Thursday Lunch Report 10-14-10

Good Day All,

It's another Sunny fall day here in the NW...we have cooler days in the forecast, so I'm
looking at unfinished projects I should work on this fall/winter.

What's the weather like in your part of the world?

Lunch for me today will be a veggie sandwich on homemade bread , a bag of cashews and a couple of orange Sanpelligrino's.

As I've learned about the geometry, circuits ,etc. of electric instruments I got the bug to do a few mods and build some instruments from parts I bought.


Years ago I bought a couple Invaders that had been repainted (badly and repeatedly) and generally abused. Each was purchased for less than $200 and the artist in me seemed to take over.


I should have taken some before pics to show the transitions ; here are the after pics:


I pulled the Kahler on one, filled the cavity with a piece of cocobolo, and installed a brass bridge assembly. I had to raise it to make it work and a had chunk of maple around so I took a slice and liked the way it looked with the bit of bark and odd shape ( I sorta see texas in it) so I left it that way.

...besides stripping the old paint off and cutting a brass nut for it everything else is stock.


The other one already had the les paul style tailpiece and bridge installed, I had a slice of the raw maple left over from Invader 1 and decided to slip (after alot of fitting and refitting ) it under and around the bridge/tailpiece...about the only function it serves is as a handrest when picking close to the bridge...and to invoke curious looks : )
I changed the bridge pickup out for an old Bill Lawrence and installed a brass nut.



...and the fluted brass nut:



Here's a G&L born from parts I collected over the past few years. It has a late 80's SC-3 neck paired with a prototype Comanche body. The body is so light I would swear it is Balsa wood.
I've left the body just the way I bought it to show that it was some sort of test body at the factory ( raw elbow cut, no strap peg holes ). It is a work in progress..you'll notice I haven't run the bridge ground through the cavity yet.



I'm considering wiring the guitar in stereo , so that each half of the Z-coil can be sent to right or left...I know that some combinations will sound good and others won't so it will take a bit of
testing to see which combinations will end up in the final setup. The nice thing about this is that everything is reversible
.
I tried something similar with a crappy kramer years ago ( 12 mini switches in an array )...
Here is that kramer in its current and last incarnation, It intonates well and has a nice Sitar sound ( except it really needs a tone knob, amplified that high frequency buzzing can really get to you )...I know it looks like a POS..but I made something playable from an old body, an old neck, and a brass door knocker




Here's a close up of the "bridge"...the Low E string kept slipping out of the channel...it sits in nicer after I deepened the channel a little . This was an experiment in functionality as opposed to aesthetics.


I'm very impressed with Mac's mods...He takes things to the extremes while retaining all the G&L goodness. Maybe someday I'll feel confident to take use a torch as a paintbrush.

I don't have any pictures of Mac's work...if you do it'd be nice to revisit his mods with pictures for the newer members here (hint,hint WR)

I know a few folks here have put together G&L's from parts they acquired and the results
have been really good...let's see some pics if you have them. I'll admit I felt a little like Leo when assembling an ax from his well designed parts...Leo and George will always have my ultimate respect for everything they have done to make this world more musical and in simply more fun. It's really cool that their Legacy will live on for many decades if not centuries.

I'm curious about the new DF bridge materials, I know those of us who have the older G&Ls would love to try swapping out new parts for old to hear the changes in tone . Has anyone who has ordered a new G&L recently who also has an older G&L noticed a difference that can be attributed to the newer specs? I would love to hear GPD's take on the changes, but I know he has been busy...maybe next year we might hear from him : )

Here's a couple of pictures of my Comanche VI for dessert:





I'm a little pressed for time , I'll chime in later and maybe post more pics of past and ongoing projects.

Cheers,
Elwood

Last edited by Elwood on Thu Oct 14, 2010 12:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Well , your projects certainly are something. I personally go for the finished look. I am sure technically they are great, but visually, to me at least they leave a lot to be desired. I have yet to do any serious overhaul on an instrument, but I have done things like strip finish to get bare necks, when finish was oppressive.

Nice comanche, do all DFV have fine tuners? looks new to me.

Current mod I am planning out, A 3 way switch on a 2 HB guitar. A switch before it (4pdt) for series/split/parallel, after that 3 way switch a push pull volume pot, to bypass the pots (aka a solo switch).

I can attest that not all DFVs have fine tuners (in fact, I'd go so far as to say most don't). That Comanche VI is something else. What's the scoop on all those switches again?

I'd like to start fiddling with some cheapo guitars to see what kinds of functional abominations I could come up with, but I really need a workshop space before I start taking on stuff like that. Right now, with two small kids, our house is pressed for space as it is. Maybe once they're out of the house.

That Kramer is something else, Elwood. But you know what they say. "If the guitar is a-rockin', don't bother knockin'." Or something ...

COol Guitars! Crikey - Looks like some of those G&L's melted.
Speaking of...
I have a few pics of Mac's stuff including a torched axe (Ha) he did for Will Ray.
I havent been in touch with Mac in a while and out of respect I want to ask his permission before posting said pics.

Ha -it was Sunny - wished I went out abit earlier... I left NZ just after Spring arrived so I'm definately missing the bright/warmth factor... it has been rather mild as of late here tho so I'm grateful for that.

I'm short on time too but wanted to chime in.
Nice Report!

Cheers,
Kf

Knock knock (Who's there?)
Elwood (Elwood who?)


Oh, never mind!

Man, you are one talented dude, Elwood. I'm speechless (and that don't happen too often). Just rock on! - ed

Nice comanche, do all DFV have fine tuners? looks new to me.

It's a 1989-90 model ( I haven't checked the dates in the neck pocket ),
Most DF's don't have the fine tuners, I'm not sure when they stopped offering them as an option but I would guess it was when they ran out, maybe around '92.There was a few different incarnations of the fine tuner DF's, some had whammy bar sockets on both sides of the bridge plate. ( I've never seen anyone use two whammies at once, there migh t be new sounds to be discovered with that idea )

I agree about the aesthetics...these are ready for a nice finish (not the Kramer, its eternally ugly) with only a sanding sealer...
you should have seen them in the before state : )

I forgot to mention another mod on Invader 1, someone had cut the 'tit' off the headstock so I did my best to recarve it...I can't find the pics right off...it's not the first G&L that I've seen that someone tried to make it look like a "Fender".

What's the scoop on all those switches again?

three are on/off for each pickup, the other three allow you to choose between the upper three poles/all six poles/ or the lower three poles for each Z-coil...so you can have the bridge pickup for the EAD strings and the neck pickup for the GBE strings , there are lots of permutations to choose from .

Ha -it was Sunny

That didn't last long.
Maybe WR will stop by with pics, but I'm guessing he's been busy with workshops etc.
I would have searched for the spongebob squarepants G&L double neck pic but I felt the same way.
Thanks for stopping in,

I'm speechless (and that don't happen too often). Just rock on!

Thanks for the kind words, I'm gonna take your advice

...I'll check in a little later

(these Lunch Reports are fun!)

Elwood,

Those Invaders are cool, but that Comanche 6 Signature with the fine tuner is the sheite! I would love to hear that one! !!!!!!!!!

Elwood , you are into everything! Where do you find these guitars? Great week of LRs. Great pics, information and art. I have no idea of your age but I can tell you that you will not be bored if and when you retire. I am out of town tomorrow so I wanted to thank you for the entertaining week! -- Darwin.

Elwood, you have some serious time on your hands and cool stuff.

It's 75 beeeyyuuutiful degrees round here.

Here is some of Mac's handiwork!
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Although I had a Climax project that fell apart, here is my own parts JD5 which was scrounged from ebay and put together with assistance from local luthier, Thumbs, woodfixer and Mac (of course, MUCH assistance)
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Oh BTW, an ASAT VI is definately on my bucket list. Especially if it could be rigged with a G&L Fine Tuner!

Elwood,

Those Invaders are cool, but that Comanche 6 Signature with the fine tuner is the sheite! I would love to hear that one! !!!!!!!!!

It really does sound different than other Z-coil equipped guitars, or any other guitars for that matter. The VI's had the pickup halves wired in parallel as opposed to coupled in series , it has a more airy but full sound, very heavenly .

Elwood, you have some serious time on your hands and cool stuff.

It's 75 beeeyyuuutiful degrees round here.

...bastaad, that sounds real nice. Thanks for posting pics of Macs work.
What's going on with the tremelo springs? ...is it for looks or functionality?

Although I had a Climax project that fell apart, here is my own parts JD5 which was scrounged from ebay and put together with assistance from local luthier, Thumbs, woodfixer and Mac (of course, MUCH assistance)

That looks fantastic...love it when a new guitar is born, good job.

Oh BTW, an ASAT VI is definately on my bucket list. Especially if it could be rigged with a G&L Fine Tuner!

Yes, yes, yes

So you put a door knocker on a guitar in place of the bridge. WOW!

What does that sound like?
How do you intonate it? I guess you really can't.

That guitar looks like a good candidate for one of those fretless G&L necks!

I think I want a bass with that option. It is just so bizzare it has to be something that we haven't heard before. Cool
Here are my project basses:
A butchered EB-3 in need of a lot of love and a restoration:


This is a parts fretless Jazz bass that I am considering having my daughter do the finish as an art project. She is very talented IMHO:


the only door knocker that I have is on my front door. But you have me thinking ...

bassman

So you put a door knocker on a guitar in place of the bridge. WOW!

What does that sound like?
How do you intonate it? I guess you really can't.

It sounds alot like an electric sitar ( I guess it IS an electric sitar).
Yeah, the intonation is pretty much set, I carefully and slowly cut the depth for each string checking and re-checking the intonation before proceeding...it was a delicate operation , but it intonates perfectly with a set of ernie balls 9-42 . There is an adjustment for the amount of bridge buzz ; the forward side of the door knocker is supported by a heavy spring which can moved up or down , there is a rock underneath held in by the spring tension that can be moved to keep it at the new adjustment.
The cool thing is the curvature of the bridge matches the fingerboard radius of the old harmony neck I used.
To complete the theme I should add a lighted doorbell button...even if it did'nt do anything.
I should learn "Knocking on Heavens Door" to play it at a gig sometimes

This is a parts fretless Jazz bass that I am considering having my daughter do the finish as an art project. She is very talented IMHO:


the only door knocker that I have is on my front door. But you have me thinking ...

bassman

You really should have your daughter grace the pink fretless with her work. That bridge looks like it might have started out as a part of a door knocker.

Elwood

The bridge on the fretless Jazz Bass is actually a Fender brand bridge. It is the largest and heaviest bass bridge that Fender ever made in the 70's and it was only sold after-market. This is the only one that I have ever seen and the reason that I purchased that bass.

Its actually a very good fretless bass, after I installed new pickups and pots, except that there are too many marks on the side of the neck and none of them is in the right place to indicate the correct pitch.

bassman