New P90 build

[Deleted]

Here is another video of a piezo pickup install in a solid body guitar. I like this lady. She is a fun person.

EB

[dnic]

Jan 14, 2023 9:26:04 GMT -6 @eagleblues said:

The thing on the video to me was that even in the place they put the pickup, it did work. Could it have been done better? I think so. They took the easy way out. I was surprised at how well the placement of the pickup did work. It's not even close to the bridge. I wonder if one was to take and inlay that pickup under the bridge, how well it would work? Hum... I have a bunch of these I used to use on some of my cigar box guitars. I may try them out too.

 A lot of times sound is in the EQ of things. I find that a lot of people do not know how to EQ any sound. Many times I see people on PA's that use a lot of mids on everything. Too much mids on a voice can make the voice sound like they are in a tin can. Same on guitars. Guitars can sound supper thin really fast with over the top mids.

 I would get upset at a so called sound tech at my church because he would always puss the mids up to the top. NOT good! He would always have problems with feed back, I would try and teach him, but he thought that he knew it all. He would say that there was something wrong with the system.

 It took me a while to learn how to operate a PA and get the best sound. But I did get good at it. So good, I was being hired all the time to set up sound for all kinds of events. I used to do concerts with my sound system. People would hire me to do their concerts because they liked how I did the sound, and they knew I would make them sound the best they could sound. A sound tech can make or break a band.

 So in this video it comes down to the sound. It's another one of them videos (like so many) That all of us are supposed to know how to do. We are all supposed to be good at making something sound good. Not everyone has that ability to do so. Like making good videos or build a great guitar or even sing or play guitar. But yet we are expected to know how.

 So don't be too hard on the person that made the video. If we never experimented on ideas... Then think where we all would be these days if no one ever tried out something. LOL We may never have had a car to drive. Or even a horse and buggy. Nor TV's to watch and so on, and so on.

EB

Let me be perfectly clear I was in no way being critical of this person or his abilities. I'm sure he was being as transparent as possible. Same EQ on all the pickup positions. In real life you can't stop and EQ back pickup as you play songs. So why demo it that way? Would EQ help the piezo? Yes it would. Maybe a resistor or cap in line with the piezo might be good. Don't know< just gave my honest opinion of what I heard. Not hating on anybody. I love everybody.

[Deleted]

Al I was trying to say is that not everyone has the know how in what it takes to get a good sound, nor does everybody know how to make a great video or write songs and so on.

 Sometimes we are all too quick to pass judgment on a video. Like I have side before, people expect all of us builders to know how to do it all. Even other builders. I have found that is not the way things work in the real world.

 I didn't mean to sound like I was getting on to you, Dane, or anyone one else. On my computer, the sound on it is great, even better with my head sets on. A lot of times I hear things better than someone on their phone or a cheap set of speakers on their computer. My phone has really great surround a sound on it. All by itself, it has a better sound than most cell phones that I have heard.

 So on my stuff, this video does not come across all that bad. I can show videos that would make your ears bleed with all the mids and treble that people put into a mix.

 Well, any ways, sorry if you thought I was getting on to you. I was only trying to show that we all can't get it all right, all the time. Not going to happen.

EB

[dnic]

Eddie, nope I didn't feel got on to and didn't take that it was for me personally. Just clarifying the intent of my comments.

[dnic]

I'm really surprised that the piezo in Susie's video did anything at all. With being in the control cavity and an MDF body besides. Those little guys must be way more sensitive than I thought.

[antares]

It baffled me too. Soldering that makes me look good! Good test bed guitar though ... ;<D

でつ e&oe ...

[dnic]

Jan 15, 2023 9:59:39 GMT -6 antares said:

It baffled me too. Soldering that makes me look good! Good test bed guitar though ... ;<D

でつ e&oe ...

SOLDERING THAT MAKES ME LOOK GOOD, HA, LOL

[antares]

Only jesting! I've been at it since I was about 20. That said, I'm guilty of ferrying solder to the job when my other two hands are tied behind my back.

でつ e&oe ...

[dnic]

Jan 15, 2023 13:49:20 GMT -6 antares said:

Only jesting! I've been at it since I was about 20. That said, I'm guilty of ferrying solder to the job when my other two hands are tied behind my back.

でつ e&oe ...

I ferry solder quite often. I think that's an acquired skill.

[Deleted]

Here you go. Solder up an amp from scratch. If one does not learn how to solder after building an amp. Then one needs to get away from the soldering iron. LOL!

EB

[dnic]

Cool! Did you build this one Eddie? For sure if you can't get it down after a hole amp you're just not gonna get it.

[Deleted]

Jan 17, 2023 19:18:22 GMT -6 dnic said:

Cool! Did you build this one Eddie? For sure if you can't get it down after a hole amp you're just not gonna get it.

Yep I built it. I have posted about it a few times. But I never had a problem with soldering. It to me was a natural thing after being a welder. It's all about moving metal around. I have done MIG, TIG, arc, gas, heliarc and so on. I was once certified in all of them. Just a few things I was good at. I loved to weld. Yes, I went to school for it. I have done a lot in my life. Not too bad for someone that was told for most of my life I could not amount to anything.

 Saying that, If I can do it, anybody can do it. If someone else can do it, so can I. this has been my approach in life. I will figure out how to do things.

 I, at times, wish I could have gone to collage and became a surgeon. I know I could have been a great one. But that was never to be for me. So, I did everything else I could do. LOL! Like make guitars.

EB

[antares]

Good thread fork Eddie, I'm not taking the blame for it this time! My dad (a sheet metal worker) could gas weld aluminium. Me- not a hope! I can both gas and arc weld steel, but I've never tried MIG, partly I guess because I was nervous of not being able to match my speed of welding with the wire feed rate. We had TIG welders at work both for stainless-steel and aluminium, but being aerospace work you had to have CAA certification otherwise it was absolutely verboten to go anywhere near them. The CAA's view was to make it impossible for any uncertified welder's work to end up on an airplane. That said, being a combination of gas and arc I know I could have done it. I never did silver soldering and I don't know why, the opportunity never arose I suppose. I once made a cat litter tray from stainless-steel- I still have it 35 years on. I sheared off thin sticks of parent metal to use as filler rod and gas welded it. It didn't half spit! We used to solder some stainless-steel bits like pressed stainless-steel sink bowls to manufactured stainless-steel worktops for aircraft galleys using a massive iron heated by a gas torch, and Baker's fluid and flux. The idea was to avoid heat distortion which would otherwise be impossible to conceal on the grained finish metal. That was archaic! I did plenty of brasing back when I did gas welding (oxy acetylene) principally on galvanised steel. We used to get "white streamers" that seemed float in the air. Someone once told me they were arsenic related, and true or otherwise that stuck in my subconscious. I suppose that's because I used to get the shivers after a day welding galvanised steel and would retire to bed fully clothed. In the morning I'd be left with "a throat" and my boss used to say "I find if you do it regularly enough you get used to it." Hmmm. Nowadays it's just solder fumes and even though I know they're lead based and I try to avoid them, I don't actually find them obnoxious which is perversely worrying. The best thing I ever did was to give up smoking when I was 27, even though I was a very sporadic "smoker".

I used to be fearful of flame cutting due to an incident where a kind of "shell" seemed to be forming on the nozzle, and eventually, just before this "shell" closed up to an end, I knocked it off on the bench which extinguished the flame. I belted across to shut off the acetylene cylinder. I cannot explain that to this day but the memory of it is etched in my brain.

Note, I didn't consider myself to be a welder, but as that same boss was fond of saying "I've never met a sheet metal worker who couldn't weld if there was another 5 pence on the hour for being able to do it." He was correct of course!

でつ e&oe ...

[Deleted]

Today out of being bored I decided to get back on this build.

I am starting with the neck blank. I drew out the lines I need for the neck

As on any of my necks, I do a lot of measuring and drawing out the lines

I use the truss rod as a guide for the placement of the rod.

Here I am figuring out the peg head angle. The best way for me is, once I figure out how much I need for the peg head, I then make a measurement from the nut to the point I am showing in the picture. That measurement is 3/4" at the top of the peg head. That is the angle I use on all my necks, with an angle on the peg head.

 You don't need a lot of angle for the peg head. Some people put a lot of angle on them. For me, I don't see the need to put a lot of angle on them. I have in my early day put a lot more on them. But after making a lot of guitars, I found a lot of people do an overkill.

The other thing I have stopped doing is scarf joints. Don't see a need for doing that as well. I have made many necks without a scarf joint. I had not had any of them fail. This is another area where people have a lot to say about how a neck should be made. But for me again after make so many necks so many ways, there are some things I found that are over done and talked about. Just like "tone woods". I do what I do and what works well for me. So should a lot of others.

 Have you ever looked at the angle of the strings being healed down with sting tress? There is not a lot of angle on them at all, if done right. This is how I figured it out on my first neck angle without a scarf joint. I was looking at one of my Fender guitars and got to looking at the brake angle at the string trees. I could see that there was not that much of one. I don't know how much of an angle mine are, all I know it works and have been working for a lot of years.

 I can hardly wait for spring time to come. It will be nice to get back out to the shop. I miss being out there. In case you all are wondering, I will be doing a video of the Fender Tone mast amp. Just don't know when. Trying to figure some things on doing that.

  If we have a nice day or two this weekend, I'll see if I can get out to the shop and start cutting and routing on the neck blank. If not, it will have to wait until later on. I'll need to be looking out for the wife starting next week. She will be down for about 6 weeks.

  EB

[dnic]

Seems like the "debate" we had here a long time ago was over three different types of neck construction and which was best. If I remember we had some folks that were really into their way. Which makes sense because once you find something you like you tend to be passionate about. But it was good natured and I don't remember anyone getting heated. So the three types are, one piece, (like Gibson) Laminated like I like and like what are using here Eddie. And scarf jointed.

So my take away now from my own experience and from others as well is as follows. The rating is my own

Laminate necks are my #1 go to neck. I think they are the strongest and best looking option. But if one just randomly glues up layers of wood without considering grain orientation then you could have a very bad neck on your hands.

The scarf joint, very strong if well executed is my #2. And can even look pretty cool with some veneers added to the joint. Lots of companies use them with great success, such as Taylor guitars. I haven't used one in a long time but would worry at all about doing so. In fact I have two acoustic guitars coming up that will be scarf jointed to be more Martin like.

#3 is the one piece Gibson style neck. Not that a one piece neck is a bad thing but not with the 14 to 17 degree headstock angle and a truss access cavity all working against it. And Gibson might even correct their error in that if the traditionalists would have ever let them. I haven't worked out what the angle on your neck is Eddie but I'll draw it out and report back. It looks like it might be 10 degrees which is great in my book. But less is ok as well.

The one neck type I didn't address is the flat Fender style which Leo stole from Bigsby and Bigsby stole from someone else. Anyway these necks are an enigma. They really shouldn't work as well as they do. But they'er great and almost indestructible. And building them out of flat or quarter sawn maple doesn't really matter. They are typically very dependable although I have one customer that got a rubbery one.(for lack of a better word) The grain on that neck is at a steep angle to the length of the neck. He replaced with with one of my 24.75 conversion necks.

This was all for fun feel free to have a different opinion.