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Hi all. Yup, the mad professor has been at it in his lab again! I have just finished a "hollowed-body" telecaster with an aluminum top insert. The idea was to check out the possibility of a guitar that sounds good acoustically, and electrically. As you know, most hollow-body electrics don't cut it as acoustics; my idea was to take a page from the old dobro idea, and use metal to create the extra volume that hollow-bodies lack.

I can report initial success...the aluminum top does create extra volume, and surprisingly mellow tone, and when plugged in, the sonic enhancement seems to add to the amplified tone. This is a prototype, built from scrap wood I had in the shop, and it was excessively heavy for this type of use... I am now searching for suitable woods to build a finished product.

Here is my photobucket link. Look for the bright red one... Enjoy!

http://s1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc372/olrocknroller/

Nifty! Cool idea and a nice design. I like the headstock shape, too.

My main question: Is that a real dog? He or she seems to have a seam on his/her nose.

--Jim

JimPage wrote:Nifty! Cool idea and a nice design. I like the headstock shape, too.

My main question: Is that a real dog? He or she seems to have a seam on his/her nose.

--Jim

Best dog I ever had! Doesn't bark, doesn't bite, and doesn't mess on the neighbor's lawn!

CJB

Hah!

Interesting. How is the aluminum attached to the rest of the guitar? Is it structural? Does it support the bridge or does the bridge pass through the aluminum into the wood below?

Interesting concept. I have not seen tuners like those before...and I like the diamond fretboard markers

Looks pretty cool! I like the shape and color. Is it completely hollowed out? How thick are the walls? How about some sound clips?

MWaldorf wrote:Interesting. How is the aluminum attached to the rest of the guitar? Is it structural? Does it support the bridge or does the bridge pass through the aluminum into the wood below?

The aluminum rests on a ledge in the body, and has recessed screws, just like a pickguard. The 1/8" thick aluminum supports the bridge with no bracing underneath at this point, although I may change that if I find I need the back to resonate more. The pickups are also wide open to the cavity, so I may find I need to enclose them if the high-volume stuff causes any strange feedback...

Sarah93003 wrote:Looks pretty cool! I like the shape and color. Is it completely hollowed out? How thick are the walls? How about some sound clips?

The walls are quite heavy on this iteration, because the wood is plain old ranger board, not known for great strength or resonance, but wonderfully easy to work and finish! If I move on to a finished model, I plan to use a 3/8" to 1/2" carved walnut panel for the top, walnut for the back, and a maple frame for the sides, about 3/4" thickness and height. The neck pocket would also be maple.

Side note: When I retire these mock-ups, I hang them on my shop wall...one wall for successes, one for flops. Guess which one is getting full...

The sound is bright, with quite heavy mids, coming mostly from the aluminum because of the thickness of the rest of the body. When I split the back pickup to the bridge half, it's quite a screamer, and the neck pickup gives very rich sound, but I would like more lows. (I use the "tone" pot to split the pickups, rather than as a tone.) I believe that a thinner back will help the lows...at present, it is 3/8", and rangerboard is not known for great resonance! I don't have any recording equipment working right now, but will ask around to see if I can put down a short track.

You're funny!

Some of the earlier Celebrities had their sides cut from solid wood and were about 1/2" thick, instead of plywood. I was told Semie did these with a band saw. The inside was left very rough.

It will be neat to see how yours come out with your wood of choice.