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weird guitar appreciation


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2 hours ago, hurricane hugo said:

 

I have a Framus 8 string lap steel and an EBow so I'm already all set for those sorts of funs. 😇

It's not pretty like his instrument but it plays and sounds amazing. Shubb steel bar works great for me and it just sits in my lap without needing any support. 

Still, a weird one, thanks for sharing!!!!

I edited to add a photo of my lovely monstrosity. My brother bought it as a double-neck with table legs. He wanted it to be a lap steel and we cut it into two of them. I replaced the pickup, the tuners and mounted it on a savagely hacked out piece of maple I'd been keeping around for some reason. It's tuned from high to low E B G D A E B G so standard guitar tuning with extra low B and G strings. The original bridge was designed with levers and cams so you could change tunings by flipping levers. It also sucked all tone out of the guitar so drilled a couple of holes in a spark plug socket and used it for a bridge, sounds MUCH better. And I guess it qualifies as a weird guitar in it's own right!!! 🤣

48755243_Framus8string.thumb.jpg.6033c8019a1d4771b06d67c1ce595b5b.jpg

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It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Just saw this luthier on PBS.  Besides traditional stuff, she experiments with alternative materials for guitar construction…some are WAY out there:

 

https://ecori.org/rhode-island-luthier-makes-guitars-that-sing-using-mushrooms-honeycomb/


 

https://www.atelierrosenkrantz.com

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Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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I watched the first bit, up until he was making the body. 

I've played the Veleno, the Travis Bean and the early Kramer guitars. The Velano was all aluminum, the Travis Bean and the Kramer had aluminum necks.

ALL of them expanded from the body heat of being played. When the necks expanded, the strings were pulled tighter and went sharp. No exceptions. 

 

Aluminum is not thermally stable and essentially useless for building guitar necks. That's my conclusion. Wood is much more thermally stable, so is graphite. My Rainsong guitars hold tune very well. 

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7 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

I've played the Veleno, the Travis Bean and the early Kramer guitars. The Velano was all aluminum, the Travis Bean and the Kramer had aluminum necks.

ALL of them expanded from the body heat of being played. When the necks expanded, the strings were pulled tighter and went sharp. No exceptions. 

 

I was in Philip Petillo's Guitar shop when he announced the neck for the Travis Bean and Kramer Guitars. He showed me the prototype that day. The neck was neat looking but I never played one.

From Wickipedia below.

Phillip J. Petillo (September 4, 1945 – August 13, 2010) was an American luthier. In the 1970s he built prototypes for Travis Bean and Gary Kramer for what would become Kramer Guitars.

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6 hours ago, hurricane hugo said:

Not the guitar, just the trem. maybe we need a hardware thread, but I'm not starting it today.

 

 


Well, that's a very clever and original re-invention of the Fender "Synchronized Tremolo", if more like a Bigsby in range. Ingenious use of a Tele's stock design, turning limitations into assets! A strong alternative to a Bigsby for a Tele.

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~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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7 hours ago, Caevan O’Shite said:


Well, that's a very clever and original re-invention of the Fender "Synchronized Tremolo", if more like a Bigsby in range. Ingenious use of a Tele's stock design, turning limitations into assets! A strong alternative to a Bigsby for a Tele.

Maybe I'm just nuts but it seems to me that when you press the bar down, it will pull the springs just a bit forward. If the springs fit the string holes closely, there will be rubbing vibrations that could transfer to through the bridge to the strings and since the springs are also some form of ferrous metal (steel) a hot pickup might even pick that up at higher volumes. 

 

This could be fairly simple to solve by drilling the holes a bit larger and then using a needle file on the edge towards the pickup so it isn't a total deal breaker. I'd go dollars to donuts that it happens with some installations though. 

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6 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

Maybe I'm just nuts but it seems to me that when you press the bar down, it will pull the springs just a bit forward. If the springs fit the string holes closely, there will be rubbing vibrations that could transfer to through the bridge to the strings and since the springs are also some form of ferrous metal (steel) a hot pickup might even pick that up at higher volumes. 

 

This could be fairly simple to solve by drilling the holes a bit larger and then using a needle file on the edge towards the pickup so it isn't a total deal breaker. I'd go dollars to donuts that it happens with some installations though. 


I don't think you're nuts at all.* As a matter of fact, elsewhere across the internet I noticed- without even looking for any such info- discussion of just such an issue, though there was no mention of interaction with the pickups; that some had experienced just such spring rubbing, while others had not; and that for those who had, the cure had been drilling and dressing as you suggested.

I'm guessing that some Teles and Tele-style axes have different sized holes for string-through design, hence the varying results. Seems more likely than not, really!


* As another matter of fact, I experienced squealing and squeaking noises ringing through the solid body of my Les Paul and getting picked up via the strings and pickups to be translated to the amp- from Straploks creaking away as I;d move around while wearing the guitar on its strap. A li'l clear Teflon gel lube solved that problem and it's been fine for a decade or two!

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~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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5 minutes ago, Caevan O’Shite said:


As a matter of fact, elsewhere across the internet I noticed- without even looking for any such info- discussion of just such an issue, though there was no mention of interaction with the pickups; that some had experienced just such spring rubbing, while others had not; and that for those who had, the cure had been drilling and dressing as you suggested.

I'm guessing that some Teles and Tele-style axes have different sized holes for string-through design, hence the varying results. Seems more likely than not, really!

The guitar tech in me responds to reality just about every time, doesn't take long. I didn't search the internet but I am not surprised at all!!!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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1 minute ago, KuruPrionz said:

The guitar tech in me responds to reality just about every time, doesn't take long. I didn't search the internet but I am not surprised at all!!!


Please note the further note that I edited into my post above, ol' Kuru!  :D  :thu:

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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12 minutes ago, Caevan O’Shite said:


Please note the further note that I edited into my post above, ol' Kuru!  :D  :thu:

The last Tele I built, I had to drill the holes myself.  Standard hard tail anyway. 

Tele.jpg

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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53 minutes ago, KuruPrionz said:

The last Tele I built, I had to drill the holes myself.  Standard hard tail anyway. 

Tele.jpg

 

Foot insisted on getting in pic to say, "made for foot stompin' music." What wood is the body? Do not see many guitars with gold hardware. Well, I don't at least and full disclosure I do not look that much anymore. I am vaguely thinking PRS could offer it. Gold always has caught my attention on Gibsons from when I dreamed browsing through my favorite music store. My dream Gibson was a dark cherry burst Les Paul. At that time when I first saw one in person there was a walnut finished Gibson SG with gold hardware. I associated it with George Harrison and All Things Must Pass as I listened to the album during this time. I have seen many black Les Pauls with gold HW and I had a cherry (non-burst) Les Paul Custom with gold HW.

 

What is the black thing on the bridge and the black hooked thing near the strap by the bridge?

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1 hour ago, o0Ampy0o said:

 

Foot insisted on getting in pic to say, "made for foot stompin' music." What wood is the body? Do not see many guitars with gold hardware. Well, I don't at least and full disclosure I do not look that much anymore. I am vaguely thinking PRS could offer it. Gold always has caught my attention on Gibsons from when I dreamed browsing through my favorite music store. My dream Gibson was a dark cherry burst Les Paul. At that time when I first saw one in person there was a walnut finished Gibson SG with gold hardware. I associated it with George Harrison and All Things Must Pass as I listened to the album during this time. I have seen many black Les Pauls with gold HW and I had a cherry (non-burst) Les Paul Custom with gold HW.

 

What is the black thing on the bridge and the black hooked thing near the strap by the bridge?

I think gold hardware looks good. Here are some pics of my Deluxe Player Stratocaster.20230513_174658.thumb.jpg.7dc0db8fe89aebb0a85379e2482fd65a.jpg20230513_174730.thumb.jpg.db1d5ba8a5312729860d69dd009f3396.jpg

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2 hours ago, o0Ampy0o said:

 

Foot insisted on getting in pic to say, "made for foot stompin' music." What wood is the body? Do not see many guitars with gold hardware. Well, I don't at least and full disclosure I do not look that much anymore. I am vaguely thinking PRS could offer it. Gold always has caught my attention on Gibsons from when I dreamed browsing through my favorite music store. My dream Gibson was a dark cherry burst Les Paul. At that time when I first saw one in person there was a walnut finished Gibson SG with gold hardware. I associated it with George Harrison and All Things Must Pass as I listened to the album during this time. I have seen many black Les Pauls with gold HW and I had a cherry (non-burst) Les Paul Custom with gold HW.

 

What is the black thing on the bridge and the black hooked thing near the strap by the bridge?

I could have cropped it out but toe, so didn't. 

The body is pine capped with about 1/4" of book matched walnut. Clear finish on the walnut, not stained. Stain plugs up the pore and ruins the beauty of the wood. 

 

It was sold on eBay without screw holes and without final sanding, I think it cost $45 or so. We had walnut in Dad's workshop, it looks gray and dingy until you put a finish on it. Sellers who know will wipe the body with alcohol or thinner or something and snap a photo before it goes back to gray. Even though I thought a pine body would be nice and light, it's pretty heavy.

I'm considering using a Forstner bit on the back and drilling away all of the un-needed wood to lighten it up. 

Pretty sure that parts are all brass or brass plated except the tuners and the Floyd Rose bar behind the nut. Tuners are Sperzel locking tuners, string changes are so fast I don't need 2 guitars at a gig. The neck is a Warmoth and had the orange headstock face decades ago, plus a full Floyd setup. I still have the orange Tele body but I put a baritone neck on it. I didn't Floyd that body. The knobs came off a dead vintage hi-fi amp (mono). 

The ""black things" are a mount for a Fishman Triple Play pickup and the wireless transmitter for that system. When I plug the receiver into a USB port and send a track to my DAW, the guitar plays MIDI, effectively making it a guitar synth. It does track pretty well if you play really clean but you can't get the same "infinite sustain" that some synths will provide from a keyboard. I suck at keyboards but I do have an XKey 25 and an Akai MPK25 if I need to do something with longer sustain or other tricks. 

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1 hour ago, o0Ampy0o said:

Did you ever do gigs with the Triple Play?

I've never considered playing a gig with the Triple Play. 

I love the sound of a guitar and the simplicity of bringing a minimal system. 

 

There is also the problem of the interface not having much in the way of the usual synth with knobs to adjust all parameters. 

That must be done on a computer screen, which means taking my hands off the guitar to mess about with software synths. Not my idea of fun. 

 

Just not into it. It works well for recording but I usually end up cutting multiple tracks with it and then mixing bits and dabs as needed. 

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17 hours ago, Larryz said:

@hurricane hugo Very cool guitar demo!  Probably the best travel guitar concept and folding mechanics I have ever seen! The guitar looks very well made and I think the price is right...thanks for posting it! 😎👍

4 ril tho, I thought they were going to be asking at least $700 more than they are.

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  • 4 months later...

The Sterling Valentine Semihollow with Bigsby is not exactly weird, but definitely a little unusual:
 


It’s hard to tell, but that’s a Tele-voiced singlecoil of some kind in the bridge position.

 

There’s also a solidbody, a chambered hardtail, and a solidbody with tremolo in the Valentine line.

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Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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19 minutes ago, hurricane hugo said:

 


I can appreciate that that's certainly a weird guitar idea, but I think it's ridiculous- that's the kindest thing that I can say about it. The incredibly small radius of the fretboard/fingerboard is practically unusable and a total detriment to any real use of this as a musical instrument for performance. A lot of work for a pile of crap.

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Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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