rwillett Posted March 16 Posted March 16 As I need something to keep me going during some hairy times at work, I thought I'd build a simple type of rail guitar. I also wanted a small, light(ish) travel guitar. Unsure at the moment if this is a headless or headed which is not actually a big problem at the moment (or I don't think it is) The Westone "The Rail" is an inspiration but nothing more than that. There's a separate thread on how the earth grounding works on it elsewhere So far I have the mental image in my head, I have an active EMG precision bass pickup(s) which I brought from the parish, but I've never used it or even tried it so who knows. I've got a headless bridge and neck bits and bobs as well as some aluminium tubing to test this out. If it works, I suspect I'd use stainless steel tubes. Printing the stuff is no problem, and I have worked out how to keep build the strength in with some clever (and simple) design (and some more aluminium). The neck will be either an Ibanez TMB100 (I think) if headless or an Aria with Hipshot tuners if it has a head. I'm tending to think it will be headless. The design is based around the pickups working outwards. All my other guitars are from the outside in to get the right curves. This has no curves and is extremely functional. So here's the pickups layout. I need to add in the tone and volume controls as that's what the EMG has. That will determine the width and then the neck and bridge just follow on depending on the scale. What could go wrong ? Rob 4 Quote
Hellzero Posted March 16 Posted March 16 If it's an active EMG, don't forget the battery in the sliding compartment. 😉 Quote
rwillett Posted March 16 Author Posted March 16 14 minutes ago, Hellzero said: If it's an active EMG, don't forget the battery in the sliding compartment. 😉 Not forgotten Quote
Hellzero Posted March 16 Posted March 16 Interesting article: https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/headless-guitar-westone-rail-replica-homage-88759 And interesting photos of a refinishing proving that the bridge is grounded on the treble side tube: 3 Quote
rwillett Posted March 17 Author Posted March 17 That's really helpful. I can't see where the bridge is grounded on the treble side in the photos. I'm sure it is from other photos of the inside but I can't see it here. What have I missed? Just to be clear, I am going to ground the bridge to the rail and it's very likely to be on the treble end and is possibly going to be through the tightening screw. I have 3-4 different methods and trying to work out the easiest and 'best' method, though unclear what best actually means here. Quote
Stub Mandrel Posted March 17 Posted March 17 1 hour ago, rwillett said: I can't see where the bridge is grounded I'm guessing the angled hole in the girst two pictures. Quote
Paul S Posted March 17 Posted March 17 9 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said: I'm guessing the angled hole in the girst two pictures. Get that gridge grounded! 5 Quote
Hellzero Posted March 17 Posted March 17 54 minutes ago, Paul S said: Get that gridge grounded! I guess you meant: Bet that gridge brounded! 1 Quote
rwillett Posted March 17 Author Posted March 17 1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said: I'm guessing the angled hole in the girst two pictures. I had to blow that picture up to see that. I can now see an angled hole when I look very closely. I still had to look very carefully though Thanks Rob Quote
Hellzero Posted March 17 Posted March 17 3 minutes ago, rwillett said: I had to blow that picture up to see that. I can now see an angled hole when I look very closely. I still had to look very carefully though Thanks Rob Strangely I've seen it instantly without cropping, but I think I can see a lot better than most people (with my glasses)... 🤓 Quote
rwillett Posted March 17 Author Posted March 17 5 minutes ago, Hellzero said: Strangely I've seen it instantly without cropping, but I think I can see a lot better than most people (with my glasses)... 🤓 A few years ago I hit a tree quite hard whilst mountain biking, my retina started to come off my right eye. It was fixed through an emergency op (Big shout out to St Pauls Eye Clinic in Liverpool for a late night op). Things like angled holes and subtle details need to pointed out to me now. That and getting old is a bummer. 4 Quote
rwillett Posted March 17 Author Posted March 17 2 hours ago, Paul S said: Get that gridge grounded! That is genuinely frightening.... Quote
Paul S Posted March 17 Posted March 17 1 hour ago, rwillett said: That is genuinely frightening.... They are, aren't they - ventriloquist dummies. Well, maybe not so much Orville or Lamb Chop but the dolls. Did you ever see the film 1978 film 'Magic'? Anthony Hopkins cutting his creepy teeth. Quote
rwillett Posted March 17 Author Posted March 17 9 minutes ago, Paul S said: They are, aren't they - ventriloquist dummies. Well, maybe not so much Orville or Lamb Chop but the dolls. Did you ever see the film 1978 film 'Magic'? Anthony Hopkins cutting his creepy teeth. I did see that film. I don;t have a phobia about them (yet) but they are creepy. 1 Quote
Delberthot Posted March 19 Posted March 19 If it's an active EMG pickup then it doesn't need a ground wire to the bridge Quote
rwillett Posted March 19 Author Posted March 19 @Delberthot It is an active EMG pickup. I'm hoping it doesn't need a ground BUT I may change this depending on mood, tone and whether the dammed EMG pickups actually work This is work in progress to see how things might fit. From looking at this, the tone and volume are too close and I'll probably move the tone to the back and put the output socket in the middle. The battery will probably be in the bottom, thats the bit underneath the pickups. But all of this needs further modelling. This is all about the "art of the possible". Model as much as you can in CAD and then print as little as you can. Rob 1 Quote
itu Posted March 19 Posted March 19 If you used an EMG in DC (dual coil) casing, you could simply change the pickup for different sounds. The same case is used in J, P, and DC versions, if I remember correctly. Quote
rwillett Posted March 19 Author Posted March 19 @itu That would be this document that describes that (I think) https://www.emgpickups.com/pub/media/Mageants/p/_/p_p5_p6-b245_0230-0107rf.pdf That link was working yesterday as I used it but it is not working today. A screen shot from the PDF. If you wish to donate for free a few different EMG pickups, I'd be very grateful and will even name the guitar after you can't say fairer than that. Lets get one working first, Rob 1 1 Quote
itu Posted March 19 Posted March 19 I meant the 35-family (the name equals the width, 3.5"). See 35J, 35P4, 35DC, and 35 TW. https://www.emgpickups.com/bass.html Quote
rwillett Posted March 19 Author Posted March 19 17 minutes ago, itu said: I meant the 35-family (the name equals the width, 3.5"). See 35J, 35P4, 35DC, and 35 TW. https://www.emgpickups.com/bass.html Ah OK, Misudnerstood Quote
Hellzero Posted March 20 Posted March 20 @rwillett if you put the output jack just in the middle between the volume and tone pots, you'll have way enough room to use them even with big fingers like mine. 😉 Quote
rwillett Posted March 20 Author Posted March 20 That's exactly what I was going to do. 4 minutes ago, Hellzero said: @rwillett if you put the output jack just in the middle between the volume and tone pots, you'll have way enough room to use them even with big fingers like mine. 😉 Quote
tauzero Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago On 17/03/2025 at 10:13, Hellzero said: I guess you meant: Bet that gridge brounded! If the gridge isn't connected to the gickup bround, is there any benefit to brounding it? 1 Quote
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