DIY projects?
Got any DIY projects?
With the price of music equipment being what it is, it's just more practical (in some situations) to Do It Yourself.
So, here are a couple that I've done....
I took an old Crate 2x10 amp that crapped out and gutted the speakers, then I made an oversized cab out of 3/4\" birch ply. It's very bass heavy, but it compliments my opened back 1x12 perfectly (ran stereo w/ a behringer PA)
here is a Ludwig snare that I found in my dad's junk pile. I took this thing and turned it into an electronic snare for my Alesis kit using a tutorial I found on the web.
this: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Electronic-Drums/
notice the \"ride cymbol\" on the right. (the square wood pad) This is another DIY project based on this tutorial:
http://www.electronicdrums.com/pads/pads2.htm
EDIT: also the 3rd bass drum, this isn't being used though
With the price of music equipment being what it is, it's just more practical (in some situations) to Do It Yourself.
So, here are a couple that I've done....
I took an old Crate 2x10 amp that crapped out and gutted the speakers, then I made an oversized cab out of 3/4\" birch ply. It's very bass heavy, but it compliments my opened back 1x12 perfectly (ran stereo w/ a behringer PA)
here is a Ludwig snare that I found in my dad's junk pile. I took this thing and turned it into an electronic snare for my Alesis kit using a tutorial I found on the web.
this: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Electronic-Drums/
notice the \"ride cymbol\" on the right. (the square wood pad) This is another DIY project based on this tutorial:
http://www.electronicdrums.com/pads/pads2.htm
EDIT: also the 3rd bass drum, this isn't being used though
Comments
I useta do all sorts of DIY stuff back in the day (when I had no money :oops: ), but never anything this sophisticated.
Then again, when I was doing that stuff, the internet was an itch in Al Gore's pants... :shock:
But I must say ... isn't that capo way to wide for your guitar neck? Maybe you can make a smaller one?
I have no junk yet, everything still works. But it is funny how you started this thread..... I have been pondering putting out notices for any unwanted guitars an amps tp hone up my luthier an amp repair skills......
Anymore diy articles in the future would be cool, thanks
These are pictures of the main gouging of the wood. I will post pictures of the finished result after smoothing out anything that looked odd in the original scallop. Now it looks and plays incredible.
I recently found on of my Les Pauls on the floor (luckily the Epiphone) and when I put it back on the guitar rack, I found the classic LP crack in the back of the neck. I was livid, and told my kids that their friends are NOT allowed to touch any guitars. If it was my Gibson, there would have been hell to pay, but I really don't worry about the EPI.
I have 2 choices, get it fixed, or just do it myself and learn something from it. So, I placed a small screwdriver into the crack to slightly expand it, and clued it. I clamped it down and left it overnight.
The next morning I started hand sanding it until I couldn't feel the slightest imperfection. Then came time to paint it. I couldn't find the exact color to match, but I did find a Rustoleum red lacquer that I could work with.
I sprayed the neck, but it was too red. I grabbed my Rustoleum black lacquer and sprayed both at the same time with the black about 6 inches further from the neck. The result was fantastic.
I can't stress how great it feels to do something yourself. You will learn from it, and you will also lose some of that fear everyone has that they will break something. Losing that fear has allowed me to become a better player because I've crossed that boundary of worrying about breaking something.
DIY projects RULE!!!
Also, nice fret job on that Strat ednrg. I always wanted to do that to a guitar from the 12th fret up. Would you recommend that, or is it worth it to do the whole thing?
It actually makes you play lighter, thus faster and cleaner, because it forces you to use a lighter touch. It completely ruined me because I hate playing strats that aren't scalloped. I feel like I'm missing something.
Hope I find it just very cool and not get ruined though :shock:
Does the depth matter? Or is it a personal preference thing?
I find that I am able to play much cleaner and faster on a scalloped neck. I also find that I have a better bending technique, because I get a better grip on the string.
But your results may vary.
If you attempt this, make sure you tape the frets multiple times with masking tape. I went a step further by creating 2 guards made from duct tape surrounded by masking tape. The duct tape is much thicker and gives you an extra layer of protection. You don't want to scratch any of the frets. You can see the 2 tape guards in some of the pictures.
The extra protection allowed me to use a dremel to do most of the rough gouging, that saved a ton of time.
guitar3456 .. liked that lp vid.. Here I was thinking I would have to get a spray gun and the stuff now comes in spray cans 8)
Anyway, a few days ago I decided to actually do something with it. Here are the results:
I did this one pretty hastily, and just threw it together. but it is just an open back cab, so I'm not too worried about the tone. Also, the painting isn't finished and I still need to mount the jack.......I'll give a final judgement once I actually get to use it
The price quotes I got for having these cables custom made was $16 each. I need 8 of them. Figure that at about $128 before tax for the custom built cables at the music shop. I bought the parts and wires for a total of $26. If time is money, I'll be earning about $100 an hour on that DIY project!
I also occasionally did DIY's because I wanted something that I couldn't buy pre-made, or would cost to much to have made the way I wanted it. Pedalboards are a good example of this, although nowadays there's 20 different kinds to buy; when I was building them, there was no such thing. Everything was custom made.
I have 2 guitars with jumbo frets, and the feel is completely different. Even though jumbos do require a lighter touch, you rarely go sharp unless you give a gorilla grip.
-repair a busted window regulator in a 2000 VW new Beetle
-fix a busted laundry sink faucet
-fix a busted safety sensor on the garage door that wouldn't let me close the door
-fix a busted valve on the POS Viking range that was in my house when I bought it
-find and install a replacement motherboard for my DAW's busted one
and the one fun one- upgrade my linux server. Went from a 400 MHz PIII running RH9 to a 2.8GHz P4 running Intrepid. It's a testament to how much Linux rocks that my old server (it served email, http, fax, fileservice, home automation and some other stuff) has been working like a champ for something like 7 years with minimal intervention. I'm psyched to be able to add some new features to my server ( like centralized printing and scanning ).
BTW I don't think I'd like a scalloped fretboard.
A buddy of mine recently decided to DIY refinish his Les Paul- it did not go smoothly. Don't believe everything you see on YouTube. He accidentally (distractedly?) sanded off his serial number. Doh!
-Rf
Makes me want to enroll in alcoholic training or take up heroin, to keep my sanity intact. :?
Jims my friend, he's always been there for me! :twisted:
Funny back at you: Not having a job right now I fix stuff so I won't sit around the house smokin' pot and drinking *all* the time.
Two sides of the same coin? A stark example of the yin and yang of daily life?
-Rf.
On the other hand, I'd love to be in that situation - needing to find ways to keep busy and productive...right now I'm in a fracked up job situation where an unrealistic amount of work and responsibility is heaped on me, yet none of the authority or other means needed to accomplish it is given. My employers are fanatical control freaks, which I should've seen coming, but I guess I'm not that smart. :evil:
In relative terms, I'd RATHER be unemployed, or at least free to pursue something else...problem is, since Elizabeth left me and took all the money, I have this need to \"earn a living\", which is really nice to do 'cuz it allows you to eat, live indoors, and feed the dog. Not to mention I don't wish to retire to a box under a bridge, eating Alpo. :shock:
I need friends like that - to keep me from stressing about my messed up job. If I didn't have this attachment to living indoors, I'd quit in a heartbeat and just see what else came along.
I can get my hands on an old wurlitzer organ.... mmm I believe around circa 1967 model 4059 I think.... Ok, I have barely no use for a KB. Have one, can't even tell ya what it is that is how often I use it. Let alone an organ.
But I was wondering if y'all have any diy suggestions for any of the parts and what not from it? I'm going to take a look at it, hoping I might find a rotating Leslie speaker in it? And salvage that for some future project if there is.
Done been searching the web can't find any info LoL so I don't think they are a sought after item... so I came here.... gonna try the web some more.
So how about , any ideas?
If the organ has a drum rotor it might be worth the effort to salvage it and build your own Leslie cabinet. But then you might want to salvage the wood anyway. It's doable, it's just a pain to do. My thing is that if I salvage something, Nothing rarely ever comes of it and then it's more stuff laying around gathering dust. I have lots of prodjects waiting to be done. LOL.
They dropped the vacuum tubes in '64, and went all transistor.
4059 has;
2- 44 key manuals
13 pedals
Sustain
Vibrato
Slide
4060 has;
above stuff plus
Spectra-tone
Pedal-Sustain
That Spectra-Tone is a rotating speaker system actually built into the console. It was similar, but not identical sounding to a Leslie speaker.
They eventually did replace the Spectra-Tone with a genuine Leslie.
Definitely take a look, but if it doesn't have the Spectra-Tone...I don't think you'd have much use with it.
I had an opportunity to get a really nice looking church pipe organ for free. Just needed a \"little work\". Checked into the parts availability and value of the organ in today's market and found out that it cost more for anyone to look at it then it was worth. I found a website with \"master\" organ repair people who would tell you if the old organ is even worth considering. I don't have the URL, but all I did was a google search. Anyway, some nice old gentlemen told me not to even bother with the orgran - working or not - since it was just too darned expensive to repair and/or maintain. He did offer that if the wood work was exceptional, people today will gut out the old organ insides and insert a modern electronic keyboard - using only the wood for the looks.
So, I guess the bottom line of my story was that if you want a working organ, you can get new organs today that are cheaper, more depenable, and sound \"better\" than the old vacumn tube beasts of the past. If you are a collector into restoration and have other motives, go for it but have your eyes wide open. Just because an organ cost $$$$$ way back when, it does not mean it is worth anything today. Depending on the model, it may not be worth anything restored either.
I checked it out
jamminmj, Some good tips and info. But these diy's are just for my amusement and learning. If I was gigging or a serious studio man, ya prefab would be the way to go.
maintou
gtaus, good point on the old organ cabinets! Not that I would refurb with modern guts. But the wood is worth salvaging! Since everything in it still works, I'll tell her if she can't find a home for it and it's headed for the curb that I'll take then ( just for that )
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Just as well you didn't have a Leslie unit. You would have been tempted to spend time and money on a project most guitarists no longer desire. Those stinking cabinets weigh like 400 lbs!
But the DIY project is kinda interesting, if you wanted to build one in spite of reason. Here are a link to a DIY Leslie speaker cabinet. 8)
Click on the various builders sites for details......
http://bullfrogmusic.ca/how-to-build-a-homemade-leslie-speaker-cabinet/
I didn't even think of building my own till I got a call asking if I wanted that organ. I was like WTF am I going to do with an old organ! (vi@gra!)
Ok it's free any monetary value? No! ok what can be frankensteined from it... that's when the light went off 'beit dimly
Nice site, saved it, incase the bulb lights up again :shock: 8)
That said, they sound pretty amazing, especially on an organ or Rhodes or other KB...