Howdy and a few questions.

[JackTheKnife]

Howdy folks,
My name is Steve and I am a long haul truck driver.

when i was younger I played guitar but things over the years have kept me distracted.
now having seen and heard touch style music I have a new fire to relearn.
i have some questions and an idea i would like to get your opinion's on.

I am out on the road nearly 5 month's at a time and the temp and humidity swing's all over the place in my truck, also it's quite bumpy (Really Really bad in some states)
1st question is this what material's /sealing method's should I consider for my guitar to keep it from deforming. I am really quite worried about this as I don't have time to stop and sit while it's being trued up again.
2nd who in your opinion would you recommend for a custom guitar manufacturer.
There's a lot more but they depend on the answer's above.

Here's my problem / idea.
being a truck driver i dont have room for 2 instrument's yet i want to relearn regular playing and touch style.
my idea is to have a custom 3 neck guitar built for me. the 2 outside neck's would be for tapstyle 8 strings each and the center would be a baritone 6 string. the head for all the necks would be one piece. So the overall shape of the guitar would be like a flat oval.
I am thinking that with the one piece head for all 3 necks would help it keep it from deforming from temp and humidity fluctuation.

thank you all for your time and consideration.









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[arsacane]

First of all welcome!

I'm generally instrument / manufacturer agnostic. In the situation that you describe I would recommend you get a composite instrument, since they are not affected by humidity, VERY stable with temperature changes and very solid.

In the tapping department the only manufacturer that builds composite instruments is Stick Enterprises AFAIK. For a guitar check out this Blackbirdguitar rider steel (http://www.blackbirdguitar.com/rider_steel.html). Both instruments are quite small so I guess they will take less space than a custom 3 neck guitar if packed in gig bags.

Hope it helps, Cheers, Daniel

[traktor]

The three neck instrument you describe, it seems to me, would be far more likely to move around with temperature and humidity changes, due to all the differing thicknesses and separate pieces of wood. In addition you might be hard put to find a case in which to keep it ... which brings me to ...

You don't see it much with guitar folk, but the violin folks have small hygrometers (measure water vapor in the air) and desiccant containers for their violin cases. There is no reason why this would not work for a guitar or tapping instrument, and a hardcase of some kind would be more effective being air-tight than would a gigbag, though a fine large plastic bag inside the gigbag might do the same thing.

Temperature, I'd estimate, will have less to do with it than would the wetness of the air. Temperature does change the instrument, but (at least on ours) it seems to be merely a matter of tuning up when you sit down to play, which you have to do anyway if the instrument is rattling around while in transport.

The moisture in the air, travelling in and out of the wood is what most affects the stability of the instrument (other than its construction), and for this reason the number one purpose of a finish is to slow the migration of moisture into and out of the wood.

If you get a neck made of quarter sawn wood, that's good, and in my opinion, a properly-laminated neck with wood grain properly aligned is even better for long term stability.

The composite instrument is generally impervious to moisture -- though some older polycarb instruments are unusually susceptible to changing tune as they warm up from body heat when you begin to play.

The Warr instruments are designed to operate well when either played conventionally or by touchstyle. That might be your best bet if you want an all-in-one single instrument.

-- Traktor

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[JackTheKnife]

ok so I need to look at composite materials then hmmmm

As for the warr and other tapstyle instruments I thought that they could not be strumed due to the needed low action. and problems with fret buzz etc. am I wrong ?

I pass through weed,ca fairly regularly, is the Warr Guitar facility big truck friendly ? i would love to come by and see you folk's vary much.

[traktor]

... I pass through weed,ca fairly regularly, is the Warr Guitar facility big truck friendly ? i would love to come by and see you folk's vary much.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Warr Guitars is in southern California. Mobius Megatar's factory shop is in Weed, CA, and yes, it happens the site is traktor-trailor friendly. Contact me privately. All my contact information including phone is on the Megatar Site Contact Page (http://megatar.com/english/contact/contact.html).

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[dhrupad77]

Howdy, Steve.

Some good advice here from others...just wanted to point out that you can in fact tap, strum and pluck both Warr Guitar and Megatar:

Warr: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4PdUSN-MxQ

Megatar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEjF051cDQA

My buddy told me you can strum a KRAPPY too.

GOOD LUCK

[traktor]

... As for the warr and other tapstyle instruments I thought that they could not be strumed due to the needed low action. and problems with fret buzz etc. am I wrong? ...
You're not exactly wrong, but IMHO the idea is worth a more detailed examination.

Yes, if you wanted *optimal* absolutely best results, then the solution is to have two instruments. One is optimized completely for strumming and picking and plucking and has an action much like a standard guitar. The other is totally optimized for touch-style play. Frankly, I think this is your best solution. Carry two instruments. But if you won't ...

And if you want to play the one instrument with both tapping and conventional means, then I think your best bet is get one instrument and set an action that will permit both styles of play, and then work on your skills.

It will be slightly high for a tapping instrument, and you'll not have quite as much dynamics as other guys with lower actions. It will be slightly low for a picking/strumming instrument, and you'll have to play a bit cleaner than other guys. (However, this is not so hard. Just turn up the amp and pick/strum more gently. It will require greater skill and will tune up your fingers most wonderfully.)

Your fastest learning? Choose *one* method of play, and play one instrument. Your fastest learning of both styles? Get a guitar and a tapper, though learning two will go slower than learning one.

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