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mettelus

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Posts posted by mettelus

  1. Quick follow up... that nut is actually in a slot (glued on 3 edges) versus mine which can just be knocked off the end of the fret board. This guy does a quick walk through of knocking that out in the first 40 seconds, but be SURE to score the edges of where the glue and nut meet first (he does mention this after he knocks it out!). Superglue sheers very easily, and will default to the weakest point (why scoring the glue is important).

    You may get lucky with a replacement nut like he did, but check that slot to see if the lower edge is square or curved (why the replacement nut he got has a tab on the bottom middle, for a square groove). You might want to verify that groove before ordering a new one. Verifying the nut height is a series of checking the nut (unglued) versus the two E strings under tension to the first fret until it is verified, then glue it in (not sure why he glued it in before checking height... the height at the first fret is most critical here). Tusq nuts are also good alternatives for replacement as they are graphite and self-lubricating.

     

  2. Hey @Grem,

    The final action setup requires several iterations of loosening/tightening the strings (to get access to the nut/frets), so be gentle with cycling them on the tuners. Mine came with cheap 9s and the high E finally gave out just as I was finishing things up, then I put a real set of 10s on it to finish the job.

    1. Start with the neck perfectly straight (no relief for the first setup parts), this will allow you to adjust the nut, then bridge, and also allow you to see if any touchup fret dressing is required as you go.
    2. With the neck straight (before you strung it), if that nut is slotted improperly, too low, or the wrong radius, you will need to replace it. Mine was plastic and too high but slotted properly, so I actually kept it and adjusted the height on it. A pre-slotted bone replacement nut would be the ideal choice to fix that if you have no confidence in the nut on it now (be sure the radius matches the board). You will still need to adjust height on a new nut (and I would also check the distance from the first fret the the nut edge when out just to make sure). You want the height of each string at the bridge to be "close" to final before replacing the nut and setting height. I put a quick write up how to file down the new nut in my other thread (is actually shaving off the bottom edge of the nut), but can walk you through this in a Zoom call as well if you want (is actually easier than typing). Any removal of superglue from the old nut, be sure to put protective tape on the side you are not addressing (either the head stock, or fret board end) so that you just make it smooth without gouging the other while working.
    3. Once the nut issue is addressed, that gives you the proper "pivot point" for all of the strings at the nut to address the bridge. I am not sure what is specifically wrong with yours(?), but mine was pot metal, and I only needed to adjust it a few times before the stress started showing (plus I wanted rollers versus knife edges on the bridge). As long as you can adjust each string for height and intonation (and the springs are good), yours may be usable but is definitely your call. During this phase you want to do height/intonation, then play the board to find fret buzzes (every note on every string). I ended up doing a final fret dress during this phase (very gently with a block and 600 grit sandpaper), unstrung (well, no tension), and with the neck still perfectly straight unstrung. That will never be quite perfect, but you want as little as possible fret buzz and are particularly keen on if a fret above where you are playing actually frets above where your finger is. Final tension can test with roughly 1/4 turn relief on the truss rod for 10s (or about 1/2 turn for 9s)... from there you should have zero buzz at all and can make final height/intonation corrections. In my case this is where my high E said, "I am not playing your game anymore," and quit, so I put a set of 10s on it.

    Before addressing the bridge, definitely resolve the nut issue first (and this will also let you properly assess the bridge). Again, if that nut is slotted improperly, too low, or the wrong radius, I would start with ordering a replacement bone nut and can walk you through that step when you get it if you want. Even with mine, the nut was way wrong (but usable), and my bridge was pot metal, so I find neither of those issues with yours surprising.

  3. 1 hour ago, Grem said:

    I quit counting after ten! It has at least 18 -20. I just worked on the body first. Sanding and sanding, I actually took a wood rasp to the top bout because I wanted it more thin like my G&L. Once I did that it took a few rounds of sanding, rasping, to get it where I wanted it.

    The wood was too light in color and I wanted it to be darker, so I got some stain  When I applied the Tru Oil I would let it dry at least a day or more before I would sand again, first with 200 then worked up to 0000 steelwool. So it has some deep grain look to it that doesn't show much in the pic. That top right bout in the pic is washed out, but it has a "moving" quality to it. I used some dark stain on it before I started with the Tru Oil. Dark Walnut (semi-transparent). I put it on and wiped it right off. Didn't leave it on there long at all. Then I started the sanding again until I got it to how it is now. 

    Anyway, I really am enjoying this build and would encourage anyone thinking about doing it, Stewmac has the kits on sale right now. For under $200 you can get something really nice and depending on what effort you pour into it... can turn into something that means a whole lot to you.

    Will be putting strings on it later today. Will let ya'll know how it sounds.

    Pretty awesome! I tend to get antsy to play things, so my main has about 20 coats on the face, but only 6 on the back and 2 on the edges! That was over a decade ago and I was thinking, "Meh, I can always add more to those areas easily later" but never felt a need to. I have noticed that kits are cheaper in different places, but I would highly recommend StewMac for a couple reasons if anyone tries out a kit... 1) they inspect it and rate the vendors they use accordingly, and 2) if there is a flawed part they replace it for free. StewMac has a reputation to uphold, the vendors often do not.

    I have to admit the kit was a surprisingly fun buy for me. "Tigger" tends to be the guitar I grab first... I never cared about having a LP, but figured the kit would give me one, and since I made it from scratch it is easily the second most favorite for me now. Even after stints of playing it and thinking, "I REALLY like this a LOT," I pick up my main that I did all of the mechanical/electrical work on (has also been PLEK'd) and suddenly feel like I am playing the epitome of what a guitar should be.

    Now with the laser I am starting to get those thoughts of engraving my main, although I swore I would never tear it apart again (all of the solder connections are actually shrink wrapped in it)... can wait on that one anyway... it is like getting a tattoo... can only do it once, so it better be GOOD. People also tend to swipe things that are pretty/shiny, and no one would think to steal it "as is" because it looks as mundane as you can get.

    • Like 1
  4. 10 hours ago, Max Arwood said:

    Wow, that lettering is good, but that cat is great. Bitmaps are tricky with a laser. I have used CorelDRAW for years for this stuff, and I know how tricky bitmaps can be. Did you use the software that came with the laser, or other graphic program?

    The software that comes with the laser is pretty rudimentary, and although it will use layers, it is incredibly clunky so cannot edit well in it at all. I used Corel's PaintShop Pro 2023 (from the recent HumbleBundle) to do the layers. The base layer was actually a scan of a template I made of the head stock itself and scanned it in. This allowed the apples to apples scan size/print size to be accurate. I actually mounted that base template to the head stock (was just a manila folder) so I could trace the washers as well. Then each layer I added in PaintShop was adjusted to use the available space. The laser wants to swing the entire area (whether there is content or not) for framing, so I had to crop the entire project in PaintShop so the laser head wouldn't hit the nut (the head is about 1.5" square), then exported each layer as its own png file. The laser itself uses relative reference to the initial placement on the workspace, so is simple to import all png files perfectly aligned to the upper left corner of the workspace so that they all mate perfectly.

    I actually made 7 passes on the picture. I first had to get through the original finish; but then using low power didn't get the contrast I wanted, so I edited that png to get a high contrast version and ran that to get the black (was so high contrast that only the black was done in that pass). As long as the piece is never moved, this will get exact placement on repeats. I considered that the most important feature of the laser, the 100% repeatability on passes.

    The real funny thing for me is that I had been working on that logo a while (over months) to get it as good as possible (and kept making it bigger and increasing dpi as I did), but when I looked at the actual print size it was 10" wide!! I was trying to get it "pixel perfect" but once I resized it to actual print size it was more than fine.

    I have been noodling initial placement options for the laser, and it seems the best path may be to use a thinner paper (tracing paper) on the piece and use a layer with the laser that has only 4 dots at the corners to check alignment. The power can be set low enough to just score the paper to check the alignment to the piece. Unfortunately the head stock has no corners, but a 6 dot reference to the center points of the tuning peg holes might have done the trick. The "Framing" option with the laser uses a crosshair which can be off by a couple mils just due to its width, and when it cycles the work area, it goes so fast through the other three corners that you cannot really determine placement. If it actually prints dots as it goes, that makes the task easier. While this unto itself may not be earth-shattering, it would create a "shadow copy" effect of +/- a few mils.

  5. 15 hours ago, yamadatarou said:

    I don't have much space, but I'm trying to free up some space, and I want to organize and delete the multiple bounce files I don't need, but are they all linked?

    The fastest way to clean up an audio folder is to open a cwp, then "Save As..." to a new folder and check the "copy audio files with project option." That will copy only the audio in use (necessary) for that specific cwp. Bear in mind that it also only works on that specific cwp file, so if you have multiple cwp files in the same folder, you will need to repeat that for each cwp you intend to keep.

    You can try that out and compare the new folder versus the old one. There are a lot of processes which create bounces, so intense editing can fill up the project audio folder quickly. I had someone send me a 100MB wave file with a bounce (319) on the end, and just though to myself, "Damn, I wonder if that project audio folder is 30GB??"

  6. AFAIK, the pointer is relative to where the audio is located in relation to the cwp file location, so if the audio is in the project folder itself (nested), renaming that project folder will not affect them. However, if you rename any part of the audio folder's location if it is not nested under the cwp file (i.e., the audio is actually on another drive), that pointer is no longer valid since the path no longer exists when you rename any portion of the audio path.

    Two ways to rectify this:

    1. (Highly preferred) Do a "Save As..." of a project you want to move (or rename) and copy audio files with the project. This is also a nice cleanup technique since only audio in use by that cwp will be copied to the the new Project/Audio folder.
    2. There was a default search engine when opening projects missing audio to "locate the missing files" but I forget it it can be launched manually. That will re-assign the pointers, but again, if you rename that audio path, you can easily break them again.
    • Like 3
  7. 2 hours ago, Grem said:

    I am in the process this weekend of putting the thing together. Got the neck on, all the holes drilled to put pickguard, spring plate, and jack in.  Just put the tuners on and lined them up, just need to drill the holes for them and put the screws in, solder the two wires to the jack and the one ground wire, screw it all together, string it up and take a pic!!

    Looking REAL good! How many coats of Tru Oil did you end up using? I am eager to see the end result! I remember when you were worrying about all of the hurdles with a kit build, but you got passed that! 😁It is amazing how much more valuable/precious things are when you put work into them.

    2 hours ago, Grem said:

    We know you can see flaws, but we don't!!

    Yeah, I have to remind myself of that reality fairly often. We are always our own worst critics, usually because we know all of the details no one else would even notice half the time.

    • Like 1
  8. 1 hour ago, DeeringAmps said:

    I don’t see any flaws in the pic. 
    Nice!

    t

    Thank you!

    The issue is rather slight, but it was a lesson learned. Another reason epoxy is a bad choice is that the carbon from the laser work chemically reacts with it (dramatically accelerating cure time and creating bubbles as it does)... unfortunately the only way to pop those bubbles are to apply heat (not good for this situation), or spray (isopropyl) alcohol on it (which I didn't even think to prepare). There are very minute pits on the left edge of the image from this (the bright dots in the picture), which even new epoxy won't stick to. After realizing that was going to be baked into the product, I just went ahead and refinished the wood face. You have to either nose in or catch the reflection to notice the pits, but they are there nonetheless.

    • Like 1
  9. Also, depending how deep you are into a project (or if you just want to noodle around tempos to find what you like best), doing a mix down of the project to a single audio track will let you play with that track willy nilly using Mark's Method 1 to determine what you like best for your final product. You can just delete/mute that track later on but gives you a playgound to test out tempo variations without affecting the project at all until you decide on the result you want.

  10. This is really a followup to the last post on this thread, but that is in the Deals section and I don't want to bump that up since it isn't an applicable deal. I took what @Max Arwood said to heart after my last post in this thread, so researched laser engravers and saw a few that were suitable, then blew them off for the time being. Ironically, during the first Amazon Prime Day in July I got some screwy pop-up with 3 hours left in the sale (that some of those engravers went on sale) so I grabbed an xTool D1 Pro 10W (was less than $400 then, so I grabbed the middle model). I was restoring two vehicles this summer so left it set on a table I walked by every day, but still blew it off. The return on that long since expired when I opened it (glad it was actually a new one when I did!), then set about the task at hand... finishing that head stock on that guitar...

    First, things that I like and don't about the laser engraver itself:

    1. Repeatable precision is perfect (for multiple passes), but the initial alignment  sucks (so I backed off the idea of redoing anything once removed until I noodle that one out). The repeatable precision I could leverage, but the alignment required some trickery and doing things "by eye" in a few cases.
    2. Is Wi-Fi capable, so can leave it in another room.
    3. Absolute HATE.... NO MANUAL (of any use) for it! WTF?? Fortunately I have worked with a lot of lasers, so I just went to town dry running my thoughts and leveraged ideas with what the machine can actually do. Even videos for the machine were often by people who came across as unknowledgeable.
    4. The power, speed, and resolution are independent for each object. With repeatable precision, this was totally usable, but after I watched numerous people burn the crap out of things, I realized few know how to generate any art. Control of those settings with repeatability will allow for very detailed pictures (greyscale) to be done.
    5. The engraver itself accepts png files, and works with layers, so can add a guide object of the piece to work too (I was dealing with both the edge of the head stock as well as making the picture miss the tuner washers).

    Lessons learned for this specifically:

    1. The epoxy idea itself was a fail, since epoxy is translucent and the depths are so shallow (thinner than a layer of paint in some cases). Paint is by far a better choice (although I did not go this route), because it is opaque and you can put a protective layer on the surface of the entire piece, overfill the engraving, then sand it back smooth.
    2. I was meticulous on doing both the logo and picture to work to the actual head stock, then looked up head stock veneer (perfectly square!) and can get 5 for $10. I laughed when I saw those... in hind sight that would have made the job far easier (and less stressful!). I never liked the grain on the head stock anyway, but did a little more trickery to get around that as I worked.

    Regardless, I worked to the actual head stock and this is the final result. Even though I "could" redo this to perfection with a veneer blank in the future, I tend to appreciate the flaws in things that make them truly unique.

    TiggerLogo.jpg

    I think @DeeringAmps mentioned the high top/low bottom strings late last year. I had bought a 10-pack back then, so this job also let me put a 1/4 turn relief on the truss rod and install a set (rather nice bottom end to them, I must say!).

    Also, @Grem... we need an update on your guitar project!

    • Like 4
  11. In reality, the MB feature is the difference between the paid for and free versions (where there are two). They use the same coding with the exception of the MB additions, so you could remove the non-MB versions, but they do not take up a lot of space on the machine. I rarely reach for the MB version first, because the crossover bands can get tricky and become audible (ironically, more audible as you shift to playback devices with less capabilities).

  12. A motherboard with 2 NVMe M.2 slots is ideal. As mentioned above, images of the OS drive are important, and that drive is also the default for all of the temp files written/read by most applications unless you change them, so is also the drive most likely to fail first (hence the images). When bringing a new machine online is when to think about data management as well. I use directory junctions a lot (even for the bulk of apps) to keep my OS drive small for images, so I have 500GB for the OS (less than half full) and 2TB for the other NVMe. The non-OS drives are just robocopied onto an external drive for backup (quicker and more efficient than imaging), but keeping that OS drive small makes images/recovery significantly faster.

    A graphics card is not going to be a requirement for running a DAW; but as you said, that can always be added later on anyway.

    You can always add more drives later on as well. For an initial build you will not notice much (what you are looking at will work fine), but if you start collecting sample libraries (or doing video work), you will find drives fill up rather quickly.

    • Like 1
  13. 2 hours ago, user4325874 said:

    Metallic materials: Create beautiful lifelike-looking metallic strokes and structures, paint with gold, silver, emerald, and other colorful and shiny surfaces.

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzeCur4KQzr/

    I must say, that metallic look is pretty friggin awesome.

    For those unfamiliar with Rebelle, it is a painting program that started with watercolor realism (still by far the best for watercolors because of this) and expanded into pretty much every other painting medium (thick paints, acrylics, oils, etc.). A typical Pro upgrade (yearly) is roughly $50 for owners of the Pro version, but AFAICT this intro price is for everyone (no need to own anything from them to get it). It is also very likely for most users that there won't be a compelling need to upgrade.

    Side note: As with all painting/drawing programs, a stylus is highly recommended to get full use from the application. While there are many things you can do with a mouse, others like pen tilt and pressure require a stylus to use. Applications such as this require an input medium (stylus) that the app can interpret as a "brush" to render the realism of painting/drawing.

    • Like 1
  14. 14 hours ago, jesse g said:

    How long does this type of sale last?

    Most sales are probably going to get re-run through the holidays (if they do not extend that far already). The PreSonus sale is 11/20-12/31 from their web page and all of the vendors are just mimicking them. Amazon has been running some of the hardware cheaper than retail for a while now.

    I got a chuckle last week from an email warning their (I forgot the company already) "Pre-BF" sale would end in 4 days! I just laughed and thought, "And?? It is going to be back on sale cheaper in 7 if no one buys from you now." Annual sales are locked by calendar year, so 12/31 is commonly the date where sales become unpredictable.

    • Thanks 1
  15. During the second Amazon Prime Day this year I grabbed the Revelator Condenser microphone (the dynamic was not on sale then) to test out the USB mics for myself. I have spent a lot of time miniaturizing electronics in my career, so wanted to look at these for what they are. That microphone impressed me so much that I wanted to also test the Revelator Dynamic when it went on sale. I have been working with someone doing narration work in a non-optimal environment on a budget condenser mic, and although that has been made significantly better, a dynamic microphone would be better suited. Both microphones went back on sale for Black Friday at Amazon ($59.99 for the Condenser, $99.99 for the Dynamic), so I grabbed the Revelator Dynamic so I could make an evaluation of them both during the same sitting. For her situation, there is also a sibilant issue, and the thing that attracted me to these more was the FAT Channel (pre-FX chain) that is included.

    Some features of these mics specifically that impressed me:

    1. They are both 6-in/6-out audio interfaces, although the only hardware input comes from the microphone itself. These serve as available ASIO stereo pairs to applications, so loopback usage is a breeze (the software has a mixer to control each of the three output mixes). It also negates the need to buy an audio interface, so anyone only doing vocals could get by on just the mic.
    2. They have dedicated ASIO drivers which were updated last month after I bought the condenser and actually addressed one of the bugs I found.
    3. They have dedicated OBS drivers, although I have not used OBS yet.
    4. The FAT Channel (pre-FX chain) are the same FX in Studio One, so the signal can be processed prior to being written to disk and minimize post-production work.
    5. Each comes with either Studio One Artist (permanent) or a discount on Studio One+ (subscription). At the time I got the condenser, that also came with Ableton Live 11 Lite, but the dynamic I just got did not.
    6. They are Dolby Atmos hardware, but only work for binaural mixes via the 1/8" headphone jack.

    What I found lack-luster, or truly abysmal:

    1. They both include a desk stand, and neither is usable. The dynamic needs a stand off of about 2" so you would need to hunch over a desk to use it properly, and the stand for the condenser is a rigid "rock." HORRIBLE decision for any condenser!!! Both are better used on a mic stand with boom, and the condenser version MUST be shock mounted. Both mics are 53mm in diameter, and there is a shock mount with clip on Amazon that is suitable, but due to the buttons on the mic itself, you cannot clip either in the center.
    2. The USB cable with the condenser was 1m, the dynamic was 2m (both are too short for my use). Since I run the cable around behind my desk, I just used a 3m USB cable I already had (USB-C to USB-A) and they work without issues.

    Overall, both microphones are usable (again, the condenser must have a real shock mount), but the condenser has a higher noise floor and 120Hz hum from the transformer. Although the Expander/Gate can deal with this, there is a delicate balance between input gain (in the software) and the gate threshold. The dynamic version is far more forgiving. The design of the Revelator Dynamic is very similar to the Shure SM7B, but the Revelator has the pre-amp inside it, so has a noticeable noise floor (but easily addressed with the expander/gate).

    I have not gotten to stress test these yet beyond video work, but will do so in the future. I just wanted to mention these quick because they went on sale for the holidays and might be of use to some.

    • Like 1
  16. 52 minutes ago, OutrageProductions said:

    I'd take a large diaphragm condenser any day for sung vocals, either gender.

    ^^That is pretty much it. Also bear in mind that you can rotate a condenser to remove some of the sibilant content if that is an issue.

    The reason the SM7B has less proximity effect is simply because the screen forces a longer standoff range to the element. It also does not have a transformer internally, so needs to be plugged into a good pre-amp.

    • Like 1
  17. 1 hour ago, George Thomas said:

    On a different note, I'm trying to mask a constant high hat that goes on as a metronome throughout the entire track (quite irritating) Q Range is 12 band equalizer and did the job but obviously bites me elsewhere 😄 Anyone know a good one that can remove or dampen a particular frequency.

    The included EQs should be able to address this easily. Some (like Sonitus Compressor) do not display the frequency spectrum, so SPAN (free) is a useful visual tool in such situations (can drop that anywhere in the FX chain to see what you are doing without affecting performance). For a parametric EQ, you want the Q factor pretty high (so shaped like a spike), reduction level pretty extreme (initially), then sweep frequency around until you find what you want to address (even without SPAN). Once you find it, back off the reduction level to a more reasonable setting (and can even flatten/reduce the Q factor to make the EQ less obvious). Having SPAN inserted in the FX bin after the EQ will let you visually see the adjustments you are making real time (with any plugin actually).

  18. If you are comfortable with editing the registry, all of the ASIO drivers on your computer are listed under

    "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ASIO"

    The left pane looks almost like a folder tree and you will see a RealTek key (looks like a subfolder) listed under the ASIO tree. You can highlight that key, right click, and delete it. Close the Registry Editor when done, reboot, and CbB shouldn't see it anymore.

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