In a little rowboat

although the higher gauge requires more string tension to reach pitch, going up to a .13 on the e is not a hazard for your guitar, youll get a fatter tone from it on that one string---2 problems however...

first, you likely need to adjust the saddle to re-intonate for the heavier string (bad fretted notes)

secondly, you have a nut slot that is too narrow for the thicker string (bad unfretted notes)

id change all your strings at earliest opportunity, and changing up/down gauges almost always requires at least a set up, if not a new nut

j

In talking about string blends, have any of you guys played half rounds(electric) or silk/steel(acoustic) strings?

 

I think I'm going to grab a set of half rounds, should the gauge size equal what I usally play?

my pop uses silk n steels on his pre-war martin, sounds great but impossible to amplify

i didnt mean for that to sound snotty. sorry.

\is cool...i was hungover

j

Yea, the one screw up factor makes you think hard before making any cut...youll get used to the band saw, just always hae to make you cut a hair too thick...one plus from using handtools is the strength you develope in you fingers...youll go up in string gauge in no time

did you say the rosewood neck blank is $20? That sounds really, really low...unless just for the fretboard... mahogany maybe...with all one piece for the neck, theres no way to fit a trussrod or steel re-enforcement, meaning steel strings are out...you'd be better off putting a fretboard on it, this makes fret setting easier as well, as you can seat the frets before gluing it to the neck

My understanding is that rosewood can be unstable with all of its twist in the grain...but its not hard to work IMHO

its been done before (fender gave George Harrison that all rosewood tele in 1969)...id suggest getting on harmony-central and looking up the all rosewood tele reissue for reviews on this construction...

whatever

yup, whatever dude

they are the same thing. semantics.

not semantics...

maybe i should have been more specific...a thin strip of piezo under the saddle (UST) is what most folks refer to as a piezo pickup, to which i find they are less effective with gut or nylon...a piezo transducer is generally the small round pickup glued to the underside of the guitar top, or under the bridgeplate...while the physics of how each work are similar, the pickups work differently and sound differently, the UST picks up mostly string vibration, the standard transducer set up picks up the vibrations of the top...

the UST requires cutting the saddle, routing a hole under, and often a shim to secure it (cutting is bad on an old guitar)

there are several nylon/steel string combos out there, i cant tell from the pic what he has...its true that old martins have a hard time holding up to steel, but sadly most end up needing a neck reset anyhow

id say a transducer under the bridgeplate, like a k&k pure western is more likely---piezos arent all that great with silk and gut strings, and there's less cutting in install

The trick is sort of randomly adjusting the velocity of the hits and the timing to make it a little imperfect -- like a real drummer.

i had a friend that used a AU plug in, i caant remember the name, but it randomly chose samples out of a predeterimned pool, so that for example, you had 6 kick drum samples, it would randomly pick one per beat, to make the sequence sound realistic, because with a real drummer, every kick sounds a hair different...

And Rowboat..............we need a heart to heart talk my brother, I feel like I jumped into a pool of sharks but love every minute of it. Will this feeling pass?

Any time man...ive learned from experience, jumping right into projects, and i just plain love wood...grew up in a family of woodworkers...you are going to learn so much cool shit, im jealous

I think I'm going with a dove tail, but who knows. I'm running my truss rod at the head, so maybe a bolt on?. All in all the neck and block will be around 8 pieces of wood glued and sanded.

 

Electrics are way easier. Route out the space, and screw or glue the fucker in, clamp, set it and waite. Adjust the rod to flat or a bit of back bow.

I have found that once you get used to dovetailing, its hands down the best joint...just remember to cut the dove a little large, then shave it down to perfect fit into the block...mortiseing is easier but a weaker set (yes martin, its true)...remember to set the rod with a bit of tension before gluing the fret board, otherwise you risk the incorrect relief once tightening and tuning to pitch

I have found the scraper to be the most important woodworking tool there is for necks and bodies, you just have to get used to setting the burr

8 pieces sound like alot of glue...can you get those pics up. im curious...?

find out how many springs you have and add 2 if you have 3

or get springs with double tension---pretty much wont move

I switched back to the ebony pins the other day. I had been using D'Adario phosphor bronze strings since purchasing the guitar (someone on a guitar forum said they are good strings for parlor guitars), but my new strings are D'Adario 80/20s. According to the package, the 80/20s produce a brighter sound than the phosphor bronze. I find that to be true, as the combination of ebony pins with the 80/20 strings produce the same bright sound (to my ears) as the phosphor bronze strings with the brass pins. I wasn't satisfied with the phosphor bronze/ebony pins combination and the brass pins, despite having a pleasing sound, have their drawbacks, so after some tinkering I've found a solution I'm very happy with.

 

Thanks for the input everyone!

I work as a tech part time, so im always working on something...as far as personal projects, im currently big on veneering and refinishing...this is the old ibanez bass im working on...the headstock was plain black gloss, but no longer...now finished with burled wood and tung oil finish

I have had musician friends for years sign the body and id carve them in...i am going to refinish the body, keeping the signatures...i have replaced the stock bass pickups with low-end sensitive humbuckers and the custom pickguard will be all wood

i am also working on a restoration of a 50's era Airline acoustic (neck reset, new fret board, more veneering), and a dreadnaught sized gut string classical that my grandfather built but never finished, ill post as these come along

j

i don't really know what the correct name would be but the nut and washer that hold the pick up jack thingy where you plug in the cable in place on my taylor 110-E elec/acoustic fell off and i couldn't figure out what they went to when i found them so i threw them away (i'm a fucking idiot, obviously).

 

any idea what size that would be or how to obtain replacements? i've gone to my old hardware store i worked at for years, but can't find anything quite right. would a guitar shop have this? should i call taylor direct?

 

kind of fucking blows as i was really getting into recording some stuff on my old 4-track.

The standard nut assembly for a quarter inch jack measures 6/16s of an inch internally

PM me you mailing address and ill send you a nut and washer, i have hundreds

j

That would not be a con for me right now cause I pretty much play acoustic unless a song really calls for electric. That amp really fits my needs as far as playing rythem. If and when I take a lead I know straight up that amp has got it. Even the "boring part" of playing rythem guitar takes on a whole new way of looking at things. I've only played that amp four times or so, but it seems like the most mondain parts of a song's stucture takes on a whole new life.

 

I saw one on ebey with two tens in it(moded), what are the pro's and con's on that?

The reason it burns thru tube is that it has by design a higher plate voltage than many amp, and it doesnt matter how hard you drive it, they will still go out more readily than in other amps...dont get me wrong, its worth it, the 6v6 is a great tube

I dont play electric, per se, my rig is a Gibson Chet Atkins SST or Martin acoustic though the DRRI...you get the great clean with warmth for acoustic sounds and some searing tube bending drive after about 3-4...it makes my sound

Id stay away from modded versions, but i cant see a real problem with 2 ten in that amp as long as the ohms are matched properly...although i have no idea why one would do that mod, the DRRI has a extension cab out already, just add extra speaker cab

i have a homemade 15 watt guitar amp that picks up a local black church sermon on Am radio...imagine "....lays his hands on yoooouuuuuu...the power and the gloryyyyyyy..." with reverb and distortion

other toys...optico-theremin, ebow with a multitude of pedal settings, a Black and Decker mouse sander, screwdriver under the strings of a guitar (ala sonic youth), a few circuit bent toys...

I can echo this. I used a set of brass pins with an old beater. They bore open the pin holes, much sooner than you wuld think, and any sort of value the brass might add is lost on the saddle.

 

Honestly, I haven't heard a ton of difference between bone, ivory or plastic. Never heard of buffalo, do they react to humidity at all?

The non-wood pins dont respond to humidity by nature, but the wood of the bridge does...still, to my ears, ebony pins generally sound/work best, there asre of course plenty of options...i just place brass and plastic at the bottom of the food chain

I have owned or played every fender combo out there, each has it's pro's and con's, but not the case with the 65 Deluxe Reverb.

the only con is that it is hard on power tubes...i get about 6 months out of a single 6v6 playing 12 hours a week...a small, small issue for a fabulous amp

Your finish is prolly nitro already...too many solvents...

consider fast drying gloss deft lacquer...$10 at lowe's...acetone,methyl ethyl ketone,propane, et al...this is sandable, buffable, although steel wood is best, its a good sealer and will hold up to finger oils and abuse...nitro and poly are difficult when trying to get a clear and flawless coat...with this, you dont have to cover the entire top...

ask questions here... http://www.reranch.com/reranch/

Prefer classic 57's everyday of the week over burstbuckers, consider SD pickups as well...

have fun!

I had a kp2 for a while and had a bitch of a time making it work from me as a guitarist or vocalist...you almost have to have someone else control it...my suggestion is get a 2 way 90 degree clamp, onto the mic stand and have it at guitar level at arms length...i assume youre going guitar into it??

When i used it, i controlled it with my toe...not easy!!!

Is money a huge issue?

Having played on almost every currently offered fender, i am completely sold on the 65 Deluxe reverb RI...a loud 22 watts, 4 inputs, reverb, vibrato, fabulous tone, jensen speaker, and it does not go from soft to silly loud like the Hot rods do...

Have said this before...i think the fender blues junior is about the best 'first tube' amp one can get into, youll get great, cutting tone while learning about tube creaminess and avoiding crank overkill

If you really want a harp+guitar master, look no further than Bob Dylan. A lot of players now distill their harp-playing, one way or another, from Dylan, such as Springsteen (e.g. the whole Nebraska album), and Tweedy too.

oh dont forget neil young...he's the reason i first started playing harp

i have a lot experience here...and while it depends on who yo talk to, i dont care for brass pins for a few reasons...first off, brass is dense and after alot of playing, the metal will eat away at the pin holes in your bridge, and more seriously, the bridgeplate underneath top...granted itll take a long time but why chance it...secondly, youll break more strings if you play hard...the metal on metal contact is harder on bronze acoustic strings...

If your guitar is new, itll take some time for the sound to open up...ebony is my choice usually, so id recommend either some nice bone/ivory pins (not cheap), tusq, or even better, some buffalo horn pins ($25)...much more organic sound and still dense enough to bump up the tone a bit

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Bridge-Pins-Black-Bu...1QQcmdZViewItem

have fun with that new box, sounds terrific im sure

Before everyone starts posting the only way to record acoustic guitar is with a microphone, I know and accept that.

rubbish...there are too many acousitc guitar snobs out there...bottom line is, if you like the sounds you get, go with it...

Yes, miking the guitar is the preferred method for most, myself included...but why would you want the same sound on everything you record...why would you want the same guitar sound everyone else has...? The M1a gets some really good tones and you can get good results from contact pickups and USTs also...just like using a mic, its all about getting to that sound you like using EQ, volume and reverb...I record and perform with a varied selection of guitars and amplification devices...

Big question...what recorder are you using?

Id recommend getting a tube preamp and something like the Baggs ParaDI if you are going direct to the recorder...then you have EQ, Notch, Impedance matching, volume, and some added warmth...add reverb as needed

Update:

 

So I went to a local music shop (Watermelon Music in Davis, CA) and played through a bunch of Acoustic combos.

 

I ended up getting the SWR Cali Blonde, plus the guy sold it to me at cost. Score.

 

I really like it. It is pretty fuckin heavy, but its also much louder then anything else I played through.

 

It seems to have more potential for the tone I am looking for with my band too, cause I play with a trio and my acoustic guitar is very low ended, so it often gets lost in the mix. This amp gives it a little more bite, so I think it will work out great.

 

We have rehearsal on Sunday so I will find out then how it goes.

Got here late for the discussion...but

good choice on the amp!

j

LR BAggs ParaDI is a pretty good one