tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78147712786969530672024-03-14T01:50:23.039-04:00These Old GuitarsLike a fine wine, some musical instruments get better with age. Sometimes, due to age, neglect and abuse, older guitars needs some work and TLC to be returned to playable condition. This blog documents some of the work I have performed on musical instruments for myself and others over the years.Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-63984842515695453052016-03-20T22:29:00.003-04:002016-03-20T22:34:23.069-04:00LeSpork Bass Prototype - Dirty Laudry<div style="text-align: center;">
I make my living off the evening news<br />
Just give me something<br />
Something I can use<br />
People love it when you lose<br />
They love dirty laundry</div>
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Playing with the mosfet a few nights ago was fun, and I'm sure I could squeeze a little
more clean gain out of it by a few value tweaks. I still might come
back to it for my Jamtastik! pedal, but something reminded me of a few two-stage jfet preamps I've been meaning to try. I came across one awhile back in an Instructables post:</div>
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<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-JFET-Preamplifiers-for-musical-instrument/?ALLSTEPS" target="_blank">http://www.instructables.com/<wbr></wbr>id/Building-JFET-<wbr></wbr>Preamplifiers-for-musical-<wbr></wbr>instrument/?ALLSTEPS</a></div>
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As much as I like the relative warmth of the Fetzer Valve, it pales in
comparison to the LPB and TL071 in terms of gain. For my Jamtastik!, it
really just needs some more power. Here's the Fetzer Valve Revisited as built for my Jamtastik! pedal.</div>
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<a href="http://www.runoffgroove.com/fetzervalve.html">http://www.runoffgroove.com/fetzervalve.html</a></div>
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So, with two stages, the question
becomes how much clean gain can I get from it with a 9V power supply?</div>
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Taking the Instructables circuit and applying some of what I see in the
Fetzer Valve Revisited, I swapped out the Rd=2k2 for 50k trim pots.
Lacking 750R and having the wrong style of 2k trim pots for
breadboarding, I went with Rs=820R for starters. Since I'm plugging in a
guitar and bass, I also reduced the input and output capacitors to
0.1uF. And, wanting to have some level control, I added a A100k voltage
divider on the output. After biasing both engines at idle to 4.5V, we
have a simple, not totally clean, super low-noise gain monster. I give
you, Pinch of Dirt.</div>
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But, and this is a most important but, it cleans up very nicely by
turning back the guitar volume and still has plenty of gain! So, the
next step is to add a minimal shunt resistor plus some attenuation on
the front with an inline resistor, in front of the first input
capacitor, a la the Fetzer
Valve revisited. After I find the sweet spot for that inline resistor,
I'll play around with values of Rs to find the limit of how much clean
gain and dirt I can get out of this circuit.</div>
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-62437598870573348592016-03-15T08:56:00.000-04:002016-03-18T08:11:03.102-04:00LeSpork Bass Prototype - The MOSFET and Me<div>
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We both know<br />
What could have been<br />
On Sunset strip<br />
Our broken dream<br />
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So, this actually has little to do with Robbie Williams and
bears little resemblence to Jack Gantos or The Trouble in Me. But, my first foray into the world of mosfet devices was a success. Due to
availability of parts on hand, I ended up with a cross between
the AMZ and Blue Dragon Mosfet Boosters:<br />
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<a href="http://www.muzique.com/schem/mosfet.htm" target="_blank">http://www.muzique.com/schem/<wbr></wbr>mosfet.htm</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.maxgreco.com/fun/bd.html" target="_blank">http://www.maxgreco.com/fun/<wbr></wbr>bd.html</a></div>
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Besides reference to Jack Orman's circuit, Max Grego also gives a nod to the <span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">Catalinbread Sagrado Poblano Picoso! As described, it sounds like</span> </span>an interesting bass guitar effect, despite the demo in the following link being done with a guitar on a Super Chili Pocoso build:<br />
<a href="http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2013/01/catalinbread-sagrado-poblano-picoso.html" target="_blank"><br />http://tagboardeffects.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.com/2013/01/<wbr></wbr>catalinbread-sagrado-poblano-<wbr></wbr>picoso.html</a><br />
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Per
comments about the Poblano Picoso, the 2N7000 has a cleaner sound than the
BS170, which correlates with the description in
Wikipedia of the 2N7000 as a FETlington:<br />
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2N7000" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<wbr></wbr>2N7000</a></div>
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Anyways,
my homebrew Mosfet Booster has a 2N7000 mosfet, 2.2K fixed for Rd and Rs, a 10M3 fixed biasing the Gate, a 0.1u output
cap, and 2/3 of a 2N2222 acting as a protection diode. I left off
the tone control and simply put a 100k fixed across the output to ground. The lack of a
resistor across input and ground was noticeable when plugging and
unplugging, so I'll put something hefty in for controlling the pop next time. About
5V was the closest I could get to the low end of Jack's suggested bias
voltage of 4.5-5.5V at point A=Drain, and Max Greco did not offer any
suggestions here other than to leave it to the user to play with the
100k for biasing the beast. The circuit seemed to sound cleaner when I
pushed the voltage at A up to about 8V. That put Vref at about
2.4V, and it was too late in the day to play loudly enough to tell how clean it really was. I
was using a B5k instead of A5k for a gain pot, and found the 4 o'clock
position, about 0.7k, to be the limit before the
clean boost started slipping into a somewhat understated but tasty overdrive. This
calls for more experimentation at higher volumes to find reasonable Vref and bias voltage levels, and try it along with a master volume plus tone control with a clean recovery stage.</div>
Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-52727903495189672242015-07-21T13:01:00.000-04:002015-07-21T13:01:01.804-04:003VOD - Overdrive<div style="text-align: center;">
You change and then you change again<br />
Turning like a wheel inside your head</div>
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While working on my practice amp, I was looking around on the <a href="http://www.muzique.com/lab/main.htm" target="_blank">amzfx Lab Notebook pages</a> and came across a section on low-voltage preamp circuit. Towards the end, Jack Orman shares a fully-developed two-stage overdrive circuit. With my bass project in mind, I put one together on my breadboard.<br />
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With the exception of two parts values, I built it as described and shown in the article. It works the same way as the one I ended up with in my practice
amplifier, with an NPN transistor stage pushing a JFET transistor stage. It also has less parts and is powered by only 3 volts instead of
nine. As suggested in the write-up, my intent was to use a pair of NiMH AAA cells that should provide 900+ hours before needing a recharge. So, what kind of sounds can you get out of so little? As Jack wrote, "These low voltage boosters are not for making clean sounds but they
excel in adding a bit of flavor. They will provide some additional tone
colors for your musical palette..." I was so impressed with this little circuit that I built a perf-board pedal version of it.<br />
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Biasing of the JFET is by means of a trim pot on the circuit board.<br />
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A small plastic junction box seemed like an appropriate way to house things. The bypass switch is nestled between the drive and level-out pots, making for a compact set of controls.<br />
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It was a tight squeeze with all of the wires, but I left some extra length on the leads to make it easier to handle during the build and replacing batteries.<br />
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Some temporary labels came in handy during testing.<br />
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After passing initial testing, I added some lettering and sprayed on some clear coat.<br />
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3VOD is currently out on loan to a local musician who will provide some feedback on the sound and overall design...Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-79113708618471884222015-07-12T23:16:00.000-04:002015-07-14T09:40:57.911-04:00LeSpork Practice Amp - Testing 1,2,3<div style="text-align: center;">
Maybe it would be fun<br />
To get a new opinion<br />
Get a little work done<br />
And forget</div>
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I was spending a lot of time going up and down stairs working on that bass preamp circuit. I'd build something on my breadboard at my kitchen table or at my desk where there is plenty of light, and then carry it to my son's room to test the circuit with the bass and amp. The problem is, there isn't anywhere as much light in my son's room. So, a lot of times, I'd make a few trips up and down the stairs with my test board until I had something that actually worked. Good for exercise, but for productivity, not so much.</div>
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I got to emailing with a friend of mine, as he was starting a low-watt guitar amplifier and speaker cabinet build project. One thing led to another, and I decided it was the right time to build a low-watt practice amplifier. The thought was to have something that I could use in any part of the house for a quick test of a guitar electronics projects before bringing things all the way upstairs for a full test. I had a pre-assembled 1/2 watt LM386 audio amplifier on hand, so most of what I needed to do was to add some speakers and a wooden box. With that, the LeSpork Practice Amp, aka LPA, was born.<br />
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It took a couple of iterations to design the
speaker cabinet. It was a balance between common lumber sizes and dimensions that would work with the pair of 4" speakers I had picked out as well as the cabinet aesthetics. Sometime back in high school, I first learned about Fibonacci numbers. As applied to two dimensions, the Golden Rule ratio is 1 : 1.62. For a box, the
ratio of 0.62 : 1 : 1.62 for the sides is considered by some to be ideal. This relationship is what I used for sizing my interior speaker cabinet
dimensions. I started with something wide enough for the two speakers side-by-side, then rounded the height and depth dimensions to the closest standard pre-cut lumber size. Lastly, I worked out dimensions for the cabinet to sit at a slight angle to the floor, so that the speakers would end up pointing slightly upwards, making it easier to hear the sound from this little amp.<br />
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The next day, I headed off to the home improvements stores, hoping to find some 3/8 thick dimensional
lumber to build a box with roughly 800 enclosed cubic inches and
dimensions of 5.75x9.25x15. The closest I found was some plywood and tongue-and-groove wainscot material. I'll take gluing up tongue-and-groove pine boards over cutting plywood any day, so the decision for me was simple.<br />
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Adding a few pieces of square stock for cleats plus some nails and glue, the sides, top and bottom of the box came together within a few hours over a weekend.<br />
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I had a piece of oak veneer panel board on hand and cut a piece out to make the speaker baffle. At only 3/16
thick, it would not support the screws for holding the speakers to it, so I added a pair of mounting "rings" of the same material. They're actually mounting squares, chosen to accommodate the shape of the speaker frames.</div>
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I attached the speakers, input jack, amp circuit and a battery clip. After adding some screws to hold the front and back panels on, I plugged in my Tele-esque LeSpork6 prototype guitar for a quick test.<br />
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Satisfied that things worked as expected, I built a grille panel from another piece of oak veneer panel board and some jute cloth. It's a nice snug fit and the grille panel can be easily removed with a flat blade screwdriver or similar tool if I ever need to service the speakers.<br />
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While waiting for the clear coat to dry on the cabinet, I began focusing on the sound and circuitry. I had built something like this for my son a few years ago, from an old 2-way bookshelf speaker and the same pre-assembled LM386 audio amplifier, and it sounded about the same as this one did. The main problem was the amplifier circuit would distort when the volume control was at or above 3/4 of maximum volume. Second, there was no tone control. For this to be a useful guitar amplifier, I had to address both of these issues while getting as much volume out of it as possible.<br />
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The tone control was the simplest of these problems to solve. I already had a Big Muff Pi tone circuit on my breadboard, so I put it in the signal path. between the guitar and amplifier. The addition of this passive circuit between the guitar and amp input jack almost took care of it all, as it cut the incoming signal strength.<br />
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There was just a little bit of distortion with the amp and guitar volume all the way up, but using my son's Epi LP Junior with a humbucker pickup resulted in too much distortion at higher guitar and amp volume settings. What I needed was a preamp stage that would allow me to manage the gain as well as a way to reduce the signal level into the amp enough to keep from clipping the LM386. That also meant the addition of control knobs to the cabinet. That being the easier part of this build for me, I decided on the knob locations and spacing and came up with a way to mount the tone and gain control potentiometers.<br />
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Back to the gain and output issues, after some experimentation, I came upon a combination of two simple jfet circuits, an Alembic Stratoblaster Booster and a Fetzer Valve 1.1 Booster.<br />
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In order to optimize this circuit for a variety of guitar pickups, I found I could vary the value of Rs=10k, between the J201 transistor Source and ground. I found three particular fixed resistor values that worked well with single-wound pickups, humbucker pickups and active pickup on-board circuits typical in acoustic-electric guitars, that were also compatible with one setting on the 100k trim pot at the preamp output, setting the signal level into the LM386 amp. <br />
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The selector switch in the preamp circuit allowed choosing an overall gain range to match the guitar pickup output level, the B100k gain control potentiometer allowed for a gain adjustment that includes a tube-like overdriven effect at the upper range of the control, and the 100k trim pot kept the preamp output low enough to avoid clipping distortion in the LM386 amp.<br />
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I found a few things to maximize the volume of this little 1/2 watt power amplifier in the schematic notes and technical data for my power amp. The notes indicated removing the on-board jumper would provide additional gain. The datasheet also indicated this, and included instructions on adding a resistor at the jumper contacts would produce different levels of gain. Unfortunately, taking off the jumper resulted in a large loss of volume as well as large reductions in the overdriven ranges. Trying a 1k pot in place of the amp jumper also resulted in lower volume levels as well as reductions in overdriven ranges.<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"> Switching the gain control from a B100k pot to a B50k, as drawn in the Alembic Stratoblaster circuit, provided a smoother set of gain ranges, but did nothing to allow for any more volume. </span>Seeing no other ways to optimize this circuit, I decided to set it aside for now and try some other preamp circuits with this 1/2 watt amp and speaker setup.<br />
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First up was the well-known LPB-1. As I knew from another project, the
LPB-1 has a lot more gain and a much brighter tone than the Fetzer Valve
circuit. I used a 2N5089 transistor, and instead of using the 830k/100k resistors shown here, I biased the transistor base with a 470k/47k voltage
divider. It rocked the
socks off of the LPA but with too much gain for my taste, overdriving the LM386 amp except at a very low output level that was not loud enough to be useful in a clean mode.<br />
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Following a mod I found in a chat
room, I added a a gain control made up of a 22uF cap and a B5k pot in series, parallel to
the
330R emitter resistor, similar in configuration to the
StratoBlaster circuit. The gain control allowed for good clean and overdriven ranges, but had a noticeable surge in the
higher end of the overdriven range. This was easily
fixed by swapping out the B5k to a B1k pot, resulting in a smaller but very usable clean gain range. Although this circuit worked well, it was a
bit too bright with this setup for my tastes. Besides that, the inherent noise of the NPN transistor in this circuit was enough to make me continue searching for another circuit.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a8bvINWHOas/VZXxrAJ30rI/AAAAAAAAHYE/pFHKbWbuy0c/s1600/FetzerValve--LPB-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a8bvINWHOas/VZXxrAJ30rI/AAAAAAAAHYE/pFHKbWbuy0c/s640/FetzerValve--LPB-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Since jfet preamp circuits typically have a warm tone than their NPN and PNP counterparts, I thought there might be a way to use a jfet stage to take the edge off of the LPB-1. Feeding the output of a Fetzer Valve stage through a trim pot into the LPB-1 yielded some nice tone, so I replaced the first stage trim pot with a B100k potentiometer. After turning through a rather large clean range, the upper range of this control allowed the first stage to overdrive the second stage. <span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);">Turning up the drive control all the way </span>allowed for<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"> using the
guitar volume as a gain control with a very small
clean range, as well as a HUGE amount of sustain with the upper end
of the guitar volume control. But, this came at the cost of some muddiness in the harmonics that detracted from the overdriven sound</span>.<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ze-zbAOCxxU/VZ0Ec01dc4I/AAAAAAAAHY8/vQMqIySLAU4/s1600/LPB-1--FetzerValve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ze-zbAOCxxU/VZ0Ec01dc4I/AAAAAAAAHY8/vQMqIySLAU4/s640/LPB-1--FetzerValve.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);">Finally, I swapped the two preamp stages, putting the LPB-1 in front of the Fetzer Valve with the B100k drive control in the middle. Knowing the gain of the NPN stage could easily overdrive the jfet stage, I was pleased at how well this combination worked. With two stages of amplification in this preamp, I expected to have to keep the Fetzer Valve trim output very low to keep from
overdriving the amp, and was pleased to find the power amp could handle the preamp output up to about half of its 100k range </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);">with a single pickup guitar</span>. I also found a good amount of usable Drive control settings that
produced clean sounds when turning the guitar volume control down.
This left plenty of knob rotation on both the Drive control
and guitar volume control for inducing a wide range
of tasty jfet
overdrive, all the way from mild after-buzz to all-out, long-sustaining,
mega buzzing sounds, full of rich harmonics. To my surprise, the humbucker
on my son's LP Junior did not significantly alter the Drive control
ranges or require me to reduce the output level into the amp. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);">This circuit e</span>ven </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);">worked with </span>the preamps on my acoustic-electrics. Considering how versatile this setup was with just the three controls and without the need for a gain range selector switch, I settled on this preamp circuit for the LeSpork Practice Amp. All that was left then was to solder the rest of the circuit to the board, bias the J201 transistor, reassemble the amp, add some insulation to the inside of the cabinet, and reattach the rear cabinet panel.</span><br />
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Time to stick a Spork in this project and call it done, and play some of These Old Guitars!</div>
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-52226010047137364772015-03-01T18:02:00.003-05:002015-03-01T18:48:26.955-05:00LeSpork Bass Prototype - Winter Time<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
In the winter time<br />
When all the leaves are brown<br />
And the wind blows so chill</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/YlSPcFdkZv8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YlSPcFdkZv8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not very pleased with the Electra Distortion circuit I built to audition for the LeSpork Bass in the early winter, I decided to move on to another circuit. The small part count and simplicity of the Bazz Fuss intrigued me and so it seemed it might be a good fit. Substituting a more powerful 2N5089 transistor for the 2N5088 shown in the <a href="http://runoffgroove.com/">runoffgroove.com</a> schematic, I put this together and gave it a try.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6mQB-E2vl5s/VPOA86PI95I/AAAAAAAAG30/-wVVK5tT1Us/s1600/bazz1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6mQB-E2vl5s/VPOA86PI95I/AAAAAAAAG30/-wVVK5tT1Us/s1600/bazz1.png" height="200" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W0bOQTRbxZI/VPOBBZ6BPtI/AAAAAAAAG38/Jowt0BnRQTo/s1600/IMG_3007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W0bOQTRbxZI/VPOBBZ6BPtI/AAAAAAAAG38/Jowt0BnRQTo/s1600/IMG_3007.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CIO9H7m5BI8/VPN-UxeprVI/AAAAAAAAG2A/-GMFdOeN2AE/s1600/IMG_3004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CIO9H7m5BI8/VPN-UxeprVI/AAAAAAAAG2A/-GMFdOeN2AE/s1600/IMG_3004.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although it was quick and easy, the Bazz Fuss had too rough of a tone for my tastes. At the suggestion of a friend, I moved on to a home-brew incarnation of the <a href="http://www.ehx.com/products/big-muff-pi" target="_blank">Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi</a>. Considered by many as an essential distortion stompbox, variations of the basic BMP circuit have attracted a lot of attention and endorsements over the years. I started with a typical schematic courtesy of <a href="http://www.beavisaudio.com/" target="_blank">beavisaudio</a>, sourced a variety of parts from some eBay vendors near and far, and made a few substitutions to match my at-hand assortment of semiconductors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nk1ooUTFT-0/VPN-9m3pOvI/AAAAAAAAG3g/RnmYfICXOWQ/s1600/IMG_3102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nk1ooUTFT-0/VPN-9m3pOvI/AAAAAAAAG3g/RnmYfICXOWQ/s1600/IMG_3102.JPG" height="198" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As the folks at beavis and numerous others have documented, there are many ways to modify this basic circuit to suit a variety of tastes, including some better suited for bass guitars. Due to the numbers of opportunities to make mistakes while bread boarding this circuit, and realizing it would take me a few days to fit all this in to my calendar, I decided to test each of the five stages beavis identified as I built them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">First came a clean preamp. To be sure I'd have enough room on the bread board, I started at the far left side, using as little space as possible. I also used a 100k trim pot in place of the "sustain" pot just to get things moving.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cUmsB65UVc8/VPN-eX_4dWI/AAAAAAAAG2Y/o4dprhUd7pE/s1600/IMG_3073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cUmsB65UVc8/VPN-eX_4dWI/AAAAAAAAG2Y/o4dprhUd7pE/s1600/IMG_3073.JPG" height="283" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A quick sound check verified that things were where they belonged and that I could move on to the first of two identical fuzz stages.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Again, a quick sound check verified that things were working fine. As expected, there was a loss of volume with this addition, and the germanium diodes introduced a slight, mellow fuzz. That fuzz was more pronounced yet pleasantly mellow with the addition of the second fuzz stage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Moving on to the tone stack, I replaced the </span><span style="font-size: large;">100k trim pot sustain control with an audio-taper potentiometer and added a linear-taper potentiometer for the tone control.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After a good night's rest, I added the final stage, including the volume-out control.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">With my son's help, I made two quick recordings of this circuit </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">with my iPhone held about two feet from our Crate bass practice amp</span>. The first one was with the LeSpork Bass straight from the pickup into the BMP.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YDHaeCk3sJ8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YDHaeCk3sJ8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The second was with my son's Epi LP, with the volume and tone controls both on 10.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My son was very pleased with the sound of his Epi through this basic build, compared to the built-in effects on his amplifier. So, it looks like a pedal-version build of this is in the near future at These Old Guitars. I'm not so impressed with the range of the tone control. I also have some gain and overall volume issues to be addressed. My goal is </span><span style="font-size: large;">to get the same volume and tone levels between the clean and distorted signals with only three knobs on the bass. Next time, I'll do some tweaking of some of the values. </span><br />
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-91221620616634922142015-02-16T22:43:00.001-05:002015-02-16T22:43:41.158-05:00Jay Turser JTA-Flag 300 - Made In Japan<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It said made in Japan<br />Made in Japan<br />Their ain't nothing made here in this country anymore<br />Try the made in Japan, Hong Kong or Singapore<br />Made in Japan</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It had been weeks since I spent any time working on a guitar project. After trying a few on-board effects circuits for a bass project, I ordered a bunch of semiconductors from a few vendors in the Far East for another circuit. With </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">some time on my hands</span></span> waiting for my parts to arrive, I checked in on my son's herd. Awhile back, we made a trade. I got his gently used Mitchell Dreadnought and he got my Jay Turser JTA-300 Flag. After a short conversation, we figured out that the JTA-300 was way overdue for strings. I also realized there wasn't a battery in the preamp, and </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">remembered that her black plastic heel cover was still in my shed, waiting to be reinstalled</span>.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tZAN-1bHbMM/VOAdGZhtPnI/AAAAAAAAGuw/TBgxhHo49HI/s1600/IMG_2982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tZAN-1bHbMM/VOAdGZhtPnI/AAAAAAAAGuw/TBgxhHo49HI/s1600/IMG_2982.JPG" height="398" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My son was still pleased with the JTA's action and neck relief, so I figured I could take care of replacing strings, reattaching the heel cover, and replacing the battery within an hour. I had the heel cover reattached </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">with some gel-type CA adhesive </span>in five minutes. The restringing was quick and easy, and I put a fresh 9-volt battery in the box. After that, my one hour estimate quickly fell apart, as I found that the preamp battery-check light was not working. I brought This Old Guitar back inside to plug her into an amp, and confirmed my suspicions that there was no signal making it to the amp. Back in the shed, I removed the four screws attaching her preamp to her body, hoping to find something simple like a loose wire. </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GiqLDRipMy0/VOAcSN51c_I/AAAAAAAAGsw/ZXVLcf3QQxE/s1600/IMG_2907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GiqLDRipMy0/VOAcSN51c_I/AAAAAAAAGsw/ZXVLcf3QQxE/s1600/IMG_2907.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">The first time This Old Guitar was on my bench, I was fortunate enough to find </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">an
ARTEC EQ7545 preamp that seemed to fit like it was an OEM replacement. The </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">cut out in her body was just right, and the </span></span></span>holes for
the four retention screws lined up perfectly. <a href="http://theseoldguitars.blogspot.com/2013/02/jay-turser-jta-flag300-time-after-time.html" target="_blank">Time After Time</a>, fixing This Old Guitar has been full of surprises. I moved on to a look inside the shielded box. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
traced the power from the battery into the circuit board and verified
there was a good connection from the battery to Vin and ground. It was
clear the problem was somewhere else on the board. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Testing and replacing any of the components that could be shorting the circuit without a diagram and a high-powered magnifying lens was not an option, and I realized this preamp needed to be replaced. With nothing to lose, I decided to take a look at the underside of the circuit board, learn what I could from it, and possibly scavenge some reusable parts.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Halfway there, I found a huge amount of sawdust between the mounting ring and the slider controls. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I took a few good last looks before reassembling the preamp, putting it aside, and getting online in search of a replacement.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">This time around, I thought it would be nice to use an American-built preamp. Again, the shape, size and location of this preamp mounting hole did not lend itself to anything else I found. Worse, the eBay vendor I bought from last time no longer existed. Even worse, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">ARTEC no longer listed the EQ-7545 model on their website. But, </span></span></span>I did come across a number of vendors, including a particular one in New Jersey with the lowest cost including shipping, that was offering the EQ-7545 and </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">EQ7545-R </span></span></span>preamps for less than what I had paid for a </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">EQ-7545</span></span></span> last time. I was careful to order one listed as EQ-7545, and not the EQ7545-R model, expecting that it would match the listing pictures and be the same as the one I was replacing. In fact, I remember from the first time around, the description of the </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">EQ-7545 included the word Flat, indicating it was to be installed on the flat part between the lower bout and waist. So, I was disappointed to find that what I received this time actually was </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">the EQ7545-R. The differences are subtle but critical.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">At this point, the thought of actually finding the EQ-7545 preamp with the flat mounting bezel I needed and waiting for a replacement to ship was unacceptable. Instead, I decided to swap out the contents of the shielded boxes. With the removal of a few screws, I was half way there. In fact, the most complicated part of this swap was exchanging the spring contact sub-assemblies in the battery boxes. This was necessary since the EQ7545-R circuit is attached to the battery by means of a molded plug instead of straight soldered connections like the EQ7545. I removed enough of the battery box with my rotary tool to accommodate the plug and snapped the </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">sub-assembly into place.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Assembly of the new working circuit into </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">the old flat mounting bezel went just as easy as taking it out. With a fresh battery in the box, I was delighted to see the warm glow of the battery-check LED.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">I installed the remaining screws, reapplied the controls label, attached the control knobs, and moved on to reinstalling the preamp into her body.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here she is, ready for another 2 years or 2,000 songs, whichever comes first.</span><br />
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-55027340609761770662015-02-02T08:42:00.000-05:002015-02-02T08:42:33.422-05:00LeSpork Bass Prototype - Unchained<div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">No, I don't ask for permission<br />This is my chance to fly<br />Maybe enough ain't enough for you<br />But it's my turn to try</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lWOBaXHhBPw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While researching the <a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefiend/guitar/two-band-ptb-tone-control-useful-easy-cheap-awesome/" target="_blank">two-band passive tone control circuit</a> I put in this bass guitar, I also came across a few articles on Les Paul Vintage wiring. In short, the idea is to put the volume control before tone control the way Gibson used to do it on some of their early Les Pauls:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dAC_I3gszeQ/U9fQ4q8CEgI/AAAAAAAAFpE/zvPZmBREVTw/s1600/Les_Paul_50s_Wiring.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dAC_I3gszeQ/U9fQ4q8CEgI/AAAAAAAAFpE/zvPZmBREVTw/s1600/Les_Paul_50s_Wiring.png" height="330" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There's plenty written on the subject of "vintage" vs. "modern" wiring on many discussion forum sites, including this one:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/223616-50s-wiring-v-treble-bleed.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/223616-50s-wiring-v-treble-bleed.html" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0LMj621KeXM/U9fS-wRwepI/AAAAAAAAFpg/0WhiHCU7iiQ/s1600/2014TDPlogo.png" height="59" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and even more on other sites, like this one:</span><br />
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<a href="http://tonefiend.com/pickups/vintage-les-paul-wiring-bs-or-bfd/"><img alt="http://tonefiend.com/pickups/vintage-les-paul-wiring-bs-or-bfd/" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LfoJkLZhFkk/U9fS_kIQKJI/AAAAAAAAFpk/b8nLaYMG59o/s1600/Vintage-vs.-Modern1.jpg" height="120" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had two reasons for going with a volume-before-tone wiring scheme on this project. First is that is how it is done in the P-bass stock wiring</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.bass-guitar-info.com/pickup_wiring.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.bass-guitar-info.com/pickup_wiring.html" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HvYT9jJMs-Y/U9fUV5xezMI/AAAAAAAAFp4/H7cyNU-ALtM/s1600/p-bass_wiring_diagram.jpg" height="393" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Second was convenience, based on the length of the pickup lead wire and the layout of the controls. So, here is the diagram I ended up using:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B7WKVOTTjfw/U9fS--tVInI/AAAAAAAAFpc/YAP-Jjkg_9I/s1600/VolBeforePassiveTone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B7WKVOTTjfw/U9fS--tVInI/AAAAAAAAFpc/YAP-Jjkg_9I/s1600/VolBeforePassiveTone.jpg" height="242" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After an hour or so with the soldering iron, I had the jack, pickup, and bridge connected to all of the pots, with two pairs of test clips in place of the capacitors C1 and C2.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XQHuBCohHho/U9fQ21DiPaI/AAAAAAAAFok/A31LNxRaysw/s1600/IMG_1965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XQHuBCohHho/U9fQ21DiPaI/AAAAAAAAFok/A31LNxRaysw/s1600/IMG_1965.JPG" height="300" width="400" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To make it easier to differentiate between the two tone controls, I used a Fender-type knob for the treble bleed control and a pointer-type knob for the other bass cut control. After another hour or so, I had the rest of the bass assembled, strung up and tuned, ready for testing.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0AUOlizp9eA/U9fQ35ScZ4I/AAAAAAAAFpA/kzMk3wQN1_U/s1600/IMG_1970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0AUOlizp9eA/U9fQ35ScZ4I/AAAAAAAAFpA/kzMk3wQN1_U/s1600/IMG_1970.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With the help of my son, we tried playing with it, mixing and matching the caps: 0.0047, 0.0033
and 0.0022uF in the bass control, and 0.047, 0.033 and 0.022uF in the
treble control. We found the 0.0047 did very little that we could hear
in the bass control, noticed some effect with the 0.0033, and more of a
tonal range with the 0.0022uF. We heard lots of tonal range with all
three choices in the treble control and found the 0.022uF afforded the
most amount of brightness. There's some interesting interaction between
the two controls as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> The guitar amp we played through was likely a limitation to what we can do with this bass. It will be interesting to hear it through a
bass amp, hopefully sometime soon. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">My trip to our local Guitar Center and Sam Ash stores in search of a suitable used practice bass amp over the weekend turned up nothing. We'll see what turns up on Craigslist in my price range. </span>Now it's time to make her look as good as she sounds. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Next up for this project includes </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">a
new color scheme on all of the exposed surfaces, </span>grounding and tidying up all of the wiring in the control cavity, and a custom pick guard. </span></div>
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-43044051145611081872015-01-25T20:48:00.004-05:002015-01-27T12:51:25.358-05:00Fender Squier Bullet Strat - Peg<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);">This is your big debut<br />It's like a dream come true<br />So, won't you smile for the cam'ra?<br />I know they're gonna love it, Peg</span></div>
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The guitar in the following picture isn't likely to be featured in a photo with it's name in lights anytime soon, but my son sure enjoys it. When my son started playing guitar in his middle school jazz band this past fall, we decided it made sense to have a guitar he could leave at school for practices and performances in addition to the Epi LP Junior he plays at home. Wanting a contoured body and something with a tremolo bar, we started looking online and locally for a used Stratocaster. We found a few Squier Strats at our local Guitar Center in our price range that were in playable condition. After trying a few of them, and missing our chance to pick up a sweet Sunburst model, we settled on a gently used Chinese-crafted 2010 White SSS Bullet Strat.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NhqLejHXPmI/VMWDHNeySqI/AAAAAAAAGi0/GAMHFSUMiSA/s1600/BulletStrat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NhqLejHXPmI/VMWDHNeySqI/AAAAAAAAGi0/GAMHFSUMiSA/s1600/BulletStrat.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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After playing her for a few months, my son mentioned that a couple of the tuning pegs didn't work well. So, when he brought his Strat home for a new set of strings over winter break, we figured we'd also look into upgrading the tuners with a higher quality set. Very soon, winter break was over, and that Strat was back at school before we put any more thought into replacing her tuners.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SlV0Dzwe3BM/VMWDUtJFOWI/AAAAAAAAGjE/1Ol1FsztkBU/s1600/IMG_2857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SlV0Dzwe3BM/VMWDUtJFOWI/AAAAAAAAGjE/1Ol1FsztkBU/s1600/IMG_2857.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Although I knew little of the finer points of Fender tuning pegs, I knew a few different styles have been used over the years. Not knowing the history of this Strat, I also wasn't sure if she had all of her original parts. In efforts to avoid having to overbore peg holes and redrill screw holes, I asked my son to describe what the machines looked like from the rear. When that proved fruitless, I asked him to identify the the machines by the orientation and number of screws holding down each machine. The best that I could tell was that a 70s style set should work fine. The genuine Fender slotted peg set I found on eBay arrived in the mail, just in time for a long stretch of teacher work days and a weekend. With a few turns of a screwdriver, we figured we'd end up with something that looks like this.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dsnjFq4Ipic/VMWDPsnlYpI/AAAAAAAAGi8/TnNlSjqDEAk/s1600/IMG_2744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dsnjFq4Ipic/VMWDPsnlYpI/AAAAAAAAGi8/TnNlSjqDEAk/s1600/IMG_2744.JPG" height="246" width="400" /></a></div>
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Right away, we noticed a major difference in the screw orientation these two sets of tuners.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XqT9VvgTmg0/VMWDU74J3FI/AAAAAAAAGjI/7kz_nSXGhjY/s1600/IMG_2821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XqT9VvgTmg0/VMWDU74J3FI/AAAAAAAAGjI/7kz_nSXGhjY/s1600/IMG_2821.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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After a little more internet research, I confirmed that this difference in attachment screws was typical with Fender tuning peg upgrades. Since it would result in a higher quality tuner, we decided this still was the way to go. With any luck, we figured we'd end up with only two extra holes - one at the high E string tuner and one at the low E string tuner. Instead, it was necessary to redrill holes for more than half of the screws. Swapping out these tuners also entailed overboring
the peg holes from the rear about 3/16" in depth, just to the edges of the
grommets, to accommodate the bushing shoulders of the new machine
shafts. The tuner in the next two pictures during fitup is shown with the genuine F-logo stamped cover removed.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DJB5XIGLP1Q/VMWDc_lEfLI/AAAAAAAAGjc/It6iyazfKMY/s1600/IMG_2862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DJB5XIGLP1Q/VMWDc_lEfLI/AAAAAAAAGjc/It6iyazfKMY/s1600/IMG_2862.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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After removing the grommets, enlarging one of the holes and replacing a grommet, I was pleased to find that the original grommets would work with the new pegs. That's a very good thing, since the 70s style grommets have a larger outer diameter and a very different outer profile. Fun fact, a No. 2 pencil is a great tool for pushing out grommets.</div>
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I modified the remaining peg holes the same as the first one. After making the necessary screw hole modifications, I attached the pegs and reattached the stock string trees with the Bullet's screws. All but one original screw hole, the one near the high E tuner, is not concealed by the new machine
covers. I plugged it while it was on the work bench, minimizing the imperfection resulting from this upgrade. Looking at the front of the headstock, the way you can tell the pegs have been upgraded is by the concave surfaces of the peg buttons and the slots in the peg shafts.<br />
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Those buttons and slotted shafts sure do make restringing and tuning This Old Guitar quicker and easier!<br />
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<br />Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-29328483502755264722015-01-12T10:30:00.001-05:002015-02-02T08:41:46.553-05:00LeSpork Bass Prototype - Under My Thumb<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It's down to me<br />
The way she talks when she's spoken to<br />
Down to me, the change has come,<br />
She's under my thumb</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/JcgZIz0Fd-w?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">As pop music bands of the 1960s started experimenting with tone and range, the fuzz bass became a familiar sound. An early popular example is Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones using it in the song "Under My Thumb" in 1965.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">With the basic Electra Distortion circuit built and working, it was down to me to change a few parts to get the synthetic-inspired sound that was in my head, rich with rumbling odd-numbered harmonics. The initial circuit already had some distortion and gain. What I wanted to do was to increase the sustain and edginess. The initial circuit also had less definition with lower notes of the bass. I also wanted to achieve the distortion effect more evenly throughout the frequency range.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">I started tweaking the gain by bypassing the 680-ohm resistor between the emitter and ground. This gave too much gain, so I put it back in. I moved on to tweaking the distortion by changing the diodes. Of all the combinations of IN4818, IN4001 and IN914 I tried, I settled on a mixed pair of an IN914 with an IN4001. This pair gave a consistent amount of distortion over the frequency range of this bass as well as the middle-of-the-road fuzziness I had in mind. Moving back to the gain, I tried a more-powerful 2N5089 transistor. It also had too much gain so I switched back to the 2N3904 plus the 680-ohm resistor. Swapping out the input cap with other values I had on hand made little difference in tone, so I'm sticking with the original one, for now. So, other than using a different pair of diodes, what I have at the moment is the circuit as originally designed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_7MLfpKWZzM/VLPhwY_mzKI/AAAAAAAAGeQ/3qt-xvWy9oo/s1600/distortion01112015rev.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_7MLfpKWZzM/VLPhwY_mzKI/AAAAAAAAGeQ/3qt-xvWy9oo/s1600/distortion01112015rev.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/yankeece/clean-and-distorted-jan-11-2015" target="_blank">Here's a link to a sample of how the bass sounds without and with the circuit.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next time, I'll add in the volume and passive tone controls, and check for any interactions between them with the effects part of the circuit going in to This Old Guitar.</span>
</div>
Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-27495744846365371712015-01-08T10:23:00.001-05:002015-02-02T08:41:56.883-05:00LeSpork Bass Prototype - Make A Circuit With Me<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A sweet romance is not for me<br />I need electricity<br />If you wanna make me flip<br />Hit me with a micro chip</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It’s not unusual for guitarists to know a little about electronics. I fall into
the category of knowing just enough to be dangerous when it comes to
electronics. Over the years, I have
learned my limitations, and generally stay away from tinkering with anything that
has more than a<span style="font-family: inherit;">n amp of </span>alternating current, or anything that would be considered high-voltage DC.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> T</span>he end of the patch cord I’m working on has low enough voltage and current to make it
almost impossible to do any damage to <span style="font-family: inherit;">an instrument, </span>an amplifier or mys<span style="font-family: inherit;">elf</span>. So, with the encouragement<span style="font-family: inherit;">, advice and parts-box resources</span> of <span style="font-family: inherit;">my </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">long-time</span> </span></span>fr<span style="font-family: inherit;">iend, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">electrical engineer</span></span></span></span></span> and</span></span> fellow guitar enthusiast BJ, plus a few more inexpensive <span style="font-family: inherit;">electronics bits and pieces</span>, I am
adding an on-board <span style="font-family: inherit;">effects </span>circuit to <span style="font-family: inherit;">T</span>his <span style="font-family: inherit;">O</span>ld <span style="font-family: inherit;">G</span>uitar.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">My first attempt was a simple, passive, hard-clipping diode fuzz circuit. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">The idea is that the diodes,
o<span style="font-family: inherit;">ne </span>wired with anode shunted to ground and the other wired<span style="font-family: inherit;"> with</span> cathode shunted <span style="font-family: inherit;">to ground</span>, c<span style="font-family: inherit;">ut awa<span style="font-family: inherit;">y the peaks of</span></span> the signal. This changes a
clean-sounding sine wave into a fuzzy-sounding wave that approximates a
square wave<span style="font-family: inherit;">. The sound is similar to an overdriven amplifie<span style="font-family: inherit;">r</span></span>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cDGYXfe1DVg/VKrSCM3zW-I/AAAAAAAAGbs/lD47zn0Kei0/s1600/diodecircuit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cDGYXfe1DVg/VKrSCM3zW-I/AAAAAAAAGbs/lD47zn0Kei0/s1600/diodecircuit.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The w</span>iring is simple. I <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">wired</span> </span>a pair of IN400<span style="font-family: inherit;">1</span> silicon diodes and <span style="font-family: inherit;">a single pole</span> switch between the pickup and output jack leads. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5GpAsonXsrs/VKrSBDl3bTI/AAAAAAAAGa0/kjMRGtNaDN0/s1600/IMG_2114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5GpAsonXsrs/VKrSBDl3bTI/AAAAAAAAGa0/kjMRGtNaDN0/s1600/IMG_2114.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RDzTtJs6oOI/VKrSBZQQMXI/AAAAAAAAGaw/p0R5U_qz1zg/s1600/IMG_2116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RDzTtJs6oOI/VKrSBZQQMXI/AAAAAAAAGaw/p0R5U_qz1zg/s1600/IMG_2116.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The downside to this circuit is that you need a <span style="font-family: inherit;">healthy</span> amount of impedance in the pickups for the diodes to clip the signal. As I found out, the single-wound pickup in this bass <span style="font-family: inherit;">does not generate enough of a signal</span> to make it work. So, it was time to move up to an amplifie<span style="font-family: inherit;">r</span> circuit.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">As this <span style="font-family: inherit;">is</span> my first time building a circuit <span style="font-family: inherit;">in many <span style="font-family: inherit;">years</span></span>, I <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">kept</span></span> a<span style="font-family: inherit;">way from micro chips. </span>I wanted to <span style="font-family: inherit;">go with<span style="font-family: inherit;"> something that<span style="font-family: inherit;"> was well documented<span style="font-family: inherit;">, has </span></span>one transistor and a <span style="font-family: inherit;">minimal number of</span></span></span> component<span style="font-family: inherit;">s</span>. After considering numerous options, I decided
on the classic Electra <span style="font-family: inherit;">D</span>istortion circuit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">At the heart of the circuit is a si<span style="font-family: inherit;">mp</span>le one-transistor amplifier. </span>This little circuit has been used successfully <span style="font-family: inherit;">by many audio professionals</span> as well as amateurs like myself with numerous variations and modifications </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">as far back as</span> the 1960s. In the 1970s, <span style="font-family: inherit;">a distortion circuit</span> was offered as a plug-in module by <a href="http://www.electraguitar.com/pages/history" target="_blank">Electra Guitars</a>, allowing guitarists to customize their </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">own on-board </span></span>guitar effects.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>In more recent years, variations of th<span style="font-family: inherit;">is circuit</span> ha<span style="font-family: inherit;">ve</span> been <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">made avail<span style="font-family: inherit;">able</span></span></span> under many names by a variety of boutique pedal manufacturers <span style="font-family: inherit;">in the form of an </span>external stompbox. A DIY stompbox version with <span style="font-family: inherit;">demo and a</span> tutorial<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>has also appeared in the October 2014 issue of
<a href="http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/21291-build-your-own-stompbox" target="_blank">Premier Guitar in an article written by Joe Gore</a>. With so much already written and documented on this circuit, I've focused this blog entry to <span style="font-family: inherit;">a</span> few aspects of my own build.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I started by building the stand-alone circuit on a </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">breadboard.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--dPGyoEj8Jk/VK01e7QXSJI/AAAAAAAAGcM/YsALPh4Rwq8/s1600/IMG_2736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--dPGyoEj8Jk/VK01e7QXSJI/AAAAAAAAGcM/YsALPh4Rwq8/s1600/IMG_2736.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">While waiting for one of the fixed resistors I bought to arrive, I improvised by using a 100k trim pot dialed in to the appropriate 47k value.</span><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-16Zo2vANq1Q/VK6QNzHFAbI/AAAAAAAAGdg/NYCGGG6FK2A/s1600/IMG_2750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-16Zo2vANq1Q/VK6QNzHFAbI/AAAAAAAAGdg/NYCGGG6FK2A/s1600/IMG_2750.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After <span style="font-family: inherit;">double</span></span> check<span style="font-family: inherit;">ing the layout</span>, I moved things <span style="font-family: inherit;">into the house to do <span style="font-family: inherit;">a<span style="font-family: inherit;"> proper</span></span> sound check on the circuit with an instrument and an amplifier. My only blunder so far was <span style="font-family: inherit;">a soldered lead on th<span style="font-family: inherit;">e</span> </span>output jack. After a little troubleshooting, the <span style="font-family: inherit;">Electra D</span>i<span style="font-family: inherit;">stortion circuit</span> worked as expected. Success<span style="font-family: inherit;">!</span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">N<span style="font-family: inherit;">ext <span style="font-family: inherit;">u<span style="font-family: inherit;">p</span></span>, I<span style="font-family: inherit;">'ll</span></span> do some tweaking with<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">semiconductor types and value</span>s to <span style="font-family: inherit;">custo</span>mize the soun<span style="font-family: inherit;">d <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">for <span style="font-family: inherit;">my</span> LeSpork Bass.</span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like us on Facebook!</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From <span style="font-family: inherit;">time to t<span style="font-family: inherit;">ime, I post things there that don<span style="font-family: inherit;">'t show up here. Check it ou<span style="font-family: inherit;">t at:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-3644082277529333512014-11-24T17:02:00.000-05:002015-02-02T08:42:25.414-05:00 LeSpork Bass Prototype - The Load Out<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">But when that last guitar's been packed away<br />
You know that I still want to play<br />
So just make sure you got it all set to go<br />
Before you come for my piano</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/I11t5mj9FOk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Just when my son got used to having a bass in his room to play, I found some
time to get back to this project. The
list of things to-do includes:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">final-solder the controls</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">replace missing control cavity and truss rod covers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">make and install a custom pickguard</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">install a </span>thumb rest</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">refinish the body and
headstock</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">realign the neck/body/bridge</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">install neck bolt inserts</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">I took the bass back out to the shed and</span> took a few critical measurements, and put some
thought into the best order to handle the to-do list. The electronics would need to be worked on outside of the cavity, so I desoldered the output jack, pickup leads and bridge ground wire, and </span><span style="font-size: large;">pulled out the controls and jack.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zZ3kxyikPN8/U-ED-foOYdI/AAAAAAAAFyM/cXCQTXPp0Hk/s1600/IMG_2020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zZ3kxyikPN8/U-ED-foOYdI/AAAAAAAAFyM/cXCQTXPp0Hk/s1600/IMG_2020.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w8LaAiRPPz4/U-ED_qDs3uI/AAAAAAAAFyg/ymCN4hbpp4o/s1600/IMG_2026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w8LaAiRPPz4/U-ED_qDs3uI/AAAAAAAAFyg/ymCN4hbpp4o/s1600/IMG_2026.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I was still undecided on the overall color scheme, including the color and material choice for the missing control cavity cover. Since I had narrowed my material choices down to wood and plastic, I went ahead and made a </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">control cavity cover</span> from some scrap wood. T</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">he wood</span><span style="font-size: large;"> cover would certainly come in handy as a template</span> if I were to go with a </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">laminated </span>plastic cover to match the pickguard and truss rod cover</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FsGoacsetXs/U-EEAv5mnnI/AAAAAAAAFyw/rxQ7pwW-AMY/s1600/IMG_2037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FsGoacsetXs/U-EEAv5mnnI/AAAAAAAAFyw/rxQ7pwW-AMY/s1600/IMG_2037.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Before
completely tearing down the rest of the bass, I thought it would be best to realign
the neck/body/bridge and install a set of neck bolt inserts. This would
ensure that I could properly set the bass action and intonation, as
well as to be sure to plug all of the extra holes in the body and neck before doing the
refinishing work. I took a few critical measurements and determined that an adjustment of the bridge towards the lower upper bout </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">by 3/16-inch </span>would realign the strings with both the neck and the pickups as well as to allow me to use the </span><span style="font-size: large;">neck-to-body angle as it was. The neck set angle could still be adjusted by shaping and shimming the neck pocket during setup.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hiwvI6mDqi0/U-ED8klHP9I/AAAAAAAAFx0/6XA4t4xOX3g/s1600/IMG_2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hiwvI6mDqi0/U-ED8klHP9I/AAAAAAAAFx0/6XA4t4xOX3g/s1600/IMG_2017.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TuZ17UAg2kE/U-ED9StgxUI/AAAAAAAAFx8/Y5hHF9q3WsA/s1600/IMG_2018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TuZ17UAg2kE/U-ED9StgxUI/AAAAAAAAFx8/Y5hHF9q3WsA/s1600/IMG_2018.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In anticipation of the finish work, I mocked out a headstock modification to make it look more like a Kramer and laid out a Spork shape for the pickguard on the body with some painters tape and markers. The pickguard would be too close to the pickguard, so I added 'relocate volume control' to the to-do list...</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DnW-DJ-erXE/U-FDm0ydXbI/AAAAAAAAF1Y/C7KLvfrrtGU/s1600/IMG_2036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DnW-DJ-erXE/U-FDm0ydXbI/AAAAAAAAF1Y/C7KLvfrrtGU/s1600/IMG_2036.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2ONmoxbijDg/U-FDm67N9nI/AAAAAAAAF1U/HzmCEQafvSM/s1600/IMG_2038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2ONmoxbijDg/U-FDm67N9nI/AAAAAAAAF1U/HzmCEQafvSM/s1600/IMG_2038.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To be sure I would only reset the bridge location once, I thought it would make sense to first lock in the neck-to-body angle by installing the brass </span><span style="font-size: large;">neck bolt inserts and stainless steel neck bolts. So, I drilled out the existing neck bolt holes to the required 1/4-inch diameter and installed the inserts.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XDJnpJthymE/U-EEBWxOIGI/AAAAAAAAFzA/Jwif0dcdtlU/s1600/IMG_2041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XDJnpJthymE/U-EEBWxOIGI/AAAAAAAAFzA/Jwif0dcdtlU/s1600/IMG_2041.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Working without a drill press or hole guide, the body/neck </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">bolt holes </span>I made in this bass were out of plumb. A smart way to increase the size of these holes would have been to use </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">progressively larger drill bits, allowing the drill bit to be guided by the existing hole. </span>In a rush to get this step done, I overbored the 1/8-inch holes with a 1/4-inch drill bit. After installing the inserts, I found they did not line up with the holes in the body. To fix this meant rework in plugging the body and neck holes and redrilling the holes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The upside to this setback was the opportunity to make an adjustment to the neck/body angle. </span><span style="font-size: large;">After a day for the glue to dry, and some work with
files, a chisel and some sandpaper, the neck and body were ready for a
shim, a new set of bolt holes and proper installation of a new set of
inserts.</span></div>
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-1786240309139770022014-07-08T11:53:00.003-04:002014-07-09T02:03:00.217-04:00Flat Top Tele - Dust In The Wind<div style="text-align: center;">
I close my eyes only for a moment, and the moment's gone</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity</div>
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In addition to this being a prototype build, I have been developing forms and learning new ways of doing things. With so much of this project expanding my skills, there is an underlying angst with this project. One bad slip-up, and all of my work would be worth no more than sawdust in the wind. I've already had some bad results that have led to doing things other ways, and I've had some good results that have confirmed my intuition. So, I have decided to make use of some of my practice work on the
Flat Top Tele that went well, by using it to build an thin-body electric
semi-solid version of the Flat Top Tele.<br>
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Yes, this project scope just got doubled in many ways, and hopefully is getting at least twice as better for it. This will give me a chance to work through some of the body assembly issues on cheaper laminate woods before performing them on more expensive solid tone woods. This guitar will be part <a href="http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/electricguitar/pop-ups/02-07.htm" target="_blank">Les Paul's "The Log"</a> and part <a href="http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/electricguitar/pop-ups/03-01.htm" target="_blank">Fender Broadcaster</a>, and built with Fender-type hardware, bolt-on neck and pre-wired electronics.<br>
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The success I had with bending the laminate sides inspired me to try making the sharp curves at the cutaway, using my steam box and a four-part bending jig. I'll also try using my bending iron and some joinery to produce the distinct upper bout curves at the neck-to-body joint. These also seem a lot more doable with a narrow 2-inch thin-body design. Here is a sketch and partial parts layout of the jig for forming the sharp cutaway curves from steamed side wood.<br>
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If all goes as planned, I'll use a small interior block to splice the
cutaway potion to a section that makes up the rest of the waist and the treble-side lower bout. That's enough for now, on this warm summer evening, with This Old Guitar.<br>
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-71795520691036282502014-07-07T08:45:00.002-04:002014-07-07T15:08:30.948-04:00 Flat Top Tele - Shipbuilding<div style="text-align: center;">
It's just a rumor that was spread around town<br />
A telegram or a picture postcard<br />
Within weeks they'll be re-opening the shipyards<br />
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Some would say that bending sides of an acoustic guitar are a
lot like shipbuilding, but with fewer parts, people and melodrama. Like
the underlying structure of a wooden ship, the guitar sides plus end
blocks and linings are referred to as ribs.<br />
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Like building
a concrete wall, it is necessary to build forms that are the
negative, or outside, of the shape of the guitar sides.<br />
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Because of the
complexity of the angles and curves of a guitar, as well as the tendency
for bent wood to return to its unbent shape, it is common practice to use forms
that sit inside of the guitar body when forming the sides, and another
set of forms that sit on the outside of the guitar body when attaching
the linings and the front and back panels to the sides. Below are sketches I made
while designing the form work for the Flat Top Tele.<br />
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Most
modern manufacturing processes make use of CAD/CAM to produce highly accurate machines parts to close
tolerances from scaled
computer drawings. With so much free information on the internet, finding a free, printable scaled drawing was quick and easy. CAD/CAM technology is beyond the modest means
at These Old Guitars at this time, so I used a
tried-and-true manual method to make a tracing of the Telecaster body
shape. Starting with a full-sized plot, I applied a layer of graphite (aka pencil lead) to the rear side
of the plot. After taping the plot down, I
used a stylus to transfer the outline onto a 3/4-inch MDF board. To make it easier to see the outline on the MDF board during cutting, I drew over the pencil line free-hand with a marker.<br />
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The inner and outer forms I cut from the first MDF board served double duty as both
forms and templates for the other forms. I attached pairs of forms to each
other and clamped the pairs together before shaping and sanding, so the forms would end up smooth and with matching
curvatures.<br />
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I added some 2x3 blocking between the MDF side boards of the interior forms and a layer of 1x6 between the MDF side boards of the exterior form to get the proper finished form widths. I used some wood filler on the outer forms to get a smooth, continuous surface. Some additional parts including some PVC piping were sized and made ready, to be used to hold the bent wood against the forms.<br />
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With the inner and outer forms fully assembled, I warmed up my steam box and prepared my work areas for some wood bending.<br />
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-49873432135016341822014-06-19T11:39:00.001-04:002014-06-23T17:02:14.855-04:00Flat Top Tele - Thick as a Brick<div style="text-align: center;">
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So you ride yourselves over the fields<br />
and you make all your animal deals<br />
and your wise men don't know how it feels<br />
to be thick as a brick.</div>
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As an art student at <a href="http://binghamton.edu/" target="_blank">SUNY Binghamton</a> during the early 1980s, I had the privilege of studying sculpture with <a href="http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/ed-wilson-specialized-metal-sculptor" target="_blank">Prof. Ed Wilson</a>.
Wilson was well versed in many materials, including wood. One lesson in particular I learned in that class may as well have been
taught in an engineering or architectural design curriculum. Part of
the creative process of art is figuring out how to
execute the piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, a working
knowledge of the medium is something an artist needs in order to be able to execute a vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In this way, this neck block is as much about how to construct and attach the layers of wood, and then attach the rest of the body and the neck to the neck block, as it is about how the assembled functions when the body is attached to the
neck.
Time will if it was wise to make such a large neck block for this build. With the top and bottom panels, this Flat Top Tele build certainly will be as thick as a brick.<br />
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Adding some temporary struts to the template made a big difference. Cutting closer to the template outline with a jigsaw before using the router on each layer also made a big difference. I also made sure to pay extra attention while making the cross grain cuts, being sure to hold the wood firmly against the saw table while cutting with the router. Another change I made was to use the neck plate pattern for the wood screws when attaching the template to each layer. This proved to also be helpful in aligning the layers during glue-up. The thick part of the cutaway proved to be the weakest point in this process, and I suspect this was a combination of cross grain cutting direction and the small radii. Although I broke two of the layers during fabrication, the breaks were clean enough that I was able to repair and use them. As a result, the 1/2-inch thick top layer and one of the 3/4-inch layers have a few extra small screw holes from how I attached them to boards while making the repairs.<br />
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Before gluing the five layers to each other, I roughed out the neck pocket cutout in the top layer, and bored out the holes in the other layers for the neck bolts. Since the body is so thick, I'm using 3-1/2-inches long, #10-32 machine bolts. A set of #10-32 threaded brass inserts in the neck heel will receive the bolts.<br />
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When I first thought about how to glue-up the neck block,I figured I'd glue them all at the same time. When it came time, I realized it would be easier to control the alignment of the layers and removal of squeeze-out glue by attaching just two layers at a time. To help keep the layers aligned, I made a clamping jig from some scrap wood. Since I had already made the rough neck pocket cutout from the top layer, it did not have neck bolt holes to help with the alignment. So, I clamped directly against the outer surfaces of the layers to align them against the jig, and added bar quick-clamps to hold the layers flat against each other and the jig.<br />
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After the glue had dried and clearing off some excess glue, I moved on to adding the third layer. Since I could now use the neck bolts for alignment, I trimmed the size of the jig, making it possible to use more clamps to hold the layers flat against each other and the jig. Here's a picture of one of the layers with glue on it just before clamping.<br />
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The rest of the layers glued up without any surprises.<br />
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All ready for some work with some files
and sand paper, I stopped work on the neck block assembly a few days ago,
taking a break from an early summer 2014 heatwave that was
gripping the east coast. This was the perfect time to get caught up on
some things in air-conditioned comfort, such as accounting at These Old
Guitars, and creating a company website with my long-time guitar-playing friend and <a href="http://longislandpc.net/" target="_blank">website designer</a>. It
was also a good time to put a little more
thought into some of the processes I would use for the
bent wood portions of this old hollow Tele body, as well as final
design of her internal bracing and some forms for assembling her
body. There was also some more electrical control design work to be done
with the help of long-time guitar-playing friend and electrical engineer on that LeSpork Bass project...<br />
<br />Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-72901813437015909422014-06-12T08:25:00.002-04:002014-06-12T08:29:48.492-04:00Collings MT Mandolin Upgrade - More, More, More<div style="text-align: center;">
But if you want to know how I really feel<br />
Get the cameras rollin'<br />
And get the action goin'</div>
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I had settled in to a good rhythm on two projects, alternating between assembly of a bass guitar from an assortment of bits and pieces and a 6-string acoustic-electric prototype build. A wave of warm weather was in the forecast for this week, and I planned on taking it easy until the humidity broke later in the week week. Instead, a coworker asked me to do some work on one of his mandolins. The job was to install a pickup in a <a href="http://www.collingsguitars.com/Instruments/?ID=42" target="_blank">Collings MT</a>, and it needed to be done within the week so the owner could use it at a rehersal. The owner chose <a href="http://kksound.com/" target="_blank">K&K's Twin Internal</a> for this application so the output jack would be concealed as an endpin when not plugged in to an amplifier. All of the work was to be done through the endpin and f-holes, without removing the back panel. Here's a view of one installed on a mandolin with the back removed.<br />
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The high humidity did not help in removing the stock plastic endpin. The safest and easiest way to remove a tight endpin is by drilling it out.<br />
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The holes through the body and tailpiece both needed to be
enlarged to just under 1/2-inch diameter to accommodate the output
jack. I mounted a step-type reamer on my drill to work on the
tailpiece, and switched the reamer into a handle to work on the body.<br />
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I used some nylon fishing line for pulling a thin piece of insulated wire through one of the sound holes and back out through the end pin hole. The wire is what I used later to pull the output jack in place.<br />
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The K&K kit included an ample amount of double-stick adhesive tape for adhering the
transducers to the inside of the front panel. The kit also included a
"tool," a.k.a. a bent nail and reusable putty, for working through the
florentine holes.<br />
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Setting the correct endpin jack length is similar to how it is done with some guitar endpin jacks as shown below, by adjustment
of the nut on the inside of the end block. With access to the inside
of the instrument limited to the sound holes and the endpin hole, this
is done by trial and error with repeated removal and re-installation of
the jack through a sound hole. The threaded collar acts as the strap pin as well to conceal
the outer nut, so the collar is the last piece to go on. The jack is
properly installed when the threads of the jack are just proud of the
threaded collar.<br />
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After restringing, some polishing and testing through an amplifier, this mando was returned to its owner on a Wednesday, in plenty of time for a Thursday night rehersal.<br />
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-73449479207236504462014-06-09T14:34:00.002-04:002014-06-12T13:25:45.966-04:00LeSpork Bass Prototype - Bits and Pieces<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm in pieces, bits and pieces</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Nothin' seems to ever go right.</div>
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I'm in pieces, bits and pieces</div>
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Night is day and day is night.</div>
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Getting back into town after being away for a long weekend, I
was greeted with a full mailbox, including most of the electronics bits and
pieces I had ordered for this build.<br />
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I was still in need of a matching set of knobs
and an output jack/plate to make this bass work. I ordered a set of knobs and the jack/plate, and found a good deal combined with a pair of strap buttons. But, before getting in to any
hard-wiring for the volume and tone circuit, I still needed to assemble the bass to the point of putting
on strings. First up was attaching the neck to the body. After
marking up the body, I made some initial cuts with a rotary cutting blade.
To finish enlarging the neck pocket, I used a sharp chisel, a hobby
knife and some sandpaper.</div>
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Kramer used a neck plate bolt pattern on the body that is tighter than the standard Fender 4-hole pattern Aria used on the neck. To mate the two, I plugged the factory Kramer body bolt holes with hardwood dowels, trimmed them flush with the body, and drilled new holes to match the standard Fender pattern. I used the matching black wood-screw type neck bolts that came with the neck plate and gasket kit for now, leaving the installation of a set of inserts and
machine bolts and plugging of the old holes in the Aria neck for final
assembly.</div>
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The Kramer bridge had been removed before I bought the body, and I am
using a Fender-type bridge I bought for this project awhile back. I measured out the 34" scale length, marked off
the new bridge location and installed it along with a ground wire to the control cavity, leaving the Kramer factory
bridge holes to be filled in while refinishing the body.</div>
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Between the original Kramer electronics and a pre-assembled MIJ pick guard I had bought for this project, I had a lot of parts to choose from. I noticed the Kramer
harness had 500K-ohm tone and volume pots, and that the pickups and wires were in rough
shape. I had not planned on using these, so I added those to my stockpile for now, and pulled parts from the MIJ harness. That would have left me with a 250K-ohm volume pot with a 1/4-inch shaft to go into a hole with a 3/8-inch shaft, so I ordered one with the right size shaft and 250K-ohm resistance. </div>
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The bass was ready for pickup and tuner installation
and initial setup adjustments for pickup height and action at the
bridge.<br />
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I left off the strings for now and removed the neck to make it easier to handle the body during installation of the electronics. While
waiting on a few remaining parts, I drilled some holes in a scrap wood board to use for holding the pots in place temporarily during the first part of soldering.<br />
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-29500365002564156252014-06-03T22:47:00.001-04:002014-06-04T09:32:36.543-04:00LeSpork Bass Prototype - Spinning Wheel<div style="text-align: center;">
Would you mind a reflecting sign<br />
Just let it shine within your mind<br />
And show you the colors that are real</div>
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<br />
A few weeks ago, I found a great deal on eBay on a late 80's Kramer bass body with the following description:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">This is a late 80's Kramer body, in rough shape, but genuine. I bought
the guitar project mainly for the neck, (which I'm keeping). The body is
plywood, which was used a lot back then, and somebody decided to paint
it white... with a brush, and house paint! Lol.... Does come with the
original pickup and wiring harness. I know it's genuine Kramer because
of the tighter neck bolt pattern, (and I have the neck). Only comes with
what's pictured. It's not pretty, but maybe somebody can use it.
<br />The paint is horrible, what looks like cracks are only the streaks in paint. The body is actually in fair, and usable condition.
<br /> Thanks for looking!
<br /><br />8464randy</span></blockquote>
That's just what I needed to get back to my
LeSpork Bass prototype. I made a bid, and thanks to eBay member 8486randy, the Kramer
body was at my doorstep within a few days! <br />
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<br />
Buying a body has definitely changed the scope and nature of the
project. It's not exactly a prototype anymore, although it will take some thought
and effort to modify the Kramer body neck pocket to accept the Aria Pro
neck and end up with the right scale length.<br />
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<br />
Of course, I can "suggest"
the LeSpork shape my making a custom pickguard...<br />
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<br />
Ok, so this project has become more about making things fit and some finish techniques. Maybe <a href="http://www.spitenet.com/bass/bassshow.php?picNum=11" target="_blank">Frankenbass</a> would be a more appropriate name for this build.<br />
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<br />
BUT, it is also an opportunity to do some
electronics modifications! Comparing the Kramer body I bought with the picture of a Kramer bass above, I noticed a slight difference: mine has a third control hole. At first, I thought
it might have housed a switch for an on-board preamp, since
Kramer did offer some models with active EMG pickups. A little more internet research revealed the hole
closest to the bridge was used for an output jack on some entry-level
models. Although, like on a Gibson ES-335, I'd say it's not an ideal
location, it is manageable.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JhjMbaJdWIE/U455lGQwvOI/AAAAAAAAEn0/f7Wlirha9cM/s1600/es335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JhjMbaJdWIE/U455lGQwvOI/AAAAAAAAEn0/f7Wlirha9cM/s1600/es335.jpg" height="313" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
That's all well and good, but this body also has a hole at
the side, drilled into the control cavity, where one would
install an output jack.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TCKKBUXu2G8/U456C1oPLvI/AAAAAAAAEn8/mEZTyP9PLc4/s1600/lespaul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TCKKBUXu2G8/U456C1oPLvI/AAAAAAAAEn8/mEZTyP9PLc4/s1600/lespaul.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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Liking the side location for the output jack better than having the jack next to the control knobs, I decided to find a use for the third control hole. So, what can you do with a three control holes for a single-pickup
guitar?<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uvHyAgxNfvs/U46E81mJNXI/AAAAAAAAEoY/glzQugsKepk/s1600/vintage-air-control-knobs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uvHyAgxNfvs/U46E81mJNXI/AAAAAAAAEoY/glzQugsKepk/s1600/vintage-air-control-knobs.jpg" height="310" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Like the use of colors and textures in a
painting, tonal color is
part of what makes each piece of music unique. And though each of us may find some tones
more appealing than others, we can all agree that we prefer some variety
of tonal color in listening to music. With electrified musical instruments, we can use the electronics to enhance the inherent tonal quality of the materials used to make an instrument, as well
as to modify and add some variety to that inherent tonal quality. With that in mind, I
decided to use a G&L-type <a href="http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefiend/guitar/two-band-ptb-tone-control-useful-easy-cheap-awesome/" target="_blank">two-band passive filter</a> tone control circuit. As my friend Bruce put it:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The
standard “tone” control is nothing more than a high-pass
filter…selectively dumping low frequencies (as determined by the 3-dB
point) to ground. This seems to be what you have labeled below as the
“treble” control.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The
“bass” control seems to be a low-pass filter…blocking high frequencies
as you decrease the resistance... </span></blockquote>
So, the LeSpork Bass will have this circuit, allowing for separate treble and bass tone filters in front of the volume control.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tYR49nt37bs/U458NUNlc9I/AAAAAAAAEoI/7lidsmSwSMA/s1600/GL-Tone-Circuit.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tYR49nt37bs/U458NUNlc9I/AAAAAAAAEoI/7lidsmSwSMA/s1600/GL-Tone-Circuit.jpeg" height="273" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Despite having an engineering degree, I'm not much of an electrical engineer. Opinions about which values of caps and pots produce great tone vary widely, as sound is a subjective topic. One aspect we all agree on with
a basic low-pass filter is that, as you substitute caps
of higher value, you lose more and more highs as you lower the pot. From experience, I do know that the type and values of the capacitors and potentiometers in a circuit will have effects on the tone. Not wanting to leave the quality aspect up to chance, I'll be using <a href="http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Orange-Drops-Busting-Tone-Control-Capacitor-Myths.aspx" target="_blank">Sprague Orange Drop</a> capacitors and CTS linear taper pots. I'll try combinations of common values of audio filter control caps and pots in the circuit, starting with a 0.0022, 0.0033 and 0.0047 uF caps tied to a 1 meg-ohm pot in the bass leg, and a 0.022, 0.033 and 0.047 uF caps tied to a 500 k-ohm treble pot in the treble leg , until I find a tonal range I like. I'll have some time waiting for the delivery of electronic parts to arrive, so I'll get to work on modifying the Kramer neck pocket to accommodate that Aria neck, and mounting a Fender bridge to end up with a 34-inch scale length.<br />
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<br />Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-24330756836345882662014-05-28T22:38:00.001-04:002014-05-28T23:18:15.523-04:00Flat Top Tele - Great Indoors<div style="text-align: center;">
So go unlock the door<br />
And find what you are here for<br />
Leave the great indoors<br />
The great indoors</div>
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In designing the neck block, there were a few means and methods I considered. Flat top acoustic guitar neck blocks are typically made from a piece of lumber with the grain oriented from top to bottom panel, perpendicular to the direction of the strings. A dovetail joint with some glue, or a tenon joint with one or more bolts through the joint, counter the forces from the strings that would otherwise separate the joint. With a solid-body electric
guitar, the neck bolts attach the neck to the
bottom portion of the body, and the grain of the body and neck both run
parallel to the direction of the strings. Both of these designs makes use of the
strong bending direction of the "body" part of the joint. Since there will be neck bolts attaching the neck to this guitar's body like an electric guitar, I am
orienting the grain of the Flat Top Tele like a solid body Telecaster, parallel to the strings. <br />
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Early in the design process, I considered the proportions of this guitar
and decided on a body side dimension of about 3-inches. Not having access to a band saw, my design constraints include the
limits of using tools currently in the shop and readily-accessible lumber
dimensions. These factors drove the decision on making the 3-inch side dimension with a
build-up of layers of 1/2 x 5-1/2 inch and 3/4 x 7-1/4 inch red oak hobby boards. The process is similar to making a glulam beam.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W5iqkaHuYI8/U4Tpu9bl1aI/AAAAAAAAEg4/6i7XyPlLrHo/s1600/Glulam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W5iqkaHuYI8/U4Tpu9bl1aI/AAAAAAAAEg4/6i7XyPlLrHo/s1600/Glulam.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Keeping things as
simple as possible, I choose the top layer thickness such that it would
not be necessary to route the neck pocket cavity. With the acoustic bridge and saddle I'll be using, a 1/2-inch
thick top layer should produce a setup such that the neck set
angle can be fine tuned by shimming the neck pocket. To achieve the width of wood I need for the upper bout dimension, I am also building up each layer from the 5-1/2-inch and 7-1/4-inch wide boards.<br />
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To avoid any weaknesses from lining up the joints, I will use a stagger between the layers.<br />
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Here are some pictures during fit-up, clamping and sanding of two slabs formed from 7-1/4-inch wide boards.<br />
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I used a full-sized drawing to make a template of the upper bout
portion of the body, to keep final shaping to a minimum. The template is cut from a piece of the red oak with
the grain in the direction perpendicular to the neck block layers, as an easy way to provide an initial straight edge to work from in shaping the layers. Here are pictures from before and after rough cutting
the template with a jigsaw.<br />
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Next came trimming and sanding of the template, and then some experimentation to determine a procedure
for using a combination of tools to shape the multiple cut-out slabs. I knew this would generate a lot of sawdust, so I set up my plunge router in a portable saw table for using some drum sanding attachments and a flush trim router bit in the Great Outdoors.<br />
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I used a few screws to attached the template to an excess piece of red oak. After getting used to handling the setup to minimize kickback working with and perpendicular to the grain, I had some initial success shaping the outside curves of the upper bouts and cutaway. Hoping to complete the shape of the template with this practice piece, I began shaping the inside curves. While working cross-grain on the inner curve of the bass side, the wood chattered in my hands and shook out of control. In the blink of an eye, I had broken a piece off of the practice piece and had damaged the template. I moved on to the inside curve of the cut out, with a much firmer grip, and similar results.<br />
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It was clear that using the router this way would not produce acceptable results. Plan B calls for a few more steps and will make use of other means and methods for making the tricky cross grain inner-curve cuts. The improved template will have extra portions joining the upper bout curves to the central portion
of the neck block slabs. This will provide stability as well as a convenient
way to check alignment of the pieces during shaping and assembly. I'll use the router to cut the outside curves, and I'll use the router and/or a combination flat drill bits, straight saws and drum sanders to cut and trim the inner curves. I'll hold off on removing the extra portions of the neck block, until after gluing together and belt sanding all of the layers smooth, and just before attaching the bent-sides portion of the body to the neck block.</div>
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With so much design and building effort going into making this large neck block, I began considering an Ovation soundhole design that would showcase all of this craftsmanship. I found some replacement parts on eBay and
started visualizing the finished guitar in the comfort of the Great Indoors...<br />
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-66802518436419646872014-05-13T23:03:00.001-04:002014-05-13T23:10:33.765-04:00Flat Top Tele - Springtime Blues<div style="text-align: center;">
Now, baby but I'll see you</div>
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Baby, in the spring</div>
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Just after the bluebird begin to sing.</div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/VT_XnB5KW8U/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/VT_XnB5KW8U&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/VT_XnB5KW8U&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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With winter and some recent mandolin repair projects finally behind me, I got back to thinking about this project. As much as I'd like to make an acoustic guitar body in the shape of a Telecaster, the sharp curves at the cutaway and where the body meets the neck can not be made with my home-brewed steam chamber and bending iron. Instead, I will use a large neck block method of construction that is common in f-style mandolins for this prototype. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_aq6OJJO2s" target="_blank">As with the difference in sound envelopes between f- and a-style mandolins</a>, I expect the large neck block will somewhat reduce the sustain while adding some attack, enhancing the projection of the instrument compared to one built with a bent wood acoustic sound chamber with a minimal neck block.</div>
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It's been said that the best sound comes from the instrument that’s on the verge of collapse. To put it another way, the art of stringed instrument building is a balancing act between providing structural integrity and allowing the front and back panels to vibrate freely. A small box is inherently stiffer than a larger box, so the bracing in this guitar will be intentionally minimal to get the most pleasing sound out of it. The bracing pattern I chose is similar to a design by <a href="http://www.williampetit.com/14/guitare-guitar-etienne-laprevotte/guitare-etienne-laprevotte.htm" target="_blank">Ettienne LaPrevotte</a> from a guitar he made in Paris, ca. 1835. <span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">LaPrevotte</span> <span class="hps">participated in numerous</span> <span class="hps">international competitions</span> <span class="hps">to improve</span> <span class="hps">the sound of</span> <span class="hps">his guitars</span><span class="">.</span> </span>Here is a picture during the build of a modern copy of a LaPrevotte by <a href="http://www.ianwatchorn.com.au/" target="_blank">Ian Watchorn</a>.<br />
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Tacoma was a modern-day company known for innovations, such as non-traditional sound hole locations and minimal bracing patterns. The bracing in some Tacoma models resembles the design by LaPrevotte. In the Tacoma bracing below, two relatively deep main structural members run in the long
direction of the guitar with a transverse member notched into
the main members. A small bridge plate sits just in front of the bridge plate and between the two longitudinal members.<br />
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Borrowing elements from LaPrevotte and Tacoma, the Flat Top Tele will have an H-shaped bracing pattern and an oval-shaped sound hole. Here are scaled drawings of the final bracing and top panel layouts.<br />
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-48049016018535203432014-04-19T19:05:00.001-04:002014-04-21T10:37:27.209-04:00Two Mandolins - Lay Down Sally<div style="text-align: center;">
There is nothing that is wrong<br />
In wanting you to stay here with me.<br />
I know you've got somewhere to go,<br />
But won't you make yourself at home and stay with me?<br />
And don't you ever leave.</div>
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I have enjoyed working on this mandolin. But, for awhile, it was starting to look like this one was never going to leave my work bench. After a long, cold winter spell, it was sometime in January when it was warm enough in the shed to work on reattaching the back panel.<br />
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Prepping for the new glue required very little clean-up work. The old hide glue separated well, and most of it scraped right off with a razor blade. I had sliced through some of the kerfing, back panel and one of the braces when separating the back from the sides. They were clean slices that resulted in well-mating surfaces, so I was able to use them as gluing surfaces.<br />
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A few spool clamps, some quick clamps and a caul in the long direction of the mando was enough to apply clamping pressure for a few days.<br />
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Most of the visible surfaces at the edge mated up well. A few gaps remained, so I used what was left from the replaced front brace to make some small filler pieces.<br />
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All of the stress from removing the back panel was starting to show, so
some refinishing work was in order. The front and sides also needed a few clear coats to bring out what was left of her shine. I prepped the surfaces with minimal steel wool, hoping to preserve as much of the original finish as possible.<br />
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I was pleased with the way the front and sides came out, but not so much with the back. After trying some spot-refinishing techniques, I decided it would be best to refinish the entire back panel.<br />
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More cold winter weather made doing finish work in my shed impossible until the end of March. With the last of overnight freezing temperatures finally gone, I was able to get back to it. After sanding off all of the original finish from the back panel, I sprayed on four coats of clear gloss lacquer. I let the lacquer cure for a week before some light sanding with steel wool in preparation for three final coats.<br />
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Following another week of curing, all that was left was some cleaning and polishing, then reattaching the tailpiece, tuners and pickguard, and putting on a new set of strings.Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-44615345172842200012013-12-29T20:04:00.002-05:002014-04-21T10:29:20.692-04:00Two Mandolins - Rainy Day Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Now simple pleasures they all evade you, store-bought treasures, Lord none can save you.</div>
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Look for signs to ease the pain, I said ask again, go on and pray for rain.</div>
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The second mandolin on my repair bench proved to be a bit more challenging. At first, the owner and I thought it would take little more than reattaching the fret board, repairing some binding, repairing some non-structural surface cracking, a thorough cleaning and putting on a new set of strings. It turned out this old mandolin had been worked on before and was in need of additional top and brace repairs. According to the owner, this instrument spent a lot of time over the past few years in extremely dry conditions. So, I was not terribly surprised when I found the top beginning to cave in under the tension of a new set of strings. The last few times I've had a chance to work on this mandolin have been dreary, rainy days. Considering how dry this mandolin had been, all the moisture in the air could only have helped.<br />
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The case of this mandolin has both historic and sentimental value. Note the Delta Airlines unchecked baggage tag.<br />
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The fretboard was detached when I first inspected this instrument. The binding for the most part was in great shape, and the dovetail joint was still holding together well.<br />
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The intricate binding was split at one of the seams but was intact. With a little minor probing, I started finding out how brittle and fragile the wood and binding were at this corner. A little taping after some CA and acetone were all it would take to fix her up there.<br />
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After removing the few remaining strings and her tailpiece cover plate, I started thinking about the order in which I would make the repairs.<br />
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I used some steam to clean off the old glue and make sure there weren't any hidden cracks in the fretboard.<br />
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After removal of the pickguard, I found evidence of an old repair. Despite the top showing signs of distress, there was a repair cleat behind the crack that made things appear to be structurally sound.<br />
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With the mating surfaces clean of the old adhesive, I roughed things up with light sandpaper to prepare them to be reattached with hide glue.<br />
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After clamping and cleaning up the excess glue, I brought the repaired mandolin indoors and kept her in there for a few days while the hide glue dried.<br />
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Satisfied with the reattachment of the fretboard, I removed the clamps and moved on to repairing the surface cracks with yellow carpenters glue.<br />
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Some scraping and sanding with a small file, sand paper and steel wool took care of most of the remaining squeeze-out glue and final cleanup of the seam between her fretboard and neck.<br />
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A small amount of the fretboard binding had come loose in the process. I used a little CA to make the repairs to it, as I eventually did with the top panel body binding repair she needed. While the CA dried, I removed her tuners and began cleaning and polishing all of her exterior surfaces.<br />
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As I prepared to put the strings on, I noticed some separation at the back panel. After applying some hide glue, I applied some painters tape to hold things in place, and moved on to stringing up this mandolin.<br />
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As I applied tension to the strings, the condition of the top became apparent. Clearly, some additional repair work was required. I contacted the owner with the bad news, and we agreed it made sense to make the structural repairs at this time. Determining the full extents of necessary repairs and making them through the sound hole would not have been possible. So, the next step was removing the back of this mandolin from her sides.<br />
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Starting at the corner of the back I had just repaired, I used a combination of sharp tools and heat to release the glue bond between the back and sides. Fortunately, her back came off easily with minor collateral damage, and two of the back braces remained attached to the sides. These two braces were enough to provide the required stabilizing force to keep the sides from warping while I assessed and made repairs to the top panel.<br />
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The middle back brace was barely attached to the back panel. I used yellow carpenters glue for repairing this collateral damage.<br />
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With a little closeup inspection, I determined the root cause of the top panel failure was inadequate bracing. Unlike the other braces in this mandolin, this one did not extend between the sides and top panel. Although some instrument builders purposely leave the braces short to allow the top and bottom plates to vibrate, that clearly was not the design intent with the rest of the braces in this instrument, so I doubt it was the intent with this one. More likely, it seems to me this short brace was the result of design or construction error or oversight.<br />
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To keep as true as possible to the original design, I decided to replace the brace. In order to do that, I first had to remove the existing brace.<br />
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With full string tension, the fretboard had been pushing on the top and contributing to the forces that led to the failure. Without string tension, the fretboard was pulling the top panel outward. Neither condition is desireable without proper bracing, and realizing this was the situation also meant a neck reset was not out of the question at this time. So, before removing the brace, I released the fretboard from the body, so it could be properly attached while making the bracing repair.<br />
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With the fretboard released from the body, I used a hot and sharpened putty knife blade to remove the the old brace along with the cleat from the
previous top panel repair.<br />
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To help restore the intended
convex shape to the body, I made the replacement brace with some camber.<br />
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To accommodate the longer brace, I cut into the generous side material just enough to form the two gaps needed to receive the brace ends between the top panel and sides.<br />
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I used a putty knife to apply hide glue between the top panel and fretboard, and then applied carpenters glue to the top panel and the new brace. After inserting the new brace, I clamped things in place and cleaned off the squeeze-out from the brace, fingerboard and top panel surfaces. It was expected to be a chilly night, so I brought the backless mandolin back into the house to sit while the hide glue between the body and fretboard dried. It would have to wait a few days, so I took the opportunity to take care of a few other things around the house and shop and got caught up on this blog before starting in on reattachment of the back panel.</div>
<br />Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-60838970036734728202013-12-08T10:09:00.003-05:002013-12-08T10:09:48.287-05:00Two Mandolins - Come On Up to the House<div style="text-align: center;">
Well the moon is broken<br />
And the sky is cracked<br />
Come on up to the house</div>
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It was only some binding that had cracked on This Old Mandolin. The past week was full of work, band rehearsals and other aspects of married life with children. With a few things on the to-do list complete, it was Saturday evening when I had the time to get back to the repairs on this Kay L4 mando.<br />
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A few days before starting in on these repairs, I left some small pieces of binding strip in a shallow mason jar to dissolve within a combination of 100% acetone and tint.<br />
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One piece at a time, I added slivers of tinted binding strip back to the repair site with some CA.<br />
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Using a popsicle stick, I applied some of the binding/acetone/tint juice to fill in and smooth out the bumps and valleys. <br />
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Progressing from a rotary tool sanding drum to 200 grit sand paper to steel wool, I smoothed out the binding surfaces.<br />
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Just before touching up the color, I used a toothbrush to apply a mild abrasive. <br />
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It was too cold to spray this repair area with clear lacquer on Saturday evening. After setting up the paint booth, I brought This Old Mando up and into the house and enjoyed some Sarah Jarosz covers of some Tom Waits songs while writing this entry. There's always tomorrow.</div>
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-64962247687494674402013-11-26T00:54:00.003-05:002013-11-26T00:55:54.564-05:00Two Mandolins - Keep the Customer Satisfied<div style="text-align: center;">
And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine
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Two steps away from the county line
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Just trying to keep my customers satisfied,
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Satisfied.</div>
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About a week ago, a coworker asked me to price some repairs and maintenance on two family heirlooms. The one mandolin is a Kay L4, and the other is unlike anything I've ever come across before. Both had obvious signs of age and use, but appeared to be in or very close to playable condition. After reaching agreements on the scope of work to be done and the price, I ordered some replacement parts.</div>
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Although the Kay is in the better condition of the two, it had some issues. Some of the rear binding near her neck joint was loose, the inside of her case was showing some wear, and her tuning pegs were deteriorating.</div>
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Although there were some scratches in her finish, she mostly needed a good, thorough cleaning and waxing.</div>
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The owner was interested in restoring this mando to playable condition, but was not yet ready to replace the buttons on the original tuners or to replace the tuners entirely with donor parts from another mando. Instead, we agreed it made sense to replace the tuners with an inexpensive set, and to save the original tuners to be refurbished or replaced another time.</div>
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Although the screw holes and other dimensions matched up with the original set, the new set had two more screw holes per side. To avoid altering the headstock, I decided I would leave the additional screw holes open.</div>
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The binding repair was next on the list. It took a little CA glue with some painters tape to clamp things in place.<br />
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After stripping off all the grime and old wax with some Murphy's Oil Soap, I put on a coat of wax.<br />
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After removing the existing peg collars, I realized the new collars that came with the new pegs were slightly larger. So, after cleaning and waxing the headstock, I cleaned the original collars and reinstalled them.<br />
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After applying some blue tape to affect the surrounding surfaces, I lightly sanded the grime and pitting off of her frets.<br />
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It was getting too cold to continue working in my shed, so I decided to leave the remainder of the binding repair for the next day. I brought Kay inside, and put a new set of strings and her tailpiece cover back on her before calling it a night.</div>
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-44976875812865956872013-11-17T22:47:00.000-05:002013-11-24T20:16:38.592-05:00Harmony H1203 Sovereign - Fortune Cookie<div style="text-align: center;">
This could easily be the start of something real<br />
Fortune cookie won't you tell me what's good tonight</div>
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When I started repairing and rebuilding this Harmony H1203 Sovereign, I had no idea it would turn into something this big in my life. The audience for This Old Guitar is international, I have a performance with a group coming up in December 2013, and I have established a stringed instrument repair business. Who knew buying that guitar would be the start of something so real?<br />
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With a performance coming up, I had to choose a guitar to use. After group rehearsals using my <a class="GHUY-LPPB" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7814771278696953067#editor/target=post;postID=8368955714457201919;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=48;src=postname">Harmony H1203 Sovereign</a>, <a class="GHUY-LPPB" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7814771278696953067#editor/target=post;postID=8315511814082253455;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=54;src=postname">Holiday H1214 Archtop </a>and my son's <a class="GHUY-LPPB" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7814771278696953067#editor/target=post;postID=477101824946541126;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=37;src=postname">Jay Turser JTA-Flag300</a>, I decided I'd be most comfortable with my Sovereign. The only problem is she was a straight acoustic. So, I decided to install the pickup and preamp I had set aside for my <a class="GHUY-LPPB" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7814771278696953067#editor/target=post;postID=8566752350264243370;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=11;src=postname">Flat Top Tele</a> build.<br />
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One nice feature about this preamp is the on-board tuner. Another handy feature is the combination phono and XLR output jacks, allowing me to plug her directly into a mixing board.<br />
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First up was installing the under-saddle piezo pickup. I compared it with a new compensated bone saddle to the existing bone saddle and to the bridge slot..<br />
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The depth of the new saddle on top of the piezo unit was 1/2-inch tall, a full 1/4-inch taller than the existing saddle.<br />
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The piezo was also much wider than the existing bridge slot.<br />
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I started by trimming out the bridge slot depth with a few tools, including a rotary tool cut-off disc, a hobby knife and a modified hacksaw blade.<br />
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After widening the top of the slot enough for it to receive the piezo, I switched to sanding the surfaces.<br />
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Using a series of small drill bits, I drilled out a hole for the piezo wire to feed into her body.<br />
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With a combination of a small flat file and my rotary tool, I eventually widened and deepened the bridge slot enough to receive the piezo and new saddle.<br />
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I made the saddle slot deep enough so that the piezo would sit directly on the top tone wood surface, thinking this would avoid unnecessary weakening of the guitar top and saddle, and ensure the best possible sound transmission when playing her as an acoustic guitar.<br />
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After sufficiently cleaning out the saddle slot, I left the piezo inserted and moved on to trimming the new saddle.<br />
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Although the required saddle depth was the same as before installing the piezo, the widened slot would now accept a full-width saddle. So, I trimmed the new saddle down in depth only enough to match the previous saddle. This made it possible to get the same action after performing this upgrade without having to adjust the neck set angle or truss rod.<br />
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A few months ago, I had received a promotional set of 12-52 Martin Lifespan SP's, and thought this would be a good time to try them out. I moved on to laying out and installing the preamp and battery/output box components.<br />
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The transverse braces and new bridge plate I installed last year appeared to be holding up well.<br />
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The installation went well with no surprises.<br />
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The combination of the short oak bridge plate and the piezo directly against the guitar top tone wood give this guitar plenty of punch and volume. I should have no trouble being heard with the group while playing This Old Guitar.</div>
Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7814771278696953067.post-89431724431805588642013-10-27T16:52:00.000-04:002013-10-27T16:52:12.603-04:00Epiphone LP Junior - Favorite Son <div style="text-align: center;">
He hit the ground running,<br />
At the speed of light.<br />
The star was brightly shining,<br />
Like a neon light.</div>
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While I was out of town a few weeks ago, my favorite (and only) son and I had a wonderful phone conversation. After telling me about his day at school and the new "mother" jokes he and his sixth-grade friends exchanged, he mentioned that his Epi was broken. Naturally, fear struck my heart like a bomb being dropped in an old Green Day video. After discussion, I was relieved to find out that the output jack had simply become loose as a result of many hours of play. After getting caught up with most everything else around the house, I finally got around to taking care of my son's guitar. But, since he is not in the position to pay my customary bench time fees, I took the opportunity to teach the youngin' a thing or two about taking care of his own guitar.</div>
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Looking inside the jack plate, we could just barely see the silver jack
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Graham grabbed a small Phillips driver and
removed three of the four screws.</div>
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After fishing out the jack with a metal pointer, we checked and made sure the wiring was intact.</div>
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Once we were sure that everything was in working order, we started putting things back together.</div>
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After placing the plate and washer over the jack, I used a socket driver to reinstall the nut...</div>
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...and let Graham screw the assembly pack into place.</div>
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It was nice having an extra pair of hands to work on things for a change. We'll see if this turns into a regular thing when I work on This Old Guitar.</div>
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Edgar Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11865413709843211923noreply@blogger.com0