Said I'd post this for my buddy Erik in Chicago.
Erik has an intersting history, worked for Steve Albini at Electrical, done a lot of live sound, and then got into building bondage furniture, so if you want a combined guitar / torture rack with an XLR out, he's probably your guy. Anyway he hasn't got much in the way of pics on his site yet but check it out anyways.
http://www.inductorguitars.com/ (http://www.inductorguitars.com/)
Hey thanks Herbie!
I just posted part 4 of the telecaster refinishing project up.
http://www.inductorguitars.com/2011/03/telecaster-refinishing-part-4/
Yep I built bondage equipment for a Chicago dungeon a few years back, hrm mixing guitars and BDSM into one project has some interesting possibilities...
My site is still a work in progress. Leave a comment!
Thanks
Erik
Quotehrm mixing guitars and BDSM into one project has some interesting possibilities...
It's been done.
http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/msg/2250077603.html (http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/msg/2250077603.html)
(http://images.craigslist.org/3n33m63lb5Y65W05U0b362118c7ff30171cef.jpg)
Quote from: RacerX on March 07, 2011, 04:45:21 PM
It's been done.
;D
I was thinking something alittle more interactive. Violet wand + strings = FuN!
Do you know Wil (Bill) Skibbe? I grew up with him in SW Michigan. His dad was VP of the Jr. High and my dad was the principal. Cool shit BTW.
Quote from: Baltar on March 09, 2011, 08:14:59 AM
Do you know Wil (Bill) Skibbe? I grew up with him in SW Michigan. His dad was VP of the Jr. High and my dad was the principal. Cool shit BTW.
Me? No I don't think so.
He was Shellac's soundman and has a studio in Michigan. Makes his own limiters and pre-amps.
www.keyclubrecording.com/skibbe
Quote from: Baltar on March 09, 2011, 03:46:23 PM
He was Shellac's soundman and has a studio in Michigan. Makes his own limiters and pre-amps.
www.keyclubrecording.com/skibbe
After my time. I interned at Steve's house back in '95. Back then it was Gary forgot his last name, whom I worked with at Lounge Ax. Other times it was Cory Rusk, owner of Touch and Go records. (At least here in Chicago) Shellac's amp heads weight a TON took two people to carry them into the basement. While I was there Steve used Hardy preamps for alot of guitars and vocals.
I'm working on a prototype guitar ala Travis Bean that weighs less and stays in tune better. Probably won't show the build on my site but will show it off when it is done.
Cool stuff. Welcome aboard.
Keep us posted as to your 6 string (and other) creations. We lurvs that shit here.
Quote from: Jake on March 09, 2011, 10:40:05 PM
Cool stuff. Welcome aboard.
Keep us posted as to your 6 string (and other) creations. We lurvs that shit here.
Thanks and will do. you can follow me on twitter @inductorguitars and facebook.
Part 4.5 was just posted. Just a quick post.
I've decided after the telecaster is done I'll post some pics of the Aluminum guitar build. Hell I need more content on my site. ::) The AL will be underneath wood so no visible metal. To make it simple I've decided not to have the headplate AL.
So, you can machine aluminum necks and whatnot? If that's the case, ive got a tele that would love an aluminim neck...
Quote from: SunnO))) on March 11, 2011, 04:03:43 PM
So, you can machine aluminum necks and whatnot? If that's the case, ive got a tele that would love an aluminim neck...
Not yet...
I'm having it made, I don't want to invest in a milling machine if this doesn't work. Plus my idea is so simple I'm really suprised that it hasn't been done before. Maybe it has but in my research I haven't found anything like it.
Hint the AL is totally encased in wood. (and pickguard for a cheaper way to do it) There are lots of possibilites for different priced models. We shall see.
Who's milling your aluminum? Electrical?
Quote from: inductorguitars on March 11, 2011, 07:50:08 PM
Quote from: SunnO))) on March 11, 2011, 04:03:43 PM
So, you can machine aluminum necks and whatnot? If that's the case, ive got a tele that would love an aluminim neck...
Not yet...
I'm having it made, I don't want to invest in a milling machine if this doesn't work. Plus my idea is so simple I'm really suprised that it hasn't been done before. Maybe it has but in my research I haven't found anything like it.
Hint the AL is totally encased in wood. (and pickguard for a cheaper way to do it) There are lots of possibilites for different priced models. We shall see.
i'm really interested in this . . . when can we learn more??
I found a guy on craig's list to do it. I just want to go cheap as possible first. Almost $400 just for it. :o
I need to order a bridge and make final measurements then order the milling. So it'll be a few weeks before I get anything up. One thing it is not going to look pretty. ;D I glued up some scrap mahogany for the thru the body neck and some scrap birch for the wings. I haven't even decided what the body shape is yet, that will be soon. I'm thinking a sort of an offset telecaster ish body. One bridge P90 with a volume knob and a tone circuit that changes the resonant frequency of the pup.
So, are you going to get him to mill in the relief on the neck? How are you going to fret the aluminum? Are you going to stick a rosewood/maple/whatever board over it, then fret that? Are you going to use the fretwork to allow for the lack of relief if you didn't account for it? I never bullshit my prototypes, I go for the gold, and if I fuck it up, I have a magnificent looking failure. Current project: Floyded lapsteel with some sort of modified single string bending system. Sandwiching a solid hunk of ash between two hunks of walnut. Fretboard being made out of maple... etc. If I fuck it up, or it doesn't work how I envisioned... It goes on a wall somewhere! Learn from your mistakes, but don't half-ass anything, just in case it turns out perfect... It's only gonna turn out perfect once...
The aluminum will be in a routed out "pocket" of the neck, on top of which will be a rosewood fretboard. If need be I can put carbon fiber rods in the neck. But not in the first prototype. I want to see how much relief there will be and use the finger board to make up for it. I might have to make another prototype so I don't want to get too fancy. Down and dirty, proof of concept.
What're ze pros and cons? What's your desired effect? This is interesting... CMON FUCKER, SPILL IT! :D
Quote from: SunnO))) on March 12, 2011, 07:53:13 PM
What're ze pros and cons? What's your desired effect? This is interesting... CMON FUCKER, SPILL IT! :D
LOL! ;D
I want to make a easily assembled guitar for one. Great sustain, lots of twang, and not heavy. Bean's weigh a ton. I suspect I might also need a brass nut or a combo brass and bone. And I want people to order them. Oh and the guitar has to be well balanced weight wise.
All will be revealed, Patience.
Quote from: inductorguitars on March 07, 2011, 02:43:09 PM
hrm mixing guitars and BDSM into one project has some interesting possibilities...
try setting the intonation on a non-compensated 3 saddle tele
Quote from: mawso on March 13, 2011, 07:56:40 AM
try setting the intonation on a non-compensated 3 saddle tele
Heh. :D
He's a pic of a rejected Aluminum guitar design. It's not strong enough and the measurements are (way) off.
I'm working with a guy on the design, but waiting to order a bridge. GFS paypal system is not working for me atm. Probably going to get him to make a brass nut too.
(http://www.inductorguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Assembly1-1.png)
Have you done any basses?
I'm not really into anything crazy, standard bolt on/passive (Fender-ish) stuff is good for me, I'd just like to be able to pick a color and some specs and not have to pay Fender.
Quote from: grimniggzy on March 16, 2011, 12:30:59 PM
Have you done any basses?
I'm not really into anything crazy, standard bolt on/passive (Fender-ish) stuff is good for me, I'd just like to be able to pick a color and some specs and not have to pay Fender.
Not yet, but I will be. My brother wants a Longhorn bass or a Thunderbird so I'll demo them with him first.
You hit the nail on the head why I'm building guitars. :) Shoot me an email - so we can figure something out.
Erik
Quote from: inductorguitars on March 16, 2011, 01:40:57 PM
Quote from: grimniggzy on March 16, 2011, 12:30:59 PM
Have you done any basses?
I'm not really into anything crazy, standard bolt on/passive (Fender-ish) stuff is good for me, I'd just like to be able to pick a color and some specs and not have to pay Fender.
Not yet, but I will be. My brother wants a Longhorn bass or a Thunderbird so I'll demo them with him first.
You hit the nail on the head why I'm building guitars. :) Shoot me an email - so we can figure something out.
Erik
Will do. Thanks.
Telecaster refinishing Final is up on my site. http://www.inductorguitars.com/2011/03/telecaster-refinishing-final/
Next up is my Aluminum guitar prototype. IF only the dang bridge gets delivered. >:(
Once you get up and running post some ideas of what kind of prices you're going to charge I kinda want a dual split bucker bass (one bridge one normal for a P bass) wired in series/parellel (with switch) with vol/tone and a pup selector with a P style body and a geddy lee tiny jazz neck. In greenburst. Not gonna get this until probably end of year once I finish paying my brother back but yeah I want someone to make that for me essentially. Seems like I might be playing bass in a band finally so would like to have an instrument that is specced exactly what I want. Ideally I'd like a neck through too but thats probably not cost efficient.
Quote from: giantchris on March 22, 2011, 01:52:15 PM
Once you get up and running post some ideas of what kind of prices you're going to charge I kinda want a dual split bucker bass (one bridge one normal for a P bass) wired in series/parellel (with switch) with vol/tone and a pup selector with a P style body and a geddy lee tiny jazz neck. In greenburst. Not gonna get this until probably end of year once I finish paying my brother back but yeah I want someone to make that for me essentially. Seems like I might be playing bass in a band finally so would like to have an instrument that is specced exactly what I want. Ideally I'd like a neck through too but thats probably not cost efficient.
I missed this oops, sorry.
I can build guitars now, but just not efficiently. I need to rebuild my shop. As for pricing we're talking about $2k, depending on wood selection, hardware, etc. Shoot me an email, EIP or through my site. Sounds like a good idea for the bass. :)
I just added a new page on my site http://www.inductorguitars.com/nerdy (http://www.inductorguitars.com/nerdy) for ideas and what not.
Pricing is my big problem. I can fix, build, do whatever to a guitar, but pricing is an issue. In Chicago, it probably isnt so bad, but here, its hard to sell 20 dollar setups, let alone a 2k guitar...
Isn't Electrical Guitar Company in Florida? The guys that do aluminum guitars and charge > $2000 for them.
Btw, I think I'm in love :D
(http://www.electricalguitarcompany.com/files/gallery/IMG_0448-lg.JPG)
Nice shape, neck bucker, shiny, shiny, shiny ::)
Electrical do all their work on a CNC. Parts and wood for me will cost almost $1000. For a AAAAA quilted maple top it's even more. :'( Yeah I could get cheaper parts but why skimp? I want my guitars to last.
I'm just a one man shop, I gotta eat.
I live in Tallahassee. Small town in comparison to Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jax, etc...
- Electrical are in pensacola
- Name another place in FL that has an Earth song named for it!
Miami.
I had to google it. ;D
My rant: http://www.inductorguitars.com/2011/04/rant-fender-and-gibson/
I forgot where I said I was writing one.
We had a Tempo for 12 years.
I'm offended.
Specimen in Chicago makes some aluminum models (but just the bodies, I don't think any have aluminum necks - I could be wrong).
I don't think he makes any money... (I could be wrong about that, too.) I think eking out a living is probably par for the course. Even bigger manufacturers can struggle.
Check out his amps, too. Cool shit.
http://www.specimenproducts.com/instru/index.html (http://www.specimenproducts.com/instru/index.html)
I had one for 2 months! Fell apart literally. Best thing about it was the horn was on the steering column for the blinker. Really?!
Yea Specimen do make AL bodied guitars, his wife told me he makes almost nothing on them due to labor. He does them all by hand, no cnc.
Quote from: inductorguitars on April 19, 2011, 02:51:55 PM
I had one for 2 months! Fell apart literally. Best thing about it was the horn was on the steering column for the blinker. Really?!
Yea Specimen do make AL bodied guitars, his wife told me he makes almost nothing on them due to labor. He does them all by hand, no cnc.
that explains the prices.
now: here is a question for you: what would it sound like if someone routed out a tele body on the top and put a piece of flat steel on it then mounted everything to it?
Quote from: justinhedrick on April 19, 2011, 03:29:36 PM
Quote from: inductorguitars on April 19, 2011, 02:51:55 PM
I had one for 2 months! Fell apart literally. Best thing about it was the horn was on the steering column for the blinker. Really?!
Yea Specimen do make AL bodied guitars, his wife told me he makes almost nothing on them due to labor. He does them all by hand, no cnc.
that explains the prices.
now: here is a question for you: what would it sound like if someone routed out a tele body on the top and put a piece of flat steel on it then mounted everything to it?
Like a hollow body? I'm not sure what you are getting at.
Oh I think I know what you mean just route out at 1/8" depth of a cut out steel shaped like the tele?
A heavy guitar? 8) You'd probably get some effect but not as much as you'd hope for.
You'd be better off using a sheet of Al for a pickguard for the same effect.
Sounds like a Dano, with steel plate instead of masonite.
There's a bunch of articles around on how to make a Dano-like guitar. I really like their basses, but couldn't justify that kind of money for what really is the cheapest crudiest design. I can get a solid wood bass for a third of that kind of money.
(http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/aaronhorn1970/100_0584.jpg)
thanks for your help.
what i mean is: taking a tele body, and routing all the wood out of it, except for about 1 inch around the edge, and affixing a sheet of steel to the top of it. could that be done?
Having any kind of metal top will make the pickups microphonic as hell. Think about it, a pickup is designed to react to vibrating metal, the strings, put a metal top on your guitar, suddenly there's a whole lot more vibrating metal. Anyone who has metal pickup covers will tell you, they pickup clicks if they are loose atall.
But yes, if you have a router and the will, I suppose you could route it out, though I would leave a central core running down the centre for strength, ala the pic above.
Quote from: Hemisaurus on April 19, 2011, 04:01:26 PM
Having any kind of metal top will make the pickups microphonic as hell. Think about it, a pickup is designed to react to vibrating metal, the strings, put a metal top on your guitar, suddenly there's a whole lot more vibrating metal. Anyone who has metal pickup covers will tell you, they pickup clicks if they are loose atall.
But yes, if you have a router and the will, I suppose you could route it out, though I would leave a central core running down the centre for strength, ala the pic above.
so how do electical guitars/travis bean get around that?
I think the aluminum neck continues through the body, and then wooden wings are glued on afterwards, the aluminum core runs head to tail, as it were, routing out the body of a bolt on is a different animal entirely, unless I misconstrued your original idea.
Quote from: Hemisaurus on April 19, 2011, 04:30:44 PM
I think the aluminum neck continues through the body, and then wooden wings are glued on afterwards, the aluminum core runs head to tail, as it were, routing out the body of a bolt on is a different animal entirely, unless I misconstrued your original idea.
i think we are both on the same page. let me explain it like this:
take a tele body (or les paul jr or whatever (something flat) and get a plunge route bit that take out a bunch of wood (like as deep as the pickup cavities) and then go to town, leaving about an inch all around. bevel that edge so there is a lip of on the wood, and put a piece of steel plate on there with the appropriate holes cut/plasma cut on there.
Yeah, so you'll have a wooden backing on it which is the original wood, and you want to put a metal plate on top (didn't Gibson already do this with their range last year).
(http://www.paddywaxcandles.com/images/products/Gibson-SG-Special.jpg)
Yeah, I would leave a central core for strength and just hollow out the edges, there are people on the Telecaster forum talking about making hollow body Tele's. At most I'd take off 1/3 of the original depth of the central core, if you have to route it out atall. I mean it might be strong enough without a central core, but I'd be worried about the neck going all out of whack.
what if i did a black tele body w/ an oxidized copper cap? that would look pretty sweet. plus, natural sheilding?!
Or a natural antenna and giant shock hazard :o
I'd be very careful about it, and isolate the whole thing from the ground, as just isolating the bridge wire won't be enough, as the pots and output jack will also be grounded on the same plate.
I'd basically use an insulated output jack, or easier, use a side jack, as it's a Tele anyways, and connect the ground via a capacitor and resistor, but this will also affect the overall tone as it's now part of the tone circuit :(
Safety or tone ???
Quote from: Hemisaurus on April 19, 2011, 06:22:36 PM
Or a natural antenna and giant shock hazard :o
I'd be very careful about it, and isolate the whole thing from the ground, as just isolating the bridge wire won't be enough, as the pots and output jack will also be grounded on the same plate.
I'd basically use an insulated output jack, or easier, use a side jack, as it's a Tele anyways, and connect the ground via a capacitor and resistor, but this will also affect the overall tone as it's now part of the tone circuit :(
Safety or tone ???
duh . . . tone.
i wonder how electrical does it? hmm.
hrm were to start...
Any reason for steel? Steel comes in many different alloys. Not all steels are the same. Copper faceplate would be cool looking.
I wouldn't say that metal around a pickup would make it microphonic. It would require the surrounding metal to mechanically vibrate to induce an electrical field in the pickup. Now it does effect tone, you get more twang. Look at the telecaster alot of it's twang is it's bridge that surrounds the pup. Replace the bridge, the twang lessens.
Not sure how electrical does it, I'll have to look at their site again. But The travis beans have a one piece neck with a pickup cavity that fits into a pocket of the wooden body. (http://www.aardvarkguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/bean-7.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/turquoisemoleeater/guitars/TB1000_01.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5118512200_3029dacf07.jpg)
I"m probably missing something that Hemi is trying to say... how is a metal body and or neck any different than having your strings/bridge grounded to the signal ground? (antenna I can see) If you run into faulty wiring you are screwed either way.
In my design the Al is encased in a pocket of wood in the neck and the body (one will have a pickguard covering the Al.)
Quote from: inductorguitars on April 19, 2011, 07:33:16 PM
hrm were to start...
Any reason for steel? Steel comes in many different alloys. Not all steels are the same. Copper faceplate would be cool looking.
I wouldn't say that metal around a pickup would make it microphonic. It would require the surrounding metal to mechanical vibrate to induce an electrical field in the pickup. Now it does effect tone, you get more twang. Look at the telecaster alot of it's twang is it's bridge that surrounds the pup. Replace the bridge, the twang lessens.
Not sure how electrical does it, I'll have to look at their site again. But The travis beans have a one piece neck with a pickup cavity that fits into a pocket of the wooden body. (http://www.aardvarkguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/bean-7.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/turquoisemoleeater/guitars/TB1000_01.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5118512200_3029dacf07.jpg)
I"m probably missing something that Hemi is trying to say... how is a metal body and or neck any different than having your strings/bridge grounded to the signal ground? (antenna I can see) If you run into faulty wiring you are screwed either way.
In my design the Al is encased in a pocket of wood in the neck and the body (one will have a pickguard covering the Al.)
no reason for steel, persay. i thought it would just be easy to get here in the middle of illinois.
Quote from: justinhedrick on April 19, 2011, 07:38:58 PM
no reason for steel, persay. i thought it would just be easy to get here in the middle of illinois.
Steel is heavy compared to copper or aluminum. You could try some copper flashing from the BIG Box store. Though it's only about 1/32" thick.
Copper will never be gold.
I believe you can create gold bombarding copper w/ alpha particles. The resultant gold will be strongly radioactive and therefor totally fucking awesome.
Frank - aren't you thinking of lead. You can duct tape a piece of lead to the front of a CRT that is running (old TV, monitor or scope) and stick it in a fridge. I saw it on TV in the 80's probably on YouTube somewhere, and the bombardment of electrons on the lead (beta particles) accelerated by the CRT forms gold.
Erik, if the entire body is routed out, there will be less support for a metal plate, hence there's bound to be more vibrations that will be picked up, think of banging on the end of a shallow steel drum.
As to the grounding. If you are worried about getting shocked by your strings, you can use a 220K resistor in parallel with a small cap say .001 to .05 or so between the ground of the bridge and signal ground. The cap lets AC noise through, and the resistor lifts the strings above ground enough, that any amp short, phase difference etc. won't kill you. It's a good safety measure.
However if you have the entire top of the guitar metal, all the metal on your guitar is shorted together, your hand is almost always going to be touching a metal part, not just the strings, but the bridge, pots, and because we usually ground to the case of pots, the signal ground is all going to be on the same plane.
You really want to isolate yourself from any accidents that may happen, but as the signal ground is hooked to the bridge via the metal top your options are more limited. Ideas
- Mount the jack on the wood (sidemounted like a normal Tele) add the safety circuit in between the jack ground and the rest of the guitar, this will affect tone.
- Insulate all the hardware from the metal pickguard, or at least the bridge, saddles and strings
- Isolate signal ground from the pickguard, mount a star ground on the wood, connect all grounds to this, don't use the backs of the pots, make sure the jack ground is isolated, connect the star ground to jack ground, and use a safety circuit to ground the metalwork to this ground (220K resistor and cap)
- Transformer isolate the guitar, not quite sure how that would work, basically grab a DI transformer and mount it in the guitar (assuming an isolated jack again) it would be like a balanced signal with a permanent ground lift
these are all just spitball ideas, do your research before relying on any of them. :)
Quote from: Hemisaurus on April 20, 2011, 11:49:57 AM
Erik, if the entire body is routed out, there will be less support for a metal plate, hence there's bound to be more vibrations that will be picked up, think of banging on the end of a shallow steel drum.
Ah I though he just wanted the faceplate to be completely supported, not like a semi hollow body...
Quote
Transformer isolate the guitar, not quite sure how that would work, basically grab a DI transformer and mount it in the guitar (assuming an isolated jack again) it would be like a balanced signal with a permanent ground lift
This would give you the best protection and least effect on your tone. IMO.
Quote from: Hemisaurus on April 20, 2011, 11:49:57 AM
Frank - aren't you thinking of lead. You can duct tape a piece of lead to the front of a CRT that is running (old TV, monitor or scope) and stick it in a fridge. I saw it on TV in the 80's probably on YouTube somewhere, and the bombardment of electrons on the lead (beta particles) accelerated by the CRT forms gold.
I was totally just making stuff up.
Quote from: LogicalFrank on April 20, 2011, 01:59:41 PM
Quote from: Hemisaurus on April 20, 2011, 11:49:57 AM
Frank - aren't you thinking of lead. You can duct tape a piece of lead to the front of a CRT that is running (old TV, monitor or scope) and stick it in a fridge. I saw it on TV in the 80's probably on YouTube somewhere, and the bombardment of electrons on the lead (beta particles) accelerated by the CRT forms gold.
I was totally just making stuff up.
Well hey you came damn close, just remember alchemy, or the band Lead into Gold ;)
Nerds