i'd go to http://www.warmoth.com/ hand have them make me a strat like body routed for a floyd rose pro and dimazio evolution humbuckers, with a 24 fret 25-1/2" curly maple neck and blue pearloid pick guard with 1 chome volume control, body color blue of course!
to bad i don't play guitar anymore.
edit: former owner of two strats, one kramer, a classical and an acoustic.
edit again: i forgot to mention medium-jumbo frets!
to bad i don't play guitar anymore.
edit: former owner of two strats, one kramer, a classical and an acoustic.
edit again: i forgot to mention medium-jumbo frets!
pneuma said:
Or just perfect for playing tacky music
I was thinking about this today....
I believe 90% of the body shape is probably just for looks, and that's why I'm going for MDF cuz I can shape it any way I please(and it will look good with a proper finish). So too keep the sustain and prevent any warpage I was thinking a steel or aluminium"spine" that went through the middle of the guitar would work nicely.... Any thoughts?
Here's a basic picture of the idea
I believe 90% of the body shape is probably just for looks, and that's why I'm going for MDF cuz I can shape it any way I please(and it will look good with a proper finish). So too keep the sustain and prevent any warpage I was thinking a steel or aluminium"spine" that went through the middle of the guitar would work nicely.... Any thoughts?
Here's a basic picture of the idea
Attachments
How about this instead? The MDF will still damp the neck vibrations, but less than if you had a solid MDF body. If you don't like the MDF sound, cut it off and rebuild in wood. A few more bucks, though probably not much when you count your spine materials and labor.
BTW, I find wood easier to shape than MDF - just use sharp tools and the same sanders you plan on using.
BTW, I find wood easier to shape than MDF - just use sharp tools and the same sanders you plan on using.
maybe it`ll sound great
I have to say, in the 18 months I spent on the road as a guitar tech, I saw lots of guitars made from non-conventional materials, bought by guitarists because they were trendy or different. With only one exception, the phenolic fingerboard used by Washburn on a few models, these guitars ended up being put to one side in favour of more conventional ones.
You can't go wrong with a mahogany base and a nice piece of maple on the front!
You can't go wrong with a mahogany base and a nice piece of maple on the front!
homebuilt guitar
Built in 1980.
Body wings are Hawiian Koa,
Rosewood pinstripes,
Ebony fretboard
Eastern Hard Rock Maple neck and body.
Neck-thru body (I hate bolt-on necks!!!)
Dual truss rods.
Large nickle frets on a 25-1/2" scale.
Dot markers are abolone inlay.
Pickups, bridge and tailpiece are from Carvin (good stuff!)
Clear coated with Ditzler Concept 20/20 w/ red pearl added in.
This thing plays better than any guitar I have ever played.
Perfect intonation, very low action... 1/16" max. NO buzz, tremendous susssssssstain. (Notice no whammy bar?)
Excellent balance.
toggle switches are for pickup selection and phasing.
has a preamp built-in, but I'm working on building something better.
Controls compartment is fully shielded with copper foil.
Rear cover plate is 304 stainless.
It was a fun project, but I don't think I could duplicate the perfection a second time.
Sorry I don't have any pix of the whole guitar.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Built in 1980.
Body wings are Hawiian Koa,
Rosewood pinstripes,
Ebony fretboard
Eastern Hard Rock Maple neck and body.
Neck-thru body (I hate bolt-on necks!!!)
Dual truss rods.
Large nickle frets on a 25-1/2" scale.
Dot markers are abolone inlay.
Pickups, bridge and tailpiece are from Carvin (good stuff!)
Clear coated with Ditzler Concept 20/20 w/ red pearl added in.
This thing plays better than any guitar I have ever played.
Perfect intonation, very low action... 1/16" max. NO buzz, tremendous susssssssstain. (Notice no whammy bar?)
Excellent balance.
toggle switches are for pickup selection and phasing.
has a preamp built-in, but I'm working on building something better.
Controls compartment is fully shielded with copper foil.
Rear cover plate is 304 stainless.
It was a fun project, but I don't think I could duplicate the perfection a second time.
Sorry I don't have any pix of the whole guitar.
stay away from MDF.....
it's not strong enough and will sound cr*p...
I have to say though, the guitar I play most is of indeterminate east Asian origin, made of some sort of light wood, I improved the sound heaps by putting on a new bridge which has through - the-body strings (+ new machine heads, an extra pickup & re-wiring).
Pete McK
it's not strong enough and will sound cr*p...
I have to say though, the guitar I play most is of indeterminate east Asian origin, made of some sort of light wood, I improved the sound heaps by putting on a new bridge which has through - the-body strings (+ new machine heads, an extra pickup & re-wiring).
Pete McK
Don't use MDF, please!
Use basswood if you want something that will finish evenly auto-style, or better yet alder. It sounds better and is easy to finish (relatively speaking). The metal spine is a fine idea, though. Reverend guitars does this in their semi-hollow bodies, and lap steel guitars have been doing this since the '30s. Great for adding sustain.
And not to put down Diyaudio.com, which I love... you might try posting these questions over at www.mimf.com - it's essentially the same enviornment but for instrument building. Play nice over there, though, they're pretty heavily moderated (and VERY non-commercial).
Funny you should ask here, though - guitars are my day job, audio is my hobby. I do tech and design work for Warmoth by day.
Use basswood if you want something that will finish evenly auto-style, or better yet alder. It sounds better and is easy to finish (relatively speaking). The metal spine is a fine idea, though. Reverend guitars does this in their semi-hollow bodies, and lap steel guitars have been doing this since the '30s. Great for adding sustain.
And not to put down Diyaudio.com, which I love... you might try posting these questions over at www.mimf.com - it's essentially the same enviornment but for instrument building. Play nice over there, though, they're pretty heavily moderated (and VERY non-commercial).
Funny you should ask here, though - guitars are my day job, audio is my hobby. I do tech and design work for Warmoth by day.
Did the Yamaha SG not have a serious chunk of brass in the body to add sustain, not dissimilar to your spine idea.
Nice Work Head_spaz, someone else who has seen the virtues of neck-through body. I'd like to make another guitar with neck through body and then a very solid bridge for sustain, something like the Leo-Quand badass design.
Nice Work Head_spaz, someone else who has seen the virtues of neck-through body. I'd like to make another guitar with neck through body and then a very solid bridge for sustain, something like the Leo-Quand badass design.
bwbass said:
Oh really?! Do you guys have any plans to make 35" scale fender necks in the near future? I've been thinking of parting together a Jazz V but the only place I can find to get a 35" neck for them is USACG.
BTW, you guys' site is a DIYer's fantasy.
Oh, and aren't (weren't) Reverend guitars made out of formica or something like that?
P.
dont use mdf
ok, seriously dont use mdf, its a shitty, soft, non- durable, dangerous wood,
if u want 2 drill, or neatly cut, or do anythin wit this wood, mdf is not the right stuff, i dont care wot it costs, use oak, to continue the trend, or a pine do not use mdf
p.s if u do decide to use mdf, make sure u use a mask when cutting or drilling an especially sanding [i asume u already no this but if u dont, ] mdf is extremely dangerous to breathe in, so i would suggest a solid timber
ok, seriously dont use mdf, its a shitty, soft, non- durable, dangerous wood,
if u want 2 drill, or neatly cut, or do anythin wit this wood, mdf is not the right stuff, i dont care wot it costs, use oak, to continue the trend, or a pine do not use mdf
p.s if u do decide to use mdf, make sure u use a mask when cutting or drilling an especially sanding [i asume u already no this but if u dont, ] mdf is extremely dangerous to breathe in, so i would suggest a solid timber
Don't forget that Danelectro made most of their guitars out of "hardboard" (an MDF-y sort of stuff) with a neck-through-body arrangement, that had the pickup(s) and bridge on it. You could always do something like this, which would mostly eliminate the MDF from the sound-producing parts of the guitar. It would be like a stick guitar with MDF wings (doesn't sound so good said out loud, does it?)
Or you could follow most other advice here and avoid the MDF. It isn't good stuff to work with if you value your health, and it will expand and slowly disintegrate over time. Unconventional can be fun and rewarding, though MDF is probably taking it a bit far.
I built my own electric using a salvaged acoustic guitar neck attached to a central spine of Jarrah (common hardwood here in Oz) and "wings" of Nyatoh (a south-east asian rainforest timber I think) with a Jarrah cap. It was all timber salvaged from my house renovation (35 year old house=really well seasoned timber) and it sounds really good. Pickup and bridge are attached to the spine of Jarrah, with strings running through the bridge and then through the body, all of this to hopefully produce a good sound. I'm pleased with it.
If you really want to go with the MDF, hell do it, but all of the advice in this thread so far is good. You don't have to spend heaps on "name" parts or conventional guitar woods to get a good result, but MDF will not last.
Use the oak. Aren't Burns guitars made of oak?
Or you could follow most other advice here and avoid the MDF. It isn't good stuff to work with if you value your health, and it will expand and slowly disintegrate over time. Unconventional can be fun and rewarding, though MDF is probably taking it a bit far.
I built my own electric using a salvaged acoustic guitar neck attached to a central spine of Jarrah (common hardwood here in Oz) and "wings" of Nyatoh (a south-east asian rainforest timber I think) with a Jarrah cap. It was all timber salvaged from my house renovation (35 year old house=really well seasoned timber) and it sounds really good. Pickup and bridge are attached to the spine of Jarrah, with strings running through the bridge and then through the body, all of this to hopefully produce a good sound. I'm pleased with it.
If you really want to go with the MDF, hell do it, but all of the advice in this thread so far is good. You don't have to spend heaps on "name" parts or conventional guitar woods to get a good result, but MDF will not last.
Use the oak. Aren't Burns guitars made of oak?
Hi. I'm really behind in this conversation, but I just wanted to put in my two cents; for all of your guitar/guitar amp/tube needs I reccomend Antique Electronics Supply. They have genuine Fender and Gibson hardware, as well as real Fender tubes.
I have a Chinese made Epiphone "Junior" model(it's a full-size guitar), but someday, when I have the time, money, and motivation, I'm going to replace all of it's hardware and the pickup with genuine Gibson replacements, so that I can have a "real" Gibson at half the price(the guitar was on sale for $99).
I have a Chinese made Epiphone "Junior" model(it's a full-size guitar), but someday, when I have the time, money, and motivation, I'm going to replace all of it's hardware and the pickup with genuine Gibson replacements, so that I can have a "real" Gibson at half the price(the guitar was on sale for $99).
guitar materials
If what you're all calling MDF or MFD or whichever is what we call "particle-board" or "chip-board" I'd avoid it; the arguments here ring true with what I've absorbed over the years, about deadening the sound, or at the least not contributing the "warmth" of mahogany and the "spank" or "clarity" of maple, and whatever the range of in-between woods like basswood and poplar and alder each contribute,and I'd worry about the stability of the region where the neck bolts on, the weakest joint in a beginner-luthier build, which I see every day in the shop where I teach shop. Not that it's a guitar shop per se, but we turn out six or eight beginner-builds a year. You could build it from the stuff and put a clear finish on it and have a low-tech tacky-snob sort of appearance, like that duct-tape finish guitar Ibanez did.
You want stability, you want a positive contribution to the sound, you want comfort to play with a strap, you want reasonable cost, you want resonnance, you want sustain, you want to save the planet, you want exotic appeal...
I had a Taylor all solid acoustic, and found it to be too fragile to live in the same house as my 4 kids: it was all the right woods, but too-boutique for my lifestyle at the moment. I recently picked up a HPL Martin (gasp) and actually thought it was kind of cool: the top was solid and the thing was built right up the road here in SE Pennsylvania. The strip-laminated neck is a little wierd, but I had a Framus like that once. I know that every strat sounds different to certain ears, and they do say "Play it unplugged", so even if you choose the most highly reccomended tone-woods it might not sound as good as the beat-up old strat you once played over at your friend's house. I've been single-handedly keeping eBay afloat with respect to used pickups, trying to find "my tone". You'll never finish perfecting your craft, but just to get your feet wet and the sawdust flying, go ahead and use the oak or the manufactured stuff. You might start a trend.
Enjoy!
If what you're all calling MDF or MFD or whichever is what we call "particle-board" or "chip-board" I'd avoid it; the arguments here ring true with what I've absorbed over the years, about deadening the sound, or at the least not contributing the "warmth" of mahogany and the "spank" or "clarity" of maple, and whatever the range of in-between woods like basswood and poplar and alder each contribute,and I'd worry about the stability of the region where the neck bolts on, the weakest joint in a beginner-luthier build, which I see every day in the shop where I teach shop. Not that it's a guitar shop per se, but we turn out six or eight beginner-builds a year. You could build it from the stuff and put a clear finish on it and have a low-tech tacky-snob sort of appearance, like that duct-tape finish guitar Ibanez did.
You want stability, you want a positive contribution to the sound, you want comfort to play with a strap, you want reasonable cost, you want resonnance, you want sustain, you want to save the planet, you want exotic appeal...
I had a Taylor all solid acoustic, and found it to be too fragile to live in the same house as my 4 kids: it was all the right woods, but too-boutique for my lifestyle at the moment. I recently picked up a HPL Martin (gasp) and actually thought it was kind of cool: the top was solid and the thing was built right up the road here in SE Pennsylvania. The strip-laminated neck is a little wierd, but I had a Framus like that once. I know that every strat sounds different to certain ears, and they do say "Play it unplugged", so even if you choose the most highly reccomended tone-woods it might not sound as good as the beat-up old strat you once played over at your friend's house. I've been single-handedly keeping eBay afloat with respect to used pickups, trying to find "my tone". You'll never finish perfecting your craft, but just to get your feet wet and the sawdust flying, go ahead and use the oak or the manufactured stuff. You might start a trend.
Enjoy!
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