What are YOU up to, DIY/projectwise? Ask for help?

[spookstrickland]

Thanks to James I got my Diddley Bow project up and running!

[RacerX]

Not bad— kinda cute! You gotta damp the strain behind the slide, tho, Spuke. Otherwise, what's happening behind the slide is audible. Just use the trailing part of your hand.

[AgentofOblivion]

Cool dude.

[jibberish]

what if you took all the strings but one off of a beater crap guitar and rigged a nut and bridge to raise the string more off the fretboard. seems like I could make one of those with a $20 garage sale special and 15minutes of time.

OK, let's go one step further. WHAT IF we put a rigged pyramidal bridge and nut on a beater guitar and left 3 strings on with the center one being a bit higher than the outer 2.
THEN we get a violin bow and a slide. make a ghetto steel viola-tar.  can bow either 1 or 2 strings at a time. maybe tune one pair to a fifth and the other to a 4th or something idk...

edit: I guess you could make a trapezoidal profile for 4 strings low-hi-hi-low.  a bow could still hit any of the 3 pairs solidly without hitting the others.

[VOLVO)))]

I seriously considered doing what you're saying for a long while when I was in a post rock band. Make a rosewood arch bridge, and shim the neck on any not-so-wide guitar bridge for bow clearance. You have to figure a way to jack the pickups up, and modify a 6 pole pickup to a rail with the same raidus as the bridge. No big with a dremel.

[Mr. Foxen]

I seriously considered doing what you're saying for a long while when I was in a post rock band. Make a rosewood arch bridge, and shim the neck on any not-so-wide guitar bridge for bow clearance. You have to figure a way to jack the pickups up, and modify a 6 pole pickup to a rail with the same raidus as the bridge. No big with a dremel.

Can use a split pickup, like a P bass one, some guitars come with those for guitar.

[jibberish]

that has to be a crazy sounding axe if it worked like i'm thinking.

2 pole bass pickups. nice.   i suppose it would still have to be set up somewhat to maintain the starting intervals between strings all the way up to the octave at least.  i wonder how much of the body above and below the strings would have to get chopped out to clear the bow? i guess you could set the bridge angles to keep the bow clear even only playing an outer string.  although butchery is the highest form of moddery 

how do they electrify violins?

[James1214]

Several ways. To electrify an acoustic violin you can get a piezo pickup that wedges between the bridge and the bod. I have seen solidbody electric violins with what amounts to four single string coils under each string, adjusted individually to ensure proper spacing.

[showdown]

Binding! I've also done the roundover on the back.

[James1214]

Sweet baby Jesus, that thing is purty.

[RAGER]

Very very nice.

[Jake]

Wow. More pics or you can go straight to hell.

[jibberish]

Sweet baby Jesus, that thing is purty.

haha when I saw that pic that's what I said quietly to myself "jesus that's pro"

[VOLVO)))]

Wow. More pics or you can go straight to hell.

[showdown]

Ha, it's not very pro, but I'm pretty happy with it. 
Roundover on the back, and finally decided not to put a control plate on the front:


obligatory macro shot:


Now, a little drilling then sanding, sanding, sanding.

[showdown]

Redid the control cavity. I didn't want to mess with making my own templates, so I just used the StewMac templates and lid. Drilled for recessed Electrosocket and all pickup wiring and ground. The top is ready for pore filling, but the back needs a little more sanding.

[showdown]

Filled the pores on the top, and put on a wash coat of dark shellac:

[Jake]

What's next? And do you need my shipping address?

[showdown]

Next up is LOTS of shellac in microscopically thin layers, so it'll be a couple of months until it's ready to play...

I'm building this one for myself as I don't have a P90 guitar, so no, you can't have it

[Jake]

Well, if I can't have it at least let me help dress it. Have you thought about nickel covers for the P90s? I think they'd look pretty great with that finish.

[showdown]

Hmmm... intriguing.

[AgentofOblivion]

I second the nickle P90 covers.  That looks like a delicious combo.

[showdown]

The top is getting pretty good and I've flattened the finish with 400 grit. Got a few coats of platinum blonde shellac on the back and sides and scraped the binding clean. Pretty much ready for the final coats now.

[VOLVO)))]

I'm going to fuck that guitar.

[Mr. Foxen]

Found out the machinist who was gonna do the work on my metal necks died earlier, so that plan is on hold for the moment. So sorting amps I guess.