Ask a (hack) luthier!
- Thread starter dougk
- Start date
dougk
b00b
Exactly my point. Each wood has a sound, that sound is neither good nor bad on it's own, only relative to your own personal preferences. It's like expecting everyone in the world to like the same band
hey Doug, why don't you make more pointy guitars?
I mean, it's not like I could afford one anyways, but I like to see them
That's as pointy as it gets from me
Doug, I really dig the research and way you incorporated the maple splines in the neck for added stiffness as well as the engineering of the headstock angle and the truss nut. Many manufacturers use carbon fiber rods for stiffness and I think they sound really dead. I've contended for a while that only part of the blame of Gibby's headstocks breaking left and right is on the angle, the majority is with the wheel lug nut sized truss nut that they insist on using.
Exactly. One of my earliest guitars (the first banshee I had ever built) had the traditional style rod and nut. Well, 24 hours after I strung it up, I dropped it and it broke from one side of that scoop to the other. A LOT of thought went into future Banshee's (and the rest of my lineup) to hedge our bets as much as we could. If you throw a banshee you have the best odds possible that it will survive (in all fairness, if you actually throw one, nothings going to save it).
I do use carbon/graphite on my Acadian model because I wanted that neck to act a certain way, but for the rest of the lineup the maple is an imperceptible tonal change and with a large stability/strength benefit. No brainer for me.
Elias Graves
Common misfit
I run mine on a bit of a slope. I gotta have those bass strings a touch higher.
Elias Graves
Common misfit
Oh, and welcome to the forum.
We're all a bit looney here but Peeker is the only one who's contagious.
Your posts are appreciated.
We're all a bit looney here but Peeker is the only one who's contagious.
Your posts are appreciated.
parrotheada1a
Resident Pitmaster
Okaaaaaay.... welcome aboard. I'm thinking about buying a hardware upgrade kit for my American Special Strat. Callaham bridge block / plate/ tuners...... that sort of thing. Would this be a simple swap out that I could do or is it a task better left to a luthier? I have a Fender certified CS luthier in town that is the best, but if I can save some coin.... why not?
dougk
b00b
If you are able understand how to intonate and set the action on a guitar, it's a really easy, straight forward swap. Use the same technique with the feeler gauges from the original post to measure your current action at the 12th fret and when you set the new bridge up, just match it string for string. Piece of cake!
Elias Graves
Common misfit
Doug, you're not typing enough. Don't shut up.
As long as the hot glue and battery amps stay away from the guitars, I'm with you.
I do draw the line somewhere.
Bob411
thrumming with potential
I've got one with a hockey stick headstock but, it's not Canadian.A canuck guitar would have to have a hockey puck recessed into the body.
dougk
b00b
I appreciate the kind words! Watch for used stuff. There are two just fantastic used ones of mine on TGP right now for very reasonable prices.
baimun
Funkasaurus Rex
this trans-green one is $1800. http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1386899
Personally I like the pearl white accessories that are shown in a different pic.
jelloman
Couch'd Tater...
dougk
b00b
this trans-green one is $1800. http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1386899
Personally I like the pearl white accessories that are shown in a different pic.
Those are the worst pictures on earth. My website has Better ones of that guitar www.kauerguitars.com
Knox in Box
Rustbelt refugee.
Welcome to the forum Doug.
If you stay here long enough you may hear folks referencing such things as hot glue for guitar construction, semi-solid guitars and whale tone sound poems.
Trust me. There is a reason behind this madness. At least behind us using the terms. The initial catalyst for these terms is beyond reason. Just be sure we're not crazy.
If you stay here long enough you may hear folks referencing such things as hot glue for guitar construction, semi-solid guitars and whale tone sound poems.
Trust me. There is a reason behind this madness. At least behind us using the terms. The initial catalyst for these terms is beyond reason. Just be sure we're not crazy.
Help!I'maRock!
Mediocringly Derivative
Doug, I have a finish question. Can you explain what "orange peel" is, why it happens, and how to prevent it?
dougk
b00b
Sure! Orange peel is where the finish isn't smooth and looks like the surface of an orange. There are lots of factors in this, the reality is, it's just about impossible to spray any finish that isn't slightly peely (look at any car you see, especially darker colored GM ones, you'll see what I mean. All of them have a bit of orange peel to the surface).
So this happens for a variety of reasons. Too much air pressure when spraying, too little, too hot, too cold ect. Honestly, it's impossible to really lay down a perfectly flat clear coat.
What you do is after it dries, you actually level sand the entire surface again with very high grit (very fine) sand paper, then buff it back to a shine. That's where you'll see the big difference between a brand new Chevy Suburban paint job which is straight from the spray gun and someones custom painted hot rod. The final leveling and buffing stage is very time intensive, guitars are no exception.
The biggest problem with guitars is:
1. They can be difficult to spray or buff certain area's
2. Wood will always cause the finish to shrink in somewhat eventually.
3. You run the risk of "burning through" the color layers when leveling and buffing ("cut and buff").
I use 2k urethanes. It's hard enough that I can actually get my finishes thinner than most lacquers. The myth that lacquer is the thinnest finish possible is really bullshit. No matter what you spray, you need X amount of material on the surface so you can level and buff it. With softer, brittle finishes (lacquer) you need more. With harder finishes, you can spray less build thickness. The other factor is how good you are at spraying it, less peel = less sanding.
Urethanes got a bad rap (polyester especially, all urethanes are NOT the same thing) because even though you can get away with less, most of the lower end guitars hog that stuff on. They do it so they can quickly level and buff with the least amount of risk possible about burning through. When you burn through the color, it can be almost impossible to touch up meaning you go back WEEKS in terms of labor.
See how the surface is textured like a peel? That's orange peel. This was a bit worse than normal because it was so much colder than I like to spray at I was on the conservative side putting material on.
after being leveled and buffed.