Tom's Tapping project

[RocknDrTom]

Having the desire to play a tapping instrument for years, but not finding one that was “exactly” what I wanted, I’ve finally taken the plunge in deciding to make my own. After a bit of research, I decided on a 10-string, 36” scale instrument. I chose maple wood for its easy availability (I can get it at Home Depot). I decided on a bolt on neck, string through body design.

I don’t have any hi-tech machinery, but I’ve built instruments for years, using mostly hand tools. So I started with the maple fingerboard – measuring fret slots, cutting them, and inlaying black markers at frets 2-7-12-17-22 (every fifth fret). Once that was done, I started discovering that getting quality strings to that length are extremely difficult. I’ve “made” strings before (I have a Chinese Guzcheng, scale length between 4-5 feet). But for the 21-string guzcheng, there are really only three gauges. It would be too expensive to buy 10 different spools of piano wire for the tapper.
So I set the 36” scale fingerboard aside. I’ll probably use it for an 8-string bass tapper after I finish this one.
I had already cut, clamped and glued the wood for the neck – maple on both sides with mahogany-maple-mahogany strips in the center. From my existing stock, I found a nice piece of flamed mahogany big enough to use for the fingerboard that I thought would work well. When I worked at a lumber yard, the mahogany was from a skid underneath a large purchase. Once the skid was emptied, I pulled the nails out of it, planed it down to about ¼” and set the wood aside. I have a few 10’ pieces of this wood left.

So I cut that to size (I got a nice section without any previous nail holes or marks), cut the fret slots, and at the same fret positions, inlaid bars of white mother of pearl (Abalam I think it’s called)
Thanks to input from others on this forum, I’ve decided on a slight taper to the neck - it will be 3.75” at the nut, and 4 1/8” at the bridge.

Next step is cutting three slots for the two truss rods and the centered carbon fiber rod.

I hope to post pictures of the progress soon.

[RocknDrTom]

I've cut the slots for the truss rods and the carbon strengthening rod. My photography skills are lacking, but this is the best I could do with what I had at the time.
The original 36" maple fingerboard has black inlays. The mahogany 34" fingerboard has the white MOP inlays. The flamed maple board to the right will be used for the peghead. I can't wait to see a finish on that!
In the meantime, I'll try to figure out how the camera "focus" works, or I'll just get my wife to take the pictures.

(original image deleted - See next post for better image)

[RocknDrTom]

I think I got a better image, still not that great.
Sorry about the previous photo.

[rjgoos]

Another home builder!!!! Good work, Tom!

Perhaps it is a (beneficial) consequence of the high prices of commercial tapping instruments, that people enter into the fray to build their own.

I must say that the various reports (Fredrik's, Brenda's, Dan's, Tom's, etc.) are inspiring. And thanks to the host for sponsoring the site.


Jay

[RocknDrTom]

Thanks for the kind words, Jay.
Although I'd have to say , given the cost of parts supplies, labor/time, etc., the Mobius product line is really the best deal for the price - after you add it "all" up, there's not much difference in expenses between the do-it-yourselfer and these commercial instruments. If I wasn't so addicted to building instruments, I'd probably go for a megatar or one of the other fine Mobius instrument offerings.

The next step will be to cut the neck angle for the angled headstock. Usually, I could do it "freehand" on the table saw, but the width of the neck is greater than the radius of the saw blade, so I'm building a jig to cut it another way.

[ixlramp]

actually that first image was rather lovely in a pixelated, abstract way.. :D

[rjgoos]

Tom wrote:

> If I wasn't so addicted to building instruments, I'd probably go for a megatar or one of the other fine Mobius instrument offerings.<


Check out the #1 disadvantage of building your own guitar:

http://www.buildyourguitar.com/isitworth/index.htm



Jay

[RocknDrTom]

I made the jig for cutting the neck angle. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to use it this weekend. I want to do this step when I'm completely alert - not after a long day. The jig is very similar in appearance to the one Dan used in his post, but my neck angle is only about 10 degrees.
So I guess you could say that over the weekend, "the jig is up."

[traktor]

Originally posted by RocknDrTom
... <snip> ... So I guess you could say that over the weekend, "the jig is up." Ouch!

[rjgoos]

Tom wrote:

>So I guess you could say that over the weekend, "the jig is up.">


Well, Tom, the record around here is something like 19 clamps on an instrument at one time. Dan dug deep, and took a good stab at Brenda's record, but came up short.

Who will break Brenda's record????


Jay

[GaryOpenhill]

this is how you glue the body parts on, using two clamps. Boy, that guy is smart!

(the photo is of a 8 string bass in the making by luthier Listerud who also build tappers, www.listerudbass.com )

[BigDaddyPoo]

A lot of people who build neck through basses try to keep the pieces cut off either side of the body blank to clamp up the body. I didn't have that option because the mahogony was so full of cracks and other nastiness that I didn't see untill I started cutting it up to join. I ended up with a bunch of tiny scraps of cutoff. But if you have the option you can use the cutoff as clamping cauls and drastically cut down on the number of clamps.

I however am trying to break a record here, so I'm trying to find an excuse to use more clamps.

[RocknDrTom]

I don't seem to suffer from "clamp envy" so I'm content with what I have. :-)
In fact, I once joined two pieces of spruce for a soundboard using ZERO clamps. I did it the old traditional way - using a custom jig, rope and wedges. So depending on the project and your creativity, mind and skills, you can be successful with less expensive supplies if you use more ingenuity.

This weekend, I was able to use the angle cutting jig, and cut both the neck and the peg head angle. I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to though.

The photo shows the neck clamped to the angle jig, which rides against the fence. I checked often to make sure I still had all 10 fingers. (insert the tool safety caveat from the beginning of Brenda's post here).

[RocknDrTom]

I’ve been playing around with different peghead designs, but nothing yet seemed to “be the one”. I had a few basic guidelines for the design: I didn’t want the two outer tuners to be upside down. Even though that creates a nice streamline appearance, it’s truly annoying when setting up and changing strings. So the five tuners on each side would all be in the same direction. I wanted the shortest distance possible from nut to tuner – specifically for the unwound strings. Where possible, I wanted the strings to follow a straight line from bridge to tuner. Not that this is as critical as on an instrument with a vibrato unit, but I still wanted to limit the amount of binding in the nut.
I made a basic “string guide template” using CorelDRAW that defined the nut width and string width/spacings. I could then print it on paper and hand draw out lots of peghead ideas; sitting the sketch against the fingerboard to see how it looked.

I experimented with different “arrow head” designs, slight curves on the tips of the arrows for a softer appearance, a double peak (like on some Ibanez guitars), enhanced versions of the double peak that looked like rhino horns, even toyed with a “really fat Strat” peghead idea, but it looked too comical. I thought I’d go for the basic arrow head shape and get it over with. So I sketched it onto the wood, but really didn’t like it.

So I took a break, looked at the grain of the wood and let the lines in the grain help dictate the shape of the peghead. I erased the arrow lines and came up with a shape that works well with the fingerboard, and has a classy appearance. If I had to compare it to anything, I think it’s closest to a PRS guitar headstock – just not exactly. I should have pics of the peghead soon.

I’m attaching a jpeg of the Corel file I used for designing the headstock shape. Even though I didn’t need it, it got the creative juices flowing, and someone else may find it helpful.

[BrendaEM]

This might help....

When I was laying out the headstock on my instrument, I estimated the thickness of the strings, and lined up the tuner barrels (windie-things) against the sided of the string, so that the strings go nice and straight, and don't angle in.

[RocknDrTom]

Hi Brenda -
That's exactly what I did! I printed out a few pages to scale with the last image I posted, and positioned the tuners against the estimated string thickness lines, and set it up. made a few drawing, selected the one I liked the best and went for it.

A lot of the process has been delayed to shop vac the flood waters out of the basement. It was dry enough this morning that I was able to cut the peg head shape that I really liked (at about 5:45AM when I was completely alert).

Next will be to glue the angled headstock to the neck.

Now I have to come up with a body design.
I do things differently :-)

[rjgoos]

My basement (and shop) is also prone to taking on water after heavy (> 6") rains. I feel your pain.


Jay

[RocknDrTom]

Well, fortunately, Philadelphia didn't get hit as hard as other areas with the flooding, and the basement is almost completely dry.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday here in the states! I’m using this time to get as much done as possible around the house (which includes the tapper project). Over the weekend, I drilled the tuner holes, which I find much easier to do prior to clamping the headstock to the neck.

[RocknDrTom]

Okay the peghead REALLY is lying flat on the drill press. I just like the "batman fight scene" angle. It's a more artsy photo.

I also cut some slots in the edge where the head joins the neck so that I can use the carbon strip to help align the two pieces.

[RocknDrTom]

I then double-checked and made sure everything was going to fit properly, aligned, glued and clamped the head to the neck. Now I’m sitting watching the glue dry. I guess maybe I should do some of the other house projects to keep the peace.

Notice the carbon strip is in place for alignment purposes only, and has not been properly set. The other slots are for the dual truss rods. Since this is a bolt on neck, the adjustments will be near the body, like on my favorite Fender guitars, keeping the headstock fairly clean in appearance

[RocknDrTom]

And another view from the back.

Notice I roughly pre-shaped the neck prior to clamping together. This should help save a bit of work when it's time to rasp and spokeshave the neck to shape.

[BrendaEM]

Is the head curly maple?

[RocknDrTom]

Hi Brenda,
The head is just a regular maple board that I got from Home Depot, but it has some amazing flames in it. Once there's a finish on it, it's really going to stand out even more.

Again, my camera skills are not up to par, so the photos aren't as crystal clear as I'd like them to be. Or not to be - that is the question.

[RocknDrTom]

I've come up with a body design. Took about a day and a lot of cardboard. I looks a bit weird, but it seems to be ergonomically designed for what I need/want. The view in the photo is from the back. The "sharkfin hook" was designed right into the body so that it could conveniently rest on my left knee should I wish to play sitting.
Since I will be using the instrument in different situations, I want as much onboard tonal controls as possible. I'll be using EMG active pickups (the tele neck ones). Volume and tone for each neck with a larger cap for tone rolloff on the bass side, and an afterburner at the end of the signal. I'm also wiring two jacks - mono and stereo, and a simple switch for setting it up. I've got a Roland MIDI control that is also being added.
With all this "stuff" I need body space for the controls, but not so much that it become heavy and unwieldy. As much as I'd like more wood around the bridge, for my design, it's just not practical.
My original spec was to use all maple. But I had some wide boards of poplar - wide enough to make it across the width in one piece. They weren't thick though, so I laminated them together after rough cutting the shape out with the bandsaw.
Once I route out the cavity for the neck joint, controls and electronics, I will cap it off with maple.
Over the weekend, I epoxied the carbon rod in the neck, and drilled holes to countersink the truss rod ends. Next will be to set the truss rods (using the same silicone procedure described in Brenda's post).

[RocknDrTom]

Hello all. I haven't posted in a while because I was frustrated with myself. Did something stupid. Didn't want to share it, but now that it's over and done with, I may as well.
I did set the truss rods with the silicone, spread the glue on the neck and glued and clamped the fingerboard onto the neck pretty much in the period of 12 hours. The next morning, I had a bad feeling that I might have installed the truss rods UPSIDE DOWN. They are worthless that way, and upon closer examination, yes I truly did. After running a few chores and later that day, I had to use the flush cut saw and chinese saw blade to cut the fingerboard off the neck. It was an awful process in the sweltering humidity and heat of the un-air conditioned basement here in Philadelphia. it was 2 hours later dripping in sweat from hand sawing the fingerboard off that I realized - I was cutting into the carbon fiber rod too, and I was covered in that fine - ITCHY dust. Even the ice cold shower that i took after the fingerboard was successfully removed didn't help much with the itching. Two days later, it was no longer itchy.
I was able to clean the saw cut from both the fingerboard and neck, so that both could be salvaged and used again.
I removed the truss rods, set them in THE RIGHT way. And will be gluing and clamping them back together soon.
While the fingerboard was off, I decided to seal the grain - since I was using a beautiful piece of mahogany (which has open grain), I wanted to protect it. It had flexed enough in the removal process that I didn't want it to crack or cause problems. One trick I've learned with using open grained wood for fingerboards is to do the first seal coat using super glue.
One .35 oz bottle (shown in picture) was enough. I like the water type instead of the gel, because it can soak into the wood and also help strengthen it. It is impossible to put it on smoothly, but the intent is to seal the grain and strengthen it. This wood needed both, so I did it now.
once dry, I can sand it level. I'll be giving the neck a satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish, and the superglue has never cause problems when used as a sealer coat.
It sure makes you cry a lot though.

[BrendaEM]

Making the first of anything is difficult. From start to finish, there are thousands of things that can go wrong when making a instument.

If ever you run into carbon or fiberglass for that matter... Get some sticky tape, and press it on your skin, and it will remove the shards. I suppose you have to be careful if you have harry arms.

[RocknDrTom]

Next time I'll remember the sticky tape trick - good idea - thanks Brenda!
The sad thing is, this is about the 15th instrument I've built from scratch, and I SHOULD have known better.

[RocknDrTom]

I've been busy doing "vacation" things, and finished two other "regular" guitar projects, so the tapper was set aside for a while. In the free moments every here and there, I was able to glue the fingerboard to the neck - now with everything the way it should be. :-)
I started using the spoke shave to remove neck wood, but working outside in this heat has been unbearable. So I sit inside with a mild case of sunburn and wait for a bit cooler weather.
I also routed out a hollow section inside the body before the top maple cap with be attached. This makes it a bit lighter and gives me easier access for running all the wires back and forth internally.
I'll post a pic of the hollowed body before I glue the maple top on.

[RocknDrTom]

Just took a photo of the hollowed out section before attaching the top maple cap.
I used a forstner bit and a router to get out a lot of the wood. There was no reason to get this precise, since it won't be seen. the chunk in the center provides support where the bridge will be mounted.

[BrendaEM]

Cool! I didn't see the hollowing coming.

[OT: I am trying to figure out how to make a large bodied acoustic tapper.]

[RocknDrTom]

Hi Brenda - I'm glad I surprised you a bit. I wanted the body as light as possible, plus fishing wires for the electronics will be much easier.

For your "large body acoustic tapper" I'd suggest going along the lines of a cello or double bass. If you have a body that's large enough to handle the low tones, I would think it would be too heavy and/or cumbersome to wear. Sort of a hybrid tapper/double bass would be a pretty cool looking instrument. You might even be able to find a kit and rebuild it to your needs - it would be easier to use pre-bent wood sides than building a steamer and bending the wood yourself.
But if you really want to bend the wood for the sides of an acoustic and make your own steamer, let me know. I made my own steamer and it served its purpose.

[RocknDrTom]

I rough-cut the maple cap for the soundboard on the bandsaw, and then glued it to the body using my 13 mix-and-match clamps to hold it in place.

Next step will be to round the edges. I want very pronounced round edges, like my Bass Collection bass. it just has a nice, smooth feel, and I don't want any sharp edges in the way.

[RocknDrTom]

I used the router to rough-cut round the edges. The rest of the rounding process was done with a sharp spokeshave and rasps. I also started to round the edges of the neck, and it's getting exciting seeing it slowly come together.

I have a little bit more cleanup to do around the position marker inlays, and set the frets.

I checked the neck-fit, and it fits tightly in the pocket. For the bridge, I got two non-tremolo strat type bridges and cut off 2 from one and the edge against the other, so that all 10 saddles are right next to each other. I still need to do a little more metal filing and grinding. Once the bridge halves butt up against each other, I'll determine the proper location, and drill the holes thru the body for the string ferrules.

At that point, I'll start sanding, staining and nitrocellulose lacquer finishing. That'll take at least a month for completion for me.

Patience is a virtue.

[BrendaEM]

"Patience is a virtue."

So are pictures : )

[RocknDrTom]

I'm no longer feeling virtuous, and I'm getting impatient. But what little free time I had for this project got taken up with another project - a rebuilding of a 25 year old Fender P-bass.
The original (ugly blue) finish had gotten soft and gummy. It was a rare condition, but happened to a quite a few instruments from this time frame. I suggested to the owner to still keep the "original" and not modify it in anyway in case he wanted to sell the stock instrument someday. So he decided he wanted a new body in a transparent walnut gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish. So I spent all my time on his instrument instead of my own. Anyone wanna see a pic of that?

Looks like I have to repair the bowl-back of an old mandolin next, then it's back to my instrument again. That is, in the free moments when I'm not doing house repair. I was able to grind the two halves of the bridge, so Next step is drilling the thru-body holes.

[RocknDrTom]

I had a free moment to do my typical lousy photo shoots :-)
I hope you enjoy the following. The first shows the neck to body pocket. You can see one of the mother of pearl inlay strips in the neck, and the rough shaping of the body:

[RocknDrTom]

Another lousy shot of the back view of the neck. The darker bands are mahogany the rest is maple.

[RocknDrTom]

and for something completely different, here's the mandolin that needs the back reset and glued. It wasn't a true bowl back, so it was a bit easier to remove. But this is what is now delaying my Tap10 project

[rjgoos]

Wow. Pretty amazing.

[PhoBucket]

Is that a bit of Klein influence in the lower horn? Vairy kuul!

[RocknDrTom]

Hi Rjgoos and PhoBucket.
Thanks for taking the time to check out my work.

Yes I was looking at pictures of how must people hold the instrument, looking at Klien's work, and looking at Krappy's "sitdown support" somewhere in this forum (sorry, I just don't remember where I saw it).

And then I thought, wouldn't it be good to be able to sit, play and hold the instrument at the correct angle without having to add anything onto the instrument. So the odd "sharkfin" curve on the side was designed to rest on my left knee when sitting.
The extra "wood area" of the sharkfin legrest will double as the "control pod" area, since I plan on having a few electronic controls inside this one. The larger body isn't going to have a weight issue compared to a smaller body, since it was hollowed out in spots.
Sound chambers - yeah, that's what they are - sound chambers...

[BrendaEM]

Your mandolin experience is a plus. I find that when doing creative writing that the story doesn't always come to me in sequence. Perhaps finishing the mandolin will make make the tapper come out better. BTW, it looks like it's coming out good!

If I make another instrument, it will probably be full acoustic, but I am not sure how, but you would.

[RocknDrTom]

Finally, the mandolin is finished, as well as a few other things on the "honey do" list. Now I can get back to the important things like - working on my tapper. :-)

This weekend I'll blow off the wood dust, re-evaluate what needs to be done next, and try and post some pics.

[traktor]

Could we see the completed mandolin repair?

Pretty please?

[RocknDrTom]

Sorry Traktor, my photo skills are not "up to par" as I stated in earlier posts, and the photos of the mandolin that I was taking along the way were for the client to see the progress. When I finished it, I didn't think to take a completed photo, since the client would see it first hand.

He was very happy to get it back, and appreciated the work. I even got a nice tip above and beyond my invoice. So unfortunately, it's too late now for a photo. Sorry.

After finishing a week of jury duty, I'm now back to the tapper.
I've started body cavity routing now. I don't wat to route out the areas for the pickups just yet until I actually get them. However, I've drilled the holes in the body for where the strings feed through, and drilled/chiseled out the area on the back for the battery holder. I want to complete most of the routing needed before staining, and finishing the body.
The fret slots that I cut for the fret wire was a bit too narrow a slot, and found that trying to hammer the fretwire into the slot was damaging the surface of the fretwire. Perhaps this is because the neck is a lot wider than any other instrument I've ever built. I'm considering cutting wider slots, and gluing the frets in place now. I damaged enough fretwire truying to do it the traditional way that I had to order some more wire from StewMac.

Learning is a good thing. Keeps you youthful and on your toes.

[RocknDrTom]

Since you like looking at pics of intruments other than tappers, here's a pair of lap steels I made a few years ago. Both are solid cedar bodies, mahogany fingerboards and with maple fret-line inlays. The lap steel on the right is a "bass lap steel" - real deep and thunderous, I call it Goliath. It just has one knob on it (volume), so it should make Brenda happy with its minimalistic electronics. :-)

The "regular lap steel was recently rebuilt with a humbucker as well, so it doesn't hum in live use. I also added a "Black Ice" circuit to it from Stew Mac, and it screams.

Goliath hardly gets used and I'm considering selling it.

[rjgoos]

Tom, I like the fretboard markers on the instrument on the right. How did you do the woodwork for those?


Jay

[RocknDrTom]

Hi Jay, the fretmarker patterns were loosely based on the patterns of the step-kids' ball python (named Goliath). For the fret markers, I had a sawblade that was the same thickness as the maple veneer, so it was easy to cut a slot, glue in the wood and level it. Instant fret markers. The snake-like position markers were a very thin tortoise shell pickguard material cut to python-patterned shapes. I then rubber cemented it to the fingerboard and scribed a line along the edges with an exacto blade. Next, removed the pickguard material, and any traces of rubber cement, and used a dremel tool in a router base fixture to removed the wood to the correct depth. If you are doing inlays, save the wood dust!!
After a bit of back and forth checking the fit, the inlays were glued in with Duco cement. After dry, I rubbed in the wood dust to the edges, andleveled it with super glue. Let it dry over night, and sand flush. (noticing my writing is changing from "how I did it" to "how to do it" - just go with the flow) once that was finished, I added some diamond shaped, mother of pearl earrings at several frets, routing out the pickguard in the same manner. Just cut the posts off the back of the earring, and you have a ready-made inlay. Plus it's fun to buy 20 sets of the same earrings in the store and when they look at you funny say, "they're for my girlfriends."

[RocknDrTom]

Now that I have fulfilled my civic duty and completed jury duty, I can get back to the tapper.

Since it’s been a while, the first thing was to step back and re-evaluate where I’m going and what still needs to be done to complete this project. The neck is nearly complete – it needs the frets installed, wood needs to be lightly sanded, stained, and lacquered. I’m using a satin lacquer for the neck, and a gloss lacquer for the body. I also will be using two nuts, and they need to be cut and slotted, and the tuners mounted.
As for the body, it needs the appropriate routings, sanding, stain and lacquer coats. Looking at it again fresh, I’ve decided to install all electronics from the front attached to the pickguard (like a Fender Strat), as opposed to having them mounted through the back (like a Les Paul). The only back routing needed is to install the battery box.
Since I have already decided that I’ll be using active electronics, I determined an area on the back of the body where I wanted the battery box, marked the body, and I used a small Forstner drill bit to drill out each corner. I then used a larger Forstner bit to drill out the middle area. I could have just drilled one hole and routed the cavity, but I find it easier to use these bits to get out large areas of wood quickly, then use the router or chisels to clean up the edges. For the battery compartment, the drill bit removed most of the wood and I only needed to clean up the edges with a chisel to get the battery box to fit. Remember, the body was hollowed out a bit before capped together. This leaves ample room for feeding wires, and I don’t have to worry about routing to an exact depth.

I also drilled out holes for the string ferrules. Being that this is a ten string instrument, I will be using 6 guitar string ferrules and 4 bass string ferrules. Not sure yet of the exact pitches, but I know I want my lowest pitched strings in the center of the fingerboard so the ferrules were installed as such:
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
G B B B B G G G G G

G = Guitar size ferrule
B = Bass size ferrule
Now I’m in the midst of testing out different pickups to determine exactly what I want. More than likely, I’ll have to order the pickups, so there’s going to be yet another delay.

In the meantime, I’ve started up two more projects: Building a hardshell case for the lapsteel on the left pictured earlier, and designing/building an electric sitar.

The lap steel case is pine and plywood, covered in tweed fabric and shellacked. This gives it a nice vintage look. The hardware is brass, and the inside will be fabric covered foam cut to fit the instrument exactly. Pictures to come for anyone interested.

The electric sitar is one of my favorites. I’ve made several, and end up selling them, so I never have one on hand. There’s been a few opportunities where I’ve needed on recently, and the authentic acoustic one I have is not loud enough. So it seems like a good time to make another. My criteria is simple:
1. Designed and tuned like a standard guitar so any guitarist could play it.
2. Must be hollow for resonance
3. Must use only existing parts and materials – no additional expense (this is my wife’s rule)
4. Must have drone strings truer to the original sitar length (not like the coral sitar)
5. Must look cool.
6. Must fit into an existing empty case that I have.

I had done a few preliminary sketches. I originally wanted the body somewhat boxy and space age looking. One though was to design it so it mounts to a stand so I could walk up to it on stage ands use it when needed. If the side is thick enough, I could build a flange right into it to mount to a heavy duty microphone or drum kit stand. When I cut out a cardboard template to the original sketches, it was too big, and bulky. Didn’t look good at all. So I started adding curves, thinning it out, holding it to my body to make sure it felt right. The new design is much closer to a Knutsen harp guitar. So much for the space age look. I have some mahogany strips that I’ve been saving – I’ll probably use them for the body. I guess at some point, I’ll have to set up the wood steamer since it looks like I’m bending wood to follow soft curves again.

See how easy it is for me to get side tracked?

[RocknDrTom]

Playing with a newer camera, to see if this works any better for me. I zoomed in on the area where the string ferrules will be. I also routed a channel out so that they would be inset and less likely to catch on clothing. You can also see the test fit of the battery box.

[RocknDrTom]

looks like I'm the first post of the new year - HAPPY NEW YEARS everyone!
Welcome to 2007 - it's been good so far. :-)

I just took a picture of the frets installed. I used the fret hammer from StewMac and it does a fantastic job - like magic - no nicks or damaged frets like on my previous attempts using a regular hammer. I also like the feel of a "finished fingerboard, like what the fender maple necks offer, so I intend on spraying the fingerboard with lacquer.
One additional thing I do along the edges of the frets is run a bead of superglue. This helps hold any loose frets in place, and won't be a problem with the top lacquer coat. Fretwork-wise, I've only hammered and glued the fret wire in place. Now that the glue is cured, I can file and taper the edges of the fret wire, then level the frets, and shape the top curve.
In the attached artistic photo, you can see the glistening glue as the neck dries resting on top of the upside down body. Notice the dark spots on the edges of the body. That's the green color of the poplar. It's natural but not all that pretty. If it doesn't look good with a light amber stain which I'll use for the neck, I may choose to paint the body.

[rjgoos]

And...I would have to say that the first posting of 2007 was a fantastic one! Tom is on a roll!!!

For those of you who have never made an instrument, it's hard to describe the thrill of stringing up an instrument you've made for the first time, and hearing its first notes. I think that is one reason why instrument building is so addictive.

[RocknDrTom]

Since last time, I leveled the frets, tapered their edges, and crowned the tops with assorted files. I then buffed them with steel wool. The neck was then lightly sanded, to prepare it for the finishing process. Normally I would use masking tape to cover the fingerboard, but for this project, I wanted the fingerboard sealed - so no masking tape needed. I cleaned the neck with Naptha to remove any oil residue, and began brushing the amber tint alcohol-based stain. I then used a bent section of an old thick wire coat hanger to hang the instrument on a nail in the basement ceiling joists to dry. This did not really need to be set aside for a long time, since the alcohol-based stain seems to dry almost instantaneously.

I want to point out that I got the stain and nitrocellulose lacquer from www.reranch.com. They are a great source of high-quality nitrocellulose lacquer, specifically for musical instruments. For one of the first instruments I made, I used their spray stain. It goes on smooth and even, especially in areas that you overlap. However, the aerosol stain version is a bit pricey, and being that I liked the tint a lot, I bought the powder that can be mixed with alcohol. This variation is MUCH cheaper, but a bit harder to control.

Looking closely at the first brushing of amber stain, I noticed two light areas that did not take the stain well (see photo of one area) – this is where excess superglue had dripped down the side. Today, I’ll be sanding the wood to try to remove the excess glue, and touch up the stain in that area. Since superglue tends to soak into the wood and seal it, I may not be able to remove enough wood and/or remedy the problem. Fortunately, this is on the underside of the neck and not really noticeable. The trick with using a brush stain touch-up application is trying to get the stain to blend in well with the surrounding area. This would be easy if I was using the aerosol spray stain version like in the first project using their products.

[RocknDrTom]

While the neck was hanging, I went back to the body, and with a few scrap pieces of paper taped together, I started to design the pickguard shape. Paper is a good choice for this process, since it’s easy to cut, tape more sections on, recut, redesign, etc., until you get it just the way you want it. Then the paper template can be transferred (i.e., taped in place) to the pickguard stock. I had an extra piece of a black pearl pickguard from a previous project that would be large enough for what I need. Since the body and neck are going to be light colored, I think the dark pickguard will compliment it well. For me, I think it’s easy to determine the exact locations of the pickups and electronics on the pickuard - then once cut out, lay it on top of the body, transfer the holes, and route what’s needed to be removed from the body. This method (cutting the pickguard first then routing the body) works for me, and seems to be the most efficient.

After doing some research, I selected the pickups and electronics. I will be doing them in two phases for financial reasons. I ordered and received Lace Aluminatone pickups (set of three) – a completely new design in pickups, and I’m anxious to hear how they sound.
Phase 1 electronics will have two pickups for the melody strings (one close to neck, one close to bridge) and one pickup for bass strings centered between them. The bass side will have separate volume and tone knobs (two potentiometers). The Melody side will also have volume and tone, and a toggle switch like on a Les Paul for selecting either or both melody pickups. On the bass side will also be a DPDT switch (where the lowest white knob is in the photo) wired so the stereo jack can either combine the melody and bass signals into one output, or keep them discrete, for two separate output signals. Phase 1 is all passive technology. Phase 2 will include active EQs (hence the need for the battery box installed in an earlier posting). In Phase 2, the volume knobs will be replaced with concentric knobs for controlling both volume and tone, and the tone knobs will be replaced most likely with something from the EMG company. I want to hear the pickups first for a while in Phase 1 to determine exactly which active electronic would work best. They would replace the single tone pots used in phase 1 since they are no longer needed.

[jamsire]

I freakin' LOVE IT!!!!

Ya know, I realized I didn't increase my collection at all this year - guitar wise.

Hmmmmmmmmmm...............

Traktor!!!!!!

Krappy!!!!!!!

hmph!!:mad:

[rjgoos]

I think Brenda still holds the record for the most clamps...but Tom is going after the record for the most KNOBS.

Way cool, Tom!!

[RocknDrTom]

Thanks for the compliments jamsire! I truly appreciate them, and getting response keeps me "accountable" to continue promptly and finish this project.

RJGOOS - ha! I don't have as many clamps as Brenda. She DEFINITELY has me there. The knobs in the photo are really only "place holders" for where knobs AND switches will go.

In Phase one, there will only be four knobs - volume and tone for each "half". Let's see, that's 4 knobs more than Brenda's though..

Over the weekend, I sanded the neck a bit, and got some of the superglue marks removed, but it some areas, it just soaked in too deep and sealed the wood, preventing any stain in that area.
The amber stain I selected is to emulate an aged, vintage neck, so with the subtle glue marks and nicks and dings. It has more of a well used, vintage instrument ambience. That's what I want. A working instrument, not a museum show-piece. Since this is just for me, I'm not too particular about fantastic, perfect finishes. it has to play right, sound right, and feel right. It can look as obnoxious as I want, since like myself, looks don't matter - it's what's inside that counts.

I sprayed the neck with a lacquer-based sanding sealer, and it made the amber-stain look even darker, which consequently, made the unstained area look even lighter (emphasize previous paragraph content).

I cover the black pearl pickguard with masking tape, taped the paper pattern to the pickguard, and cut out the shape. When I put it on the body, I determined that a little more body wood could be removed, so I shaved down a section on the bass string side, removing 1/4 to 1/2 inch of excess wood. I also routed out a section on this side for mounting the output jack, instead of having it on the top surface as shown in the earlier photo.
I also realized that the body had never been sanded smoothly, so I started sanding the edges.
Tonight, I will hopefully get to cut out the pickup cavities in the pickguard, and drill all the mounting holes needed.
** Photos will be coming**

[BigDaddyPoo]

Wow Tom I don't know how I didn't see all this progress you had done on your instrument. It's looking really good. You seem to be taking a different approach than brenda on the electronics.

Brenda: Less is More.
Tom: More is More.

[BigDaddyPoo]

Dan: Brown is the New Black

[RocknDrTom]

I always had a penchant for all those cheesy guitars of the 60's - the ones that looked like they were trying to be space-age and modern with the vegematic buttons and wacky electronics. I'm being much more subdued with this project. :-)

I spent too much time with the dogs last night, so I didn't get to do much work on this project.
However, on the pickguard, I drilled out pilot holes for the three pickups and used the scroll saw for cutting out the shapes for the pickups. Notice the cut-outs are rectangular and not curved on the ends like typical single coil pickups. That's not because I'm lazy and cutting curves is difficult, it's because the new pickups are actually rectangular. I'll keep the masking tape on the pickguard all the way to the end of the project to keep it from getting scratched up.

Part of the pickup selection winning criteria was for the retro-space-age-coolness look, which they totally have.

[rjgoos]

Let's take him to the parking lot, Ernie.

[RocknDrTom]

hmmm.. Tappers sure are an aggressive lot. It's like the testosterone of a bass player AND a guitarist all rolled into one
(my apologies to the skilled and talented female tappers. I'd rather meet you in the back seat of the car in the parking lot. :-))


RJ -- Don't worry - once I build it, I WON'T be able to play it.
So I'll have to figure that out once I get to that point.

I'm really getting a strong "make this a relic" desire. Wanting to crack/craze the finish and age it...

Any thoughts?

[BigDaddyPoo]

I kinda like the relic idea. With the retro-futuristic vibe your going for it could end up looking like an Area 51 artifact...(in 50's radio anouncer voice) FROM OUTER SPAAAAAAAACE!!!

[RocknDrTom]

EXACTLY!!! FROM OUTER SPAAAAAACE!!!!


I'm going for it - the body will no longer have the amber stained finish like the neck has, but will have an artic white (or cream white) finish that I will "age". This will complement the pickguard, pickups and existing electronics quite well. I don't see any sense in "aging the metal parts though. I don't like rust and don't think it belongs on an instrument.

I'm just aging the wood.

[jamsire]

Originally posted by rjgoos
Let's take him to the parking lot, Ernie.

I'm feeling the Dan Electro vibe for a tapper - haven't seen something like that before.

But Let's get him around an area where the lights aren't as bright!

Funky design idea!!

I HATE HARDWARE!! Every time I have to go to Home Depot - I cringe. Can't do anything with my hands except play a geetarr. Soldering iron????? Lethally dangerous - to me!

[rjgoos]

Originally posted by RocknDrTom
hmmm.. Tappers sure are an aggressive lot.


When you-all post such phenomenal videos/MP3s of tapping prowess, Ernie wants to take you to the parking lot. When you-all post such phenomenal pictures of instrument-making prowess, I want to take you to the parking lot.

The retro look is just way cool, Tom. Traktor caught a bit of that with his all-blonde/gold instrument, you've taken it quite a ways further.

[RocknDrTom]

Doesn't look like much has been done since last time I posted - time has been at a premium. I was able to file the inside edges of the routed pickup holes in the pickguard and do a loose fit of the pickups. I also drilled out the top of the body where the pickups would fit, and gave the body a light wash coat of shellac. There's still a bit more body wood that needs to be removed, and hopefully I'll get to that by this weekend.

I'm still finalizing the location(s) of the electronics - as evident by the Sharpie marks on the masking tape.

Photo shows the pickups in position:

[jamsire]

I FREAKIN' LOVE IT!!!

Hey!

I just came back from seeing Preston Reed. He's a master tapping musician - but he is also getting back to his fingerstyle roots with his new looking Yamaha Archtop electric - beautiful tone!!

I want to beat Preston up in the parking lot - but he's actually my height. SO I might have to go TAPPAMANIA on him in the ring instead. But I might run away (actually whimper).

[RocknDrTom]

It's been a busy weekend so far. I light-sanded the neck last night, and cut the widths of the 2 nuts. This morning, I did a light satin lacquer coating on the neck and left it to hang dry.
The body was also heavily coated last night with a white lacquer, and wet sanded smooth this morning. It'll need a few more lighter coats now before I do any "relicing".
I finalized the switch/knob locations, gathered them up from existing stock and drilled appropriate sized holes for them in the pickguard. Then transferred the hole markings to the body, and routed out a top cavity in the body.
The photo shows the pickguard resting on body. The toggle switch is the longest component, so I wanted to make sure the routing beneath that was deep enough. While the body is being finished, I could begin assembling the components and soldering connections, but it looks like I have to take a break and feed and walk the dogs.

[RocknDrTom]

Also, the hole on the side (visible in the photo) is where the strat-style jack plate will fit.

[RocknDrTom]

Not much to report - I'm in the process of applying lacquer coats to the body (white) and neck (satin clear).

I did a bit of research for other "relics" and found a gorgeous tele bass that is very much in line with what I'd like my tapper to look like.
Thanks to the few pictures I've gleaned, I'll be able to have something tangible to reference as I perform the aging process.

[RocknDrTom]

Again, not much to report. There are quite a few coats of lacquer on the neck and body now. I want to get the vintage look, but in order for the finish to crack/craze, it needs to be thoroughly hardened/dry. So I'll live with an uncracked smooth finish for a few months, just so I can build a playing instrument.

The next step is to wet sand and examine. If I feel I need more coats of lacquer, it's back to the spray booth (sounds fancy, but it's just a heated, detached garage).

At the moment, the tapper doesn't look much different than any of the other posted photos. So no pics here.

While the wood parts were being sprayed, I started to gather the electronic components, figuring I could assemble them while waiting. It looks like my idea of Phase 2 will be phase 1. I didn't have everything I needed for Phase 1, so I figured if I have to order stuff, I might as well just get what I really want. So active eq and preamp are on order. Waiting.

[RocknDrTom]

this is the back and forth part that I dislike the most about finishing an instrument. Spray, wet sand, repeat. Problem is, if you rush, you end up doing more work than if you took your time. So I rushed. Tried to put on too thick of a coat of lacquer and it ran. I was able to wet sand out the drips, but I sanded too much of the finish, and I have to do a few more light coats. I'm thinking about doing a light wipe of a stain, since I want more of a vintage relic look to it. It'll darken the areas that are sanded - pretty much in the area that the thumbs would move.

You can see the odd routing where the electronics wil be. Since it's all hidden by the pickguard anyway, I thought it best to remove as much wood as possible to keep the overall instrument light.

In the background barely visible is a Puerto Rican Cuatro being repaired.

[jamsire]

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooh!

sexy!

[rjgoos]

Beautiful neck, Tom

[RocknDrTom]

Hi guys - glad you like it so far!.
The maple wood used in the neck came from Lowe's!!
With enough hunting thru their stock, you can usually find some nice figured or flamed wood.
The mahogany strips in the middle were boards from a skid. Yeah, that's right - junk wood. I used to work at a hardware supply, and sometimes the really big, heavy stuff comes in on larger skids. I spotted one that I swore was mahogany. So After it was emptied, I pulled out the nails, planed it, and sure enough, I got about 5 decent 6-foot long boards of mahogany. Trick is to work around the nail holes so they are not exposed.

[RocknDrTom]

things have sat for a bit - letting the painted surfaces dry. I'm also waiting for electronics to arrive. So the next step was to buff and polish the body, then scuff it up, and start the relicing process. Knowing that I wanted an instrument that looked like it had been made decades ago, I didn't take a lot of time to buff and polish the white finished body to a high lustre. But once it was smooth, I took 220 grit sandpaper and only with my fingers (no flat block), I started to rub edges and areas that I thought would have taken a lot of abuse over the years. I wore out a spot on the back where a belt buckle would have done its damage, and knicked up the edges- in some areas, to the bare wood. Then I held my keys by the ring, and slapped them randomly all over the body, making sure the dings and dents are evenly spaced and not concentrated in one area.
Finally, I took the same amber alcohol based stain I used for the neck, and brushed it on in small areas, and before it dried, I wiped it off. Ther finish stayed in the small micks and in the scuffed areas, and wiped off the smooth painted areas.
I still have to "crack" the finish, but that will take a while until the finish is really cured thoroughly - typically a few months. I can wait for that.

[RocknDrTom]

Here's a back view showing the previously mentioned belt buckle worn spot. This is a bit uneven in my opinion of the yellowed to white areas, so I'll be scuffing up the white areas a bit more so that it can take more stain.

[RocknDrTom]

I actually sprayed a bit more white, since it looked a bit too worn in for my liking.
Also, all of the electronics and hardware arrived, so a few more holes were drilled in the pickguard (one can never have enough switches and knobs). and it looks like a bit more wood needs to be removed to accomodate the new DPDT switches.

Here's the electronic lowdown:
Bass side - one pickup: volume knob 50k, active EQ with seperate bass/mid/treble knobs
Melody side - two pickups, 3-way toggle for p/up selection, DPDT phase switch, volume knob 50k, active electronics - stacked mid and treble boost/cut circuitry.

There will also be another DPDT switch wired to the stereo jack to allow seperate, discrete outputs for each half, or blended into a mono output.
I also have a MIDI controller that might get added to the melody side, but it's all surface mount.

[RocknDrTom]

lots of other things going on since the last post, and not much time to do much. I've begun the wiring process - drew up schematics and started soldering.
I'm getting anxious to hear the new pickups and electronics.

[RocknDrTom]

Here's the start of the electronics. You can see some of the "reliced" finish on the body.

[RocknDrTom]

I wanted to mount/install the string ferrules before any delicate electronics were added. I was imagining that I had to pound them in for a tight fit (which is exactly what was needed).
You can see in the photo that the holes weren't evenly spaced. That's what you get without a precision drill press. Oh well. it was the holes in the front that mattered, and they line up perfectlywith the bridge.

Also note that the bass string ferrules were wider than the actual string spacing, so the edges of some of the ferrules had to be ground so they would fit. All the ferrules are inset into the body so that nothing "cuts" into the fabulous stage clothing that one must wear when performing.

[RocknDrTom]

Here's another view of the body front - I've installed the bridge halves, which fit together pretty well - just a thin seam between strings 6 and 7.

I have two ground wires (one for each half, and you can see the wires for the battery compartment off to the side.

The next step is to use rubbing compound on the neck and buff and poish it up. Again, all by hand - elbow grease and sweat for me, i don't have any power tools for buffing. :-(

[RocknDrTom]

You'd think that at this point I'd be rushing to complete this project. But alas, there is far too much real life stuff keeping me from this.
Packing up the house for a move to nowhere (the house we are in is sold, the one we were going to fell through). So soon everything including tools and instruments will be in storage. I guess finding a place to live takes a higher priority. :-(

I'll also need to get strings soon, and instead of making my own, I'm looking at the fifths bottom set from the Megatar ebay store, but the wife says, "WE CAN'T SPEND ANY MONEY NOW..." so just keeping the peace here. Even if I got the strings right away, I couldn't use them for a while.

[BrendaEM]

Hey it's almost finished!

[RocknDrTom]

I haven't heard from you in a while - I assumed you were happily tapping away somewhere now that your instrument is finished. Mine is currently sitting in the room waiting to be loaded into a moving truck in two more days.

I've attached the neck to the body, and just three things are needed to complete:
1. cut string slots in the nut
2. finish the electronic wiring
3. Get strings

The first two I could easily do, but I still have to order the strings, and at this point, I'm waiting for the finances to work out. So completion waits until other details of life (like having a place to live) get worked out.

Thanks for checking in!

[RocknDrTom]

Aside from every muscle in my body aching, I've moved most of my things to storage over the last non-stop four gruelling days, and I'm temporarily living back in my parent's house until I find a place to live. When I was stacking and piling things in the room, I leaned the tapper against my amplifier to keep it out of the way. As it leaned back, the Gorilla grabbed it as if to hold it secure.
It's good to have friends. I thought I'd share the moment.

Notice the smoothness of the uncut nut. I hope that I can finish unpacking and organizing my clothes and personal items so that I can return to this instrument soon.

[RocknDrTom]

Nothing really new and exciting to report. I'm digging out of boxes and trying to organize/find my tools. I started to file the string slots in the nut using assorted files from Stew Mac that I've had for years.
Here's how I determine the correct depth for the nut slots:
1. I rest a 6 inch metal rule across the tops of the frets.
2. I slide various combinations of automotive feeler guages under the ruler until I find the exact depth.
3. Add up the amounts - example: .018 + .019 + .021 = .058
3. Then I add maybe three thousandths of an inch to the total amount (example: .061)
4. Now I would combine the feeler guages to equal this amount.
5. With one hand, hold the feeler guages to the fingerboard flush against the nut. The other hand works the nut file and the feeler guages act as stops. When the file hits the feeler guage, you have the correct depth.
6. Move on to the next slot.

I have different thickness nut files and sometimes they have to be "rocked" or used in combination with others to make wider nut slots for thicker strings. The correct depth for a string slot should never have the string sitting below the top surface of the nut. If this is the case, the top of the nut can be filed lower.

[RocknDrTom]

I found a closeup shot on the camera - starting to line up where the slots should go.

[RocknDrTom]

Yesterday, I went out and bought two 9v batteries, did the initial electronic wiring and testing, and to my surprise, everything worked exactly as it should!
One issue though, is that this setup uses two separate active electronics assemblies, each requiring a battery. The manufacturer told me that they could be wired together and use one battery, but I've thought about it a bit, and have decided that I will keep two batteries. This way, they should drain slower, and I can monitor which side draws more current, etc.
I only had one routed cavity for a single battery box, and last night, I opened up another cavity on the opposite side, and ordered a new battery box from StewMac. They tend to ship things very quickly, and I'll try to post some new pics soon.

[BrendaEM]

Feeing any urgency or anticipation at this point?

[RocknDrTom]

I think in my younger days, I would be tearing my hair out, but now I don't feel that urgency the same way. I "could" route the wires to just come out the battery box hole in the back, and assemble it all, but I know I need to spend a bit of time with intonation, setup, etc. Plus, I have no idea how to play it once it's build. :-)

So I'm really excited about attending the Staten Island seminar coming up end of next month.

This instrument "should" be complete in a few weeks, and just when I thought I would have free time, I have a broken headstock on an acoustic to repair, and a fretjob to do on a friend's custom designed guitar.

[RocknDrTom]

The battery box arrived from Stew Mac friday night, so I had yet another project to work on Saturday.
Here's a pic of the battery box installed.

[RocknDrTom]

Once the battery boxes were installed, I had everything I needed to complete the wiring. Here's an inside shot.

[RocknDrTom]

Once the wiring was completed, I mounted the pickguard to the body, and added the knobs. I got the knobs and the active electronics from GuitarFetish.com. good stuff at a great price. I like the way the knobs look with the pickguard too. Very classy.

The body is now completed. All that's left is: Mount the neck to the body, final nut slot filing, adding the strings (and the string mute), and setting intonation. Then, I have to determine to best spot (weight/ergonomics) for the strap and strap locks.

Then I have to figure out how to play it.

[jamsire]

Proud o' you Tom!

Smokin'!

[RocknDrTom]

Thanks Ernie,
Hey, are you going to be at the Staten Island event? I'm signed up and hope to see you there!

[jamsire]

Originally posted by RocknDrTom
Thanks Ernie,
Hey, are you going to be at the Staten Island event? I'm signed up and hope to see you there!

I'm in attendance, we'll have a sandwich.

[RocknDrTom]

sounds good to me. Although I'll be staying far, far away from all parking lots. :-)

[RocknDrTom]

Now I'm at that point in the instrument's assembly where you see if everything worked out correctly and all components are fitting together exactly as planned.

In my case, not as perfect as I wanted. I installed the 1st and 10th string to act as straight edges - to see how things lined up.

The pickups were perfectly seated beneath the strings - if they were picking up the sound from the center of the pickup, they would be great. But they don't - it seems that the active area of the pickup is toward the bottom edge for treble strings and top edge for low strings. So because of the way I had them angled, the highest string on the melody side, did not really have a pickup underneath of it. Now it might have worked, but I wanted it better. I contemplated making a whole new pickguard, but then realized that if I just angled it a bit more, it would reach beneath the string. So I got the Dremel tool out, and took out a bit more of the body wood so the pickguard could pivot and pickups be beneath the strings properly.
I started to set the intonation based on the two outer strings -
In order to get intonation right, the saddle was close to the bridge mounting for these two strings. Knowing that the lower pitch strings would need the saddle even further back to set intonation properly, I had to decide whether to move the bridge and redrill mounting holes for the strings beneath, or move the neck a bit further away from the bridge (about 1/4 inch). So I moved the neck.
This gives me ample room now to set intonation, and with pivoting the pickguard, it leaves a small gap, but not too bad.
I filed the frets a bit more (there were a few that buzzed) and will be crowning them next.
My action seems pretty low. I had to take abreak though and repair a broken headstock on an acoustic guitar, and mop up a flooded basement at my parent's house. Such is life.

[BrendaEM]

I've found that instant gratification is not part of instrument building. Building one of anything is hard.

[RocknDrTom]

Well, not really paradise, but definitely troubles with the pickups.

I started installing the strings and setting up the action. No problems there, but the real problem now is the pickups. These Alumitone pickups are really designed for 6 strings. My tapper, being two groups of 5, mathematically doesn't work out.

I was able to pivot the pickguard, but there's just no way to effectively get the correct positioning of these pickups under a grouping of 5 strings and not have any "dead" spots. Looks like I'm going to have to replace these pickups with rail types in order to get an even response from each string. No doubt, I'll have to cut a new pickguard as well, since the alumitones are rectangular shaped and most other single coils are curved.

Delays, delays.
I'm still on track with my original goal of finishing this project by the end of the year. Just 8 months left. I better get moving.

[rjgoos]

If your string spacing is 0.32 (same as a 10-string Stick), you can use DiMarzio split P bass rail humbuckers, and five strings will just fit over the rails:

http://tinyurl.com/35edtk

Each unit is a complete humbucker, and they sound nice, at a reasonable price.

If you're wider than 0.32, these won't work for your purposes.


Jay

[RocknDrTom]

Hi Jay - thanks for the tip on the Dimarzio pickup. I think my string spacing is wider than a 10-string stick. I think the strings are pretty close on a stick, and mine follows typical guitar spacing, which is a bit wider. I'm testing out another brand of "rail style" pickups, and since I have to create a whole new pickguard for them, I might rearrange some of the existing components.

I might have a chance this weekend to re-examine everything I've done so far. I have an older, unused "snakeskin" pickguard material that I think would work for this instrument.

[RocknDrTom]

New pickups arrived, and I'm going to use the snakeskin pickguard material that I already have from a past project.

I just don't have any time set aside to do anything on this.
I still have a few months to go before the end of the year, and my goal was to finish this in 2007. I'm ahead of schedule.

[RocknDrTom]

Nothing new to report on this project. It had been put on hold since there were many other pressing things to do. The tapper sits silently in the basement waiting to have a new pickguard built, and waiting to be rewired.
In the meantime, I re-read through Brenda's wonderful post, and decided to use the TruOil finish that she described so well to finish a fretless bass I've been doing in the meantime.

[RocknDrTom]

Some of the dust has settled, some of the other pressing projects have been completed, it's time to return to the tap10 project I started about a year ago (or longer).

I will be making a few changes to the original design - I've decided to cut a bit of excess wood off the headstock. This will allow me to use a regular bass case (slightly modified) to protect the instrument. NO reason to have all the extra wood on the end anyway.

I need to unsolder the rat's nest of twisted wires that have happened since the last time I pulled this out and looked it over and now. So much moving back and forth and here - to there, it's a mess. I'll be redesigning the electronics too, since I've already gutted some stuff for other instruments that needed parts.

[RocknDrTom]

Since I'm going back to the wood in the neck - I took another look at the body too. Sat down and rested it on my lap in the playing position. Looks like I'm also going to SCRAP the original body, and make a new one. A bit better at the ergonomic design for sitting and standing.

The new body will be different from the old - this one will be black. And a different shape.


Photos forthcoming

[RocknDrTom]

It's been a while since I posted. I wa delay with a roofing project and far too many othe rthings that kept me from this. But I'm back and I want to see this finished!!

I came up with a new body design that when cut out of cardboard, seems to "fit me" a bit better. Had some maple sitting around so decided to just use what I had. Nothing was thick enough, so I clamped a few together as shown in the picture. Like the first body, I hollowed this out a bit to make it lighter.
I'm still not completely sold on the black idea. If the wood looks nice enough, I might just go for a stain and oil finish.

I'm also still shooting for my "complete it this year" goal.

[RocknDrTom]

here's a front view after taking the clamps off and adding the neck into the routed pocket.
Next step is to curve the edges.

[rjgoos]

I see 17 clamps. Good work!!!


The body shape is interesting, sort of a built-in lap bar?

[RocknDrTom]

Hi Jay - 18 actually - there's one more clamp hidden in my clever trick photography. Or just bad photography.

Yes, the idea was to make something that would be comfortable sitting. I don't play out much anymore, and most of the time I sit when I play, so I wanted something that was more like the top of a cello that could rest comfortably between my legs. It's somewhat offset so that it fits naturally. I again hollowed this one since it's solid maple.

I've decided to cut down on all the electronics too. Most of it has been gutted and used for other projects anyway. Here's the new setup:
Three rail style single coils - one for bass, two for melody side. Separate volumes for bass and melody, 3-way selector switch for melody pickups, 3-band active EQ used for both halves, and a stereo/mono switch that I will label as the "S&M switch." The side jack on the first body was more in the way, so it's moving to the front.

[RocknDrTom]

Tonight I hope to drill out the holes for the string thru bridge. I already drilled/routed out the area for the jack on the front and also for one of the battery boxes on the back.

For the fun of it, I gave it a wash coat of the same stain I used on the neck, just to see how it would look. Also topped that off with one rubbing of Tru oil, which totally soaked into the wood.

Not sure if I want to paint this or leave it natural now...

Again, more pics to come.


The "finish this in 2007" goal might not be reached, but I'm trying!

[RocknDrTom]

I started to lay out the knobs for a visual idea where everythign is going. You can see the stain and rough sanded jobb of the body shape.
Nothing's routed for the pickup yet.

[rjgoos]

Tom,

I believe your instrument is the first since the Biaxe to incorportate the means to play seated as an integral part of the body.

I've never seen a picture of the Biaxe, just the drawing from Chuck's patent:

http://homepage.mac.com/tap6/chuck.jpg

[RocknDrTom]

Probably just because I'm getting old and lazy.

To me it's easier to sit and play - they I don't have to concentrate on balance and worry about if I'm going to fall over or not while standing and playing.


The upper part of the body still reminds me of an "offset cello". There's always room for cello.

[lactose]

Your instrument is looking nice ! And innovative. I mostly play sitting down as well. If I remember correctly, didn't one of the Doobie Brothers play guitar sitting down a lot ?

It would be cool to see a rock band where everyone except the drummer sat down. Or a jazz trio where the upright bassist sat down.

[RocknDrTom]

Hi lactose - thanks for the kind words. I hope to get a lot more work done on this instrument this weekend.

The Doobie reference - You're thinking Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. he sat down almost all the time. He did lots of stuff with Steely Dan too.

[RocknDrTom]

Yesterday I was able to draw out the area I wanted for the electronics and route out the cavities.
I even took a picture!

Today I hope to cut the pickguard. Since the pickups will be mounted directly to the wood and not to a pickguard, I need less pickguard material. The "snakeskin" pickguard stock sitting behind the guitar in the picture just wasn't quite what I wanted, but I had it, so I was going to use it. By designing a smaller pickguard, I found a white pearl scrap that was big enough for what I now need. This will blend in with the position markers a bit better, hopefully making it look more unified.

[RocknDrTom]

A while ago, I mentioned cutting a bit off the headstock. I finally took a picture of that too, and you can see it sitting inside a normal bass guitar case now. It needs a bit more filling/sanding on the edge, then I'll redo the finish on neck/body all at once.

[RocknDrTom]

Next it was time to cut the shape of the pickguard out of the white pearl scrap that I had. Unfortunately, I didn't have access to my bandsaw. So I had to use a hand tool. I got out the coping saw, but the blade and/or the human component was not working smoothly enough. So I set the coping saw aside and went for the big gun. Well, smaller actually. I found the jeweler's saw blade and decided to cut it out like I would do when making inlays. I was surprised to see how quickly the jeweler's saw cut through the acetone-based plastic. Fast and smooth, but cutting that pickguard plastic sure did smell. I'll bet it's even carcinogenic so I didn't inhale too heavily.

Today I'll file the beveled edges and drill out the holes for the electronics. If I get snowed in, I might even solder up the components.

[RocknDrTom]

Looking at the remaining days of the year ticking away. I've been using TruOil on the wood. I've rubbed in about 3 coats so far and it's looking nice.
I've leveled the frets and crowned them, so they feel nice and smooth.
I've started installing some of the electronics to the pickguard, but I'm at a stand-still until the finish on the body and neck is ready to go. I'll have some time next week to concentrate. I just might make it under the wire!

[RocknDrTom]

tick tock tick tock

I probably could use a decent final sandingon the rough edges but optednot too. I've got hopefully the last coat of TruOil on (for this year). And it's currently hanging to dry.

[RocknDrTom]

okay. I procrastinated. I didn't finish it in the year 2007, but I got close.

I have 6 strings on it so far. I have to replace the bass ferrules now. I guess in some of the drilling processes, I widened the holes too much, and the strings pop right through them. Everything else lines up perfectly so far...

[RocknDrTom]

I set the intonation on the six strings currently installed. The instrument sits exactly on my lap as I had anticipated.

The bass ferrules are in transit and should be arriving sometime soon.

I've got one or two frets that need a bit of filing, but I'm a 6 1/2 hour drive from my tools. I hope to get them soon and finish this project!

[RocknDrTom]

Well, the bass ferrules finally arrived. I took them out of the package, and low and below, they do not work. The string holes are presumabley perfect for bass guitar strings, but much too large for the ball end of the set of strings I have.

So I guess I have to get a set of guitar ferrules for this to work. GGGGRRRRR.

I think Brenda has the record for the most clamps, but I hold the record for the longest time to complete an instrument. Why, that other company in California is SPEEDY compared to me. It's all a matter of perspective.

:-(

[traktor]

One of the problems with tapping instruments is that there are so many combinations of string arrangements, that it raises the question ...

Where will the bass strings go?

If this answer can be known in advance, then of course the provisioning of the extra-long strings for tapping instruments can become easy ... just put bass-sized balls on the bass strings and guitar-sized balls on the guitar strings.

But ... except in the case of an instrument which is built to accept bass strings in one way only ... when designing an instrument, this answer cannot be known in advance.

Therefore, IMHO, the best way to provision strings is to put guitar-sized balls on *all* of the strings. But of course this means that the instrument really should have guitar-sized ferrules everywhere. With that construction, the strings can ascend in any direction, and it can be strung crossed, uncrossed, in fourths, in thirds, in fifths ... whatever.

However, if you have an instrument where the ferrules have been forced/designed to have bass ferrules in one particular location, and you want to use available touch-style specialty strings with guitar-sized balls, there's a simple fix (kluge) ...

Go to the hardware store and buy some washers. The inner hole should be large enough to catch the guitar-sized ball, and the outer diameter small enough that it doesn't interfere with the washer on the next string.

Megatar instruments (and strings) are designed with guitar-sized balls. To the best of my recollection, Stick strings also use guitar-sized balls, and as best I recall, the Warr guitars I've seen use bass ferrules and bass-sized balls.

So when designing or building, unless you know, for sure and forever, exactly where the bass strings will be ... the most flexible design would be guitar-sized ferrules for all, so that all strings are interchangeable.

If you've already drilled out for bass ferrules, you might want to plug the holes with dowel and redrill for guitar-sized ferrules. If done nicely, it would probably look just fine.

[If you get a string too thick to seat fully in a guitar-size ferrule, or a string with a bass ball, then it will catch on the outer lip of the ferrule and become secure anyway. Looks silly but works fine.]

Just my 2 cents.

[lactose]

Seems like maybe you could put a washer or something on the string to make it work. Of course you may want a more elegant solution.

When I recently uncrossed my meg, I had to adjust saddles, change pickup locations (and still need to change nut), but ferrules worked fine.

[RocknDrTom]

thanks for the response guys and the insight. I guess I just assumed that the thicker strings would be typical bass strings and not have the small balls on them.
For the tapper, I've decided to go the "elegant" route and replace the bass ferrules with guitar ferrules.


Now that I have 4 bass ferrules, I guess I'm going to have to build a bass to use them on.

[RocknDrTom]

Well, I'm just about there. I drilled and plugged the holes from the bass ferrules, and mounted guitar ones. Now it's all strung up and I roughly set the intonation. I have a few frets to dress, and set the pickups and strings to the optimal height. then final intonation time. I also need to install the first fret damper.

The electronics are working correctly, and it's a bit quiet right now - of course the pickups are about 1/2 inch away from the strings. A few minor tweaks and I should be there real soon.

I'll need to get someone to take a picture of me holding it, the curved body fits perfectly to me when I sit.

Nearly there.

[GaryOpenhill]

Very nice. What does the 5 knobs do?

[RocknDrTom]

Hi Gary,
the top two knobs are volumes for the bass and melody sides
the three knobs in a row beneath the bass side are bass/mid/treble EQ boost/cut center-detent pots.

There's a small switch beneath that that switches between stereo out and mono out

The larger switch beneath the melody volume is a 3-way pickup selector.

[PhoBucket]

Tom,

Nice work. I like the pearloid pickguard. Have you considered submitting this to the "building the ergonomic guitar" blog?

[RocknDrTom]

Well, I never thought about that, but comfort really was considered in the design. Maybe I should submit it...

[RocknDrTom]

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. The instrument is "nearly complete" just a few minor setup tweaks. I just haven't gotten to it because life is moving in other directions. I think all it really needs now is a damper under the first fret.

Believe it or not, I'm contemplating selling it and moving on. I love building instruments more than sitting around playing them.
I'm not sure I'd ever find the time to play it properly, so I might pass it on to someone that wants it more than me. I need the gas money more right now.

[lactose]

Great job. The instrument looks really nice.

Does Tru Oil dry to a hard finish, like a poly, or more like a tung oil finish ?

[RocknDrTom]

I think TruOil falls somewhere inbetween. It definitely has a different feel that a lacquered instrument, but not as "slippery" as some of the oiled finished basses I've seen in music stores.