Finally got my original guitar done. Sad irony...

[Tim Toberer]

It is finally done....This project has been through several incarnations, tunings etc. First built as a non pedal guitar with the intention of adding pedals at some point. I had no idea of the tuning when I first started and at one point had 10 strings crammed onto this thing! On a paint can lid resonator, yikes! What was I thinking??? It did work however. On a side note I really did not bond with 10 strings. I was instantly takin back to the stone age with my playing. Very challenging, not sure how y'all do that? Anyway... My other project https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=388944 was the prototype. The sad irony is the prototype while looking a bit cheesy, sounds much better acoustically which I believe is attributed to the deeper acoustic chamber and more flexible soundboard. The soundboard in this guitar is Douglas Fir while the one in the prototype is plywood. Both about 1/8". This guitar does not handle low notes well and they kind of fizzle out where my other guitar actually has a deep rich acoustic sound. It really doesn't need a pickup at all and has great volume. It is still nice to have an acoustic element ( with the sunburst guitar) which contributes to the electric tone in an archtoppy sort of way. I may experiment with some piezo-mag combo pickups in the future.

Overall I am pretty satisfied with the result, but I won't be building anymore exactly like this. It stays in tune relatively well, and it is ergonomically acceptable. For my next project I plan on using a proper resonator. The challenge will be to keep the weight down. This guitar is manageable, but if it was any larger it would be a bit unweildy. I feel the basic box design is easily adaptable to the more palatable Franklin Ped-A-Bro style.

My goal for sharing this is to hopefully inspire any weekend basement tinkerers like me to try to build their own guitars. Or possibly tempt someone else to try this tuning. This instrument has so many possibilities outside of the normal 10 string Nashville or C6 setups. It is not an easy path, but I have found it very rewarding! Once I get a few more songs down well, I hope to make a video or two demonstrating this very functional diminished tuning .

[Tim Toberer]

[Tim Toberer]