mattell starmaker guitar, with optical pickup system...

[duck_arse]

I was also thinking old mouse, and thinking you could use the two sets of Tx-Rx, one aligned and one mis-aligned, to do both optical modes like anotherjim said up the page.

[amptramp]

It would be interesting to see what would happen with one pickup set to detect transverse motion across the plane of the strings and another to pick up the vertical motion towards and away from the guitar body.  I wonder if wound strings would give different answers from straight strings in this regard.  And of course, you could have pickups centered on the strings for octave up and offset pickups for standard octave.  Four pickups for one string.  24 pickups for one guitar.  A 16 pickup bass guitar might be a better thing to start with.

[duck_arse]

this is now keeping me awake at night.

I've always wondered about the Rx in the mouse optos, never even occured to me there was a pair in there to tell which way first. so that means you could do the two modes with a single sensor, maybe.

and as I know nothing about luthing or guitar construction or proper handling and working of wood, I figure there's nothing to stop me from making one of these - except I don't have the wood (for the/a body at least, I've got two bits could be necks). or an idea.

and I've started sizing-up every plastic box/thing I see, for whether large enough or polystyrene enough. help!

also, only fourteen more to go.

[iainpunk]

you don't NEED plastic, you can use any body material, from cigar boxes, road signs and a simple plank to soda bottles tensioned over a wooden bowl

cheers
edit: spelling

[pinkjimiphoton]

gotta shovel?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmMtkWOzCF4

[anotherjim]

For the sustainer action, does the polarity of the speaker matter?

[iainpunk]

For the sustainer action, does the polarity of the speaker matter?

i think it could, i taped a tiny plastic practice amp (3w) to a guitar today, and where i positioned it made a subtile difference in how it 'blooms' to an overtone, and how fast. i bet polarity would have a similar effect.

cheers

[iainpunk]

i just remembered i had this thing. it used to have a single coil in the length of the string, but i took that pickup's magnet for a friend's guitar.

i might make this one optical!
it also has enough space to mount a solenoid to shake the body, instead of a speaker.

cheers

[pinkjimiphoton]

polarity of speaker will def make a difference i'd imagine... its gonna be different if its "sucking" or "blowing".

i inherited an iyv brian may red special thing... i liked it so much i went out and bought the real brian mays guitar standard, and it's become my #1.
what makes it so hip is that all the p'ups are in series, so it gets louder as you add pickups.
each pickup has one on/off switch, and one phase switch... which means you can literally get any and every combo of pickups on the guitar.

but what's hip is, if you're playing something and its not sustaining or blooming, ya flip the phasing of the pickups that are on to the opposite way, and suddenly it feeds back great. i don't even know if dr may figured that out, but i did. its ridiculous. all comes down to making the speaker suck or blow, so the phasing of the speaker on the unit itself would probably make a difference. i may add a phase switch to it  cuz i'm evil and don't care if i mod something that i don't intend to ever sell if it will improve it.

i think it needs a little more power tho to REALLY get sick

[Rob Strand]

polarity of speaker will def make a difference i'd imagine...

You might find the vibration from the speaker mounting on the top plate has more effect than the sound though the air.  Flipping the speaker polarity is certainly worth playing with.

[duck_arse]

didn't I say I knew nuttin? I would have thort "a plank" would be far too thick and dense and dead to get any resonating action going from the speaker vibrations. we want that sensor buzzing, don't we?

turns out I have maybe enough washing machine lid left to make the mattel sized body. but I'd rather use wood and shape something like a Teisco May Queen. what's that about?

[anotherjim]

turns out I have maybe enough washing machine lid left to make the mattel sized body. but I'd rather use wood and shape something like a Teisco May Queen. what's that about?

No Brians involved. Instead, pick the prettiest maiden in the village and make her dance around a maypole.

How do you play that thing (centre) sitting down?

That Fire Bird (right) is a stunner.

[EBK]

I hate to say it, but I think all three of those guitars should be burned.  Any "horns" on a guitar body should be the natural result of adding a functional cutaway to an otherwise classic body shape.  Instead, these are monstrous exaggerations.  The one in the middle looks like someone accidentally cut away too much and tried to make it look intentional.  The one on the left might look better without the weird pickguards, which just look like super lazy switch mounting.

And get off my lawn!

[Rob Strand]

I hate to say it, but I think all three of those guitars should be burned.  Any "horns" on a guitar body should be the natural result of adding a functional cutaway to an otherwise classic body shape.  Instead, these are monstrous exaggerations.  The one in the middle looks like someone accidentally cut away too much and tried to make it look intentional.  The one on the left might look better without the weird pickguards, which just look like super lazy switch mounting.

And get off my lawn!

They are a way of balancing.

But not always,   these things (from the '80s) might eat your lawn,

[pinkjimiphoton]

And get off my lawn!

[iainpunk]

i tried the CNY70 reflectiveness sensor to sense the string, but it doesn't work when i tried it, i guess to much ambient UV light

i own an eastern bloc franken bass, a man from Amsterdam bought in Bulgaria off of a church band, for way to much money according to the people there, about 25 euro. its the Tonika body with an Ural neck. it needs a new bridge to intonate properly or atleast a re-filing of the current aluminium block that functions as its bridge, its bearable for the first 5 frets, but after that its just too jazzy
that body shape makes me fall in love time and time again.



cheers

[PRR]

...i own an eastern bloc franken bass.....needs a new bridge to intonate properly or atleast a re-filing of the current aluminium block that functions as its bridge, its bearable for the first 5 frets, but after that its just too jazzy....

I have to think you already know this:

If the strings are limp, the octave-fret is half the distance to the bridge. Steel strings are not limp but the difference will be a few mm. If I read this image right(?), that bridge is a few inches too far. I'd jam a scrap of wood 1 to 2 inches over from the bridge and see if the intonation improves.

[iainpunk]

...i own an eastern bloc franken bass.....needs a new bridge to intonate properly or atleast a re-filing of the current aluminium block that functions as its bridge, its bearable for the first 5 frets, but after that its just too jazzy....

I have to think you already know this:

If the strings are limp, the octave-fret is half the distance to the bridge. Steel strings are not limp but the difference will be a few mm. If I read this image right(?), that bridge is a few inches too far. I'd jam a scrap of wood 1 to 2 inches over from the bridge and see if the intonation improves.

ow, that pic is not >actually my bass, just a google pic (note the actually matching neck). the bridge isnt original either, its an aluminium block with a ridge down the middle, but that ridge should be closer towards the pickup side of the bridge, so ill take a file to it some day to correct it (about 5 to 8 mm iirc). also, that thing that is so misplaced is the tailpiece, the bridge screws into the body at roughtly the correct place, using janky ass wood screws.

i also have a guitar body and neck i plan on modifying to a 10-tone-per-octave instrument, instead of 12 tones. i did some experimenting with such a tonal system on my computer to get a feel for the 'music theory' of 10 tone.

cheers

[duck_arse]

pinkjimi - if you still have this thing, would you save me a mess of time and take a few measures of/on it? can you measure bridge to nut [do those terms apply w/ plastic of this quality?] and bridge to sensors, please? I can get cutting some plastic soon.

[pinkjimiphoton]

hahahahah bro,
i looked for one of these for 39 years, hell yeah i still got it.


i will get ya some measurements. keep after me, cuz i'm in the middle of a production run, and gotta get that done first. may be a day or two.