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this is my homemade slide guitar.
its made out of junk and scrap and is pretty easy to make
its made out of junk and scrap and is pretty easy to make
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Signing UpStep 1Gather the bits
materials used:
1. birch board 1x3x30 inches{this is a good size if your going to make a slide guitar as the usual string length for such a beast is 22 inches}.
2: set of tuners from an old junked guitar{you know the kind all three are mounted on a stamped sheet metal bar on those crappy old student guitars that tear out the bridge after a few years in the closet} save the strings too.
3:a magnet and coil of copper wire . i used a coil from a soleniod that came out of a scrapped photo printer but you can make your own out of any insulated{varnished}copper wire . as for the magnet i took the steel magnet from an old stereo speaker.{you can use a real guitar pickup if you have one to spare}
4: a 1/8 phono jack.
5: a couple of pieces of aluminum or brass to make bridges {mine were cut from an old window frame}
6: a couple of those bolt/screws that are used as leg mounts on furniture.
7: various screws and last but not least a powerade cap{its like gatorade}
1. birch board 1x3x30 inches{this is a good size if your going to make a slide guitar as the usual string length for such a beast is 22 inches}.
2: set of tuners from an old junked guitar{you know the kind all three are mounted on a stamped sheet metal bar on those crappy old student guitars that tear out the bridge after a few years in the closet} save the strings too.
3:a magnet and coil of copper wire . i used a coil from a soleniod that came out of a scrapped photo printer but you can make your own out of any insulated{varnished}copper wire . as for the magnet i took the steel magnet from an old stereo speaker.{you can use a real guitar pickup if you have one to spare}
4: a 1/8 phono jack.
5: a couple of pieces of aluminum or brass to make bridges {mine were cut from an old window frame}
6: a couple of those bolt/screws that are used as leg mounts on furniture.
7: various screws and last but not least a powerade cap{its like gatorade}
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a piezo buzzer picks up the sound of the strings while a magnetic pickup has an electric current induced in it by the steel string moving in its magnetic field.
you wrote
" you know the kind all three are mounted on a stamped sheet metal bar on those crappy old student guitars that tear out the bridge after a few years in the closet}"
Now on a good guitar that won't happen, but you should never leave strings on (Well don't take them off just loosen them a lot ) a guitar that will sit more than a month or two, because it will warp the neck or damage the bridge. Maybe you already knew this i thought I'd mention it though.
P.S that is a cool looking guitar!
but everyone still does . i see dozens of cheapo guitars at yard sales every year and 80% of them have a bulged out top under the bridge. mostly its because they are so poorly made that disregarding proper storage is nearly always fatal to them.
as for expensive acoustics i have only seen one or two that had a bad bulge and i suspect that more than being left under tension is the problem {humidity making the wood soft is biggest suspect}
i was mostly pointing out that you could feel free to use the parts from a wiped out student guitar that wasn`t worth repairing anyway.
but you`re right i should have struck a blow for neglected guitars everywhere and pointed out the abuse.
:) also im glad you like it.
lenny
just slappin the bridge on there anywhere without measuring will not work very well.if you have a neck already just measure from the nut to the 12th fret then measure from the 12th fret down the same distance and the bridge must go there,
if your making your neck and the space is limited use an online fret calculater and get the spacings .
you can find one here http://www.buildyourguitar.com/resources/fretcalc/index.htm
enjoy
it did work ok but a p90 would work much better .
actually i did a sequel to this instructable .
it was all about pickups it ought to answer all your questions.
here is the link
http://www.instructables.com/id/cheap-and-easy-guitar-pickups/
enjoy
http://www.freeguitarvideos.com/downloads/free-slide-guitar-lesson.html
im gonna give this a try myself
although it means restringing this guitar with smaller strings