Hack Your Guitar

Making: Being Blocked: 2011

2011-12-25T11:55:00.000-08:00

I've been blocked for months. From summer until now I have produced almost no music. I've only posed a few things to my blogs. I barely use Google Plus. My e-mail traffic is even down.

As 2011 grinds to it's confusing conclusion I'm going to share a quick idea about Making and call it a year.

The usual excuse for not creating, making or doing is that we lack the knowledge or skill. If we do not believe we can do it well we tend to not try to do it. But what if that weren't the standard? What if mediocrity were the goal?

My motivation for my guitar mods has never been a "superior instrument" in terms of aesthetics, tone or craftsmanship. It has always been features like range/register, simpler electronics or scale. Thus, a playable (not excellent) instrument with those characteristics is a success. Excellence, if I want to focus on that, can come later.

If one wants to be free the quality of that freedom is paramount, but the tools of achieving it need only work. If I grow my own basil, rather than buying it from a supermarket chain, does it matter whether or not it is exemplary basil, or just that it tastes like fresh basil? If it is really important to me to have excellent, not just fresh, basil I am free to work toward better crops in the future.

A coworker complained recently that mediocrity and low expectations are a real problem in our workplace. He's right. He's also talking about a group of professionals who are supposed to be experts in our fields. Making is typically non-expert, non-professional and often experimental. The standards and motivations are entirely different.

When it comes to Making it is better to just wade in.

Occupy Cedar Valley

2011-10-15T10:01:00.001-07:00

This isn't directly related to hacking or guitar mods but it is really important.

http://blastedgoat.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/occupy-your-town/

Expanded Offerings from Octave4Plus Strings.

2011-07-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

I mentioned Garry Goodman's Octave4Plus Strings in another post and looked at his site to see what he's been up to recently. He has done the world of extended range instruments another huge favor; he has significantly expanded the variety of strings offered.

When I first discovered Octave4Plus it mostly offered super-light strings, and some normal gauge strings to pair with them. Now they cover the other end of the scale, too, plus a variety of cores and wrappings for wound strings. Now, not only can you put an E4 on a 34" bass, you can get your sub-contra-bass strings from the same source.

But wait, there's more! You can choose the flexibility of your low strings, from floppy to "cheese slicer." Some of you may argue that this isn't really new. Some strings have always been stiffer than others and different core shapes have been around for decades. Ya, but in these combinations? With this precision? Paired with the other options on offer?

We're talking about musical freedom here. How cool is all this?

**** For those who don't know, Garry Goodman is a pioneering extended range bassist who didn't take it laying down when he couldn't find the the strings he wanted for his upper register. He couldn't buy the strings he wanted so he researched the problem and, eventually, started making and selling the strings himself. He now offers strings for the top, bottom and middle of guitar and bass family instruments of various sizes at octave4plus.com.

Extra High Strung Guitar and Botched Bridge Repair

2011-07-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. I've finally gotten back on the luthierie horse in a big way. I've botched, and then sort of recovered, a major repair project. I've also take big steps in one of my original instrument projects. I'll blog about that next.

The repair I screwed up is a parlor guitar, an Italian made Douglas of unknown age. I don't even know if this is the same "Douglas" brand available today. A former friend picked it up for me at an estate auction several years ago. I almost forgot I had it until my son found it in the basement and asked me about it. Could it be tuned up an played, he asked? "Probably, but it sounds like a cereal box," I said.

Then we were both curious and I started poking around. The bridge was split horizontally (sorry, no picture) and evinced a previous, poor, glue job. The tuners were horrible. If there is a truss rod it is not accessible. It was about what you would expect from an older, inexpensive instrument that had not been properly cared for.

The first clue that there might be more to this pathetic instrument than met the eye happened when I unstrung it to replace the tuners. A 2" x 1" X 3" block of mahogany fell out of the sound hole. I think it was wedged under the bridge. If you know why, please e-mail me.

One thing I got right on this guitar was I added some radius to the neck. Originally it was entirely flat. I pulled the first three frets and sanded a gentle curve, just in that area, where we play open chords. I didn't get the frets back in just right, but it is more comfortable to chord now.

I decided to give this Douglas a bridge transplant similar to the Yamaha I did last winter. The difference was I wanted to use a Telecaster style bridge. This isn't an inherently bad idea but I didn't think it through and screwed it up pretty badly.

My first big mistake was failing to plan the new bridge's height. For some reason I assumed the Tele bridge's adjustability would cover all of my imprecision. I wanted a piece of wood between the Tele hardware and the top of the guitar and chose a piece of rosewood. I knew it would need to be profiled down but I didn't measure and I left it way too thick. I did not realize this until I had attached everything to the top. At about the same time I realized I had also placed the whole bridge/saddle assembly too close to the neck.

I didn't want to remove ANOTHER bridge from this guitar's top so I got out my files, drill and hack saw and set about further modifying this bridge for action and intonation. In stead of "near perfection" the new goal was "playable." It also ocured to me that lower tension would give a little action, so I strung it up with the lightest D'Addario acoustic strings I could find.

It wasn't enough. I took two further measures. I expanded my adjustment for
action to the nut and 0-fret. I also decided this was a great opportunity to experiment with high strung tuning. This turned out to be fun. Not only did it allow me to put even less tension on the neck, perhaps helping the action a bit more, it also sounds really cool and satisfies some of my curiosity about this practice.

Not being one for moderation I pushed high stringing a little past the "Nashville tuning." If you Google "Nashville tuning" you will get information about a couple of steel guitar tunings and a description of tuning a standard guitar with the additional strings from a 12-string set. Guages would look something like .012, .016, .010, .014, .020, .030 rather than .012, .016, .024,
.032, .042, .053.

I currently have the guitar strung .006, .014., .007, .009, .013, .009. That's right. Nothing big enough to wind.

It is tuned E4, B3, G4, D4, A3, E4. The .006 and .007 are Gary Goodman Octave 4 Plus strings. The others are either DaDdario or juststrings.com bulk strings. Making the Es E5 is possible withOctave4Plus strings but I wanted to keep the tension down. Also, these specific strings were not designed for that.

Because the note names match standard tuning any guitarist can play a guitar set up this way. If I had more time I'd post audio. You'll just have to string up a guitar this way yourself.

Upcoming Guitar Projects

2011-05-10T10:04:00.001-07:00

I've not just been neglecting this blog. I've been neglecting all things guitar.

That ends now.

I have five projects in the queue. It is unlikely I will finish then all this summer but they are the pool I will draw from in coming months.

1) Fix up thrashed flattop for friends in Des Moines
I have an old Italian flattop that needs tuners, a new bridge/sadle, and some other body work. The idea is to make it playable...and sound less like a damp cereal box. Asuming I am successful I have guitarless friends I want to give it to.
2) Hephestus II
One of the neck blanks I glued Way Back When is to become a 30" 8-string, like my 6-to-8 conversion but shorter and more playable. I've been talking about this for a LONG time. I think i'm finally going to start serious work.
3) Bajo Sexto
I also want to make a 30" bajo sexto.
4) High-strung 12-string
I have seen similar instruments referred to as "octave mandolins." What I have in mind is a short scale 12-string guitar strung with some combination of "Nashville" hi-strung, doubled and octave stringing. I think it would be fun to play a small instrument that jangled but made room for other instruments.
5) 7-string Soloing Instrument
The other smaller instrument I have been thinking about is a short-scale instrument specificaly for soloing. Tuned in straight 4ths a 23.5 scale with 7 strings should be pretty comfortable to improvise with. If the lowest string is tuned to something like G2 or A2 the high string would go up to C5 or D5. Sounds a little crazy but if it works it could be pretty fun!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

Non-standard Instruments Vs Novelty Instruments

2011-01-25T10:26:00.001-08:00

Sometime last year I went to check out an independet guitar shop in Des Moines I hadn't tried yet. I never made a second visit.

I was initially encouraged by what was on the walls. Before I got too far into making my rounds an employee greeted me and asked what I was looking for. I asked if they had any extended range instruments in stock, like seven-strings.

If he had been smart he would have just said "No." "We don't get much call for those" would have been OK too. So would "Let me see what I can order."

What he said was "Try Best Buy."

Why any independent retailer would be so quick to redirect business to a big box I don't know. But he also dismissed me based on my interest in multistring instruments. Somehow he came to believe they were novlties, aimed at kids who...I don't know, saw them in heavy metal magazines?

So, I won't be back. I didn't tell him how I felt, but it's his own fault for jumping to conclusions...and not doing his homework.

Accoustic Bridge Mod Really and Truly Complete

2010-12-27T14:52:00.000-08:00

When I said this project was done I was mostly telling the truth. The gross modifications were done. The bridge was placed, shaped and intonated.

Upon tuning it up with more than three strings (all I used when filing the bridges) I found a couple of buzzes. One was a poorly shaped channel in the low E bridge. I widened it toward the sound hole. Fixed.

The other one took longer. Remember how I anchored the new bridge to a piece of brass inside the body? Ya. There's a reason luthiers don't use a lot of metal on acoustic guitars. Metal parts buzz and rattle if they aren't 100% secure. I reached inside the body and daubed a little wood glue on the internal metal parts. That took care of the second buzz.

The good news is that the guitar plays quite nicely and sounds quite good now. No buzzes. More importantly, in practical use the intonation sounds good. Open chords with notes up above the 5th fret still sound right. Mission really, truly accomplished.

Accoustic Bridge Mod Complete

2010-12-25T15:00:00.001-08:00

This project is just about over. As I expected the individual string bridges required filing to get the action down where it belonged. Tightening the truss rod helped but it was clear that the real problem was bridge height.

The individual string bridges can face forward or backward. I chose not to reverse any of them or change their order. One reason is that I knew I was going to be filing all six of them down anyway so I just made my changes with the screwdriver and file. The other reason is that the retaining spring that holds the screws down on the sound-hole side looked a little...what does Abby on NCIS say, "hinkey?" Well, it doesn't inspire confidence. I doubted that I would get it off and back on without damaging it.

I also started working on intonation while filing. As you can see in these pictures I have the E and A bridges slammed all the way to the back. I didn't move the saddle back enough. It's close. The guitar will be playable and the higher strings have room to intonate in both directions, but I am not not happy with myself on this count.
Access to the intonation screws is acceptable.

In these pictures the black paint on the saddle is not dry. I want a glossy finish and I may need another coat or two of something else to get me there.

Saddle Attachment: Acoustic Bridge Saddle Mod

2010-12-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

I have the saddle attached to the top. Two small screws assist the glue and pass through a small piece of brass inside the body to protect the top wood. It is now also clear that the bridge is going to be too high.

I put it in my vice and went at it with a grinding tip on a rotary tool. The goal is to make it shorter without compromising its structural integrity or function. This was not flat enough so I also did some hand filing. In retrospect I think I could have skipped the grinder and done it all with a hand file.

Progress Photos For Acoustic Bridge Saddle Mod

2010-12-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

Making an Adjustable Bridge For a Flattop Acoustic Guitar

2010-12-05T14:32:00.000-08:00

Friends asked me to work on a Yamaha acoustic with chronic intonation problems. Basically, the guitar could not be tuned. After warning them that I really didn't know what I was doing I took the job.

The guitar's action was fine. The neck did not appear to be warped or bowed. According to my measurements the guitar has a 24 7/8" scale. Rather, it should, based on the distance from the nut to the 121th fret. The bridge and saddle were just a little too far away.
I decided that whatever the final solution was I wanted the current saddle off of the guitar. I used a heat gun and two putty knives to carefully remove the saddle.

I have a Yamaha acoustic of my own that was a gift from another friend. It has a bridge I have never seen on any other acoustic guitar.

It looks somewhat like a Gibson Tune-O-Matic, but the important thing, to me, is that is allows the type of intonation adjustment we are accustomed to on electric guitars. I want to give this treatment to the Yamaha given to me to repair. Among other things, it will give me leeway in replacing the saddle.

As I only caused minimal damage to the removed saddle I am going to modify it to accommodate a Gibson style electric bridge I have on hand.
I have started chiseling the edge of the saddle that faces the sound hole. I believe placing the bridge there will allow me to put the saddle back in its original location, correctly locate the bridge and allow access to the intonation screws on the bridge. I'll let you know how it goes.

Extended Range Guitars Finally Appear in Sweetwater Catalog

2010-08-03T17:25:00.001-07:00

I have always wondered why Sweetwater Sound, with their New York phone book of a catalog never had anything but six-string guitars in its pages. I did find an Ibanez Prestige 8-string on their web site once but there was never anything in the catalog until now.

It's not much. There is hardly any information about the instruments, but I will still take it as a sign that more people are starting to get it.

Zoomed Photo Of Hacked Control Cavity

2010-06-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

8-String Instrument Tightened Up With Rosewood and Zip Ties

2010-06-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

It's probably better if I don't think about how long ago I started this project. On the other hand this extended range instrument has arrived at a wonderful new level of playability. Now that the electronics are working right I have turned my attention to making it playable, sturdy and slightly less of an eyesore.

I said "slightly less."

The thing that looks like an over sized wooden pickup cover isn't. It is an over sized wooden pickup cavity cover. This came from the rosewood fingerboards I purchased back when I thought I wanted to make a short scale instrument. Besides its obvious cosmetic role it should, in theory, improve sustain. With hard wood in that space in stead of air more energy should return to the strings. It should also make the whole body slightly more rigid, having a similar effect; the body will reflect more energy and soak up a little less.

I sanded the rosewood down so that it is smooth and has a little clearance below the strings. It is still pretty close but I got it down to where it doesn't cause any problems. It actually feels kind of nice. It is like having a thumb rest that spans the full string spread.

You can also see where I wedged the 808 pickup in place with two screws. It's not the "right" way to mount a pickup but trust me, it isn't going anywhere and I'm reasonably sure I haven't damaged it.

I've drilled a lot of holes and otherwise removed a lot of wood from this instrument's body. Ned Steinberger's work aside, this does make a difference in both the feel and sound of an instrument. Newtonian physics says so.

If you saw the pictures in my last post you know I had a lot of exposed wires in the control cavity and the output jack was not very secure.

I'm not as happy with this hack but it is a step in the right direction. I took another piece of rosewood from the same fingerboard and cut it to cover most of the control cavity, leaving space for the output jack. The wiring is reasonably well protected and the output jack is pretty secure. The rosewood also returns some mass to the body. Being screwed across the control cavity it also provides a smidgen of rigidity, or at least it should, in theory.

I am happier with this instrument than I have ever been. Besides being truly unique it is very, very playable and I don't need to keep one eye on the wiring at all times. I am planning to record with it in Minneapolis in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned.

EMG 808 Installed and Working Without Tone or Volume Pots

2010-05-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

From the beginning of my multi-string baritone project pickups have been a pain in my ass. If it wasn't pole pieces completely out of alignment with the strings it was one of various buzzes.

I finally won. I bought an EMG 808 on eBay a quite some time ago but I never got serious about installing it for a variety of reasons. Those reasons have melted away and I couldn't be happier.

I just nosed in under the line on maximum string spread. There are multiple sources online for wide pickups designed for extended range instruments but they are made in small numbers and a little pricey. I'm glad I got the 808 to work.

The documentation supplied by EMG with the pickup shows two wring scenarios--with and without tone control. As I pored over them (I really, really don't understand electrical circuits) I realized that the volume control could be eliminated in much the same way as the tone control.

Eliminating nobs has been a design goal from the start. For me volume and tone pots are little more than additional points of failure. I almost never use them.

I don't know that I'll remove all of the zip ties, since they are actually working pretty well, but I do need to tiddy things up and remove the old output jack.

What I've Been Writing About On My Other Blog

2010-03-05T18:04:00.001-08:00

In recent months I've been pretty consumed with my electronic music pursuits. I have chronicled some of it at my other blog, oldmixtapes.blogspot.com. Including:

Producing new tracks
Reviewing Linux music production software
Ranting about technology and music matters

I will return to writing about guitar mods and luthierie as time permits. In the mean time, thanks for reading.

What I've Been Writing About On My Other Blog

2010-03-05T18:02:00.001-08:00

Most Of My Guitar And Stringed Instrument Collection Photo

2010-01-10T13:52:00.001-08:00

Neck Shaping Photo: Spokeshave Work

2009-12-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

I altered the contrast and saturation to make the shape and figuring of the wood more visible. Between that and the odd lighting in this room you are NOT seeing the actual color of the woods.

Jello Biafra, Joey Ramone, Punk Rock and Guitar Hacking

2009-12-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

Jello Biafra has said some pretty interesting things over the years, much of it political. The one thing that keeps ringing in my head, and has since I first heard it on his spoken word album, Machine Gun In The Clowns Hands, happens to not be political. It's something he said about hearing The Ramones for the first time, at the confusingly named club, Ebbets Field, in Denver, CO. He didn't just enjoy the show. He made a very important realization.

"This is something I would actually like to do. I don't have to listen to Black Sabbath and kill myself after all! This is something to look forward to!"

Punk rock is a gas to listen to, but so is a lot of other music. Unlike some other musics, punk has a consistent subtext. Punk says to all of its listeners "Come do this with us. You can, you know."

Actually, it doesn't say it so much as it yells it, with a lot of spit flying around.

The point is that punk rock isn't just something to listen to. It is something to do.

What does this have to do with guitar hacking? Guitar mods are something you can do. Guitars aren't just there to be bought and played. They can be extended, shrunken, altered, circuit bent, built from scratch, their parts mixed and matched.

Don't just consume. Create. Do. Be.

My Mother-In-Law Gave Me C-Clamps For Shristmas

2009-12-24T07:39:00.000-08:00

You see, my mother-in-law understands me. She saw the trouble I was having getting enough clamping force on my neck blanks. Ya, she knows me. Thanks, Marge!

C-Clamp Hack-I Love C-Clamps

2009-12-21T18:59:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned that I love C-clamps?

http://hackaday.com/2009/12/21/c-clamp-current-monitoring/

Bands You Have Heard Of Who Tune Down

2009-12-06T09:46:00.001-08:00

Obviously this isn't exhaustive, and maybe not even accurate, but I find it validating. Clearly, if you find standard guitars in standard tuning don't do it all for you, you are in good company.

http://everything2.com/title/Down+tuning

Digidesign 11 Rack--Clarification

2009-12-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

When I originally wrote about the Digidesign 11 Rack I complained about the dearth of inputs.

"[T]his unit's cost is in line with 003 line of LE interfaces, although it has only two line inputs and one mic pre-amp."

"If [guitarists] do want ProTools will the be happy with 11R's rather narrow set of inputs?"

"[I]f I am going to drop the required change for an LE interface, even if it comes with professional quality modeling, I want to be able to plug in more than one mic."

Taking another look at the specs on Digidesign's web site, I find this.

"Supports up to 8 simultaneous channels of high-resolution recording up to 24-bit/96 kHz"

In addition to the line and mic inputs it also has digital I/O, which I previously ignored. While this does not bring it into competition with the 003R+ Factory, the separate AES/EBU and SPDIF inputs do mean you can connect other interfaces, A/D converters or mic pre's with on-board converters to expand the number of analog sources into the 11 Rack. The reason I am comparing the 11R to the 003R+ is that while the 11R can work with other gear to bring eight analog sources into Pro Tools the 003R+ has eight of it's own mic pre's and is up to that task (and more) on its own.

So, I sold the 11 Rack a little short. You are not limited to its analog inputs. If you thought you might want to use non-Digidesign mic pre's anyway, this is truly good news.

Kitchen Sink Guitar Design-Parker Adrian Belew Signature Fly

2009-11-30T16:45:00.000-08:00

I've always thought Parker guitars were slightly goofy. But like other slightly unusual instruments, I also assumed they were perfect for somebody, just not me. The Parker Adrian Belew Signature Fly Deluxe [1][2] goes way beyond goofy. This is do-it-all guitar design above and beyond anything I've seen before.

The picture above appears to be from NAMM 2006, so the guitar may not be news to some of you. For those who don't know, this beast, although it looks deceptively like other Parker Flys, goes for $10,000 to $12,000. Because of Belew's signature? No. At least not just because of that.

Besides Parker's usual composite body and neck materials, steel frets, piezo and coil pickups and flat-spring vibrato, this Fly also has a Sustainiac brand infinite sustain pickup, MIDI out and a complete Variax modeling system.

Ya, on top of those other things, I guess they just decided to throw a complete guitar modeling system in. WTF, right?

Have you ever bought a Swiss Army Knife? The problem with picking one out is not just that some of the coolest ones are expensive and have stuff you don't need. It is also that sometimes you don't want a cork screw in the same pocket as your spoon and fork. This may be because of size or because of the way you use them. It doesn't matter. The point is that sometimes it is best to let a knife be a knife, a cork screw be a cork screw and a fork be a fork.

For $10,000 you can buy a standard Parker Fly, a Line 6 Variax and outfit another Fly with an infinite sustainer and MIDI. Want it all to share the same six strings? Buy the Belew. Me? I think it's goofy.

My First 7-ply Neck Blank Is Out Of The Clamps

2009-11-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

It doesn't look like much right now, but laying next to an actual instrument I can start to visualize where it is going.

Postcolonial Death Match Preview Clips

2009-11-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

I posted clips from all 11 album tracks as a set on Soundcloud. Take a listen!

Latest tracks by DJ Dual Core

http://soundcloud.com/dj-dual-core/sets

Downloads will be available at iTunes, Amazon, eMusic and other stores soon. I don't know yet whether or not there will be physical CDs.

CD Mastering Scheduled for Postcolonial Death Match

2009-11-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, Nov. 11 I will be taking my final mixes for Postcolonial Death Match to Catamount Recording for mastering by Travis Huisman. Catamount is one of the premiere recording studios in the midwest and has been used by artists including Greg Brown, Stone Sour, House Of Large Sizes, Robert James Waller, Living Sacrifice, Johnson Co. Landmark, The Nadas, Blue Band and Callie Weiss.

5-Ply Neck Finally In The Clamps

2009-11-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

I prefer not to think about how long ago I bought and cut the wood for this. It's a hobby, right? I don't have to keep to a schedule.

Ya. ...just keep telling myself that.

Obviously, the wood is not even and neither the top not the bottom of the blank are flush/flat. The idea is that there is enough extra wood in every dimension that precision won't be an issue until later.

Ya. ...just keep telling myself that, too.

Jean Baudin's Gear Photos

2009-10-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

This guy has some severely cool looking instruments.

http://www.jeanbaudin.com/bassgear.html

Why Are Extended Range Instruments Still Obscure?

2009-10-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

Depending on how you count, the modern extended range bass has been around since the mid 1970's. That is to say, it is almost old enough to be a grandparent. Why is it still seen as exotic?

I noticed today that some of the traffic to this blog (according to Google Analytics) comes from people Googling "7 string bass." On one hand, I find this flattering, based on my shallow understanding of Google's PageRank system. The other hand, as you have probably deduced, is more problematic.

After all these years why would my blog, which isn't even specifically about bass, be one of the more relavent sources of information about 7 string or other extended range basses? Seriously, my instruments that I have written about here aren't even really basses.

The reason is that extended range instruments, be they >6 string guitars or > 5 string basses still aren't mainstream. Have you noticed that Sweetwater doesn't even carry new 7 string guitars? They have 40+ solid body Ibanez models on their web site (as of today) but the sole 7 string is in their used gallery. (Although they do currently carry the Ibanez RG2228 8 string, which I find odd.)

I like to talk about moving beyond convention and creating unique things, but when you think about it extending the range of a stringed instrument isn't exactly a revolutionary idea. Once upon a time banjos all had four strings, but now 5 strings are standard, with the additional one not even being the same length as the others. Why have multi-string guitars and basses not penetrated deeper into the mainstream?

That's a rhetorical question. It's inertia. It's convention. It's the human tendency to think inside the box and stick with what's familiar. It's also a sad commentary on people's ability/willingness to grasp and accept a fairly simple idea that can expand their musical horizons.

Massive Album Prep This Weekend

2009-10-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to my other blog about progress toward a new album.

http://oldmixtapes.blogspot.com/2009/10/massive-album-prep-this-weekend.html

Photo Update From The Guitar Hacking Shop

2009-10-03T17:17:00.001-07:00

In the last couple of months I have had a lot of woodworking/luthierie firsts. As seen or mentioned in earlier posts I have used a spokeshave, glued my first neck blank and done various other things that are small potato(e)s to the more experienced.

To the left you see some boards. They are hard maple and hickory froma local firm more accustomed to working with construction contractors, but quite happy to have my business, the economy being what it is. Barnes Building Supply on Main St in Cedar Falls. Nice people. They didn't look at me weird when I said "hard maple...sugar maple, not soft maple, if you can." And when I asked for hickory they didn't say "whader ya makin, baseball bats?" They said, "I think I know who I can get that from" and picked up the phone.

Here you see the head of a nice Yamaha accoustic given to me by a friend. The tuners kind of sucked to I got Grovers for it and grabbed my drill. I neglected to tape over the holes before drilling them out for the larger tuners, to controll the tear-out. The light tan stuff is wood filler. Below is the head of a mid-60's Gretch given to me by the same person. I DID tape over the holes for this one. See, I can learn.

These boards were cut on my "new" table saw and will become another neck blank.

I also recently used a planer for the first time. It scares me more than most of my other tools but it is going to make shaping necks a much quicker process.

Between the planer and the table saw I have made more shavings and saw dust than I ever thought possible. I finally understand what the adds for "dust collection systems" in woodworking magazines are all about.

This is Doyle. He's a Labrador.

Thoughts on Digidesign 11 Rack

2009-09-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I think about this product yet. The Digidesign Eleven Rack is a Pro Tools LE interface, guitar pre-amp and modeling multi-effects unit.

With an MSRP of $1300 (street could be as low as $900) this unit's cost is in line with 003 line of LE interfaces, although it has only two line inputs and one mic pre-amp. A lot of the cost represents the extensive amp and effect modeling included, based on Digidesign's Eleven amp simulation plug-in. If you think of the 11R as an M-Box2 plus a Line 6 POD I guess it all adds up.

So, who is this for? Digidesign's web site does not list it with the LE interfaces, but in its own category as a "Guitar Solution." The question is, do guitarists want to buy a high-end multi-effect unit and adopt ProTools at the same time? If they do want ProTools will the be happy with 11R's rather narrow set of inputs?

I'm conflicted. For now, at any rate, if I am going to drop the required change for an LE interface, even if it comes with professional quality modeling, I want to be able to plug in more than one mic.

Les Paul Rememberance

2009-08-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

Musician, Inventor and guitar hacker Les Paul passed away yesterday at the age of 94. Paul invented multi-track recording, pioneered the solid body Spanish (as opposed to Hawaiian) guitar and enabled millions of other musicians, producers and engineers to do things that would otherwise not have been possible.

Paul regularly performed in public and gave interviews until shortly before his death. His 1950's recordings with then wife Mary Ford introduced radio audiences to overdubbing and tape manipulation. Decades after Gibson began building guitars to his specifications he was still modifying his own instruments to better fit his immediate needs.

Paul is survived by millions of thankful musicians.

Shaping the 7-string Guitar Neck Blank: Spokeshave

2009-08-10T06:50:00.000-07:00

To shape the neck of my new instrument I will be using a spokeshave. I have had one of these tools for a while but now that I need to use it I need to learn how to use it.

One way to think of the spokeshave is as a plane for curved surfaces. Taking the word "plane" literally this is oxymoronic, but when you look at the blade in the picture to the right you will see what I mean. The blade is very similar to the blade in a block plane or bench plane, but on the spokeshave there is no large flat base extending before and after the blade to enforce a flat surface after the cut.

One thing I noticed when I started playing with my spokeshave was that it absolutely (in my case anyway) needs to be used with two hands to keep the blade oriented correctly to the wood. In my computer work questions of accessibility and universal design come up from time to time so I am conditioned to think about who can or can not use this or that device. A person with one hand would have to have one hell of a grip to keep this thing in line.

More as I learn it.

As you might have guessed these pictures are swiped. More pictures of what I am actually doing will follow.

New Take on 8 String Classical Guitar: 7 and 2/3 Strings, Banjo Style

2009-08-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

It is a little hard to see in the video but the highest string on this guitar is not full length and tuned to A above the standard guitar high E (A4). It is short like the 5th string on a 5 string banjo. This approach also has possibilities for adding higher strings to instruments with long scales.

30-Inch 7-String Guitar Neck Blank Part II: 5-Ply

2009-08-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

I had to buy larger C-clamps but I got it done. I put two more 4-foot maple boards on the outside of the 3 piece block from earlier in the week. As you can see by the squeeze-out and the unevenness this isn't the work of a professional, but I never made that claim anyway.

Work on the Next Instrument Has Started: Gluing The Laminated Neck Blank

2009-07-31T12:53:00.001-07:00

Some time ago I posted a sketch I made outlining (literally) my idea for another non-standard guitar. It's pretty simple, conceptually: 30" scale, probably 7 strings. The only ambitious thing about it is that I intend to build it, not modify another instrument to assume those specs.

Yesterday I started gluing my neck blank.

You can't see it in this picture, but there are actually 12 clamps up and down the blank. I ran out of C-clamps so there are five spring clamps right next to each other on the far end. I hope they provided enough force.

Here you can see the actual makeup of the laminated blank. The middle piece is maple, flanked by two pieces of mahogany. Protecting the mahogany from the C-clamps are two pieces of rosewood. I know, normal people use actual scraps, but I got a bunch of these rough fingerboard blanks for $ (approaching) 0 and they work great.

The blank is longer than 30" so I am hoping this will be a neck-through instrument. I am planning to put two more pieces of maple outside the wood you see here so the lower part of the neck can be wider and to start building the body out from it.

Jennifer Batten String Damper

2009-07-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Batten is a shreader known for playing guitar for the late Michael Jackson, among other things. Her talents include tapping. This has lead her to add a bit of hacking to her shreading.

One of the problems with tapping is stopping unintended string vibrations. The tapped string will vibrate on both sides of the fret where it is stopped. Typically this isn't audible. What is often audible is that open strings will sound when the tapped string is hit. On dedicated touch instruments such as the Chapman Stick this is often handled by built in dampers that sit between the nut and the first fret. But what if you are tapping on an axe built for plucking/picking/strumming?

The Batten String Damper attaches to the guitar head and mutes strings not stopped at the first fret or higher. A felt pad is attached to a light-weight acrylic head. The head's reach past the nut is adjusted with a nylon thumb-screw. It's tension (pressure on strings) is adjusted with an included hex key. Models exist for 3 X 3 heads and 6-in-line heads. Both models weigh in at a mere 1 oz.

Although the two models are named for specific head configurations they work with most stringed instruments with 1 3/4" or less string spread at the nut. This includes basses and double-strung instruments. In the absence of uneven string height, dramatic neck radiusing or a very wide neck this gadget should work wherever you can find room for it.

Fretless Strat Mod

2009-07-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

Clearly this guy is a kindred spirit.

http://adrianlikins.com/2005/04/fretless-guitar/

He bought a guitar just make it fretless. In the bass world fretless fingerboards are a big deal but you don't often see it as a mod to an otherwise standard 6-string guitar. Nice!

Fretboard Journal: Alvin Youngblood Hart: Guitar Hacking

2009-06-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

If you are a big enough nerd to be reading this blog you should also be reading Fretboard Journal. Fretboard Journal is a quarterly magazine dedicated to stringed instrument music, musicians and instruments. It is so lovingly produced that I can confidently say it is one of the highest quality music publications currently in print. Heavy paper, carefully edited, stunning photography-you get the idea.

The current issue has an article by guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart on his perpetual quest for new-to-him guitars. Typically these are found in pawn shops and in need of work. With anything from minor repairs t0o major hacking he makes them into truly special instruments. He does not write about it in terms of mods or hacking, but the photos of his workshop and loving way he discusses his instruments make it clear. He is one of us.

Buy the current issue. That's an order.

Thoughts on Tab and other Notation

2009-06-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

I came across this post because of the headline, but it is really about notation.

http://blog.jeffscudder.com/2009/01/guitar-hacking.html

Scudder compares song-book style charts to tab and standard notation. It is all very mater of fact, but worth looking at if you are thinking about, especially if you are thinking of learning tab.

Shure Microphone Drop Test

2009-06-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Cross post from my other blog:

Guitar Hacking - Computer Hacking

2009-05-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

I've been a computer/IT professional most of my adult life. I've been a musician since I was a teenager. I've known about 2600: The Hacker Quarterly for a long time and while I have never considered myself a hacker I have long appreciated what the 2600 community and hackers in general have contributed to all of us who use computers, information technology in general and the modern Internet. I have recently begun reading the paper edition of 2600 which has caused me to think again about the concept of hacking and why I call this blog "Hack Your Guitar."

I subscribe to Eric S. Raymond's definition of "hacker."

If you read the H page of the semi-official hacker Jargon File you will see definitions for "hack," "hack value," "hacker" and "hacker ethic." I think all of these are relevant to my approach to guitar modification and, if you will allow me the conceit, luthierie. Specifically, I'm drawn to definition #7 for "hacker," "One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations."

I felt limited by standard guitars. Doesn't it just make sense to take control of the situation creatively?

Find and implement the elegant guitar hack that provides the musical freedom you seek.

First 8-String Baritone Outing With A Drummer

2009-05-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

My older son is a drummer. He happened to be home yesterday and we jammed for a while. I played my 8-string and it was just a blast! He is a nu-metal and metalcore fan so we were pretty heavy. This instrument loves that! The long scale worked out great.

On the other hand, this experience really drove home how badly my wiring sucks. With the gain and the volume up the noise and interference was terrible.

Those of you who found this blog by searching on "7-string baritone," or the like I'm actually talking about the same instrument.

Take Back Control Of Your Guitar Part II: Audio Samples Post Vibrato Mod

2009-04-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

I went ahead and glued the wood block in place to make my M-207's bridge an up-only vibrato. See the previous post for background.

Before I introduce the recordings I made of this guitar I want to revisit my other options. I could have just lived with an instrument who's action, intonation and tuning changed radically if I changed the gauge of even a single string and put every other string out of tune when I tuned one. I could have upgraded the system with a "tremolo stabilizer" like the HipShot TremSetter that preserved the function of the vibrato but provided more stability. I also could have completely frozen the bridge with a "tremolo lock," either a commercially available one or one of my own design.

I opted to lock/freeze the vibrato in one direction; it can no longer flatten strings. The strings pull the bridge against a block of wood I added to the bridge cavity. If I sharpen strings with the vibrato it returns to rest against the block, exactly where it started. This is the opposite behavior of the dive-bomb-only vibratos found on many inexpensive guitars.

These demos were recorded with two SM57 mics to a Sony MiniDisk recorder and edited in DSP-Quattro (a free version). I played through a Hartke head, an Electro-Harmonix Micro Metal Muff distortion pedal and a Peavy 4-10 cabinet with a horn. One of the mics was on a cone and the other on the horn.

The first audio file features a rhythm part reminiscent of Husker Du's "I Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely" just to prove that I didn't completely wreck the guitar while modifying the vibrato. You can hear me palm the bridge at the end.

7 String Vibrato Hack Demo1 by DJ Dual Core

Here you can hear several snippets of me using the vibrato, either palming it, bending individual strings with the tuning levers, or actually using a whammy bar like a normal person. The truth is I have never been much of a vibrato user, so it's not all that impressive, it just shows that it works. I also play "I Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" again to prove I have not thrown the guitar out of tune.

7 String Vibrato Hack Demo 2 by DJ Dual Core

Take Back Control Of Your Guitar From A Despotic Bi-Directional Vibrato (Tremolo)

2009-04-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I found an ESP LTD M-207 in a pawn shop in Waterloo. I had been wanting a commercially produced 7-string as a reference instrument (and because they look fun to play) so I took a closer look. It was pretty thrashed (broken pickup mount, missing fine tuner, no less than 6 obvious sharp impacts to the body and head, among other things) so I didn't have much trouble talking the shop down to a palatable price.

Here you see my purchase being guarded by my ferocious and bloodthirsty Labradors, Doyle and Harmony (both named after Angel characters). The pink strings are Auroras. The archtop just past the doorway is my 1945 Harmony Cremona, a gift from my mother and one of the only possessions I have ever really cared about.

Besides being my first ESP, factory 7-string and reverse headstock (in-line tuners on treble side) ever, it is the first guitar with a floating vibrato I have owned since the early 90's. Now I remember why; they are a pain in the ass. In accord with my vision to bend guitars to my will rather than accepting them as they are I set out to fix it...and fix it I did.

Floating, bi-directional vibrato guitar bridges (almost always incorrectly called tremolos) married to string locking systems have been commercially available since shortly after Floyd Rose came up with the idea in the 1970's. By having the bridge pulled up by the guitar's strings and d0wn by a set of springs with the same f0rce (and at roughly congruent angles) while the bridge pivots on two relatively small points the player could bend notes up or down at will and trust that the bridge would return to its in-tune equilibrium position when they let go of the tremolo arm/whammy bar. It was a brilliant idea. Accompanied by locking mechanisms that further encourage stable tuning and bridge-mounted fine tuners Floyd Rose and related (or derived) vibrato/tuning/string-locking systems are understandably attractive to many guitarists.

The Floyd Rose System was designed to provide broader vibrato range than previous vibratos, both up and down, while preserving tuning when the bridge comes back to resting position. Previous vibrato systems provided one or two of these things, at best. They bent in only one direction, had limited range and or did not preserve tuning after bending.

The Bigsby Vibrato Tailpiece predates the Floyd Rose by decades and is still made, used and loved today. As nice as they are, Bigsbys still embody much of what Mr. Rose was trying to move beyond. Bigsbys have a limited bend range and although they are bi-directional, bending up too far can cause the spring under the bar to fall out (Google "bigsby spring "fall out"" and see the results). In Floyd Rose systems the springs are secured on both ends and placed under the guitar body and connect directly on the bridge. Bigsby springs are held in place under the bar by string tension and not secured at all.

Clearly, Floyd Rose was successful, but his success came at a price.

Complexity: If you compare a Floyd Rose style system to the original Bigsby or the down-only vibratos found on inexpensive Strat copies you can see the tremendous complexity of the the Floyd Rose.
Slow string changes: The locking hardware, which is key to the tuning stability provided by the Floyd Rose System, requires unlocking at the bridge and nut to change a string. Keep those allen keys close at hand.
Floating Bridge "Neutral Position": This is, in my opinion, by far the worst attribute of a bi-directional system, Floyd Rose types in particular. Any change to the tension on an individual string causes the bridge to move, changing the tension (and pitch) of every other string in the opposite direction. This can not only increase, but multiply the time it takes to tune a guitar.

Now think about switching to heavier or lighter strings. See the problem? Not only is tuning an issue when changing one or more strings, but if the differences are substantial at all the movement of the bridge will also dramatically change the instrument's action. To a degree this is true of all guitars regardless of bridge. Guitar strings constantly pull on the head and tail of the guitar, bowing the neck. Resisting this force is why we have (adjustable) truss rods.

Compensating for changes in action and intonation from string tension and truss rod changes are a primary reason we have adjustable bridge saddles. Ordinarily it takes a substantial change in string tension to force a truss rod adjustment. In the case of a Floyd Rose style vibrato changing the gauge of a single string can move the bridge (not the neck) enough to force action and intonation adjustment.

There are a few different ways to control this unwanted bridge movement.

When string tension goes up (heavier strings, moving from drop tuning to standard) one way to bring the bridge back to the same position to increase spring tension by the same amount. This can be done by adding springs (my M-207 had four when got it but accommodates five), using stiffer springs or using a specialized device along the lines of a Hipshot Tremsetter. You can also move the string hooks farther from the bridge block. In my M-207 this can be done with a pair of screws that secure the bring hook plate to the guitar body.

The "right" way, assuming all the benefits of a floating system are a priority, is to do a full neck and bridge adjustment, tune as precisely as humanly possible with the strings unlocked and lock the strings. Assuming you got everything just right you can tune with the bridge-end fine tuners and wank away on your whammy until the cows come home.

...or until you decide you need even heavier strings. Then you are screwed (or is it "allen wrenched?") all over again.

Finally, and you know which course I followed, you can turn your floating vibrato into a unidirectional one.

Tools needed: Saw, screwdriver if you have not already opened the back of the guitar, maybe pliers for removing springs.

Materials needed: A small piece of wood.

If a bridge only needs to move in one direction the exact amount of tension pulling it in the other direction is less important. So long as it is enough force to return it to the point from which it started (and can not move past) it is enough. The bridge will come to rest at it's starting point and the strings at their original pitches.

The above picture shows my block at the right thickness, but not cut down to height. The one below shows it cut down and only one spring left. The strings are pulling the bridge against the added wood block. The remaining spring is there because the ground wire is soldered to it.

It works. The way I have everything adjusted right now the bridge doesn't move much. If I had the bar for it I am sure it would be easier, but that's one of the bits that was missing from this guitar.

Sound samples to come.

11-course lute-guitar with 22 uke pegs

2009-04-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

I so feel this guy's pain. He posted this to a mailing list I'm on asking "what to do about" this instrument's headstock. He says it has a beautiful sound but...well, you can put the rest together for yourself, I think.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dansereal/11CourseLutar#

Gretch Jet Baritone: 30 Inch Scale Is Perfect

2009-03-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of playing a Gretsch Electromatic Jet Baritone at Bob's Guitars in Cedar Falls. I mostly played it out of curiosity, not thinking I would buy one, although it is a very cool instrument. Based on my experience with standard guitars and my 8-string I estimated that the scale I really want is probably around 30". At a fraction of an inch shy of 30" this Gretsch was my chance to put my hands on a commercially produced 30" instrument and see what it felt like.

In short, I was right. I could easily play well into the second octave on all six strings. Inexplicably, Gretsch shipped it to Bob's strung with bass strings (like a Fender VI) so the string tension was less than if it were set up to my liking but there was still some sustain. Fret spacing made chording at the low end considerably easier than on my 8-string. In short it supplied most of the benefits of a bass-scale neck without most of the challenges.

This confirms my intention to build my next instrument at or near 30".

Final Setup and Playability Adjustments: 8 String Mod-Hack Officially "Done"

2009-03-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

As is implied by my last post I am ready to move on but not before making my bass-scale 8-string baritone fully playable.

The black mass on the left is one of my Labradors, Doyle.

If you saw Goldfishboot's video you may have noticed me struggling a bit with the action on this instrument. At the time that was shot the nut still needed a lot of work. The action was way too high on all 8 strings and uneven to boot. Here is what it looks like now.

The strings on the "guitar" part of the bridge also needed to be lowered at the bridge, to varying degrees. This neck also didn't come out of the factory with the best fret job so I filed a few to get rid of fret buzz in some odd places.

My experience with the truss rods in this neck has been uniformly bad. I was glad to get this instrument playable without adjusting them.

You can see in this picture that there have also been changes in the pickup department. The white one is a Fender-Lace Sensor that the low strings sound just lovely through. The black one is a hot, bright humbucker of some sort. I don't remember the model but it loves distortion.

Both pickups are wired directly to the output jack. No tone controls, no volume pots. If I do anything else with the electronics on this instrument it will be to try other pickups and or install kill switches for each pickup. Oh, and fixing the bridge ground didn't take care of as much buzz as I would have liked so I may try to do something else about that, although it is down to a tollerable level now.

The red wire going to the bridge is ground. You can also see that the ground wire and all of the Fender pickup's wires pass through the top rather than the routing. I decided this was good enough for an experimental instrument.

First Sketch Of My Next Instrument Build

2009-03-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

True Temperament: Well Tempered Guitar Fretting/Intonation

2009-03-06T07:13:00.000-08:00

I mentioned this on my other blog yesterday. This Swedish company, True Temperament, is doing something truly unique. They offer Strat style guitar necks with well tempered fretting. They offer a few different temperaments including one that simply compensates for the aspects of guitar design that interfere with equal temperament.

Using an instrument for other than it's intended purpose?

2009-02-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

An e-mail list I am on has had a very active and acrimonious thread this week about the Yepes tuning of the 10 string classical guitar. Reading the thread I realized just how silly I think the notion of right and wrong is when applied to any facet of music.

My primary steel string guitar is a 1945 Harmony Cremona. Not only was almost none of the music I play on it written prior to 1945 but even the styles had yet to be conceived of. It doesn't matter how I tune it. That guitar is not doing anything its maker intended, and probably hasn't since some time in the 1960's, when my mother quit playing it. The maker sure as hell never intended to have wing nut like be holding the pick.

That the standard tuning the Cremona was designed for is still dominant is irrelevant. I have no responsibility to the (original) Harmony Guitar Company, the good people who worked at the Chicago factory, or the intentions of the instrument's designer. There is no right and wrong in music except what is socially agreed upon by individuals.

The question should not be "is he or she right to do this?" The questions (plural) should include "does practice A satisfyingly produce desired result B?" and "...if not, is the result of some other value?"

As any sound engineer will tell you, sympathetic vibration, in and of itself, is neither a good nor a bad thing. The significance of Yepes's findings is entirely dependent on what one is trying to accomplish. Personally, I think he makes a very, very persuasive argument for the sonic benefits of his tuning, assuming you share his goals and priorities. To assume that this is the case with any musician, regardless of instrument, inscribes what music is and can be more narrowly than I, personally, am comfortable with.

video of 8-string baritone hack

2009-01-23T09:48:00.000-08:00

My son, goldfishboot, shot this video of me goofing off with my 8-string last night. Enjoy.

Please note, I'm just goofing off. This isn't a "composition" or even a song. Also, The high E string seems to be outside the maximum string spacing for the pickup, hence it is quite faint. I guess I have some more work to do.

My son shot more than this 2:28. Watch his YouTube channel for that and some seriously bad-ass skateboarding by him and his friends.

Extensive Neck Making and Modification Tutorials

2009-01-20T15:00:00.001-08:00

Honest, I didn't know this stuff was out there. I guess I just don't spend enough time with Google.

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/tutorial9.htm

First Impressions Using Octave4Plus Strings

2009-01-10T13:32:00.000-08:00

The three highest strings on the 8-string instrument pictured in the previous post are from Garry Goodman and Octave4Plus. They are G3 (.013"), B3 (.010") and E4 (.008). All three are intended for a 34" scale and a bass bridge. Although they are very, very light by bass standards they do have bass sized ball ends indicating that they are "bass strings." I'll come back to the ball ends in a moment.

The strings work great.

Clearly, I could have gone a lot heavier for G3. I have an O4P .015" and .018" and .020" D'Addario bass strings I could have used but I tried the .013 and it sounds and feels pretty good. Below the B3 the whole instrument is strung lighter than I thought I wanted but I'm happy with it. It is quite playable.

I have D'Addario and La Bella baritone strings I have considered using. The idea is that even though they are probably intended for 30" or shorter necks there is probably enough extra length to put them on this 34" instrument. After all, first time 'round the block I used two standard guitar strings by drilling new tuner holes right next to the nut. Realizing that for this tuning (F#BEADGBE) I now had "real" bass strings in appropriate guages (.085" to .007") I didn't need to tap my baritone sets.

The first O4P string I tried for E4 was a .007". It was getting late and I was impatient. I tuned it up too quickly and it snapped off just above the ball. I didn't follow the instructions and broke a perfectly good string.

As I was replacing it with the .008" I thought about something else that may have contributed to the break. When I ordered my strings Garry Goodman asked me some questions about my instrument, beyond the scale. Did I have string trees on the head? Was the head angled back sharply? What type of bridge did I have? All of these things contribute to tension on various parts of the string and are all considered in how the strings are made. Since this instrument was dismantled at the time I gave him my best guesses about what it would look like when I finished my mods.

...and here I was doing something I had not told him about. I was putting bass strings in a top loading guitar bridge. Depending on the string this wasn't actually a big deal, but when I looked closely I saw that some of the ends were hitting the top of the instrument and the strings were passing into the back of the bridge at odd angles and thus under extra tension.

When I threaded the .008" string into the bridge I simply made sure the ball sat so that the string made the straightest possible shot from the back of the bridge to the saddle and then out into the sunlight. I tuned it up slowly and gently (work on another string, come back, work on another string, come back) and have had no further problems.

Making sure the ball was positioned right gave me cause to take a second look at the ball end itself. My heavier (.010", .013", etc.) O4P strings have fairly conventional ball ends on them. The thinner strings do not. They have Octave 4 Plus's very own mechanical ball end. These clever little devices have a tiny locking mechanism at their center with which they are clamped onto the end of the string. This stroke of genious eliminates the problem of tying tiny high tensile strength wires to the slippery brass hoops at the end of conventional strings.

Octave4Plus are remarkable handmade strings. I highly recomend them to anyone making or playing custom or extended range instruments.

Success: Photos of Completed Baritone 8-String

2009-01-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

It is official. My mods work and this is a playable 8-string instrument. Currently is it tuned F#1 (46.249 Hz) to E4 (329.63 Hz). The top six strings are tuned as a standard 6-string guitar. The lowest two are tuned down from the E2 (guitar "low E") in fourths. The 34" E4 at the top is made possible by an Octave 4 Plus .008 specifically designed for extended range instruments such as this. Thank you, Garry Goodman!

You could argue that this tuning makes the instrument a bass. After all, the lowest string is only two semitones above the standard E1 on a bass guitar. I have decided to call it a baritone for two reasons.

First, I'm not a bass player. Ask any bass player who knows me. It's just a fact...nothing to discuss. Second, it's range goes lower than BEADGBE 7-string guitar and not as low as a standard bass. In my book that makes it a baritone guitar.

My original bridge plans failed. I was going to do it all with guitar bridge parts but this was entirely unworkable. There is no way to modify Fender-style tremolo bridge parts (I am rich in these) to top-load a .085 string with a bass-sized ball on the end. Actually, you can, it just doesn't work worth shit and involves a LOT of hack sawing and filing.

The top five strings are bridged and saddled on an almost unmodified top loading Telecaster-style guitar bridge. The bottom three are using the lower half of the 6-string bass bridge that came on this bass originally. To make room for the Tele bridge it is shifted slightly left and the openings of the through-body holes have been enlarged so the strings can still enter the bottom of the bridge. The reason I set out to do everything top loading was because I doubted this would work. I was pleasantly surprised when it did.

The nut, head and tuners are as shown previously. Sound files and more on the strings coming soon.

Baritone Progress January 3, 2009

2009-01-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

I'm going to let the pictures do most of the storytelling today but I'm going to start with an exception. The picture below shows the remains of a 12" copper bar I purchased back when this project was still in diapers. Where did it all go?

Below is what you get if you realize way too late that you are filing the wide slots on the wrong side of your new nut.

Below you see a 3 X 3 set of medium sized Grover guitar tuners plus one full sized Grover and one no-name bass tuner. You can also see that the epoxy putty near the full sized Grover is all one, homogeneous color, indicating that I mixed it correctly this time. Aint it funny sometimes how shit works better when you follow the instructions?

Who needs a fancy, official "nut vice?"

Garry Goodman Clarifies Important Points About Octave4Plus Strings

2008-12-23T18:47:00.000-08:00

Even before I remembered to mail him a link, Garry Goodman read my last post about Octave4Plus strings and e-mailed me a couple of corrections. Most of the special precautions I wrote about ONLY apply to certain of his strings. He was kind enough to write the details out for us and give his POV on what I said about the big string companies. Here it is, from the man who knows.

The Octave4Plus A440 hertz plain steel strings were developed over the last seven years. As you know, the current .007,.008 and .009 plain steel strings available from string companies will snap at G#4 on a 26" (25.5")scale guitar. Some have compensated by using a guitar with a fanned fretboard so these strings will tune to A440, but with a 23" scale. Some claim that these commercial strings will tune to A4 at the 26" scale, only to have them break within minutes. I have tested every .007 and .008 I could get my hands on and NEVER got past G#4(4th fret, high guitar E string).

Their strings can't handle A4 because the carbon steel wire used can't take the pull force that A440 puts on the wire. Octave4Plus has made G#4,A4,Bb4 and B4(octave above guitar's high B string) possible at the 26+" scales. It is not "off the shelf " wire by any means.

Octave4Plus .006,.007 and .008 plain steel strings will easily tune right up to A440 at the 26" scale lengths. They are durable and flexible and not under tremendous pressure when tuned up to A440. They DO NOT break easily. They can bend easily,as seen here using an .009 tuned to A4: http://garrygoodman.com/O4P%20.009%20Bend.mov

Your string order included .005 A440 strings for the 30" scale. Some would say this is impossible, including some luthiers. The .005 is as fine as a human hair and for it to be able tune to A4 at 30" and hold up under reasonable playing conditions requires some preparation. For those who would even consider having an A440 Hz string, and at the 30" scale at that, usually don't mind this stretch period. It is only common sense not to hit a string this size. It is only common sense not to set the fretboard against an amp where the .005 wire could be damaged. Winding and pulling this fine wire tight enough to reach A4 means removing metal burrs and sharp edges that would not affect an .008 gauge string, but would saw an .005 in half.

Many of our customers play 6,7,8 and 9-string guitars with scale lengths ranging from the 25.5" to 30" scales, and want a high A4 string,or the B4 above that(one octave above the normal B string on a guitar). Some of the Octave4Plus string need to "creep" so they can tune up and function properly at longer scale lengths. For 7- or 8-string guitarist with a 25.5" to 27" scale length, tuning to A4 is like tuning to E4 with regular strings. Since there has never been an open A440 string for the 28" scale until now,having this string stretch for about an hour before tuning up to A440 seems worth the wait.

Likewise, a short stretching period gives these string more flexibility and longer life tuned to E4,F4 an F#4 at the 34" scale length. The idea of a 30" scale guitar is to have the high A4 but also have bass strings like B1,F#1 and even C#1(34 hertz). With the Octave4Plus "Octave 1" series, that wound C#1 string is now possible at the 26" scale.

All our wire is custom drawn,and some of the wire ,like the .005, requires we use our patented ball ends to ensure perfect string function. We even have special order .004. Since most of our strings haven't existed before anywhere,they may require a different approach when stringing them up on the guitars.

I realize that major companies may be unwilling to make some of these special strings,but in the case of the A440 and B493.88 hz strings, or the F#4 for the 34" scale- they can't. Some think any .005 or .006 will work. it won't.I think that if guitarists are educated to what is needed to make these tunings possible,they won't mind the process. Nothing sounds as great as the High A Standard Tuning on a guitar, or octave b strings on a 12-string electric.
If anyone has any questions,they can contact us at
http://octave4plus
thanks

More Octave4Plus Strings, Why No One Else Makes Strings That Small

2008-12-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

I got my Octave4Plus strings this week. The strings came individually packaged in standard string envelopes. Each is labeled for scale length, gauge and target pitch.

While I was waiting for my order I tried to imagine what a .005 gauge string was going to look like. I wasn't even close. You have to see these strings to believe them. .005" is really, really fine. If it didn't have a ball on the end I might not believe it is an instrument string. I'd probably think it was some exotic wire used for neural implants, perhaps alien in origin.

Until I get my extended range instrument put back together I won't be able to "road test" any of these strings. Rest assured I will write about the experience when I do.

Here is the single most important thing I have learned about these strings so far. I got hints of it on the Octave4Plus web site but when I read the two pages of instructions that came with my strings there was no missing it. These are not standard strings and you can not treat them like standard strings.

Garry shared some of the details with me over e-mail and the printed instructions drove it all home. These strings need to be brought up to pitch slowly and gently, lest they break. After they are up to pitch they can not be bent as much as standard strings. Because of their size they can be cut by rough or sharp bits on tuners, nuts, frets and bridges that would not threaten standard strings.

This all brings to mind some things I have noticed about what happens the moment one steps outside the main stream. You sacrifice a number of things. One of the first to go is convenience.

Garry Goodman couldn't buy the highest strings he wanted for his extended range basses so he invested in finding out how to make them. The rest of us can now benefit from his work but we also need to understand why Ernie Ball, D'Addario and the rest still don't offer such strings, even though they could. The reason is that most musicians would find the differences between these and standard strings inconvenient, if not entirely unacceptable.

This would create a serious marketing problem for a company like D'Addario. The manufacturing difficulties in adopting multiple new high tensile wires are not trivial either but I suspect marketing and customer education problems are the deal breakers here. How are they going to tell Joe Metalhead he can have a high A on his guitar but it will take at least an hour to tune up and he can't bend it, or that he can bend all six strings in this set but in that one he can only bend the lower five?

Because of Garry Goodman these highly specialized strings exist. If you need to be able to slap then on and start playing in minutes they are not for you. With the popularity of extended range bass and multi-string guitars in recent years it makes sense that if D'Addario could market a convenient (one requiring no explanation or special instructions) .005" string, they would.

If you need a smooth ride, stay off the shoulder. If you are ready for a few bumps, you are more than welcome to join us here. We're having a good time!

For more on "stepping out of the main stream" read my other blog, DJ Dual Core's Old Mix Tapes.

New 8 String Peghead And Nut Installation

2008-12-21T12:24:00.000-08:00

This is just my 7-string brass nut clamped to my brass stock to measure for cutting the new nut. Keep in mind that is an instrument nut you are looking at. Those are very small C clamps.
In more clamping news, I cut the old (and mangled) peghead off of six-string bass neck that has been on my baritone up to this point. I cut a new peg head off of a maple neck blank. If I got the angle right it should tilt back somewhere between 9 and 13 degrees. Here is what it all looks like with four C clamps, waiting for the yellow glue to do its thing.

While the glue is drying I will cut the 8 slots in the new nut, using the calculations and SketchUp plan posted earlier.

Sketchup Design for 8-String Nut

2008-12-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

Updated String Space Calculator Spreadsheet

2008-12-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

Back in August I posted a screen shot of and download link to an Excel spreadsheet for calculating string spacing. I swiped it from Bill Jehle and modified it to do calculations for a 7-string instrument. I have now also created an 8-string version.

In the process I found some problems with the 7-string calculator and corrected them. If you downloaded it before you should download it again. The old version more or less worked but the new one is more precise.

Great Blog About Fender VI Guitar/Baritone/Bass and Related Instruments

2008-12-18T08:17:00.000-08:00

Fellow Iowan, Mike Roeder, posted a very nice piece about the Fender VI family of instruments in his Time to Play B-Sides blog last year. The Fender VI, in various forms, under various names, is a family of instruments that has caused more confustion than any other six-string instrument I'm aware of...hence it's semi-obscurity. Roeder has played a couple recent versions and sorts it all out for you. He will also make you want to buy one, so you might not want to read this if you are too dead broke.

Fender Baritone Jaguars and the Bass VI

New (To Me) Product: Upper Register Long Scale Strings

2008-11-29T12:53:00.001-08:00

I have crossed a line. I am getting excited about strings. I have a feeling there is no turning back.

Octave Four Plus (also written octave4plus or Octave 4) is a company offering super light gauge and high tensile strength metal strings for guitar, bass and similar instruments. Among other things, their strings address a specific problem I have had with my bass/baritone hack; I can't tune the 7th string up as far as I would like.

Octave 4 strings are not just made by gauge and instrument (.010 for electric guitar) or even instrument and scale (.070 for medium scale bass). They are made for a specific note (G4), gauge (.006) and scale (26"). For example, you have your choice between a .005 and a .006 string for a 26" scale intended for tuning to A440. Likewise, the .006 for A440 and the .006 for B493.88 (AKA B4) are not the same string.

Octave 4 is a venture of veteran extended range bassist Garry Goodman. He knew he wasn't alone in feeling a gnat restricted by standard strings. You know what they say about the mother of invention. It seems he's not satisfied with standard instruments, either.

I ordered my strings Friday. I got an e-mail back saying my strings will be made this coming week. That's right. The strings I receive will have been made for my order. When I have had a chance to use a few of them I will write about the experience.

This is why you experiment with inexpensive instruments and parts

2008-11-28T09:04:00.001-08:00

This is a shot of the bridge are of my bass/baritone hack as of the morning of Nov. 28 2008.

When I got it there were ten holes, six for taking the strings through the body an four holding the original bridge in place. Now, after my various bridge experiments, I count 23.

Oct. 29 7-string bass/baritone hack update

2008-10-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

I successfully wired the EMG 808 pickup sans tone and volume controls.

I put the neck, bridge and strings back on and it plays.

I did not position the bridge correctly. I may need to adjust not only its location but also the pickup to get everything in line. Currently the highest string runs off the high side of the neck so I only have six playable strings. Basically, I accidentally un-did one of the bridge changes that accommodated the seventh string; I moved the bridge back to it's original position rather than locating it a gnat to the left.

This is all fixable. I'm very happy about the brass nut and pickup being usable.

After I strung it up last night I played it through my new Electro Harmonix Micro Metal Muff and my Peavy bass amp. It sounded awesome! When I get the bridge and string gauges sorted out I can only imagine how good it will sound.

7-String Baritone Nut and Pickup Update

2008-10-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

Although you couldn't tell it from this blog I have been working and making progress on my baritone hack.

The brass nut is cut and installed.
I cut the slots with Stew Mac nut slotting files. I will adjust them further when the neck is back on the body and and I can see how the strings lay in them. The nut is glued in with epoxy glue. I may regret that later but I'm comfortable with 2-part epoxy so that's what I went with.

You can also see in this picture where I reinforced around the small tuners with epoxy putty. Ugly, but sturdy.

Both of the stock pickups are gone.

I routed and chiseled the lower pickup space out to accommodate an EMG 808. I also pulled all the rest of the electronics except the battery compartment and output jack. My intention is to run the pickup directly to the output--no volume pot not tone control. I count on one hand the times I have used either of those controls on my standard instruments in the last year and it seems to me life would be just a gnat simpler without them.

I'll let you know how all of that goes.

Brass Guitar Nut Making Pt. II: Google SketchUp

2008-09-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

You would think that since I have been getting paid to work with computers for over fifteen years and use a dizzying array of software over the course of a week that picking up a new application would be easy for me. You'd be wrong.

Google SketchUp is a 3D modeling and design program. A basic version of it is available for free. A payware "Pro" version includes a presentation tool called LayOut and other enhancements. Both versions are available for Windows and Macintosh and, between them, seem to be developing quite a following. My brother-in-law, a partner in an engineering firm, says many of his fellow engineers use the free version for most everything that doesn't need to be done in a dedicated engineering app. To show me the plans for the firm's new offices (what he really wanted to talk to me about) he opened SketchUp on his laptop.

This is an example of a SketchUp design I swiped directly from sketchup.google.com.

As I mentioned in earlier posts I'm making a brass nut for my baritone hack. I'm building a guitar part, not a stadium, so my SketchUp screen is more likely to look like this.

Since previous nut modifications I have done have never come out right I decided to make "real plans" for this one before I started cutting into my brass stock. With everything good I had heard about SketchUp it seemed like an obvious choice.

What is obvious to others is not always obvious to me. After hearing how Ableton Live was easier to use than a spoon I had to take three or four good hard runs at it before I got anywhere. So it was with SketchUp. Although the controls and tools all make sense very simple tasks such as changing the length of a line took me some time to figure out.

That said I was able to do some very cool things. In sum, I was able to make a correctly proportioned 3D model of the nut I am making, right down to the fine differences in string spacing.

First I created a solid object representing my over-sized brass blank. I did this by creating two identical rectangles representing the faces of the blank and connecting their corners with straight lines. I then used the push/pull tool to make the blank 1/8" thick. I used the tape measure and protractor tools to reassure myself that I had right angles and parallel lines.

I simply drew lines on the top face of the blank to represent the fret slots and final hight of the nut. I used the numbers from the "center-to-center distances between strings" section of the string spacing calculator spreadsheet to draw the exact lengths of the lines separating my slot markers. I used SketchUp's tape measure tool to make sure the slot markers for string one and string seven were both 1/8" from the outside edges of the nut. The math works out perfectly and I didn't need to worry about how sharp my pencil was.

Because I was working with short, precise distances it was important to me to be able to specify line lengths down to the thousandth of an inch. The precision of these measurements is set in the app's preferences, not preferences for the line tool as I had assumed. This makes sense as they have implications for the whole model, regardless of how lines or objects are created.

Eventually it dawned on me that what I needed was not actually a 3D model of the nut. I'm probably not going to change its thickness so all I really need is an accurate guide for cutting it to length and precisely locating the string slots. So, maybe I could have done this in a drawing program, but having used Sketchup I know my distances are right and that it will print exactly to scale.

Something like this.
Speaking of printing, that was a bigger adventure than setting distance precision. SketchUp has fairly flexible printing features so I had some decisions to make. As it turns out people want to print their designs in all sorts of interesting ways and from various perspectives. I wanted to print the top face of my design from directly above it in 1:1 scale. This meant turning off Perspective under the Camera menu and setting the scale to "1" to 1"" in Document Setup under the File menu. Also I needed to make sure I did not print the background, among other things.

Before I figured these things out I printed:

1) The nut blown up to about 2 1/2 times its intended size
2) The nut from a viewing angle almost but not quite straight down
3) A white renctangle proportioned like the nut centered on a tasteful gray background
4) Only the nut slots
5) Only one nut slot
6) A completely blank page

But I'm from Iowa and I was raised to believe that God gave humans dominion over software so I persisted. Eventually I got this.

It looks more impressive printed out but you get the idea.

Why My Blogs Have Been Thin Recently

2008-08-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Shortly after starting my second blog, Hack Your Guitar, I cranked out a couple of good pieces for it and Old Mix Tapes. Then everything slowed way down. Actually, everything took off but my blogs didn't reflect that.

Since the end of July, when I first posted to Hack Your Guitar, I have:

1) Started learning Google Sketch Up so I can model guitar parts, specifically a nut I need to make
2) Installed and started learning Pluggo Jr. from Cycling '74
3) Made significant progress on a collaboration I'm not talking about yet
4) Cleaned up two classic guitars given to me by a friend who honest to God didn't know what they were
5) Dismantled my baritone hack in preparation for installing an EMG 808 and a brass nut 6) Finished arranging a track made almost entirely from scratch samples

...and that's just the musical stuff. Point being, when time allows I will have plenty to write about, including continuing the series I have started.

In the mean time why don't you take a look at the older pieces on Old Mix Tapes and e-mail me what you would like to read more of.

Making a 7-String Brass Guitar, Baritone or Bass Nut pt.1

2008-08-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

I knew I needed to make a nut for my baritone hack. I've been curious about metal nuts for some time so I'm going to make it out of brass.

Just to get the instrument going I just slapped a few extra notches in the vinyl nut the bass shipped with--hence the crap string spacing I mentioned in earlier articles. After popping off the old nut I found that not only is it vinyl, it is hollow.

Now, I'm no physicist but I am pretty sure a vinyl nut with a big air pocket in it isn't the way to maximize sustain and brightness. It gets better. There was so little glue under the nut I was able to push it off with one thumb, like turning pages in a magazine.

The neck on this instrument is 2 1/8" at the nut. If one goes shopping on line for nut blanks you will find that the few vendors who carry brass or stainless steel nuts and nut blanks do not have them this wide. This makes sense. It's non-standard on two counts--size and material.

So I started looking for companies selling the raw material, brass. All Metals Incorporated offers brass "flats" in a variety of thicknesses and has no minimum order. I ordered a 1/2" X 1/8" by one foot precision cut brass flat.

One of the problems I am trying to solve with the new nut is string spacing. I am NOT going to eyeball it again. When I first set out to add a seventh string to an instrument last year I found a very handy spreadsheet posted on line. Originally created by John Lord (Guitarmaker, Spring 2006, issue 55, p. 35), the version I downloaded was from Bill Jehle. You can download my modification of it here. Lord and Jehle's versions were for 6 string instruments. I added the formulas for a seventh string.

Here is what it indicates for spacing with my current string gages for my baritone hack.

I'll let you know how it goes.

It's All About How The Instrument Makes You Feel

2008-08-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

I'm continually amazed at just how much musicians will pay for instruments and other gear in the name of "tone."

To me, the irony is that the tonal difference between vintage (or otherwise special) gear and more mundane tools of the trade may never reach the listener. If they do, will the listener notice? I bet not very often unless the listener is also a musician, and then maybe not.

I've concluded that it has little to do with the listener. Musicians spend thousands of dollars to upgrade to superior instruments for themselves. They may say otherwise, especially if they are full time professionals, but it's really all about them.

And that's OK. Really, it is. Sure, people go overboard, but anybody who has played more than one guitar can tell you that they all feel very different. This, in turn, makes the musician feel different about playing.

Some of the feel is the physical touch of the instrument in the player's hands. Some of it is "tone." Some of it is the look of the instrument and how that makes the musician feel. The more emotionally involved a musician is in their music the more this all matters.

Several years ago I dropped my prized 1945 Harmony arch top guitar. My mother bought it used in the 1950's and gave it to me in 1993. It has been my main acoustic guitar ever since. I couldn't find the luthier who restored it for me in 1993 and my local shop said they didn't have the tools for that type of body crack.

Despairing, I started playing new guitars with an eye toward buying one. They all sucked. Martin, Yamaha, Taylor, Takamine. I hated them all.

Thankfully I stumbled across the business card of the Des Moines luthier who had done such a nice job restoring the instrument for me almost a decade before. I was relieved he was still working. He was in his 70's the first time he worked on the instrument.

Many of the guitars I "hated" when looking for a replacement were better than my Harmony in any number of ways. Still, they couldn't give me the sensory experience wanted. They couldn't feel right.

Someday I'll go into a shop with a better attitude (i.e. not grieving) and find another acoustic that sounds a feels good and it won't bother me that it's nothing like my heirloom Harmony. Like most people who stick with playing music I am very emotionally involved in everything I play. If it doesn't feel good I won't play it. For me it won't take a $6000 guitar to do the trick, but if I believed that was what I needed it would probably become true.

Sound Clips of My Bass-Baritone Mod/Hack

2008-07-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

If you read the first post on this blog you know I hacked a 6 string bass to make a very long scale 7 string baritone guitar. The neck is huge, the strings have a ton of tension of them and I can't remember the last time I has so much fun with a guitar.

I recorded about ten minutes of myself playing it and edited out a few clips that I think demonstrate how versatile this crazy thing is.

One little disclaimer before you listen to these clips. I got the instrument into a playable state. That is all. The action, intonation and string spacing are still screwed up. I am also still using six string pickups with poles, so the low strings are louder than the high strings.

Low End-Clean
High End-Clean
Movement & Chords-Clean
Chords-Overdrive
High End-Overdrive
Noodling & Power Chords-Overdrive

Notes on the recording:

One instrument--a six string bass modified into a 7-string baritone.
No processing of the recording save normalization (edited in DSP-Quattro).
Recorded to Sony MiniDisk with a Shure SM57.
Clean sounds are from a Peavy Combo 300 bass amp.
Overdrive sounds are from a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

6 String Bass to 7 String Baritone Mod

2008-07-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

Sometime last month I found that Rondo Music was selling six string long scale bass guitars for cheap. Even though I knew they were probably made in Chinese sweat shops by people with between seven and nine fingers I bought one. I swiped this picture from Rondo's web site, but this really is what it looked like when I took it out of the box.
Let me be specific about what "long scale" means when you are talking about a bass guitar. On a long scale bass the scale (the part of the string that vibrates--everything between the bridge and nut) is about 34 inches. Compared to a standard electric guitar this is really large. It is almost a foot longer than a Gibson Melody Maker and more than a foot longer than John Lennon's Rickenbacker 325. It is almost ten inches longer than the scale of a Gibson Les Paul or SG and eight inches longer than the relatively generous scale of a Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster.

Why does this matter? It's a bass. Larger instruments make lower sounds, right?

Yes, basically, but there is more going on here. String tension and weight also play big parts in pitch. Each also impacts sound and playability. Longer scale, more tension and heavier strings increase sustain and make for a "bigger" sound, even for higher notes. In fact, may people think it just sounds better. It certainly feels different to play instruments of different scales.

Which is why the six string bass I bought from Rondo is no longer a bass and now looks like this.

The original idea was to add multiple strings, shorten the neck and make it into an alto tapping instrument. This is what I've been kind of fixated on since I became interested in two handed tapping/touchstyle playing last year. Then something happened. I received and started playing my new bass.

It was fun. I had never played a six string bass for more than a couple of minutes before. With the 34" scale and generous cutaways I had a whopping 24 usable frets. That's two whole octaves! Since the neck was nice and wide (over 2" at the nut) I could slap, pop and snap without hitting extra strings.

For any non-musicians who are still with me, all you need to know is you can't do these things on a standard guitar. The neck is too small.

Sadly, I am not a bass player. Let me take this one step farther. I don't know from bass.

I would like to understand bass I have no desire to be a bass player. This is where my desire to have an alto touch instrument came from. Most touchstyle instruments are aimed at people who want to play bass lines while doing other stuff in the guitar register.

What I purchased was not only a bass, it is a step or two beyond the standard four-string bass. Like other five and six string basses the low string is a fourth (the equivalent of five frets) lower than that of a four-string bass. One way to look at it is that three of the six strings on this instrument are dedicated to notes I didn't want to play.

Within a few days of this beautiful green beast arriving at my home I had pulled off the lowest strings and moved the others to the left. I bought the thinnest bass strings I could find and tried tuning the whole instrument higher--into a range I more or less understand. It wasn't enough. To get the whole instrument into the register I wanted to play in I needed to fit it with at least one guitar string.

It turns out that bass tuners and guitar strings are incompatible. This is where I knew I was going to need to reach for my drill, and quite possibly, a saw. That was all part of the plan from the start, but now the goal was different. Now I wanted an instrument with a great huge neck and a monster long scale that I could use my guitar skills with.

What I settled on was adding a seventh string and tuning it like a seven-string guitar but down a fifth. ADGCFAD This makes it a bass-sized baritone guitar.

Here is what I ended up doing to the head. To accommodate guitar strings I installed two guitar tuners as close to the nut as I could. They grip skinny, slippery guitar strings properly and I was able to save some space.

Here you can see how the string spacing ended up. I knew I should make a new nut anyway, so I went ahead and eyeballed the new notches I put in this one. Not brilliant, but acceptable for a first draft and surprisingly playable.

The other problem with guitar strings is that the metal balls on the bridge end are too small. This bass has a "string through" bridge and body. This means that the strings actually pass through the body of the instrument before going over the bridge and up the neck. The holes in the body are too big and the ball on the end of a guitar string will pull right through.

To make room for the two guitar strings at the other end of the scale I did two things with the bridge. I moved it to the left a little bit and removed the right-most saddle. The saddle itself was just held in place with a little allen bolt but I had to cut the rest of the section off with a hack-saw. This was to make room for the two guitar saddles I cut off of a Telecaster-style bridge. I also had to grind the back of the bridge down to make room for the intonation screws behind the guitar saddles.

The big gouge in the wood between the bridge and the knobs is from me loosing control of my RotoZip grinder while working on the bridge.

I love this beast. My Telecaster feels tiny now, but this baritone animal does tricks my Tele can only dream of. I hope to post some sound samples later.

Hack Your Guitar

Making: Being Blocked: 2011

Occupy Cedar Valley

Expanded Offerings from Octave4Plus Strings.

Extra High Strung Guitar and Botched Bridge Repair

Upcoming Guitar Projects

Non-standard Instruments Vs Novelty Instruments

Accoustic Bridge Mod Really and Truly Complete

Accoustic Bridge Mod Complete

Saddle Attachment: Acoustic Bridge Saddle Mod

Progress Photos For Acoustic Bridge Saddle Mod

Making an Adjustable Bridge For a Flattop Acoustic Guitar

Extended Range Guitars Finally Appear in Sweetwater Catalog

Zoomed Photo Of Hacked Control Cavity

8-String Instrument Tightened Up With Rosewood and Zip Ties

EMG 808 Installed and Working Without Tone or Volume Pots

What I've Been Writing About On My Other Blog

What I've Been Writing About On My Other Blog

Most Of My Guitar And Stringed Instrument Collection Photo

Neck Shaping Photo: Spokeshave Work

Jello Biafra, Joey Ramone, Punk Rock and Guitar Hacking

My Mother-In-Law Gave Me C-Clamps For Shristmas

C-Clamp Hack-I Love C-Clamps

Bands You Have Heard Of Who Tune Down

Digidesign 11 Rack--Clarification

Kitchen Sink Guitar Design-Parker Adrian Belew Signature Fly

My First 7-ply Neck Blank Is Out Of The Clamps

Postcolonial Death Match Preview Clips

CD Mastering Scheduled for Postcolonial Death Match

5-Ply Neck Finally In The Clamps

Jean Baudin's Gear Photos

Why Are Extended Range Instruments Still Obscure?

Massive Album Prep This Weekend

Photo Update From The Guitar Hacking Shop

Thoughts on Digidesign 11 Rack

Les Paul Rememberance

Shaping the 7-string Guitar Neck Blank: Spokeshave

New Take on 8 String Classical Guitar: 7 and 2/3 Strings, Banjo Style

30-Inch 7-String Guitar Neck Blank Part II: 5-Ply

Work on the Next Instrument Has Started: Gluing The Laminated Neck Blank

Jennifer Batten String Damper

Fretless Strat Mod

Fretboard Journal: Alvin Youngblood Hart: Guitar Hacking

Thoughts on Tab and other Notation

Shure Microphone Drop Test

Guitar Hacking - Computer Hacking

First 8-String Baritone Outing With A Drummer

Take Back Control Of Your Guitar Part II: Audio Samples Post Vibrato Mod

Take Back Control Of Your Guitar From A Despotic Bi-Directional Vibrato (Tremolo)

11-course lute-guitar with 22 uke pegs

Gretch Jet Baritone: 30 Inch Scale Is Perfect

See Also: My Other Blog And Music Web Site

Final Setup and Playability Adjustments: 8 String Mod-Hack Officially "Done"

First Sketch Of My Next Instrument Build

True Temperament: Well Tempered Guitar Fretting/Intonation

Using an instrument for other than it's intended purpose?

video of 8-string baritone hack

Extensive Neck Making and Modification Tutorials

First Impressions Using Octave4Plus Strings

Success: Photos of Completed Baritone 8-String

Baritone Progress January 3, 2009

Garry Goodman Clarifies Important Points About Octave4Plus Strings

More Octave4Plus Strings, Why No One Else Makes Strings That Small

New 8 String Peghead And Nut Installation

Sketchup Design for 8-String Nut

Updated String Space Calculator Spreadsheet

Great Blog About Fender VI Guitar/Baritone/Bass and Related Instruments

New (To Me) Product: Upper Register Long Scale Strings

This is why you experiment with inexpensive instruments and parts

Oct. 29 7-string bass/baritone hack update

7-String Baritone Nut and Pickup Update

Brass Guitar Nut Making Pt. II: Google SketchUp

Why My Blogs Have Been Thin Recently

Making a 7-String Brass Guitar, Baritone or Bass Nut pt.1

It's All About How The Instrument Makes You Feel

Sound Clips of My Bass-Baritone Mod/Hack

6 String Bass to 7 String Baritone Mod