***The Official Guitar Thread***

Never played a guitar before and probably never will but after seeing guitars could be 3D printed I had to print one. It’ll go on the wall once stringed/strung(?) and a few minor issues sorted out.


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Looks OK, but the headstock? LOL, shame the honeycomb effect was not continued there.

That headstock ruins the style IMHO, it looks like a plank of wood and totally out of sync with rest of the guitars radical looks.
 
One 48 said:
Looks OK, but the headstock? LOL, shame the honeycomb effect was not continued there.

That headstock ruins the style IMHO, it looks like a plank of wood and totally out of sync with rest of the guitars radical looks.
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So, so, you could use replicate the use of wood for the area of the pickup, then use black for the honeycomb. That way you don't have to modify the head beyond shaping to whatever shape that's not Fender infringement inducing :D

I'm not that much of a fan of the telecaster style bridge - I have a Strat myself but you have the opportunity to DIY something more effective/elaborate.
 
I like the honeycomb body a lot. I'd prefer a different headstock, and I'm not a tele bridge man either, but that body is awesome! Is the neck quite chunk, or is that a trick of the photo?
 
Has anyone had any experience of seymour duncan strat pickups?
Specifically I’m considering switching out my old 1980s japanese strat’s factory pickups to:
Bridge Hot Rails
Mid little 59 strat
Neck little 59 strat

Basically anything from metal chugging to police and more mellow stuff. The factory pickups are non-hum bucking and quite sharp so i’m looking to mellow down the top end a little whist improving the clarity.
 
NickK said:
Has anyone had any experience of seymour duncan strat pickups?
Specifically I’m considering switching out my old 1980s japanese strat’s factory pickups to:
Bridge Hot Rails
Mid little 59 strat
Neck little 59 strat

Basically anything from metal chugging to police and more mellow stuff. The factory pickups are non-hum bucking and quite sharp so i’m looking to mellow down the top end a little whist improving the clarity.
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My guitarist modifies guitars every weekend - his reply

In my US Tele I’ve got Seymour Duncan’s in. The bridge is a Seymour JB full humbucker size that I routed out. It’s about 15k output which is hot but is definitely not mega metal sounding really. It’s more PAF on steroids than EMGs. So when they are split to single coil it sounds pretty much like a clear single coil and around 7k output which is ideal. If you want all three pickups in your strat changing I’d probably go for single coil size humbuckers and have them split so you can get single coil tones. Try the the JB jr in the bridge and two Lil 59s or lil 59 in neck and duckbucker for the middle. I’ve listened to so many reviews of these so pretty sure this would be the kind of thing you’re after - Shadows to Slayer.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
My guitarist modifies guitars every weekend - his reply

In my US Tele I’ve got Seymour Duncan’s in. The bridge is a Seymour JB full humbucker size that I routed out. It’s about 15k output which is hot but is definitely not mega metal sounding really. It’s more PAF on steroids than EMGs. So when they are split to single coil it sounds pretty much like a clear single coil and around 7k output which is ideal. If you want all three pickups in your strat changing I’d probably go for single coil size humbuckers and have them split so you can get single coil tones. Try the the JB jr in the bridge and two Lil 59s or lil 59 in neck and duckbucker for the middle. I’ve listened to so many reviews of these so pretty sure this would be the kind of thing you’re after - Shadows to Slayer.
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Thank you for that, good point about splitting coils too. I’ve watched a few comparisons but you never know the levels the recording’s at.
I just found a review of the everything axe (jr/duckbucker/lil59) which does sound good - the only thing is the hot rail output is higher hence gives a little more crunch.
It’s true you loose a little of that thin strat single coil high crisp that cuts across without overloading (things like hall&oats i can’t go for that) but at the same time it needs a little more lower down. Splitting makes that an option that i need to look into.

The full size option for the neck would help clarity over the single coil. However i think single will do.

As it’s my 50th this year so I’m going to build the amp and change the pickups. The pair should then outlast me and another 25 years :)
 
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www.youtube.com

how GHOST writes a song

Let's write a GHOST song! Get my full songwriting course here: https://bit.ly/SONGWRITINGCOURSEStream "The Gaudy Cross": https://bit.ly/THEGAUDYCROSSHFGet th...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

not often I watch a 10 minute Youtube video more than once...so wel made
 
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builder22 said:
www.youtube.com

how GHOST writes a song

Let's write a GHOST song! Get my full songwriting course here: https://bit.ly/SONGWRITINGCOURSEStream "The Gaudy Cross": https://bit.ly/THEGAUDYCROSSHFGet th...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

not often I watch a 10 minute Youtube video more than once...so wel made
Click to expand...

I've watched that at least a couple of times, is it the one where he says "If you shred you're dead" :)
A new Ghost EP has been announced today, Phantomime.
 
That is a very dangerous shop!

In other news, I’ve been planning the combo amp which is loosely based on a princeton reverb but the internal volume has been resized to cope with a 12” speaker.

Current dimensions will be (approx): 27”W 18.8”H 10”D which gives a good 26”x16”x9.88” volume for the alnico to breath. The cab will be an open back (partially closed but more than enough to not act like a rear port).
I’m going to use a pre-made princeton reverb chassis case with wood to pad out the difference.
I think this is realistically the smallest a 12” alnico could fit without being too boxed in. The dimensions are golden ratio, and I will mount the speaker slightly off centre to continue avoiding standing waves (probably by 3.6x2.2cm from the the centre point towards the bottom right corner).

The cab will also give space for a reverb or a SS class A amp at a later date (or replacing the power section to use big tubes :))
 
Bill Turnip said:
Have you made many custom amps? It's not something I've ever really considered, or would know where to start. Sounds very interesting.
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I’ve designed and built hifi tube amps, and built speakers from designs (ported) so I know enough to get myself into trouble and out the other side :) so I understand the concepts and the design process from designing my own.

I’d split the two into two - the electrical (ie the amp itself and how it works) and the physical (speaker, how it works with the enclosure and the sound waves).

On the tube amp side - it needs a little electrical knowlesge but you can get a lot from a couple of sources such as books by Morgan Jones (“Valve Amplifiers” book - ignore the building amp book), Merlin Blencowe (https://www.valvewizard.co.uk/) is great.
Also Rob Robinette has some great desscriptions how it works: https://robrobinette.com/How_Amps_Work.htm

There’s a lot of knowledge but you need to understand some basics and the key is safety given tube amps run at higher voltage than your mains.

Alternatively you can go solid state which run a much lower voltages and will be cheaper. Same principles as tube amps with more concepts specific to solid state. Tube amps are voltage orientated but solid state amps are current orientated.

The bonus is the skills here you can use on wiring of the guitar (new pickups etc).

Then speakers/cabs are another massive world, but for an instrument amp you can get away with murder compared to a hifi speaker.
There’s just as much knowledge here as amps.. but like amps there’s plans out there you can copy or use.

Lastly testing/fixing - you will need some equipment and second hand kit can make it cheaper starting out.
For tube amps you will need a good mutimeter (I got a 1000Vdc rated Bryman, it also has very good accuracy for solid state). I have two £40 600Vdc rated and that will work but the 300V rated £10 multimeters off ebay should be avoided. Also ensure your probes are rated - you can get aftermarket too.
With solid state amps you can use a sound card for a low voltage scope/audio analyser but after a while you may find yourself wanting some test gear - a oscilloscope is a key tool but for standard kits or known designs you can get away without it. A cheap scope can be £50 for an oldschool analogue which will be fine for audio. The usb scopes for £50 are not good and hooking up a tube amp to a usb scope is asking you to blow up your computer/dangerous! (My non-USB digit scope input maxes out at 400V but the analogue scopes are often able to take even higher voltages)

So as you can see - it’s like neo and the rabbit hole but it does augment your musical side.
 
@NickK - I have a 70s Marshall transistor amp (2195) that I want to recommission that's seen a bit of corrosion. It powers up and makes some sort of sound however it's clear the pots and switch are needing to be replaced.

Where do you get your components? I'm looking for like-for-like pots however after testing and checking the schematic I'm struggling to find replacements:

VR6: 28k (22k)
VR5: 1kish (1k)
VR4: 177k (220k)
VR3: 23.5k (22k)
VR2: 232k (220k)
VR1: 21k (22k)
(Tested values and expected values in brackets).
VR5 is surface mount, the rest are with wire terminals. Not measured the poles but they're your standard panel mount from the time. Any ideas (or alternatives)?
 
Usually I cut to the reputable supply chain - if I’m ordering from the US then Mouser, Digikey and Farnell. I look for local delivery options too (most warn or allow filtering for UK stock fulfilment). That way you have a better fake avoidance. Last thing you want is to have a fake item short at higher voltage (for example the JCM800 has a cap between the 270Vdc first tube output and the input jack for the clean channel!! Just hope that never fails!) or worse have to order again.

You’ll need to check if they are linear or logarithmic. Most amp gear has regular carbon potentiometers. No need for the plastic low noise or ceramic. Lastly you want to check the isolation voltages and wattage - not so much of a problem as your 2195 has 40Vdc rails.
Personal choice are CTS or Bourne. I find ALPS fragile and get noisy. I had a look and that 1K pot looks like an adjust but like all good designs there’s not much current through it from cursory look. You may want a multi-turn trimmer if you find trimming it too sensitive.

As to values - I agree 25K and 250K would do and you may get 5 or 10 quantity discount. The 1K you want a 1K but a 2K would also work if you have one lying around.

As it’s from the 1970s you may want to check the electrolytic and the tantalum caps, if present. Check he capacitance and resistance. They should be close to your schematic and the DC resistance should be high.
degrading caps can result in all sorts of noise issues.
Lastly measure all the resistors - some carbon comp resistors absorb moisture over time and they rise in resistance over time that can cause them to fail.
You can clean up amps with metal film/wirewound but if you want the 1970s amp sound stick with the direct type of resistor.
 
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