GregP

I think they have this, monkey! It's called "Guitar Port" by Line6.

I think it's also all right to admit, "It was just hella fun and felt good to destroy something." Who needs more justification than that? I would've kept the wood for practice or something else, but there IS something fun about wrecking and burning stuff. Fire... Fire!

It's fugly. I like reliced looking guitars a lot of the time, but this one was ick.

No offence taken about the name thing. "EBO" sounds cool, but I'm just not a fan of the way the grammar takes a toll on my sensibilities. If you want to know about how the limiter works, you could download the GUI version from betabugsaudio.com, or get the limiter from GVST: http://homepages.tesco.net/~graham.yeadon/gvst/gmax.htm (along with all the other BetabugsAudio and GVST stuff, all of which I wrote the manuals for. ) The threshold is basically the level at which the compressor/limiter starts to do its thing. So when you lower it, you are telling the limiter to do more work. The end result is that the final file has a louder 'sound' to it. But you can also screw up the sound of a file with too much compression. The dynamics are taken right out of it, so you can't even enjoy the sound of the guitarist 'backing off' a bit because it's all so dang loud now. -10 is a fairly aggressive threshold, but it shouldn't kill your audio. I've seen people go much lower and get good results, but I like maintaining dynamic range. Greg

31 frets seems silly to me, but fanned frets sounds awesome. I say go for it, however, with a disclaimer: I had figured out everything from my "first guitar" down to the smallest detail. It's still not done. I should have gone for something more basic like a telecaster, and saved my energy and newly-acquired knowledge for LATER and do my fully custom-designed one with a bit more experience under my belt. Mileage may vary, but I say: either make the neck or the body, but buy the other pre-made. Then you'll have the satisfaction of doing at least one of the significant build parts (neck or body) and also the electronics. But you'll also be able to finish an instrument that's of reasonable quality, and in a reasonable amount of time. Greg

Nah. I'm not infallible. I'd rather someone question something than assume I know the answers. I've been wrong plenty.

Word.

I think you're mixing up terminology. You can't "amplify" beyond 0db without getting a clip. What you need to do is use a limiter. Since Audacity can load VSTs with an add-on, I suggest installing the add-on and then running the song through the W1 limiter, which is freeware available from yohng.com. Set the ceiling to 0db or -0.1 db, keep the release at the default (200ms), and then adjust the threshold to -10db or whatever sounds good. Also, I held off for as long as I could, since you have obviously put time into the website, the MySpace site and everything else, but... and I'm halfway trying to be diplomatic and halfway just wanting to be blunt... you should really reconsider the band's name. It's got no schnutz! Greg

A "hand vibrola"!! That's classy. You might be screwed. String guage matters a bit for how well your guitar stays in tune at the lower frets, but for purely setting up intonation at the 12th fret, which is the 'halfway point', the guage factor is at its minimal. The thicker your strings are, the more you'll have to 'compensate'. BUT, if your bridge is literally mounted too far forward, in a way that might be the problem. The bridge itself was already compensating for heavier string guages, and now that you have lighter strings, it doesn't need as much compensation to intonate properly. If your saddle is as far forward as it will go and it still won't intonate, you might be S.O.L. without physical modification to the guitar. Greg

Intonation is a cinch compared to rewiring a guitar. I'm surprised you ended up ripping out the shielding, though-- the only reason I rewired my guitars at ALL (ie. made star grounds, etc) was because I had already pulled it apart with the main intention of shielding them. Glad it works!

double post oops!

Yes, that's right. I had positions 2 and 3 backwards.

Here's my thread on a tele with an HB + SC. My HB is in the bridge, but the options will ultimately still be very similar: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...19913&hl=wiring To answer your question, though-- yes, this is how it could/should work, with a 5-way switch. Mine needed the superswitch in order to get the serial vs. parallel trickery going on, but you should be able to with a regular 5 way switch get: 1. Neck pickup, 1 coil only 2. Neck pickup, the other coil only 3. Neck pickup, as a humbucker 4. 1 coil of the neck, plus the bridge = humbucking (you'll have to figure out which coil to use, though, to make it buck the hum) 5. The bridge single-coil. With different electronics (ie. a superswitch or whatever) you have more options for serial/parallel, plus you can have "all 3 coils at once" as an option instead of the other neck coil alone, the two of which will sound pretty similar and therefore redundant as I've described above. Greg

I think he means a distortion effect applied to your voice. As for the multi-track recording thing, since you're already using a PC, I'd stick with that. Get a medium-specced but modern PC, and a proper soundcard that comes bundled with a proper recording software, and you'll be golden. You're a fairly young dude, though, if I'm not mistaken, so you might not have that kind of money to throw around. But if your family celebrates Christmas and it's not too late.....! Greg

Nah. Maybe a teeeny tiny one for the high-pass trick with lowering volume, but not a typical capacitor that would be used for 'tone'.

Maybe Gibson wasn't into suing people back when it came out, and they didn't do it quickly enough to defend their trademark/copyright?

If one of the coils is reverse-wound, it will still cancel hum whether in series or in parralel. Just make sure you use the right coil from the "split". As for wiring, you can always just think of it as 3 single-coils and proceed accordingly with whatever 3-SC wiring you want. Greg

Bah, all of Alex's pictures are invisible until next month.

That "Jesus of Suburbia" is 9 minutes long, and "When September Ends" SEEMS long, especially when you haven't changed the channel on the video version. I wonder if Green Day got tired of doing 3-minute songs, too. I, on the other hand, LOOOooove 3-minute songs, as long as they're well-crafted. I don't have the attention span for many 'epic' songs. I used to have no problems listening to Bohemian Rhapsody and Stairway To Heaven, until "Wayne's World" ruined both of them for me in one fell swoop. Don't get me wrong, I loved the movie-- but you know, overplay with Rhapsody and dissing of Stairway. "Jesus of Suburbia" makes me want to gouge my eardrums out. Greg

Those ratings are pretty much in-line. The neck is a bit lower-output than what I'd expect, actually-- you sure you didn't just measure one coil (that's about the resistance of a single-coil pickup). I'd have expected 6-7 from the neck, but 4 doesn't necessarily mean a non-functioning pickup. Au contraire, the fact that you're getting a reading at all shows that it should be working. If you've unshielded the cavity (I don't recommend it, but there ya go!), the only difference you need to make to my diagram is that each of your pots should have its own wire running from the pot casing (shell) to the star ground, in addition to one from the switch. Then, the braided wires can also go to star instead of to the foil. 4k resistance isn't totally wacked out, though. It'll just be a very clear and bell-like pickup if indeed it really IS both coils. Greg

A mini-skirt?!?!? A mini-skirt??!?! You didn't see his sporran, obviously.

"Tender Surrender" must only sound non-effeminate for Steve Vai fans. I think my new one will be: Amok Canuck. I even have a superhero pic:

I'd be leery of this particular auction. Especially since the seller has zero feedback. Now, we all have to start somewhere, but I dunno... shipping from where? To where? I'd steer clear, but that's just me. Especially since the person goes on about "if you have zero or negative feedback, e-mail me first"... Hrm? That's the pot calling the kettle black.

Alright, without going overboard: The 'clean fills' being played need to be sorted out. They're too much just like plunking on random strings with no conviction whatsoever. The bass guitar is only playing the root note of each riff. Fair enough if he's a new bass player and doesn't know any better, but it leaves the dynamics of the song very flat. What's worse, the rhythm guitar and drummer are playing the same rhythm. So that means that you have: drums = rhythm guitar = bass guitar = NO sonic variety! The screaming isn't actually all that bad for the genre. If you don't blow your vocal chords out before the show, you'll be fine. A bit of distortion doesn't hurt, either. ---- Regarding production: If you can only get 3 tracks of audio before needing to bounce, you'll need a new computer before you can get too much into it, and you certainly won't be able to run Ableton Live. But, when the time comes, or if you want to be creative: - Your vocals need heavy compression to smooth out the dynamics. Also, you are clipping, which means that the limiter/maximizer in Audacity isn't doing its job transparently. You'll need something less distort-y - The bass guitar needs compression as well. Right now its attack doesn't pop enough. Maybe a different technique wouldn't hurt, either-- use a pick instead of a finger, or a finger-snap instead of a finger-walk. - Always mix everything based around the rhythm section first. Right now the whole mix falls apart because the drums aren't sitting right in the mix. It might be hard to get them to sit right with their current rather 'thin' sound, but they do need a bit more presence. That's about it without going nutzo with advice. Greg

I just hope it works out for you.