Mudfuzz's new Frankenstein idea....

[Mudfuzz]

Well the time has come my little friends to talk about mutilated acoustic guitars and things!

Before I begin please keep in mind I know what I am doing and have actually built a acoustic guitar from scratch before so I do know what I am going about here.

My idea is to make a three course [six strings] fretless tenor bass type of instrument out of a old Hondo dred with a bad neck I just won off e-bay and a martin ABG neck I've had sitting around for years looking for a project

This involves removing the guitars neck [not fun] and reworking the neckblock for the tenon joint on the martin neck, reaming out three of the bridge pin holes for bass strings, and converting the bass neck's head to accommodate six tuners [I am still undecided on just adding them in odd places or converting it to a slot head]

I'm already getting musical ideas for this idea so I think it will be cool.

It will be a lot of work but I think it be fun and turn out good.

OH........... the tuning will be low - high: ADG, and have rounds for the octaves and flats for the bass [I do this on my eight string bass now and it kills.

Thoughts?

[metalmariachi]

cool idea.
I keep looking at an old beat Harmony arch top at a local music store, with some thing similar in mind, but with a trapeze tail piece.

I met a guy who built a 34” scale bass on a guitarron body. It spoiled every acoustic I've heard since.

MM

[Mudfuzz]

I gave a lot of thought to doing a guitarron thing like that over the years but...

Update: Won the Hondo H-18 Lawsuit for $52.

[Mudfuzz]

Updat:
Got guitar, neck is fucked Looks like the FB was reglued at some point, this could be good or bad news when I get to removing it.'
BUT! The guitar actually sounds good, and has some good lows [for a guitar]

I have also decided on the tuner thing and am going to use Steinberger Gearless Tuners for the octaves [I traded a HAO booster for them] and gotoh compact for the bass strings.

I'll post a few pictures of the guitar and neck later.

[metalmariachi]

Updat:
Got guitar, neck is fucked Looks like the FB was reglued at some point, this could be good or bad news when I get to removing it.'
BUT! The guitar actually sounds good, and has some good lows [for a guitar]

I have also decided on the tuner thing and am going to use Steinberger Gearless Tuners for the octaves [I traded a HAO booster for them] and gotoh compact for the bass strings.

I'll post a few pictures of the guitar and neck later.

Great choice for the octaves. Those are what I want to use too.
Makes the head stock look cleaner and you can actually get to them..

MM

[Mudfuzz]

Updat:
Got guitar, neck is fucked Looks like the FB was reglued at some point, this could be good or bad news when I get to removing it.'
BUT! The guitar actually sounds good, and has some good lows [for a guitar]

I have also decided on the tuner thing and am going to use Steinberger Gearless Tuners for the octaves [I traded a HAO booster for them] and gotoh compact for the bass strings.

I'll post a few pictures of the guitar and neck later.

Great choice for the octaves. Those are what I want to use too.
Makes the head stock look cleaner and you can actually get to them..

MM

Also they work really well.

...well once you figure out you need a wrench to tighten them down first.

[Mudfuzz]

Update:
After looking over the guitar carefully and having a bandmate that is a full time luthier look it over there are too many issues for the project go as planned with the hondo: top is too S shaped, some braces are wiggly and such. So I'm putting it on hold intill I find a "better" guitar or just brake down and make the whole thing myself.

But I do plan to mess with the guitar in other ways as it does sound good, so I'm going to pull the frets or whole fingerboard and string it with guitarron strings or something like that and have it of a beach/camping instrument.

[Blurillaz]

pics?

[Mudfuzz]

Sure!
This is as it is now.

As I said, I'm not going to tear the neck off it like I wanted to because of it's issues are too many for it's worth.
I ordered the guitarron strings and will rig up a tailpiece, as well as either removing the frets or the whole board.

[Mudfuzz]

Ok so I totally copped out














And turned it in to a dobro type of thing
I had a big nut blank around and I cut the bridge saddle flat.

It kills! and I will keep it like this intill it explodes or implodes




I'm still looking for another guitar to use for the three string bass idea I started this thread for and have a few leads So I'm not giving up on the project.

[Mudfuzz]

Update have a lead on another "body" if I win it it will be "the one"

And here is the hondo with strings, I'm having fun playing it, and I getting my lapsteal chops back

[Mudfuzz]

Update: I won this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150362081524&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123#ht_500wt_1161

Project moving forward again

[Mudfuzz]

Update:

The Tacoma is a no go for now it's too much of a basket case, top and bracing issues.

But I' have now gone in a totally new direction with this idea... electric!

I ended up finding a unused Univox beatlebass neck and I have a lead on a Univox 330 body that if I win with make the project come along sooner...

[htsamurai]

just hurry up and make something epic
if you hadnt copped out you wouldve been done already
dammit muddy....





excuse me, im hungover

[Mudfuzz]

Eh, sometime you just have to have the right parts to make a idea work, if the parts don't work it's better to wait till you find the right parts then to force things and end up with more work then you want to have and have more frustration then you need.

This will be much cooler, I can run it through fuzz this way....

Oh and the Hondo did work out the way it ended up http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.popupplayer&sindex=1.2&shuffle=true&amix=false&pmix=false&plid=273932&artid=23411881&profid=499938825&friendid=499938825&sseed=78875&ptype=3&stime=9.691&ap=1&rpeat=false