more sketches

more color variations

In my previous color variations post, I strangely forgot 'transparent black' - it's actually the finish I intend to do for my guitar projects... Also someone suggested 'seafoam green', I didn't think I'd like it but I wanted top check so there it is... Still not convinced but I acknowledge it as a honorable finish.

Jaguar user's manual

Though I play my Fender Jaguar HH for a few months already, I had not so far managed to really understand what all these switches and knobs are really about (I just found my right setting and stuck to it since) - since I bought this guitar second hand, I had no user's manual and I couldn't get anything usable on Fender's official website.

So it took me a while but I finally found a few days ago what I was looking for on fenderjaguar.net, and understood that on a Jaguar you have two independent settings you can preset and switch to very easily. The Fender old-timers will think I'm dumb but really, I had no way to know that before - none of my previous guitars have this kind of system...

And, well, I love this guitar...

more sketches, with color variations

I was wondering about my favorite guitar finishes so I made some color variations on a design from a few months ago... You can see that I have quite classic tastes: black and metal, white and black, natural wood and transparent cherry with black or metal pickguard, and - how fancy me! - orange and black... I think that when you have this, you don't really need more...

(clicking on the small pic allows you to access a bigger version)

check this axe

This is not the object of this blog but I couldn't resist showing here this beautiful new guitar model by Nick Page Guitars, the Baron...

It's not only a great design, but they are nice people and their workshop is around my corner - I posted about them already a few months ago.

I tell more about it on the Guitar blog.

more sketches

more sketches, but different

I reached lately some designs that I consider valuable enough to not blend in my mass production... So I made cleaner sketches. I will try to do this more often now, also to come back on old sketches to check how they feel after a few weeks/months, and stop pretending everything is at the same level...

These are quite classic - with a little something extra, I hope.

more sketches

the Televangelist 2

So I finally have time to update this blog about the Televangelist. I made a few changes - mostly reworking the pickguard and varnishing... I'm still not completely happy with the setting - one string keeps buzzing down the neck, I would like to solve this myself and not have to ask for pro help... Gotta try again!

A friend who saw it asked me if I would make one for him but I think that he'd better wait until I made a few more and know more what I'm actually doing!

more sketches

New project: Crackle Guitar

No guitar making nor sketches these last days, I'm on travel, but the brain is still active. I met a few days ago with my friend and experimental electronic musician Daniel Schorno who works at STEIM Amsterdam (Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music) and build his own instruments.

Brainstorming about instrument making, we had the idea of building together a Crackle Guitar, an hybrid of guitar and STEIM's famous crackle box, an analogic pocket synthesizer played by finger contact on electronic circuits.

We intend to transform the pickguard of a guitar into a graphic circuit that can be touched by the guitarist while playing and alter the sound of the pickups... That will be a project for next year since my working agenda is already quite full, but I'm already quite excited about it!

And though I don't post much here, I keep contributing daily to the Guitar Blog - check me there!

more sketches

more sketches

work in progress

starting my second guitar

After improving myself with the DIY telecaster, time to start the real stuff with my 7-string project. Decided to skip the OSB model, it's been six months that I want to make this guitar and I'm too impatient - and also I feel quite confident. That's the good with following no model, I reduces the risk of making a mistake, since the guitar will be what it will be!

As you can see, since I'm still in a learning and experimenting phase, I don't work from a massive wood block, but I will glue together two parts of reconstituted wood - it's birchwood, more frequently used for speaker cabinets and drums than for solid-body guitars but quite appreciated for its tone. After thoroughly studying guitar making in the last months, I'm still not convinced than massive wood is necessary, there are many examples of other less noble materials used for good guitars...

You can also see the chambers and the one neck pickup. I modified the headstock of a second hand neck - it will be plated with aluminum to reenforce it.

finishing my first guitar

So I finally assembled my modified tele kit and I'm quite happy with the result... It looks better in real than on the picture (but you can already have a better idea by clicking on the pic on the right to enlarge it).

The strings are still a little bit buzzy but I won't set it right now since I'm not completely sure about the mate finish - I will probably add a layer of satin varnish. Also I will start to build another one from scratch and I'll probably have to dismantle this one to check how to make some stuff...

The handmade metal pickguard gives it a rough look that I do enjoy - I don't want to make a guitar that looks like a factory product... I love the Artic Kelo finish of Amsfisound guitars and that's what I had in mind when I first started to think about making guitars - I'll see how it feels when I start the woodwork.

The yet unofficial name for this guitar is The teleVangelist - since I intend to use it for my next stage project called Angel Meat. And I'll probably use it for my next concert in a couple of weeks...