dpm99

Usually, the sides match that back. But hey, knock yourself out! That cedar isn't going to be very strong for sides, so make sure it's thick and reinforced well. You'd be better off with a hardwood for sides, back, and neck, and a softwood like the cedar for your top.

Welcome to the world of guitar, Nick. Truthfully, a neck joining the body at the 12th fret as opposed to the 14th fret is no better or worse - it's just a different build strategy. As a beginner, it shouldn't matter either way, as most of your time will be spent on the first five frets anyway (if you're like most people).

I've never ordered from Colonial Tonewoods, but I have heard good things about them. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to order from them. Given what you said about your playing style, Adirondack Spruce is probably the right choice. However, more important than the choice of wood is how the luthier voices the guitar. Make sure you've discussed everything in detail with the luthier. If you'd really rather not have the look of Adirondack Spruce, you could always go with bracewood made of Adi and a top made of something else.

DR

ah contrare, my fellow Texan. Wood is everything. I mean the difference between pecan vs, mesquite, the flavor is night and day. Now oak vs hickory is a mild change. While cherry has it's places as well. Oh My I'm talking BBQ, wrong thread :D MK So true, nonetheless.

Nice. I've been outside building mine all day. Yours required much less sweat, and has no splinters.

Honestly, as much as we all fuss about wood, it's not nearly as important as electronics. Rather than chasing neutral build materials, be on the lookout for the right pickups, amp, and EQ setting.

Apparently, Tim never watched the Yamaha video Wez posted. They're not ferrules anymore. They're "sound tubes." (Pat. Pending)

Because you probably have one lying around already. I was just suggesting that you could prove your theory with a Diddley Bow you built in five minutes before you spend months working on the real deal.

Yes. Keep being awesome.

So basically the neck is bowed forward (neck relief) even with no string tension at all, and no truss rod tension? I'm sure it would be helpful if you could snap a picture to two and post them, so you'll get better help, and also so that others can learn something from reading about the outcome.

I have two thoughts. First, one of the things you're going to need is metal string. I'm admittedly ignorant about fiddles. Do they make nickel/steel strings for fiddle? I don't think nylon/cat gut/whatever strings will get picked up by a magnetic pickup. Second, I think it's worth an experimental build just to prove those guys wrong. If you can figure out the string issue, try putting a tuner on one end of a 2x4, improvise some sort of nut and saddle, put a pickup in the middle somewhere, and bow away. Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZNk76_4lds If it works, you prove your point. If not, you're not out a lot for the research and you learned something along the way.

Y'know, I've heard some people are filling the insides of their guitar with air these days... I have some thoughts on this, though it's admittedly no more than theory. A good acoustic guitar is built on the principle that it should have no more structural stability than absolutely necessary. Production guitars tend to be overbuilt, so people that don't know better are less likely to break them (read: cheaper warranty expenditures). Luthiers tend to get rid of as much wood as they can while still maintaining structural stability. Electric guitars are built on a slightly different principle. The solid body was conceived (as I recall) to eliminate feedback, which had been a problem with electrified acoustics. In terms of structural stability, they are generally WAY overbuilt, because they have different goals. As solid bodies incorporate denser materials, such as aluminum, granite, and the like, people have reported greater sustain. The way I understand it, sustain is achieved by tighter resonant frequencies that hold out longer, and seems to be encouraged by denser materials. So to say a softer material is more resonant than a dense material can be misleading, as the resonance may just work differently. It's like relaxing string tension, isn't it? I may be totally off-base with all this. I haven't tested it, and maybe some more experienced builders can chime in. Regarding Balsa wood, I'm all for trying something new. That's much of the point of building your own guitar. But while softer woods may gain you something in some areas, there's probably an opportunity cost.

Do it! Show those fiddle players what's up!

That's a lot of toggle switches! Nice guitar though. I wonder why more people don't use high pass filters. I think they're pretty useful.

Would a transparent truss rod cover be stupid? That cavity just looks so darn good.

This thing really is perfect. It's not even my kind of guitar, but the simplicity of it - the economy of the design - it just blows me away. Well done.

A veneer can be added without removing the neck. I'd use a technique like the one in this video: The adaptation you will make is that the board you set directly on top of the body with need a "neck pocket" cut out. If that doesn't make sense, I can elaborate. I think the problem you're likely to encounter is the carved edge of the SG body. What was your plan for that, assuming you had removed the neck?

First, you should buy and read this book if you haven't already: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Own-Electric-Guitar/dp/0953104907 The important thing is that you understand the principles that would support the design of a baritone guitar. At that point, you can design from scratch of adapt a design you like. I'm not sure where you'd just go buy a template for something like that. Do you have any idea what specifically you're looking for, and how much of the work you intend to do yourself?

Spruce is a soft wood, and backs and sides are usually made from hard woods. I believe it can be done though. You'll need thick braces, for sure. I suppose my question would be why you might want to do something so experimental for a first build. Mahogany's not that expensive.

I wasn't paying good enough attention. He said 1k pots, and I thought he said 1 meg pots. I'm really no expert on this. I just repeat what I've heard, as I haven't done a lot of crazy experimenting with pot values, but I guess I'm wrong on this one.

Yeah, I'm sure. I checked, and he hasn't been active in a few years. I was just remembering from a long time ago. Anyway, it sounds like you've got it figured out. Personally, I'd just do it the strat way, with wood screws. But you seem to know what you're doing, and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts after it's done.

I don't understand why you wouldn't just do a set neck? Has someone convinced you it's a whole lot more difficult or something? By the way, Ed Roman does stop in here from time to time. I tend to agree that glue isn't going to do as he says, but I will say he's always seemed like a pretty nice guy.

Actually, the value of the pots shouldn't matter much if you have them turned all the way up. Basically, a potentiometer uses a variable resistor. Think of it like this. Your pot has three little lugs on it. You can think of one as "input." The other two you can think of as "output." One of the "outputs" leads to ground, and the other leads to your actual output jack, though it may go through some other things first. When you turn the pot down, the resistor comes into the picture and sends some of the signal to the ground, which is like throwing it away. Hence, if you turn it down all the way, you have no sound left. It all went to the ground. If you have the pot turned up all the way, the resistor is bypassed, and the sound travels through the pot without theoretically being modified. Of course, that's theoretically. The truth is you're gonna lose a tiny bit of tone. Anyway, as long as the pots are turned up all the way, it shouldn't any different with a 1 Meg pot than it would be with a 250k pot. The 1M/500k/250k value refers to the value of the resistor, and if the signal is going around it rather than through it, who cares what the value is?

Actually, I should just say tell me as much as you can about your neck design is well. I'll cut laminates for you if what I have will work.