Welcome to my Archtop Guitar Project Blog

The Archtop, or "Jazz Box", is a unique style of guitar. It has a complex design, and a sound that one might say can only come from such a design. Having never built a guitar of any kind before (unless you consider a ukulele to be a guitar) I have decided to jump right in up to the neck and start with the archtop. When I tell this to people, the normal response is something like, "have you ever built a guitar before?" or "so, you have a pretty good idea how to do this, right?". My usual reply is, "nope". I do, however, make a point to assure them that I have built many kinds of things, using many different materials, and I consider all constructions to have a logical and understandable process.

So, if you're interested in "newbe" projects like this, then grab a fresh cup of coffee or tea and follow along. The earliest post shows the design I'm going for.

**UPDATE TO INTRODUCTORY TEXT** You will see as the posts progress from earliest to newest that a few modifications and compromises have been made. As with all learning experiences, this project has allowed me to work out any problems with a design that have not been foreseen on paper. I also welcome any input from readers/followers who have some experience in either building or playing guitars that will point out potential problems.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Pick Up Cover


 

I seem to have missed getting pictures of the process of making this inset on the neck position pickup cover. Not a great quality image, sorry about that, it was evening - getting dim - when I took it. The white area is meant to suggest a radio dial. 

I friction fitted the white into place from the back, with the face of the cover laying flat on a surface, and then used superglue around the edges. There were some tiny gaps around the ebony (very tiny, really) that I filled with ebony dust and dropped a bit more superglue into.


This was nerve-wrecking. I thought the whole time I was going to destroy this cover by slipping with my dremel or something. The next nerve-wrecking task will be to put the six holes to allow access to the pickup pole screws for height adjustment.
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