gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 23, 2020 1:46:23 GMT -5
Mr. Horsepower...Wow ! Are those humbuckers or single coils I wonder. What happens when the dial hits the red zone...
|
|
DrKev
Wholenote
It's just a guitar, it's not rocket science.
Posts: 416
|
Post by DrKev on Feb 23, 2020 11:34:29 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 23, 2020 13:25:25 GMT -5
What happens when the dial hits the red zone?
"Hello. My name is Yngwieo Malmtyoa. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
|
|
Wrnchbndr
Wholenote
Posts: 353
Formerly Known As: WRNCHBNDR
|
Post by Wrnchbndr on Feb 23, 2020 14:11:12 GMT -5
I'd forgotten about those tuners. To date, I have yet to see them on a guitar. They'll work for sure.
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 23, 2020 19:24:00 GMT -5
Progress today. My initial plan was to place the tuners in a line along the back of the body and fan out the strings coming from the tune-o-matic bridge. But I did some measuring and there was enough room behind the bridge to stagger the tuners. That provides the necessary room to allow the strings to run straight off the back of the bridge to the tuner posts. It's nice and compact this way. I carved a recess in the rear of the body to create a 'shelf' the thickness of a headstock. This provides the area to mount the tuner posts with some additional room around the knobs to get the fingers on 'em to tune the strings. The pickup I'm making will be the size of a Tele neck pickup but wound a bit hotter for use in the bridge position. I got the bridge recess done and the string height will now be low enough over front of the body. I haven't routed a cavity for the controls and jack because it has not yet told me what to do. I'm turning a few options over in my coconut to determine what will work as well as fit the look of this thing.
|
|
gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 23, 2020 21:03:21 GMT -5
Some fine and exacting work there ! And you know, if it doesn't work out for some reason, you can probably turn it into a spiffy BROOM for your shop...
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 23, 2020 21:49:03 GMT -5
Cheers! Or like mentioned above, "canoe paddle." Austin made a little guitar sort of like this one called a Hatchet. I think Hohner made them later under license:
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 24, 2020 18:17:57 GMT -5
I've got the body almost complete; I drilled for the output jack and went with a PRS-style recess for the volume knob. The rear shelf for the tuners was too thick, so I pared that down to 9/16" thick. I mocked it up with the hardware and all the geometry is good. The tuners fit better than I expected. All it needs is final sanding and finish. I still need to spin up the pickup, and I need to decide on how I'm going to mount it. Leaning toward a small white pearl MOTO pickguard that sort of mirrors the body shape.
|
|
gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 24, 2020 20:49:17 GMT -5
Ha. Anyone could think of a paddle. Attach a bunch of bristles at the end and end and you've got an interesting broom....and/or paddle ! Looking sweet so far ! Those are some strange looking Martian tuners though...wow !
|
|
|
Post by Tinkerer on Feb 24, 2020 23:55:37 GMT -5
This looks awesome!! I love the look of the recessed volume pot - how do you do the recess?
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 25, 2020 2:21:23 GMT -5
Thanks man! I used a Forstner bit on the drill press.
It leaves a sharp edge, so carefully pare that down with a small chisel and then sand the snot out of it. I did the same thing for the output jack.
PRS uses a router bit that resembles a ball mill in their CNC to do the knob recesses. If I had a CNC router I'd never leave the shop.
|
|
|
Post by chronicinsomnia on Feb 25, 2020 16:43:07 GMT -5
I'm loving this. I ended up showing my son this thread the other day and he keeps asking if you've finished it yet. Your work is quite ingenious.
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 25, 2020 19:10:51 GMT -5
Thanks brother! It's coming along. I'm winding the pickup. I don't have a pickup winder, so it takes a really long time.
|
|
|
Post by Leftee on Feb 25, 2020 19:36:00 GMT -5
Counting winds...
1 2 3 Another Another...
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 25, 2020 21:11:33 GMT -5
I don't count the turns. I stop when I think I'm close and test with the meter. When you don't have a mechanical pickup winder you get creative
|
|
gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 25, 2020 22:05:45 GMT -5
Ah. The "hatchet" looks interesting. I was considering one of those ALP folding aluminum guitars after I saw it played on Utoob. Very portable and makes a great club if needed. Like the Peegoo Paddle. Maybe I should just cut the top off one of my American Strats. Dang thing doesn't make me play very good anyway...
|
|
Wrnchbndr
Wholenote
Posts: 353
Formerly Known As: WRNCHBNDR
|
Post by Wrnchbndr on Feb 26, 2020 13:13:39 GMT -5
Don't cut off the top of the strat. It'll feel wrong. Your forearm against the body provides needed control of the guitar. I won't admit why I know this is true.
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 26, 2020 20:40:00 GMT -5
Oh, we've all done it. They say a person learns from their mistakes, and I have learned a lot. Still learning! I got the pickup together. I was trying a new design for an SC-sized humbucker, and although it bucked 100% of all noise better than any other pickup I've had my hands on, it needed to be right up on the strings to sound good. That's a no-go (I learned something!) and I'll continue to investigate that design later on. But for this project I need a working pickup. I wanted something small, rather than a standard double-coil humbucker. The small size of the body and the 'extra' hardware (tuners behind the bridge) would look cluttered up with a big fat pickup in the middle. Also wanted something shielded, like a fully-sealed Dano lipstick, but beefier sounding. So I made up a bobbin in a Tele neck form factor, using CA to set the mags into the flatwork and then gave the entire thing a light coating of spray shellac to insulate the mags. I overwound the coil using 43-ga wire, followed by a light wax potting. I did use some of the ideas from the humbucker concept I had, and it is quiet. It's also punchy in the bridge position without being too mid-rangey from the overwind. I think it's going to sound pretty good in this guitar, and it will look good too because visually it's the same size as the TOM bridge. You can tell it's overwound by the amount of wire on the bobbin. It's fat. Getting closer to done...
|
|
gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 26, 2020 22:57:18 GMT -5
Overwound is right...looks like I could play it from here !
You got all them magnety things all the same orientation ?
Looks like a pro job !
For a single coil. I'm confuzaled !
I thought there had to be an opposite wind to "buck" the hum ?
If there is one, it's well hidden !
And what kind of magnets did you put in there ? 2,3 or 5 ?
|
|
gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 26, 2020 22:59:53 GMT -5
Ha. You did a little sleight of hand there. Just one massive single coil. Ok.
|
|
gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 26, 2020 23:08:08 GMT -5
Reason I ask about magnet type is that type 5 is stronger than type 2 and maybe that's a way to get more output on original pickup.
|
|
gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 26, 2020 23:19:17 GMT -5
Ha. I hear you W ! The strat really is a pretty good design for form and function so it's not easy to "improve".
I think it has a rather lopsided look to it that I originally didn't like.
But that's just how music sometime rolls.
The best art isn't necessarily all linear and proportional.
And neither is a Strat.
And it's certainly a work of art as far I can see.
Now I hang one around my neck every DAY !
And I'm starting to even look like it...misshapen, curvy and shiny.
Dang it !
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 26, 2020 23:30:24 GMT -5
It's alnico 3. Yeah, it's a big fat single coil. The humbucker design was a bit different from what you see in the pics above.
I wound this to 20.2k Ohms. Many players will think "WHOA--that is insane for a pickup! Humbuckers aren't wound that hot. It will sound like mud!"
But DC resistance is only part of the tone equation--and it's a bad index to use anyway, because pickups are AC, which uses impedance as the measure of resistance to current flow. Inductance, capacitance, impedance, materials, and where on the guitar it's installed all conspire to make a pickup sound the way it does.
I am no expert with this stuff; I know just enough about it to do wacky experiments like this and get into trouble. Sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don't.
But it sure is a whole lot of fun!
|
|
gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 27, 2020 0:01:12 GMT -5
I just got an urgent note from "Ripley's World Record committee". They would like to enter your pickup as the World Record Holding pickup ! I couldn't forward it to your email because a couple critical Satellites were pulled out of orbit and burned up over the Right coast ! Directly over YOU. At least in my imagination. Wow. I did think "Whoa". I usually think 6.7k ohms is pretty hot. Well. From a project manager viewpoint, with all the variables inherent in pickup design, it's possible no one alive today could see the end of the Peegoo Paddle project if you are going to use the "make a lightbulb" technique of Edison for pickups ! I'm thinking that the PP is basically an SG and might sound best with a humbucker of some sort. My bet was that's where you'll end up. But a P90 might work too. Or a mini hum. And as far as I know, a P90 is an overwound single coil. But as is obvious, what I know isn't far at all. I'll have to keep my heart meds close by though. 20.2k ohms is real eye/heart popper ! Maybe you should have used pure silver wire...or cool the pickup to -150 C before playing it. What next, Peegoo Industries announces the world's first 2 pound pickup ? Maybe you have a breakthrough BASS pickup there...try it on a BASS !
|
|
gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 27, 2020 18:46:23 GMT -5
Maybe it's an awesome Fuzz pickup ?
The only overwound pickup I've played with so far is the Gibson "dirty fingers" pickup. They weren't kidding !
And now I'm surprised no one has come out with pure silver wrapped pickups...for the guy who has everything !
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 27, 2020 20:08:58 GMT -5
Oh, you can get pickups made any way you like. But you'll sure pay for 'em. I made some more progress on this today. I got the control and jack cavities done and made cover plates from white pearl moto. The jack cavity is a teardrop shape because I needed a flat surface to run the washer and nut down onto the threads of the barrel jack. Since it's just one pickup, no need for a switch. I'll stick a volume pot in there and that will be the only control. If I decide I need a tone pot, I'll install a stacked pot for vol and tone; there's enough room for one. I also drilled the three bores for the jack wire from the volume pot, the bridge/string ground, and the pickup lead from the front cavity to the volume pot. One thing I've been wanting to try on a Tele or a Strat for many years is an inlaid pickguard, rather than one that's mounted directly to the face of the body. I understand why Fender doesn't do this (production cost), but it would look totally custom. So I used this project to see how that would go. This isn't a large pickguard, but the effect is the same. The pickguard I made for this is purposely asymmetrical to sort of mirror the look of the body shape. All I need now is a warm day to shoot finish on the body so I can start putting this thing together.
|
|
|
Post by Tinkerer on Feb 28, 2020 2:06:03 GMT -5
That is just awesome - I can't wait to see the finished instrument! How did you cut the pickguard recess - the fit looks perfect.
|
|
|
Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Feb 28, 2020 10:36:23 GMT -5
Thanks man. The recess is really simple, sort of like making hinge mortises on the edge of a door. Cut and shape the pickguard to the shape you want; I used a scroll saw and sanded the edge smooth. Drill and countersink the plastic for the mounting screws and mount it on the wood. Lightly scribe around it into the wood with a small knife. Remove the pickguard and run the knife in the scribed line several more times, increasing pressure as you go to make the cut line deeper into the wood.
I used a 1/2" straight cutter in a small laminate trimmer (router) to cut a depth equal to the thickness of the pickguard; I cut the recess to about 1/8" from the line. As you know, routing freehand without a template will not make an accurate line no matter how careful you are. I pared the remaining 1/8" of wood to the scribed with the knife and a small chisel.
Obviously this process would be faster with a router template but this being a one-off guitar, the time to make the router templates is about the same as what it takes to do it freehand. If I were spinning up more than one of these, I'd make router templates for the pickguard and the recess.
|
|
Wrnchbndr
Wholenote
Posts: 353
Formerly Known As: WRNCHBNDR
|
Post by Wrnchbndr on Feb 28, 2020 14:35:25 GMT -5
I'm watching this at the edge of my seat. Damn you have some serious momentum goin. I need to do the same. I'm concerned about your pickup as I'm sure you are too. Eager to see the whole composition.
|
|
gbfun
Wholenote
I eat cookies to provide you with the best possible experience.
Posts: 463
|
Post by gbfun on Feb 28, 2020 16:25:51 GMT -5
Me too ! Pretty awesome idea(and execution) of inlay pickguard. As a pool player with inlays in my cues, I've always wondered why guitars didn't have more inlay work...and why pool cues didn't have as high in quality inlay materials as guitars that have...some ! And I also just noticed your pic wrnchbndr ! That's the biggest silverface I've ever seen ! And that er...guitolin...what the heck is that ? What does it sound like ? Does it have a solid block down the middle or is it hollow ? (and how much alcohol or drugs were required to think...you know, violin seems popular in some music, and guitar in another...why not just jam them together and see what happens ! I'm sure my giant silverface can handle that !
|
|