| Project by Kyle VanMeter | posted 731 days ago | 1786 views | 2 times favorited | 13 comments |  |
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Here is my first attempt at constructing an acoustic electric hybrid guitar. I made the top out of quartered sycamore that I purchased from a friend who harvested the tree and cut the lumber on his Woodmizer sawmill. The made the side pieces are made from wavy hard maple that were formed using a electric bending iron. The horns on the body are hard maple and honduran mahogany.
I made the neck out of honduran mahogany with a canary wood fretboard with rosewood fretmarkers. I used lacewood for the edgebanding around the top. To bend this edgebanding, I tried to get adventurous and make a bending iron out of a piece of steel pipe. I used a blowtorch to heat the pipe when needed. I recommend using this type of setup for a bend if you don’t want to drop the money on an electric bending iron. The electric one I have pictured is not mine :(
Any comments are welcome, especially if anyone has any recommendations for improving the design. I plan on making a few more in the near future. Thanks!
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13 comments so far
David Grimes
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2114 posts in 811 days
#1 posted 731 days ago
That’s why the Irwin stock jumped !!! j/k
Nice guitar. Personally, I like the maple sides and I like the maple and mahogany on the cutaways, but not both on the same guitar. Very unique, though… and well done I think. Does it just have the one pickup ? Or did you also put a Fishman (or other) piezo in the box ?
-- If you're going to stir the pot, think BIG spoon or SMALL boat paddle. David Grimes, Georgia
Ken90712
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12676 posts in 1360 days
#2 posted 731 days ago
Wow, 1st attempt really? Looks beautiful,,,, Very nice!
-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"
manta
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25 posts in 2197 days
#3 posted 731 days ago
sycamore makes beautiful electric guitar tops. I have some that I am saving just for that use. nice job
docholladay
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1258 posts in 1231 days
#4 posted 731 days ago
Nice looking guitar. I really like the look of th QS Sycamore. How about a sample of what it sounds like? I’ve never seen/heard an acoustic electric hybrid. At least not quite like that one. As a guitar player, I would really like to hear how it sounds. Can you switch between electric and acoustic sound? Can you have both simultaneously? Can you mix them independently?
Doc
-- Hey, woodworking ain't brain surgery. Just do something and keep trying till you get it. Doc
Rob W
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381 posts in 1708 days
#5 posted 731 days ago
Beautiful guitar
-- Rob — I've cut it off twice and it's still too short!, http://www.witzkewood.com
Jeffrey Alexander
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72 posts in 864 days
#6 posted 731 days ago
Love that QS Sycamore!
-- "--Build Beauty to leave to those who appreciated it , not to ungrateful kids..."
resonation
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60 posts in 1609 days
#7 posted 731 days ago
nice guitar. Does it play well?
-- Chris, Pennsylvania
Bertha
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13115 posts in 865 days
#8 posted 731 days ago
Outstanding! I love how you made the external controls very diminutive so as not to detract from the overall balance of the piece. Really nice work.
-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog
Hersh
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100 posts in 1887 days
#9 posted 731 days ago
Wow. That’s a really nice guitar. Looks like it would be a fine playing instrument.
-- Hersh from Port Angeles, WA - Gotta Complete That Project!
Kyle VanMeter
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10 posts in 733 days
#10 posted 731 days ago
It has a piezo pickup along with the double coil. I can blend the two pickups, or select one or the other. It is a pretty thick guitar and it sounds and plays great. And David, you can never have too many quick grips!! j/k.
GaryK
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10263 posts in 2160 days
#11 posted 730 days ago
Very cool looking guitar!
-- Gary - Never pass up the opportunity to make a mistake look like you planned it that way - Tyler, TX
Willie1031
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142 posts in 709 days
#12 posted 703 days ago
Nice, did you make the neck too? I like the choice of wood. She has a Rickenbacker feel to it.
-- A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval. -- Mark Twain
Scrape
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20 posts in 989 days
#13 posted 455 days ago
Never tried it, but another technique I’ve seen for a bender is to put a 100-W or so lightbulb inside a steel pipe, and surround it with steel wool. Like I said, never tried it… the only bending I’ve done was some binding, and after wetting it down, I bent it around the tip of my soldering iron.
-- Rob "Scrape" French, Missouri
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