GregP

I've always been under the impression that if doing it by hand, a compound radius should be made with a -flat- sanding block. I've never tried it, but the theory makes sense: A compound radius is basically like part of a cross-section of a cone, rather than a part of a cross-section of a cylinder. That means that at ANY given point on the fretboard, there is a difference in the radius. You may be 16" at the end, and 9" at the nut, but you're like 11.234" at the 10th fret, or whatever. I just made that number up. Point being-- to do it properly, you should be sanding in straight lines, following 'imaginary lines' that are more or less the lines that your strings will follow when you string it up. Again, I haven't done it myself, but I can't imagine it being easily done using curved radius blocks. Greg

Seems dodgy. But there MUST be someone out there without the will to just build it themselves, and who would never try to market the design otherwise. In other words, there IS a target demographic for the contest, regardless of whether or not Fender gets the clearest benefit from it. Greg

I think it's great! As for upper fret access-- the Godin LG has a much more 'difficult' upper bout than that design, and I'm fine all the way to the 22nd fret. When I'm way up there on the neck, my thumb isn't usually hooked over the top of the neck anyhow. Greg

A bit cumbersome for a 3" hole.

OK, since you opened the invitation. JK, but I do have a counter-opinion. A lot of times in life and on this forum in particular, people are told to disregard what others think, 'as long as you like it'. However, there's nothing wrong with asking for others' perspectives, and no shame in using others as sounding boards to clarify one's own thoughts. Somebody draws up a plan for a guitar, and shows it to another person for their opinion. They say "Jeez, dude, that top horn is way disproportionate. I think the design looks really off balance." Well now the designer has something to think about, and perhaps the viewer's opinion is valid. He shows the same design to a few more people-- one or two absolutely love it, but another few keep voicing the same concern about the top horn. Does he have to modify it to suit the people who don't like it? Of course not, but if he's canvassed for opinions of knowledgable people, it's worth at least considering their advice. Gibson didn't ditch the SG just because Les Paul didn't really like it. But they DID end up successfully marketing... the Les Paul. Greg

You might need to re-word that... it's a bit confusing. You want every second fret to look silver? As opposed to... the silverish colour it already is?? No matter what you're trying to accomplish (of which I'm not entirely sure yet), there is no substance in the world that will 'not rub off' a fret. As you bend notes or even just play, the fret will get worn down and reveal the nickel alloy beneath. A Sharpie, especially, will come off in one or two bends. Perhaps I'm just missing the point. Greg

Grovers. If you have the cash, locking tuners are still cool to have on a non-trem guitar if for no other reason than quick string changes and fewer 'wraps' to stretch out. Greg

Absolutely spectacular. And the guitar is amazing, too! I was referring, of course, to the shoes.

Looks a bit like the Starfield Cabriolet, though yours has more of an LP influence and the Cabriolet seems somehow more Tele to me: FWIW, I like yours better. More aggressive in the skewed nature of the shape, and the lower 'horn' is interesting on yours.

My only concern is in the design. A long-stemmed rose is usually also fairly straight-stemmed. The way I'm visualizing it, you're just going to have this long line up the middle of the fretboard with some thorns on it, which won't be very eye-catching. I suppose there ARE leaves on rose stems, though. I'd draw it up before I bought supplies. (oh, and post some pics of the sketch. )

Hugo, It's probably such a specialized process, requiring sophisticated moulds and equipment, that nobody here has researched it much. Pero al menos, hablamos un poco de castanello.

Direct coupling... there are holes in THAT argument, as well. If you trace through the entire -actual- signal path from the second a string is plucked to the moment it's amplified, there's very little difference that direct mounting should have upon your tone. On the other hand, it's a very tidy way to mount a pickup for bolt-in necks, and for that reason alone it's still a very viable method. Eddie Van Halen also notices a difference in tone, but he has notoriously picky ears. Will it have an impact? Certainly. Will it completely alter your pickup's tone destiny? Not likely. Where Ed Roman falls short in his rants isn't in his ideas or the concepts he supports. Many of those have supporters who could produce quantifiable data if they could actually be arsed. No, the problem is that he exaggerates the impact of each thing to a ludicrous degree, which takes away from the believability of his argument. But that's another thread. Back to this one-- ff course the [i}finish{/I] can affect the tone. Although the degree to which the finish impacts tone is still a matter for debate, I think anybody would agree that there is SOME noticeable difference between different finishes (laquer vs. shellac for instance). But that's even further support of my particular point of view-- what difference is a wee bit of pore filler going to make if you're still going to put lacquer over top of it? Not a bit of difference at all. The argument was about filler, not about finish, and if Ed thinks that grain filler is detrimental to the tone of a guitar... well, normally I'd be diplomatic and say "There might be a BIT of a difference" but in this case I'd say that the best ears in the world wouldn't notice it. What I'm always surprised about is the degree to which people transfer acoustic instrument dogma over to an electric guitar without taking into account that the 'tone formula' is much different for an electric. Greg

The WD music ones ARE the 'real' ones, as far as I can tell. That's the site you get linked to directly from the KA site. As for the quality... I don't know from experience, but some people here and some over at Guitarist/Total Guitar forums have used them and have had good experience with them. Greg

[quote name='fizzy_elephant' date='Jun 8 2004, 04:28 AM'] Also.. lmao Brittish people dont have bad teeth. Not the ones i know at any rate. [/quote] It's a commonly held conception (mis- or otherwise), though, and it probably has its origins... somewhere! Mike Myers didn't give Austin Powers bad teeth (in the first one; they get fixed up) for nothin. Greg

Definitely a class player, though a bit more firmly ensconced in the 'shred' genre than I normally listen to. I'd love to get a few lessons from him, though.

I like finding holes in poor arguments. Mr. Roman makes it too easy sometimes though; bless his misguided little heart.

Bonjour, Swirlslave! Bienvenue a Project Guitar. Ici, il-y ont beaucoups des Canadiens, mais je ne sais pas si toutes parlent francais. Moi, je parle un petit peu plus qu'un petit peu, mais je ne suis pas bilingue. Same thing happened to me... I can't remember what I was looking for... information on kit guitars maybe? Before I knew it, I was ordering wood for a guitar from scratch. It's still in progress (Uni Jems back-order is now complete, but LMI still has my $%#@* fretboards), but meanwhile it's interesting learning as much as possible. Anyways, Welcome!

Tea... tea is for... Well, Limeys and ex-Limey countries. Like Canada. Whoops, I'm Canadian. Still, I prefer coffee. Must be the American influence.

I admit, I'm ignorant about the use of leather dye on wood. "Ignorance" isn't an insult. It just means "Not having knowledge". I doubt anyone here has ever tried doing that. 4 posts... all in this thread... that means that you didn't even introduce yourself or contribute a thing to the forum before expecting a thousand answers about an obscure bit of knowledge. <shrug> Greg

I agree.

Could be. I assumed the other. I have no desire to search through Ed Roman rants to find out.

Fantasterific! Pretty much flawless from what I can see.

I suppose it's in the ears, but I find Elixirs fairly bright. Not as bright as BRAND NEW non-coated strings, but definitely brighter than any strings I have after about 2 hrs. use, as my sweat is also highly corrosive. Considering I can sometimes put in 4 hrs of playing in a day (schedule permitting) and I only change my strings once a month or so, the overall amount of brightness I get from Elixirs is much more than I'd get out of any other string. Greg

I might have missed something, but are you using a distortion unit in the guitar as well? If you're just going for it as a cool effect (which I agree, it would be sweet!!) there won't actually be any 'clipping' going on when it goes into the red...? Or am I just missing something? Either way, it WOULD look pretty damn awesome on certain types of guitars to see some LED Volume indicators right on the guitar.

No matter what's used for filler, it's still only a wee bit on the outside surface that's being filled... which is also sanded back so that there's really very little filler at all. The entire rest of the body of the guitar is still full of Ed's magic 'tone-pores', so I don't know what the argument's supposed to be. Greg