I are teh FAIL?

Check out the 60-question American History and Civics quiz.

At least I got a 90%, which is a College A. It would be a B in High School. I can't believe that I missed the last three questions! Duh!

--gh

The TNH Amp, 1.2

Okay, I picked up some glasses for him to wear today, but this table saw pic was from yesterday. After cutting the sides of the cabinets to length, and routing dovetail joints, the next step was to rip the boards to dimension. We settled on a head cabinet and speaker cabinet (open back) with a 10" depth. This ripped about 1-1/2" to 2" from the boards and usually involved ripping both sides. This is so that the dovetail joints ended up nicely on the corners. It is incredible how much lighter this thing is with that little bit of wood removed. You can see the little push stick (black/yellow tape on the end) that I use for ripping smaller pieces. He learned to hold the wood against the fence and not bind the blade. Actually, he did very well at this stage and ripped 80% of the boards.

I learned on my other builds that any hardware connections that mount through the wood should be drilled before glueing the cabinets together. On my first build, I must have spent 45 minutes trying to line up where the holes should come up through the bottom to meet the receiving threads in the chassis. It turned out just fine, but it was a headache. With the piece unassembled, it is a 45 second job. The bottom has four holes where socket cap screws mount the chassis to the cabinet. The top has two holes where the handle is mounted though the wood. I don't trust wood screws for stuff like that. I will screw the feet on with screws, though, as well as all of the corner protectors.

Here is a picture of the amp chassis bolted to the bottom of the cabinet. Note that I have a t-nut counter-sunk (3/4" forstner bit) for a solid connection. I use 1-1/2" or 2" hex socket cap screws for this (10-32 thread). The mistake that I made on my first build was to leave the threads in the t-nut. This means that the screw has to thread the t-nut as well as the thread-sert in the chassis. While I like that I can back out the cap screws and have them hold in place, it is better for them to just fall down. This makes mounting the chassis a lot easier because you can feel just the threads of the chassis, and not the chassis and the t-nut. It was very hard drilling out those little t-nuts. I should have used a larger size and not worried about the threads at all. However, now they look and feel fine.

I like to use these hex cap screws for this, but I don't care to use an allen wrench. There are these little plastic thumb knobs that stretch perfectly over the tops of these guys so that you don't need tools at all to remove the chassis from the cabinet. Judging from this pic, that screw is at least 1-3/4", and possibly 2" (the dimension of the chassis side). Sorry for the bad picture here, but you can see that the bolts meet up with the chassis using the nut-sert or thread-sert that is mounted to a hole drilled in the lip. This makes such a positive match to the cabinet and I am very pleased with it. It is a little detail that I think makes the whole project a little higher quality. The quick and dirty way that some builders use is to mount an angle bracket on the outside. However, this means the whole cabinet needs to be wider, and then you have to hide the edges. This method is one way to have the cabinet inside dimension match the chassis.

--gh

The TNH Amp, 1.1

Continuing with the power tool introduction, this is his first chance with the router. The template that you see there is the Keller 1500 dovetail jig. This is my third of fourth project with it, so I am glad that I invested in it. I am also glad that it is holding up well. This is not really the best picture of Tyler routing (minimal dust spraying back), but it is the only one that I have with him wearing ear protection. I think the router is 90-105db, so this is a good idea. You can get fairly precise with this dovetail jig, but I don't choose to. I'll build the boxes for the cabinets, then mark lines to rip the front and back nice and even.

He did not do all of these cuts, but he did enough to get a feel for it. Here are all the pieces for an amplifier cabinet, and two speaker cabinets. I would like to have some kind of portable work bench, but as it is I just mount half my work to my table saw. Later on, I bet you'll see us using this for gluing, finishing, etc. Looking at all those pieces at once is sort of impressive - it's about an hour of work (setting up, clamping, etc.). Of course, by hand that would be a lot longer.

The cabinets were measured very well. I slapped them together dry to get a feel for size and note that the amp chassis slides very well. It will have a bit of paint and lacquer on it, and the cabinet will have a finish. I hope it isn't too tight! I'll check the other side first, and if it is then it can be opened up a tad with some judicious sanding. Note that the chassis is just a Hammond chassis (#1444-26). We'll drill that out down the road. I like that part too. Inside are various capacitors, resistors, potentiometers, and transformers. Might be a tube or two.

I slapped these together to get a feel for size. Also, because the lumber was slightly cupped, I thought this would straighten them out a little. It could get pretty messed up, but tapping the dovetails together would straighten anything. The cabinet on the left will be the 2x10 sealed speaker cabinet. I will probably keep it pretty deep, based on some calculations using data from the speaker company. On the right is Tyler's quarter stack. This will have an EL34-based tube amp on the top, and a 2x12 speaker cabinet. I am planning on trimming the front and back a little. This is 11.5", and we could lose an inch and a half, perhaps. They stand up just fine without glue. That's a pretty good test of the integrity of these joints. I will not use any screws to hold this together. The speaker cabinet will be strenghtened by the baffle on the front, which will be glued into a dado. On the back I'll incorporate a kick plate, and that will also help make it sturdy.

Here is a dry-fit of the dovetails. Note that the exposed ends are just proud of the joint. Those will get sanded, and all the corners will be rounded over as well. I am starting to get excited about this. Tyler's quarter stack will be up in his room by early October, I bet. Then the noise will begin. I am glad that he is putting as much sweat equity into this as I am - because a 14-year-old barely deserves something this nice otherwise!

I am a little embarassed to say that I never had the chance to play through a tube amp until early 2006. I was looking at Telecasters and the nice folks at the guitar store put me in a little room by myself. They showed me a bunch of complicated amps, and I plugged into a little Epiphone Valve Junior. I loved it. When the sales guy came back, he looked at me like I was crazy and plugged me into a very complicated amp. After he left, I went back to the simple 5-watt Epiphone amp! I had no idea.

--gh

The TNH Amp, 1.0

Our next project is building an amplifier and speaker cabinet. We chose the P1-Extreme plan from the amplifier building community AX84.com. We'll start on the cabinet first, because I like to make sure that the speakers and the amp chassis fit well. Also, I'm afraid if we build the amp first, we'd be playing it from a table into speakers mounted in a cardboard box or something. It is more satisfying to finish wiring things up and then to slide them into a cabinet like we ordered it custom made. The design will be similar to my first build. (Measure twice, cut once!) It is a lot of fun taking pictures when I'm not doing this alone. This does have the amusing effect of looking like he is totally solo in this build. Maybe he should get his own blog going and describe it from his perspective.

I think this is Tyler's first real experience with power tools. When I was his age, I had already taken shop in junior high, so it seems to be about right. We started with a battery-powered circular saw. It kind of wimped out on us, though, and we had to go to the SkilSaw. Tyler is using a square clamped to the board to guide the saw. Don't worry, his hand is not as close to that blade as the picture suggests. The lumber we are using is some decent looking poplar from the lumber yard. I still haven't done anything that involves joining - but I still see a joiner in my future. I think this poplar will be dyed fairly dark, so I hope it looks even.

If you into counting these pieces, you may notice four extra sides. I decided to use some speakers that I got last year but never used. I learned that they were meant to be in a closed cabinet only, and not open backed. So, I will build an sealed speaker cabinet to try out. I bought the wood almost a month before cutting it. Even though I think I stored it pretty well, it still cupped a little. That's okay, this will be fixed in the next stage.





--gh

Tylercaster complete

Side-by-side with my Telecaster, the Strat is definitely a cousin. I felt like I was taking family portraits or something. I finished 90% of the setup today. The intonation, action, and relief are all very close to my ideal. It plays beautifully, but I think I need to raise the bridge pickup a little. I will have to take the pickguard off to do it because I need to cut the rubber sleeve that holds it in place a little. The other issue is that the neck is still a little sticky. It is a nitrocellulose neck, made earlier this year, so that it to be expected.



Here you can see some carpet, paint, and trim work from our renovated bedroom. Cousins in the bedroom!

--gh

Tylercaster C

There are not too many shots of us working on the inner electronics. To be honest, I had to help out a lot there so I didn't grab the camera. Here's a quick pick of Tyler soldering up the output jack. This is his first effort in soldering, so I thought he couldn't mess up a jack. (I had a spare handy just in case.) The worst thing we'd need to do would be to cut a half inch off the wires and start this part over. As it turns out, he did just fine. Note that the jack is sitting on top of a small can of solder flux. This kept the mat we are using here safe.

Here's one of the final assembly steps, the installation of the output jack escutcheon. This is probably the only thing we messed up, I never knew a Strat had a particular angle that the jack tip had to be at for things to work. We had this thing on and off about three times. Tyler got comfortable with this step.

Taking off the protective plastic from the pickguard must have been his favorite step of all. At first you don't really notice the plastic. However, with each component that you add, the plastic gets blistered up and pushed aside. Some guitars come from the factory with components mounted OVER the pickguard plastic protective layer. This is madness because you have to unscrew a lot of things to get that plastic out. I taught him to push the plastic aside, but keep it on as long as possible.


All of a sudden, the major part of this build was over! I strung up the guitar and it was even in decent condition for intonation and setup. Look at that dining room table! It took me 15 minutes to clean that up this evening. The guitar, as you can see, is pretty complete. I through all five tremolo block springs in the back and the bridge plate is resting on the body even with the six strings on there. It will take me some time to figure out what needs to happen with the setup. The springs are there to balance the string tension, and you can adjust the number of springs (3-5), as well as the tension on the springs. The bridge can rest on the body (as it is now), or "float" up a little, perfectly balanced between the springs and the strings. Of course, the neck's relief will need to be looked at (truss rod), in about a week. The microtilt might be the next adjustment. Then, the saddles will be moved to match the neck profile and set the intonation as well as the string height (action). My goal is 4/64" or so.

This thing really is a knockout. I need to take some daylight pictures, because this is a guitar that would stop me in my tracks if I saw it hanging on the wall. It was built as the cousin to my Telecaster. Specifically, it has the following in common: alder body, 3-tone sunburst, American Deluxe body, parchment pickguard, full cavity shielding, Seymour Duncan stack pickups, a vintage feeling and looking tinted neck, and a vintage shoulder strap with Schaller straplocks. There's probably more. I played around with it for ten minutes or so and I can tell that this thing will be a dream guitar in a few months. The neck is a little sticky (it is a 2007 nitrocellulose finish), but the feel of it is great. The neck radius is like a Les Paul, and the frets feel like Dunlop medium-jumbo. With absolutely no setup it feels better than a lot of guitars hanging on the shelf at many music stores. I don't think this is the store's fault, it's probably due to people misusing them. (Of course, it is the store's job to keep up with that stuff.)

I've already gone over the set up issues that need to happen next. I don't think I will document that process. However, it is the important last step of any parts build. The other thing that we need to start working on is the amplifier. There is a couple of board feet of poplar in the basement, as well as some transformers, tubes, and other various parts that will slowly turn into a tiny terror of 11-15 watts.

--gh

Tylercaster B

I like this step. The neck needs a solid metal surface to receive the microtilt bolt that comes through the American Deluxe neck plate area. Since this is a more vintage style neck, I improvised with a couple of Forstner bits and a metal plug used for electrical boxes. It works great, and I did a much better job on this than my Telecaster earlier this year. I used this adjustment to tweak the Telecaster into a perfect neck angle so that my saddle and pickup heights were easy to get into line. It's good to have this on the Stratocaster because there will be a lot of setup as soon as the neck adjusts to having strings on it again.

Next goes some copper shielding. Shielding a guitar can be controversial because it can attenuate some high frequencies. However, I like to err on the side of quiet. I think 60-cycle hum is not acceptable. This guitar will be very quiet due to the cautious shielding and the Seymour Duncan stack pickups. Classic Stacks, STK-4s, are technically humbucking pickups made to look, fit, and sound like single coil pickups. The trade-off from true single coil sound is worth it to me. We are using copper foil tape for the cavity shielding. Here you can see Tyler soldering together the taped seams. This is not necessary for continuity, perhaps, but it also helps to lock things in very tight. I think this copper foil will still be hanging on in 50 years. The solder stiffens things, that's for sure. I also think the heat from the soldering station makes the glue on the tape adhere very securely.

Tyler is finishing up the layout of the wiring here. The controls are loaded onto the pickguard. Note that there is some shielding on this pickguard - that is from Fender. I think we changed things around a little bit after routing the wires this way. The 4-conductor wire that Seymour Duncan uses appears delicate, so this can be a little nerve wracking. The carpet on the dining room table here is what we now have in our stairway and upstairs hall. It's on the shaggy side which took some getting used to, especially on the
stairs. it does feel plush, though.

One of the things that Tyler wanted for this build was to have American parts (when available). So, when we stared talking about the bridge, tremolo, saddles, and block, I told him that what we needed was from Callaham Guitar parts in Winchester, Va. I have a lot of fond childhood memories of Winchester, so it's nice to know a piece of his guitar came from there. Oddly, they do not make a 2-pivot style bridge plate, so I needed to get that from another source. The trem-bar feels VERY secure in the block. It is the best I have ever felt. Thanks, Callaham. It may look like there is not much left. For the parts assembly, this is true. There will be a lot of setup issues over the next month, though.


--gh

Tylercaster A

Ever since I put my Telecaster together, Tyler's been itching for his own build. We settled on a plan to build a Stratocaster cousin. He wanted as many features to be the same as my Telecaster, including:

• a vintage tinted and shaped neck,
• 3-tone sunburst alder body,
• parchment pickguard,
• aftermarket bridge (non stock),
• a deluxe body with the sculpted heel,
• non-standard wiring,
• and Seymour Duncan pickups.

We got him the neck and the case and he saved up for the rest of the build. The neck is an amazing quartersawn and slightly flamey piece from an Eric Johnson model Stratocaster. It came with the vintage staggered tuners, so I guess he won't be learning about installing those. Here you can see him removing the hunk of wood that I attached before we gave it to him. I wanted him to open up a light case, possibly thinking it was empty. However, I didn't want a costly neck banging around in there. The case is a standard, but classic style. He was probably relieved we got that for him since no one really likes buying a case when saving for a guitar (but it is necessary).

I don't know what to be more excited about, the neck or this body. I'll start with the neck. The Eric Johnson model neck is one of the few truly quartersawn necks that you can get on a USA Stratocaster, before you go Custom Shop. There are many great "Crafted in Japan" necks that look great, but this one is even more special. The maple has a slight flame to it, and it is tinted. It looks like some of the 1957 ReIssue necks, and even has a soft-V profile (that moves towards a "C" as you move up the neck). The fretboard radius is not like a 1957, though. It is actually 12", just like a Gibson. This thing will be able to shred, (some day). To top it off, the neck has a nitrocellulose finish, just like the old days.

The body is a 3-tone sunburst, just like my Telecaster. The model it came from was an American Deluxe model. In addition to the sculpted heel (note the funky neck plate in the top picture), it also has the 2-point tremolo bridge. The vintage models, and many of the American Standards have the 6-screw bridge, but this one is simpler. With no string trees (due to the staggered tuners), the only place that the string can bind is at the nut and the bridge. When properly set up, it should be great for all kinds of trem-bar playing. Of course, I have never set one of these up (never had a tremolo, actually), so I am about to be educated! One more thing about this body. The wood looks selected (not really something Fender gets into), and it is more than one piece but it is hard to tell. Finally, at 3lb-11oz, it is extremely light.

The parchment pickguard is just like my Tele and looks classic. I just couldn't go mint, and he thinks I'm crazy for ever suggesting it. Here he is loading the Seymour Duncan Classic Stack (STK-4) pickups. My telecaster has the vintage stacks for the neck and bridge, and the identical Classic Stack for the middle pickup. If the pickguard looks bubbly, that's because I am having him keep the plastic on as long as possible. I had him peel it up wherever a screw goes, because I find it annoying when a guitar has plastic sheets protecting the pickguard that goes under controls and screws. It was hard standing back and just giving him guidance. I swear I want to build this whole thing myself and then take it apart and have him do it. Restraint.

Yeah, it will take restraint, but it's the best thing because he will learn so much doing this himself. We'll have a lot to work on together because this will only take a week at the most. After that, we'll dive headfirst into an amp project. I'll save that for another time, though.
Up next will be wiring up the controls. A nice thing about the Stratocaster is that you can build up the pickups and controls on to he pickguard, and then drop it in place. This was genius for the factory process because it saves so much time. Of course, to adjust things, you have to take the pickguard off and take of the strings. At least with a 21-fret neck we won't have to loosen those neck bolts, though. The controls are based on the blender control from AcmeGuitars, so it will have some pickup combinations that most standard Stratocasters can't get (like Neck and Bridge at the same time). But, more on that later.

--gh

Wilco-Tango...

Here's a little slice of heaven brought to you by the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and my Motorola camera phone. There wasn't an explanation or anything for this at all, just a dude skeleton pulling on a stubborn goat skeleton.


--gh

"Art" by Greg

I really cheated on this one. The source art wasn't even a photo, it was already a vector-friendly drawing.

With the television off for the summer, I keep going back to youtube.com for entertainment. I stumbled into Reh Dogg's "Why Must I Cry." I don't want to turn this sordid blog into a 'look what I found on youtube,' but this guy is about to break out. ...or not. Here's a second song called "You Say I'm Ugly" featuring a hook that I have been singing for a few days ('you say I'm ugly who say I'm ugly don't wanna say'). Bonus, both videos feature Reh Dogg soaping up in the shower, for some odd, unexplained, and interestingly non-sexual reason. His rap style is a little uninspired, but his singing is like a disturbed Tom Waits (and yes, I know what I mean when I write that).

--gh

"Art" by Mike

Okay, I was looking for an image of a big-horn sheep. I wanted to stylize it in Adobe Illustrator for a project I was working for. This is something that I don't mind doing because I am not an artist, nor do I try to make a living (or a buck) taking credit for it. There are two images on the first page of a Google image search that just looked a little too similar.


One of them is from a site called Art by Mike. I thought, cool, he did a good job copying that picture! However, the quote from his website says:

This is another first for me. I finally have a drawing of a big horn sheep. This is another image that I have had a bunch of requests for. This drawing took me quite a while to do because of the amount of detail I put in. I tried to make this fellow look as regal as possible.

Since this appears to be stock USDA footage, there probably isn't a copyright concern. A framed print is $335, and there appears to be nothing on his website describing his technique, except that he is "best know [sic] for his ability to grab a moment in time." He seems like a nice guy.

I've read that camera obscura(black box, before film could capture an image permanently) was the secret weapon in the 17th and 18th century. However, no one really wanted to fess up to it. I guess copying images off the web is the new thing, and I am an active participant.

--gh

Swapping a pickup magnet

So, I decided to swap out the magnet on the neck pickup of my Les Paul Custom. This picture shows the magnet, which I labeled "Seymour Duncan AlNiCo 2" in case I use it in the future. The pickups on this guitar were changed out in the mid-nineties to the Seth Lover model (SH-55) which is a basic, no-thrills pickup with medium strength magnets. New metal music probably requires ceramic magnets, or at least something stronger than the alnico variety that has been used since the 1950s, and more. This particular pickup model is based on the original design that ultimately was used in the late 1950s P.A.F. pickups. His design called for AlNiCo 5 magnets (a little stronger), but economics dictated that AlNiCo 2 would be used.


As it turns out, this is about perfect for the bridge pickup. With the turn of the GAIN knob on my single-ended 5-watt amplifier, I can go from vintage rock to Van Halen. (EVH uses only one pickup, usually a real 1950's PAF, in the bridge pickup.) Both pickups at the same time usually sounds good - and when I play clean I often end up here. However, the neck pickup was always a little too muddy for me. I don't mind mids, but I want them to be clear. So, I bought another magnet from StewMac and jumped in with wild abandon.


Above, you can the guitar in my workshop, ready for the procedure. Swapping a magnet is the electrical equivalent to open-heart surgery. You literally take the pickup apart to get the old magnet out. First, you have to loosen and remove the strings. It's easiest to just take the stopbar off and push everything to the side. This photo does a good job of showing the economics of 1979 Gibson, the Norlin days. The top is not a fancy book-matched maple, it is actually three pieces that are not really lined up well.


Next, the metal cover needs to be removed. I like the look of covered pickups, but a lot of the purists remove these for more top end or something. They are better shielded this way anyhow, and I hate noise - so the covers stay on.
I perform this kind of work with the pickup still connected to the guitar, so I throw a rag on top to keep the top from getting scratched, or melting the finish or something. I probably don't deserve a guitar any nicer, if this is how I treat them. To remove the cover, I first cut through the solder with a cut-wheel on a Dremel tool.


After cutting the solder, I heat it up with the soldering station and use a combination of braid and a solder sucker to get the rest out. This is a little tricky, and I would not be comfortable working on a vintage pickup. I overheated the cover and blistered a little of the gold plating in a previous procedure. That would make me sick if this was a 50-year-old pickup. However, it's never seen since only the top comes up through the pickup rings. The whole thing heats up, which could be dangerous if you melt any of the varnish that surrounds any of the pickup wires (there are hundreds, or even thousands, of turns of this fine wire). I am using a soldering tip that looks a little like a screw driver, so I wedge that a little to separate the cover and slip a screwdriver in there. In about one second, the solder should cool and the cover should be separated. If it isn't I try a little pressure to snap the solder, but not too much. If I can't get it undone, I heat it up again and try to remove more solder.


I picked this little tool up from StewMac. It is a polarity tester to make sure I know the difference between N and S. If you get this wrong, you would end up with a popular modification called the Peter Green mod. This is how to get the two pickups in a Les Paul out of phase, but still quiet (shielded from hum). I like that sound, but only if the gain is up. Also, I am too much of a fan of the middle position (both pickups on), and I would hate to miss out on this. So, I'll make sure to get this right (took a second try, btw). The new magnet is nearby, sitting on the pickguard.


Sorry that I haven't figured out the macro-setting of this camera. Actually, it is from work - I don't own a camera. The screwdriver shaft is in focus, though. To get at the magnet, loosen these four screws. Nothing else needs to be messed with. I guess you have questions about the writing on this pickup. They are just stamped or screened on there - they are not autographs. Believe me, if I got Seth Lover's autograph, I never would have asked him to sign the bottom of a pickup... The pickup plate is starting to look a little haggard, isn't it? As I mentioned, I have been in here before, reversing the magnet, and then putting it back to normal. Maybe, just maybe, if I had two Les Pauls, I would keep one of them like Peter Green's guitar.


Action shot! I am proud of this picture. With those four screws loosened under the plate, I use some pliers to pull out the old magnet. With my other hand, I was holding the camera! You need to keep things pretty flat here, there are two wooden spacers (Seymour Duncan's fidelity to the original design, like it matters if it were plastic or not). In fact, I just noticed that an 1/8th of an inch of one of these spacers is exposed in this picture. I think if you go to Seymour Duncan's website, you will see that they even mention that the tape used to wrap the wire is authentic. Whatever. They are, however, very good pickups - so I do recommend them (with this mod, perhaps).

So, I lined up the magnets, and even used the tester, but I still got this wrong. For about 5 minutes, I played my guitar with the out-of-phase sound and debated if this was meant to be. However, I told myself that I would not be happy unless I went back in, loosend the strings, cut the solder, heated it up, snapped off the cover, swapped the magnet, and then put it all right. So, that is what I did. Funny how I hate having stuff ahead of me, but I really don't mind doing the work. The entire operation can be done in less than 5 minutes, really. So, I'm glad I went back in.


You probably don't want me working on your guitar. Here is the last stage (before re-stringing). A little bit of solder needs to be replaced here. It sort of locks in the cover (keeps it from becoming microphonic) as well as electrically connecting it to ground to complete the shielding. I have cut and soldered/unsoldered this cover about 5 times now, and it kind of shows. Of course, as I mentioned before, it's not something that you would ever see from outside. You may have noticed that there was no wax in any of these steps. That is what would double the time here. Theoretically, the pickup can be microphonic at high volume and gain settings. I never play like this, and the old pickups were not wax potted anyhow.

Review:
Okay, basically this whole operation was done to swap out the AlNiCo-2 magnet, and replace it with the AlNiCo-5. The difference is a little on the subtle side (which I am pleased with). However, I can tell that the neck pickup has more clarity, and even sounds good dirty (higher gain). I am now wholly satisfied with the pickups in this guitar and am not tempted to swap them out for anything else in the near future.

Can you hear the difference?*
Original alnico-2:


Replaced with alnico-5:


--gh

*disclaimer: I don't really have access to real audio editing tools or microphones. I used a laptop's internal speaker near the amplifier, on moderate settings. I did, however, keep the amp's settings, and the laptop's recording settings, exactly the same during the magnet change. Also, I kind of forgot what I played the first time (a CM7-Am9-Dm9-G13 progression, and some noodling in C major) but I tried to make it the same the next time. Also, sorry about the hiss, I don't have any editors with filters, normalizers, etc.

Haddo-caster 7.0 - Complete

Well, I can now report that I am pretty much done with the Telecaster put-together project. I am glad that I added the little metal plate under the neck, because I did use the micro-tilt feature to set up the angle of the neck. I think the action is a hair (literally) on the high side, but it feels just about right.

I had to adjust the truss rod, because I think there was too much relief in it. Now it seems okay. Raising the neck angle with the micro-tilt allowed me to bring up the saddles on the bridge. This is good because the bridge pickup was too close to the strings. Believe it or not, this affected the vibration of the string, since the oscillations had to compete with the magnetic pull. I think the technical term for this is Strat-itis as it is a common occurance on Stratocasters. Anyhow, it seems fine now.

Now that the height of the strings is set, I may have just a little more pickup adjustment to make. I think to balance things out, I need to raise the neck pickup a tad, and maybe bring down the middle pickup. The bridge pickup now seems fine. I ended up with a standard Telecaster-style output cup here. I was not able to secure the Electro-socket. It's on back order, or something - so, I picked this up for $5 in Jefferson City.

Man, I wish I could walk into a store in this town and buy a part like that! Funny story about that, I tried to buy this part from Guitar Center in Independence. I have such trouble there, but it is on the way. As I approached the store, I noted that there were 4-5 guys standing outside the door on their smoking break. I know that this is their right, but if I managed that store I would ask them to do this out back. It just flaunts that no one will be inside to help.

I go directly to the counter to request this part, and it takes several minutes for someone to assist me. Finally a young woman asks me what I want and I tell her that I am looking for a cup for the output jack of a Telecaster. She points to a control knob on the wall and says "like this?" "No," I tell her, I need the part that goes on the output of the guitar. "Hmmm," she says, without looking further "I don't think we have those." I couldn't believe it. Maybe they did, or maybe they didn't carry this simple product (I saw output covers for Les Pauls and Stratocasters, but the place where I thought these would be were obscured by some other products). However, she had no interest in finding out, or at least pretending to "look in the back." I promptly left and drove the rest of the way on my trip getting to West Music in Jefferson City 1/2-hour before closing. Not only did they have this simple item, but I bought strings and a Redd Volkert DVD. I spent $50 at a real customer-oriented music store. Sometimes I wonder how Guitar Center stays in business. But, I keep going back for this treatment.

Review:
Oh man, this thing plays well. The Fender body and neck allowed for a near-perfect setup. The Glendale 3-barrel saddles gives a vintage look and sound, but also allows dead-on intonation. The 7-position pickup selection gives every sound that I was searching for. So far, I don't have a favorite, but I do gravitate towards #2 (middle and bridge) for that bubbly spank sound similar to a Strat. I can definitely handle the 7-1/4" radius fretboard, which is good because it looks outstanding. The neck feels fine, too. I don't have a hang-up about needing the exact same feel on every guitar I play, I believe the player needs to get everything he can from guitar that sounds right.

The American Deluxe body here has a carved back to make it easier to play. Also, the heel is carved where the neck meets the body. This makes it a lot easier to access some of those higher notes. I can't get over how much better a tinted vintage-looking neck with 21 frets looks, compared to the 22-fret pale look that would normally come with this model. Fender really does do great work, though - because that neck from the other model fit in here so nicely (well, except for drilling the hole offset neck bolt.) The wood grain (alder) really shows through the 3-tone sunburst finish. Also, I like the top binding on these things.

I modified the leather strap per my usual method, Schaller locking straps, and a "tail" at the other side to put the instrument cable through. This keeps the cable from being pulled out accidentally if I step on it. This is something that I did to my strap for the Les Paul. The strap is all stiff and not broken in at all. It will probably take a year. It is that vintage thin style, because this guitar only weighs 8 lbs. If I used this strap on my Les Paul (over 10lbs. maybe?) it would cut right through my shoulder.

The reversed control plate is very comfortable to me. If you played Telectasters for a few decades, I could see this being a minor problem. In short, this is a simple guitar style, with the minor complexity of a middle pickup added. It sounds absolutely amazing through a tube amp.

--gh

Haddo-caster 6.0 final wiring

I would say that I am about 90% done. These pictures won't show it, but a critcal piece is not on this guitar. When I was ordering parts, everyone was out of the Electrosocket output jack holder. This is an improvement over the old cup-style jack piece, which used friction and the internal output jack plate in the side hole. The Electrosocket screws in, and the Switchcraft jack screws into that socket. Right now, the output jack is a little precarious, mounted to the little plate about an inch inside the output jack's hole. When I get an electrosocket, I will be all ready to tear that hunk of metal out, screw in the Electrosocket, drill two holes, and screw it in.

At "design stage," this is pretty much the exact guitar I pictured. I do not see myself ever owning a Strat. I like them, but I don't want to be surrounded by too many guitars. Also, I don't use a trembar, and why own a Strat with a hardtail, or a trem that I never use? So, borrowing the middle pickup design of a Stratocaster (with a real Strat middle pickup), and a five-way switch, I have the best of both worlds. I bought a vintage looking strap, and one of those older looking tweed cases. I love that look. The strap is fine because these guitars are so light. I haven't weighed it yet, but it is several pounds lighter than my Les Paul.

This is a look that I really like. It might not be a big deal to you, but I really wanted the pickups mounted to the body, and not the pickguard. The pickguard lifts right out and slides out from under the strings, because it has no pickups on it. It also is not pinched down by those new 22-fret necks that Fender makes. The 21-fret design in 1952 was right the first time. Maybe because Gibson has 22 frets, they thought they couldn't compete. Anyhow, if I had an American Deluxe neck, I would have to remove it just to take off the pickguard! I think that is silly. Note that I went with the 3-barrel saddle design, just like the 1950s.

This is the guitar that I wanted, and it has the features I desire (except the output jack). I haven't listened to it for real yet (through a tube amp), but all of the selections work (5-way switch and toggle). I only got two wires wrong, and it took about 2 minutes to correct. Not bad, since I don't remember wiring an electric guitar before. I really like the yellowy look of the neck, and not the pale color of the American Deluxe. (Those AmDlx necks are sure fine to play, though!) I took a gamble and went with a 1952 reissue neck. It has the sharp radius fretboard (7.25" v. 9.5" of more modern designs, and the 12" radius of my Gibson). Even though it is no where near set up yet, I can tell that it will play just fine.

Setup will involve adjusting the neck angle (microtilt!), the truss rod (neck relief), the saddle height, saddle intonation, and last, pickup height. Oddly enough, this is something that I am apprehensive of.

--gh