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Crazy, crazy guitar/bass ideas - prototypes

#62
An interesting concept! Because you've isolated the wings, you can push them to the limits in reducing their stiffness, and see what happens to the sound on the strings. Cut out the plan view first, test it, then start working on the thickness of the wings. Go step by step, gradually making the wings weaker, causing them to flex more. As the wings get softer, you'll hear how it changes the sound on the strings, which gets transferred through the pickup to the amp.

Something important to watch: Measure and keep track of how much the frame deflects as you go from loose strings to full tune. You can do this with a long straightedge down the neck, overhanging the body. Or, watch the action under the strings at the heel. How much does it increase as you pull it up to full tune? That's a good indication of the overall stiffness of the frame. With the the straightedge, it will be easier to see where it's deflecting.
 
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#63
In the last few hours I've done a few things. However, I'm already learning things. Firstly, I need a beefier tailpiece. I mean, it'll hold, but it's bending already under the tension of the strings.

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Then I started tracing off my favorite modded O size template to cut the body down.

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I also installed a PU. It's a neck HB from a MIJ westone with a broken neck I scavenged a while back. Initially I wired it up out of phase. Interesting sound, but not great. With it wired right, I plugged it in and had a go. First thing to say is, the action is WAY too high. I need to shim the neck fender style to angle it back and get things right.

Which I have to say, is the REALLY cool thing about this construction method. It affords you the best advantages of bolt on technology without having to route a neck pocket and fluff around with getting it perfect. Additionally, you can put a whole guitar together without a router. I'm really enjoying the simplicity of construction.

Beyond that, the guitar is nice to play. The PU is a little microphonic, but it's got that nice jazzy feel to it.

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The other interesting thing I noticed about is the dynamics possible. One of my main issues with normal electrics is the they don't have a great range of dynamics available. With an acoustic, if you really lay into the strings, it sounds better and better. In fact the thing I've said over and over with acoustic guitars is the harder you hit them, the better they sound. No so for electrics. Before you say, "but you have heavy string on it". No so. It has 10-47s but the string tension feels higher. And when you hit it, you get that same sag and bounce back you get with an acoustic. It's percussive without being clicky.

I've got more to do on it yet, but things start to get major now. Suffice to say, as it is I'd happily play it at church on Sunday.
 
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#65
Very interesting. The only thing I see right now is if you wanted a treble side cutaway, the plate is in the way. But, I'd bet you can figure something out if you want a treble side cutaway.

I had to look up the verse in your signature. Thanks for that, also.
 
#70
Been a while getting back to this but here goes...

For a while I had acoustic bronze strings on the guitar. While it played ok-ish, the string to string eveness of sound from the PU was ordinary on the lower 4 vs the top 2 strings. So the other day, I restrung it with 9s as opposed to the 12s I had on it. Last night I took it too Jazz club.

IMG20171025201014.jpg


There were a lot of laughs from people when they saw it. One guy said "you've left half of it at home". Another guy said, "did you put that together yourself?". And I answered, "well you wouldn't pay good money for it would you!"

:smug:

It's hard to see, but before I went I also trimmed off the treble side of the body down to the neck plate for a little more access in the higher positions. Of course, I didn't even bother pulling the strings. I just threw it in the bench vice and cut the timber off with a 'hack' saw... no pun intended.

:laugh:

This is the truly great thing about a prototype. When I started playing it last night, the edge of the timber was carving up my right arm a bit. So I got the edge of my key, seriously, and shaved off some of the edge. Hilarious stuff.

In terms of playability; I hate the low frets the neck has, but by and large the neck and the strings feel pretty good. That's even with high-ish action at the 12th fret. The string tension is a lot lower with the electric frets. That was the only upside of the acoustic strings. I've tried to cure the fret buzz on the low E, but even with high action it's still there. What is not so great, is the lack of timber in the body makes it prone to neck dive. It's somewhat similar to acoustic guitars in this respect I guess. I'll really have to keep an eye on this with the bass. The last thing I need is 38-39" of scale length neck diving. The other noticable drama, also a prototype problem, is the PU screws. I should cut them off, but they're a rare MIJ screw and I don't want to ruin them. They poked into my gut a bit all night.

In terms of sound, we got a shock. What we all noticed straight away was how bright the guitar sounded. This was a surprise to me, because I'm used to playing a 71' reissue tele with the Fender full range HB in the neck. This guitar was a LOT brighter even than that. I think I need to swap in another HB to see if it's just the PU. I might try getting the PU closer to the strings too. I'll do some soundclips to check it. Also, I've got some 26mm piezo elements under the bridge, but I haven't wired them in yet. I'll post some sound clips of that too, once they're done.
 
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#72
Well, for more hackery...

It's my day off so this afternoon, I busted out the soldering iron and started modifications... with the strings still on naturally. :D

I installed my blend preamp and even put a knob on it. You'll note how professionally I wrote a P for piezo and a M for magnetic in the right spots.

IMG20171026164554.jpg


I also attached the wiring and added some tape/cable ties to stop it getting caught and ripped out whilst playing.

IMG20171026163910.jpg


Then I went to the extreme of sanding a few rough edges. I know, totally unnecesary. Right?

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Please don't judge me.

Anyhow, how does it sound? Honestly, the piezos sound HUGE! Then I messed with the mag PU height and brought it up closer to the strings. Then I had some bottom end there too. Suffice to say. I'm super impressed with the sound and range of sounds. If anything I need to pull some lows out of it with the piezos wound in. It has next to no string tension and it's super, super light to play. If you're nice, I'll record some bad just and you can laugh at me whilst admiring the sound.

So, now that I'm happy with that, the next move will be to start shaving timber out of the back. Probably with a grinder and flapwheel. And no, I won't take the strings or electronics off before doing that either. :thumbsup:
 
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#74
Well, my brother gave me a call today. He's a music teacher and needed to get rid of this old gem...

eko1.jpeg



It's an old Eko.


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Obviously, in a public highschool it's lived a hard life. Just from a proper pic of the top you can see it's pretty dead and nasty. I don't know if it's plywood (my guess), but it's obviously died from the cracks.

eko4.jpeg



Still that's ok. The neck is bolt on and it's a multi-laminate too. Pretty awesome stuff and right up my alley.

eko2.jpeg


What I'm hoping is the frets are pretty good and I can build Skeletor II. I'll have to hunt around in my PU collection. I may also need another set of tuners. When I offered to build my bro one he started complaining about being poked in the belly with a PU screw on my current Skeletor. Honesty, some people are never happy. :roflmao:

This one might even get some paint and a little sanding. Don't tell anyone, I'll loose my reputation for building horrible junk.

P.s. what shape should I make the Skeletor II?
 
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#78
Hanging with my bro. I finally had a chance to have a look at the Eko I posted pics of last week. The guitar was much more trashed than I knew to begin with. My bro said it was thrashed when the school got it.

The bridge was totally split and cracked (I'd ripped off the front bit trying to get the inserts out).

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The top was falling off and cracked all over. Nasty stuff. In fact, the only usable part on the whole guitar is the neck.

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I'm pretty sure the neck is all mahogany, but it's a laminated 3 piece neck. What's interesting is the fingerboard. It's certainly not rosewood or ebony. I tend to think it's padouk or bubinga. The other thing is, the board and the frets are very worn as is the zero fret. They're also pretty small frets to begin with. So the board will need to be sanded as well as refretted. A little more work than I was planning, but I think worth the effort.
 

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