GregP

I can't see making it work without more effort than is warranted. Better off (as already said) getting the right scale length neck. Greg

Nah, I couldn't recommend a specific one, to be honest. Good luck on your quest! Greg

Should be able to get quite a spiffy guitar for $350, the way companies have been pricing their wares lately. For half that you can get quite a good Yamaha, so I'd imagine for $350, going up the Yamaha scale of guit-boxes you should be able to find something quite nice. I'm not much of an expert when it comes to buying an acoustic-- I bought a Guild for almost a grand, and a Yamaha for about a tenth that, which is holding up and playing just fine after 3 years' usage. Another friend bought a Yamaha that was a bit pricier, and he loves it so much that he's not even interested in buying something 'nicer' now that he can afford to. However-- don't take that as a recommendation of one over another. Rather, my limited experience shopping for acoustics has mostly led me to Yamaha, and I've been out of the loop so I don't know much about what else is out there. Greg

Don't think you can get much for 350 Rubels or Pesos. Especially old Pesos. Greg

I hated my Metal Zone and sold it off for $30 CDN. Well, that and it wouldn't work off just a battery. Something (probably easy to fix) was wrong with the switch or a connection. Worked fine off a power supply, though. Greg

Howabout... nope. A scroll saw for making wooden pickup rings? Might be a bit of overkill. ;-) Greg

It very well may have been Grosh! The website's not exactly as I remember, but that doesn't mean it wasn't Grosh. Sites change. Greg

That question's too all-encompassing. There are so many questions that would need to be asked and answered, but for 1,000 squids, I don't think you're going to go very far unless the individual band members already own some of their own microphones, etc. Also important to consider: are you doing it for fun and to keep a 'record' of your accomplishments, or do you want to try making full-on indie releases with your gear? You can probably afford to spend more on your gear if it's going to be for full productions (using the budget you would have used for studio time), but there's no point spending TOO much if it's primarily for fun. Your biggest cost will be (or should be) your monitors, microphones, and mic pre-amp, if you want to avoid crappy final product. Take microphones, for instance: you could mic a drum kit with 2 overhead mics if that's what you really wanted to do; however, it's better done with around 5 microphones, usually different kinds with different specialized functions. An entry-level set of drum mics could end up costing a third of your budget and that's only for entry level. If it's vocal-based music, you probably want at least a mediocre microphone for your lead singer, too, which will cost another 80 quid just for the most entry-level of acceptable microphones (example, the Studio Projects B1). None of these will be well served by an el-cheapo pre-amp. Guitars-- mic'd or using virtual amps like the POD? If they're mic'd, you'll need to come up with some sort of makeshift isolation area so that the room reflections don't mess up the signal (though, in the right room, they could actually help). I don't want to get much more into it than that because there's a world of tips out there. The reason you're feeling confused is probably because you're trying to mate the advice in this thread (which is primarily for people doing it for fun and recording one or a few instruments at a time) with your own personal (and different!) needs. Greg

TOM stands for Tune-O-Matic, which is the kind of bridge you'll find on the Gibson Les Paul, though of course the LP isn't the only guitar featuring a TOM bridge. Greg

Horrible. I just can't stand these ultra-carved guitars. I don't think they'd look nice even as a wall hanging. I respect the skill it takes to do such things, but that kind of carving and the inherent aesthetic qualities of an electric guitar are a mis-match IMO. Greg

There was one fairly well-known boutique luthier that makes them, but I'll be danged if I can remember who it was.... Greg

People will probably disagree, but I don't think that the uber-heavy distortion should actually come from having your pedal cranked up to the max and using a "maximum-distortion" type pedal or even amp. Aggressive sounds come from your style of playing (palm muting, picking style, attack) and from having the notes punch through. That means having a cleaner sound than you'd think. Of course, you DO still need the right kind of distortion (rectified or Marshall sounds work fine) since an overdriven Tweed sound still won't do it. My point is simply that people turn their tone into mush by putting too much distortion and mid-range 'scoop' which, although intuitive, ultimately weakens your sound. I have gotten good Eddie sounds with the Behringer GDI21 that I picked up, and I've gotten some very capable metal sounds as well. Right out of the box, the GDI21 didn't give me much for metal tone, but once you've used your amp's EQ section, you're in better shape. I personally feel that the amp you already have will get you Eddie sounds, and the right technique will get you at least partway into metal territory. Turn your gain/distortion up to about 2/3 (but no more than 3/4!). For the metal stuff, I believe that amp has a "contour" knob, which you should turn up to about 3/4; either that, or give a gentle cut to the mids (don't totally scoop it or you'll end up with flaccid "And Justice for All" tone) and boost to the bass. For Eddie zone, give treble a boost, mids a boost, and bass neutral or slight cut. Greg

Simply awesome. Some day I'd like to try one of these, but in the meantime it's still really cool at least reading the instructions and watching the project unfold. Greg

My Yamaha Pacifica 302 is a Tele-style guitar, and it has a ribcage contour. It looks perfectly fine and makes the guitar more comfortable. Unless I do a bound back or take up a "purist" project, any Teles I decide to do in the future will also have a contour. Greg

The ease will probably depend on what tools you have at your disposal, I would think. For someone like me, who could potentially order the wood already prepared, you're getting the wood in rectangular form. Gluing it up, it's still rectangular. Then you shape the neck the way you normally would with whatever tools you have, leaving the body still 'rectangular'. Otherwise, you glue up and then taper the entire thing, which is fairly easy-sounding, but could prove tricky without the right equipment/jigs. Tapering EVERY piece, as described above (including the middle laminate(s)) would be awesome-looking, I'd imagine. Greg

It just plain old looks craptastic, in addition to the points already mentioned. Greg

Or so you think. Muhahahahah!

I'm using pre-slotted and pre-radiused fingerboard, and haven't decided about the fretwork-- likely, it will be sourced. After all the time it's taking me to do this guitar, I'd rather have it playable. Greg

Everybody's got to build their first one at some point in time. I haven't finished my first one yet, but so far I'm not finding it as difficult as I thought I would. We'll see what happens when I attach the fingerboard and shape the back.

I agree. Fewer better-looking guitars than a flat-top double-cut LP Jr. If you think that's ugly, we clearly have different tastes. <grin> I also disagree about the figured wood. Look at the MusicMan Axis with the flat quilted maple top. Awesome! Greg

Ah, no I didn't read carefully enough, and only looked at some of the pictures. That's my mistake. Obviously a straight-through won't have a problem. Too many pictures, too short an attention span <laff> Greg

I think the launch pad has potential, and it's really tricky for me to judge it too much until the final product comes around. With knobs on, and a pickguard (?), the look could really change and make the launch pad make more sense. The inlay idea is too much. It'll take away from the elegance normally associated with guitars in the "jazz box" (albeit modified) vein. I don't have enough experience with neck joints, but I was also thinking that there didn't seem to be a lot of gluing surface. Totally non-expert opinion, though. On another positive note, I DO like the stars on the first one. Greg