GregP

OK, then. A few things learned: 1. You don't THINK you're sanding off very much material, but sometimes you are. I barely saved this from doom when I saw that the colour was going funny. It turns out that it was the darkness of the ebony starting to show through the thin MOP. You can see it particularly in the bottom of the sprocket. For next time, I'm thinking of putting some white paper underneath the inlay just for some extra "luminence" in case I sand too thin in spots, plus just as a redundant safeguard. 2. CA works really well. The watery consistency is what's needed to get the inlay in there (thick stuff might cause a lot of pressure when it gets compacted into cavities? I dunno, but it seems to me that the really thin stuff like CA is a good idea when your cavities are already really tight) 3. If you're going to make ebony shavings to mix in with the glue, a Dremel tool does a decent job without contaminating it with sanpaper particles, etc. I got this idea after reading up on a guy who uses a file for his ebony shavings. I just automated the process. 4. MOP can and will flake off in figured areas if you're not careful. If you look at my pic, the upper left corner of the inlay has a small chip in it. The side showing was originally meant to be the bottom; however when I went to lift it out after a test fitting once (using the Xacto blade), I took off a chunk of the MOP. Since it's just a test and practice, I didn't bother fixing it up much. The rest of the top looks wavy in the picture, but is not this way in real life. Weird. 5. My digital camera sucks. I tried about 20 different shots, and this is the best I could come up with. Also, the whole thing looks much better in person. The edges of the sprocket don't look so 'wet', the gap on the bottom right of the T looks more filled in and smooth IRL, and the left side of the T is smoother, without that strange-looking 'bump'. Also, the surface is perfectly smooth and level. I have no idea why the camera is making this look so weird. --- SO, the "T" logo is actually the third attempt. The second attempt had TOO much space between the T and the sprocket. This one still had some, but it filled in nicely. The block is an unprocessed blank that was roughly rectangular. I didn't take any time making it perfectly rectangular, though I could have done. My block inlays are pre-cut, though, so that's no worry. It turned out to be pretty easy to do, and I'm almost ready to do my fretboard. I figure I'll do one more semi-intricate design for practice, and one more MOP blank to test 'basic' skills, and then I'll give'er. The pic: I put a quick slathering of Varathane on it just to darken up the wood, but I didn't take time with the finish, either, and Varathane wouldn't be my first choice I don't think. Greg

Cool, Sonar kicks arse. If you want some freebie VST, surf on over to BetabugsAudio and grab what you see on the plug-ins page. Either PhaseBug (which has a sum to mono for testing phase relations) or Moneo (which has a preset for summing to mono) will do the trick. Gotta love the Sonar. I heard the VST wrapper is a bit flaky, but that's well worth it for a great app. Greg

Mother of Pearl will allow some light through, especially if you measure very carefully and sand it down thin enough. On the downside, when it's not glowing and lit, it may look duller than normal MOP if you have a dark wood like ebony or rosewood underneath. I discovered this while working on my inlay practice and I almost sanded right through at one point. Greg

Awesome work, Hyunsu! I also like your attitude toward the wood and toward building in general. A great guitarmaking philosophy. Greg

Awesome! Which mini-bucker did he put in there? (I might have missed it in an earlier post, in which case I apologize). Little '59? Greg

You have to press the 'on' button. What sequencer are you using? Almost any of them will sum your stereo to mono so that you can hear through both speakers at once. If not, the 'company' I'm with makes 2 different products that will accomplish that task, for free. In VST format, though, so your host has to be able to use VST plug-ins. Greg

Bassists are hard to find? SHee-it, I should switch instruments. My dad played bass in several bands over the years, and while he had a bass amp that he used for a while, in the end he decided to just start plugging into the PA. Saved carrying the amp around, and it sounded fine. Considering many bass parts on albums are recorded directly into the mixing board, the amp isn't necessarily as critical in the equation, though of course if you're a die-hard bassist and tone-obsessed, a PA won't cut it. Good ol' da' was also practical and understood the limitations of his venues, so the PA route suited him just fine. Greg

Or, just record it as 'stereo' and then convert it to mono. Easy peasy. Greg

Looks great. The theory seems easy, but I wonder how tricky it would be for someone like me to source all the parts. Greg

Ah, but the topic DOESN'T say it. He wants something to come OUT of his computer and INTO the amp! Greg

Yup, and since I wasn't clear the first time, I'll make it clear now: I meant a local guy who does fretwork to do the fretwork after the entire neck is built; not just a guy to fret a fingerboard blank. Greg

The return input is one half of an effects loop, so you won't normally hear the amp's effects as well. It is usually at "line level", just like most soundcards' outputs, so you should be safe. Just make sure the volume on both is turned down first, then gradually turn them up. Just out of curiousity-- are you intending to use your computer for FX, or what's the end goal? Greg

Some news... actually, it's about a week old, but I didn't want to post to the topic until it was 'complete'; however, it's not like it's an actual build, so no big deal after all: - Tested a block inlay. It was exceedingly easy compared to the "T" logo, and I'm pretty confident that I could pull it off already if I needed to. - Did a third attempt with the T logo, and despite there still being some trouble spots, it came out a lot better. Not a super-tight fit yet, but with a bit of tweaking and filling, it'd be usable. Regarding the tape, for Criss: - I just used white glue so that I could easily scrape it off after cutting the mortises. However, you need to give it time to dry, and it can still 'slip' if you push too aggressively, so hold it in place and be careful while scribing - I used and Xacto and I also tried a scalpel. The Xacto worked better for me, but your mileage may vary. I scored twice, then removed the inlay (and the tape stuck to its underside) and continued scoring a few times using the lines that were already in place. Your blade will want to follow the existing lines, so you don't need the inlay in place as a guide any more. - Instead of keeping the remaining tape in place, I removed it and then filled in the scribed lines with white chalk. (just used a hunk of chalk and scribbled over the area and then wiped off the excess). I found this worked nicer than straining your eyes for the line OR looking at the edge of the masking tape. HOWEVER, the extra buffer zone of protection that the tape provides is then negated. Greg

Haven't seen any places to buy pre-fretted. You could contact a local guy and find out how much he'd charge. Could be well worth it to the final product. Greg

I'm confused, too. Sounds like you need to set the intonation, though. I believe that's what you're getting at, but that's just a guess. Greg

I don't like the concept of the electronics setup, but that's completely subjective and personal. Other than that, I never thought an upside down RR V would look any good, but it does! I like it. Greg

Hope the pawn shops in Syracuse work differently than the ones in Ottawa. Around here there's no such thing as a pawn shop prize, because almost everything is overpriced or worthless... or both. Pawn shops here seem to only exist because there are actually people here that believe a pawn shop is a place for a bargain; however in these parts it's actually probably the quickest way to scam yourself out of some money. Greg

I don't think I'd wish bankruptcy on a small company, even if I don't like their designs (which I do, mind). It'd be cool to see them make a sustained go of it. Greg

I like'em. The Original is OK, the Wave is cool. The boomerang is a bit nasty, but in general I like these. Greg

Some agreeing and disagreeing to follow: I strongly disagree. If you get a program like Tracktion and read the quick start guide, I bet dollars to doughnuts that you'll be up and running within the hour. Or, if you're on a Mac-- Garageband. Even for someone who doesn't know what they're doing. If you're completely computer illiterate, you get a USB-based device, plug it in and play. If you have a passing knowledge or have friends who are into computers, then you could get a normal "card"-style interface, instead, if you find one you like. Sometimes true! While Tracktion 2 is now not exactly "budget" (though, with the included drum machine, instrument plug-ins and amp sim, it's still value for money) anymore, it WAS $80 for one of the easiest and most fully-featured programs out there. Then there's Logic, which is a fine program but doesn't exactly live up to its name, if you have a grand to spend (not including hardware). Cakewalk is actually the name of the company, so your software was probably Home Studio, Guitar Tracks, or Plasma Express. If you thought THOSE were easy, you should try Tracktion or Garageband. Yup, and not even as fully-featured as some less expensive programs. BUT, you have the industry leader in audio editing, and the capability to bring your projects into any studio in the world to have them mixed by a "pro" if you decide to take your demos up a notch and your own skills have reached their peak. The thing about the hardware units that sucks-- the effects and drum tracks are inflexible at best. Computer-based recording is superior in every way imaginable except portability and--depending on what you already own--price. But when you compare price to features, even the 'cheap' porta-studio type things really fall short in value for money. And if you already own a computer, you just need to buy the interface--which normally includes some sort of software, even if it's not the perfect software for you right off the bat it gets you going. As far as I know, Mackie have ditched their HDD-based portable studio solutions in favour of expanding their computer-based recording efforts. There's a good reason for it-- the market has gone to computer-based recording not because it's more fashionable but because it's infinitely more flexible and powerful. Finally, with regards to flexibility and power and price (all at once)-- on the PC, there is a world of freeware effects that you can use in your tracks. I have literally too many different choruses, delays, distortions, reverbs, compressors, and EQs to keep track of, and have limited myself to just a few or my head will explode. At one point in time, I had the virtual equivalent of 300+ "pedals" and "rack-mount effects". Imagine your pedalboard having over 300 free units instantly added to it? Granted, they're not all great-- but then again, not all pedals we've bought have turned out to be great, either. ----- Ooten-- I agree; the whole song comes together when you have drums. I wish I had some more flexible loops (it's the quickest way to get a track going), but in the meantime I've started learning to use MIDI and multisampled drum-kits to build up my tracks. Still a bit robotic but I'm getting there. Greg

Recording is awesome. It's hard to try recommending something that will be less than a grand, if you want to be recording a live jam session. That's too many microphones and variables to worry about, and it's a bit out of the scope of my experience. I'm more knowledgable for recording one or two musicians at a time, and I know a bit about mixing technique. But when it's live and the signals are bleeding into one another and you have a big mush, I don't know quite as much as I'd like. Greg

No matter how you cut it (pun intended) you are going to have to deal with some very tricky grain. Very difficult to keep in check, I would think. I wouldn't relish the thought of making my own. I had briefly considered making ebony rings for my guitar before I realized how amazingly difficult it would be to pull it off. Greg

I agree... wood-burning... airbrushing... nothing would have saved this guitar from what is in my opinion a horrible disaster. That sort of ornateness looks horrible on an electric, but that's strictly my opinion. I also think that Telecasters are beautiful. Greg

I would definitely spend my money on a computer interface and software instead of the gadget. There's just no comparison. AND, you can have a riot on the computer, too, if you're using software that's not a POS. The Zoom and Tascam type units are cool in that they have instant appeal, and the computer drawback is that you might hate the software. BUT... you can always get new software for the PC. I recommend Tracktion, if you just want to think of it as a "tape machine"-- instant satisfaction. Greg