The obsessive compulsive person's guitar spec

[David]

I am not crazy... well at least I don't think I am.  But being able to design and build my own guitar brings out the obsessive side of me.  I worry irrationally about details such as ALNICO magnets losing their strength long after I am dead.  So here is a spec that gives me comfort and a worry-free guitar.  I am the first to admit that this may not be rational, but I never said I was rational.

- Start with the obvious.  Stainless steel frets.  They are like little security blankets.  No more inspecting the little divots that form on frets.
- No tremolos.  I obsess over intonation (surprise!) and tremolos are chock full of uncetainity.  Hardtails only.
- Ceramic magnet pickups.  Ceramic magents are less prone to demagnetize.  I don't want an electromagnet pulse or the odd solar flare to affect my tone.  In hundreds of years if someone picks up my guitar it should still rock.
- No thin necks.  Fat backs feel solid and sturdy, like they could never break.  In the very unlikely event that I need to pull a Keith Richards and wack someone in the head with my guitar, I want the only damage to my guitar to be a tooth stuck in the back or maybe forehead shaped dent.
- String through bridges.  The LP bridges might get pulled loose from the sting tension.  Strings anchored through the wood... nice and secure.
- Rear routed bodies.  I like to know exactly where every wire is and the wiring everything to the pickguard is like wondering if the light goes out when you close the refrigerator door.
- Angled headstocks.  String trees/retainers feel like a band aids for poor design.  The angled head stock makes them unnecessary.
- No fret boards.  They aren't finished and can shrink and expand.  Maple necks finished with a hard layer of urethane.  Breath a sigh of relief.
- No binding.  Sure it looks cool, but what if it comes loose?

I'll admit that I don't have a single guitar that fits all of these criteria, but I find myself spending a lot of time thinking about guitar specs and these are the things I think about.

After reading this list, maybe I am crazy...  I'm I the only nut job out there?

 

[tfarny]

yes.  ??? :dontknow: ???

 

[GoDrex]

- No tremolos.  I obsess over intonation (surprise!) and tremolos are chock full of uncetainity.  Hardtails only.

This kind of thinking doesn't make much sense to me. I mean sure trems can be a pain to deal with at times, but the reason for having one is because you want to use one for how and what you play - if you don't need one because of your style then you don't need one. The fact that their might be tuning or intonation problems shouldn't be a reason, in my opinion. Do you see what I'm saying? Like why have a trem if you're not going to use it? But if you do use them then you get one.

The LP bridges might get pulled loose from the sting tension.  Strings anchored through the wood... nice and secure.

The stop tail piece? OK that's nuts.

 

[David]

So these are the things I worry about when I have too much time to think about guitar specs.  I don't use tremelos, but to be honest it could be because I don't like them structurely.  I'm not even certain.  Guitars without them just appeal to me more.

Perhaps I need medication?

 

[dbw]

I like the way you think.  I don't agree with everything but no, you're not insane, you're building for the ages! 

 

[Nando Vallart]

Perhaps I need medication?

I think you just need mooooooooooore sex... simple... :icon_jokercolor:

 

[spauldingrules]

I didn't know Axl Rose was into warmoth.  Seriously, you sound like a singer.  Get over it and ROCK.

 

[dbw]

Biggest problem I see is you can't have BOTH an angled headstock AND a one-piece neck.

 

[GoDrex]

- Ceramic magnet pickups.  Ceramic magents are less prone to demagnetize.  I don't want an electromagnet pulse or the odd solar flare to affect my tone.  In hundreds of years if someone picks up my guitar it should still rock.

I've wondered about this. I've got a JB that's 20 years old. How long do alnico magnets stay strong? The thing still sounds nice to me. I imagine it will sound good for another twenty years. Maybe it will mellow?

 

[DiMitriR33]

according to bill lawrence alnico's will lose a good amount over a period of time, no real info on how long that is, but then reach a point where they lose under 0.5 percent every 100years.
if the magnets are stabilized before the pickup is sold there then it wont loose any appreciable magnetism.

 

[Ted]

I didn't know Axl Rose was into warmoth.  Seriously, you sound like a singer.  Get over it and ROCK.

Harsh.

I like your sense of humor David....unless of course you were not joking!  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[jackthehack]

- Ceramic magnet pickups.  Ceramic magents are less prone to demagnetize.  I don't want an electromagnet pulse or the odd solar flare to affect my tone.  In hundreds of years if someone picks up my guitar it should still rock.

I've wondered about this. I've got a JB that's 20 years old. How long do alnico magnets stay strong? The thing still sounds nice to me. I imagine it will sound good for another twenty years. Maybe it will mellow?

Hardly think that's a "real" issue; I've owned several vintage guitars with Alnico PUs up to 33 years old; if anything they sound better....

 

[nathan a]

A 'bit' obsessive, but you didn't say anything totally crazy. I'm imagining a pretty sharp looking guitar.

 

[Alfang]

I agree with Nathan, you can do it however you want and for whatever reason,

If you build the axe you described, you will most certainly have the most perfect guitar, for you. Or you will say WTF was I thinking when I dreamed up this crap

 

[hihoslva]

- No fret boards.  They aren't finished and can shrink and expand.  Maple necks finished with a hard layer of urethane.  Breath a sigh of relief.

Maple necks still have fretboards.  While the maple surface is indeed finished, it is still a glued-on, slab of wood.  All-maple necks are not just one block of maple with frets milled into it.

I also have yet to see a rosewood fretboard pull away from a neck.  Or binding, for that matter.

Some good points in your post, and some are.....errrrr.......off.  :icon_scratch:

No worries.  We all have our obsessions  :blob7:  :headbang:

 

[GoDrex]

- No fret boards.  They aren't finished and can shrink and expand.  Maple necks finished with a hard layer of urethane.  Breath a sigh of relief.

Maple necks still have fretboards.  While the maple surface is indeed finished, it is still a glued-on, slab of wood.  All-maple necks are not just one block of maple with frets milled into it.

That's not true. My strat neck is maple and there isn't a glued on fret board. The neck is one piece of wood. That's why it's got the skunk stripe - for the truss rod, because they can't put it in from the top like you can on a neck with a separate fretboard.

 

[ildar]

- No fret boards.  They aren't finished and can shrink and expand.  Maple necks finished with a hard layer of urethane.  Breath a sigh of relief.

Often, the glue used in instrument making is stronger than the woods that are used. Urethane, or lacquer, or most any finish, expands and contracts with the wood which, incidentally, continues to do so even after it has been finished. You don't want a finish to not expand and contract. And urethane sucks.  :toothy12:

 

[jackthehack]

"Maple necks still have fretboards.  While the maple surface is indeed finished, it is still a glued-on, slab of wood.  All-maple necks are not just one block of maple with frets milled into it."

Warmoth from time to time has billets from which one piece necks can be made from, I have both a maple and an indian rosewood neck of this construction and have seen examples in wenge and other wood varieties on the Showcase from time to time.

 

[tfarny]

Schmoop showed us a vid of a guy's bass made out of a single piece of aluminum. That would solve all your worries at once, plus it would double as a weapon, crutches, straightedge, crowbar, and tent pole. Things made out of wood are never so perfect. Good luck either way, though. Oh, and I agree that angled necks are a better design. I hate string trees too.

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Schmoop showed us a vid of a guy's bass made out of a single piece of aluminum. That would solve all your worries at once, plus it would double as a weapon, crutches, straightedge, crowbar, and tent pole.

:laughing11: