ShortScale.org

Magnetic pickup mode sounds fucking amazing.

Acoustiphonic is a bit buggy, it responds weird. I'll adjust the trimpot later today.

MIDI... I don't know yet. I plugged it into a VG-99 at a local shop but nothing was working. Might have to go back in and see what I did wrong.

good stuff, bigsby next?

I don't think so, Tim.

I'm gonna cut up one of the other pickguards I had made for me so that I can have all of the internal components open to me for troubleshooting, then once the MIDI parts and acoustiphonic stuff works properly, MAYBE I'll think about a Bigsby. But probably not.

It's really weird, I'll play it for an hour or two, and that warms the neck up to around the same temperature as my hand, then I stop playing for a while and it cools down and fucks up the tuning.

Cool. I like.

handen wrote:I don't think so, Tim.

I'm gonna cut up one of the other pickguards I had made for me so that I can have all of the internal components open to me for troubleshooting, then once the MIDI parts and acoustiphonic stuff works properly, MAYBE I'll think about a Bigsby. But probably not.

It's really weird, I'll play it for an hour or two, and that warms the neck up to around the same temperature as my hand, then I stop playing for a while and it cools down and fucks up the tuning.

Are those DR colored strings?

Maybe some locking tuners are in order for the tuning problem?

The tuning problem is to do with the neck changing size, so I doubt that locking tuners would help.

Who knows?

I dunno, it's different than anything I've played before. I can't tune it by harmonics, either. It's perfectly intonated but the only way I've found I can tune it by ear is to check each string against the next's 5ths for any nasty beat notes.

But then it plays like a monster.

This is amazing, my mind is blown.

handen wrote:I dunno, it's different than anything I've played before. I can't tune it by harmonics, either. It's perfectly intonated but the only way I've found I can tune it by ear is to check each string against the next's 5ths for any nasty beat notes.

But then it plays like a monster.

Is that a matter of the harmonics not being loud enough for you to hear them?

BacchusPaul wrote:

handen wrote:I dunno, it's different than anything I've played before. I can't tune it by harmonics, either. It's perfectly intonated but the only way I've found I can tune it by ear is to check each string against the next's 5ths for any nasty beat notes.

But then it plays like a monster.

Is that a matter of the harmonics not being loud enough for you to hear them?

Nope. I can use a tuner to tune it, or do it by harmonics, but when I play a chord it sounds awful. So I play E and A at fret 5 and 7, A and D and fret 5 and 7 etc etc (except D and B at fret 5 and 8 ) and tune until there aren't any beat notes. I'm lucky in the way that I don't think I have perfect pitch, but I have good enough ears to be able to fix what's wrong in such an unconventional way.

I knew a guy who couldn't tune by harmonics ad he'd been playing for 15 years... It was sad.

MaMo wrote:Are those DR colored strings?

Maybe some locking tuners are in order for the tuning problem?

Yeah, the strings look terrible... I don't like the red ones, but I thought I'd give it a go since the guitar is all red. I'll throw some black ones on after I go back in to troubleshoot.

Cool. So you're tuning by knowing what a fifth sounds like. Interesting. Did you ever play the violin? That's what violinists have to do (their strings are that same interval apart, and they have no frets (obviously) so they just have to know what a fifth sounds like).

My Electrical Guitar Co Custom goes out of tune plenty with temp fluctuations. I found a wound G helped a bit, as this was a 'problem' string.

this is such a fucking amazingly creative project...way badass.

now i want to hear it.
ifs fucking amazing

shame abotu the tuning issue, but maybe some 13's would fix that...
although with the neck warming up and cooling down it might just end up being an ongoing issue.

St. Jimmy wrote:this is such a fucking amazingly creative project...way badass.

+1.
Next level stuff imo. If your going to use an old design take it somewhere else.

Do you have a rough figure as to how much the project has cost as it is now Handen?

I like the project in theory, but the finished result has a touch of TEH ANIX about it.

handen wrote: It's really weird, I'll play it for an hour or two, and that warms the neck up to around the same temperature as my hand, then I stop playing for a while and it cools down and fucks up the tuning.

I really liked the idea of metal guitar necks and thought one day I would own one. even thinking of putting one on my Jaazmaster. but this has put me right off. fuck tuning issues. that's redick.

Hurb wrote:

handen wrote: It's really weird, I'll play it for an hour or two, and that warms the neck up to around the same temperature as my hand, then I stop playing for a while and it cools down and fucks up the tuning.

I really liked the idea of metal guitar necks and thought one day I would own one. even thinking of putting one on my Jaazmaster. but this has put me right off. fuck tuning issues. that's redick.

Meh, I think that if you had a Jaguar or Mustang trem and had to retune every tume you picked it up that'd be a nightmare, but with a stop tailpiece and tunomatic I don't think it'd be a problem.

BacchusPaul wrote:

Hurb wrote:

handen wrote: It's really weird, I'll play it for an hour or two, and that warms the neck up to around the same temperature as my hand, then I stop playing for a while and it cools down and fucks up the tuning.

I really liked the idea of metal guitar necks and thought one day I would own one. even thinking of putting one on my Jaazmaster. but this has put me right off. fuck tuning issues. that's redick.

Meh, I think that if you had a Jaguar or Mustang trem and had to retune every tume you picked it up that'd be a nightmare, but with a stop tailpiece and tunomatic I don't think it'd be a problem.

Interesting stuff, i'm quite suprised the Metal climatizing knocks the tuning out to that degree. Wood also climatizes and changes shape with temperature as we know, but obviously not enough to be audible to out ears.
I wonder hoe graphite necks fair with temperature change, hmm, i may ask Chico...

It's a really cool idea but, it would be cooler to me with a jag/jazz trem and a matching headstock. overall nice guitar love it.