Hi all!
I want to build a 6-string CBG-style license plate guitar.
I'd like some info from those that have made such guitars. Things like bracing, attaching the neck, placing a piezo.....the RadioShack type that are common to these guitars not a commercially made guitar piezo (where would be the best place to put a piezo in order to pick up the best sound on such a small guitar).
I'd also like to know about what I should avoid, what I should be on the look out for when it comes to problems during the build and whatever other info or advice any of you may have.
If anyone has photos or drawings of your particular builds (I am looking for structural stuff in this instance) that would be greatly appreciated.
I know many people call their license plate guitars "license plate resonators." However, when it comes to those I have seen videos of only one or two seemed to actually have a resonator cone and they were 3 or 4 strings rather than 6 as I want to build.
I am thinking of using oak boards that I can get at Lowe's for both body and neck. For the bridge I am thinking of a wrap-around bridge/tailpiece like this one:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar,_no...
I plan to use a magnetic pickup along with the piezo that I already mentioned.
Ideally I'd like to have the body no bigger than the size of the license plate itself. However, I know there may be issues with doing this. So, as I said, I would welcome any advice on building such a guitar and any design plans that any of you may be willing to share.
Thanks,
-James
Tags:
Yeah - I just build a box a 1/2" bigger on each side as the plate, route it out so that the plate is recessed and then glue blocks so you can fasten the plate thru the normal holes that you would use on a car.
How deep do you typically make the body? Also, how do you enclose the back? Or DO you close the back?
I was doing some general planning using a plate held up to my Gretsch Bo Diddley. Generally speaking, the best way for me to do things would be to have a block at the end to hold the bridge and use a 14-fret neck.
I think this would be the most stable way to set things up. Especially since I plan to use a wrap-around bridge/tailpiece. I could have the fretboard overlap the top of the plate but it's unlikely that I would be accessing any frets beyond the point where the neck and body meet.
The other option would be to cut a section out of the license plate for the fretboard extension. But, as I said it's unlikely I would really access those frets.
I'm really curious as to how yours sounds. Is there any way to get a sound sample?
I am thinking that if I do close the back up I may want to drill some sort of "sound hole" in the side somewhere just to allow a bit of volume when playing unplugged. However, I am not sure how much that would really help.
Because of the need to have the neck run through the body on guitars like these I am thinking that there would not be much vibration on the license plate unless a small gap were left between the plate and the "center block" section of the neck.
As always, your ideas and advice are welcome and appreciated.
-James
The ones I make are 2" deep - back is closed with 1/8" plywood.
Ok, cool.
You make your necks out of a single piece of wood right? Have you had any issues with bowing or warping?
I know I can't really use that as a way to gauge the situation with what I want to do since 6 strings will have more tension that 3. However, other than for being aesthetically pleasing I would think it would be far more stable to make a laminated neck.
Though, depending on the size of the board I use and how many layers I can cut, a laminated neck would still TECHNICALLY be from a single piece of wood.
Ok, this is the first detailed thing I have found for building a license plate guitar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=S0zbqh6GZZc
One issue is that it is only a 4-string model and, as I have stated, I want to do a 6-string version.
Another issue is that even for 4 strings the sesign shown in the video does not seem all that sturdy.
Does anyone know where I can find SPECIFIC info on building a 6-string license plate guitar?
Jawbone has given me some very useful info but, I really need to know about making one of these guitars as sturdy as possible. I would still like to keep it fairly "hollow-bodied" as I would like it to have some acoustic characteristics (I'd like to put a piezo under the license plate).
My original thought was the neck through body with a wrap-around bridge so that there would be no need for an extension off the end of the guitar to run the strings through. I still feel that would be best as for securing the strings on the bridge end of things.
So, for this part of my plan I know I would need a wood block directly under the license plate to secure the bushings for the bridge anchors.
However, I would like to avoid having the part of thge neck running through the body from making contact with the rest of the plate as I want the plate to have some vibration.
I also plan to use a magnetic pickup in conjunction with the piezo I mentioned (perhaps a P-90 or perhaps a Tele-style lipstick pickup). So, I need to have room inside the guitar for mounting whichever I deside to use,
Has anyone taken photos of their build process? Or perhaps you have drawings of your designs that you'd be willing to share?
Again, I appreciate all the help!
-James
This is a small piece of what I am currently doing. I hand carved the neck which measures 1.75 inch at the nut, tapering to 2 inch were it meets the box. I decided to go with a neck thru for strength. The neck is a laminate of red oak in the middle with maple on the edges, that then is topped with a piece of red oak, and that is topped with a poplar fret board. very strong but a lot of carving and sanding to reach the desired thickness for comfort of playability. Buying a fret board is probably a good move as the one thing I wished Id done because on a six string I think it feels a bit odd without the radius. Also the thickness of the lamination came in handy were I had to carve away wood to fit the pickups. No truss rod but all in all it is shaping up very nicely
Thank you so much!
This is EXTREMELY helpful!
I was planning on doing a laminated neck like this but I am not sure what wood(s) I will use, I am leaning towards oak since I can buy that at Lowe's or Home Depot.
I know that the majority of people think a truss rod is necessary for a 6-string guitar. I also know WHY that is.
However, I have guitars that were made before they started using truss rods and they have not had neck problems yet.
Of course the necks from back then tended to be a bit thicker than they are these days.
I am still not sure if I will use a truss rod or not. I am leaning heavily towards "not" as this kind of guitar is basically nothing but neck. The box will be largely for aesthetics.
Yeah, I learned a long time ago that electric strings have a different tension that acoustic strings. I had a friend that would put electric strings on his acoustic guitar. I always found them to be too "rubbery" because of the difference in tension and also the difference in how an acoustic is set up compared to an electric.
But, honestly I never really thought about using anything but electric strings on this project. I guess it's because I don't think of it as being an acoustic guitar design....even though I do want to try and have some acoustic playability to it,
Will this be your first build, or do you have some experience under your belt?
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