GregP

Mockingbird is the finest shape B.C. Rich have come up with. It's going to look great. Why did the customer want a spruce back? Did he have a piece already? Hopefully you will at least 'break even' (not make money, but not lose money) on this guitar, but even if you lose a little bit, it's probably not a bad idea to get a guitar into the public. Maybe he will recommend you to some friends, and you can charge more. If you 'break even', you get to practice making a guitar without paying for the materials, at least. Greg

Who says you can't spend money on a hobby? It'll make the hobby more enjoyable in the long run. I don't know if I'll ever even attempt to sell a guitar (I'm a ways off from even finishing my own first, so it's not even a thought yet) but I'm likely to invest more money in tools soon. Like the others have said, you're learning a tonne already, and that's the name of the game. Greg

The manhattan midnight sounds great. I'm a bit confused about the body carve, though-- you say you will use a carved mahogany body with a flame maple veneer; however, you will likely find that you will not be able to veneer a carve properly. Alternatively, you could get a maple cap (Les Pauls are typically 5/8", but from what I've seen, a thicker piece would make your life easier if it's available and affordable) and do the carve on the maple, which is the 'standard' way of doing things. Other than that, I'm absolutely gonzo for DC Les Pauls, and you've picked the kind of finish I love to see. What will the mini toggle be used for, in the end product? Greg

Litch seems to be saying that it's fine to change his name, so if that'll solve some problems, I don't see why not. I also think it would help for the critics to admit that every now and then in their 'frustration', their criticism has stepped a bit into 'harsh' territory that could have been interpreted as more of an attack than constructive criticism. I think this realization that things have gotten heated is implied by the positive change in tone on more recent comments, which have been fair and civil. Not so, some of the comments before these--in this thread and in others. With both 'sides' admitting a few shortcomings, the only possible outcome is an improved forum in the end. Not that I'm saying it needs to be a big public thing or even a post, but if the critics just step back and admit at least to themselves that they've been a bit less than civil recently, things can only get better. Greg

I like it.

Since there wasn't a separate thread anywhere to post a reply, I figured I'd start one up-- KTL, that guitar you entered in the amateur GOTM contest is killer. I love the way it looks, I enjoy knowing how much 'engineering' went into it, and I'm thrilled that you've done something that breaks the mould. Amazing work. Greg

I agree, that's confusing. All of those programs process audio in the digital realm... there's no good reason for such a variety of discrepancies, unless the settings in the programs have been tweaked. In fact, until your software is called upon to do any dithering (changing bitrate depths, like when you change a WAV to an MP3 or from a high-res WAV to a CD-quality WAV), there should be NO difference. Perhaps tweaking is what you NEED, though-- perhaps the actual signal isn't pleasing to you, so you'll need to add an effect like an aural exciter or even just a bit of EQ that's more pleasing to your ear. Audacity's a great program; if you can't get decent sound quality out of IT, then you're certainly going to need to check your hardware instead of concentrating on software that 'sounds good', as most software will produce the same sound quality.

Love the wood grain, as per Setch's comment. I can't comment intelligently about much else, but it's going to be a nice-looking guitar when it all comes together. Greg

Gah. Kudos for not destroying the guitar, but I can understand how frustrated you must have been. Greg

Thanks for the info, both of you. ;-) Knowing what to DO is one thing, but I always like to know WHY it's done, too, so that's great. Greg

Thanks for that advice-- I am certainly the kind of guy who would put the filler in/on, take a look and say "Meh, must be good enough." Now I'll remember that I've been warned, and I will take more time. Greg

Unless that was a "Super Friends" imitation ("Wonder Twins Power-- ACTIVATE..." -- "Form of... an EAGLE!" -- "Form of... a bowl full of cherry Jell-O!"), I'll have to disagree. Not only are pirates less cool than ninja, but samurai are in no way shape or form a type of ninja! I pick samurai over ninja in a straight-up fight. But ninja have the element of stealth and the black arts. Hard to beat the black arts. Greg

Nothing wrong with 'wimping out' as long as the look is something you'll be happy with. Every day that I'm working on my guitar, I think to myself, "I should have started with the LG copy". Greg

No, I mean their 6 in-lines: To be honest with you, I didn't know they made a sweet-ass 3+3 like the one pictured. I like it! It's the first 3+3 I've seen that still maintains that definitive 'shred' look. Greg

Jackson angled 6 in-lines are sweet-looking. Greg

I don't know the actual reasoning behind it all, so someone with more knowledge could help me out here... My impression of a ground loop--which is not founded in any sort of fact or research other than picking up bits of conversations--is caused by current that isn't finding its way to ground but is instead circulating around...? In any case, what I DO know is that ideally for noise reduction you want all your grounds to go to one central spot ("star grounding") for ground (which is in turn grounded to an area that will contact your body; usually the bridge which is in turn connected to the strings, which touch your fingers), a technique which will somehow kill the ground loops. Each cavity does not need to have its own ground-- you can connect the ground from one cavity to the next with a length of wire or other conductive material, and then connect that second (or third, depending on your configuration) cavity to ground. Greg

There's Audacity which is more of an audio editor than a multitracker, so it could be the ticket. And one I STILL haven't actually tried yet that looks VERY promising, called Kristal, which IS in the multitracker category, so I'm not sure how it'll be. I'm surprised that Goldwave gave you bad sound quality-- I wonder if one or the other (either Goldwave, or the previous encoder you used) is doing something to affect the signal, rather than recording it flat. Very few encoders should colour the signal in any way, unless you have certain options selected or deselected. Greg

You don't need this forum to MAKE your own blueprints. But Advanced Supporters can download some stuff already made. Many people would happily accept some plans you made, too. Greg

You mean re-cut the slots? I'm not experienced builder, but that doesn't sound good. Also, the length is already established, which is part of the problem. Also, if it's a purchased pre-slotted fretboard, that indicates that he might not have quick and easy access to a new piece of fingerboard wood. As for the scarf joint, a photo is worth a thousand words-- I bet if you do a forum search, you'll find one. I have photos in my Project Lucy thread, page 4, but they're for a new neck blank and don't account for a shaped neck. I certainly wouldn't want to be doing a scarf joint on a shaped neck-- not that it can't be done, but I don't trust my own skill level at the moment. Also, with the guitar being neck-through, it'll be hard to line up the wood for an accurate cut. Not that it couldn't be done; I'm simply saying that I personally wouldn't want to be the one doing it. Greg

I second the above advice-- for my project I've bandsawn to shape, and have used a router and template afterwards. As Derek mentioned, I'm using a plunge router, and I DID in fact go a bit off-axis at one point in time and it resulted in a ding. I was very meticulous (guess I could have been more so!) and I still went off-axis at one point in time. I will continue using the plunge router, though, since a table is out of my budget. Greg

I like the first one. But then, I like mahogany necks. Greg

Nice freehand routing. Not for me, thank you. <grin> Too bad they didn't send you the proper blank in the first place, but the Tele is one of the best shapes you could have been 'saddled' with anyhow. More pics! Greg

Paint the headstock to match the body? Do a more elaborate inlay on the fretboard? Greg

I'm a string-bending FOOL, and I've yet to need a refret job at all in any of my guitars. In 10 years of service, I'm noticing a wee bit of wear on my acoustic that theoretically COULD be addressed, but I haven't noticed any compromise in sound or playability. That's not meant to be advice, or to refute anyone's statements-- but I'm imagining that I won't need to replace my zero fret as often as a pro or even a more dedicated enthusiast who plays more regularly than I do. Greg

Great work! [drools over some of the tools, but mainly drools over the guitar]. Greg