Building a touchstyle instrument

[boltneck]

I was wondering if anybody out there could point me in the direction of diagrams or schematics for constructing a touchstyle instrument? Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[traktor]

Stewart McDonald has a number of books on how to build an electric guitar, and an Amazon search should also be fruitful. You'll have to make some adjustments for the things that are different on a touch-style instrument, but the construction of an electric guitar and a touch-style instrument are more similar than they are different, and I think you'll figure out what you'd like to be different. For example, you'd probably like to have more strings, and that means you'd probably like a wider neck, etc, etc.

[rjgoos]

To answer your question specifically, I don't know of a company, or web site, where you can obtain specific plans for a touchstyle guitar....say, one with 8, 10, or 12 strings. Everybody I know, who has built one, has had to start from scratch.


Jay

[Fredrik]

However, several of the users of this forum have made or are in the process of making custom instruments - so there should be a base of knowledge here you could use.

A good startingpoint would be the instrument you're using right now. What are you happy with, what do you feel is missing? These areas should form your fundament of demands for your future instrument design. The natural areas to touch would be, stringspacing, pickup configuration, electronics, number of strings, playing position, neck length (guitar or bass length) and so on. There is also a lot of information available from current manufacturers of tapping guitars on their websites.

[rjgoos]

Fredrik,

I have attempted to build touchstyle instruments, just out of curiousity. I wanted to experiment with the uncrossed playing technique, and also with different tunings....so it seemed logical to me to have a second experiment for experimentation. Also, I play semi-regularly with my wife in public, so I wanted to keep my original instrument unchanged. To purchase a second instrument for experimentation would cost a lot of money, so I thought, well, I'll make one.

Another reason, perhaps one that some people here would not understand, is that winters are very long and cold and dark where I live, and having a major project, during evenings and weekends, to engage the mind helps a person fight depression/cabin fever/etc. So, last autumn, I said...welll, I guess this is the winter I build a tap guitar.


Jay

[Fredrik]

Hey Jay, the place you live certainly reminds me of Norway :-)
As you might know the sun never rises abow the horison during several monts in the winter season up north. Now, that's cabin fever for you! However, I live in the capitol, wirh slightly more sun, and there's been hardly any snow this year. So instead of kiteing and snowboarding, I decided to start my own instrument designproject. My problem is the lack of machinery and skills to handle such a task, and also I don't have a second (or first) instrument. So for me, designing the thing and then having it build by a pro was the natural way to go (also due to the fact that design is my occupation too).

I'd still like to see your instrument (s) Jay, feel free to contact me on this mail fredlh@start.no if you want to discuss design issues!

Fredrik