Obligatory music thread

[Anonymous No.185398]

DIY instruments, acoustic, analog, synths (and digital?) all welcome. Schematics and plans, how-tos, books and videos, demonstrations and bragging!

Couple links (about guitar making):
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/page/free-plans
>Free plans for cigarbox guitars/ukes

www.youtube.com/user/OBrienGuitars
>Awesome guitar maker shows professional, in-depth how-to videos from start to finish - he also offers an even more in-depth online course for a fee

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLCJmaAXhnE
>beautiful videos on the process of making a violin, less of a tutorial and more of a demonstration, but a wonderful watch anyway

Demonoid has some good books on guitar making, both acoustic and electric, I can make a list and upload some if anyone is interested.

>pic related, what I wish to accomplish

[Anonymous No.185466]

http://europa.spaceports.com/~fishbake/
Must-have link for everyone who like to get very DIY about their guitars. Anything from homemade print circuits to pickups and amps.

[Anonymous No.185480]

I made a banjo out of a hubcap once. It was pretty fun. These tutorials are pretty good.

If you're going to be working with a custom scale, learn how to do the math behind it, and figure out the distance from your bridge to your nut to figure out the distances you'll need.

Also, be sure to reinforce your neck. Made my first one out of rather shitty wood, and it snapped after about a month of pressure.

[Anonymous No.185505]

>>185480
There's a program called Wfret that can calculate fret distances down to .1 milimeter. Thing is, it can also be used to learn about scale lengths.

But how do you reinforce your necks?
Is it enough to just stuff an steel rod into it or is it so important for it to be an actual purpose-made truss rod...?

[Anonymous No.185506]

>>185505
Also, how important is it to be able to access the truss rod? Seems like people only fiddle with the truss rod if they want to postpone a neck reset?

[Anonymous No.185754]

http://www.bsidebeats.com/how-to-make-a-plate-reverb/

We did this in my college today. It sounds brilliant.

[Anonymous No.186322]

>>185754
>sounds brilliant
I see what you did there.

I guess this is the thread to post in: If I were to reset a glue-in neck, how would I go about that?
I can figure as much as seperating the back or front to access it.

[Anonymous No.186387]

>>185466
Wow, I came to /diy/ for the first time because I was going to ask for advice on how to build my first electric guitar and I find this. Thank you for the link, I really appreciate it.

Had to get that off my chest.

One more thing though to anyone who has built a guitar neck before. When it comes to inlays, how big can/should they be and will larger inlays have any effect on the durability of the neck/fretboard?
I've already made a 3D model of the guitar I want to build and the inlay is basically a graphic stretching across the whole fretboard. Is that possible or should I just paint it on or something? I'd prefer doing an inlay, as it looks better and... feels like the right thing to do.
(Though I'm probably unaware of how hard it is to actually build a guitar for someone who has never done anything similar...)

[Anonymous No.186418]

>>186387
If the inlay is properly done, it should have no effect on the fretboard - there shouldn't be any tension on it anyway, except from that of the fingers of course.
I don't believe I've ever seen inlays in the neck itself, but I imagine it'd disturb

Definitely make a practice guitar first, either out of cheaper materials or less demanding plans - and practice your inlays otherwise. Practice makes master.

[Anonymous No.186431]

This is a guitar my friend made when he was 17. Impressed the shit out of me. Plays extremely well.

[Anonymous No.186433]

>>186431
Wow, that looks smooth as fuck.
Are all the control on the side?
Kinda sad the pickguard obscures the one inlay, but it matches better than most "pro" golpeadores.

[Anonymous No.186443]

>>186433
Its actually just an acoustic arch top.

[Anonymous No.186446]

>>186443
Oh...
Well, still looks smooth as fuck. I'm gathering it wasn't his first?

[Anonymous No.186447]

Piezo-electric pickups, anyone? Best cost-to-grunge ratio around.

[CBGuy No.186450]

Yeah, I was wondering about building my first cigar box guitar. On a scale of 1-10, how hard is it?
I have a bit of experience with wood and I have all the tools for wood. However, I have very little/none experience with wiring/electronics. And no experience building guitars. I have access to tools, so that's not a problem.

I'm mainly concerned about pickup configuration and making/fretting the neck. I'm worried about fudging the frets up, and making the guitar unplayable. I also want to try wiring both a piezo transducer and a passive pickup, like you would find in a regular guitar.

Basically, I need help.

tl;dr: want to build cigar box guitar, never done it before, give me tips, yeah

[Anonymous No.186451]

>>186446
It was the first guitar he made with the CNC router that he also made. He made a bass before this and a short scale Rickenbacker copy but this was his first full scale guitar.

[Anonymous No.186452]

>>186451
I'd say that boy's got some talent.
I take he it still does custom guitars?

[Anonymous No.186454]

>>186452
Yeah kids going places and I'm really proud of him. And he doesn't take orders anymore I don't think, which is why he built the arch top. I believe he's currently making an acoustic. Here are a couple earlier projects.

[Anonymous No.186455]

>>186450
If you "fudge up" the frets, you just take out the already installed frets and make a new fretboard if the mistake can't be salvaged with, say, CA glue and sawdust.

Just wanted to say that.

[CBGuy No.186456]

>>186455

Again, I have no experience with making/fretting necks. It's safe to assume nothing, I am here to learn.

[Anonymous No.186461]

>>186456
I trust you know what a fretboard is if you're even considering making a CBG.
Before you put the fretboard on the neck, ready the join-ins for the fret wire. If you accidentally cut off the marked out line, just fill the gap with "Homemade MDA" as described above and try again, double checking with your plans.
If you cut too deep, the same is true. If you cut to shallow... just cut deeper, dude.
As with any fine tuning, take a bit at a time instead of trying to do it all at once. If you need a 1/32 deep groove, don't try to cut 1/32 in one go. Cut 1/8, then down to 1/16 etc. until the hole is nice and snug. Filing the sides is a good idea if the fret wire is a bit thicker than your saw.

A program like Wfret can make a printable template for fret-marking real easy, just enter the length in inches or millimetres from the nut to the bridge and the number of frets (depending on size and length, it's typically between 18-24, but this depends on where you put your soundhole.

Really, all of this is information available at CBnation, link in the OP.

I know there's one dude who's made a real good walk through video series of making a CBG on youtube, whisk0r I believe his channel is. Check that out too.

[Anonymous No.186464]

>>186461
I should just stick to milimetres.
I clearly don't understand inches and fractions.

[CBGuy No.186467]

>>186461

I've seen a lot of people use the neck as its fretboard, is that recommended or preference? I'm leaning more towards that option.

I have checked out several CBG websites, but I wanted my personal questions answered, so sue me. I came to 4chan.

I was aware of wfret and was planning on using that to determine fret spacings. (one of the things I did pick up from various CBG sites)

I'm still wondering about wiring both piezo electric and a standard passive pickup together.

Also, I was gonna make a couple soundholes. (maybe even F holes).

[CBGuy No.186472]

BUMP

[Anonymous No.186476]

>>186467
1st question: Not at all recommended. This means that if you fuck up the fretboard at any point (even after it's finished) in a way that makes it unsalvageable, you'll have to change the entire neck which is much more work than making a new fretboard and basically just gluing it on.

I totally understand that you want your questions answered, but a lot of them could be answered with simple research.

About soundholes, if you're gonna do soundholes any different shape than round, consider setting up some bracing to make up for the loss of support. For a CBG, this isn't the greatest of arts, and not at all a problem if you're gonna electrify it anyway - for example, if you make two F holes, one on each side of the soundboard, a simple X from corner to corner should do the trick.

As for wiring, I cannot help you, I have a dog who does that for me.

[Anonymous No.186516]

>>186418
Thanks for answering.
An inlay in the neck does sound weird. I've never considered that, probably should've worded that differently.
A practice guitar with cheap wood sounds like a good idea. Someone with some experience told me to use multiplex wood because it's more durable. Is that common or a bad idea? I don't know anything about wood and I'll have to learn all the sawing and sanding and all that. At least I won't have trouble when it comes to wiring, though that's probably the easiest part.
Any info on how much this would cost me? I'm sure it depends on the wood I use, and I'll probably borrow the required tools from someone. I just need a general idea on what "not shit"-quality wood costs me. I'm a student on a low budget, but don't want to build it from cardboard, if you know what I mean.

[Anonymous No.186538]

>>186516
Multiplex wood is a good idea in that it's cheap and durable.
However, I can only imagine it would sound like absolute crap, especially if you're making an acoustic (or semi-acousic).
Usually, guitars are made from hardwoods like rosewood, Spanish cedar or maple, all of which can be quite expensive. As far as I know, maple is the cheapest of those three, but you could probably find some hard spruce if you ask around, which while not optimal, would make for a good piece to practice on. Some violin makers swear to spruce woods.

For the practice guitar, you might as well find some spruce or just use multiplex if you're making an all-electric one. Beg and borrow tools, of course, no need to shop for a one or two time thing - when you get to your third guitar and are still having fun, you should begin to consider getting your own tools.
I can't really tell you how much this will cost you, because wood prices change depending on localities. If you live in Spain, Spanish cedar is relatively cheap, but in Britain it'd be quite expensive because of transport etc. Kind of a poor example, but you get what I mean.
I'd recommend at least 100€ ready for wood, more if you can afford it. A buffer zone is going to be your friend if you utterly fuck up, say, a neck piece.
Some guitars are assembled from several pieces, mainly regarding the neck. A bolt-on neck makes it easier to access and adjust the neck if needed, and a seperately produced headstock likewise makes for a greater chance to be able to fix errors - at the expense of strength of the neck, so you might want to look into truss rods as well.

[Anonymous No.186709]

>>186538
I believe Danelectro's are made from plastic and multiplex.

Still sound nice.

[Anonymous No.186799]

>>186709
>>186538
Thanks for all the info.
I'm still far away from building an awesome guitar, but you guys have brought me closer to my goal.
This board is awesome and I'll certainly come back with many more questions when I'm stuck somewhere.

[Anonymous No.187123]

>>185398
yo OP
how bout dem torrents?

[Anonymous No.187196]

>>187123
Sure! This is a list of all the books I got, just name the item and your price!

Most of these are about electric guitars and effects, but there are some about acoustic guitars, of which I'd recommend Roy Courtnail's "Making Master Guitars," which gives a really great insight in Antonio de Torres' manufactory.

[Anonymous No.187245]

>>186799
>>186799
>>186799
Imagine my luck. A video from fucking José Romanillos about spruce!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQXjQZgIVag

[Anonymous No.187251]

Hmm, any synth makers on this board?
I kinda wanna know what you can do from scratch and stuff, instead of buying those synth kits.

[Anonymous No.187398]

https://www.youtube.com/user/michaeljking

[Anonymous No.187411]

>>187251
Do you have a piece of gear that you can use as a controller like a CV keyboard or theremin?

[Anonymous No.187421]

>>187411
Eh, CV? No idea. I have a keyboard, but it's in relatively good condition and is my only key instrument, so I'd rather not fiddle with it.
I do have an old MPD (poor man's MPC) which is broken, but it has a lot of nice knobs, and I can only imagine it to have tons of wiring inside. It also had a display that might be good to have.

I meant more in general, like, what've people on here made from scratch?

[Anonymous No.187428]

>>187421
There's a ton of Arduino builds for MIDI. I dunno about synth emulations, but simple controls like CVs, velocities....all that stuff is pretty easy to build. An Arduino, MIDI shield, piezo, and some lines of code you can copy/paste into the arduino from any number of online sites will build a rudimentary drum pad with velocity sensitivity. I think the standard Uno can handle 4 pads alone...then you run that right into your computer. Since you can tell the Arduino to use other inputs, the sky's the limit on input > MIDI. optical sensors, audio sensors, accelerometers....all this stuff is almost plug and play.

[WillyTheDisk !!W4ldCS0N1db No.187429]

This is my infrequently updated blog:
Penderguitars.blogspot.com
I'm currently working on some ukuleles.
>>185506
That's not what a truss rod is for. The truss rod corrects the straightness of the neck, it should never be used to correct action. I've seen people lower saddles a shit ton to make up for a poor neck set, but you're going to lose volume if you go too low.

[QAeternus No.187508]

>>187421
Control Voltage. Analog control system so you can make a modular setup like the earlier pic. Make that be your first DIY project then. A MIDI/CV interface, you can use an arduino for that.

[Anonymous No.187525]

Thought about making a thread for this, but hopefully it'll be alright if I ask in this one. I just bought a Fender Uke for about $20-it's scuffed on the bottom, and the front part is separating a bit. I'm not sure if it's the strings or that problem, but it sounds really dead when I attempt to play it. Any ideas on how to fix the separation?

[Anonymous No.187539]

>>187525
Post pics of the separation. Do you mean that the top is peeling back?

[Anonymous No.187541]

Built a clone of the Minimoog VCF recently. Going to start work on some more modules soon but I'm currently building a spring reverb unit of my own design. Will post it as soon as I'm done.

[Anonymous No.187544]

>>187251
Build a MIDI to CV interface if you have a midi keyboard. Then I'd suggest that you built a VCO and a VCF, get an oscilloscope to test them.

[Anonymous No.187575]

>>187429
My point exactly, but then why would you ever need to access the truss rod given that it's set up correctly when the guitar is done?
And again, can a simple steel rod be substituted for a professionally manufactured truss rod?

[Anonymous No.187914]

>>187245
I checked through this channel, and they have A LOT of really good material, very extensive professional advice about even the most minute of details on guitars and there's some stuff abou effect pedals as well.

[Anonymous No.187927]

Anyone have any experience with resonator guitars?
I'm having a hard time finding good how-tos and stuff, but I suppose they are the hardest guitars to make.

[Anonymous No.187931]

How would one modify a Korg Monotron for MIDI input? I love the sound I get out of it, but that fucking ribbon gives me a headache.

[Anonymous No.187994]

>>187927
actually, I don't think they are. The guitar body isn't the sound maker so you can craft it out of whatever you got. Also, the necks tend to be really thick for lap-steel, so you can either buy a cheapo bolt on for upright playing, or BYO and not worry about the thickness and contour so much. The resonator itslef is probably as simple as a couple hubcaps or something...

it's an old southern blues instrument. they could not have cost much.

[QAeternus No.188004]

>>187931
You're better off putting in CV. The control voltage will adjust the VCO which is what the ribbons and keys do already. A midi-CV adapter is an essential tool for any synth operator.

[Anonymous No.188031]

>>188004
where do how build

Seems like the converters are awfully 'spensive.

[Anonymous No.188037]

>>188031
http://www.paia.com/proddetail.asp?prod=9700K
This is superior unit to practically all of the retail ones.
What you would have to to do your keyboard is find where the ribbon connects to the VCO and add a jack into that signal path. Connect the jack to the CV source such as the unit above or a moog or whatever.

[Anonymous No.188051]

>>188037
>$120

I'm too much of a cheap bastard to get that shit.

Think this'll work?

http://beatnic.jp/monotron/midi-kit.html

[Qaeternus No.188055]

>>188051
It looks ok.

I think the schematic for the PAIA unit is on the website. The kits are overpriced, but their designs are good. You can build it yourself. If ALL you want is to MIDIfy your Korg, then fuck it, but this is a good unit that will come in handy later.

[Anonymous No.188060]

>>188055
same shit in COLOR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZlY60voZVs&feature=related

[Anonymous No.188168]

>>187994
Well, obviously the shape of the resonator (cone) is tremendously important, but here's the thing: the cone has to basically be free floating, so in a hollow body guitar, there's got to be some sort of extraordinary bracing to keep the guitar from crumbling inwards.
That said, I did see a dude who I think made a resonphonic from a toilet seat.

[Anonymous No.188172]

I built my own guitar not too long ago

I've been using it to record some of the newer songs my band is working on
http://soundcloud.com/palettetown/sets/scratch/s-JHo9e

[Anonymous No.188173]

>>188172
here's the end product

and my band's fb page
https://www.facebook.com/PaletteTown.Music

[Anonymous No.188181]

I made this document the other day. Some engineer friend invited me to come up with some ideas for a music/technology project we can request money from our university for. I came up with this, which I have been slowly working on/thinking about for a few years now.

I think I am going to do it, regardless of what my engineer bro thinks. It will probably cost me $400 to $600. I will probably search around and look for money, maybe from kick starter, or some grant or something.

I am curious what /diy/ thinks.

[Anonymous No.188182]

As an experiment, I've considered making an electric guitar, but how much stuff would I have to get for it?
I'm talking parts, not tools. Would I be able to make a bridge and a saddle myself? I was thinking about using a spatula but I don't know if that would be able to hold the strings.

[Anonymous No.188184]

>>188181
TL;DR but I'm still kind of interested...
If the idea is that the note is not predefined, but based on variance (poorly worded) then it's been done before.

[Anonymous No.188185]

>>188182

For you, and really everyone, this website is useful:

http://windworld.com/

They have a lot of good parts. Things like fret wire, and fret saws.

As far as stuff like the bridge and saddle. I have been pretty successful in my home made attempts. I made a guitar where the bridge was a 1/4 inch copper rod embedded into a block of wood that rested on the body. Works great. The strings then led down into a another device made up of copper and wire that held the strings.

>>188184

The tone is predefined. They are defined as the ratios labeled on the keys. But anyway, intonation in this was has been done before, maybe not these exact tones.

[Anonymous No.188195]

>>188185
Thank you, I'll be reading up.
So basically I should just experiment? Because I'm pretty much up for that!

Another question, considering steel strings are, duh, steel, will they respond in the same way to a pickup as strings made specifically for electric guitars? Besides the huge difference in price around here, I imagine "acoustic" steel strings would create less tension than electric guitar strings.

[Anonymous No.188198]

>>188185
But how is that, in practice, different from labelling the keys on a keyboard?
And is there a remarkable or unique new sound?
Excuse me if I'm being retarded, but I'm having a hard time seeing the "new" feature to this.

[Anonymous No.188204]

>>188198

The tones on a piano are totally different. On a piano, each key is 2^(1/12) higher in frequency than the one before it (if A = 440, then A# is 466.1637615). On my machine, the tones are all the given fraction higher in frequency.

Its not a new way of doing things, but its definitely different from how things are currently done. Its how things were done for a huge majority of history but now has been largely forgotten.

I guess what is truly original is the arrangement of tones at the user's disposal. I am pretty sure these 28 tones have never been used before, and this organization of keys havent either. Thats original, but I dont consider that to be a particularly relevant detail.

As for the sound, if everything comes out as I am designing it to, will just be pure sine waves. Very clear and simple. Nothing new in that regard. I think pure sine waves might prove to be unideal, it is easy to screw with that after the fact. But again, things like timbre I consider largely irrelevant. The important detail is the tones.

>>188195

Yeah experiment if you want to. One of the cool things about building your own stuff is the freedom to make it anyway you want. My guitar at home was built with only four strings for example.

>Another question, considering steel strings are, duh, steel, will they respond in the same way to a pickup as strings made specifically for electric guitars?

Hmm, I think so. I am not sure. Are you just worried about price?

[Anonymous No.188248]

>>188204
Price and tension. I can only imagine strings for an electric guitar, when tunes properly, create a ton more tension than those made for a hollow body Western.

[Anonymous No.188253]

>>188248
nope.

Your "average" six string electric is strung with 9's, or .009" diameter string on the high E. Your average acoustic's strings usually are more on the order of 12s or 13s. more string = more tension when tuned. It's very apparent when trying to bend a note on the two different string sizes and what would deflect an electric guitar string barely moves the acoustic.

I'm not taking into account 7/8/9 string guitars, or slack tuning...just a comparison between a stock acoustic and stock electric.

[Anonymous No.189040]

Don't mind me, just bumping so we won't get a dupe.