When learning tunes for bands my preference is to do lots of research, learn the parts as close to the original and then tweak to either suit the band arrangement or my playing style.
Guitar lessons, ramblings and insights
Thursday, 25 July 2013
Suffragette City by David Bowie/Mick Ronson - Guitar cover/lesson - MG005
Having left the Classic Rock cover band I’d been playing in for a few years, I thought it would be useful to document the guitar parts of the songs as we had arranged for the line-up of single guitar, bass, drums and vocals.
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Steve Vai to play Mandela Hall, Belfast on August 29th 2013!
Hi guys, I don't normally announce gigs, but this one is kind of special.
Apparently Mr Vai will be playing our humble city (Belfast) in the Mandela Hall, on August 29th 2013!
It's not on his website http://www.vai.com/ but is on scumbag monopoly ticket-tax corporation TicketM*st*r.
Whilst instrumental guitar albums are something I enjoy only ocassionally, Mr Steve Vai is light years beyond the label of "instrumental guitarist". His playing is immediately identifiable and his passion and dedication to pushing his playing, writing and artist boundaries seem never ending. On top of that, the man has charisma oozing from him!
Oh yeah, and he pracically invented the modern superstrat along with Ibanez, in the form of the Ibanez Jem along with it's workhorse siblings in the RG range.
My personal Vai choices would include the Crossroads movie scene (see below), the first Dave Lee Roth Album and of course Passion & Warfare.
Here's hoping he's bringing the excellent Dave Weiner along as his right hand man. If you've never heard of him, ask Mr Google. He's quite good!
In the meantime enjoy one of my favourite Vai moments
Apparently Mr Vai will be playing our humble city (Belfast) in the Mandela Hall, on August 29th 2013!
It's not on his website http://www.vai.com/ but is on scumbag monopoly ticket-tax corporation TicketM*st*r.
Whilst instrumental guitar albums are something I enjoy only ocassionally, Mr Steve Vai is light years beyond the label of "instrumental guitarist". His playing is immediately identifiable and his passion and dedication to pushing his playing, writing and artist boundaries seem never ending. On top of that, the man has charisma oozing from him!
Oh yeah, and he pracically invented the modern superstrat along with Ibanez, in the form of the Ibanez Jem along with it's workhorse siblings in the RG range.
My personal Vai choices would include the Crossroads movie scene (see below), the first Dave Lee Roth Album and of course Passion & Warfare.
Here's hoping he's bringing the excellent Dave Weiner along as his right hand man. If you've never heard of him, ask Mr Google. He's quite good!
In the meantime enjoy one of my favourite Vai moments
And some Dave Weiner
Monday, 22 April 2013
CNC or "hand-made" guitars - which is better?
I was surfing for PRS Custom 24s recently and the “pre-factory”
tag came up a lot on the forums. This led me down a deeper rabbit hole until I
found this post which was written by Californian guitar maker Ron Thorn.
First off, there is no shop, large or small, that is entirely CNC. It does not exist. I think most individuals would be surprised by what a guitar component looks like when it comes off a CNC. It is no where near complete, there is still plenty of hand sanding, fitting, etc.
Here's a break down of what I do with the CNC and "by hand".
CNC:
Fretboards - you asked "why they've gone to the CNC and what aspect of things is better". The fretboard is so brutally important that it is ideal for CNC accuracy. I perimeter, slot, radius, and rout for inlays all in one set-up on the CNC. Than insures spot-on fret slot placement (VERY important to the quality of the guitar), consistent radii including compound radiusing, and inlays that are very tight and free of sloppy filler/gaps.
Total time on the CNC: 20 minutes
Necks - Once the blank has been bandsawn ("by hand") to an oversized shape the CNC will machine the neck carve, perimeter the neck and heel, shape the headstock, drill for tuners, rout for truss rod and rout for logo & purfling. This is done through 6 different set-ups.
Total time on the CNC: 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Bodies - The CNC performs all cavity routing (top & back), neck pocket routing, perimeter, top carve, and bridge location holes. On a pivot style trem, such as a PRS trem, the location of those 6 holes must be perfectly inline to prevent binding of the trem during use.
Total time on the CNC for a body with carve top: 3 hours
Inlays - Production inlays, such as my Firesuns and "T" logo, are cut on the CNC for a perfect fit into the routes on the fretboard and headstock. I also "rip" my purfling strips on the CNC too.
Total time for one guitar's worth: 15 minutes
Components - I machine my own 1-pc. brass tremolos, pickup covers and rings, knobs, back plates, truss rod covers, and jack plates.
Total time worth: Approx: 10 hours.
Granted, all of these parts are "custom" for my guitars exclusively. I could purchase all of these parts from guitar supply shops but prefer to make my own.
None of the above times include any programming, set-up or material preparation...all of which are done "by hand".
_____________________
"By hand"
This term, I assume, includes feeding or pushing the component through a power tool such as a planer, jointer, drum sander, bandsaw etc.
Fretboards:
Pre CNC: The wood is bandsawn to an oversize thickness and feed through a drum sander to flatten.
Post CNC - The fretboard needs to:
Have the side dots drilled and glued in.
Inlays and purfling glued in.
Glue the board to the neck blank.
Level and true the board.
Fret and fretdress.
Total time "by hand": 13 hours for the above operations. My fret preparation (cutting to length, nipping the tang, grinding the tang), fret installation and dress is a total of 6 hours alone...no CNC for any of those operations.
Necks:
Pre CNC:
The wood is milled and rough cut to shape, using tracing templates, on a table saw and bandsaw before it gets to the CNC.
Post CNC:
Install the truss rod and filler strip,
blend the neck into the fretboard,
inlay logo and purfling,
final shape the neck carve to spec using rasps, spindle sanders and lots of elbow grease sanding then sanding some more,
gluing the neck into the body.
Total time "by hand": 8-10 hours easily.
Body:
Pre CNC:
Split top, joint edges, bookmatch glue together, sand to thickness.
Mill/sand body to thickness.
Locate and glue top to body spread then sand and drill locating hole for the CNC.
Post CNC:
Inlay purfling.
Drill for controls, side jack, wiring channels.
Radius back edge on router table.
SAND from 150 grit to 320/400
Total time "by hand": 10-15 hours depending on the wood species.
Paint:
Prep, mask off, stain, seal, color, top coat, lots of sanding in between, lots of sanding after, buffing...the list goes on. No CNC for these ops.
Total time "by hand": 28 hours if all goes right the first time...it never does.
Assembly:
Installation of components (tuners, pickups, bridge, etc), wiring, cutting the nut, set up.
Total time "by hand": 6-8 hours
The above is only visually productive acts, not including ordering wood and components, e-mails, shipping, and just plain running the business.
_______
So, if we deduct the custom components and use off the shelf bridges, pickup rings, etc. The average total time is:
CNC: 5 hours, 20 minutes.
"By hand": 69 hours, 30 minutes.
I consider my shop to be fairly state of the art, I have a large HAAS CNC for the woodwork, and 2 smaller CNCs for the pearl inlay work. The only additional automated CNC-type machinery would be a Plek and a robotic buffer. I could see that only reducing the "by hand" total by a couple/few hours at most.
Not mentioned would be a custom one-off inlay that I, or my father, would do "by hand" with a jeweler's saw and a mini router. The time spent on that could be from 45 minutes to 100s of hours depending on the design.
However small in comparison those 5 hours, 20 minutes seem...they are VERY important to the outcome of the guitar. Accuracy and consistancy are unmatched. There are features, such as my double offset purfling, that just can't physically be done by hand. Fretslots accurate to within .0005" of an inch...heck, the wood will expand or contract more than that by the time I turn the lights off in the shop at the end of the day...but it's good to know they are as accurate as can be.
Inlays that are gap free and clean are important to me. I'm not a fan of filler and I don't want that to be a part of my product. Even with hand cut and routed inlays, I feel we are one of the best at making them tight and clean.
Can I build a guitar with out a CNC, sure.
WOULD I now if I didn't have one...I doubt it, because I would always feel the guitar isn't as good as it can be WITH the help of a CNC.
There you have one take on it from a CNC builder.
Ron Thorn
Thorn Custom Guitars & Inlay
It was written when the subject of CNC vs handmade guitars was presented and he eloquently and very honestly outlines the entire electric guitar making process.
His post really resonates with me (no pun intended) as
there’s so much inexperience and misinformation on the web that it’s hard to
filter out the truth or reality. We humans tend to romanticise certain aspects of life without fully appreciating or understanding, and the whole hand-made is better than CNC debate is just one of many guitar myths which is, well a myth. Ron tells it how it is.
These comments are Ron’s and many equally qualified luthiers
may disagree, but there’s no doubting his experience and I found it a great
read. Coming from a manufacturing background I have experience of close
tolerances and machining and the requirement for hand work (albeit metal and
not wood) and wholeheartedly agree that the premise of “CNC manufacture” is
not, as many believe, an army of robots
completing every step but merely a mechanism for accuracy and expedience.
Enjoy, and when you’re done, go
visit his site and check out the beautiful craftsmanship. Thorn Custom Guitars
& Inlay
-----
Originally Posted by Ron Thorn when the subject of
CNC vs handmade guitars was presented.
First off, there is no shop, large or small, that is entirely CNC. It does not exist. I think most individuals would be surprised by what a guitar component looks like when it comes off a CNC. It is no where near complete, there is still plenty of hand sanding, fitting, etc.
Here's a break down of what I do with the CNC and "by hand".
CNC:
Fretboards - you asked "why they've gone to the CNC and what aspect of things is better". The fretboard is so brutally important that it is ideal for CNC accuracy. I perimeter, slot, radius, and rout for inlays all in one set-up on the CNC. Than insures spot-on fret slot placement (VERY important to the quality of the guitar), consistent radii including compound radiusing, and inlays that are very tight and free of sloppy filler/gaps.
Total time on the CNC: 20 minutes
Necks - Once the blank has been bandsawn ("by hand") to an oversized shape the CNC will machine the neck carve, perimeter the neck and heel, shape the headstock, drill for tuners, rout for truss rod and rout for logo & purfling. This is done through 6 different set-ups.
Total time on the CNC: 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Bodies - The CNC performs all cavity routing (top & back), neck pocket routing, perimeter, top carve, and bridge location holes. On a pivot style trem, such as a PRS trem, the location of those 6 holes must be perfectly inline to prevent binding of the trem during use.
Total time on the CNC for a body with carve top: 3 hours
Inlays - Production inlays, such as my Firesuns and "T" logo, are cut on the CNC for a perfect fit into the routes on the fretboard and headstock. I also "rip" my purfling strips on the CNC too.
Total time for one guitar's worth: 15 minutes
Components - I machine my own 1-pc. brass tremolos, pickup covers and rings, knobs, back plates, truss rod covers, and jack plates.
Total time worth: Approx: 10 hours.
Granted, all of these parts are "custom" for my guitars exclusively. I could purchase all of these parts from guitar supply shops but prefer to make my own.
None of the above times include any programming, set-up or material preparation...all of which are done "by hand".
_____________________
"By hand"
This term, I assume, includes feeding or pushing the component through a power tool such as a planer, jointer, drum sander, bandsaw etc.
Fretboards:
Pre CNC: The wood is bandsawn to an oversize thickness and feed through a drum sander to flatten.
Post CNC - The fretboard needs to:
Have the side dots drilled and glued in.
Inlays and purfling glued in.
Glue the board to the neck blank.
Level and true the board.
Fret and fretdress.
Total time "by hand": 13 hours for the above operations. My fret preparation (cutting to length, nipping the tang, grinding the tang), fret installation and dress is a total of 6 hours alone...no CNC for any of those operations.
Necks:
Pre CNC:
The wood is milled and rough cut to shape, using tracing templates, on a table saw and bandsaw before it gets to the CNC.
Post CNC:
Install the truss rod and filler strip,
blend the neck into the fretboard,
inlay logo and purfling,
final shape the neck carve to spec using rasps, spindle sanders and lots of elbow grease sanding then sanding some more,
gluing the neck into the body.
Total time "by hand": 8-10 hours easily.
Body:
Pre CNC:
Split top, joint edges, bookmatch glue together, sand to thickness.
Mill/sand body to thickness.
Locate and glue top to body spread then sand and drill locating hole for the CNC.
Post CNC:
Inlay purfling.
Drill for controls, side jack, wiring channels.
Radius back edge on router table.
SAND from 150 grit to 320/400
Total time "by hand": 10-15 hours depending on the wood species.
Paint:
Prep, mask off, stain, seal, color, top coat, lots of sanding in between, lots of sanding after, buffing...the list goes on. No CNC for these ops.
Total time "by hand": 28 hours if all goes right the first time...it never does.
Assembly:
Installation of components (tuners, pickups, bridge, etc), wiring, cutting the nut, set up.
Total time "by hand": 6-8 hours
The above is only visually productive acts, not including ordering wood and components, e-mails, shipping, and just plain running the business.
_______
So, if we deduct the custom components and use off the shelf bridges, pickup rings, etc. The average total time is:
CNC: 5 hours, 20 minutes.
"By hand": 69 hours, 30 minutes.
I consider my shop to be fairly state of the art, I have a large HAAS CNC for the woodwork, and 2 smaller CNCs for the pearl inlay work. The only additional automated CNC-type machinery would be a Plek and a robotic buffer. I could see that only reducing the "by hand" total by a couple/few hours at most.
Not mentioned would be a custom one-off inlay that I, or my father, would do "by hand" with a jeweler's saw and a mini router. The time spent on that could be from 45 minutes to 100s of hours depending on the design.
However small in comparison those 5 hours, 20 minutes seem...they are VERY important to the outcome of the guitar. Accuracy and consistancy are unmatched. There are features, such as my double offset purfling, that just can't physically be done by hand. Fretslots accurate to within .0005" of an inch...heck, the wood will expand or contract more than that by the time I turn the lights off in the shop at the end of the day...but it's good to know they are as accurate as can be.
Inlays that are gap free and clean are important to me. I'm not a fan of filler and I don't want that to be a part of my product. Even with hand cut and routed inlays, I feel we are one of the best at making them tight and clean.
Can I build a guitar with out a CNC, sure.
WOULD I now if I didn't have one...I doubt it, because I would always feel the guitar isn't as good as it can be WITH the help of a CNC.
There you have one take on it from a CNC builder.
Ron Thorn
Thorn Custom Guitars & Inlay
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Dunlop Jazz III guitar picks review - Part 2
In last times instalment, we had a look at the Dunlop Jazz III pick. This time we get down to the nitty gritty and hear what they actually sound like.
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Dunlop Jazz III guitar picks review - Part 1
I've been playing guitar for over 20 years and for most of that time been using fairly stiff regular size picks - the green Dunlop Tortex .88's mainly.I find these about as stiff as regular nylon 1mm picks and grippy enough for sweaty gigs. The Gator grips are pretty cool too.
Anyway, a student of mine would regularly bring along his latest pick experiments which seemed to be mainly super chunky beasts of plastic - 2mm type things, but on occasion there would be something a little more svelte!
Memorable ones include the Pickboy carbon fibre and .....the Dunlop Jazz III.
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Make your own Peavey 5150 / 6505 foot pedal switch!
Years ago when I had the marvellous Peavey 5150 Mk I head, I was mighty disappointed in the cheap plastic footswitch. It would slide all over the place and didn't feel like it would survive, unlike the head which is a tank!
So, getting a replacement with a decent case is easy....go here to Thomann.de and for a tenner you've a robust pedal....
but...where's the LED's?
So, getting a replacement with a decent case is easy....go here to Thomann.de and for a tenner you've a robust pedal....
Friday, 12 October 2012
My new effects pedal - MXR Dyna Comp
So, I'm about to build my first pedal board, and needed a new pedal to go with my existing stuff. This will be my first compressor and first MXR pedal.
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