February 10, 2013

Articles and Other Stuff

I’ll post here some articles, inventions and other things that I’ve been doing tghrough the years. They are more for makers than for players — I hope that you enjoy them no matter what you do…

Tailpieces with Tone and Volume Controls

My latest design offers high rotational life pots.

A new Design for a Side Bender

A few years ago I took the design of a side bender very seriously. I arrived at a prototype that, unluckily, had a lot of things to improve. In spite of having solved all its problems, at least on paper, I abandoned the project for lack of time. It didn’t help that I put a video in youTube and it had some negative comments either. Someday I’ll go back to it again, possibly making the best side bender that any maker could desire.

Not Only Cones Make It…

This was part of the title of an article that I wrote for American Lutherie #101 (Spring 2010). I contacted them for writing an article about the Side Bender (see above), but in the end we talked of this contribution.

Grounding the Strings

Archtop guitars with wooden bridges and tailpieces are not straightforward when it comes to ground their strings. Here I explain a method that I find simple and reliable.

Fitting a Fishman Matrix Infinity in an Archtop Guitar

The FMI is a undersaddle piezo/preamp system that, having been designed for flat top guitars, can be adapted for archtops. Here I explain how I did it for two different guitars.

Why I Make My Own Knobs

There are many wooden knobs available. Why do I make my own?

Equispacing Calculator

A new version of this calculator, that I find very useful.

A Circuit Based on Jerry Garcia’s Tiger Guitar

The effect loop in Garcia´s guitar makes it uncommon, but useful anyway. My version adds some interesting features.

Alternative Bridges

Not all archtops use the same bridges.