GregP

Yes, true! When I imagine using the unit, though, I don't imagine wanting to flick it on and off a whole bunch (mind you, now that I think about it, that could be interesting!) and therefore I'd rather see the controls out of the way completely. That's just me. I'll still buy one offa ya when they come out. Greg

I was in Canadian Tire the other day and saw this disc-type attachment for rotary tools: The picture on the box showed what was basically a... er... what's the term... ribcage contour? that was supposedly done with this disc. I mean, the carve wasn't on a guitar, but it was about the size and shape. Anybody have any experience with a tool like this? I wonder if it'd be usable for doing carves by hand, either for contours or for tops? Greg

Love all those computer models. We ARE aware that we don't want the knobs and switches that close to the bridge, though, right? I might have missed the post when that detail was discussed. Imagine trying to palm mute chords and hitting those things all the time? Or for some people's style, even just normal playing? Greg

I want the new Behringer one, though it's not out just yet... not available till second quarter, actually: click me Greg

Dunno for sure. I don't see why they wouldn't be analog, though. It'd be more effort than it's worth to try to digitally model cheesy analog plug-ins. Probably easier to look at the original's guts and reverse-engineer it than to do a digital model. Plus, since they all use analog ins and outs, that's extra AD/DA circuitry that'd have to be included. Logic tells me that it's easier for them to just stick to analog, actually. But, I could be dead wrong! Greg

Welcome to the board!

An item's 'radius' refers to how much it is curved. When you've heard it used, it was likely referring to the fingerboard of a guitar, but there are other important parts (the bridge saddle height, for example) where radius becomes important. In mathematical terms, a radius is a linear measurement from the centre of a circle to the perimeter of the circle. However, when you're talking about something like the guitar's fingerboard, obviously it's not shaped like a whole circle, but it IS curved, so that means it's like taking a small piece of the outside of the circle. Imagine this: instead of a flat piece of wood, your fingerboard starts as a big cylinder, and we just cut off a piece from the outside to make the fingerboard. If the tube has a 12" radius, that means from the edge of the tube to the centre, it's a foot! And another foot to get to the opposite edge! So your tube is really 2" wide at its widest point! Then you take a shaving from that and you end up with a fingerboard that has a 12" radius. On the other hand, if your wooden cylinder has a 15" radius (it's even bigger!), when you take off a strip from the outside that's the same width, the remaining curve is going to be flatter, right? A picture would explain it better, but I couldn't be arsed right now. Hope that helps. Is it necessary? Not strictly speaking, no. But it'll be more comfortable to play. If I'm not mistaken, classical guitar fingerboards actually have a 'negative' radius, so they're curved in instead of out. But I haven't touched a classical in so many years that my memory might be funny. For a solidbody electric, I can't imagine not having a radiused fingerboard. Greg

Great idea. I don't know any of those guys. I can see how that would work, though. Greg

Excellent work, Perry. Wonderful job!

That's a great idea, Dugz-- I'm not very resourceful for this kind of thing, though, so I dunno where in the Yellow Pages to look for something that'll come out half-assed-looking and not cost me an arm and a leg. It definitely wouldn't hurt to call around, though, so what would I look under in the business directory? Metalwork? Machining? Hrm... let me answer my own question and dig out the Yellow Pages.... Hmm... 2 places that look interesting under "Metal Specialties". They both say, "Custom Metal Fabrication." Several more under "Machine Shops". I have no idea how involved this kind of work is, though, so I wouldn't know how expensive it would be to set it up. I suppose if there was a prototyping fee or something, I could do a run of 10 or so (depending on price) and try to sell them off. Now, the thing about the hipshot is that it has a few sexy-looking curves (OK, maybe not literally sexy) that would take a bit of extra work and might up the price. Anyone who knows anything about this kind of stuff, what kind of price do you think I should expect to pay? I'd phone around myself but being the weekend and all, they're not going to be open. Cheers for responding, Dugz. Greg

Well, after flip-flopping around I've decided to go for the Hipshot. That decision comes after having a beer with a friend last night who told me about a place in town that can re-plate pieces 'n' parts 'n' stuff. If the chrome really throws off the whole thing, I'll take the saddles off (which are steel anyhow, so they're neither chrome nor nickel) and send the 'base plate' (or whatever you call it) off to be nickel-plated. It'll be expensive (about another $30-50) but if that's what it takes I suppose I'll go for it when I have the finances. In the meantime, no other bridge has made me think, "Yeah, this is the one" the same way the Hipshot hardtail bridge has, so I guess it's time to just suck it up and go for it. Now the new question-- What's the thickness of the bottom of the one that StewMac sells? Ie. is it one that I can put in without worrying about neck angle? The Hipshot website shows 2 different thicknesses. I imagine you should be able to use either, but I seem to recall someone on here mentioning something about the difference once upon a time. Any further info? Greg

Drool-tastic! Man I love teles. Greg

Sweet! I had never seen one of those before, though I knew there was some sort of jiggery-pokery going on. The Washburn ads never seemed to show the back-side of it... clandestine? I dunno...! But that's pretty neat. Greg

Thanks for the reply, Frank. Sounds like a lot of work, but the price is right and the work is easy though plentiful. An eBay merchant has agreed to ship chrome ferrules and screws (good'nuff for me), though the intonation screws will still be Gold. My Pacifica has black saddle-height adjustment screws, and from the pictures, so does the Mighty Mite. Either way, I can likely just swap them out of need be. I guess it's one of those things-- worst case scenario, I have a ****ed up bridge that I can use on a "bitsa" guitar some day in the future. Of course, the other option is to get new machine heads, pickup covers, and the hipshot bridge. Greg

Cool beans. I figured if I'm going for this type of guitar, I'd go trem, as none of my other guitars are likely to ever have trems. (maybe a Bigsby some day...) Whereas I suspect most of your guitars HAVE trems, so the non-trem idea will be sweet for you. Greg

I think functionality should be the first concern. Get a few prototypes working so that you can make sure that it's consistent from one unit to the next. When/if you market it to a guitar or electronics company, THEY can worry about making it small later. Chances are good that they'd want to buy the intellectual property and take it from there. Otherwise, you're left developing it yourself, in which case I agree that a slightly more elegant enclosure would be a selling feature. I'm very excited for you! Greg

Announced at NAMM are a whole slew of new Behringer products, including a line of stompbox effects based mostly on Boss ideas and tones, but with a few extras in there. Highlights for me from the page: -Vtone Guitar GDI21 (Tech 21 SansAmp GT2 ripoff) -Hellbabe HB01 (Dunlop Dimebag Crybaby ripoff, with extras) -MS40 digital monitor speakers (Edirol MA-20 ripoffs... not legendary, but affordable) Other people who are still into the stompbox thing should really take a look at all the new stompers they have on tap... it's mind-blowing... also cheap! Of course, they're total rip-offs of other companies, but they don't hide that fact so I can't really be angry at them for it. The link: http://www.behringer.com/01_news/events_wn...05.cfm?lang=ENG

My 2 cents-- Warp has a good sound. It's dated, has very few features, and has no presets. But it's direct and to the point and sounds good. And best of all? Because it's a discontinued product if you're lucky you can still grab it at Long and McQuade for the low price of $36. Green Machine Amp II is the one I turn to most often, though it has its own sound. The models are based loosely on a Mesa Boogie and a... Marshall? though not closely enough for that to be a direct comparison. What's cool about it is that you are able to come up with your own tones. Some of the presets are a bit "digital" sounding because of the stepped filter. Turning off the filter can help out with that. Amplitube LE / Live (they both come together now) only contains 3 amp models, but it's cost-effective, sounds good, and includes a Vox AC-30, a Marshall, and a Clean (Fender I guess) model, which covers an awful lot of ground. If you're rich, watch out for Amplitube 2, just announced at NAMM. Greg

OK, So this question's a bit premature... like... 2 years premature. But I was wondering what kind of trem and nut people would recommend for a Steinberger L-series type guitar (the headless broom-looking one). I think you can still get Steinberger trems, but that'll be way out of my price range. The speedloader isn't cheap, but it's a nice bit of kit last I heard (unless any breaking news that I've missed has come along), and I imagine you should be able to install the nut on a guitar with no headstock, no? The other option (also not cheap) that I've seen is the trem system sold by ABM. Opinions? Experiences? Greg

Holy editbricks that Fatback Hardtail (by MannMade) is expensive! However, I'm very grateful that you took the time to jog your memory and look that stuff up!! The Fatback is, indeed, nickel! Let me get this straight, though you were very clear and I probably don't even need to confirm-- If I get the Mighty Mite "gold" one, I can use some brasso, a dremel with a felt wheel, and buff the gold right offa that sucker, leaving nickel behind? Greg

Cool beans. It's great that you've been researching rather than just blowing your $$$. Greg

That one doesn't work, either. Greg

I guess I'm doomed, then. I check WD, Allparts, Warmoth, Stewmac, Mighty Mite, and Universal Jems. Also searched e-Bay and it's a no-go. What the hell? Weird that you can't find a single nickel bridge like this in the world. I guess I'll get the chrome one, which will leave me with the option-- -If it looks ass, just use the original recessed TOM idea -If it looks ass but I REALLY want this style of bridge, gradually replace the other parts with chrome to match, and save the nickel parts for a Les Paul to be made in the future -No matter how it looks, suffer, because this is the style of bridge I truly want. Wish I hadn't sold myself on the recessed TOM... or that I had gotten all chrome parts.... Kind of annoying, though-- in hindsight, I also really wanted the Grover tuners, which were only available in nickel. GRRR!!!

I like to hear myself talk. No worries. Intel is sputtering a bit for their 64-bit stuff. Apparently their current big thing is moving toward dual-core chips (as are AMD), but it's unclear about their plans for 64-bit. With 64-bit Windows already in beta testing, I can't imagine Intel will be out of the game for long. With the AMD-64, I wouldn't worry about the chipset manufacturer, but there ARE other things to consider such as memory timing issues, and other things; however, if you get the laptop "pre-made", those issues will have been resolved by the manufacturer. Most of them relate to desktop machines anyhow. Greg

Has anyone encountered a hard-tail bridge like the popular Hipshot one, but in nickel rather than chrome? It doesn't have to be Hipshot (obviously), but something that looks fairly similar would be great. I've seen the WD and Mighty Mite ones, but they're also chrome, black, or gold only, and I'd really prefer to have nickel. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Greg