Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

That's what the small diagonal tertiary brace in the lower bout is for...and is currently missing from your design. A couple of diagonal grained diamond cleats will do the job if you don't fancy a brace there.

Pretty much what Luke said. Try to keep the bridge mass lower. It's possible to get down to 14grm for the bridge (no pins/saddle). Finish the build, and if you find a problem you can hear with the main air resonance consider enlarging the soundhole, but you can always come back and seek more advice ...

Thanks, Rod.

Nice guitar, Rod, and nice sound. How did you do the recordings?

Tod Gilding wrote:Not sure what Trevor does with the mass blocks...

I bevel them down to the thickness of the back linings. Various pics in Chapter 12.

Not sure where to put this one, but I'm sure one of our friendly, helpful mods will fix things if this isn't in the right place... I'm sure the vast majority of you will have seen one of these: Titebond.jpg But what does it have in common with one of these? Ketchup.jpg Well, the tops are the same si...

Possibly! The compensation techniques I use focus on getting the fundamentals of each note to play in tune. However, string partials always play sharp with respect to the fundamental to some degree (on steel strings generally not much), so stretch tuning (which is what Taylor is doing) is not a bad ...

If you're contemplating a finish on a bridge, check this out: click

Martin,

Not sure whether you've just not got round to it yet, but filling the gap between the neck block and the UTB is always a good idea.

Assuming nothing has actually let go on the inside.... ...you could try one of those bridge doctor thingies, and jack the top more-or-less straight (over a few weeks). Given that the sound couldn't get much worse (no sound!), it's not a big risk or a big expense. The neck twist is another matter. It...

Funny (as in strange). I've just had a PU joint fail in a non-guitar related project. It's not like I don't know how to make a joint! I thought this stuff was supposed to be idiot proof! I did some rough-and-ready testing (butt jointing 18mm ply) and disassembly with a mallet. I'm back to using Tite...

I've come across a number of people who haven't been overly impressed with the factory instructions on how to install the K&K mini piezo pad pick-ups; the classical instructions call for drilling holes in the saddle slot, or measuring the distance from the soundhole using the lead and then taping it...

A dome is a dome is dome. Which is the great thing about domes. So as I see it (I hope I'm understanding this) you have two options: 1) Dome the rims over their whole length (butt to headstock) with the high point of the dome towards the top of the upper bout. This will, of course, narrow the depth ...

Thanks for all the kind comments! Are they going to the same owner? shame to break up a family. Perhaps a bit more background... I got an email from a player who was interested in a cedar/rosewood steel string, so I called him up. He was about to head off to the USA, but was quite local, so he dropp...

In best David Attenborough voice: Rarely seen alone in the wild and even more rarely seen together as a mating couple, these two fantastic specimens were caught on film during their courtship routine. You can appreciate their gleaming coats, beautiful markings and their fine pedigree; absolutely sup...

I don't really want to hijack this thread but...I will anyway... I was gluing up some non-guitar related stuff with PU glue and was cleaning up the fizz whilst it was still wet. I spread it around a bit with a paper towel dampened with acetone. When I came back, I had a nice pore fill and no fizz. A...

I've been using a piece of aluminium yacht mast with a 150mm long, 500w tungsten halogen linear lamp in it, the type used in work site flood lights. Temperature control is via a domestic dimmer switch. The mast section is sealed both ends. The same globe has been going strong for ~10 years now. I go...

Nice work, Sergy!

Aw, Jeff...call that a rant?

Come on, tell us what you really think!

Or does anyone have first hand experience with the B-Band AST 1470 for example? A lot of Ashton guitars have B-Band pick-ups in, though they might have them re-badged. Check out the local cheap guitar shop. I thought they sounded pretty good, considering. The B-Band pick-up is based on electret con...

It may be that, after only 1 week, the uke hasn't opened up itself yet. Can that still happen with CF sandwiched braces or does it eliminate the possibility? Any experience with this Trevor? The sound of guitars tends to change a bit over the first two weeks or so. After that, the tonality doesn't ...

Just when you thought it was safe to return to the shed, along comes a young guy who makes you stop...and think... What was I doing when I was 19? I was lucky enough not to have a war to fight, other than on playing fields, and I didn't build my first boat until I was 21. Amazing what you can do bef...

I have received lots of very complimentary emails since the books have been out (thanks everyone who took the time to write, your thoughts are really appreciated) and now and again comes one from someone who's "been there, done that". Marc runs an overseas company making top shelf guitars. Here's wh...

Clancy wrote:Oh, and someone who tried it out has asked for one, so it's already creating sales.
Noice one.

Noice one indeed!

Well done Craig, and thanks for posting this.

I did oil the bridge with fretboard oil (after 24 hour of glue drying time). I oiled a bridge once, with fretboard oil, the Dunlop stuff (Dunlop 02 Fretboard Deep Conditioner oil), probably a few months after I'd glued the bridge on. A while later, hard to say exactly when, but it's still getting w...