tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16769125585462771162024-03-13T19:20:11.863-07:00ShonkyMy thoughts on music, art, making music, making musical instruments and other stuff that I feel impelled to write about.Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-20722073001662953142016-07-07T06:01:00.000-07:002016-07-07T06:01:32.870-07:00Fender Japan Oddity <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have recently been selling a collection of guitars for a family friend who sadly passed away earlier this year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Among them was this fender Japan Stratocaster from 1989/90</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's not a lot of information about these hence why I thought it it would be good to write a blog entry on it. I have trawled the internet and what follows is a roundup of information I have found.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most importantly on the fender website "A limited number of these “I” series guitars were made in 1989 and 1990. They were made for the export market and have “Made in USA” stamped on the neck heel."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Along with various opinions in forums etc. so we know they exist and there are (a very few) pictures of others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The machine heads are the same as ones found on USA made Squier stratocasters in the 80's</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The body is solid wood Not sure of the type It looks like poplar but feels too heavy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The neck looks and feels like a USA neck. It has the truss rod adjustment in the heel. Maple and rosewood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The pickups and controls are MIJ ones mostly used on E series Squiers of the same era which where made in the same plant.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The Tremolo also is Typical of Japanese Squiers of that era. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My best guess these where made from overstocked parts from US and Japan and built for a budget line at the time. there are a few odd fender USA/Mexican/Squier japan/Korean hybrid mashups of this era in Fenders History. I have only sold a Mexican Fender Squier series guitar from the same collection which was a Mexican body and neck with far eastern import hardware.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I first saw this I thought it might be a fake or a partscaster at best. but the quality of the neck threw me off. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Despite this It played very nicely and had a nice warm tone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Any more information would be gladly received, The guitar is now sold. </span></div>
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-26924495351359427162016-04-15T12:29:00.000-07:002016-04-16T15:31:41.742-07:00ShonKy Cricket Bat guitar or Cricket Batar. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm not the first person to have built a cricket bat guitar. famously captain sensible sported one although not a real cricket bat I believe.<br />
I was asked If I could make one for a commission and I thought how hard can it be.<br />
as it turns out, not as straight forward as you would think. but as I was going to make one I wanted it to be a good one. <br />
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I decided on a tune-o-matic bridge and decided to go for a string through rather than a tailpiece as the posts would have been close to the edge of the guitar.<br />
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Most electric guitar bodies are a flat piece of wood whereas a cricket bat doesn't have a flat straight side apart from thankfully the edges. the back is curved with a ridge which expands about two thirds of the way down. the front is concave curve along its length and an arched top more arched than a les paul.<br />
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I managed to route out the neck pocket and humbucker cavity without much drama as I could hold the bat in my vice with the top of the bat at the same level as the top of the vice jaws and the templates rested nicely across these. <br />
My first couple of attempts at drilling the post holes failed miserably due to not being able to keep the bat straight under my admittedly woeful pillar drill. The distance was ok but the holes where at slightly different angles the bridge wouldn't sit on the posts. <br />
This meant I had to make some jigs to hold the bat steady so I cut v shapes into some blocks of old wood roughly sanded them so the bat sat in them without moving. a bit of double sided tape ensured a steady hold and managed to drill the holes perfectly after that. <br />
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I also had to fashion a block of wood to make the neck joint wide enough for the screws, create recesses for the knobs to sit in, and also shape the inside curve of the pick up ring to match the curve of the body. <br />
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One thing I forgot to take into account was the holes for the wires. The natural place for the controls are behind the bridge and the jack socket fits nicely at the bottom of the bat but having drilled the holes for the posts and the strings I then had to some how navigate the holes from the control cavity to the pick up route. first attempt I went through the post hole which wasn't a problem as I used that for the earth second attempt I managed to get past all the holes but missed the pickup cavity luckily without exiting through anywhere else. 3rd attempt was successful. I have a commission for another one and will probably go for a top loading bridge. maybe a wraparound type which would be simpler as a fender hard tail style will require a flat surface. . <br />
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Apart from those issues the remaining build was fairly straight forward and I really like the finished result Its very odd to play due to the small width and the ridge on the rear makes it want to lie slightly horizontally the best way is definitely on a strap fairly low strung. and it balances fairly well and I think I've knocked it over the boundary with this one :-D. <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-33388367315433936822016-03-14T14:55:00.000-07:002016-03-19T15:39:48.003-07:00The Homemade Instruments of Charles Birch <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Charles Birch Playing his first Homemade fiddle. </div>
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I am an occasional member of the Watchet Makers Club one of the first meetings I went to, I met an elderly fellow Called Charles Birch and we got chatting and realised we both make musical instruments. He let me have is number and invited me over but I lost the number which annoyed me greatly. Anyway a year later he called me out of the blue so I finally went to meet him.<br />
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Charles Birch is a very healthy 86 years old and started making Instruments In the 90's and is still kept busy with making and repairing and restoring folk instruments.<br />
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He makes fiddles, Cellos. Bowed Psaltery's, Ukuleles and upright double Basses. A friend of mine who I jam with has one of his Basses. It's a behemoth with an amazingly thumpy tone. <br />
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The first instrument Charles Made. A fiddle made from a chocolate Box. </div>
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Charles makes these with a few hand tools. They are all built out of recycled timber with bought hardware. <br />
They are solid as a rock and quite heavy but that doesn't detriment from the sound of them. Unfortunately I don't play fiddle or cello or bowed psaltery so my efforts where terrible. although The psaltery quite fascinated me. Charles kindly demonstrated his skill at playing them for me. and they sounded great, much better than you would expect . <br />
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Charles playing his Cello </div>
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A bowed Psaltery </div>
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Another Fiddle </div>
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Its great to meet a fellow builder of "homemade" Instruments and amazing to think he has been building ans successfully selling them regularly long before the current internet driven popularity. <br />
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Antony Moggridge<br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-45770921910539619722016-02-08T04:25:00.002-08:002016-02-21T11:06:49.163-08:00How to make an easy string Ukulele Bridge. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Following is a really easy method to make 2 bridges for your cigar box Ukulele or equally good for a normal Ukulele. This bridge allows for really easy stringing method by simply tying a knot in the end of your string and slotting them in the back. You could follow this method for bridges with any amount of strings and depending on the toughness of the wood May be suitable for steel strings too although Ive only used it for Ukes. P.S The dimensions are by no means set in stone feel free to make it smaller bigger. Its up to you. This takes about 1/2 an hour to make two bridges using a bandsaw A pillar drill, slot cutting bit on the pillar drill and belt sander This should be fairly straight forward to do with handsaws and a hand held drill. <br />
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First you need a Block of Hardwood approximately 90mm long by 25mm square This is Aformosia <br />
The next step is to mark cetre lines along one face this will be the rear or the bridge<br />
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And then mark a line approx. 10mm from the rear on either of the other faces which will be the top face<br />
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You can mark your saddle slot at this point to fit your saddle this one is 2mm from the front face and 2mm thick.<br />
On the rear centre line mark out your string spacing usually from 13 - 15mm these are 14mm<br />
Then extend those lines to the line on top face <br />
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Then 1mm in front of the line on the top face and at central points between the 1st and 2nd string line and 3rd and 4th string line mark 2 points. These will be the holes for your mounting screws.<br />
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Drill 4 10mm Holes on the centre point on the rear of the bridge 10mm deep<br />
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Cut your saddle Slots. either with a saw chisel or I use a thin rotary slot cutting disc on a pillar drill. <br />
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Cut the saddle slots to your required depth on both sides. You could probably just stick a fret or thin piece of saddle material on the top of the block forgoing the slot which can be a bit tricky without a slot cutting bit<br />
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At the points marked earlier on the top drill 2, 3mm holes right through the block</div>
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Then along the string centres cut 4 slots up to the 10mm line from the rear. </div>
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Then cut the block in half hey presto you now have two bridge blanks. </div>
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Then you need to sand the bottom just enough to get a flat surface</div>
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Then sand down the top so the Bridge is about 10mm thick You might want it a bit thinner or thicker to suit your particular build. You can leave the bridge square at this point or like I have on this one shape it. I do mine on a belt sander.<br />
You may need to slightly widen the 2nd and 3rd string slot to accommodate the wider strings. </div>
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Finally countersink 6mm holes into the mounting screw holes about 5mm deep. Enough for the mounting screw to be recessed below the surface. the hole can then be filled with filler or plugged with a dowell or for a really nice touch place a fret marker dot that matches the fret board in the top.</div>
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Finally fine sand and its ready to fit to your Ukulele</div>
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-564663958158253452016-02-07T12:41:00.002-08:002016-02-07T12:43:27.194-08:002 recent solid body builds Reclaimed Oak Slide Blues guitar and an LP SG Inspired Yew Body guitar <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
These two solid body electrics where completed recently for commissions. <br />
The first one is a solid body electric for mainly slide playing<br />
Its built from reclaimed oak with a Maple neck through and a bubinga neck. The body was based on a parlour guitar shape but with quite an extreme cutaway. <br />
The Customer wanted a Ry Cooder sound and wanted a goldfoil pickup as it happened I had a vintage Tiesco one in stock :-) <br />
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He also wanted a rough and rustic look with originally an old tin sign for the pickguard and control plate but as original tin signs are at a premium price and repros don't really cut the mustard I managed to source an old bit of sheet brass for the job. <br />
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It also features a Gretsch style filtertron pickup in the Bridge position The two are a bit mismatched output wise. I also decided on a hand carved german carve. <br />
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It Also features a comfort belly cut on the rear. <br />
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The second was another singlecut with LP and SG attributes and to date the most expensive guitar I've built<br />
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It Features a Body constructed of a Rosewood Centre Stripe with two Blocks of book matched Sapele then a rosewood pinstripe and English yew Wings.<br />
The set neck is Sapele with a rosewood centre stripe and Ebony finger board with a 24 3/4" scale length. <br />
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The Pickups are a Pair of "the Mule" Humbuckers from <a href="https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/" target="_blank">Bare Knuckle Pickups </a>The Bridge and tailpiece is from Gotoh and the Machine heads are Kluson. The pickups are well respected and truly delivery the expected sound and it's nice to get the chance to use Boutique British made pickups every now and then :-) They are individually coil tapped too. <br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-scJNF69jFVk/Vp6ZN6iI_vI/AAAAAAAAFy8/cC8iBARN7GE/s1600/Rear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-scJNF69jFVk/Vp6ZN6iI_vI/AAAAAAAAFy8/cC8iBARN7GE/s320/Rear.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ztkiWvIZ7V4/Vp6ZQJqu_EI/AAAAAAAAFzI/1Drv3b-O3Dg/s1600/front%2Blower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ztkiWvIZ7V4/Vp6ZQJqu_EI/AAAAAAAAFzI/1Drv3b-O3Dg/s320/front%2Blower.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Again it features a handcarved German carve which I'm quite a fan of it gives an extra Aesthetic line to the shape of the guitar. <br />
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Both went to very happy customers. </div>
Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-3497812934993138832016-01-27T12:19:00.000-08:002016-01-28T01:58:44.551-08:00Building a Cigar Box style Ukulele from a Firewood log<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My firewood delivery arrived back in December and amongst them where several square chunks of poplar So I thought I would challenge myself to build an instrument out of one.<br />
All wooden instruments start of with a log at some point but rarely builders actually start with one preferring to use pre processed wood that is already planed dimensioned to make less work. <br />
Here is the chopped log roughly 12" long and about 5" wide<br />
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First job is to process the wood so I cut as many 5mm thick slices as I could whilst still leaving a large enough block for the neck<br />
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After measuring the neck pieces I realised I had enough to make a tenor scale but had to scarfe joint the headstock on. The poplar is really nice to scarfe joint as it's pretty fibrous and grips really well so only 1 clamp needed. </div>
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Next was to rough shape the neck<br />
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So at this stage I have the neck blank top and bottom which are in two halves and the sides and enough left over for bracing. I decided to use a thin slice of mahogany for the fretboard for extra stability and a bit of contrast although I did have enough to make it out of the log. </div>
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I then glued on some sides to the headstock to increase the width <br />
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Along with the mahogany fretboard I decided on an Amazique bridge as the poplar wouldn't be strong enough for my design of bridge as the strings rest in slots. </div>
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Next was to sand the body panels and joint them together I only sanded them on the insides as it's easier to sand the outside once it's been made into a box. <br />
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The box construction is simply gluing little bars along the inside edges of the panels leaving a little recess for the sides to fit into (sorry forgot to take pics of this bit) Then clapming the sides down </div>
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The picture shows the top on here but that was only to hold it together as haven't put the bracing on yet.</div>
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Gluing the bracing you can see the inner frame that the sides fit into here. The bracing is simple I have no method really for a cigar box instrument my main concern it to re-enforce the top there is also the bridge plate that sits behind the bridge.</div>
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I made some dowels out of some of the poplar for the fret markers. (Unfortunately when I stained the uke these virtually disappeared) </div>
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So here is the neck Blank Mahogany fret board and Bridge all completed.</div>
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Next job is to glue the fretboard on (I always do this before shaping the neck).</div>
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Then final neck shaping</div>
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I cut an (not sure why but an egg shape took my fancy) sound hole</div>
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and glued the top on</div>
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Then once that was dry I sanded down the outside of the box thinning the top down to about 3mm</div>
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Here it is with the neck placed and bridge on to see what it would like completed. </div>
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Next job fretting the board and drilling the holes for machine heads</div>
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Once that's done its the job of gluing the neck on. Again sorry for the lack of pics but I glued in a rctangular block of poplar in the L shape of the heel and fret board and cut a slot in the top of the box to make a tenon joint. There is a heel block inside the box for this tenon to fit inside. A bar clamp to keep the heel against the body and a clamp to keep the fretboard on is all that's required.</div>
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To fit the bridge I drill two holes with a deep counter sink. Glue and screw the bridge. The screws go through to the bridge plate underneath the top. Then fill the countersunk hole with the rest of the dowell </div>
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1st stain going for my rustic aged look</div>
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2nd stain and coat of clear matt lacquer<br />
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I cut a corian nut and saddle fitted the machine heads strung it up(Sorry no pics again) and here is the finished Uke </div>
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And here is a video demo of the finished Uke</div>
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-4256670790411067752015-10-31T12:45:00.003-07:002015-10-31T12:53:59.950-07:00Fitting a Horseshoe Vibrato (Bigsby style) To a Telecaster. ShonKy Bedcaster<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Recently I made a Tele shaped guitar out of my daughters redundant cot bed. <br />
I basically laminated the thicknessed planks together and routed out the shape. The neck and all other parts where recycled and I put a new budget electrical control plate on. <br />
To get a quick sale and a bit of cash in the coffers I put it on ebay for auction.<br />
As with all my guitars I sell I offer to upgrade any pickups and parts and the buyer wanted a Bigsby style tremolo.<br />
There aren't many options for fitting one to a tele. You have the official Bigsby Unit with the replacement bridge and pickup plate which is beautiful and very expensive. (more than the guitar sold for) There is also the stetsbar unit which is pretty cool looking bit of kit but also very expensive. . <br />
Other options are taking the bridge off completely Making a separate plate to hold the pickup and fitting a TOM roller bridge or in this case adapting the bridge plate.<br />
This one had a top stringing bridge but with 6 individual strat style saddles. To have the strings going from the bigsby through the holes in the back and then through each individual saddle was going to cause no end of problems with the strings catching on all that. so I swapped the bridge for a 3 saddle plate and put some wilkinson brass compensated saddles on. I simply elongated the holes so the strings would pass freely through them without touching anything, attached the bigsby strung it up and hey presto job done. <br />
<span id="goog_4177791"></span><span id="goog_4177792"><img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0tRTYe4mkbs/VjUYO4_qEbI/AAAAAAAAFog/OpGfBg7YhzI/s912-Ic42/DSC07211.JPG" width="400" /><b><i><u><sub><sup><strike><br /></strike></sup></sub></u></i></b></span>
One final tip. the strings will rock the saddles when operating the vibrato Due to the sharp apex of the compensated saddle and the raised height of them causing a creaking noise I simply put a little touch of copper lube in between string and saddle which eliminated this. It would probably need to be done on a regular basis I expect over time the strings will wear a groove and it will be less of a problem. <br />
Anyhow guitar is with it's new happy owner now. Heres a couple more pics of the finished guitar.<br />
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<img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NWBr2y2hP04/VjUYT0ldKVI/AAAAAAAAFos/uUyeiQWUNjc/s912-Ic42/DSC07210.JPG" width="400" /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-79995891724778803842015-10-21T12:45:00.000-07:002015-10-21T12:45:45.749-07:00Tenor guitar No 7 with Demo. ShonKy cigar box guitar <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's been a busy couple of months here at ShonKy HQ<br />
I've mostly been working on several commissions for solid body guitars details of which will come later. In between that I have managed to build a few cigar box instruments to sell.<br />
One of them is this lovely little Tenor CBG<br />
The 7th Ive made now. <br />
I made the box on this one as had a bit of spruce doing nothing. The neck is Sapele with some unknown exotic hardwood for the fingerboard. Tenon jointed to the body. <br />
I decided on ovankol binding for the body and fingerboard too. Square fret markers.<br />
Spalted Beech headstock front and heel cap add just the right amount of interest to an otherwise clean and simple build.<br />
It's really lovely all round and sounds particularly good through an amp. Also very pleased with the F holes which I carved out with a dremel freehand. <br />
SOUnd demo is below the pics. <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-14534056887535448002015-10-03T13:30:00.000-07:002015-10-03T13:30:53.363-07:00Primitive Syle Diddley bow. 1 string cigar box guitar. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here's another recent commission completed.<br />
Its a 1 String Lefty. made in in a really primitive fashion. To get the effect The only power tool I used was a drill everything else was hand tools. <br />
Made from a vintage solid wood German cigar box and a left over stick of maple. I used a spokeshave to whittle the neck. <br />
A Friend gave me some Deer Antlers that I used for the bridge, nut and end pin/ string Anchor. <br />
I wanted to make a tuning peg out of the antler too but after spending a fair bit of time whittling one it just wasn't strong enough to withstand the stress so I resorted to using an classical guitar peg which I removed the button and replaced it with an Antler piece.<br />
the fret markers are roofing tacks. <br />
to finish it was give a coat of woodstain. (Ebony and Oak thinned with white spirit.) <br />
The last pic is of The new owner (Kev) who is very pleased with it. <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-91848710253065630122015-10-03T13:18:00.000-07:002015-10-03T13:18:53.058-07:00Another tenor guitar <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another tenor guitar the 7th so far. <br />
I made the box for this one from some left over spruce. I used some Ovankol binding left over from a previous fret board for the top of the box and the fret board. <br />
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This one sounds quite nice acoustically but not fantastically loud. it is fitted with a piezo and sounds particularly good through an amp with little of the hand noise transference you usually get so I'm pretty pleased with that.<br />
I'm also pretty pleased with the soundholes. Using a hand held dremel with no templates. <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-8522433939649779102015-09-15T12:23:00.001-07:002015-10-03T13:19:30.379-07:002 string fretless cigar box bass guitar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Its been a while since I posted anything (as usual) Mostly the summer holidays and getting a few commissions which has made me very busy. <br />
The latest creation is this 2 string upright bass commissioned by Gavin Lloyd Wilson of <a href="http://guitarz.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Guitars Blog</a> the second after the <a href="http://shonkyinstruments.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/double-neck-guitar-6-string-bass.html" target="_blank">Double neck</a> I built earlier this year. <br />
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SO here it is a 2 string fretless bass <br />
Made with a vintage cigar box, reclaimed maple neck with a lovely character grain Ovankol fingerboard.<br />
Split pbass pickups and jazz bass wiring. He also wanted to be able to play it in an upright position which makes sense as it will be so neck heavy. So I used a snooker cue. I removed the ferrule from the unused half which I them embedded into the bottom of the body the thin end then can be screwed in easily or removed for portability. It was an idea suggested by some kind folks on the cigar box guitar builders group on facebook. <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-88181952985838393602015-08-05T12:48:00.001-07:002015-08-05T12:48:39.697-07:00Tips and tricks Cleaning a really dirty rosewood fret board<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I thought I would start an occasional tips and tricks entry to share some of the things I have learned or developed myself to maintain, repair or get the best out of a guitar. </div>
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I recently took in this lovely vintage Japanese Zenta. It's is in very good condition but very dirty. especially the fret board which has a large amount of ingrained grubbiness as can be seen from the first picture here. Must have been a gardeners guitar.</div>
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Most would get the wire wool out on this type of dirt but the problem with that I find is you have to go across the grain and this will show scratch marks unless you use very fine wire wool which will take an age to clean this kind of dirt and unless you have very good fret work with no gap between fret and board I find it leaves tiny bits of steel wool fragments catching under the frets.<br />
I use a backed razor blade or a Stanley knife blade and gently scrape the dirt off. Moving between frets along the grain. at pretty much 90 degrees to the board You will find this very quickly and effectively removes the dirt. You will have some dirt compressed into the edges of the frets I use the very corner of the blade to slide right along the fret edge taking care not to dig into the wood. <br />
You shouldn't have to worry about damaging the wood as long as you are firm don't push too hard and be careful not to slip which is quite easy if you go too fast. <br />
If your fret board has wear or if it's shrunk a little and your fret dots are raised you can go a little harder taking the very top surface off the wood or dots off to even it up. Believe it or not all the dust in the picture below is just the dirt and maybe a little of the dots that where ever so slightly proud of the board. <br />
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Use a brush to brush off the dust and hey presto one clean fret board. </div>
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You can see som lateral scratch marks these are from a previous clean or maybe from the original manufacture. </div>
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I also dressed and polished the frets at this stage. </div>
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To finish it off I apply two coats of Danish oil thinned 50 - 50 with white spirit. This sinks into the wood brings out the grain very nicely. levels off the surface and dries to a hard durable natural finish which should last for many years.<br />
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Of course dirt like this can be avoided by washing your hands before playing and cleaning the fretboard with a rag after playing or at least every time you change strings. </div>
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-58655746229510512132015-07-12T13:28:00.001-07:002015-07-12T13:28:40.257-07:00Two Tenor Ukulele Commisions <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Just completed two tenor Ukes for commissions.<br />
The first one is a completely built body from birch ply with a spruce top<br />
I don't have the money to get or the space to have bending equipment so wanted to make a body that I can make without that isn't Square. I made <a href="http://shonkyinstruments.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/tenor-ukulele.html" target="_blank">This one</a> similar a while ago and this is a development of that. <br />
The Customer also wanted a highly decorated design with art nouveau patterns incorporating a design of a lady playing the Uke on the back. <br />
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The second is a commission from a customer who I built a cigar box guitar for a while ago. </div>
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He wanted a left handed electric tenor uke and gave me free reign on it :-) </div>
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I have been wanting to venture into resonators (Mainly as I have a potential commission to make one). but in the tradition of upcycling without using a bought resonator kit. The first one was the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1676912558546277116#editor/target=post;postID=7434353486955786554;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname" target="_blank">3 string firewood special</a> I built a couple of months ago using a polish tin which worked quite well. So I decide to build the Uke along similar Lines. The resonator for this is a Kettle lid. I routed out a round cavity which the lid fits into snugly. Bored a hole through the back as a soundport and screwed a hardwood bridge onto it. Considering the size it works remarkably well with a nice transistor radio sound acoustically. The pickup is a 60's Japanese red foil lap steel guitar pickup maybe a guyatone. .</div>
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-74343534869557865542015-07-03T13:31:00.001-07:002015-07-03T13:31:16.968-07:00Recent Builds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm finding myself very short on time recently especially to update the Blog so thought I would just post some pics of recent Builds. Some of which are available to buy from my<span style="color: purple;"> </span><a href="http://www.shonkymusicalinstruments.co.uk/products" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SHOP</span></strong></a></div>
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just click on a picture and it should take you to the web album for more. </div>
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Semi fretted 3 string cigar Box guitar. </div>
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3 String fretless cigar box guitar made from A cigar box with a chess board design. </div>
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Cigar Box Tenor Ukulele</div>
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6 string 24" scale Semi Acoustic cigar box guitar. </div>
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3 String Firewood special.</div>
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ShonKy Opus Thinline. </div>
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In progress are two Ukulele commissions. a Bass / guitar Hybrid and will be starting on a stick bass very shortly. </div>
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-64935233608381418272015-06-28T05:00:00.000-07:002015-06-28T05:37:34.258-07:00ShonKybox Electric Cigar box Tenor Guitar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I thought I would revisit my ornate scroll designs for this Tenor guitar using a vintage Grand Nica Cedar cigar box with reclaimed Elm wings. (complete with woodworm Holes). <br />
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Reclaimed quarter sawn Sapele neck.<br />
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2 pickups adapted from Pbass pickups <br />
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Book matched Spalted beach headstock facing, Pickup covers and heel plate.<br />
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Afromosia fretboard, 20 medium nickel frets and custom brass and aluminium fret markers. Aluminium side dots.<br />
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Brass tailpiece. Rosewood and Amazique Bridge.<br />
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12 Bore Cartridge Control Knobs <br />
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Finished with the ShonKy trademark Oil stain finish <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-67651157953514951662015-05-06T13:28:00.001-07:002015-05-06T13:28:32.251-07:00ShonKy Trashpunk Junkaster <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I made this one last year but never got around to writing a blog about it and feel it's worthy of it's own space on the internet.<br />
When I started making guitars I initially though I would make them all wiled and wacky however that hasn't happened nand hadn;t for a while. <br />
I had the need to make something a bit more artistic so hence the Trashpunk was born<br />
Made with Brass bits and some broken xmas tree lights and a neck with a broken truss rod lot's of copper wiring other metal bits and odd guitar parts. Some old pine and a part of an Ibanez copy body<br />
AS the neck was unfunctional as a standard guitar I came upon the idea of capo-ing 4 strings at the 3rd fret essentially making it a tenor guitar and having one bass string going to the headstock.<br />
The four strings are tuned to CGDA and the bass string tuned to C. The other Idea was to use an old microphonic pickup so I could get lots of sounds from the things I was going to stick on like the clock spring. I was almost going to fit a piezo pickup too but the kay is so microphonic there was no need. <br />
Once I had put it together I stained it to look grubby and worn.<br />
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The overall effect is post apocalyptic like something in a mad max movie. Turn up the amp with loads of gain and it sounds pretty apocalyptic too. tap the clarinet horn and the open strings just vibrate the clock spring and bridge really twang through the body too. and the feedback oh yes!<br />
Oh yeah and it lights up too haha. It was a nice alternative Christmas decoration on my wall over the festive period. <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-75192388274394558242015-04-06T13:36:00.003-07:002015-04-06T13:36:54.525-07:00Cigar box guitar. construction. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The beauty of cigar box guitars is there simplicity. and the simplest way to make one is to tack a long thin piece of wood to the lid of a box with some holes in. attach some strings and away you go. Of course you can go further to get the best out of an instrument. Construction methods vary from builder to builder and even my construction methods vary depending on each box I make a guitar from and what end result I want to achieve.<br />
This post concentrates on a 3 string fretted cigar box guitar with a magnetic pickup That I built for a commission. The customer supplied me with a pickup and chose the vintage Cuban box from my stock. <br />
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The first thing to do is to remove as much as possible the labels from inside the box that are in areas that will have other parts glued to them. It may be ok to glue on top of the labels but sometimes the paper is folded or may have thicker glue or might be old and not be actually adhered that well so I prefer to avoid the risk and go for wood to wood gluing. I use a chisels, scrapers and sandpaper. <br />
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Removing the inner labels. </div>
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I want to keep the inner lid label so I can cover the headstock. The way I do this is to soak a cloth or large flat sponge (I find J cloths work well) with water and sit the lid on with the surface you want to remove on the sponge/cloth. Leave it for a few hours (you maight want to check want to re-wet the cloth occasionally) and it should peel off relatively easily. You may need to just use a sharp edge to help separate the label as you can see I had to from the marks in the wood. The only downside is your lid will most definitely warp. Luckily for me this one hardly warped and went back to being flat once it was dry. Mostly it is not a problem as by the time you have braced the lid (if needed) and attached the lid back on the body it will be flat anyway. If it really warps you can put it to dry between two heavy pieces of thick wood with kitchen paper for a couple of days<br />
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Soaking the inner lid label</div>
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Off it comes.</div>
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Being electric I don't really have to worry about the acoustic properties. As it's fretted I do have to think about the stability and playability. Although the box is a fairly robust one made with 5mm thick wood it is quiet small and vary light so using offcuts I make corner supports to go inside the box and lid supports. There's no fixed rule I tend to make sure all the inner corners are re-enforced. Quite often cigar boxes are only tacked together with pins and will quite easily fall apart which is something you don't want to happen once it has been made into a guitar. Any that I add will aslo add weight which is welcome. <br />
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re-enforcement bracings. </div>
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In Place</div>
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Notice the area left for the jack socket. </div>
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Blocks for the lid to rest on. </div>
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This the sort of neck joint I make. The vertical slot is for the wall of the box to slot into and there is a little shelf which hopefull the lid will rest on. Further adjustments will have to be made throughout the process. I mostly always have a gap between the neck and lid as I feel it lends more of a semi acoustic tone. </div>
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Nice fit. </div>
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Using this method makes a much more secure join with no gaps into the box unlike a lot of cigar boxes that you see. </div>
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On to the neck which is a nice length of reclaimed quarter sawn Sapele. The pickup has a paduak cover so I thought It best to have a paduak fretboard to match. <br />
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I have inlayed position markers that cover the front and side at the same time killing two birds with one stone. Actually they are a bit fiddly. but look nice. I try to make them so the lower edge lines up with the bass string. <br />
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Here is the headstock with inner label attached. It has quite a long waist It leaves a nice bit of room to tie your strap to. remember to sand your fretboard to as fine a finish as possible before fretting as it's very difficult to do it afterwards.</div>
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I won't go into the fretting process here as it's a failry standard technique which is easily researched elsewhere. </div>
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The neck all glued in. Although this method is quite well thought out it is still never perfect. I use veneer shims to fill in any gaps. they are also usefull to make sure the neck is at the right angle both laterally and horizontally. There are also shims underneath this one as the neck is very flat and I will need to have a greater string break over the bridge. Notice the addition of 4 blocks of wood along the side. The lid is going to be screwed on to make it easier for accessibility to the electrics. also the addition of a cutout for the pickup in the neck.<br />
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The pickup supplied by customer. </div>
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All wired up. There is nothing special about the wiring. 1 pickup 1 volume 1 tone. Pickup wiring diagrams are easily available on the internet. <br />
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All that remains is to finish your guitar. My preferred method is Danish oil as a primer basecoat with a Spray matt lacquer. On this one I only applied oil to the Neck as it will badly discolour the labels. Then fit the hardware you want. string it up and play it. I'm not a fan of bolt or key bridges as I find they move about too much or rattle so I make my own floating wooden bridges. This one a has a shim which connects by two pins to raise the action for more dedicated slide playing. <br />
I also made a Brass tailpiece which leaves as much of the label visible. <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-3725262958005937732015-02-25T13:41:00.001-08:002015-02-25T13:41:18.380-08:00New Model for 2015. the ShonKy Bomber. Plankcaster type sustainable environmentlaly responsible guitar. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After spending the last couple of years developing the Novus and Mako as regular models I realised they are quite involved and for them to be at there best require new parts which was against my remit when I initially set up business. They are relevant to my business still as they still use reclaimed wood for the bodies. <br />
Over the course of a few years I have amassed a fair few parts like TOM bridges and control plates and broken scratch plates and old machine heads and lots of pickups. Pretty much everything you need to make a guitar but the trouble is spending time on a guitar which I'm not going to make any money out of when I go to sell it. <br />
So I have designed one that is super simple. Made from reclaimed or sustainable wood. re-used necks ands parts. the only new things will be the electronics and maybe small items like strap pins and screws. I also have to be able to sell it at a low price and make some sort of profit.<br />
I've called it the bomber for no other reason that I liked the name. <br />
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This is a great design I initially made one out of scaffold board but it was a little too warped and the geometry wasn't quite right so this one is made from 3 pieces of reclaimed pine with all the old saw marks and knots etc. It's actually pretty stable as it's quite old and had a nice ringy tap to it. <br />
This body shape is really waste free the only waste being the knee rest as the lower cutaway was already taken care of by a slight shorter length of wood. There is a chanfer to the top edge too for a bit of comfort. <br />
These guitars come<br />
The finish Is pretty green. Sealed with Danish oil then the aged stain effect is applied then it has two coats of matt lacquer which isn't ideal but necessary for this particular one for a nice finish. The aim wil be to have a just an oil finish if I can.<br />
These guitar will come with no BS attached just plug them in turn it up and play the damn thing! . <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-1960103053030410012015-01-31T12:16:00.000-08:002015-01-31T12:16:02.143-08:00Cigar box Ukulele and a 3 string cigar box guitar. oh and a warwick refinish. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This month has been fairly quiet. The post Christmas duldrum and being off work for a few days after my finger met the bandsaw (I'm very lucky to report was not too serious) Also a nice bout of Flu this last week has made it a reasonably unproductive month. I had two commissions one for a cigar box guitar and another for a 3 string cigar box ukulele to complete which I managed.<br />
I actually had both of these commissions before Christmas unfortunately I didn't really have any cigar boxes suitable so I had to go on a major hunt to find suitable ones. Since I have started it seems cigar boxes have become a bit scarce on EBAY uk and the ones that are there are becoming fairly pricey. where I used to be able to pickup a nice vintage box for 3 or 4 pounds they are now going more to the 8 to 10 pound and even more. plus the postage. In the end I won a joblot of 25 boxes from the USA of which 10 are really good for instrument making. Even with the postage and import duty it was still cheaper than buying 10 separate boxes from the UK. <br />
The box for the Ukulele I found On Ebay USA too.<br />
The 3 string is for a customer in Austria. he saw the last one I had made on facebook. a nice simple plain wooden box with a nice flat neck which can be played with a slide or like a fretless instrument and wanted one similar. <br />
It's only a small box but amazingly loud acoustically. and when it's plugged in Wow! <br />
I soaked of the label from the inside lid to put on the headstock as it was such an attractive one. It also has position markers on the fret board which show on the front as well as the edge. <br />
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The Cigar box ukulele is for a customer a bit closer to home In Wiltshire. She wanted a nice box with attractive labels on. I found this one on EBAY USA and knew it was perfect for the Uke.</div>
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It's actually a new box but has that vintage look to it with the embossed labels and Victorian style artwork. This one is without a doubt the best cigar box ukulele I have made. It really is not far off a standard Uke in terms of tone and volume and I will be keeping my beady eye out for more of these boxes. I tried out a different sound hole design with an X brace on the top which may have helped with the sound quality. </div>
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I Also managed a refin of a local chaps Warwick Bass which came to me in a plain finish which was looking a little tired. So it was given a transluscent red brown brown (Looks very red in the picture) coat. The plan was to finish it with a matt clear coat but as it looked pretty awesome with a bit of gloss decided to leave it like that. </div>
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<img alt="Photo: Warwick Bass Refinished and put back together." class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="300" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/q82/p526x296/10951912_10153017921594210_889188046169018593_n.jpg?oh=d1decb5b82177f5772bf70a5a415f12e&oe=55509357&__gda__=1431874200_6f9cd444a36df9f2e0d25620a8a9b65f" style="top: 0px;" width="400" /></div>
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-58683391304336830662015-01-07T12:01:00.000-08:002015-01-07T12:01:14.297-08:00Double neck guitar. (6 string + Bass) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In October of last year Gavin Wilson of the <a href="http://guitarz.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/doubleneck-guitar-and-bass-project-your.html" target="_blank">Guitarz</a> Blog posted a blog asking where He could get a cheapish double neck guitar with a 6 string and bass configuration with the bass on the lower part.<br />
I bravely stepped up to the mark and offered my services which where gratefully accepted. <br />
Gavin told me that he wanted something a bit jaguar jazzmaster type with a smallish body. concentric knobs individual switches for each part. He was to supply the necks and pickups and bridges.<br />
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The finalised design</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_1R-QIsVHM/VFz1Ysk_uAI/AAAAAAAAEU0/s8dRQ_SpQt8/s1600/GLW%2BDouble%2Bneck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_1R-QIsVHM/VFz1Ysk_uAI/AAAAAAAAEU0/s8dRQ_SpQt8/s1600/GLW%2BDouble%2Bneck.jpg" height="232" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mockup which doubled as a template. </div>
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2 piece centre jointed reclaimed Sapele. </div>
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Body shaped and routed. </div>
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The doner guitar neck. An old neck with a chopped headstock and rusty old open geared machine heads. I added an extra piece of maple and shaped it to my headstock design. The bass neck doner was a new Peavey neck which I reshsaped the headstock to match.</div>
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A normal strat body on top to show the size. Unlike most double neck guitars which are pretty much two guitar bodies joined together with resulting size and weight issues. </div>
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Scratchplate template made from clear Perspex. Just managed to squeeze it onto the blank scratchplate material. <br />
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Initial hand rubbed stain. I liked but I wanted to go for a darker tobacco burst so ended up doing a spry finish with a matt top coat. <br />
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Trying out the scratchplate and bridges. </div>
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Considering this was uncharted territory for me the whole process went reasonably without hitch. </div>
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The wiring to Gavin's request and to my liking of simplicity was volume and tone for each guitar with concentric knobs. selector switches and an on/off switch for each part. both wired to a stereo output rather than two seperat jacks. All is needed is a stereo splitter lead. </div>
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Here is the finished product. As you can see I've been making a little extra effort in the photography department.</div>
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It's almost identical to the original drawing with the exception of a slightly more rounder bottom which I didn't intend and only really noticed in the later stages. However when I put it on a stand I realised this was probably a favourable outcome as the only readily available stand it's going to fit on is an A type where the body is supported at the rear. too much of a slope would have it at a jaunty angle. </div>
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In Hindsight I thnk I would have made the body shorter by an inch or so. but as a design I really like it aesthetically and functionally. </div>
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-83664042354653752762014-11-20T12:28:00.000-08:002016-12-13T13:33:13.517-08:00ShonKy Competition winner. The Rubbachickatar. Rubber chicken tenor guitar.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Back in July I held a competition where the entrants had to design a guitar and I would build the winner. I only had 13 entries which was a little disappointing. I wittled them down to the 5 I thought where the most original and buildable within my budget then put them to a public vote on facebook. <br />
The winner was John McInnes From Glasgow who designed a tenor guitar in the shape of a rubber chicken. <br />
Here is his design.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IcAkh2opRO8/VG4YrcgUUdI/AAAAAAAAEXY/nG_SFciDORQ/s1600/Deano%2BDinosaur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IcAkh2opRO8/VG4YrcgUUdI/AAAAAAAAEXY/nG_SFciDORQ/s1600/Deano%2BDinosaur.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Laugh though you may It did throw up some challenges in the build. When I started to draw it out I realised the original design was a little out scale wise for a tenor, (More in keeping with a Uke) If I had kept to the relative dimensions it would have been huge so I had to really re-design the shape to keep it a manageable size, even then the shape was quite a handful as I didn't have luxury of a nice template. I made up a rough one out of some old plastic advertising board but it wasn't really firm enough to do a good job especially around the feet. It was good enough though. I also splayed the legs a little more to get a more flying V effect and I think it makes for a more comedic posture. <br />
Size wise It's not much shorter than a standard electric. The neck is a little long maybe I think it will look like it's been stretched rather amusingly when played. <br />
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I made it a neck through construction out of some Sapele with a maple fret board<br />
Another challenge was the headstock which is the chickens head how the hell do I get that looking like a chicken head whilst the same time incorporating the machine heads? I decided to construct a cover plate that would sit above the machine heads. It had to be the right shape and cover them completely with the machine heads still being functional. Although you can tune the guitar freely with the head plate It would have to be removed it to re-string but it is only attached by three screws.<br />
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I placed the jack socket on the rear. Although that may seem silly it doesn't come any where near the players body. I didn't want to put it on the front for aesthetic reasons The natural place would have been between the legs but there really wasn't enough room with the string retainer plate being there. <br />
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Anyone who is familiar with my work will know I don't really do painted finishes. If I do they are very thin translucent finishes so a solid colour finish is a new thing. This is where I ran into a bit of trouble as I decided to do a hand painted finish firstly which turned out terrible. So I stripped it all off and got the spray cans out which ended out to be much nicer although not perfect <br />
John is right handed so I moved the controls to the lower side. I also went for green chicken head knobs to match the green painted fret markers. .<br />
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The pickup is a nice little 4 pole cigar box guitar pickup that John kindly supplied. <br />
So It's all built and strung up how does it play and sound? Actually it's quite nice to play the body has a natural knee rest and is nicely balanced. I have left the fitting of strap pins if required up to John. The neck is a quite chunky C profile so sits in the hand nicely. John is mainly a slide player so it it has been tuned up to open D with a fairly high action. The Little pickup delivers a really pleasing tone Nice and crisp on a clean setting with a tight overdriven tone with gain. <br />
It has now flown the coup and on it's way north of the border. I have been informed that it will be maing it's performance debut on the 13th of December at <a href="http://www.tickets-scotland.com/events.html?event_method=viewevent&event_id=96e1cc50-5872-11e4-9143-22000b2f8c8d" target="_blank">Savifest</a> at the the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow. With Johns band Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5. <br />
I'm pretty happy with it I only wish that I had better painting equipment alas space and money don't allow me this luxury. <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-47712231446964046982014-11-05T14:12:00.001-08:002014-11-05T14:12:11.093-08:00A Cigar box tenor Ukuele and an electric solid body steel string tenor ukulele.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The latest offerings are these Tenor Ukuleles.<br />
Pretty much completely handcrafted. Particularly pleased with the Cigar box Uke's neck. <br />
The electric uke has a slightly odd shape as it was made up on the fly. Freestyle! <br />
Both are available from my <a href="http://www.shonkymusicalinstruments.co.uk/" target="_blank">Website</a><br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-89134699743714639352014-10-04T03:39:00.000-07:002014-10-04T03:39:34.464-07:00Buzz's Suitcase Bass<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last year I bumped into a friend I hadn't seen for several years and we got chatting. turns out he has been making guitars out of scrap and cigar boxes etc he was equally surprised when I told him I do it for a living. <br />
He popped around the other day with his latest creation. a suitcase bass. and pretty cool it is too. <br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-79357239594716108122014-08-31T14:03:00.001-07:002014-11-21T13:39:56.556-08:00And the Winner is<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The recent ShonKy competition has now closed.<br />
The guitar I will be building is the Rubbachickitatar.<br />
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I will post updates of the build so keep watching if you want to see it! :-)<br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1676912558546277116.post-42942275774511601132014-08-09T12:54:00.000-07:002014-11-21T13:39:23.188-08:00Two latest cigar boxes. A tenor guitar and a 2 string fretless cigarbox guitar with a magnetic pickup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The two latest instruments from ShonKy are this 4 string tenor guitar<br />
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The box was found at a carboot sale by a friend who thought I would like it. It's fairly modern by my usual standards but as soon as I saw it I saw it had to be a tenor guitar.</div>
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I tried out a new tailpiece design on it which works a treat and looks really nice and is reasonably easy to make.</div>
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Other firsts on this one are a radiused fingerboard and stainless steel frets. to be fair you don't really notice the radius on a small fingerboard like this but the fret wire comes pre radiused! </div>
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I also decided on the addition of a forearm rest to protect the arm from the fairly sharp edge and to bring the hand forward a bit as the bridge is fairly high.</div>
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It's been snapped up by a buyer in the Netherlands.</div>
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The second one which at the time of writing is still available is this very diminutive 2 string.</div>
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It has a very small mahogany wills whiffs box sapele neck with a lovely smooth and flat Afromosia Board. Volume control with one of my 12 bore control knobs. The string ferrules are made from the primers in the cartridges. The pickup is 1 half of a modified pbass pickup. the plastic cut down rounded off and a wooden top added. The strings pass between the poles and it is height adjustable. Anyway it rocks. I'm tempted to make my first demo video featuring this one as it is pretty impressive how it sounds.<br />
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Antonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07074911783665849229noreply@blogger.com2