Pbass sound from Jazz Bass- closer

Success! The 43 awg wire is perfect for raising the resistance and lowering the resonant peak to about 3kHz. Standard pbass resonant peak is about 2.3kHz. I definitely get a lower thumpy sound. The one I made had a resistance of about 10k.

Tensioning is very important. Something I never really dealt with on 42 awg wire.

Tighter Tension– Higher output – lower resonant peak
Lower Tension– Lower output- brighter resonant peak

Fucked up the neck pickup but it sounded ok when playing but it could be better.
Neck Pickup- Coil resistance differences due to different tensions 5.8k/4.3k = 10.1k resonant peak 3kHz
Bridge Pickup- Coil resistance differences due to different tensions 4.0k/3.1k = 7.1k flat resonant peak about 5kHz.

So basically if I put the correct tension on both coils, I would have had much closer resonant peaks to a pbass. The tension on the first neck coil was so loose that I could move the entire coil winding just by poking it.

Also experimented with lacquer dipping pole pieces before winding. Bought some polymide tape, that cover inner coil and doesn’t take a day to dry.

43 awg I think is the limit I can tension by hand. I broke a few winds. Definitely a skill to use thinner wire. GuitarMD made some videos about tensioning. Something I would probably need If I were to use 44awg. I think 43 awg, gives just enough flexibility. I would try 44awg, but it is about 30 bucks more for 5 lb spool from remington.

Attempting to make Jazz Bass sound like a PBass

Harley Benton Jazz Bass Pickup conversion to split coil humbuckers
Bobbin Height may be a major factor in pbass tone. The pbass bobbin is .25″ compared to .5″ of jazz bass pickup. Some pickup winders say that Taller and thinner bobbins are brighter. Which IMO is true. The Jazz neck pickup is much taller and is brighter and it has less winds. So increase wind kind should affect tone dramatically. We will see how it compares. I’ll try to analyze the pickup also.

Neck Length 1.21″ Width .2″ Height .525″ Flange .6″

For bridge split coil pickup, going to try for the standard 7250 ohms, 3625 per coil. Want to keep that brightness, although I should probably overwind it due the waxing I will do. Waxing slighting lowers resistance. Also trying the perfect 100% setting from coil estimator.

Jazz bass split coil humbucker upgrade with 43awg

New 43awg came in. Going to rewind the jazz bass bridge pickup I made for the Squier affinity bass. Attempting to raise the resistance from 5.5 to 10.5. Hopefully the new 43awg wire will help me. Aiming for 10.5 k (average for pbass humbucker)

Modified the bobbin dimensions a little bit
Length 1.23″, Width .1975″, Height .533″, Flange .602″

We will see how accurate the estimator is. Going to try 9428 “loose machine” setting.
I tried “tight scatter” last time and got 3.3k instead of 3.6. More turns needed I think, number between “loose machine” and “tight machine”.

First test with 9428 turns (loose machine) got about 5200 ohms instead of target 5500
2nd test on other coil (tight machine) 9809 turns equaled to about 5400 ohms total 10.6k ohms.
Much closer on 2nd test. Will try perfect machine setting for the other jazz bass pickup kits I ordered from donlis.

Results seem a little off (+/-300 ohms) will try the “tight machine” settings on other coil.
Biggest concern was breaking the 43 awg pickup wire. I didn’t break it on first try. Gives me some confidence that I can try 44awg to get more output and darkness. 5 lbs of 43 awg is about 30 bucks more than 43awg or 42 awg

Results were successful. Pbass has upgraded pickups. Chords/intervals have that standard Pbass sound with a hum cancelling bridge pickup. I didn’t wax the pickup. Was getting some buzz but not 60 cycle hum. Grounding issues or maybe and need to wax the humbucker. The buzz not coming from neck pickup at all. Only when bridge by itself facing a tv monitor. Maybe a combination of the two.

The louder bridge pickup is definitely more noticeable now. But the previous one I made wasn’t too bad. Uneven winds on the humbucker added some noise but not as bad people seem to think. Dimarzio or SD have uneven wind counts on some of their original designs. Definitely something I don’t have to be tied down to. So much misinformation with guitar players or wannabe luthiers.

Split coil Jazz Bass pickup 42awg

Just bought this super cheap squier pbass with a jazz bridge pickup. I already replaced the bass humbucker with the pbass pickup I made in Roberto Venn class I took. Sounds a lot cleaner than the stock ceramic, which wasn’t too bad just lacked the chord clarity I like. The jazz pickup is super noisy it doesn’t hum cancel, going to attempt to split them sorta like artecs here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/282514580839

The youtube is a bit different he splits it in unequal halfs and adds more magnets to add inductance. I am just going to split it in half and wind it up to about 13.5k like the artecs. This is brighter bridge pickup I just want it to noise cancel when blending with neck pickup. If it were a neck I’d probably go experiment more but I don’t use that much. I just a touch of more brightness in the mix.

Bought the pickup kit from CEdist.com and cut it in half with bandsaw. Going to calculate the winds. In series adds the resistance’s together.

UPDATE:

Finished the wind but it’s a bit underwound. Got up to about 8000 winds but still not enough, I would need 43 awg wire for it to get up to 8K or more. But when I tested in bass, it sounded ok, underwound to 5.5k but the hum is gone. Which is the main point. This bass has a weird passive blend. Doesn’t really act like a typical blend. Think I’ll keep the underwound bass. It’s a nice combo, give it a hint a chime when I dime the bass pickup and the sweetspot is about 7-8 on bridge pickup volume. Maybe I can install an active blend. I’m really liking this bass. Most fun slapping I’ve ever had on a bass.

http://www.jdguitarworks.com/coil/coil.html

Length 1.225″, Width .195″, Height .535″, Flange .6″ target 3675 ohms each
about 7882 turns for each coil total resistance should be around 7.35k based on antigua’s Fender custom 60’s analysis.
First coil came out to 3.3k 2nd coil came out to 2.2k. The second one got messed because I trying to lump wire together towards the middle of bobbin. I think that is what caused the lower results.
https://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/8617/fender-custom-pickups-analysis-review

Spincad ThreeTap Delay Ringmod Feedback

Digital Larry’s ThreeTap really sounds super clean. Feedbacks are super crispy. Ring Mod put in feedback loop with a reverse scale offset on Pot 0. Set -.01 on output low, -.99 output on offset, sounds different then when I used 0 on output low and -1 on offset. This delay is so clean though, tried on other delay blocks, not quite as crisp. Happy accident I guess. Sometimes you get lucky and the less tweaking you do the better. But I should put some filters on it.

Spincad Code Dissection- Editing file to generate java based Spincad Blocks

@name ThreeTap
Name of block

@color “0x6060c4”
Color of block

@audioInput adcl Input
@audioInput feedback Feedback
Audio Inputs

@audioOutput output1 ‘Tap 1 Out’
@audioOutput output2 ‘Tap 2 Out’
@audioOutput output3 ‘Tap 3 Out’
Audio Outputs
output1, output2, output3 = reg0, reg1, reg2 from equ lines, normally in spinasm file.
Tap 1 Out, Tap 2 Out, Tap 3 Out, generated for control panel only, not normally in spinasm files. Used with @isPinConnected

@controlInput cIn1 ‘Delay Time 1’
@controlInput cIn2 ‘Delay Time 2’
@controlInput cIn3 ‘Delay Time 3’
@controlInput fbk ‘Feedback Gain’
Control input for pots
cln1, cln2, cln3, fbk, replace the pot0, pot1, pot2 in spinasm code. Because the pot choice is interchangeable or modular, you can set whatever pot to whatever control.
Delay Time 1, Delay Time 2, Delay Time 3, generated for CadBlock, not normally in spinasm files. Used with @isPinConnected


@sliderLabel inputGain ‘Input Gain: ‘ -24 0 0 1.0 1 DBLEVEL
@sliderLabel fbkGain ‘Feedback Gain: ‘ -24 0 -6 1.0 1 DBLEVEL
@sliderLabel delayLength ‘Delay Time (ms): ‘ 0 32767 16384 1 0 LENGTHTOTIME
Control panel sliders and buttons generates controlpanel .jav files
SpinCAD-Designer-0.98-1032/src-gen/com/holycityaudio/SpinCAD/ControlPanel
This only affects the visual number in Spincad, has no effect in real world use with pedal assembled. Once a file is edited/created in Eclipse then the java files are automatically created or edited when saved.

// establish the base address for this module
@getBaseAddress
// then allocate the buffer
mem threeTap delayLength

// input connection must be there for any code to be generated
@isPinConnected Input
// read the input and write to base of delay line
@isPinConnected Feedback
rdax feedback,fbkGain
@isPinConnected ‘Feedback Gain’
mulx fbk
@endif
@endif
rdax adcl, inputGain
wra threeTap, 0.0

// tap 1 ———————————————————–

@isPinConnected ‘Tap 1 Out’
equ output1 reg0
clr
or $7FFF00
@isPinConnected ‘Delay Time 1’
mulx cIn1
@endif
@getDelayScaleControl tap1Ratio delayLength delayOffset
wrax ADDR_PTR, 0
rmpa 1.0
wrax output1, 0.0
@setOutputPin ‘Tap 1 Out’ output1
@endif

// tap 2 ———————————————————–
@isPinConnected ‘Tap 2 Out’
equ output2 reg1
clr
or $7FFF00
@isPinConnected ‘Delay Time 2’
mulx cIn2
@endif
@getDelayScaleControl tap2Ratio delayLength delayOffset
wrax ADDR_PTR, 0
rmpa 1.0
wrax output2, 0.0
@setOutputPin ‘Tap 2 Out’ output2
@endif

// tap 3 ———————————————————–
@isPinConnected ‘Tap 3 Out’
equ output3 reg2
clr
or $7FFF00
@isPinConnected ‘Delay Time 3’
mulx cIn3
@endif
@getDelayScaleControl tap3Ratio delayLength delayOffset
wrax ADDR_PTR, 0
rmpa 1.0
wrax output3, 0.0
@setOutputPin ‘Tap 3 Out’ output3
@endif

@endif

@name ThreeTap
@color "0x6060c4"
@audioInput adcl Input 
@audioInput feedback Feedback
@audioOutput output1 'Tap 1 Out'
@audioOutput output2 'Tap 2 Out'  
@audioOutput output3 'Tap 3 Out'  
@controlInput cIn1 'Delay Time 1' 
@controlInput cIn2 'Delay Time 2'  
@controlInput cIn3 'Delay Time 3'  
@controlInput fbk 'Feedback Gain'

equ inputGain 1.0
@sliderLabel inputGain 'Input Gain: '  -24 0 0 1.0 1 DBLEVEL

equ fbkGain 0.5
@sliderLabel fbkGain 'Feedback Gain: ' -24 0 -6 1.0 1 DBLEVEL 

// total allocated memory buffer for this delay
// create a Control Panel with a Slider Label
equ delayLength 32767 
@sliderLabel delayLength 'Delay Time (ms): ' 0 32767 16384 1 0 LENGTHTOTIME
		
// tap 1 length in % (control panel value) 
//	'@sliderLabel' ename = ID controlName = ID (minVal = SPINDOUBLE maxVal = SPINDOUBLE initVal = SPINDOUBLE multiplier = SPINDOUBLE precision = INT (option = ID)?)?

equ tap1Ratio 0.85 
@sliderLabel tap1Ratio 'Tap 1 Time (%): '  0.0 1.0 0.85 1000.0 2  

// tap 2 length in % (control panel value)
equ tap2Ratio 0.60 
@sliderLabel tap2Ratio 'Tap 2 Time (%): ' 0.0 1.0 0.60 1000.0 2	
// tap 3 length in % (control panel value)
equ tap3Ratio 0.45 
@sliderLabel tap3Ratio 'Tap 3 Time (%): ' 0.0 1.0 0.45 1000.0 
Read the rest

Spincad Ring Mod Distortion .spcd

POT 0 Ring Mod Frequency – Overdrive Volume
Full Clockwise- More ring mod movement, More overdrive Volume- automatically modulating
Counter Clockwise- Slower ring mod movement, Less overdrive Volume- automatically modulating

POT 1 Ring Mod LPF
Full Clockwise – Brighter Higher Ring Mod Freq coming through
Full Counter Clockwise- Lower Ring Mod Freq coming through

POT 2 Triangle/Hypersawtooth Blend – Clean LPF- Overdrive Gain
Full Clockwise – Heavy with Hypersawtooth LFO -More treble
Full Counter Clockwise – No distortion – Natural Ring Mod sound – More bass

Versatile Ring mod with parallel distortion that is volume modulated by ring mod frequency pot. Pot 0 and Pot 2 control multiple functions. The LFO is really tamed on this on lower frequency of 666Hz. Pot 2 cleans up distortion a lot, all the way left removes almost all of it sounding like a normal ring modulation. I really like this one. I learned that just playing with the pots and adding multiple controls to it can really add variety and accentuating the ring mods many overtones.

A regular distortion blend just sounds so harsh. The mids, and mid highs get really get muddy. Also added 12db gain to ring mod, may need to adjust this. I think its good right now, have to leave headroom for amps natural gain. Less is more, I want this to still be able to stack a distortion or high gain amp after this.



FV-1 Pedal Conversions Spincad Designer to PedalPCB Dev board

Fv-1 Sounds pretty fun to use. I don’t have know any assembly programming but can start designing in SpinCad. And then convert to HEX in SpincadASM and then to from HEX to .BIN using FV1Dev Bundle. I made a batch file so I can convert quickly to .BIN. Dev board has 3 presets the Arachnid Board has 8 totals effects. Some limitations though. Delay take up memory. Reverse Delay or Reverb doesn’t have enought memory to do longer lengths unless one drops bitrate. Not really meant to that. But I can make a cool ring mod pedal. With a ton of options not really available. Like messing with the LFO of RingMod. Or adding some delays, reverbs, other modulation options. Which I’ve been playing around with a bit. The Pedalpcb already a blend knob and output, input buffers. Larry just upgraded latest version. Has a patreon site with lots of good information.
https://www.patreon.com/holycityaudio
https://github.com/HolyCityAudio/SpinCAD-Designer/releases


Ring Modulation- Current sounds decent- trying to adjust frequency pot to be more square. Smooth sounds the best so far, sound like the pitch bend when adjusting delay time. Tried more square using LFO and Slicer and Power work well. Power can add a more squarish sound. The LPF is really useful for cutting out highs. The Frequency Range of Ring Mod can be adjusted. Has major impact on sound. Pedalpcb boards already have a blend and volume control. I have option of adding 3 more. One for Ring Mod Frequency, Tone controlling LPF and the last will be different, reverb level, delay time or feedback. Also knobs can control multiple values, can use scale/offset, much like on alexander pedals.

Spincad Designer to PedalPCB Dev board
1. SpinCad Designer create patches to import into Spincad ASM
2. Assemble patch in Spncad ASM create a project, load patches saves as HEX
3. Convert HEX file to Binary using FV1Dev Bundles srec_cat.exe, convert with cmd commands
4. Run ASProgrammer, open converted .BIN write to EEPROM

z:
cd Z:\Downloads\6 FV1\appz\FV1Dev-Windows\AsProgrammer
pause
srec_cat.exe ExampleProject.hex -Intel -o ExampleProject.bin -binary
pause

https://wiki.pedalpcb.com/wiki/Using_the_FV1Dev_on_Microsoft_Windows

Shoegazer 1.4 PCB cutout, PCB double sided jig made in Rhino3d/Rhinocam

3rd PCB test was a success, holes match to the double-sided back and no traces bridged. Had to create a Double sided Jig in Rhino3d/Rhinocam. The facing toolpath let you edit the start point of toolpaths. Which worked great with a 1″ surfacing bit. It has a finnicky way of letting entry cut come from the side. Kind of randomly picks it. Had to create two toolpaths. The facing toolpath let me cut the southeast section with the entry cut coming in from the side so that it wouldn’t plunge in. The second toolpath pocketed the other top left half, plunged successfully since the first toolpath cleared the way. Came out super smooth.

Also zeroed the XY datum manually using grbl commands in the Carbide Motion MDI. This lets me set the XY datum exactly every time. Something that may move over time depending on belt stretch. Also used bitsetter to set the z, seems like I get reliable repeatable results using it instead of doing it manually and dealing with user error when setting Z with a piece of paper.

Fast Jog to Southeast corner first then input these commands separately
g91 g0 y239.5
g91 g0 x-247

GRBL 1.1 commands
G91 (incremental positioning) G0 (fast travel) x-100 (move x100 units)- negative value goes in other direction

So I know run a production test on double-sided pcb and then wire it up and test it. Also drill holes for enclosure. I bought a laser for my drill press. Which reminds me I have to realign the drill press belts to get more RPM.


Got the idea of the jig from the following video, I tried different Carbide 3d square but the issue was making it completely square for the flip, which you don’t have to worry about on a Nomad. When you remove the wasteboard to add the threaded inserts, when you try to line it back on to the machine, it comes out crooked, the slightest off angle fucks up the flip. My 2nd test was not even a half degree off but the flip was fucked. The key is mounting the wasteboard with the inserts and then cutting out the square while it’s in place so that there is no wobble.

Shoegazer PCB Standard V 1.2

Finish the dual sided PCB design. Wouldn’t fit single sided. Ordered some FR1 PCB 4×6″ from Carbide3d. Not really many choices for FR1. But FR1 supposed to be easier on the endmill. Going to use pcb engraver cutter. Ill create outer cut toolpaths. The relay version probably going to be busy and only have room on the back to do it. Should be fun but those won’t get shipped for awhile.

Reflowed the PCB with larger area and doubled eyelet size from 1/32 to 1/16″ holes. Switched over to the 1/32″ endmill, the engraver bit is just hard to maintain exact specifications for such a small pcb board. The tapered bit hard to control depth and keep accurate traces. Kept shrinking and takes awhile to cut. I’ll run some test double sided cuts tomorrow. Not sure how straight my y axis wasteboard holes are, going to the metal angle on there and flip it on x axis. I feel it’s off by a hair. We’ll see. I think it’ll cut fine. Also ordered some UV solder mask to prevent oxidation and added 1/8″ plastic pcb mount holders. Probably could’ve just used double sided stickies but maybe the plastic is more durable?

Clickless Design Looper pedal research

So parts come in today for looper pedals I’ll sell. But not really happy. The bleeding is fixed with the 4PDT but there is noticeable click noise. Not a big deal if switching between hi gain fx loops but noticeable with cleaner loops.

1st Solution is try the Demont soft click switches https://lovemyswitches.com/super-premium-3pdt-latched-foot-switch-soft-click/. But they don’t make a 4pdt version, price is high and there still will probably a little bit of noise.

2nd Solution add filtering with resistors and caps
Only issue is that it will possibly change the tone and not completely kill the pop. When analyzing the pops with spectrum analyzer. The 3pdt analysis popped across the whole spectrum, the 4pdt popped more towards highs and low mids. The filtering wouldn’t completely tame it and most likely fuck up the tone. The RC filters are just never really pinpoint precise, or I’m just not an expert at it, failing to tone shape the DS-1 how I wanted, which was keep it stock with the JHS mods, but ultimately defaulting because there where probably so many filters. But definitely something I can but try but leaning on the last solution.

3rd solution is to use a relay device
https://www.amplifiedparts.com/tech-articles/relay-true-bypass-switching-1
https://www.amplifiedparts.com/tech-articles/relay-true-bypass-switching-2

This will allow me to not use the mechanical switching for the audio, which is causing the issue I think. If can I use the relay for the switching , which carries the audio, I can use the mechanical switch for just turning on the relay and maybe the leds. Audio is completely removed from the mechanical switch causing the popping sound. I can also keep the mechanical switches I have and just purchase the relays.

4th solution Use the best relay module by Lehle
https://www.amplifiedparts.com/products/relay-module-lehle-relay-true-bypass-switching-unit May be overkill for what I’m trying to accomplish, and 2 of these is pretty pricey.

Of course this is all theoretical. Will this open another can of worms? Here is an example of a clickless design. Unfortunately they discontinued the clickless version for some reason?! Think he uses a flip flop to engage relay. Not sure.

Other things I’ll change, is design a pcb that will clean up all the excessive wiring.
I can cut this easily on my cnc. Have a few copper blank pcb boards I can try. Also can’t forget to increase resistance to lower the blinding light leds. Also wondering if I can maybe cut out shapes for the LED lights. Instead of just a circle I can cutout the letter “A or B” and place LED underneath. Maybe protect the cutout with acrylic? or epoxy?

Relay not worth it?
https://www.vertexeffects.com/blog/vertex_true_bypass_mechanical_relay
Article states that it is not worth it. Kind of have to agree. I’d have to purchase 3 relays per box and it will probably prone to more failure. This box is going to be stomped on like crazy. My other a/b broke within a month. The one I made is going strong but I did have to retighten some jacks. On the fence on this but I’ll buy 3 of them and test them on my homemade one. The cost would only be about ten dollars in parts and redesigned the pcb board. Think I can buy 10 on alieexpress to test. The premium ones look nice. https://mas-effects.com/relay-bypass/ Nice one but cost 18 bucks.

Reamp box from youtube video schematics uploaded + Waves eMo Generator, part list digikey

#PRODUCT DETAILSQUANTITYAVAILABILITYUNIT PRICEEXTENDED PRICE
1‎MT4111-ND‎‎MET-31‎TRANSFORMER 600CT:600CT 3.0MADC1Immediate12.04000$12.04
2‎PDB181-K415K-503B-ND‎‎PDB181-K415K-503B‎POT 50K OHM 1/5W CARBON LINEAR1Immediate1.47000$1.47
3‎PDB241-E420P-103B0-ND‎‎PDB241-E420P-103B0‎POT 10K OHM 1/2W CARBON LINEAR1Immediate2.85000$2.85
4‎2057-SW-T3-2B-A-A3-S1-ND‎‎SW-T3-2B-A-A3-S1‎SUBMINIATURE TOGGLE SWITCH, SOLD1Immediate0.99000$0.99
5‎3185-CP3001-ND‎‎CP3001‎AUDIO CONN ACF (FEMALE)1Immediate2.72000$2.72
6‎HM487-ND‎‎1590BOR‎BOX ALUM ORANGE 4.41″L X 2.38″W1Immediate11.24000$11.24

Schematic here: https://mailchi.mp/b6b8b47a2bb0/hobo_re-amp

DIY reamp project completed. Parts ordered from digikey. Went smoothly, worked perfectly using Waves Waves eMo Generator. The low and bass restored as well as volume boosted. Now I can more accurately test the eq curves of pedals or use the VST effects into a my guitar amp. Really handy box.


Success! First Pedal Build A/B Loop Switcher, bypass work. NO BLEEDING!

125 B outlined in Red, should give me more space for battery

Success! First pedal done. Not really an effect, a utility pedal. But I click on this pedal the post, saves me from tap dancing when switching between loops. My other A/B dirty, bypass switcher leaked audio liked a motherfucka. It wasn’t like a low hum you get used to either. They wired without an 4PDT switch, can’t have an led and ground the other loops using a 3PDT. Actually I don’t think there are any available that do this without that noise issue. I contacted Loop Master pedals, but he uses 3PDT also, which will leak. Maybe the Boss LS-2, but that doesn’t have an additional bypass switch, which I find very useful. Going to mass produce these.

Noob Errors – Growing pains
Couple noob errors on my part I had a fun time troubleshooting. Firstly I forget the Return ground back into 4PDT switch. This error prevented the the A/B leds to work.

Other issue is the 4PDT switch wiring. I melted the lug so the solder slipped into switch causing contact through a whole column of lugs, effectively grounding it out. Thank god I knew how to troubleshoot using my multimeter to troubleshoot the switch. I was able to rectify the issue by extracting all the solder with wick and then rewiring. Thank God that worked, those switches are pricey.

Forget to add nut border around switches when illustrating it.

Forgot to measure 9v battery clip, battery will not fit lol, but I’ll keep this one.

Solutions
Doublecheck connection before soldering, check if 2 wires go to same lug, instead of backtracking and reflowing solder that caused the issue. Clean solder point so to cut back on excessive heating time.

Use 125b enclosure, this should be able to fit the battery, it has extra width, height and depth.

Other issues, LEDS are super bright, test lowering the brightness or order others, maybe add more resistance? Buy more different colored LEDS, I have multi color ones, will if that works, 1 less hole to drill.

I’ll keep this one since I don’t use a battery but I think it is helpful for touring musicians, gives them more flexibility when things go bad.

Clicking noise is semi loud, not sure if I can fix this, It’s a mechanical switch issue, same sound when not powered. The soft 3pdt isn’t too bad but they don’t make soft 4pdt switches, maybe search more for one.






Shoegazer A/B Clean Dirty + Master Bypass Horizontal Version

Assembled and drilled holes. Had to use reamer for the switches and dc jack, need to purchase right size bit and maybe something stronger that can handle metal better. Will do electronic wiring tomorrow.
Think I like the name Shoe gazer better. Gonna print the cutout guides and get this thing wired. I’ll do the artwork later on CNC if it works well, hopefully the hi gain pedals won’t leak into the other channels.

Vertical was a bit too small, users would click on both switches even with an offset. Not sure about the fonts, need something that’ll engrave easy.

Wax on, Wax off, potted pickups- Waxing does darken pickup, but when loaded, still similar

Using the Cobain Univox clone pickup with an Unearthly Ghast, HM-2 clone, pedal, squealed like a pig, even on the tamest settings. Well the setup was different I usually gain stack from an overdrive pedal into a big muff into a clean channel. The best results for the HM-2 type pedals is the reverse. Run the HM-2 into a highly distorted channel on the tube amp. This produces the massive chainsaw sound. Can’t obtain this sound chain stacking the classic way. I definitely need to wax the pickups. So removed the pickup from Cobain #1 to wax it up and ran some analysis tests afterwards. Wax potting was pretty simple, just takes awhile to melt with a crock pot. The temperature was around 160°F and I used a full pound of beeswax. I also bought some more paraffin wax from Walfart, way cheaper than Amazon.

I compared the analysis to what I had before. Loaded was similar but no load resonant peak was drastically different. Also DC resistance went down a hair. Hopefully when I install, it will be have less squealing.

loaded resonant peak similar to unwaxed but no loaded was drastically darker.
Loaded resonant peak similar to unwaxed but no loaded was drastically darker.



DS1 Circuit Bending- JHS Synth Mod, Tremolo Mod, Wampler Synth Fuzz, Swell and Octave, descriptions

https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=106243.0
Added more mods from Wampler’s books. Just interested in the crazy effects. Definitely can add a momentary switch to Wampler’s octave synth since it’s only one. Also there is a tremolo mod I can try but the video’s online had a lot of popping noise.

Looks like S1 is the same as Wampler’s Synth Octave hack (C4 jumped to C9, transistor booster to right before clipping diodes). The S1 goes to R16 (tone level) which might be related to the tremolo hack in Wampler’s book, that can connect to S3, that connects to C10, which is the end of the OP-Amp Gain Stage.

Kurt Cobain Mustang #1 v3 Finished, photoshoot

WIll try to take more picture tomorrow morning. Also ordered a cobain neck plate, black this time. I will post on sale probably tomorrow around noonish. I’ll probably record video for this. The pickup sounds amazing. I definitely get that Univox sound.
Added shielding under control plate, don’t think I need it under pickguard since humbucker cover has it covered. The paint in cavity isn’t covered in grounding paint, unless I’m supposed to dig into the paint. Sounds pretty quiet, only hear squealing when stacking distortion pedals on super high gain. I can stack a DS-1 and Muff and at low to med gain settings. It think it sounds a hair quieter with the shielded control plate. Will test more.

Also if I do decide the ground the pickguard I will also remove the pickup and ground all the poles. Currently a few already have continuity.

Project DS-1 JHS Synth Drive with momentary switch

I have a couple boss Ds-1 pedals. I want to modify them to an early JHS Synth Drive but have a momentary switch.

I ordered most of the parts my only issue would be wiring the momentary switch. It is a “Normally open Switch”. I can place it between S2 and R10 connector but it would open circuit. I would need another SPDT switch that engages the switch so that it works in both modes.

With extra switch disengaged it would work like a normal synth drive, turning any of the side switches engages an effect.

With the extra switch engaged. The effect would only turn on when the momentary switch is turned on.

And I would clean out all the ceramic caps with film caps. Looks like there is about 6 of them. I’ll document everything also.

Momentary switch would go on top of by foot pedal, inside battery compartment. I have a adaptor to 9v I can use if

Epiphone Dragon Sg Jr. Finished For Sale- SOLD!

Finished Dragon SG. New pickup sounds amazing in it. Talking to customer if he is satisfied to sell him. If not I could probably sell for more than I estimated to him.
The pickup sounded great, it was a hair noisier than wax potted but I think the lacquer dipping helped. I seem to like guitars with a loaded resonant frequency range of 2.5-3kHz. I think i’ll make the p90s 2.5 and humbuckers I make 2.9kHz and and single coils in jaguar range of 3.5kHz ish.

Not a perfect finish some minor blemishes by horns and swirls marks on back. Overall I’m satisfied but definitely room for improvement. Need to spend more time wetsanding, and the discoloration caused by a major run that I should have level sanded before adding another coat. Told customer this he still purchased and told the pickup is covered by lifetime warranty, repair or replacement.

Customer purchased. Will probably make more dragon guitars, I have another SG I can do this with and 3 strats, though I’d have to redesign the dragon a bit.

Dummy coil research for future P90 builds

Researching dummy coils. I have bunch of ceramic single coils I can test with, or wind some up. Looks like their are different ways to wire it. Most guitars are already in parallel in phase. I’ll test serial in phase rwrp. See how it affects tone. Not sure how I would test resonant peak but I’d have to probably rewind the p90s I have. Which I wanted to do anyways. I can test with a cable jack and plug and wire it in series or parallel.

Also can use a noise suppressor, but I’ve noticed the hum is still there when letting notes sustain out. As the volume drops the hum becomes more apparent.

Also I read somewhere that the coil has to be on same plane. Definitely will test that.

It will definitely raise the DC values. Which may be a good thing with the passive clipping diodes mod I may add to my guitar builds.

Other options, convert the single coils to noiseless. Either by stacking the coils or cutting them in half.

Adding a dummy coil to another pickup is usually done to make the working single coil pickup humbucking or quieter in the instrument. Some companies use the pickup directly under the strings without using pole pieces and others rout a cavity away from the proximity of the strings.

Using a dummy coil the DC resistance will change along with the tone and frequency response of the existing pickup. The inductance will change when testing a pickup. The dummy coil can either be used in series in phase or series out of phase, or parallel in phase or out of phase. When adding coils remember it can change the tone or phasing of your instrument when used in combination with other pickups.

https://www.1728.org/guitar1b.htm

Also can run the dummy coil in parallel. Supposedly giving more of brighter tone. The dc resistance isn’t doubled.

https://www.premierguitar.com/pro-advice/guitar-shop-101-wiring-humbuckers-in-parallel-on-an-hh-strat

Winded 2 more test Cobain Univox pickups-50mm, 52mm

Winded 2 more Cobain Univox Pickups. 1 with cream bobbins for the Cobain Mustang #1 Mustang V3 and the other for the Dragon SG Jr. The SG pickup parts were used from the Epiphone, which used a ceramic magnet and 43awg. Just total mud. I dipped in lacquer also, these should sound sick. Fucking Epiphone you kill a tree to make a guitar and put in a dogshit pickup. The fucking magnet cost 3 bucks for Alnico V, the most important factor in the sound of an electric guitar. FUCK YOU Gibson! I swear I will never shortchange the pickups of my customers to save 3 fucking dollars. I will handwound every single guitar I make with quality pickups. You and fender love making shiny turds. At least squier has been improving, fucking Epiphone is dogshit. Shine your turds you fucking pigs!

http://www.jdguitarworks.com/coil/coil.html

1/16″ metal to add inductance failed but metal spacer had an effect on no load test

Tested adding some inductance to pickup with steel 1/16″ thick metal and also a metal spacer. The sheet metal had no difference. The metal space did lower the peak for the no load test but the loaded test was pretty much the same. Maybe added another strip of the 1/16″ may work but maybe it’s the wrong type of metal. Maybe if I can find some metal spacer without holes. Either way I’m definitely going to to add more winds to coils to get that 2.99kHz target peak. That’s the important number to match.

Dragon SG Jr. Last Coat of Clear

Last clear coat on Dragon SG Jr. Clear coat couldn’t level earlier because I tried spraying in 100 degree weather. 85 degrees is the max temp I can spray at But reached that temperature at about 1030 ish my time and lasts pretty much all day. Spray finishing has to be early around 6-7 am for the natural leveling to occur. Very bumpy finish when sprayed in hot temperature. Unfortunately with summer here, my number of coats per day is really limited now. Can only do 3 or 4 coats a day if I’m lucky.

Will let this one cure for a week and then level sand and polish for assembly. Ran a pickup analysis on Epiphone SG humbucker, it’s ceramic with resonant peak of 2kHz. Trying to copy a JB SD but muddy as fuck. Will ask the user if he wants me to upgrade it or I can give him my univox clone. Should sound way better.

User pretty happy so far. He wants the univox style pickup I’m cloning. Gonna dip in Lacquer and install in SG. I’ll wire it 50’s style. Can’t wait to hear it.

The Early Univox Phase III Humbucker Pickup is the Holy Grail Pickup for Early Nirvana Bleach Tone

The Early Univox Phase III humbucker pickup is the holy grail pickup for Early Nirvana Tone
Kurt Cobain the luthier, knew what he liked. The Univox Phase III pickup was his favorite of that Bleach era.
He would use this pickup on his first Mustang, SG and featured on the Bleach Album. Why did he love this pickup so much. The answer is possibly the resonant peak. A tad bit higher than a normal PAF. Brilliant for sure!

• Below 1 kHz: dull, hollow, muffled.
• 1.0 to 1.5 kHz: very soft, smooth, and mellow (think Clapton’s Cream-era “woman tone”).
• 1.5 to 2.0 kHz: warm.
• 2.0 to 2.5 kHz: singing—a typical PAF humbucker’s resonant peak.
• 2.5 to 3.0 kHz: brilliant.
• 3.0 to 5.0 kHz: harsh, shrill, metallic—the resonant peak for Strat and Tele pickups.
• 5.0 to 8.0 kHz: sharp.
• 8.0 to 15.0 kHz: glass-hard, ice-picky.
• Above 15.0 kHz: neutral, colorless, lifeless.
https://www.premierguitar.com/mod-garage-exploring-outlaw-pickup-parameters

I was luckily able to play a couple Univox Phase III guitars. One was a sunburst and the other was a Natural finish. Shoutouts to one of my customers to let me borrow these guitars for a few weeks to analyze. The sunburst guitar sounded amazing. The lows were very clear and articulate and captured what felt like magic to my ears. My inverted chords through a big muff really shined. The natural finish phase 3 sounded great also just didn’t quite have the mojo. That mojo was measured and analyzed using a USB oscilloscope to compare the resonant peak of both pickups. Also noted there is no wax potting.


The resonant peak shown above is 2.99 kHz noticeably lower than the Univox Pickups I tested. I tested a total of 6 Univox pickups. 2 from a sunburst phase III, 2 from Natural phase III, One purchased for 200+ by customer, origin unknown and last one pulled from a phase IV, but most likely pulled from a ripper guitar with white bobbins. Seller let me borrow last one to test which had a faulty wire that I repaired and analyzed.

One difference I found was the baseplate. The baseplate on the early model is much different. There are more holes in it. Also the early model has and extra bar for holding the slugs. The baselplate is slightly bigger,compared to a standard paf. It has some extra metal where the 2 screws are. I also noticed the wiring of the pickup is slightly different, which I’ll show below when trying to clone.

Achieving Pickup Nirvana Test 1- Cloning Early Univox Phase 3 humbuckers- Matching DC, Inductance and Resonant Peak

First thing I tried to do was get in the ballpark by matching the DC resistance.
I used coil estimator jdguitarworks.com/coil/coil.html

First test – 7.81k 84.6pf capacitance, Still off, more similar to the later phase III resonant peak


2nd test 7.646k 62pf capacitance, Still off, resonant peak raised a little but the DC resistance lowered .17k and capacitance lowered. I wired this one like the Univox. The other start ground was wired directly to baseplate ground, instead of separately like above. This allows me more headroom to add more winds and keep the DC resistance similar to get that inductance higher and closer to 2.99 kHz target range.


Might also try some other things to get that inductance higher. Will add some sheet metal strips to baseplate to try to get that extra bar they added. Hopefully this will get me closer. Also adding the pickup cover will lower the resonant peak about .04 kHz. Obviously the headroom lets me add more … Read the rest

SG Jr. Dragon update, Added rays and light blue pickguard

Painted in green metallic rays and cut out light blue pickguard. Maybe do a little more blending of background color. Will start clear coating tomorrow. Really having a blast doing this. I think I have 3 more Squier Strats I can paint like this, maybe sell for $400 or more. Would definitely help me bankroll and upgrade the hardware on my newer guitars to locking tuners. The SG body just seams like a perfect fit. May do my other SG like this instead of the Cobain SG since the Epiphone SG doesn’t have block inlays. Took about a week to paint another week to clear coat and dry.

Dragon pickguard created

Cut out the first version with bevel with v cutter. V cutter also cut out the bevels. But a lot of cleaning after, the last depth of cut sort of melted the acrylic and was very hairy. Also the V bit makes a very sharp edge had to really dull the sharp edges. My Y axis motors are a bit off. Have to tweak the MDI for $101. Fucking belt drive cnc machines. Tweaking the setting gives uneven lengths, belts must have different tension on each. But it’s close enough to cut for now. Have to fine tune them before cutting neck pockets.

The color I don’t like it’s a bit darker than the photos, the contrast. I’m gonna cut a light blue very transparent version. Also experiments with blending the background for a more cloudy effect.

Toolpaths ready to program and cut, blue labels looks a bit fugly imo

Almost ready to generate toolpaths to cut pickguard. Going to send preview to customer. Blue label record looks to fugly to me. My eyes hurt, Gonna see if he’d rather try the black label.

Optimized shapes for toolpaths, set inner diameter of toggle switches to .0635 so it’ll cut accurately, with 1/16 endmill. I think that’s what I used last time. Also gotta to remember to increase the feedrate to prevent endmill for cluttering with vinyl. Nevermind, don’t have a 1/16 endmill. Should cut fine since, not using those square holes anyway. Going to use the datum center point at center of vinyl record. Will secure with screw and double sided tape and tiger clamps. Ready to cut waiting for customer approval.

Dust Collection made from cnc gamma seal lid, body thickness `1.5 inches

Finished the dust collection bucket for planer and bandsaw. Cut a hole in the gamma seal lid and CNC cut the the lid from 1/8 birch plywood and bought some powertec dust ports and sealed with silicon.

Wen Bandsaw cut width of Body blank to 13 inches planed to ~1.51 inches. Still a lot of wood chips flying from the planer, had to brush off chips, no difference when connected to harbor freight dust collector. Saves me a ton of work rather than hand planing, which would have taken me a least an hour and a lot of sweat. Everything done in under 20 minutes. I do have to brush off the excess chips on wood though between cuts. I tried 1/16 inch at first and lowered to 1/32, half turn for finishing. Came out pretty good with minor snipe. Overall happy, not sure long how the blades will last or if I need to upgrade to helical cutter. Ran both the planer and HF dust collector without tripping the breaker.

Need to order some 4 inch blast gates for HF dust collector. Also ordering a a better Pwncnc dust hose clamp, the velcro attached one wasn’t secure enough. Also will create an arm extension to support the hose better, extra tension might be effecting the gantry.

PwnCNC 4 inch dustboot and Harbor Freight 2HP dust collector with Wynn Environmental 35B222NANO Cartridge Kit Merv15

Upgraded the dust boot on my Shapeoko to a 4 inch Pwncnc dust boot v7. Really easy to put together. Will get better airflow with 4 inch. Added 2HP Harbor Freight dust collector. Also thought about making a cyclone filter, but I read that it cuts down on the airflow dramatically. I added the bucket under the collection bag for easy cleanup. May add more supports for the hose. I also lined the HP dust collector with silicone and duct tape. I ordered another elbow and 4 inch coupler. May add a 4 inch reducer to 2.5 inch for my bandsaw, but not sure if is needed, the wen bandsaw doesn’t seem designed well for dust collection. Also making dust collection bucket for Dewalt planer with a modified gamma seal lid and powertec dust mounts.

Really impressed with the dust boot, it is pricey but they are the best I can find, with easy to order replaceable parts.

The wynn filter is super pricey with expensive shipping. Was kinda of let down because the weak protective shipping that bent my filter. Definitely should have gone with the donaldson filter. Kind of screwed, I’ll eat return shipping for errors on their part. Definitely not going to buy from them again.

Edit, talked to Wynn Environmental about my issues. Sent them pictures of the bent lid and they totally hooked it up and sent me a new one. So I have 2 now, first one does leak, so it’s a good backup now. Really pleased with their customer support. Not many companies offer great customer support.

Dewalt Planer 935x is a beast

Dewalt 935x planer, works like a beast, very clean surface hard wood birdseye maple, 95 percent smooth, some minor tool marks. Leveled the tops to same depth removed the hump at the end. The material removal gauge is totally inaccurate. Cuts way too much. Better to use the Depth Adjustment scale on far right. Also better to adjust by turning wheel:

1 full turn = 1/16 inch or 0.0625″
1/2 turn= 1/32″ or .03125″
1/4 turn= 1/64″ or .015625″


Dewalt planer 735 Digital planer mod below. Looks super accurate, may modify mine.

Also close to getting the Harbor Freight 70 Gallon 2 HP High Flow High Capacity Dust Collector. I have to rearrange my work area though. Going to move the desk and CNC machine towards window and planer on North wall with the dust collection there.

Purchased best consumer planer, Dewalt 735x vs 734 vs WEN PL1326

Bit the bullet and bought the Dewalt 735x thickness planer.
The top 3 candidates were the Dewalt 734, Dewalt 735X and WEN PL1326. Wanted at least 3 blades and all these have the highest feedrates.

Dewalt 734,
Home depot has a sale at $399 https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-12-1-2-in-Portable-Thickness-Planer-with-Three-Knife-Cutter-Head-with-24-in-Tote-with-Organizer-DW734DWST24075/203355217 It’s only 12.5″ inches though, wanted at least a 13″ It does have 3 blades but ranked worse in finish quality. High feed rate also.

WEN PL1326
https://wenproducts.com/collections/planers-jointers/products/wen-pl1326-15-amp-13-inch-spiral-benchtop-thickness-planer
13″ spiral cutter, really wanted this, cheapest spiral cutter. Only issue was build quality, not exactly pro quality. And it was sold out. Fakespot spot said they had a lot of deceptive reviews though. Had one decent video on Youtube but had nylon parts that didn’t look so pro. It has features with lock on it and is 13″ vs the 734. The spiral looks really clean. I’d probably fall back to this if the dewalt 735x doesn’t work out. Replacement blades cheap, just not sure of durability.

Dewalt 735x
https://www.ebay.com/itm/401547510503
Best build quality, durable, 13″cut with 3 blades. The best finish quality. The fan exhaust has a blower fan in it not requiring an external one. Can also mod with a Shelix Cutterhead, https://www.ebay.com/itm/115269080561. Which is expensive but cleaner finish, that does draws more power. But may save money long run with blade changes. I may go this route eventually when my extra 3 blades die out. Myers video definitely says it’s a benefit for heavy users.

Also was recommended to use 20amp circuit. I checked by electric box, it has does use 20amp although outlet jacks are normal, not sure what thickness wire it uses. Apparently this box is outdated. Should replace it.

AC, Kitchen, Washer, Garage, FAU (forced air unit, heater?), Disposal, Gen, Lights
100 amp main  Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok UGMB112-24-100SF


Surfacing neck, some rubbing, surfacing bit not meant for hardwood, must use planar

Edit- So the surfacing bits aren’t meant to surface hardwoods, it may work for a few but I’d have to get the higher end bits with removeable blades. What I should get is an electric planar. I also have an ancient 16 inch planar that will work.

Surfaced my neck to about .92 inches. Got a ton of rubbing going on. But it is super smooth. Changed by chipload from .019 to .025 by increasing feed from 100 to 134, Same lines, just spread out more, should try 50 percent next time and adjust chipload to .02 or more. Also lot of rubbing on corners. So maybe try different toolpaths that don’t have that cornering at the end going over same cut spot causing excessive heat. Will try different tooling operation in rhinocam or may extend boundary, not sure if that will work on neck though because of long length.

Also thickness was a little thicker towards the lip sticking out past wasteboard, probably due to the chatter of nothing underneath to support, it wasn’t by that much, cutting that part off anyway. Definitely can’t have this rubbing burn on body surface. Don’t think it was the tool either, seems pretty sharp still.

Also maybe make another wasteboard for the neck. May try .5 wasteboard. Think my inserts will fit. Forgot to order M6 screws though. Will order those.

Also noticed that my gcode was fucked up a little bit. The step cut of .02 was changed to .03 also noticed my cuts on first cut where not straight at one section. See if I could reproduce. Maybe some rounding tolerance shit going on. Maybe I fucked up the gcode post processor when editing? Revert to default, see if causes same issue.

Surfacing test cuts with Rhinocam 2.5D facing operation, Custom Rhinocam Shapeoko Post processor

Surfacing test on pine wood was successful. Used a smaller 1 inch surfacing bit. I also straightened up my gantry a few months ago with dial indicator recommended by Winston. I also adjusted the stepper motor steps, which I didn’t test. But overall really happy, there are absolutely no lines at all on smooooth baby’s ass surface. Used 25 percent stepover and used rhinocam to for 2.5D facing operation. Offset the top surface by 1 inch with .01 cut depth. only 1 pass, 18250rpm (dial3 on carbide router). Had to set the datum on machine manually, couldn’t use the edge detection tools because of the surfacing bit.

This will be helpful especially for the warped hard maple neck blanks I purchased. I think I have like 20 of them. I’ll surface those next.

Bad news though for the frets slots in Rhinocam. The Shapeoko machine doesn’t support R modifier commands when using the G2/G3 arc commands. Unfortunately lining up the I, K modifiers was a failure, they just wouldn’t line up correctly. I even contacted Rhinocam, said exactly the same thing. Not sure if I can accurately model with I and K modifiers, it kept getting offset crooked, even got mismatched arcs errors in Camotics. So all is not lost, I can still generate the segmented linear code from rhinocam.

Other good news, I had to edit the Rhinocam post processor, the main issue was it being locked to 10000 rpm. I edited the min/max and also tried to mimic the syntax from carbide create.
I uploaded below just rename txt file to .spm and paste into C:\ProgramData\MecSoft Corporation\RhinoCAM 2018 for Rhino 6.0\Posts\Mill

The good news is the post processor can be changed from g90 absolute to g91 incremental. I could have done this in Gcodewizard but really happy it is a cool function in rhinocam, was trying find the command somewhere, haven’t ran a test cut just compared the coordinates from both files and it looks like they changed to relative, could be wrong though. I’ll run tests. This would allow me to make doublesided projects easier. Only having to setup from 1 axis and able to use tape to workhold pieces to allow better cuts along profile. Overall, really happy with Rhinocam, right now I am using an older not legit version but will purchase the full version from them once I start getting rolling. The new version has gcode editors built in a few new features but I still should support them but it’s 2750 a year or 5000 for pro version. It works so great with Rhinoceros.

Rhinocam fretslots- super easy curved fretslots using engrave functions

Think I found another solution other that editing gcode. Still dirty like the easel pro gcode. Averages about 150 gcode lines per fret, compared to on 25 line for the arc commands. But this saves me so much time and easily flexible. Generated curved segments, exports to carbide post processor. I also ran a test on the main pocket. Looked amazing clean. Can simulate within rhino. Create boundaries within rhino. Meshcam you have to really eyeball the boundaries. Trying to see if I can set up relative points. I think i’ll use the gcode from here, saves me time fooling with meshcam. Although i love meshcam it’s a bit limited and doesn’t do fret slots. Also tried Gwizard, works nicely when converting to relative points, just got to make sure you add the g91 relative coordinates command in gcode.

Quick way to export Fret Slot endpoints for Gcode creation

“BoundingBox” command around neck and fretboard
Set Cplane to top left corner of this bounding box, ViewSet Cplane3 points
Quick add points by selecting all the curves and “CrvStart” and “CrvEnd” command
SelPt” command to select points
RemapCPlane” will remap the pts to the world view so point lineup to datum of cplane
Export” command to export points as a text file, can select different options

“EvaluatePt” command to test the old and new coordinates from a similar point from each set. World view should match the cplane plane view of old point.

Still trying to find out away to export the radius automatically into a text or csv file. Export object properties doesn’t work. Maybe scripting. Does show radius in PropertiesDetails panel.

https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/export-points-coordinates-to-csv-from-rhino/39783

2.893830336972175 19.72605406283105 -0.1503872798900644
2.908831725861067 18.3814721183866 -0.1512404272465318
2.922998392527735 17.11202628505326 -0.1520590795748484
2.936330336972177 15.91369434060882 -0.1528410104749654
2.948970614749955 14.78258322949771 -0.1535926874546832
2.960776170305512 13.71466517394216 -0.1543037933092737
2.972026170305509 12.70674989616438 -0.1549895855104204
2.98272061474996 11.75522072949771 -0.1556488866727349
2.992719225861066 10.85702628505327 -0.1562717934115168
3.002163670305515 10.0091096183866 -0.1568659481088264
3.011053948083287 9.208692951719932 -0.1574303642251207
3.019524781416624 8.453276285053267 -0.157972774889403
3.027441448083287 7.740220729497715 -0.1584837801025848
3.034942836972181 7.067026285053263 -0.1589716170111135
3.042024781416623 6.431609618386606 -0.1594354243289183
3.048831725861072 5.83188878505327 -0.1598841950359408
3.055080336972181 5.265776285053267 -0.1602987218285007
3.061052559194403 4.731331840608824 -0.1606972092082555
3.066748392527734 4.227027673942157 -0.1610793457766369
3.072026170305513 3.750916562831044 -0.1614352569492227
3.077026170305516 3.301470729497712 -0.1617740528767977
3.081748392527738 2.877304062831048 -0.1620954714477866
1.086887281416617 22.34438739616437 -0.1506701444928687
1.070913670305512 20.84924850727549 -0.1515840885431201
1.055915059194392 19.43841656283104 -0.152456836558275
1.041748392527732 18.10688739616438 -0.1532941532751435
1.028274781416624 16.85036100727549 -0.1541022070254554
1.015637281416623 15.66452767394216 -0.1548704849215907
1.003831725861067 14.5453596183866 -0.1555972542875805
0.9925817258610685 13.48924989616438 -0.1562979748738753
0.9818872814166211 12.49244295171993 -0.1569714690298083
0.9718858925277338 11.5516096183866 -0.1576078245257113
0.9624414480832888 10.66369295171993 -0.1582145179197765
0.9535539480832913 9.825776285053262 -0.1587905574875448
0.945080336972179 9.034942951719934 -0.1593443974924211
0.9371636703055115 8.288415173942152 -0.1598659163956624
0.9296650591944005 7.5839707294977 -0.1603635314397307
0.9225803369721763 6.918970729497712 -0.1608369306317483
0.9157761703055129 6.291472118386594 -0.1612945563056227
0.9095247814166241 5.699109618386597 -0.1617175718898762
0.9035525591944005 5.140081840608826 -0.1621239940677723
0.8979983925277359 4.612444340608825 -0.1625039812892011
0.8925817258610689 4.114388785053263 -0.1628764316363656
0.8875817258610716 3.64438739616438 -0.1632218711719977
0.8828595036388487 3.200776285053269 -0.1635495646548035
2.87785950363884 21.1503596183866 -0.1494945306880764

Gcode success G2,G3 arc R commands, G18 (XZplane) command with Fanfret guitar

Success!
Just tested modifying gcode manually to make radiused slots. Meshcam was an failure, even with pocketing it. G18 changes to XZ plane then plunge to first point and use g2/g3 command for end point. Can set the radius in the G2/G3. Will work for fan frets also but involves analyzing the radius of each fret. Just select radiused fret, may have to simplify curve first, and use “Radius” command. Getting the exact start points also a bit of work. Maybe, adding points to end sections of fret, then use “What” command to grab the coordinates. Also setting a cplane to your origin point to input into gcode. Unfortunately Easel Pro doesn’t support G2 ARC commands. Tested in Camotics and ran smoothly. Hopefully my machine supports it. Easel pro so nice though wish it had that support.

%
(FILENAME: Fret Slotting Toolpath G18 XZ Arcs.nc)
(STOCK/BLOCK, 100.000, 500.000, 6.350, 50.000, 250.000, 6.350)
(TOOL/MILL,0.6000,3.00000,38.000,0.0)
G00 X0.0000 Y0.0000 Z2.0000 (fast travel to z height of first point)
(Zero Fret)
G00 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z2.0000 (START POINT fast travel to xyz of first point )
G01 F120.0 Z-2.1667  (linear movement plunge rate down to z point)
G18 F600 (select XZ plane sets feedrate for cuts)
G03 X26.5000 Y250.9687 Z-2.1667 R586.8924 (END POINT Counter clockwise arc from XYZ, with Radius of fret)
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y250.9687 Z-2.4167 (linear movement plunge rate down to next XYZ)

G18 F600 (select XZ plane sets feedrate for cuts)
G02 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.4167 R586.8924 (Clockwise arc from XYZ, with Radius of fret)
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.6667 (linear movement plunge rate down to next XYZ)

(Rinse and repeat lowering z in incrementally stepdown)
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y250.9687 Z-2.6667 R586.8924
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y250.9687 Z-2.9167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.9167 R586.8924
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.1667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y250.9687 Z-3.1667 R586.8924
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y250.9687 Z-3.4167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.4167 R586.8924
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.6667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y250.9687 Z-3.6667 R586.8924
G00 Z2.0000

(END)
(OF PROGRAM)

Dissecting Gcode

Trying to dissect his gcode. Can use different way to generate the arc curve with either the I and K offsets, or possibly use the R to add the fretboard radius. Since I’m doing fanfret the radius will always change for each fret, Luckily in Rhino3d there is a “Radius” command to analyze the radius of the curve. Good thing I simplified my fret curves to 2 degrees while maintaining the overall perpendicular fretboard radius of 16″. Still not sure if this will work for fanfret, because the arc generated follows the XZ plane. Each end of fanfret slot is not on the same XZ plane. Maybe adjusting that center point may work, j.

%
(FILENAME: Fret Slotting Toolpath G18 XZ Arcs.nc)
(STOCK/BLOCK, 100.000, 500.000, 6.350, 50.000, 250.000, 6.350)
(TOOL/MILL,0.6000,3.00000,38.000,0.0)
G00 X0.0000 Y0.0000 Z2.0000 (fast travel to z height of first point)
(Zero Fret)
G00 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z2.0000 (START POINT fast travel to xyz of first point )
G01 F120.0 Z-2.1667 (linear movement plunge rate down to z point)

G18 F600 (select XZ plane sets feedrate for cuts)
G03 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.1667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-181.9833 (END POINT Counter clockwise arc from XYZ, with offset)
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.4167 (linear movement plunge rate down to next XYZ)

G18 F600 (select XZ plane sets feedrate for cuts)
G02 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.4167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-181.7333 (Clockwise arc from XYZ, with offset)
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.6667 (linear movement plunge rate down to next XYZ)

(Rinse and repeat)
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.6667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-181.4833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.9167

G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.9167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-181.2333
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.1667

G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.1667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-180.9833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.4167

G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.4167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-180.7333
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.6667

G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.6667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-180.4833
G00 Z2.0000

Gcode fret slots G18, G3 commands

Limitations of Meshcam, don’t allow cut along a line. Not sure if it’ll work with fanfrets, gonna have to dig deeper on this one. He uploaded his code also, so I can see it’ll work for on multiscale. Ran it in camotics also. G18 changes the plane to along XZ. It has an arc in the cut, and cuts straight no weird pocketing moves that would enlarge the slot. Maybe combine this with the ramping from easel pro, might be a lot, but i’ll try. Multiple people had issues doing this in meshcam. Not sure if making a pocket that small will cut cleanly.

Info on commands
http://www.manufacturinget.org/2011/12/cnc-g-code-g02-and-g03/
https://marlinfw.org/docs/gcode/G002-G003.html
https://cnctips.wordpress.com/2010/06/26/nc-programming-arc-centers/

Doug’s gcode file and notes
https://www.stepcraft-systems.com/en/forum/milling/5103-cutting-0-6-mm-slots-in-a-guitar-fretboard-with-g18-g02-g03-arc-commands#52169

“I have started a new post on this topic rather than append it to my guitar build thread because I feel it will be of wider interest. Last night I successfully managed to cut 1.5 mm deep, 0.6 mm wide pure arc slots for the frets in a guitar fretboard I am making using the G18 (arc in XZ plane) command in conjunction with the G02 and G03 CW & CCW arc commands.

I wrote the GCode for this myself. The YouTube video below (filmed with my iPhone, hand held) illustrates the process. I used a 0.6 mm diameter, Kyocera solid carbide two flute end mill cutting in 0.25 mm depths per pass. The system parameters were extremely conservative to avoid breaking the fragile end mill. Spindle speed 10,000 rpm, XY feed rate 600 mm/min, Z plunge rate 120 mm/min but all Z movements were done outside the line of the stock. This is a test/validation cut on spruce tonewood. The final cuts will be done on European oak.” -Doug

%
(FILENAME: Fret Slotting Toolpath G18 XZ Arcs.nc)
(STOCK/BLOCK, 100.000, 500.000, 6.350, 50.000, 250.000, 6.350)
(TOOL/MILL,0.6000,3.00000,38.000,0.0)
G00 X0.0000 Y0.0000 Z2.0000
(Zero Fret)
G00 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z2.0000
G01 F120.0 Z-2.1667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.1667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-181.9833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.4167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.4167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-181.7333
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.6667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.6667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-181.4833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.9167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-2.9167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-181.2333
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.1667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.1667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-180.9833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.4167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.4167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-180.7333
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.6667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y230.9687 Z-3.6667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-180.4833
G00 Z2.0000
(Fret 1)
G00 X-26.5000 Y196.7547 Z2.0000
G01 F120.0 Z-2.1667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-2.1667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-181.9833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-2.4167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-2.4167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-181.7333
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-2.6667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-2.6667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-181.4833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-2.9167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-2.9167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-181.2333
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-3.1667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-3.1667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-180.9833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-3.4167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-3.4167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-180.7333
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-3.6667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y196.7547 Z-3.6667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-180.4833
G00 Z2.0000
(Fret 2)
G00 X-26.5000 Y164.4607 Z2.0000
G01 F120.0 Z-2.1667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-2.1667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-181.9833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-2.4167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-2.4167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-181.7333
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-2.6667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-2.6667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-181.4833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-2.9167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-2.9167 I-26.5000 J0.000 K-181.2333
G01 F120.0 X-26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-3.1667
G18 F600
G03 X26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-3.1667 I26.5000 J0.000 K-180.9833
G01 F120.0 X26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-3.4167
G18 F600
G02 X-26.5000 Y164.4607 Z-3.4167 I-26.5000 
Read the rest

Fret Radius down to 16″ from 16.66 Prepping fretslot toolpaths, Easel Pro vs Meshcam tests

Redid fretboard and frets for 16″ radius, forgot I don’t have a fret clamp for 16.66″ lol. I could hammer them in, but would rather clamp them in and make them perfect. Less fret levelling later if it is close to perfect.
Talked highline guitars about radiusing fretslots. Brought up the question about sanding fretboard then slotting the radiused frets. He said it was way too much for his workflow. I totally understand. His method a bit different than the hammer bass method. He separates all the parts.
Which brings up the other issue of fretslots. A delicate matter in so many ways. The cutters for the slots are so thin and easily break. Much trial and error, and a rigid machine needed. Also the way it is programmed.
The easel pro method incorporates 2D slots and cut them out like a cutout. Can be done this way in Carbide Create also. Carbide Create does not do ramping like Easel pro. It has more options for the ramping angle. I feel it is important because of how fragile the cutters are. I could import more toolpaths into easel but, doesn’t create the shapeoko gcode with the m6 toolchanges. Carbide Motion can import it, but I might opening another can of worms.
Chris also mentioned that meshcam isn’t possible for fretslots. I would have to create 3d pockets unlike just the 2D line in easel pro/carbide create. Of course that may create issues making the slots too wide. I will experiment to see how it cuts. I can check the results in Camotics. Also got .5 ball cutter for neck. Chris say it will cut smoother than quarter inch ones.

Also the fret slot endmills he uses
https://ebay.to/3yqHaYx (10) – #73 (.0240″) 2 FLUTE MICRO CARBIDE ENDMILLS – LONG FLUTE 1600.0240.120B1

Running at
0.024 2 flute upcut, 20 in /min, 15 in/min, Depth per pass .01in 20,000 rpm, climb cut, 20 degree ramp depth of cut .125″ (should match overall depth of tang of fret) measure fretwire, mine says .058 doc, but I’m trying radius the fret slots, he is cut it straight and gluing the frets in to fill the gap.

Meshcam tests roughing pass with .5 inch plunger cutter and bottom picture with rough and finishing with .25″ ballmill. Decent results, can also camotics to see the cutter in action. That small stepover really helps smooth it out. Hopefully that .5″ ball cutter I ordered works good for fretboard so I’m not stressing the same cutters. Tomorrow I should remodel the strings recheck neck pocket depth and then try and model some fret slots to test in meshcam to see if how the toolpaths generated toolpaths flow at. Be a lifesaver not having to glue in the frets.

Body changes

Major body changes. Added fillet edges to main body cavity. Reduced overall thickness to 1.5 inches from 1.7″. Ordered cnc bit for 1.5 depth of cut. Redid arm contour with G2 curves, much smoother and slightly reduced the angle. enlarged the belly cut and raised the heel contour slightly. Weight down dramatically from 4 to about 3.4 lbs now.