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Rhiannon and Galadriel

#383
Jon Clegg said:
Must be really something else then when seen in person.:thumbsup:
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The nice thing about the cell phone is it hides all of the boogers that need to be sanded out, but the wood is absolutely gorgeous. The wood on this build is some of the most gorgeous I have used, and the oil finish is going to pop it out nicely. When I get her finished I am considering hiring a professional photographer to take some beauty shots.
 
#386
michaelwayneharwood said:
The nice thing about the cell phone is it hides all of the boogers that need to be sanded out, but the wood is absolutely gorgeous. The wood on this build is some of the most gorgeous I have used, and the oil finish is going to pop it out nicely. When I get her finished I am considering hiring a professional photographer to take some beauty shots.
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Figured maple is indeed a joy! :) Looking good there MWH.

Cell phone cameras keep getting better, but they still can't hold a candle to a modern inexpensive digital camera of any decent quality.

Taking good shots isn't that difficult. I mean, I'm certainly no expert, but I've learned a few things:

1. Sunlight is best.
2. A solid opaque background helps. Like a big grey blanket on a big table. Outdoors.
3. Most modern consumer-grade lenses refract near the edges. Leave some room around the periphery of your photo that you can later crop away. What's left will be much less distorted.
4. Use a tripod.
5. Sunlight is best.
6. Software can help with color balance and brightness/contrast, but don't go too crazy.
7. Use a tripod.
8. If your shot still includes areas that your opaque background didn't cover, software can be used to patch those up.
9. Sunlight is best.

This thread contains some good information. It also contained some good example graphics, until they all went 404.....

This much older thread has more technical information, with words like "speed" and "exposure" and "f-stops" and other gibberish.
 
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#387
+++^^^

Sunlight is full-spectrum light, even reflected sunlight is 'filtered' as the light spectrum remaining has been affected by the color of what it was reflected off of. To reproduce all the nuances and tints of the figure in the wood, it needs as much of the spectrum as possible. With a regular camera, even cheap ones, I do a half depress pre-focus at something the same distance, but of differing lightness/darkness or color, then fully depress the shutter button over the intended subject, taking several px if req'd to get what I want. But the phone cameras I've used don't have the half-depress function, so in that case, the background color/contrast can make all the difference.
 
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#388
Here she is strung up with some spare rounds I had on hand. I have a few small adjustments to make, and a truss rod adjustment slot needs to be put in at the heel of the neck. Once I have her tuned up a bit she will go to Ron to do a quick spot check, and then we can get to any adjustments and finishing her up.

DSC_0172.JPG
 
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#389
The truss rod slot has been carved out, and some fine tuning of things like the action have take place to verify that everything is in good order. I just need to mount the pickup and do some temporary wiring, and then she's ready for her first rough inspection. No pix tonight.
 
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#390
She's all wired up, and will be delivered to Ron tomorrow for a look see. Sorry for the crappy picture. A couple of notes... I decided to stagger the heights of the saddle slots in the bridge so that the 7 1/4" radius was approximated. This keeps the saddles more or less aligned with the radius and keeps saddle height changes reasonable when setting it up. Otherwise you would have to raise the center string seriously high to get a decent action in relation to the other strings. She's has split mode wiring so that Ron can switch between Lace Alimitone's "single coil" emulation to the "humbucker" mode, with the center position being mute. The headless tuners work well, and the custom made wooden bridge is going to be my go to bridge style from here on out.

When plugged in she is super quiet - there is almost zero noise. I am going to avoid posting audio clips for the time being and wait until she's all the way done.

rons-bass.jpg
 
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#392
Hey everyone,
So, I've had Rhiannon for a few days now, and she is everything I had hoped she'd be. The neck is thick and full and very comfortable for me to play. Love the tone of the pickup in both modes [single or humbucking]. I have played her out through my high power rig [3000w Carvin DCML, Sansamp VTRM, 2x215's], my Acoustic 370 [300w, 215], and my practice rig [Peavy 15w] and she sounds awesome! I will be giving her back to Michael for final finishing and will be putting my Spector up for sale [simply have no need to keep the Spector]. Woot...wooot!
Rondo
 
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#394
rondodunbar said:
Met with Michael this morning and gave Rhiannon back so he could do a few minor tweeks and final finish. :)
Rondo
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The tuners are pulling up a bit, and to remedy that we are going to create a slight recess at an angle. There is a lot of sanding ahead in the days to come, but I am hoping we can get this hammered out by Christmas.
 
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#396
rondodunbar said:
I just wanted to say, to those of you that have never had the opportunity to play an instrument crafted entirely for you, to your specs, you owe it to yourself. It is amazing.
Rondo
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I totally agree - this is the whole reason I started building. One possible problem with this is that once you start playing instruments that have the exact features you want there is a risk that you will be strongly dissatisfied with the "standard" options available in the marketplace. This is what happened to me, but I am able to scratch my own itch for features outside the norm.
 
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#397
michaelwayneharwood said:
I totally agree - this is the whole reason I started building. One possible problem with this is that once you start playing instruments that have the exact features you want there is a risk that you will be strongly dissatisfied with the "standard" options available in the marketplace. This is what happened to me, but I am able to scratch my own itch for features outside the norm.
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HAHAHA

He says "features outside the norm" so nonchalantly. Do you call squirrel heads epoxied into the body slightly "outside the norm"? If you asked any custom builder to do that you'd probably have the cops and a few doctors at your door to ask a few questions lol

@michaelwayneharwood this is part of why I love watching your builds, you do absolutely crazy, skilled creative work but you do it in such a way that you seem like its nothing.
 
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#398
mansjasont said:
HAHAHA

He says "features outside the norm" so nonchalantly. Do you call squirrel heads epoxied into the body slightly "outside the norm"? If you asked any custom builder to do that you'd probably have the cops and a few doctors at your door to ask a few questions lol

@michaelwayneharwood this is part of why I love watching your builds, you do absolutely crazy, skilled creative work but you do it in such a way that you seem like its nothing.
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Thank you very much for the compliments! To be honest I have kept some of the more "out there" ideas and build plans to myself. As it is I feel like the more mundane things I have been sharing with you guys gets enough head scratching as it is. ;)
 
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#400
mansjasont said:
Please don't hold back lol We want to see it all.
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What I am more than likely to do in the future is document my builds well, and then after everything's finished post a build thread and doll out the process. This will keep things from getting stalled by real life, and it also avoid the "That won't work" comments. ;) Here is a short list of the tamer things I would like to build after I finish my present responsibilities:

1. An ornately carved lap harp that appears to be made of human bones, and strung with strings made from real hair. This is a concept instrument based on the folk tale "The Twa Sisters", and I am contracting out the carving as I have zero artistic talent
2. An 8 string headless/fretless electric guitar
3. A 15" scale 6 string headless/fretless piccolo travel bass with built in headphone amplifier
4. A heavily chambered headless nylon string "classical" guitar
5. A multi-soundboard acoustic guitar that uses tactile transducers and in instrument condenser microphones.
 
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