@@DIYGene you are good enough to build uf the neck too, listen to me. I entirely built up my acoustic travel guitar, with zero experience and no particular skills, so you can of course! ua-cam.com/video/EmWjAwTqUm0/v-deo.html
@@brettneuberger6466 thanks a lot, you feed my soul with your appreciation. But it's the first guitar I built, maybe in September, when I'll move to my new house, I'll begin the second one, and this time it will have the shape of a real guitar. So, we will see if I really have skills 😂😂😂
Hi I’m an experienced guitar builder. You did a great job here, really fantastic. But before you do another I’ll give just a few suggestions. 1. Next time mount the magnetic pickup into the wood at rear, like the superstrat way of doing it. It’ll really help control feedback at high volumes to decouple the coil from the singing top. You’ll need to leave a little more wood in the body beneath the pickup so your screws have something to bite into. 2. Your piezo pickup is overwhelming the coil pickup because there is a tremendous impedance mismatch between the two. You have a few options to improve this, especially when building a new one. You might add one of the side mounted preamps for acoustic guitars, even the cheap ones will improve things a great deal, feed the piezo through that before going into the three way switch. You might even get one with a tuner built in. Another option is put a Tele neck pickup inside the body, directed at the soundboard, and glue something ferrous (a couple of guitar string clippings) to the underside of the soundboard directly above where this neck pickup will be, it will ‘pick up’ the vibration from the soundboard from these little bits of steel glued on there. This works much better than you might think. If you go this route you’ll have noise cancelling properties when combining both pickups and no impedance mismatch. 3. You really need to connect the ground side of you circuit to the player’s body to overcome noise with magnetic pickups. Usually this is done through the strings at bridge or tailpiece. Consider a small plate of sheet steel directly under the bridge (and drilled for the bridge pins) So that the ball ends sit against it. This bit of steel is wired to the ground in your circuit, the back of a pot or the sleeve on the output jack. This bit of steel might also be the bit of steel I mentioned in #2 above ;) Great job and great video, I really enjoyed it.
I would like to add the suggestion of outlining the bridge and removing the finish on the entire shape rather than just the sliver for a wood glue contact patch. I'm sure his will be strong enough but I think it's best to glue the whole area based on builds I've seen.
@@DIYGene I saw that you rebuilt this guitar after the comments, I have yet to watch the whole video but if you already did this, I suppose the comment is purely for future guitar builders to read and absorb. Either way it's a cool project, I'm into guitars that are versatile such as this.
For a small bodied acoustic-electric, I think you made a better sounding guitar than Fender did. I am a Fender lover, not a Fender hater. I wish you lived nearby, as I would have plenty of work for you. Incredible engineering and talent!
Looks great! Very impressed. Just wondered how it lasted longer term. Normally, with a top that thin, it would be normal to add some internal braces? Sound great too.
On the switch: Might be worth just making a craft-foam pad for it to float on. The peizo's sound also changes a lot depending on placement: most cigar-box builders put it behind and slightly above the low E string so that it catches more of those vibrations and slightly less treble. I usually wire two smaller ones together instead of using one big one. Other then that, just raise the electric pickup.
Along the lines of a tone knob, consider different ratings for your piezo. You may just need a different resistor to cause a balanced pickup/piezo “relationship.” Knowing the resistance of your pickup and the resistance of your piezo will give you a better idea of how much you would want to consider. I’d offer advice but because you are dealing with two different types of input (piezoelectric and single coil pickups) it most likely would be a trial and error scenario. This dynamic relationship is something that guitar makers don’t reveal and this is why the Acoustasonic Telecaster is priced accordingly. If you know someone with an Acoustasonic, you could always ask them. For dynamic reasoning, this is also found in how “single coil/humbucker” combos have to be considered. A lengthy and somewhat theoretical debate or conversation ensues when best combinations are considered. Thanks for the great video!
It's really great to see someone who's not a professional do this kind of stuff. Just a man in his garage, with affordable tools. It makes me think even i could attempt something like this, likely with terrible results.
Some tips from a player but NOT a luthier; -Work on the neck heel joint, try to shape it to be more comfy and ergonomic, not a must but is a nice detail that everyone likes when playing. -The acoustasonic has a blend circuit, basically, a knob that controls both the piezo and electromagnetic pickup at the same time, it's more of a electricians tech trick than a guitar feature, but the real one has it, even tho your idea of just using a tele 3-way switch also works great, but some people like to blend both things accordingly. -Poplar is all of a topic in guitar forums.. many hate it and claim that is not a good wood for guitars, I personally have one guitar made of poplar and I love it, truth is; you can make a guitar out of any wood. But when doing a hollow body or acoustic, things differ a lot from the solid body ones. in this case poplar would be a weak and thin sounding wood. -Usually the bridges in acoustics are always glued on the top, in some archtops or hollow-bodies, they may even be held in place by the preasure of the strings alone, something more like a violin or cello. I know it was an awkward position to put some clamps so it's okay, adding two screws would definetely not affect tone or anything, but is just a "traditional" detail. -There are ways to isolate the piezo signal, so it's not so microphonic, because sometimes they can even pickup noises in the room, but I'm not sure what these methods are. And like you mentioned, yes there are piezos with different rating values, making them more sensitive or louder. None of these is something negative, your build ROCKS! they're just tips or details I've noticed that could do your project better. I wish I could have access to all of those tools and a workplace to try it myself.
Good tips. One thing you said needed clarifying. When using a bridge that is held on by pressure, one needs a tailpiece to attach the strings. There is usually a piece of wood on the backside of the top to give strength at the bridge position. The wood used for the top looked a bit thick so it may not sag, hopefully.
Nice and clear instructions to every step. Far better than most guitar build vids you’ll find on UA-cam. It’s not patronising, nicely recorded and really simple descriptions of what to do. Superb.
I've seen a couple DIY types made online....no one seems to put bracing on the inside of top (like an acoustic). That top has 200lbs of stress on it. The original Fender model has a braced top. Over time, if it doesn't explode it will probably warp the top.
I agree. I bet there will be some warping in time. With braces warping could be avoided. What about inverting the structure? That is: relatively thin wood on the back, and strong main structure (which can hold "string power").
You did a fine job. There are a lot of comments about bracing. Having a thicker top like you have may be your savior. If you do build another, I would make the sound hole a little smaller, use a spruce top with just a couple of braces, also a bridge plate and a metal bridge pin protector so you can put a ground wire to it, that way your strings will be grounded. Just my 2 cents.
Nice effort. Re: the bridge glued to the top, the reason that so many bridges comes loose from the top is that the bridge area is masked with a strip of masking tape to create a bare wood strip for gluing. The better guitars have the bridge area stripped by tracing the bridge and stripping (paint remover is an option) to ensure 100% wood-to-wood glue bond coverage for optimum strength. Otherwise the rear edge of the bridge is typically pulled up from the top from the string tension. The masking tape strip method is used for practicality in the production process but is generally inferior. The other way requires more work but the results speak for themselves. You'd need to lightly and carefully trace the bridge with an X-acto knife blade and use paint remover to strip the finish to reveal the bare wood and clean up with solvent. With a dark finish like yours, you'd probably want to trace the very edge of the bare wood with the stain or a felt-tip marker to prevent a visible line of light wood showing around the edge of the bridge. FYI.
That is a beautiful guitar! I love the sound of the 2 pickups together. I’ve been watching a lot of your videos and getting ideas on how to rebuild my fender. Please keep posting more stuff!!
Bravo! I love how you aren’t afraid to try building something. Most people are to afraid to try something new and fail. I love working on guitar and have played with idea of doing it. Your masterpiece will definitely need internal bracing and volume pots to blend the pickups. Perhaps moving that piezo pickup around so it doesn’t bang around so much. Overall though well done! You remind me of my grandpa who could fix and build anything.
I really enjoyed the video! I like the finish and the pinstriping. My only suggestion would be to glue a few braces under that top to give the bridge area some strength. With the access covers it can probably still be done.This inspired me to get building again! Thanks Gene!👍😎🎸🎶
@@DIYGene that's a good question. I don't really have any experience building acoustic guitars. There are some good videos out there that could help. Good luck with it. I think it turned out great...just a little reinforcing on that top and it'll be awesome!👍😎🎸🎶
Cool build Gene. Might have to try my hand at one after I'm done the project I'm on now. A couple things I would suggest would be to have a bridge plate installed and some bracing to the top to prevent any future bowing in the top. I would also suggest gluing the bridge before finishing to get a good solid wood to wood contact glue joint. Great work. Thanks for the link on the sander too!
Love the vid! I'm gonna try this. Two suggestions for what it's worth: Use an under saddle piezo pickup (they can be had way cheap) and maybe an x-brace on the underside of the top.
You should use the pickup under the bridge nut for acoustic sound. My suggestion is the fishman matrix which is excellent. Your guitar will sound very professional.
@@DIYGene Gene, Thiago is correct. You can get a bag of undersaddle pickups off the bay really cheap, and I believe the sound difference will be so significant, that you might want to post a before and after video. I have studied piezo pickups for years, and it is amazing how sensitive they are to location, pressure, mounting method etc. And here is a tip... if the undersaddle piezo still sounds too harsh, cut a thin strip of bike tire tube rubber and put it between the piezo pickup and the saddle, it helps to filter the higher harsher frequencies that piezo's are so good at reproducing.
Great job Gene! Thank for taking the time to sharing these works teaching and inspiring poeple to dive in the beautiful world of guitars and also for free, which is not a minor point. Cheers and may the force be with you! 👉😎👍👈
That’s a landmark presentation for me, and convinces me to build a guitar. It’s always been the neck that puts me off so I will do what you did and buy one! Genius! Excellent work and delivery - well done.
Woodstock LeBird , Thanks so much. I am the same way. I wanted to build a guitar, but I just didn’t feel comfortable attempting the neck. Thanks again for watching.
Monday morning quarterback here. I might have considered eiter some bracing under the bridge or a pair of posts connecting the top and bottom under the bridge as they do on acoustic basses.Im not too sure if the bridge wont pull the top over time
gene, my brother & i were building electric guitars, in my dads shop about 1968 or 1969. we could not afford to buy them! thanks for showing people some shortcuts, ( as not building a neck ) so they can enjoy a lifetime hobby of guitar / music !
this is awesome.... I'm learning so much from the video and the comments... I've never even heard of a piezo... now I know there's different types! LoL
Hi Gene, how r u? thanks for uploading such a great DIY acoustasonic, do u sell or have the plans for this guitar? I'm from argentina and this guitar don't come to here, and if it were it would be impossible to buy, so I wanna try to make one like yours
That is so cool! I have woodworking in school and I‘ll give it a try (we can build whatever we want). I think this video is really going to help me. Good Job👏
I measured from the nut to the 12th fret, then went the same from the 12th to the bridge. It was around 13”. I also used the Crome plate that the controls as the mounting template. The sound hole I just winged it.
Also, if you are using the piezo pickup. You can find free impulse responses to use in a pedal. These IRs take the sound profile of individual guitars resonated through microphones and then applies that sound profile to the piezo. Letting you play a piezo guitar, but get a mic'd sound. This works really well with these thinline acoustic-electrics.
Great advice. I actually ended up switching out to a under saddle pickup and a few other mods. Here is the link: ua-cam.com/video/HBsMakHdCLo/v-deo.html Thanks so much for watching.
As a woodworker, you do a nice job for the tools you are using. one major flaw and that is the top material, MDF is compressed sawdust it has no tonal quality whatsoever and wont last long, as humidity will cause MDF to swell over time and just a little thick for the bridge, where you transfer the sound... but overall, not bad for what it is
Well, you asked for comments. My main worry with this is intonation. I spend more time getting guitars intonated than anything else and the worst offenders are acoustic guitars because the cheaper they are the less time the builders have for fiddling with the bridge position. I would have used a metal telecaster bridge just for that, but also for higher rigidity and somewhere to put the earth. I' also worried about the amount of pressure on that top. Some acoustic bracing is needed or it will warp/belly IMHO. You can buy cheap sets of splines on Amazon (to keep the top straight) these days I notice. The fender acousticaster looks like the central 'hole' may provide some support, but I'd definitely add some support. I might also have removed the tele-style controls and used a combination of cheap piezo preamp and a blend knob to give you the ability to eq the piezo and blend it with the magnetic pickup. Finally I'd probably have picked up a cheap 2 blade humbucker in single-coil format so I could cut down on any noise and have a warmer sound. The build is great, BTW, these are just suggestions for stability, tuning and tonality.
A very humble man,a very good step by step process to a man like you who is not a guitar tech.but built a wonderful masterpiece..good job sir! New subsciber from Philippines..May God bless you more talent..
I think you did awesome and it is all yours. I would look into trying to brace the top or adding a wedge under the bridge to strengthen the front of the guitar for future sake and adding a chunk of metal to that wedge or bracing to give you a ground which will help. A tele has body thru strings, that ashtray bridge plate, and the switch plate which you are doing without and lose that grounding. You also could look into a noiseless pickup for the bridge. As far as the piezo pickup you may want to look into the 3 band eq like a lot of electric acoustics have. New hole for it and battery pack and should be able to wire it in so you can get it how you want it and set it and forget it. Sweetwater has a whole kit for $130 or maybe something like it or a pawn shop but that preamp to control that speaker. I have on of those dean markley acoustic pickups that you just stick in the sound hole and it’s tough because of volume control is all done by the amp or pa. Look on sweetwater at LR Baggs gigpro single channel belt clip preamp. I think it will fix all your pickup issues for $130.
Logical & encouraging thoughts/suggestions. And I think the notion of controlling the acoustic from the guitar rather than the amp would be a good choice. For a first guitar build I reckon it’s a terrific result. Congratulations.
I build guitars and tube amps and I give you my highest praise for a first build using your ideas and some basic tools. You have allot of potential. Keep building and experimenting…it’s addicting.
Thank you so much. I have learned so much and people have been a tremendous help in teaching and great suggestions. This does make me want to build another one. Thanks again for watching.
It was a joy! I hope the bridge withstands the force. I am even less experienced than you are. Just two suggestions: bring the bridge pick up higher, if not possible, place some thin foam pad under the piezo pick up to even out their output. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome build man👍 I built a few cigar box guitars and fitted a few piezo in acoustics too and in my experience the best placement for a piezo is close to the bridge and nearest the low E that way you don't get that many weird sounds going on and the piezo picks up the strings vibrations better.
Ahaha, I said 'Oh Dude, come on'. To myself of course. I finished my first partscaster last week so naturally I know everything now and never make mistakes myself.
Hi Gene. I've only built cigar box guitars so far. Both electric and acoustic. I'm no luthier myself either. But, like yourself, I love a challenge. I really like what you did here, and your guitar looks and sounds fabulous! I'd been sort of brainstorming about doing something like this, and you've definitely encouraged me to build one myself. Next challenge: Build the neck from scratch. Now that's where it really gets Real! Thanks for your well-done tutorial video. Loved it.
Nice work. Hats off to you for tackling this project and producing a cool guitar. You asked, so a few tips for next time. Patterns. Most guitar builders use MDF patters for everything. They build their pattern out of MDF and then use the flush trim bit to apply that to the guitar. Body, cavities, neck pocket, etc. Not only will it give you more consistent results, you can then reuse them for the next build! Bridge. It looks like your bridge might be a little shifted toward the treble side. The trick there is to throw on a couple E strings (high and low) before gluing down the bridge. Then make sure the strings are centered on the neck. I'm sure you figured this one out, but it's usually better to mask off where the bridge will go rather than trying to remove the finish. Also be very careful on the front to back bridge placement to make sure you get the intonation perfect. Especially with that acoustic bridge since there isn't any adjustment. (You may have done this and just not shown it in the video). Sound balance. You mentioned this issue. Try adjusting the electric bridge pickup distance from the strings. You might be able to get it louder by moving it closer. Otherwise, wire in a blend pot like Fender. I like how you applied the top. Fender does that very differently. They route a pocket in the body to lay the soundboard in. To get a clean even fit would be very difficult without a CNC. I like your solution not only because it's easier, but I think it looks better (and more like an acoustic) too. I also like your budget. It's so easy to get carried away buying expensive parts and tools. You made due with what you had for tools, and kept the parts very reasonable. That's the way to do a first build! Good luck not getting completely sucked into the world of guitar building. Next thing you know you will be day dreaming on what your next 7 builds and how you are going to afford that $120 fret file from StewMac. :)
Thank you for the great advice. I was very lucky with the intonation. It stays in tune even above the 12th fret. All I did was take a lot of measurements from a few acoustic guitar I had to try to figure out the bridge. And I think I’m just crazy enough to try this again. Maybe with Les Paul neck and humbucker pickup. Thanks again for watching.
A great first try... your is the second build of this type I've seen on YT... I have a Peavey Ecoustic guitar, which is just like yours without the Tele pickup... it's just piezo. I made a living with it for 10 years... it's beat to hell, but is still a great guitar. It uses a preamp with full EQ capabilities, and the piezo is under the saddle in the bridge. It's not as noisy either. I also have a Fender Deluxe Nashville Power Tele. It has a Fishman "Power" bridge... which looks like a Tele bridge with Strat style bridge pieces, each one has a piezo. It has a stereo output. My suggestions: -Install an under saddle acoustic piezo pickup. Fishman has a preamp with a volume control that will warm things up. You'll need to install a battery box to power it. -a stereo TRS output jack so you can send the Tele pickup to an amp and the piezo to a PA system. You may be able to find a Y cable, TRS to 2 TS mono plugs. If you can't find the Y cable, a good music store should be able to have one made. - Tone controls... it sounds very bright... Thanks for the inspiration...
I am very impressed! Please don't sell yourself short! You really did an amazing job! I am truly inspired to do the same but maybe with a Jaguar style body.. keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!
The Fender uses better woods, the design is made with 3d modeling trying countless configurations. The machining is made with Cnc machining that is absolutely replicable with tolerances smaller than 1 mm. All the electronics are high quality, pu includes digital modeling. All these things cost, so I think it’s a bit unfair to compare an actual production run with a single guitar made as an hobby ( no disrespect to the guy which made a stunning job considering the limited experience in guitar making). The 4K is a bit to much imo? Yeah, of course , but let’s not get delusional and think the price of the guitar is just the sum of its parts.
@@edojacob7493 Actually the idea of using Cnc machining should make it cheaper not more expensive. Fender is just out of hand on their pricing. In this day and age there is no reason for it. If you hire a bunch of woodworkers to hand carve then yeah you have to pay them. But if most of your build is using power tools and automation then the expense goes down dramatically. Fender charges that much because they can. Simple as that. Not knocking it. It is what it is. But there is not an extra $2000 dollars worth of product in those guitars.
I must say this is a really good work. A few suggestions may be placing an inner box on where the electronics are and shielding those and using protective rubber joints on the screws so that it doesn't damage the wood overtime.
If you like this concept but are concerned the use of a standard acoustic guitar bridge because of the stress on the top from string tension I suggest an archtop bridge with a trapeze tailpiece. Most of the tension is through the tailpiece in a 'horizontal' direction and the smaller component goes through the bridge acting in the 'vertical' or downward direction so there is no twisting force on the soundboard as there is with a flat top acoustic bridge. Archtops do still have bracing but it is simpler and lighter overall than on a flat top steel string acoustic. This is the approach I plan to follow both for structural integrity and improved sound quality.
Hi, well done. You may not be a "luthier" but you have the woodworking skills to get it done. I've done a few like this, the latest being a bass guitar that I hollowed out the body and put a top on. Like the other commenters I was wondering about the long term effect of not bracing the top. My method is to leave a pair of pillars at the bridge area when hollowing out the back, so the top and bridge are coupled to the back. Piezo and magnetic pickups don't work well combined together just with a switch. In the middle position I think you'll find if you try tapping the magnetic pickup with a steel screwdriver that it's very faint. I tried it before, as someone mentioned there's a mismatch and the piezo needs a preamp. What you could do is get one of those endpin jack mounted preamps, mount it in the body and wire its output to a separate volume control so with the two in together you can blend them any way you want. I don't think there's enough room in there for a control panel type preamp.
@Julian Mokhtar I've been tempted to do a hollow body build for a bass similar to this idea but maybe a vaguely P or J shape. What's the tone like in this sort of setup for bass? I'd love to have at least a 3/4 size that I can just sit with and play unplugged but I'd also get a kick out of seeing the looks of confusion taking it out to a live gig when the pubs open again. Hahaha.
I don't think you did anything "wrong," rather, you built a guitar the way you wanted it to be, so you did everything right, in my opinion! I would have liked to hear it played just acoustically, with a microphone outside of the body. Not that I would expect it to sound really great acoustically, but if it at least sounded "okay," there is one thing I might change if *I* were building it, which would be one of the newer Fishman acoustic/electric pickup/preamp systems that have the under-the-saddle piezo pickups, along with a little "microphone" pickup that sounds a lot less "clicky" and tinny than the piezo. I may be wrong, but I think it's called the Fishman Presys Blend. Plus, you can blend the amount of both pickups, using whatever ratio of piezo:mic that sounds best for the instrument and/or the situation. For example, if you need it to cut through a band onstage, you may want mostly the piezo's signal coming out to your a or PA. On the other hand, you might prefer most or more of the mic's signal for recording, or even in a small venue. But if, like I mentioned earlier, the guitar just doesn't sound very good acoustically, it might turn out to be a waste of money. But you really can't know for sure until you've tried it. Who knows, those Presys pickup/preamps sound even better in this one than it does in a more typical acoustic guitar...?
Loved the whole build process. And some lovely tones coming out of it. If you were in India you’d have a lot of orders by now. I love a tele and this is special!
As a luthier I suggest you remove the top and add a bridge plate and an X brace, the glue on the top is fairly new and you can heat a pallet knife or a thin blade and remove the top. and you can change to a bridge pickup.
Maybe if you do this again, you could use a twin coil pick up, and have a coil tap, so you get a tele and a semi jazz sound? I've been playing since I was 6 and I'm 54 now and never thought of making my own guitar, but after watching this, I'm going to have to build one, because your video with step by step is clear.
I reckon you are extremely talented to build a guitar from scratch is no mean feat . Thank you very much for sharing this and I may give this a go, I have never built a guitar but I am pretty under just watching you is give me the confidence
Great job on a fun project. You have something I lost long ago which is fun building your projects. I am always a year behind and the time I spend on guitars has become all work and stress. I think you need to get yourself a airbush and a binding bit for your router for the next build. Something worth mentioning, locking tuners are a very nice feature and you can find cheap sets for around $30 online. Fun Fact: My tops are German spruce and milled to .103 thick with spruce bracing. I tap on the top of the guitar looking for a certain tone and adjust things like the bracing and the size of the sound hole to get the tone I want. Keep up the good work.
KD8EGV Channel, Thanks so much for giving it a watch. I took a totally novice approach to it. I know the feeling when you turn a love or a craft into a career. It can completely take the joy away. You have such a deep and wonderful knowledge of guitar building and I really admire that. Thanks again, Gene
It’s not surprising that it was somewhat difficult to make, the shape itself is rather unorthodox, I’m surprised fender was actually able to build the acoustisonic guitar in the form of a telecaster body
What a fantastic job you did on that guitar, you are a craftsman sir, i really enjoyed the process, wish i had those skills, it is great watching an instrument come to life , again nice job.
Very nice job on this. One thing you may want to consider is getting that piezo back at the bridge since that's where the string vibrations transfer to the guitar top relative to sound production.
I have to say, I really like this guitar! I really liked the sound, and that it wasn't very thick. I don't like playing the thick dreadnought style acoustic guitars. I'm so used to electric guitars so I imagine that's why. Great guitar, and great job building it! I only have one suggestion. Imagine that, me with a suggestion...Lol. The placement of the Piezo pickup. I think it would be better if placed behind the bridge to the underside of the top. Maybe place it centered between the low "E" and "A" string behind the bridge. That will get it further away from the other pickup. I know I said one thing but this counts as one since it still has to do with pickups. The tele style pickup you have is ok, but it may be more beneficial to put a mini humbucker there. It's a little bigger in size but it may be slightly quieter. A hot rail style humbucker visually looks almost the same size and they can be pretty inexpensive depending on how much you want to spend. Its definitely much smaller than a normal sized humbucker. Plus they look pretty cool. They start at about 10 bucks and go up from there depending on quality and brand. It never hurts to experiment especially if it's not too expensive to do so. Anyway love the guitar, great build!
hi Gene my name is Andrew , i build solid body eletric guitars at home too as well as ukes, mandolins i haven't tried to build one like yous but am now making deffinate plans to do so , i really liked how the piazzo pickup turned the body into a cajone so as your playing you could always to chicken picken at the same time drumming in one instrument i like that and i hope to see more from you
Your work on the body was very good. An up grade on the tele bridge pickup might be good but the one you used sounded good to me. A lot of issues with the other pickup . I really love the idea. If this was your first build KILLER.
Love your project ! My only two cent suggestion (which stems from a pet peeve of mine) would be to use a clear "wood grain filler" on your luann top. You will still see the look of "grain" in the wood but the surface finish would look much "smoother" or "cleaner" ie: better woodworking chops. Also - Your video is very "watchable." Excellent pacing and shot selection, narration.
Good effort Gene, some ideas for how you can improve it. First off, I'd scrap the switch and give each pickup its own volume knob, that way you can control how much acoustic you want and how much electric when you're going for a blend. Secondly, I'd add a Piezo pickup under the bridge saddle, so now you have 3 pickups to blend. As for the construction, as others have suggested, braces will extend the life of the top, I'd also suggest adding a bridge plate on the inside below the bridge. One more thing, in order to ground the strings when using the electric pickup, you could add a strip of metal below the bridge, with holes in it that line up with the pin holes, so the ball end of the strings end up touching it, then ground the metal. Stew-Mac sells one as a "Plate Mate" but you can make one.
TheRobman , These are great suggestions. I like the idea of individual volume controls rather than the switch. That makes a lot of sense. I’m definitely going to add a piezo under the bridge. Thanks so much for watching.
Amazing works! Im dreaming to build my own guitar. You are an inspiration for me sir. My budget is tight to buy good tools but i will try to build. Even my tools is limited. Thank you sir. God bless more to build!
I think you did a great job I would not have gone the Pizzo pickup I'd gone another pickup under the strings in the sound hole But the one thing on your build that gets me and it's not a big deal to others but to me it is, is the screws you used to hold the bridge down. I don't have a problem that you used screws but should of counter sunk them and pluged with some wood or mother of Perl is cheap but all in all GREAT JOB SIR!!!
Nice build...Nice sound...if you build another I would research the bracing pattern of the tops of acoustic and arch top guitars. Also I would add support under the bridge. Please post more videos if you decide to try another.
Great build. You did everything right AFAIK. I didn't notice if you used spruce or similar tone wood for the top, that would make a difference. I noticed things were very microphonic. I hope that you someone posts how to overcome that. OTW, 2 thumbs up!!
How did you adjust the string action? What kind of bridge saddle did you use? Also, next time you may want to consider installing a bridge plate under the bridge, and some top bracing inside the guitar. Will make a better acoustic guitar sound and reinforce the top and bridge. Otherwise a pretty cool build.
Gene, The first Guitar I made was a lot of fun as well. I did it back in the early 70's when I was a student and was totally broke. Made it from Ply, for Jazz [I was a bassist]. I long since gave it away, but it is amazing how ingenious you can be when you are doing number 1. The rest, you make jigs for and have all the wiz-bangy bits you accumulate as time goes on. Number 1 is always nice to reflect on, because it's the one you broke the ice on sort of thing. Well Done Gene [BTW, Hi from Oz]... ==BOZE==
I wonder, do you still have the one you made in the 70s? I have actually completely rebuilt this guitar using all the great suggestions I have received. Here is the link: ua-cam.com/video/HBsMakHdCLo/v-deo.html Thanks for watching.
@@DIYGene No I don't have the guitar anymore. I gave it to my brother many years ago when he was also broke and migrated to a small mining town up north that produced Bauxite. He did club work up there and I believe it got destroyed in a fire. The instrument was very basic and used a pickup set I took out of my original "Teasco" guitar I brought from California. My constructing the guitar was part out of necessity because as we migrated to Jazz, the cost of a proper Jazz Gibson was pretty astronomical for a bunch of aspiring musos who were still students. I am more interested in Piano and have been teaching myself for a lot of years now, but I look back on those "Struggle" years fondly. Not having something makes you pretty "Inventive". OK, all the best from Australia as well.. ==BOZE==
Instead of the 3 way switch, maybe a volume knob for each pickup and one master tone? That way you could blend in each as much as you want. Another commenter here suggested wiring the piezo to an acoustic-electric preamp, then to the selector switch. That's another good idea, you can pick those up on Amazon or any music store.
Great job! You could have chosen a piezo pick up wich is mounted in the bridge. They are powered by a battery and have volume and tone controls. You'd have more sound alternatives to choose.
The reason for the piezo being so sensitive is it's reading the vibrations of the top of the guitar. The electric pickup is just getting the vibration of the strings. If you're worried about the pop/thud you get from changing to the piezo pickup, I'd recommend maybe (maybe) loosening the switch a little. But, in a live setting that won't matter too much. Even switching from one electric pickup to another sometimes has a pop, nobody would pay much attention
Inspiring to watch, I'm definately going to make myself one of these for sure. I would look into ways to be able to adjust your pickup height though, since that has such a huge impact on your electric guitar sound. Yours doesn't seem to need it for the neck pickup though, I love that natural reverb it's got. But I love what you've done, you've done an amazing job and you've inspired an aspiring guitarbuilder to follow in your footsteps!
Thank you so much. I learned a lot on this project and still have a lot to learn. I have received so many excellent suggestions in the comments that I have improved even more on the guitar. Thanks again for watching.
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but you have to ground the strings or else you'll have a lot of hum from the Tele pickup. (And because the bridge is wood and not metal, you can't get away with grounding just one string.)
Hi! I'm an acoustic guitar player and I have to say, Your guitar is awesome! But there's some things that I have to say to you,about the construction of it: 1st:the acoustic guitars have to have some nice "protection" inside of it,because the tension of the strings can pull everything apart! 2nd: you should less space for the acoustic sound,even if u had less space inside of it,the sound comes nicely.U should build it like a normal eletric(for the wirering) than make the acoustic box! sorry for my English mistakes, I'm Brazilian lol Incredible video!!!
Thanks so much. I actually am completely rebuilding the guitar. Thanks so much including a new face with bracing underneath and a under saddle piezo pickup. I hope to post this very soon. Thanks again for watching.
I recently put a piezo on a classical guitar that I also put electric guitar strings on... the preamp I used had a place for a mic also, so instead of a mic I put a magnetic pickup in the sound hole. This preamp has a fader to go from piezo to mic (or magnetic, in this case), as well as the usual volume, tones, and tuner. Something like that would be a real boon to your Tele-Acoustic I think. Otherwise, maybe just put a volume pot on there for the piezo?
Great job! The video was great and straight and to the point. Some videos put me to sleep, this one didn't. Now, I'm going to make a tele body out of pine after watching this. Thanks!
MAN, very impressive Gene! Btw Gene your videos are so inspiring & entertaining, let alone you make everything look like so much fun as well as easy? I've been kinda busy the past few months and haven't been able to catch your stuff. Well, I sure am glad to get to see them now. Thanks again Gene, you rock buddy!
Thanks Jeff, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I do have fun with these projects and comments like yours keep me motivated. Let me know if you have any ideas for a DIY video or even suggestions, I would love to hear them. Thanks so much for watching.
Great job. One bit of feedback you may find helpful is that piezos seriously benefit from a buffer/preamp to tame the ice-pick, "quacky" tone. They are cheap & all over amazon/ebay. It will balance much better with the single coil too.
I think the preamp is an excellent idea. I had so may great suggestions, that I tore my favorite guitar apart and completely rebuilt it. Here is the link: ua-cam.com/video/HBsMakHdCLo/v-deo.html Thanks so much for watching.
I think the bridge looks a little out of place due to the color, but that's just personal preference. great job man! I'm thinking of trying this myself for my first electric guitar, so I'll use a black one.
I agree with you. It should match the frets on the neck. I got so many great suggestions that I tore my favorite guitar apart and rebuilt it again using many of the great suggestions. Here is the link: ua-cam.com/video/HBsMakHdCLo/v-deo.html Thanks so much for watching.
Definitely add bracing to the top, and better to have used a solid soundboard wood.such as spruce or ash. The heel joint was cool, but looked like it was not finished flush with the neck itself. That could be just the lighting, not sure. Loved the idea of pin striping too! Am very interested to know how the bridge placement did with intonation. For the record, I own a Telecoustic and love it! Thanks especially for the links to the tools, I would definitely look into the bench top sander!
Joe Kralicek , Thank you for the great suggestions. I think the next one will have a different top. The intonation has been perfect although not sure why. After 6months the bridge is doing fine. Thanks so much for watching.
Nice! and a thought for you (old navy engineer here. lol) what if you mounted the Piazo up on the inside neck support? Since it's basically just a small microphone, that would give your acoustic sound, without the extra vibrations of being attached to the outer body. Which would give the vibrations of the sound leaving through the sound hole.
Semi-homemade? Don’t sell yourself short. You made that beauty from scratch. Love it!
Thanks, but I say that because I purchased the neck. I don’t think I’m brave enough to tackle that. Thanks so much for watching.
@@DIYGene you are good enough to build uf the neck too, listen to me. I entirely built up my acoustic travel guitar, with zero experience and no particular skills, so you can of course!
ua-cam.com/video/EmWjAwTqUm0/v-deo.html
alessandro barbetta No particular skills? I say you’ve got mad skills. Very cool!
@@brettneuberger6466 thanks a lot, you feed my soul with your appreciation. But it's the first guitar I built, maybe in September, when I'll move to my new house, I'll begin the second one, and this time it will have the shape of a real guitar. So, we will see if I really have skills 😂😂😂
DIY Gene you can’t learn how to swim with no water big guy
Hi I’m an experienced guitar builder. You did a great job here, really fantastic. But before you do another I’ll give just a few suggestions.
1. Next time mount the magnetic pickup into the wood at rear, like the superstrat way of doing it. It’ll really help control feedback at high volumes to decouple the coil from the singing top. You’ll need to leave a little more wood in the body beneath the pickup so your screws have something to bite into.
2. Your piezo pickup is overwhelming the coil pickup because there is a tremendous impedance mismatch between the two. You have a few options to improve this, especially when building a new one. You might add one of the side mounted preamps for acoustic guitars, even the cheap ones will improve things a great deal, feed the piezo through that before going into the three way switch. You might even get one with a tuner built in. Another option is put a Tele neck pickup inside the body, directed at the soundboard, and glue something ferrous (a couple of guitar string clippings) to the underside of the soundboard directly above where this neck pickup will be, it will ‘pick up’ the vibration from the soundboard from these little bits of steel glued on there. This works much better than you might think. If you go this route you’ll have noise cancelling properties when combining both pickups and no impedance mismatch.
3. You really need to connect the ground side of you circuit to the player’s body to overcome noise with magnetic pickups. Usually this is done through the strings at bridge or tailpiece. Consider a small plate of sheet steel directly under the bridge (and drilled for the bridge pins) So that the ball ends sit against it. This bit of steel is wired to the ground in your circuit, the back of a pot or the sleeve on the output jack. This bit of steel might also be the bit of steel I mentioned in #2 above ;)
Great job and great video, I really enjoyed it.
I didn't see any bracing on the top, is that ok or the top will bend soon?
Hap Dane well the top is craft plywood, so it’s pretty much braced in its construction. But a bridge plate might’ve been wise.
I would like to add the suggestion of outlining the bridge and removing the finish on the entire shape rather than just the sliver for a wood glue contact patch. I'm sure his will be strong enough but I think it's best to glue the whole area based on builds I've seen.
@@DouglasThompson excellent suggestions.
@@DIYGene I saw that you rebuilt this guitar after the comments, I have yet to watch the whole video but if you already did this, I suppose the comment is purely for future guitar builders to read and absorb. Either way it's a cool project, I'm into guitars that are versatile such as this.
For a small bodied acoustic-electric, I think you made a better sounding guitar than Fender did. I am a Fender lover, not a Fender hater. I wish you lived nearby, as I would have plenty of work for you. Incredible engineering and talent!
@@eduholosome gibson users think fender sounds like dogcrap, i disagree
Looks great! Very impressed. Just wondered how it lasted longer term. Normally, with a top that thin, it would be normal to add some internal braces? Sound great too.
On the switch: Might be worth just making a craft-foam pad for it to float on. The peizo's sound also changes a lot depending on placement: most cigar-box builders put it behind and slightly above the low E string so that it catches more of those vibrations and slightly less treble. I usually wire two smaller ones together instead of using one big one.
Other then that, just raise the electric pickup.
Alaric Paley , Great advice. I’m learning on these peizo’s. Thanks so much for watching.
Maybe you can put a volume control for each pickup, so you can blend the overall output.
Andrew Hinds, That’s not a bad idea. Thanks so much for watching.
Along the lines of a tone knob, consider different ratings for your piezo. You may just need a different resistor to cause a balanced pickup/piezo “relationship.” Knowing the resistance of your pickup and the resistance of your piezo will give you a better idea of how much you would want to consider. I’d offer advice but because you are dealing with two different types of input (piezoelectric and single coil pickups) it most likely would be a trial and error scenario.
This dynamic relationship is something that guitar makers don’t reveal and this is why the Acoustasonic Telecaster is priced accordingly. If you know someone with an Acoustasonic, you could always ask them.
For dynamic reasoning, this is also found in how “single coil/humbucker” combos have to be considered. A lengthy and somewhat theoretical debate or conversation ensues when best combinations are considered. Thanks for the great video!
A 1M ohm pot works best for piezo pickups.
It's really great to see someone who's not a professional do this kind of stuff. Just a man in his garage, with affordable tools. It makes me think even i could attempt something like this, likely with terrible results.
This was such a fun project. I learned so much along the way. If I can do it , so can you. Thanks so much for watching
Some tips from a player but NOT a luthier; -Work on the neck heel joint, try to shape it to be more comfy and ergonomic, not a must but is a nice detail that everyone likes when playing.
-The acoustasonic has a blend circuit, basically, a knob that controls both the piezo and electromagnetic pickup at the same time, it's more of a electricians tech trick than a guitar feature, but the real one has it, even tho your idea of just using a tele 3-way switch also works great, but some people like to blend both things accordingly.
-Poplar is all of a topic in guitar forums.. many hate it and claim that is not a good wood for guitars, I personally have one guitar made of poplar and I love it, truth is; you can make a guitar out of any wood. But when doing a hollow body or acoustic, things differ a lot from the solid body ones. in this case poplar would be a weak and thin sounding wood.
-Usually the bridges in acoustics are always glued on the top, in some archtops or hollow-bodies, they may even be held in place by the preasure of the strings alone, something more like a violin or cello. I know it was an awkward position to put some clamps so it's okay, adding two screws would definetely not affect tone or anything, but is just a "traditional" detail.
-There are ways to isolate the piezo signal, so it's not so microphonic, because sometimes they can even pickup noises in the room, but I'm not sure what these methods are. And like you mentioned, yes there are piezos with different rating values, making them more sensitive or louder.
None of these is something negative, your build ROCKS! they're just tips or details I've noticed that could do your project better. I wish I could have access to all of those tools and a workplace to try it myself.
Good tips. One thing you said needed clarifying. When using a bridge that is held on by pressure, one needs a tailpiece to attach the strings. There is usually a piece of wood on the backside of the top to give strength at the bridge position. The wood used for the top looked a bit thick so it may not sag, hopefully.
Nice and clear instructions to every step. Far better than most guitar build vids you’ll find on UA-cam. It’s not patronising, nicely recorded and really simple descriptions of what to do. Superb.
Thanks so much for watching.
Add a ground to the wing nut! Awesome idea and amazing that you whipped that thing out so quickly.
I've seen a couple DIY types made online....no one seems to put bracing on the inside of top (like an acoustic). That top has 200lbs of stress on it. The original Fender model has a braced top. Over time, if it doesn't explode it will probably warp the top.
David Kennedy that’s a very good point! I think some type of bracing would be necessary for this guitar to last any length of time.
@@Delzona I'd like to see the inside of the fender acoustasonic and see how it's braced
Exactly, it will not hold up.
Top bracing will also help control some of the feedback as well as provide overall rigidity against warping. Great job btw.
I agree. I bet there will be some warping in time. With braces warping could be avoided.
What about inverting the structure? That is: relatively thin wood on the back, and strong main structure (which can hold "string power").
It needs a decal on the headstock that says”DIY Gene”. Nice job. Put your name on it.
You did a fine job. There are a lot of comments about bracing. Having a thicker top like you have may be your savior. If you do build another, I would make the sound hole a little smaller, use a spruce top with just a couple of braces, also a bridge plate and a metal bridge pin protector so you can put a ground wire to it, that way your strings will be grounded. Just my 2 cents.
It’s like a Tele and Jazzmaster adopted a baby and named it Taylor. Nice work!
Nice effort. Re: the bridge glued to the top, the reason that so many bridges comes loose from the top is that the bridge area is masked with a strip of masking tape to create a bare wood strip for gluing. The better guitars have the bridge area stripped by tracing the bridge and stripping (paint remover is an option) to ensure 100% wood-to-wood glue bond coverage for optimum strength. Otherwise the rear edge of the bridge is typically pulled up from the top from the string tension. The masking tape strip method is used for practicality in the production process but is generally inferior. The other way requires more work but the results speak for themselves. You'd need to lightly and carefully trace the bridge with an X-acto knife blade and use paint remover to strip the finish to reveal the bare wood and clean up with solvent. With a dark finish like yours, you'd probably want to trace the very edge of the bare wood with the stain or a felt-tip marker to prevent a visible line of light wood showing around the edge of the bridge. FYI.
DDEENY, Great tip! Thanks for sharing.
That is a beautiful guitar! I love the sound of the 2 pickups together. I’ve been watching a lot of your videos and getting ideas on how to rebuild my fender. Please keep posting more stuff!!
Joshua Long , Thank you. I promise to get better at putting more videos out.
Bravo! I love how you aren’t afraid to try building something. Most people are to afraid to try something new and fail. I love working on guitar and have played with idea of doing it. Your masterpiece will definitely need internal bracing and volume pots to blend the pickups. Perhaps moving that piezo pickup around so it doesn’t bang around so much. Overall though well done! You remind me of my grandpa who could fix and build anything.
I really enjoyed the video! I like the finish and the pinstriping. My only suggestion would be to glue a few braces under that top to give the bridge area some strength. With the access covers it can probably still be done.This inspired me to get building again! Thanks Gene!👍😎🎸🎶
Thanks Dart Man! Do you think the brace should run between the bridge and the tele pickup?
@@DIYGene that's a good question. I don't really have any experience building acoustic guitars. There are some good videos out there that could help. Good luck with it. I think it turned out great...just a little reinforcing on that top and it'll be awesome!👍😎🎸🎶
Cool build Gene. Might have to try my hand at one after I'm done the project I'm on now. A couple things I would suggest would be to have a bridge plate installed and some bracing to the top to prevent any future bowing in the top. I would also suggest gluing the bridge before finishing to get a good solid wood to wood contact glue joint. Great work. Thanks for the link on the sander too!
Love the vid! I'm gonna try this. Two suggestions for what it's worth: Use an under saddle piezo pickup (they can be had way cheap) and maybe an x-brace on the underside of the top.
You should use the pickup under the bridge nut for acoustic sound. My suggestion is the fishman matrix which is excellent. Your guitar will sound very professional.
Thiago Bruno, I think you are right. And the great thing is I can switch it out and experiment. Thanks so much for watching.
@@DIYGene Gene, Thiago is correct. You can get a bag of undersaddle pickups off the bay really cheap, and I believe the sound difference will be so significant, that you might want to post a before and after video. I have studied piezo pickups for years, and it is amazing how sensitive they are to location, pressure, mounting method etc. And here is a tip... if the undersaddle piezo still sounds too harsh, cut a thin strip of bike tire tube rubber and put it between the piezo pickup and the saddle, it helps to filter the higher harsher frequencies that piezo's are so good at reproducing.
Great job Gene! Thank for taking the time to sharing these works teaching and inspiring poeple to dive in the beautiful world of guitars and also for free, which is not a minor point. Cheers and may the force be with you! 👉😎👍👈
Obi Wan Kenobi , Thanks so much. I enjoy building , learning and most of all sharing, thanks again for watching.
That’s a landmark presentation for me, and convinces me to build a guitar. It’s always been the neck that puts me off so I will do what you did and buy one! Genius! Excellent work and delivery - well done.
Woodstock LeBird , Thanks so much. I am the same way. I wanted to build a guitar, but I just didn’t feel comfortable attempting the neck. Thanks again for watching.
Monday morning quarterback here. I might have considered eiter some bracing under the bridge or a pair of posts connecting the top and bottom under the bridge as they do on acoustic basses.Im not too sure if the bridge wont pull the top over time
Anthony Rosa, I like the idea of the posts. It’s been 6 months so far so good. Thanks for the great suggestion.
very unique sound - I like it.
Thanks so much. this is my favorite guitar. Thanks again for watching.
the sound of the combined pickups is pretty good, i will to try this project some day. Thanks for share to all of us
This was a fun project and I learned a lot from it. Thanks for watching.
Better tone than a lot that I have heard. The piezo does overpower the single pickup but everything is a learning process. Excellent work!
@@landairphotography1283, Oh it really is a learning process and I’m having a ball along the way. Thanks so much for watching.
I've watched a few of your clips tonight
nothing pretentious, learn as you go, just do it and lots of love got you another subscriber
thank you, Gene
Patrick Caza , thank you so much. I am definitely learning as I go. Thanks again for watching.
gene, my brother & i were building electric guitars, in my dads shop about 1968 or 1969. we could not afford to buy them! thanks for showing people some shortcuts, ( as not building a neck ) so they can enjoy a lifetime hobby of guitar / music !
That's awesome! You definitely have some great woodworking skills... You should try putting an bridge saddle piezo pickup!
I thought about that after the fact, and I may switch it out. I learned a lot on this build. It was fun. Thanks so much for watching.
It wouldn't pick up as much noice and "cajon" sounds as the disc piezo
Rhylan Morgan , thAt makes a lot of sense. It is much more sensitive than the tele bridge pickup.
this is awesome.... I'm learning so much from the video and the comments... I've never even heard of a piezo... now I know there's different types! LoL
Hi Gene, how r u? thanks for uploading such a great DIY acoustasonic, do u sell or have the plans for this guitar? I'm from argentina and this guitar don't come to here, and if it were it would be impossible to buy, so I wanna try to make one like yours
That is so cool! I have woodworking in school and I‘ll give it a try (we can build whatever we want). I think this video is really going to help me. Good Job👏
Thank you I hope it inspires you. Thanks so much for watching.
DIY Gene just a quick question how thick is the wood you used?
Kilian Z , I used 1-3/4” poplar and 1/4” Burch plywood. I hop that helps.
DIY Gene thank you! Did you just estimate the dimensions for the bridge, the sound hole and the controls or did you have a exact template for that?
I measured from the nut to the 12th fret, then went the same from the 12th to the bridge. It was around 13”. I also used the Crome plate that the controls as the mounting template. The sound hole I just winged it.
Also, if you are using the piezo pickup. You can find free impulse responses to use in a pedal. These IRs take the sound profile of individual guitars resonated through microphones and then applies that sound profile to the piezo. Letting you play a piezo guitar, but get a mic'd sound. This works really well with these thinline acoustic-electrics.
Great advice. I actually ended up switching out to a under saddle pickup and a few other mods. Here is the link: ua-cam.com/video/HBsMakHdCLo/v-deo.html
Thanks so much for watching.
Great job, one day when I build my skills and tools I'd like to build one.
As a woodworker, you do a nice job for the tools you are using. one major flaw and that is the top material, MDF is compressed sawdust it has no tonal quality whatsoever and wont last long, as humidity will cause MDF to swell over time and just a little thick for the bridge, where you transfer the sound... but overall, not bad for what it is
Well, you asked for comments. My main worry with this is intonation. I spend more time getting guitars intonated than anything else and the worst offenders are acoustic guitars because the cheaper they are the less time the builders have for fiddling with the bridge position. I would have used a metal telecaster bridge just for that, but also for higher rigidity and somewhere to put the earth. I' also worried about the amount of pressure on that top. Some acoustic bracing is needed or it will warp/belly IMHO. You can buy cheap sets of splines on Amazon (to keep the top straight) these days I notice. The fender acousticaster looks like the central 'hole' may provide some support, but I'd definitely add some support. I might also have removed the tele-style controls and used a combination of cheap piezo preamp and a blend knob to give you the ability to eq the piezo and blend it with the magnetic pickup. Finally I'd probably have picked up a cheap 2 blade humbucker in single-coil format so I could cut down on any noise and have a warmer sound. The build is great, BTW, these are just suggestions for stability, tuning and tonality.
PDP, Thank you, that is some really good advice. I really like the idea of the pre-amp. Thanks again for watching.
A very humble man,a very good step by step process to a man like you who is not a guitar tech.but built a wonderful masterpiece..good job sir! New subsciber from Philippines..May God bless you more talent..
Thank you so much. I learn with every project and so enjoy sharing. May God bless you too. Thanks for watching.
Nice, is interesting listen a bass with similar construction. THANKS.
I think you did awesome and it is all yours. I would look into trying to brace the top or adding a wedge under the bridge to strengthen the front of the guitar for future sake and adding a chunk of metal to that wedge or bracing to give you a ground which will help. A tele has body thru strings, that ashtray bridge plate, and the switch plate which you are doing without and lose that grounding. You also could look into a noiseless pickup for the bridge. As far as the piezo pickup you may want to look into the 3 band eq like a lot of electric acoustics have. New hole for it and battery pack and should be able to wire it in so you can get it how you want it and set it and forget it. Sweetwater has a whole kit for $130 or maybe something like it or a pawn shop but that preamp to control that speaker. I have on of those dean markley acoustic pickups that you just stick in the sound hole and it’s tough because of volume control is all done by the amp or pa. Look on sweetwater at LR Baggs gigpro single channel belt clip preamp. I think it will fix all your pickup issues for $130.
Logical & encouraging thoughts/suggestions. And I think the notion of controlling the acoustic from the guitar rather than the amp would be a good choice. For a first guitar build I reckon it’s a terrific result. Congratulations.
Hallow the Hollowcaster
How does it sound unplugged?
I build guitars and tube amps and I give you my highest praise for a first build using your ideas and some basic tools. You have allot of potential. Keep building and experimenting…it’s addicting.
Thank you so much. I have learned so much and people have been a tremendous help in teaching and great suggestions. This does make me want to build another one. Thanks again for watching.
Good build. Your pronunciation of the letter "e" is interesting. "Axcess (excess), piAzo (piezo). Where are you from?
It was a joy! I hope the bridge withstands the force. I am even less experienced than you are. Just two suggestions: bring the bridge pick up higher, if not possible, place some thin foam pad under the piezo pick up to even out their output.
Thanks for sharing!
I’m gonna make this as soon as I can build a garage in my one bedroom flat
Don Cavanagh, I love that. Thanks for watching.
hahaha same here
Awesome build man👍 I built a few cigar box guitars and fitted a few piezo in acoustics too and in my experience the best placement for a piezo is close to the bridge and nearest the low E that way you don't get that many weird sounds going on and the piezo picks up the strings vibrations better.
Diederik Grootkerk , That makes a lot of sense. Thanks so much for watching.
Anyone else die at 6:51 when the guitar hits the router bit?
I cringed...
Justin Powell Lucky it was under the pick guard
Ahaha, I said 'Oh Dude, come on'. To myself of course. I finished my first partscaster last week so naturally I know everything now and never make mistakes myself.
Hi Gene. I've only built cigar box guitars so far. Both electric and acoustic. I'm no luthier myself either. But, like yourself, I love a challenge. I really like what you did here, and your guitar looks and sounds fabulous! I'd been sort of brainstorming about doing something like this, and you've definitely encouraged me to build one myself. Next challenge: Build the neck from scratch. Now that's where it really gets Real! Thanks for your well-done tutorial video. Loved it.
8:18 H A N D S A N D I N G (using fingerprint grit =D)
Nice work. Hats off to you for tackling this project and producing a cool guitar. You asked, so a few tips for next time. Patterns. Most guitar builders use MDF patters for everything. They build their pattern out of MDF and then use the flush trim bit to apply that to the guitar. Body, cavities, neck pocket, etc. Not only will it give you more consistent results, you can then reuse them for the next build! Bridge. It looks like your bridge might be a little shifted toward the treble side. The trick there is to throw on a couple E strings (high and low) before gluing down the bridge. Then make sure the strings are centered on the neck. I'm sure you figured this one out, but it's usually better to mask off where the bridge will go rather than trying to remove the finish. Also be very careful on the front to back bridge placement to make sure you get the intonation perfect. Especially with that acoustic bridge since there isn't any adjustment. (You may have done this and just not shown it in the video). Sound balance. You mentioned this issue. Try adjusting the electric bridge pickup distance from the strings. You might be able to get it louder by moving it closer. Otherwise, wire in a blend pot like Fender.
I like how you applied the top. Fender does that very differently. They route a pocket in the body to lay the soundboard in. To get a clean even fit would be very difficult without a CNC. I like your solution not only because it's easier, but I think it looks better (and more like an acoustic) too.
I also like your budget. It's so easy to get carried away buying expensive parts and tools. You made due with what you had for tools, and kept the parts very reasonable. That's the way to do a first build!
Good luck not getting completely sucked into the world of guitar building. Next thing you know you will be day dreaming on what your next 7 builds and how you are going to afford that $120 fret file from StewMac. :)
Thank you for the great advice. I was very lucky with the intonation. It stays in tune even above the 12th fret. All I did was take a lot of measurements from a few acoustic guitar I had to try to figure out the bridge. And I think I’m just crazy enough to try this again. Maybe with Les Paul neck and humbucker pickup. Thanks again for watching.
"After getting all my holes drilled ..."
I'm such a child.
Jeffrey Tackett 🤪
A great first try... your is the second build of this type I've seen on YT...
I have a Peavey Ecoustic guitar, which is just like yours without the Tele pickup... it's just piezo. I made a living with it for 10 years... it's beat to hell, but is still a great guitar. It uses a preamp with full EQ capabilities, and the piezo is under the saddle in the bridge. It's not as noisy either.
I also have a Fender Deluxe Nashville Power Tele. It has a Fishman "Power" bridge... which looks like a Tele bridge with Strat style bridge pieces, each one has a piezo. It has a stereo output.
My suggestions:
-Install an under saddle acoustic piezo pickup. Fishman has a preamp with a volume control that will warm things up. You'll need to install a battery box to power it.
-a stereo TRS output jack so you can send the Tele pickup to an amp and the piezo to a PA system. You may be able to find a Y cable, TRS to 2 TS mono plugs. If you can't find the Y cable, a good music store should be able to have one made.
- Tone controls... it sounds very bright...
Thanks for the inspiration...
I got a good Y cable for my Michael Kelly Hybrid, works really good: preview.tinyurl.com/yb8snp4q
That’s nice but before I lose a finger I would rather just go ahead and buy one
Me too, but it won't be from Fender at their ridiculous prices. I don't care where they make 'em.
I am very impressed! Please don't sell yourself short! You really did an amazing job! I am truly inspired to do the same but maybe with a Jaguar style body.. keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!
fender: This will be 3.999$
not quite the same as an acousticaster , that one has quite a lot of tonebending circuits inside of it
The Fender uses better woods, the design is made with 3d modeling trying countless configurations. The machining is made with Cnc machining that is absolutely replicable with tolerances smaller than 1 mm.
All the electronics are high quality, pu includes digital modeling.
All these things cost, so I think it’s a bit unfair to compare an actual production run with a single guitar made as an hobby ( no disrespect to the guy which made a stunning job considering the limited experience in guitar making).
The 4K is a bit to much imo? Yeah, of course , but let’s not get delusional and think the price of the guitar is just the sum of its parts.
well i know but i just make a joke about it. its still to expensive
@@edojacob7493 Actually the idea of using Cnc machining should make it cheaper not more expensive. Fender is just out of hand on their pricing. In this day and age there is no reason for it. If you hire a bunch of woodworkers to hand carve then yeah you have to pay them. But if most of your build is using power tools and automation then the expense goes down dramatically. Fender charges that much because they can. Simple as that. Not knocking it. It is what it is. But there is not an extra $2000 dollars worth of product in those guitars.
@@edojacob7493 And yeah "delusional " "the price of the guitar is just the sum of its parts" + "markup to slap the Fender name on it."
I must say this is a really good work. A few suggestions may be placing an inner box on where the electronics are and shielding those and using protective rubber joints on the screws so that it doesn't damage the wood overtime.
If you like this concept but are concerned the use of a standard acoustic guitar bridge because of the stress on the top from string tension I suggest an archtop bridge with a trapeze tailpiece. Most of the tension is through the tailpiece in a 'horizontal' direction and the smaller component goes through the bridge acting in the 'vertical' or downward direction so there is no twisting force on the soundboard as there is with a flat top acoustic bridge. Archtops do still have bracing but it is simpler and lighter overall than on a flat top steel string acoustic. This is the approach I plan to follow both for structural integrity and improved sound quality.
Hi, well done. You may not be a "luthier" but you have the woodworking skills to get it done. I've done a few like this, the latest being a bass guitar that I hollowed out the body and put a top on. Like the other commenters I was wondering about the long term effect of not bracing the top. My method is to leave a pair of pillars at the bridge area when hollowing out the back, so the top and bridge are coupled to the back. Piezo and magnetic pickups don't work well combined together just with a switch. In the middle position I think you'll find if you try tapping the magnetic pickup with a steel screwdriver that it's very faint. I tried it before, as someone mentioned there's a mismatch and the piezo needs a preamp. What you could do is get one of those endpin jack mounted preamps, mount it in the body and wire its output to a separate volume control so with the two in together you can blend them any way you want. I don't think there's enough room in there for a control panel type preamp.
Julian Mokhtar , Great suggestions. I think the preamp would definitely be the ticket. Thanks so much for watching.
@Julian Mokhtar
I've been tempted to do a hollow body build for a bass similar to this idea but maybe a vaguely P or J shape. What's the tone like in this sort of setup for bass? I'd love to have at least a 3/4 size that I can just sit with and play unplugged but I'd also get a kick out of seeing the looks of confusion taking it out to a live gig when the pubs open again. Hahaha.
Gene, you should be very proud of yourself. That is a great build and a excellent demo of your skills. Very entertaining
Thank you. I’m not so sure on the demo but this was a really fun project to build and I learned a lot. Thanks again for watching.
I don't think you did anything "wrong," rather, you built a guitar the way you wanted it to be, so you did everything right, in my opinion! I would have liked to hear it played just acoustically, with a microphone outside of the body. Not that I would expect it to sound really great acoustically, but if it at least sounded "okay," there is one thing I might change if *I* were building it, which would be one of the newer Fishman acoustic/electric pickup/preamp systems that have the under-the-saddle piezo pickups, along with a little "microphone" pickup that sounds a lot less "clicky" and tinny than the piezo. I may be wrong, but I think it's called the Fishman Presys Blend. Plus, you can blend the amount of both pickups, using whatever ratio of piezo:mic that sounds best for the instrument and/or the situation. For example, if you need it to cut through a band onstage, you may want mostly the piezo's signal coming out to your a or PA. On the other hand, you might prefer most or more of the mic's signal for recording, or even in a small venue. But if, like I mentioned earlier, the guitar just doesn't sound very good acoustically, it might turn out to be a waste of money. But you really can't know for sure until you've tried it. Who knows, those Presys pickup/preamps sound even better in this one than it does in a more typical acoustic guitar...?
My congratulations it's one of the best ideas that I had ever found in you tube trust me nice combination good job
I have built about 30 electric guitars, I will try one of these. Thank you Great job!
Loved the whole build process. And some lovely tones coming out of it. If you were in India you’d have a lot of orders by now. I love a tele and this is special!
Thank you so much. This was a really fun project. Thanks again for watching.
I've got hickory, black walnut and honey locust just about dry and normalized out back.
This was an excellent build.
Travis Hanson , I bet that will make a beautiful guitar. I would love to see how it turns out. Thanks for watching.
@@DIYGene I'll keep that in mind. Even if I don't film the construction, I'll at least film it in action and post it up.
As a luthier I suggest you remove the top and add a bridge plate and an X brace, the glue on the top is fairly new and you can heat a pallet knife or a thin blade and remove the top. and you can change to a bridge pickup.
Maybe if you do this again, you could use a twin coil pick up, and have a coil tap, so you get a tele and a semi jazz sound?
I've been playing since I was 6 and I'm 54 now and never thought of making my own guitar, but after watching this, I'm going to have to build one, because your video with step by step is clear.
I reckon you are extremely talented to build a guitar from scratch is no mean feat . Thank you very much for sharing this and I may give this a go, I have never built a guitar but I am pretty under just watching you is give me the confidence
David , That makes me feel so good. I am in no way a pro, but this project was a lot of fun to build. Thanks for watching.
Great job on a fun project. You have something I lost long ago which is fun building your projects. I am always a year behind and the time I spend on guitars has become all work and stress. I think you need to get yourself a airbush and a binding bit for your router for the next build. Something worth mentioning, locking tuners are a very nice feature and you can find cheap sets for around $30 online. Fun Fact: My tops are German spruce and milled to .103 thick with spruce bracing. I tap on the top of the guitar looking for a certain tone and adjust things like the bracing and the size of the sound hole to get the tone I want. Keep up the good work.
KD8EGV Channel, Thanks so much for giving it a watch. I took a totally novice approach to it. I know the feeling when you turn a love or a craft into a career. It can completely take the joy away. You have such a deep and wonderful knowledge of guitar building and I really admire that. Thanks again,
Gene
This is undoubtedly the best acoustic electric guitar ever made👌
Thank you, But I'm about to remake it and make it better from the great posts that have helped me. Thanks for watching.
It’s not surprising that it was somewhat difficult to make, the shape itself is rather unorthodox, I’m surprised fender was actually able to build the acoustisonic guitar in the form of a telecaster body
What a fantastic job you did on that guitar, you are a craftsman sir, i really enjoyed the process, wish i had those skills, it is great watching an instrument come to life , again nice job.
Billy Guitarguy , WOW, thank you so much for the kind words. Thank you again for watching.
So skillful and yet humble
Very nice job on this. One thing you may want to consider is getting that piezo back at the bridge since that's where the string vibrations transfer to the guitar top relative to sound production.
That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for watching.
I have to say, I really like this guitar! I really liked the sound, and that it wasn't very thick. I don't like playing the thick dreadnought style acoustic guitars. I'm so used to electric guitars so I imagine that's why. Great guitar, and great job building it! I only have one suggestion. Imagine that, me with a suggestion...Lol.
The placement of the Piezo pickup. I think it would be better if placed behind the bridge to the underside of the top. Maybe place it centered between the low "E" and "A" string behind the bridge. That will get it further away from the other pickup. I know I said one thing but this counts as one since it still has to do with pickups. The tele style pickup you have is ok, but it may be more beneficial to put a mini humbucker there. It's a little bigger in size but it may be slightly quieter. A hot rail style humbucker visually looks almost the same size and they can be pretty inexpensive depending on how much you want to spend. Its definitely much smaller than a normal sized humbucker. Plus they look pretty cool. They start at about 10 bucks and go up from there depending on quality and brand. It never hurts to experiment especially if it's not too expensive to do so. Anyway love the guitar, great build!
That is a great idea and I will look into it. I am going to rebuild the guitar to make it even better. Stay Tuned!
You're very skillful Wood Craftman.
The neck fit very well in the pocket..
Your idea very brilliant too..
👍👍👍🏆😎👌
hi Gene my name is Andrew , i build solid body eletric guitars at home too as well as ukes, mandolins i haven't tried to build one like yous but am now making deffinate plans to do so , i really liked how the piazzo pickup turned the body into a cajone so as your playing you could always to chicken picken at the same time drumming in one instrument i like that and i hope to see more from you
Andrew Archer , I promise, I’m working on a new one now. Thanks so much for watching
Your work on the body was very good. An up grade on the tele bridge pickup might be good but the one you used sounded good to me. A lot of issues with the other pickup . I really love the idea. If this was your first build KILLER.
Love your project ! My only two cent suggestion (which stems from a pet peeve of mine) would be to use a clear "wood grain filler" on your luann top.
You will still see the look of "grain" in the wood but the surface finish would look much "smoother" or "cleaner" ie: better woodworking chops.
Also - Your video is very "watchable." Excellent pacing and shot selection, narration.
Thanks for the great advice. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for watching.
Good effort Gene, some ideas for how you can improve it. First off, I'd scrap the switch and give each pickup its own volume knob, that way you can control how much acoustic you want and how much electric when you're going for a blend. Secondly, I'd add a Piezo pickup under the bridge saddle, so now you have 3 pickups to blend. As for the construction, as others have suggested, braces will extend the life of the top, I'd also suggest adding a bridge plate on the inside below the bridge. One more thing, in order to ground the strings when using the electric pickup, you could add a strip of metal below the bridge, with holes in it that line up with the pin holes, so the ball end of the strings end up touching it, then ground the metal. Stew-Mac sells one as a "Plate Mate" but you can make one.
TheRobman , These are great suggestions. I like the idea of individual volume controls rather than the switch. That makes a lot of sense. I’m definitely going to add a piezo under the bridge. Thanks so much for watching.
@@DIYGene My pleasure. Hey, something else occurred to me, you didn't show us the intonation, how close did you get it?
Amazing works!
Im dreaming to build my own guitar.
You are an inspiration for me sir.
My budget is tight to buy good tools but i will try to build. Even my tools is limited.
Thank you sir. God bless more to build!
Thank you so much. This guitar is very special to me and was a great learning experience. Thanks again for watching.
I think you did a great job I would not have gone the Pizzo pickup I'd gone another pickup under the strings in the sound hole
But the one thing on your build that gets me and it's not a big deal to others but to me it is, is the screws you used to hold the bridge down. I don't have a problem that you used screws but should of counter sunk them and pluged with some wood or mother of Perl is cheap
but all in all GREAT JOB SIR!!!
Nice build...Nice sound...if you build another I would research the bracing pattern of the tops of acoustic and arch top guitars. Also I would add support under the bridge. Please post more videos if you decide to try another.
Great build. You did everything right AFAIK. I didn't notice if you used spruce or similar tone wood for the top, that would make a difference. I noticed things were very microphonic. I hope that you someone posts how to overcome that. OTW, 2 thumbs up!!
Love that mixed sound! AWESOME JOB!!!!!
Thanks so much for watching.
How did you adjust the string action? What kind of bridge saddle did you use? Also, next time you may want to consider installing a bridge plate under the bridge, and some top bracing inside the guitar. Will make a better acoustic guitar sound and reinforce the top and bridge. Otherwise a pretty cool build.
I definitely would love to build one. Thank you for sharing your video.
Thank you so much for watching.
Gene,
The first Guitar I made was a lot of fun as well.
I did it back in the early 70's when I was a student and was totally broke.
Made it from Ply, for Jazz [I was a bassist].
I long since gave it away, but it is amazing how ingenious you can be when you are doing number 1.
The rest, you make jigs for and have all the wiz-bangy bits you accumulate as time goes on.
Number 1 is always nice to reflect on, because it's the one you broke the ice on sort of thing.
Well Done Gene [BTW, Hi from Oz]...
==BOZE==
I wonder, do you still have the one you made in the 70s? I have actually completely rebuilt this guitar using all the great suggestions I have received. Here is the link: ua-cam.com/video/HBsMakHdCLo/v-deo.html
Thanks for watching.
@@DIYGene No I don't have the guitar anymore.
I gave it to my brother many years ago when he was also broke and migrated to a small mining town up north that produced Bauxite. He did club work up there and I believe it got destroyed in a fire.
The instrument was very basic and used a pickup set I took out of my original "Teasco" guitar I brought from California.
My constructing the guitar was part out of necessity because as we migrated to Jazz, the cost of a proper Jazz Gibson was pretty astronomical for a bunch of aspiring musos who were still students.
I am more interested in Piano and have been teaching myself for a lot of years now, but I look back on those "Struggle" years fondly. Not having something makes you pretty "Inventive".
OK, all the best from Australia as well..
==BOZE==
Instead of the 3 way switch, maybe a volume knob for each pickup and one master tone? That way you could blend in each as much as you want. Another commenter here suggested wiring the piezo to an acoustic-electric preamp, then to the selector switch. That's another good idea, you can pick those up on Amazon or any music store.
Excellent suggestions. Thanks for watching.
7:13 Oh that grandpa smile love it
Great job! You could have chosen a piezo pick up wich is mounted in the bridge. They are powered by a battery and have volume and tone controls. You'd have more sound alternatives to choose.
The reason for the piezo being so sensitive is it's reading the vibrations of the top of the guitar. The electric pickup is just getting the vibration of the strings. If you're worried about the pop/thud you get from changing to the piezo pickup, I'd recommend maybe (maybe) loosening the switch a little. But, in a live setting that won't matter too much. Even switching from one electric pickup to another sometimes has a pop, nobody would pay much attention
Inspiring to watch, I'm definately going to make myself one of these for sure. I would look into ways to be able to adjust your pickup height though, since that has such a huge impact on your electric guitar sound. Yours doesn't seem to need it for the neck pickup though, I love that natural reverb it's got. But I love what you've done, you've done an amazing job and you've inspired an aspiring guitarbuilder to follow in your footsteps!
Thank you so much. I learned a lot on this project and still have a lot to learn. I have received so many excellent suggestions in the comments that I have improved even more on the guitar. Thanks again for watching.
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but you have to ground the strings or else you'll have a lot of hum from the Tele pickup. (And because the bridge is wood and not metal, you can't get away with grounding just one string.)
Great advice, Thanks!
Hi! I'm an acoustic guitar player and I have to say, Your guitar is awesome!
But there's some things that I have to say to you,about the construction of it:
1st:the acoustic guitars have to have some nice "protection" inside of it,because the tension of the strings can pull everything apart!
2nd: you should less space for the acoustic sound,even if u had less space inside of it,the sound comes nicely.U should build it like a normal eletric(for the wirering) than make the acoustic box!
sorry for my English mistakes, I'm Brazilian lol
Incredible video!!!
ps:the guitar sounded fucking great
Thanks so much. I actually am completely rebuilding the guitar. Thanks so much including a new face with bracing underneath and a under saddle piezo pickup. I hope to post this very soon. Thanks again for watching.
I recently put a piezo on a classical guitar that I also put electric guitar strings on... the preamp I used had a place for a mic also, so instead of a mic I put a magnetic pickup in the sound hole. This preamp has a fader to go from piezo to mic (or magnetic, in this case), as well as the usual volume, tones, and tuner. Something like that would be a real boon to your Tele-Acoustic I think. Otherwise, maybe just put a volume pot on there for the piezo?
Great job! The video was great and straight and to the point. Some videos put me to sleep, this one didn't. Now, I'm going to make a tele body out of pine after watching this. Thanks!
Frank Kessler , I would love to see how it turns out. Thanks so much for watching
Good job. Thanks for the list. I wanted a oscillating spindle sander but didn't have the room for one.
MAN, very impressive Gene! Btw Gene your videos are so inspiring & entertaining,
let alone you make everything look like so much fun as well as easy?
I've been kinda busy the past few months and haven't been able to catch
your stuff. Well, I sure am glad to get to see them now. Thanks again Gene,
you rock buddy!
Thanks Jeff, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I do have fun with these projects and comments like yours keep me motivated. Let me know if you have any ideas for a DIY video or even suggestions, I would love to hear them. Thanks so much for watching.
Great job. One bit of feedback you may find helpful is that piezos seriously benefit from a buffer/preamp to tame the ice-pick, "quacky" tone. They are cheap & all over amazon/ebay. It will balance much better with the single coil too.
I think the preamp is an excellent idea. I had so may great suggestions, that I tore my favorite guitar apart and completely rebuilt it. Here is the link:
ua-cam.com/video/HBsMakHdCLo/v-deo.html
Thanks so much for watching.
I think the bridge looks a little out of place due to the color, but that's just personal preference. great job man! I'm thinking of trying this myself for my first electric guitar, so I'll use a black one.
I agree with you. It should match the frets on the neck. I got so many great suggestions that I tore my favorite guitar apart and rebuilt it again using many of the great suggestions. Here is the link:
ua-cam.com/video/HBsMakHdCLo/v-deo.html
Thanks so much for watching.
Awesome job with basic power tools. Very well done.
Definitely add bracing to the top, and better to have used a solid soundboard wood.such as spruce or ash. The heel joint was cool, but looked like it was not finished flush with the neck itself. That could be just the lighting, not sure. Loved the idea of pin striping too! Am very interested to know how the bridge placement did with intonation. For the record, I own a Telecoustic and love it!
Thanks especially for the links to the tools, I would definitely look into the bench top sander!
Joe Kralicek , Thank you for the great suggestions. I think the next one will have a different top. The intonation has been perfect although not sure why. After 6months the bridge is doing fine. Thanks so much for watching.
Nice! and a thought for you (old navy engineer here. lol) what if you mounted the Piazo up on the inside neck support? Since it's basically just a small microphone, that would give your acoustic sound, without the extra vibrations of being attached to the outer body. Which would give the vibrations of the sound leaving through the sound hole.
That’s a great idea. I did add one under the bridge and it gave a nice acoustic sound. Thanks so much for watching.