Ergonomically correct
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 02:03PM And sonically superb! Here are some pics of my latest guitar: "Rippling Brook", named not just from the incredible water-like figuring on the maple top and back, but also from the liquid-like playability owing to the flat-wound strings and low action. This was custom-designed to the specifications of well-known local guitarist Tim Bedner. As an extremely advanced technician, he could recognize the benefits of rethinking the design of the guitar, and had the faith in me to make it work.
If you checked this blog several months ago, you'd recognize the shape from a cardboard mock-up I made. It's a guitar that's meant to be more comfortable to play than the usual shape. The knee rest holds the nut up high, with the neck angling naturally upwards at about 45 degrees. The other side functions as an armrest for the right hand, and is smoothly bevelled for comfort.
Here you can also see the concept of the multiscale fretboard- the bass strings are longer than the treble strings, thus allowing the easy playability of a short scale on the higher strings, while still keeping the better tone and intonation of a long scale in the lower register. The frets of course have to be slanted so that they will be in correct location for every note. Surprisingly it takes ones hands very little time to get used to it.
The bridge is something pretty special. To cope with the seven strings and narrow spacing, these are individual units from the german company ABM. They were hand made to order because the bottom three strings have pickups built right into the saddles! These go through a Graph-Tech Ghost system, and out through a separate jack from the regular pickup (a seven-string Imperial Humbucker by Jason Lollar), so Tim can essentially accompany himself on bass.
Incorporating tuning machines into the bridge means that the neck end is much lighter. This reduces fatigue on the left hand by enabling it to concentrate on playing the notes, not holding up the neck.
Finally you can see the wedge shape of the body. It's narrow up top for comfort, but wide where it sits on the knee to provide a stable base. Also the onboard electronics demanded a fairly deep cavity. The other ergonomic aspect of this is that it angles the face of the fretboard slightly upwards, helping the player to see what he's doing. Last of all, it's hollow. The black walnut core is almost entirely carved away in the inside, and then has thin skins of that incredible butterscotch quilted maple applied to the front and back. This reduces the weight of the guitar substantially (it is noticeably lighter than a standard strat-type electric). It also makes it semi-acoustic. The idea behind this was to make the tone more mellow and interesting, but it is surprisingly loud acoustically- plenty enough for personal practice.
I'm really proud of this one. Hopefully in the coming months I'll have some professional recordings or youtube videos to share with you.
Ergonomic, multiscale, new stuff, semi-hollow, seven-string
Reader Comments (6)
Michael, that's really cool. I love the unique shape, the color and the texture. I wish I could have one for the coming holidays.
OMG that guitar looks awesome. Looking forward to hearing it! :)
Luke O.
Just Colleges
This one is really amazing. I love the unique shape and color. Definitely a great holiday gift!
The design is really unique! Where can I get one of this?
Beautiful finished product, Mike. Looking forward to hear Tim playing this.
Michael & I got to hear Tim play it yesterday - absolutely stunning. Sounded like a regular guitar plus a bass player standing behind him. It gave Tim perfect control for the entire evening despite having a bad shoulder that had limited his playing for some time.
He loves it!