An attempt to visualize upcoming guitar (1st Warmoth project!)

[sduck]

I don't know where you get your information or your opinions

Sorry, my opinions only, didn't get them from somewhere else, just from playing many guitars for over 50 years. Yes, many are going to disagree with my opinions - that's what so great about opinions! It doesn't really matter!  :icon_thumright: :rock-on:

 

[mrpinter]

Well, I'm sorry if I attacked you instead of your opinions. But people attach too much importance to tonewoods (IMO). Pickups and other hardware probably affect the sound more. I'm reminded of the famous case of Taylor - I think it was - building an acoustic guitar out of shipping pallets, to prove this very point. By most accounts it sounded quite acceptable. I just hate to hear perfectly good woods labeled "junk".

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Pau Ferro is not maple, but it is not far from it sonically, and it is delightful to play.  Seriously goofy fun to play.  And since it doesn't need a finish, and maple does, the prices are not to different.  There are a lot of folks around here that have tried exotic necks that do not require a finish, and are not going back after getting used to it.  Not to say that Maple is something to avoid, but if you are going custom, go custom.
Patrick

 

[musitron]

JonatanOTG,

First, I think it's awesome you get to build a guitar AND get school credit for it.  :icon_thumright:

As far as the DiMarzio pickups, I can't recommend the Breed pickups highly enough.  They are NOT just shred pickups; in fact, the neck has some of the prettiest clean sounds I've ever heard, especially with the coil tapped.  I have these in a (non-Warmoth) baritone and the only thing I can't get out of it is the neck+middle or middle+bridge classic quacky Strat sounds. 

As far as pickup wiring, I saw you wanted to move away from the standard 5-way switch.  One of the best mods I can think of for a two-humbucker guitar (with four-wire pickups) is the Jimmy Page-style wiring.  (Yes, I know you're wiring a Strat; bear with me a moment )

http://www.cjs-labs.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/JPage-LesPaulWiring.pdf

The basics are there are four push-pull pots; two control coil-tapping (one for each pickup), one controls the phase relationship, the last controls the series/parallel relationship.  With a two humbuckers, you can get 21 different combinations out of it.  I was honestly very surprised to find I could go all the way from emulating a Telecaster (both coils tapped, out of phase, parallel) to the grindy-est metal sound I'd ever had (both coils on full, out of phase, series).  This is switched with a 3-way switch, which should give you more freedom to move the switch around to make sure it's in a spot that works best for you. 

I know you wrote that you "don't want twenty different knobs and switches," but was just sharing various options that are possible.  The coil-tapping is an EXTREMELY useful feature, but I really like the phase option just as much.  Out-of-phase cuts a bit of the low-end (and some of the output) but the high end really cuts through.  And as far as add-on options go, it's pretty cheap to get done.

Anyway, congrats on your project, and hope you end up with something that you quite fancy.

J

 

[DustyCat]

Janka rating

When can we expect some "Kentucky Coffee Tree" in our Warmoth necks shafts?

1390 Kentucky Coffee Tree
  :icon_biggrin:

 

[Cagey]

Dunno. Some woods aren't suitable for instrument use. For instance, Hickory is very hard, but it's rarely used on instruments. Don't know why. Maybe it's too brittle, or too springy, or too... something.

 

[bagman67]

Kentucky coffee tree lumber doesn't look very neck-friendly - but might make a neat body if you want something a little more contrast-y than ash:

And as a practical matter, Janka hardness indicates precisely one thing - hardness - and therefore does not predict suitability for use in an application that demands stability, such as a guitar neck.

 

[JonatanOTG]

JonatanOTG,

First, I think it's awesome you get to build a guitar AND get school credit for it.  :icon_thumright:

As far as the DiMarzio pickups, I can't recommend the Breed pickups highly enough.  They are NOT just shred pickups; in fact, the neck has some of the prettiest clean sounds I've ever heard, especially with the coil tapped.  I have these in a (non-Warmoth) baritone and the only thing I can't get out of it is the neck+middle or middle+bridge classic quacky Strat sounds. 

As far as pickup wiring, I saw you wanted to move away from the standard 5-way switch.  One of the best mods I can think of for a two-humbucker guitar (with four-wire pickups) is the Jimmy Page-style wiring.  (Yes, I know you're wiring a Strat; bear with me a moment )

http://www.cjs-labs.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/JPage-LesPaulWiring.pdf

I know you wrote that you "don't want twenty different knobs and switches," but was just sharing various options that are possible.  The coil-tapping is an EXTREMELY useful feature, but I really like the phase option just as much.  Out-of-phase cuts a bit of the low-end (and some of the output) but the high end really cuts through.  And as far as add-on options go, it's pretty cheap to get done.

Anyway, congrats on your project, and hope you end up with something that you quite fancy.

J

Yeah well, it's not like the school will pay for it or something but still, I'll be doing this on scheduled school time and that's pretty nice!  :icon_thumright:

Thanks for the tips about the pickups, interesting you mentioned the Breeds. I've been looking at the bridge model for quite a while and I believe it would cooperate nice with my style of playing. I want the bridge humbucker to have some power but still as smooth as possible and not to much treble (the main reason I don't get along with the Norton in my Ibanez guitar, it's a tad too sharp).
I haven't thought about putting a Breed in the neck as well, but you think it would work out? I'm thinking about the EQ, it looks like it's very bassy for a neck pickup, at least to me.
May I ask what wood your guitar is made out of? I know woods are often overrated but perhaps the Breeds would compensate in a bright sounding guitar, that sounds reasonable to me.

Thanks for the wiring-tips!

I hope so too, thanks!

 

[StogiePatriot]

Dunno. Some woods aren't suitable for instrument use. For instance, Hickory is very hard, but it's rarely used on instruments. Don't know why. Maybe it's too brittle, or too springy, or too... something.

I'd imagine that it's not flexible enough and not a good wood to use for sustained pressure applications.  Thus why you see them in heavy blow tools (axes, deadblows, tampers) - they send the energy up the grain but I'd suspect/conjecture that the nature of the wood would crack once the pressure had been applied long enough (say a few weeks).

Otherwise it would be an incredible wood cuz no truss rod would be needed (not really)
Cheers!