Thinline (First Build)

[bluestelecaster]

Just wanted to start a thread and post some pictures. Work will start on this build on Monday hopefully. The body is lake placid blue and the neck is a one piece maple with 6105 frets and a 7.25 radius. The pick guard is parchment. I will be using all Callaham hardware with the exception of Gotoh vintage tuners. The pickups will be Fralin special wind cryogenic broadcasters along with 4-way wiring with cryogenically treated switchcraft input jack and electrosocket.

 

[bagman67]

That's a handsome and simple build you have going there.  I approve.


At the risk of bringing down the wrath and/or scorn of the cognoscenti, what on earth is the expected improvement associated with cryogenic treatment of gross electrical parts?


 

 

[Cagey]

...what on earth is the expected improvement associated with cryogenic treatment of gross electrical parts?

Theoretically, it's a relatively inexpensive way of increasing the service life of some metal parts, especially those involved with other parts that cannot stand heat-treating. I say theoretically, because results are sporadic at best and untestable except through use. In the case of guitar parts, it's a marketing ploy designed to drain wallets more than anything else. There are few metal parts involved with the electrical system, and the wear points aren't the metal parts. In switches, you're using parts that are already over-designed by several thousand times for the duty they'll see, and in pots the it's the plastic resistive strip inside that gets worn. Wire doesn't wear, so... what's left?

 

[bagman67]

I figured I could count on you to pull the snake-oil alarm, Cagey.


Didn't make sense to me - freezing a pickup or the wire connecting it to the jack should make it, uh, measurably different (and qualitatively superior!) some how? 


Assuming (entirely gratuitously) the pickup material is one of those that can be induced to superconduct, I suppose you might be able to count on some different electrical behavior and thus perhaps detectable differences in sound  if you kept the thing at deep sub-zero temperatures, but yeah, I'm thinking I'll continue to buy my wire at room temperature.


Bagman

 

[Cagey]

Well, superconductivity involves the rejection of magnetic fields entirely, so with magnetic pickups we're out of the running right off the bat. Which is weird, since one of the nifty things you can do with superconductors is create ridiculously powerful magnets. I think it's the divorce of an interaction thing that makes the magic work. It's physics that's beyond me. But then, the materials that will super-conduct are pretty exotic and don't include copper. Finally, the temperatures involved are really low, like below -300F. Nothing practical in that list, as far as guitars go.

 

[Updown]

Looks nice  :icon_thumright: .........................  even though your lined out 'lens'  :icon_scratch:

Lake Placid is one I've always looked at but haven't done one yet.

 

[JCizzle]

She's purty. What kind of music are you going to make on that bad boy? :icon_thumright: