JPF Home Page Forums Creative Arts Forums Visual Arts and Photography Forum Building an electric sitar

If at first you don't succeed

That would be the title of this section.
I was not happy with the bridge. It wasn't creating the characteristic sound I wanted. So I reshaped the pieces. Now they are a bit smaller and fold around the existing saddles.


Though they look better, they still don't have the sound I want. There's just not a solid transfer of string to body, and so I abandoned this version too. I got the best sound when I went to the brass piano pedals, so it was time to rethink. I stripped out ALL of the hardware from the bridge plate started with a chunk of Delrin again with the brass pedal on top of it. Excellent transfer of sound. So I determined which section of pedal would give me the best intonation, leveled the Delrin and cut it to size:


When it was assembled, it was tonally gorgeous. The brass forces the radius to be flat, but I can live with that. It raises the outer strings so it's easier to bend without bottoming out, and the lower pitched strings can be plucked harder without hitting the frets. It was easy to position it too, and I found the best place for intonation. All strings (are almost spot on for correct intonation (the G string is just a hair flat, but bending it will easily compensate). Here's the final bridge in position.


And a full view of the final assembly. Hard to believe that the workshop (to the left) was buried in snow when started this project.


And another closer view - I love this baby! It is very hard to put this one down.


The biggest problem I have now is... NO CASE!!! I suppose I have to make that next.
This has been quite an enjoyable ride. Thanks to everyone for their kind words through this process, and I do hope to figure out some computer-based audio recording software so I can record sound samples. Good thing THAT wasn't a requirement for the finale!!!

''Whoa Whoa.. Tom !!..Welcome to the forum~~~;o

Most people know I'm a freak for texture,,Whoa..
dude..you got some Mad skills''straight up...
I luv how you''recycle some of your Materials
you''use to make The..Electric Sitar...
The Gourd..The wood chips. ah---- the sanding
of this product[Electric Sitar]..I luv to see
a man create with ''so much heart and ambition..
It;s quite charming.... :):)''You took me too
another level''of anticipation with each ''Step,,
Whoa...''This is fierce..''..so How many inches
of snow ;where you diving into,,,:)...

Excellent /Demonstration
it;s a pleasure to meet
you Tom~~~

Shirl;o

Hi there Shirl;o!

Thanks for the kind words. It's a relief to finish a project, and I'm really happy with this one. It sounds exactly how I heard it in my head, so I'm happy with this one.

As for the snow, we had an average of 2 feet through most of the season, but there were times when I walked through snow drifts that were about waist high. Some of the dogs loved it.

Tom, thank you for taking us through this fascinating journey with you! It was really enjoyable to watch and displays what an extremely gifted genius you are! The "Telesitar" is beyond words. Look forward to hearing the sound samples.

tHANK YOU VERY MUCH pOLLY. i HOPE i FIGURE THE SOFTWARE OUT SOON.
i HOPE i FIGURE OUT CAPS lOCK TOO

What a beautiful finished instrument - and a totally enjoyable thread. Many thanks, Tom.

Yes, let's hear some samples!

Scott

Hi Scott,
Thanks for checking out the thread. This was built for a contest that ends at midnight tonight. Not a big deal, I already feel like I'm a winner, because this is an instrument I've always wanted and just never had the motivation to build for myself.

I'm working on getting audio samples, but I'm not doing so well with the Yamaha Go46 and Cubase interface. I'll see what I can do over lunch break. For some reason, I'm not getting any audio signal into the computer. I'll post in the audio forum and see if anyone has suggestions.

Tom, I am very envious of your luthiery skills. I am probably the least skilled person you will ever meet when it comes to woodworking. My wife and I built a dulcimer last fall, but it was from a kit and Diane did all of the detail work. It turned out nicely, but she deserves all of the credit.

Thank you for sharing this thread and giving me the chance to live vicariously through it. You should be proud.

'' He;;ll;o Tom..:)


I was just wondering what neck of the woods Are you from.;o
Is This''West Virgina''??...;o I'm checking out the''Double
neck Guitar Electric Sitar~~Pic.. I would like to know is
This the prototype..It seems like you have the mindset..
Of' an Architect...I guess in essence What I'm trying to ask you
is: If you were ask to mass produce mass quantities of This
Product[Electric Sitar] would it be altered''from the same
replica''Of the Electric Sitar..you have pictured the double
neck Guitar..

[the scenery with the double neck guitars]..
*****Tom I luv the ''Prairie like atmosphere
you have,,,it;s seems soooo peaceful...
..And You mention the dogs..Whoa..
I can only imagine Them walking through'that
thick thick snow with you,,Whoa....
you must have a lot of dogs...
What a wonderful Veiw...



See you In A Few;o
Shirl;o

Tom, didn't realize you recycled the bridge. AWESOME! You are a genius!

Thank you Kevin. I really did enjoy this too, though not every day. There was a good amount of frustration and perspiration that accompanied the project. The hardest part was forcing myself to adhere to a deadline.

Shirl;o,
You have a funny little way of writing, don't you?
Let's see if I can answer everything here...
I currently live in West Virginia, about an hour south of Morgantown - home of the WV Mountaineers. The photo is looking towards the side yard. There is 33 acres of land here, and thus, lots of grass to cut.

The electric sitar is a one-of-a-kind instrument made for a contest. There was a limit of $210 for total costs. There would be a few things I would do differently if this wasn't an issue. The main thing would be to use normal guitar tuners for the sympathetic strings. This would make it much easier for "regular" guitarists to tune the instrument. I'd also add more knobs and switches for tonal control.

I'm not so sure there is a market for this instrument to be mass produced. There are a few companies that make something similar, and it's not a "must have" sound. Historically, the electric sitar has been around since the early '70's. There just doesn't seem to be a need for such things - especially with samplers being able to reproduce the sound quite accurately.

Last dog count = 14
Cats = unknown amount
Birds = 2
Rabbit = 1

This land is the only peace I know.

I am in awe... Thank you for taking the time to share this with us..

Thank you for checking it out Noel!
Now the "voting by poll" begins on the contest site.

Hi TOM

I'm in Awe of your talents !!

Do you have a catalogue of your musical instruments - and How many have you made now???

Thank you for sharing with us ! jm

Hi Joice,
Thanks.
No catalog, but I do have pictures of most of them on my Facebook page.

I finally figured out (roughly) how to use the computer software for recording. Here's a quick demonstration so that anyone that really wants to hear the instrument, has an opportunity to do so:
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9108829

I connected a microphone for talking, and plugged the instrument directly into the computer for this recording, and "winged" it.
Please do not critique the musical performance - I was just noodling.

Wow. I've been following this thread avidly since I first saw it. It's been a fascinating ride. You've made a great looking and sounding instrument there.

Part of me wonders what it'd sound like with the more traditional (for a Tele) single coils, but as it is it's got a very authentic sound (as best I could tell on a laptop).

Makes me want to do a luthier project now, but I have no time or facilities, that and my wife would probably shoot me for bringing yet another instrument into our lives (the Electric guitar count is up to 5, basses have held steady at 3 for about 25 years, Acoustics are at 2 plus a Mando and a Banjo). I keep thinking a lap steel, or I have an old Epiphone Texan neck from the 70s (bolt on, the body disintegrated on me) that I've always wanted to do something with (maybe a slide electric sg)....

Anyway, great thread. DO you have a URL of the site you did this for? Is the voting open?

Today is the last day to vote!
It's a Telecaster forum, and voting is open to members, which, like here is free to join.
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tdpri-2010-%24210-tele-build-challenge/211610-vote-most-innovative-winner-2010-%24210-tele-build-challenge-choose-one.html

There are three categories, this is the one I'm doing the best in, and hope to win.

Thanks for watching this post and nice to meet you Bryan!

OH I KNOW THAT FEELING ALL TOO WELL!! Sadly, I've far exceeded you on the instrument count. I'll have to add them all up another day, and I'll only count the working ones. This is the year of thinning the herd on ebay soon though. Two have gone so far.

LOL - you don't have a pick?

You have more guitars than you do picks! Not just by a little but by a long shot!

Seriously though, really enjoyed that clip, Tom. The instrument really has a cool sound! Congrats on finishing this creation and best of luck in the voting...

Scott

Fantabulous!

Tom...how fabulous and WONDERFUL! WOW! Loved the whole soundclick sample, (heard the Stones thing, hee hee)! I'm just sitting back at this point and letting it resonate through. Beautiful.

Wow, it sounds as good as it looks which is impressive, to say the least.

Scott - I never play with a pick, it's always the flesh of the thumb and fingers, but those sympathetic strings are just too close together, so I had to use something. The paperclip had a real interesting quality too it. Maybe I could market them as custom designed picks...

Jean - Thankyousincerely!

I had to sneak the Stones thing in so people could hear something they could relate too.

Thanks Kevin. On the Telecaster forum, someone commented that they wondered what it would be like if I used the telecaster single coil pickups. I know that would be too bright and the humbuckers gave it the warmth that you hear from the original instrument - to me, more authentic.

One thing I didn't record, is lowering the volume on the playing neck. I also got comments that people couldn't hear the sympathetic strings when I did the chord mutes. I heard them clearly when I recorded, but I could have enhanced them by lowering the volume on the playing neck. That makes sense, since the humbuckers have a much hotter output than the lipstick tube pickup.

We've crossed paths here before (I recall you recommending Guitarfetish to me at one time). Turns out I'm registered on that forum, but hadn't been on for some time, I missed out on voting though since I didn't check back here until today. Congrats on winning the innovative category! Very deserved.