and or oversized, there may be a detrimental impact on tone. So make those pockets smooth and just slightly larger than the pickup itself. The closer the wood is to the pickup, the greater the body’s contribution to the guitar’s tone.
With regards to humbuckers, make sure the pockets will be small enough to hold the pickup while still being covered by the pickup ring. There’s almost no room for error here so check your template by placing the ring on top of it. Carefully examine all sides of the ring to make sure it covers template’s pocket shape. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to either make a smaller template–though large enough to hold the pickup–or source a larger ring. Also, remember to account for the ring when positioning the neck pickup against the fretboard’s heel. If you rout the pocket too close to the fretboard’s heel, you may not have enough room for the ring.
The last issue is wiring. Before you even start building your guitar, have a wiring schematic at your side. Waiting until the last minute could be a real problem. The last thing you’ll want to deal with at this stage is a control cavity that’s too small for your plans or a wiring scenario that won’t do what you need it to do.
If you’re installing humbuckers, make sure you identify them by adding a piece of tape to the one of wire leads. I usually do this to the bridge pickup. If you’re installing more than two, tape two of the leads and mark them with a “B” for bridge and an “M” for middle. If you forget to do this, you might be able to gently tug the leads where they enter the control cavity and see which pickup moves in its ring. However, I don’t recommend doing this as it could damage your pickup. For single coils, this isn’t necessary since they are usually installed to the back of the pickguard.
That about covers the dirty secrets of pickup installation. If you have any questions or comments send them my way and I’ll try my best to answer them asap. In the next installment of this series, I’ll go a little deeper into wiring scenarios. Stay tuned!
The Latest From My Workbench
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on February 12th, 2010
The other day my trusty old Ryobi crapped out on me as I had expected it would. It was only a 1-3/4 horsepower unit which was barely up to the task needed for building electric guitars. I had hoped to step up to a 3hp model, but, boy are they expensive. Instead, I picked up a 2-1/4hp Makita with both a fixed and plunge base. The key is the motor. Makita make’s really good motors.
In the end, it came down to three routers; Bosch, Dewalt and the Makita. The Bosch and the Dewalt had nice features, but the reliability of the Makita’s motor sold me.
As soon as I got home from Tool King, I finished off routing my latest guitar, which is a prototype Legato I plan to sell. In fact, I plan to make several prototypes available for sale on my site very soon. Right now I have two guitars nearing completion. One is a Tomahawk neck-through I’ve talked about before and the other is a Legato neck-through that’s progressing quickly. I’m also going to build a single cutaway neck-through down the road.
My goal when I started eGuitar plans was to sell plans to anyone interested in building their own electric guitars. Over the past year, I sold a lot of plans, but as I expected, many aspiring builders quickly discovered what a massive challenge it is to actually finish a build. For that reason, I’ve decided to occasionally build a guitar and offer it up for sale as if you’d built it yourself.
I don’t plan on manufacturing guitars, but I would like to make them occasionally as a form of artistic expression and as a way to promote and educate budding luthiers. I also hope to start making and selling my own pickups in the near future, but more on that later.
In the meantime, here’s a photo from my workbench to inspire you:
That there's Rock Maple and Walnut
Lamenting A Dead Router
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on February 11th, 2010
My plunge router died yesterday. Very sad. It had been with me for 10 years, which is pretty good for a router. Guess I start shopping as I am now paralyzed without one.
As The Winder Turns…
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building on February 9th, 2010
Right now, good friend of mine in Houston, Texas is in the process of tooling up for an eventual foray into the market of affordable, custom, made-to-your-specifications electric guitars. Designs are done and templates are being made so all he needs is a little extra time to do the work.
Part of building and selling guitars involves sourcing the parts and perhaps the most important components are the pickups. With that in mind, he’s asked me to wind up some custom humbuckers and single coils, which will be installed on the guitars he plans to sell. The deal is, if he buys me a better winder, I make ten sets of pups for him free of charge.
This creates a potential opportunity for me to sell custom, hand-wound pickups. I would offer three different models of humbuckers, single coils and P90s. Each type would be available in three different levels of power output; low, medium or high. By matching the right magnet to the level of output would result in tailor-made tone. For example, the low power design would feature the clearest and widest range of tone, which would be perfect for the studio. The medium power would have slightly less tonal range, but would be great for the stage. And last, but not least, the high power would be for harder rock/any style of metal where tonal range takes a backseat to driving an amp instantly into distortion.
Of course, this is all just pie-in-the-sky thinking right now. There are a lot of custom winders out there already, but what they charge for pups seems a little out of line especially in this economy. Unfortunately, many builders have to cut corners on pickup selection in order to keep their projects within a preset budget. That’s a shame since the pickups can make or break a guitar’s tone.
Feel free to chime in and let me know your thoughts about doing this.
Making A Pickup Winder
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building on February 7th, 2010
For some time now I’ve had a hankering to build a new pickup winder. I’ve done the research and I’ve decided to build one based on Jason Lollar’s design. For those of you who don’t know Jason’s work, here’s a link to his web site.
So far, I’ve managed to scrounge up a used sewing machine, which has all the parts Jason recommends. Next I have to fine an oscillating fan to drive the automatic transverse. Then I’ll have to figure out a method for counting the turns. I have a few ideas for this, but I want to keep it cheap. I’ll post some photos of the project as it happens. Stay tuned!
The Dirty Secrets Of Electric Guitar Building… Part 11
Posted by admin in General Electric Guitar Building on February 5th, 2010
Why do do we call the thing a bridge anyway? Why not call it the string or scale terminus? Oh well, I guess you can’t change tradition. Especially where guitars are concerned.
Today’s post is about the lesser known aspects of electric guitar bridges. I’m not going to go into the different types of bridges available since I’ve already explained them before. Instead, I will try to describe the most critical ideas and techniques I have found that affect a guitar’s playability.
To begin with, I think the most important aspect to any bridge’s design is the string spread. In other words, the distance between the high and low e strings. If you make the neck and fretboard too narrow for bridges string spread, the high and low e strings could fall of the edge of the fretboard.
The best way to prevent this from happening is to account for the relationship between the bridge’s string spread and the neck width during the planning phase. A good rule of thumb is to make the heel of the fretboard about 3/16″ (5mm) wider than the string spread. Therefore, if the bridge’s string spread is 2-1/16″ (52.4mm), the fretboard’s heel should be 2-1/4″ (57mm). This will give you about 1/8″ (3mm) of clearance between the string and the edge of the fretboard. However, there’s more to this rule than just increasing the fretboards width.
Personally, I like the low e string to run a tad closer to the edge of the fretboard than the high e string. That way I can mute the low e string with my thumb if I want. And, by giving the high e string a bit more room along the bottom edge of the fretboard, I have a little more space for hammer-ons and pull-offs as well as vibrato techniques.
It's always a good idea to mock-up the layout of your guitar after making the neck. Doing so will help you to determine if the neck is too narrow as well as bridge placement.
To accomplish this layout, I simply offset the bridge a tiny bit. How much I offset it is determined by mocking up the guitar before I install the bridge. I place the bridge at the end of the scale and stretch a length of thread (you can use a guitar string as well) from the high and low e saddles to their corresponding nut slots. You don’t need to have the nut made just yet (you shouldn’t make the nut until after the bridge and tuners are installed anyway), but you can approximate their positions by eyeballing them. With the string stretched from the saddle to it’s imaginary nut slot, check the space between the edge of the string and the fretboard. If you want the low e string closer to the edge like I do, simply nudge the bride toward the low e side just a tad until you’re satisfied with the clearance. Then, do the same with the high e string. Once you happy with the layout, mark the position of the bridge’s installation hardware.
Should you discover the high and low e strings are too close to the edge no matter where you position the bridge, DON”T PANIC! You can fix the issue by either replacing the bridge with one that has a narrower string spread, or you may be able to modify it to work.
A tune-o-matic saddle without notches. This will allow you to file the notch anywhere along its edge and thereby adjust the string spread.
Most bridges leave little if any room to adjust string spread. But if you’re using a tune-o-matic, you’re in luck. Some TOMs come with saddles that haven’t been notched yet. All you have to do to move the high and low e strings in from the edge of the fretboard is to file the the notches slightly closer to the inside edge of the saddle. If your saddles are notched already, you can replace them with low-cost versions that don’t have any notches yet.
Next on my list of bridge issues is the radius. Some bridges, like the tune-o-matic, have a fixed radius where the strings leave the saddle. Others, like the tremolo and hardtail models featured on Strats, have saddles which can be adjusted individually to match whatever the fretboard’s radius might be.
If you aren’t sure about your ability to radius a fretboard accurately, I’d go with a Strat style bridge since you can adjust it to match the radius you end up with. However, if you insist on using a tune-o-matic, you’ll need to know the saddle’s radius before you radius the fretboard. The goal will be to sand the fretboard’s radius precisely in order to match the bridge’s radius. Should you end up with a mismatch, DON’T PANIC! You can always file the saddle’s notches to match the fretboard’s radius. For example, let’s suppose you needed a 12″ radius for your fretboard, but ended up with something closer to 10″ instead. To fix the mismatch, you can deepen the E, A, B and e slots in the saddle in order to mimic the fretboard’s tighter radius. To do this, you’ll need to have the bridge and nut installed and the guitar strung. Then, you’ll loosen the offending strings, lift them out of the saddles and SLOWLY file the notches deeper. Keep popping the strings back into the slots to check your progress. Once you’ve hit the right depth, Lightly sand the notches with some 600 grit paper to smooth them out.
The last item on today’s agenda is bridge installation. Before you drill any mounting holes, you’ll need to dummy the bridge into place on the body. Make sure the front edge of the saddles are right on the end of the scale length as measured from the front of the nut. Then, check the bridge’s position by stretching a length of thread from the saddle to the nut. What you’re looking for is the clearance between the high and low e strings and the edge of the fretboard. Once your satisfied you’ve got the right amount of clearance, you can mark and drill the mounting holes.
Well, that about covers the dirty little secrets of electric guitar bridges. In my next post I’ll share some thoughts and ideas about pickups. Stay tuned!
The Tomahawk With Frets
Posted by admin in The Tomahawk Guitar on February 2nd, 2010
Here is the Tomahawk with the frets installed. Next comes the leveling and dressing.