MIMF

I haven't got a mic but I tried audacity with the built-in mic on my laptop... I've seen the built-in mics on Macs give good results, so you might get away without, at least for early trials whilst you figure out where you want to go with this. The inbuilt mic on my Tosh is very average. Having a m...

Maybe its time to invest in a decent microphone and try one of the more complex methods. :D Yes, I think it's time, Simon. You've got to face the science, sometime, if you keep asking questions! ;) Since my 40 year old Sennheiser (features in the book) died, I've been using a Shure PG 57 (typ. ~$60...

If I buy from the lumber yard, a significant amount of wood will probably have to be removed I do not have a drum sander thicknesser, so is it possible to remove centremetres of material in another way? e.g. an electric hand planer? Guitar panels are normally sawn close to thickness, so best if you...

In do both filled and unfilled. Unfilled is less expensive, maybe sounds marginally better, but very hard to test. Some woods look fine unfilled, others less so. However, most people (>90%) choose filled, but there is no necessity, as such, to fill. Just do what the customer wants.

Doug Shaker wrote: Does anyone know if the Tritons are (relatively) quiet?

Quieter than a 70's or 80's machine, for sure (I have some of those) but you still need hearing protection. If quiet is a serious buyer value for you, there's the Festools (and the price) and still the need for hearing protection.

Bite the bullet and get a new router. The Triton ones have a double acting collet where the first turn loosens the lock, then there's a 1/4 "loose" turn then a second 1/4 turn ejects the bit. The Tritons also have a built in router lift so you can make height adjustments (as well as bit ch...

I'd be more concerned about placing the coupled main air resonant frequency when changing the sound hole diameter and looking elsewhere (e.g. higher top mobility) for loudness and projection.

Patrick Cameron wrote: Just wondering though what type of wood you guys would prefer to work with or give off a nice sound?

There's a wide variety of woods that work well, but the sound you get is more a function of the guitar's design than the specific materials it is made from.

Here's a little light reading for you.

My standard back has a 3m (10') dome, so the compound bend needs to be right to stand any chance of a decent fit. I bend the bindings on a hot pipe, putting in as much compound curve as I can and tightly tape the binding in position whilst it is still warm. If you tape the waist first it's easier to...

...maybe Trevor Gore will show up... Like a bad penny... Like you, I've heard the "urban myths" but have never been able to identify a source. I've looked pretty closely through Helmholtz's "On the Sensations of Tone", which is where you'd expect to find something if Helmholtz a...

Here's a question: Given that the frequency is proportional to sqrt (k/m), would the frequency change from adding a known amount of mass enable you to calculate the effective mass? The top is not a point mass, of course, nor is it even a rigid piston, so it's probably not that simple, but one wonde...

Alan Carruth wrote:...which brings in what's been called 'the American question': "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?"

Because you let the truth get in the way of a good story?

Am I correct in thinking this deflection test is test of top mobility, of sorts? Not looking to replace what your method, on the contrary, I'm looking to broaden my understanding by adopting other tests like you prescribe. Just wondering if I'm knocking on the door of the top mobility concept with ...

Check this out. Frank reckons the problem in that instance was due to heat. But by excavating purfling channels around the fretboard or (as in your case) thinning the top in that region, you are asking (begging!) for a shear failure in the spruce. Filling the gap between the UTB and the neck block w...

Many things to respond to here. Would take a book... So I assume most of the "targets" or "requirements" have been developed by analysis of many "good" or "great" guitars, and the patterns they display? Yes, that's right. But just because we liked them doesn't...

I do like the appearance of your guitar Trevor. It did remind me of the sprayed on grain patterns that the old Stella guitars used however. Thanks Steve! (I think!) It wasn't intended as a "looker" (I have other guitars for that!), rather as an exploration into a few different things: 1) ...

Obviously purfling would provide better support, but paper is cheap and readily available in a pinch. I wonder if it would be up to the task.?. If you look through some of the older pictorial records of guitar making, you occasionally see pictures of sides covered in paper. Robert Bouchet is someon...

Hot pipe and very little water and then only on the inside of the bend. SS 2 might work for you. Another trick is to add purfling to both the top and the bottom of the binding (use a high temp glue; LMII white works for me). The extra purfling helps hold things together and is scraped off once you'v...

Here's a four piece back. Back finished.jpg Back.jpg All the panels are equal width. And no, I can't see the joins either. Makes no difference acoustically. I didn't reinforce the "quarter" seams inside on this (or others that I've done) and if you didn't know there were four pieces there ...

Making guitars out of "weird" wood can be fun, and interesting. Here's one I made out of bits of wood saved when I was renovating my shed (near the bottom of the page). The top is 5 pieces of radiata pine, grain width about 1/2". When we run out of old growth, it's good to know we'll ...