I personally would have inlayed a thin cover of wood inside those holes, similar to a control cavity cover. Could even provide some cool contrast by using different woods.
Totally, or like put inlays of changing clocks or symbols to tell some sort of story. That said, I’d have just carved a deep tummy cut and arm contour, maybe even a scoop round the back of the lower horn and removed unnecessary weight that way whilst still having a good looking guitar.
The concept is dead interesting, I don’t mind the look either. I wonder if carving a valley down the edge with the holes would enhance the look even more? Might even have a bit of a HR Giger look going on!
i have to agree completely with this comment lol. interesting concept, looks cool, yeah carve a valley and yeah i could totally see how it would look a bit Giger ish
I actually loved the look that the step bits left in the holes. Kind of a cool transition and adds a bit of unique visuals to the holes. I know you needed more weight relief on this build, but would love to see those step bit holes incorporated on another build
Hey, Ben. If it was me, I’d extend the holes further round the guitar (both for visual effect and to further reduce the weight). I wouldn’t add mesh, but do think the holes would look great with just a narrow ring of brass round them.
I think I would have routed the back out and made another thin cover. No dust collection points and the holes look a bit out of place and would bug me.
The better alternative to this is to band saw the back off before routing and gluing the back , back on . This only loses a small amount of material after thicknessing and the grain almost matches after refinishing . Its how I build my own because everything is too heavy except for my 3/4 acoustic.
@@georgerobartes5989 I built a walnut Explorer and routed large portions of the back out and put a sapele cap on the back to cover. The end result was pretty cool.
@@trus3683I love black walnut . I built a type of Asbory bass with 22 1/2" scale lenth from a single piece of that using rubber strings by Road Toad as I have arthritis , Its trimmed with real ebony parts , nut , markers , bridge etc . I've got 2 on the go a present , a body contoured 59 LPJ DC style with wood salvaged from a 1920s Mahogany fireplaces from East London where I live . A lot of these old town houses are having their fireplaces ripped out and end up in the skip . They don't realise 5hat under the 20 coats of paint is genuine old seasoned Mahogany .The body of that one consists of a book matched Mahogany back cap on a fully routed 3 plank Mahogany body ( I'm running out of the large wide shelves on top of the fire surrounds ) with a book matched Ash top finished in deep blue Tiger Eye . The other is a thinner Melody Maker DC with just a book matched Mahogany top as the rest is glued up leftovers about 5 pieces with neck through , also in 5 pieces with a combination of Mahogany and Maple , the strengthening struts from an old Hammond Organ that was free to anyone who would collect . I bought an old harmonium for £5 the rats and damp had got at but it has real ivory caps on the white keys for markers and ebony black keys for markers on maple or oak fretboards ( from old brown coated furniture , strip of the gunk and the oak is a beautiful honey gold colour ), bridges ,switch knobs and anywhere else it would look good . Generally speaking I only buy fretboard material and really like Mexican Rosewood . Shame it doesn't keep that golden yellow graining for long after planing . For ebony I use the old really tight grained English oak from the harmonium and use Ferrous Sulphate ( Coperas) to turn it ebony black , you can buy it as mordant from craft suppliers as its used to dye wool .Real ebony is related and grows in iron rich soil , so it's really hard to tell the difference as it stains right through the wood . Bog oak is pretty much the same but way too expensive especially when there's so much old wood available that no one wants . Imported white oak is not as dense , hard or have enough tannin to react . Black or European walnut will turn completely black using this stuff too . I hope this gives you a few ideas to source wood cheaply and keep up making guitars . Nothing more satisfying than creating a musical instrument someone will enjoy when you give it away .
@@georgerobartes5989 I've made body blanks from Sapele, AfrMahogany, Walnut and a Walnut burl stump. Necks from Curly Maple, Padauk, Purple Heart and Wenge and laminates in the past. So far the walnut is my favorite to work with.
This would be fun to glue a veneer over it. remove 2mm from the side, and glue in a thin strip on top, to se if it would make it invisible :) maybe with some fiberglass cloth laminated into the thing so that you wouldn't be able to press your finger through the vaneer :P :P
Ben's presentation is great. His skill is superb. This is one of the best guitar building channels on UA-cam. The odd thing that Ben does is not entirely to my liking, but such is the case with all art. And that's what Ben does.. A fusion of builder and artist He's a true Artisan. And the most articulate and well spoken person with a head tattoo, that I've ever seen!
The reason that Leo Fender made the Telecaster (and Broadcaster) so robust, was so one could use it to fight one's way out of a Beer Joint if necessary.
You do great work, not only have you inspired me to build my own guitar but also to build a diy band saw mill to harvest my own wood for my own guitars! Keep up the beautiful work man!
Nice!!! Love it! I recently build an offset tele from a piece of pecan wood. It ended up weighing 12.5 lbs. I used the yellow Saburr bit on a Dremel wand and went through the pickups and control cavity. gutting it from the inside. Now its a little over 8.5 lbs.
As I replied to another comment regarding caps to the holes; I'd go for rosewood caps to match the neck or moon phases or alternate caps. It would take a special customer to appreciate clock faces. Size them to sit a mm below the surface for a better asthetic than just being flush. (Drill a rebate for them to sit into.) If this was going to be a production style body with different main body materials, a whole line of caps could be made that the customer could pick from to customise their own.
A very cool idea, thank you. At this stage I'm seriously considering a cool wire mesh cup kind of thing but.. well, we all know I change my mind on a dime, don't we? :)
After much deliberation, I did it. 20 holes around the perimeter (1 - 1/8"), and 3 strategically placed under the pickguard. It took a *lot* of weight off. I was quite sore the next day, as using a 20v Dewalt on a solid ash Tele was exhausting. It came out great, though. Thank you!
I wouldn't leave the holes uncovered, but I don't put a steel mesh on them either. I would make a 1.5mm thick Maple round caps; that give a little contrast to the color of the wood.
Regarding the repetitive holes: a randomized organic piece of artwork would have taken multiple episodes to pull off, but I would have watched them all. 😃
As I was watching, I felt my temperature rising and my gnashers a-gnashin. I looked over at my beloved Crimson copper rodded guitar and swore that I would never let this bad man, with his impressive range of drill-bits, anywhere near. No Sir. Gonna take me some time to calm down. Ps. Please build a crimson take on a no-frills, Tele-style slab of a guitar, but special enough to be a crimson. Thanks (you might even be forgiven)
I had to watch this. A while back I had a cheap pink guitar that for some reason I liked. I had done a nice wiring job that, sadly, no one would ever see. Then, a flash! I routed the entire cavity till it came through the back side then made a large contour plastic piece for the back. I reasoned that I could now take it into any guitar shop where I was looking for a job, unscrew the cover and display my genius circuitry and nice soldering and so forth. It didn't work. I would take the back cover off and they would only look at me strangely.
I like it. Good way to reduce weight. Looks good as it is. If I had done it I think I would blend all the holes together . ie. widen the outer portion of all the holes until the touch each other.
I love how Ben embraced that chunk of wood, even with all of it's imperfections. To me that is a real piece of wood, and the imperfections each give it additional character.
Get a bunch of cork wine stoppers and plug the outer inch of each hole. Then continue around the bottom of the body and the upper horn. A Tele and Les Paul carry significant weight in that upper horn. Another option: run a saw into the 'wings' of the body 3/8ths in from the front and back so the body looks like a three layer cake, chip out the in-between wood, then glue in a thin and pliable or steam-bent filler strip around the outer rim in a contrasting wood color. If you x-ray after you'd see a solid center block and two hollow wings (plus control cavities/etc). There is a video on youtube of a guy doing this same drilling activity to a Les Paul that I think you were referencing about the pitchfork and torch comments, lol.
Many years ago had an old Les Paul I lightened for a young man that had muscle development issues. Essentially routed out the whole back, glued in a few support rails, and veneered over. Weighed about a 1/4 of what it weighed originally. Just watched a guy on UA-cam make a guitar with resin poured over bubble wrap in a silicone mold.
You could always make some short plugs, maybe 1/4 inch thick that can be glued into the top of the holes and then sand to match the guitar body, either match the colour or a darker wood like whats on the back, finish coat the body and youre done.
Personally if it was my instrument it looks like it is screaming out for those holes to be covered with the same coloured wood as the accents on the back, that dark wood contrast just looks amazing. If you could get the capping absolutely flush but that dark colour I think it would look really visually interesting and tie the whole thing together. I have to say, I'm not someone who could ever afford one of these things but the raw nature on show on the front there is absolutely stunning, what a beautiful instrument.
Thanks for helping me decide to not do this. I have considered it many times, but your statement at 9:57 "Would I recommend doing this? No." sums it all up. Great video!
Same here, tone wood for violins and acoustics, but on electrics where the sound is generated by a string vibrating in a magnetic field, it's rubbish. Use a nice wood if going with a natural finish, otherwise cheapo Poplar.
The idea of a lightweight model is very appealing to me, as I have a spinal problem which makes full weight guitars difficult. If you were to use a drill press and use an assortment of drill bits, the "honeycomb" effect could be quite intriguing. More please Ben! Love the Channel!
My PRS SE Soapbar 2 weighs in at about 5.8 pounds and is the most resonant guitar I have. My two other best guitars are about 8.4 to 8.8 pounds. I am tempted to do some weight relief (not for weight but for tone) and am looking at the guitar Russ Ballard had when he was with Argent. My theory is that if there was less mass on the body, it would return more energy back into the vibrating string rather than being damped by the more solid body. I've recently watched some videos where they played tones underneath a metal plate with some powder on it and it created patterns at certain frequencies. Meaning that the position of the weight-relief holes may be important. Down the rabbit-hole I go. :) :)
I like the idea of weight reduction, but why not START in the existing non visible cavities? Nice holes, but they will be dust and dirt magnets. How about simple black plastic inserts (lightweight remember?) Three other things to think about. How does this affect the sound? And the sustain? Finally, how does this affect the structural integrity of the instrument? When assembling the guitar, one could slice front and back apart from each other on a bandsaw and go inside to remove material invisibly. The last thing is about playability. Will this become a “neck-diver”? I see no easy way to remove weight from the neck.
I was going to do this to one of my guitars that’s weighs as much as a boat anchor. After watching this I’m thinking I gotta come up with a different solution. Thanks for doing this, it answered a lot of questions I had about the direction of my project.
You are a very brave man Ben. I have a 1978 Les Paul which weighs 4.8 kg - obviously I would never do anything to it. I love it just the way it is. I think your guitar turned out quite nice with the holes. I was wondering what you could fill them with if they had turned out to look terrible. Balsa wood? Some sort of light weight resin? Led lights? Metal mesh, doesn’t appeal to me to be honest. Copper caps maybe? Anyway, very thought provoking.
Turn some inlays on the lathe and plug the holes. I'm thinking conical or inverted cone shaped that fits perfectly into the hole made from a lightweight wood or possibly polished aluminum.
I thinkg that presfitting some polished nickle rings into the holes would to two things. Protect the wood in the opening, and bring the theme of nickle plated hardware to the side as well.
I'm a bit mystified by the current obsession with light-weight instruments. If you are really troubled by the heaviness of your guitar then take a tip from us bass players and buy a wider strap. I have to say that I am not a fan of the solution in this video. If the holes were covered with flush fitting wooden plugs then it could have really added to the look of the guitar. The poor thing just looks wounded now.
Thank you. Tales of overly heavy guitars are just sob stories (unless your back is already injured or weak). In my last band, the bass player had a MM Stingray five string. It is far heavier than any guitar I own and he bopped around with it like it was barely there.
I agree with your “wound” comments. At this stage perhaps some thin veneer plugs of something wild, ebony, or purple heart come to mind... Try to make a wound look at least a bit “healed”
I have a, now permanently detached (failed surgery) bicep. I'm 59 and I can easily reach out with my bad arm, pick up and play four sets standing up with my heaviest guitar. Without pain or suffering. I don't know why this "pussification" of guitarists started, but it is unbecoming to our image. No wonder it's almost impossible to find anyone to do any actual work these days, if lifting and holding an electric guitar causes intolerable stress.
Many people have tried to do this with marginal results. I think the most effective way to do this is to saw or plane off 1/4" or more off of the top or back and chamber the body. Then attach a new top or back and Bob's your uncle. It's a good excuse to put a nice top on something :)
Any chambering is better than no chambering. It increases feedback, which improves sound, unless you go way overboard and create a squeal monster. Plus it reduces weight. My problem is that I'm not brave enough, I should leave much less wood.
You could take a strip of mesh, inlaid covering all holes and the end of the strip pointed or rounded or arrowshaped. Kind of loudspeaker slot or soundhole like
Or if you could start over, you could have split the lumber in half, hollowed out a chamber where a f hole would normally be from the control cavity before sealing it back together, effectively making it a duo jet in terms of hollow/solid construction.
I did something similar to balance a cheapo Harley Benton. Lovely thing (especially for the price) but horrifically butt heavy and would flip the neck up if you tried to play seated. Scales, measuring and simple sums to work out how much to remove and where, then drilled about 250g drilled out the back of the body from behind with a fat forstner bit. Like a second electronic cavity but open. Balances wonderfully on the knee now and I was going to respray it anyway...
To make things harder on you I say make some wooden cross (plus signs?) design or the like to put in the holes. It definitely needs something. You know someone is gonna end dropping a guitar pick into one of those wholes somehow. And once again kudos to the editor for another perfectly placed “Burn It”.
Perhaps a U shaped groove where the holes are and then soften the sharp edges. And the cavities can provide access to allow for invisible weight relief holes.
I made an Explorer replica years ago and it ended up neck heavy. To balance it I drilled two 15mm dia holes (approx. 150mm deep) into the upper part of the mahogany body then bonded in 2 brass rods & capping with mahogany before painting.
I'm wondering how something like this would look on a different guitar with maybe a diffuser sheet over the holes and as as part of the pickguard with some LED's behind them, or do something stylistic with the weight reduction holes like the phases of the moon
If I was trying to do this in a stealthy manor, I would take off the control plates and do the hole boring inside the cavities so nothing was visual from the outside, but it was obvious that the intention in this was to make it a part of the visuals and I liked it! I'm surprised that so little weight was taken off from the drilling. That was a decent amount removed. I expected it to be reduced more
It's nice to see this done by a professional. Like many others, I had thought of trying this technique myself, but suspected it would be a lot of work only to find that the difference in weight was too small to justify the risks. Sad to say, I think that this exercise confirms that. There is only so much wood that you can remove from a guitar body before you run out of safe areas to work on, particularly if you don't want to change the appearance of the the instrument's top. Far better to pick a less dense wood from the start and get your weight relief via dimensions and, if necessary, internal chambering. You will save far more weight this way than you could possibly remove by drilling, and you can see exactly what you are doing. Combine that with metal parts chosen for light weight, and you should get the result you want. If you want to use a dense wood for a particular appearance, use thin caps or veneers rather than whole-thickness pieces. A deep belly carve and deep or scooped cutaways reduce the weight further. Thinking about overall body thickness is worthwhile, too: many of the older designs that conditioned our ideas about guitars were built like battleships, without any real justification beyond the prejudice that 'weighty feels reassuring/quality/good value'.
Man, I'm 62 years old, and my knees aren't that great, and I recently got this import guitar, and the place I got it from, before they ship it out, they do a complete set up on it per the buyer's spec's. I've got to say, besides this Music Man Silhouette I have, it just plays really good. It's a Floyd equipped guitar, HSH, 24 frets...and is super heavy...I don't really want to sell it...I will probably eventually mod it with Fishman Fluence Open Core Classics, but dread doing that, because I have this shake in my hands, and soldering is not my favorite thing to do, but I want the guitar to be noiseless, and I've seen demo's on YT that just made me conclude I should get them. I've watched many of your videos, so when I did the search "How to weight relief your heavy ar$$ guitar" and saw it was you, I was really glad. The guitar is a neck thru construction, Ebony fretboard that is sweet, frets aren't stainless like my MM Silhouette, but since their new, it'll probably play really well for a while. My main concerns probably are, of coarse, 1) not to destroy hidden wiring that they may have snuck through it, but all the electronics are on the lower bout...you know, the whole 1 vol, 1 tone, 5 way switch deal...anyway, and 2) not to cause it to be neck heavy to the extent that I'm having to constantly be readjusting it while playing gigs. I wish it was as light as a Parker Fly or a Strandberg, but I know that isn't happening, but if I could get a couple of pounds off of it, I would be happy....it's a black guitar, too, so that's an easy one to be able to keep a bunch of holes in the back of it not looking like "oh, no...what did you do to your guitar?!?!?", hahaha! I might even get elaborate and make the holes different colors...OK so on to watch your video...I have the tools to do it, it's just a matter of getting the guts to do so. Thanks for the video, and hope you and yours are doing great!
I call anything with holes that aren't easily cleanable "spider housing", rough house siding with places for spiders to build webs being a main one. I would have to build covers of some sort for these holes.
Hey Ben, I know this is almost a month old now, but forstner bits are designed to not wander. By predrilling like this, you are actually eliminating the most crucial part, where the point of the forstner centers on the wood. Step drills can actually wander more than a forstner, in a deep bore the wall of the hole keeps the bit centered, where the step drill has cutting surfaces on each step on each side. Just sayin 😁😁
As with any work of art, whether the holes should be covered or not is your decision. I'd prefer not to have them visible if it was my guitar, but I also understand the need and don't see how they could be covered up without losing the raw feeling of that piece of wood or adding weight back.
Well, I was thinking about weight-relieving a heavy Sandberg bass. Now I know that it won't change enough to be worth the effort. I could and I would never drill holes this enormous into it. And yet, the end result wasn't even that much lighter. AS for this guitar, I would prefer the holes being covered up. Even though the rest of the body already has a roughed-up look, the very technical look of round holes doesn't fit in my eyes.
Yeah but.... how did it sound afterwards? I have done this on my guitars in the past, but found the same - that it's very difficult to remove a meaningful chunk of weight with round holes. You've gotta go full thinline to get wood like hard ash or sapele down to the mark. I think this is part of the magic of the Blackmachine formula - the easiest way to reduce body weight and increase resonance is to just make it thinner.
It looks ok to me and quite an interesting concept. As many people build guitars to a theme, I see this one as maybe a “cowboy” guitar with a few horse tack inspired accessories like a strip of leather and bridle rosettes over the holes. A small hand tooled pick guard, a strap with a buckle somewhere maybe and of course a matching shoulder strap. Those accents could look good with the imperfections and nice woody finish if the right shade of leather were used. I realize this would be adding weight back but there is room for more holes around the bottom and maybe even in the forward bout. I don’t remember the electrics on this one but it would need a coil splitter switch so it could have the popping voice the country pickers like. I do think it look a little naked and unfinished with the holes showing, like a unnecessary cover piece has come off and the secrets of its making are showing.
Whilst I always love watching your videos, Ben, I think that this might be a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. I think most people who find themselves in possession of a guitar that is heavier than they like would just sell it and find one that they feel more comfortable playing. If you are ordering a custom guitar that comes with weight relief in this style then that's a different thing entirely - but it makes the boring of holes in an existing guitar method redundant.
Of course many will scream the tone will suffer. I think it's been proven scientifically that on electric guitars, wood & weight matter little. It's the pickups that matter. Acoustics are an entirely different story. Still, it's your guitar. (My Telecaster weighs exactly 8 lbs as does the case. I had a dachshund who weighed 13 lbs)
I'd be tempted to put a string of color shifting LEDs inside (assuming it could some how be powered by the guitar) and capped the holes with clear plexiglass. The caps would of course need to be shaped to match the curve of the guitar body and then polished to clear again.
Hi Ben, I have one of your Raw Descendant(split body) Series , "copper" rodded versions. I, as an old codger find it very heavy. The question is, if it's lightened, will it end up neck heavy? I'm not far, about 45 miles from you, so could make it available for YOUR video. What do you think? I certainly would not tackle such modification myself. ps I watch and love all your vids. Best wishes, Peter, West Sussex.
Yeah, I have a neck-heavy Gretsch 12-string semi-hollow, and it's not playable unless you attach the strap to the headstock, like a '60's folk singer. Hopefully Ben can help you avoid that.
Looks very cool. I am curious where you get the unique wood you use? I have an idea of making a guitar out of live edge and have never seen a video of someone leaving one that way. I have seen live edge where they pour epoxy in but I am talking about a roughness like the back of this guitar.
Champer the holes so they almost touch and leave them open , that's my 2 cents anyways LOL. This has made me question tho. If you drilled a hole between the strap button and the jack then pressed in a steel bar leaving the hole open or sealing it afterwards , could you correct a headstock heavy guitar ? Essentially rebalancing the instrument.
I am actually in the process of doing something similar. I built my first body out of solid maple, as I was under the incorrect impression that alder needed to be grain filled. That did not interest me. To compound matters, the body had only one pickup, a tiny control cavity and a Floyd with no spring rout. It weighed a bloody TON.. Consequently, I rarely played it. So now I'm routing for 3 pickups, the full Floyd Rose, enlarging the control cavity and carving away the top and the heel. Now it's only heavy-ish! 😀
If anything maybe recess aluminum rings like ferrules to dress it up , but I think that screen on the top edge could be an irritating surface against your arm as you play. Especially if just the edge of the screen is in contact with the arm. Maybe brass for the hole ferrules polished or even copper as you like various metals.
Looks awesome, and I don't have the skill or tools to do what you are able to do. But....yeah there's always a but......I would drill the hole slanted, that alwas makes a cooler effect for me. Rock on man!
My Christmas wish list (Actually a Top of the list wish list) would be one of your guitars with Cream T pickups installed for a guitar that would end up being a snarling, crunchy and drop dead sexy as all hell! When I hit the lottery, you will be busy!! Truly-out of all the "custom builders I see on you Tube-You are by far my utmost favorite. Hope you have been well.
Ben: _"build another guitar, or..." "Burn it!"_ Oh Talitha! 🤣🤣👍
I thought he said “BERNARD!"
🤣
I just simply love how it kind of became a running joke on the channel, much like Ben changing his mind... :D
I personally would have inlayed a thin cover of wood inside those holes, similar to a control cavity cover. Could even provide some cool contrast by using different woods.
had the same thought.
Now I don't have to comment...
Totally, or like put inlays of changing clocks or symbols to tell some sort of story.
That said, I’d have just carved a deep tummy cut and arm contour, maybe even a scoop round the back of the lower horn and removed unnecessary weight that way whilst still having a good looking guitar.
That's a great idea! Either glue the covers in or use a magnet to hold the cover on. Would the covers removed change the sound at all?
@@thomasrobertson4213 moon phases would work too. 🙂
It's refreshing to encounter someone else who appreciates and values the actual wood. And someone who acknowledges the importance of "imperfection".
The concept is dead interesting, I don’t mind the look either. I wonder if carving a valley down the edge with the holes would enhance the look even more? Might even have a bit of a HR Giger look going on!
i have to agree completely with this comment lol. interesting concept, looks cool, yeah carve a valley and yeah i could totally see how it would look a bit Giger ish
I actually loved the look that the step bits left in the holes. Kind of a cool transition and adds a bit of unique visuals to the holes. I know you needed more weight relief on this build, but would love to see those step bit holes incorporated on another build
Hey, Ben. If it was me, I’d extend the holes further round the guitar (both for visual effect and to further reduce the weight). I wouldn’t add mesh, but do think the holes would look great with just a narrow ring of brass round them.
But brass is so heavy maybe Gold Leaf
A ruler with a 0 in the centre is something I never knew I desperately needed
it's one of those tools that, in very specific situations, is just what the doctor ordered!
Love the moment when Ben remembers that friction creates heat ….. ouch ! That’s a touch warm ( hahaha )
I am here to entertain :) B
Happens to me every time I drill into wood.
I think I would have routed the back out and made another thin cover. No dust collection points and the holes look a bit out of place and would bug me.
The better alternative to this is to band saw the back off before routing and gluing the back , back on . This only loses a small amount of material after thicknessing and the grain almost matches after refinishing . Its how I build my own because everything is too heavy except for my 3/4 acoustic.
@@georgerobartes5989 I built a walnut Explorer and routed large portions of the back out and put a sapele cap on the back to cover. The end result was pretty cool.
@@trus3683I love black walnut . I built a type of Asbory bass with 22 1/2" scale lenth from a single piece of that using rubber strings by Road Toad as I have arthritis , Its trimmed with real ebony parts , nut , markers , bridge etc . I've got 2 on the go a present , a body contoured 59 LPJ DC style with wood salvaged from a 1920s Mahogany fireplaces from East London where I live . A lot of these old town houses are having their fireplaces ripped out and end up in the skip . They don't realise 5hat under the 20 coats of paint is genuine old seasoned Mahogany .The body of that one consists of a book matched Mahogany back cap on a fully routed 3 plank Mahogany body ( I'm running out of the large wide shelves on top of the fire surrounds ) with a book matched Ash top finished in deep blue Tiger Eye . The other is a thinner Melody Maker DC with just a book matched Mahogany top as the rest is glued up leftovers about 5 pieces with neck through , also in 5 pieces with a combination of Mahogany and Maple , the strengthening struts from an old Hammond Organ that was free to anyone who would collect . I bought an old harmonium for £5 the rats and damp had got at but it has real ivory caps on the white keys for markers and ebony black keys for markers on maple or oak fretboards ( from old brown coated furniture , strip of the gunk and the oak is a beautiful honey gold colour ), bridges ,switch knobs and anywhere else it would look good . Generally speaking I only buy fretboard material and really like Mexican Rosewood . Shame it doesn't keep that golden yellow graining for long after planing . For ebony I use the old really tight grained English oak from the harmonium and use Ferrous Sulphate ( Coperas) to turn it ebony black , you can buy it as mordant from craft suppliers as its used to dye wool .Real ebony is related and grows in iron rich soil , so it's really hard to tell the difference as it stains right through the wood . Bog oak is pretty much the same but way too expensive especially when there's so much old wood available that no one wants . Imported white oak is not as dense , hard or have enough tannin to react . Black or European walnut will turn completely black using this stuff too .
I hope this gives you a few ideas to source wood cheaply and keep up making guitars . Nothing more satisfying than creating a musical instrument someone will enjoy when you give it away .
@@georgerobartes5989 I've made body blanks from Sapele, AfrMahogany, Walnut and a Walnut burl stump. Necks from Curly Maple, Padauk, Purple Heart and Wenge and laminates in the past. So far the walnut is my favorite to work with.
@@georgerobartes5989 bro you seriously make that kind of stuff *and simply give it away to people*? How do I apply for a chance to have one?
This would be fun to glue a veneer over it. remove 2mm from the side, and glue in a thin strip on top, to se if it would make it invisible :)
maybe with some fiberglass cloth laminated into the thing so that you wouldn't be able to press your finger through the vaneer :P :P
Ben's presentation is great. His skill is superb. This is one of the best guitar building channels on UA-cam. The odd thing that Ben does is not entirely to my liking, but such is the case with all art. And that's what Ben does.. A fusion of builder and artist He's a true Artisan. And the most articulate and well spoken person with a head tattoo, that I've ever seen!
The reason that Leo Fender made the Telecaster (and Broadcaster) so robust, was so one could use it to fight one's way out of a Beer Joint if necessary.
FINALLY a good excuse for heavy guitars.
This guy's telling the truth,been there and done that!
You do great work, not only have you inspired me to build my own guitar but also to build a diy band saw mill to harvest my own wood for my own guitars! Keep up the beautiful work man!
That is awesome, thank you.. I will not stop.. have fun with the mill!
Nice!!! Love it!
I recently build an offset tele from a piece of pecan wood. It ended up weighing 12.5 lbs. I used the yellow Saburr bit on a Dremel wand and went through the pickups and control cavity. gutting it from the inside. Now its a little over 8.5 lbs.
That transition... build another guitar or... burn it! 😂😂😂
As I replied to another comment regarding caps to the holes;
I'd go for rosewood caps to match the neck or moon phases or alternate caps. It would take a special customer to appreciate clock faces. Size them to sit a mm below the surface for a better asthetic than just being flush. (Drill a rebate for them to sit into.) If this was going to be a production style body with different main body materials, a whole line of caps could be made that the customer could pick from to customise their own.
A very cool idea, thank you. At this stage I'm seriously considering a cool wire mesh cup kind of thing but.. well, we all know I change my mind on a dime, don't we? :)
After much deliberation, I did it. 20 holes around the perimeter (1 - 1/8"), and 3 strategically placed under the pickguard. It took a *lot* of weight off. I was quite sore the next day, as using a 20v Dewalt on a solid ash Tele was exhausting. It came out great, though. Thank you!
I wouldn't leave the holes uncovered, but I don't put a steel mesh on them either. I would make a 1.5mm thick Maple round caps; that give a little contrast to the color of the wood.
Regarding the repetitive holes: a randomized organic piece of artwork would have taken multiple episodes to pull off, but I would have watched them all. 😃
Haha another on point ‘burn it’ edit 😁
They used to do this on lightweight cycle components and labelled them 'drillium'. That was a waste of time too !😉
I'd be interested to see how the surgery affects its balance.
Neck dive ?
@@chassetterfield9559 Have you seen that neck? heck it was diving before he did this.
As I was watching, I felt my temperature rising and my gnashers a-gnashin. I looked over at my beloved Crimson copper rodded guitar and swore that I would never let this bad man, with his impressive range of drill-bits, anywhere near. No Sir. Gonna take me some time to calm down.
Ps. Please build a crimson take on a no-frills, Tele-style slab of a guitar, but special enough to be a crimson. Thanks (you might even be forgiven)
You sir, can write a good comment
I had to watch this. A while back I had a cheap pink guitar that for some reason I liked. I had done a nice wiring job that, sadly, no one would ever see. Then, a flash! I routed the entire cavity till it came through the back side then made a large contour plastic piece for the back. I reasoned that I could now take it into any guitar shop where I was looking for a job, unscrew the cover and display my genius circuitry and nice soldering and so forth. It didn't work. I would take the back cover off and they would only look at me strangely.
I like it. Good way to reduce weight. Looks good as it is. If I had done it I think I would blend all the holes together . ie. widen the outer portion of all the holes until the touch each other.
I love how Ben embraced that chunk of wood, even with all of it's imperfections. To me that is a real piece of wood, and the imperfections each give it additional character.
Get a bunch of cork wine stoppers and plug the outer inch of each hole. Then continue around the bottom of the body and the upper horn. A Tele and Les Paul carry significant weight in that upper horn. Another option: run a saw into the 'wings' of the body 3/8ths in from the front and back so the body looks like a three layer cake, chip out the in-between wood, then glue in a thin and pliable or steam-bent filler strip around the outer rim in a contrasting wood color. If you x-ray after you'd see a solid center block and two hollow wings (plus control cavities/etc).
There is a video on youtube of a guy doing this same drilling activity to a Les Paul that I think you were referencing about the pitchfork and torch comments, lol.
Michael Kelly guitars actually does this I believe they call it "enlightened".... However I still love the idea!
I believe the word your looking for my friend is Aesthetics... And you have delivered some really beautiful guitars with that word...
Many years ago had an old Les Paul I lightened for a young man that had muscle development issues. Essentially routed out the whole back, glued in a few support rails, and veneered over. Weighed about a 1/4 of what it weighed originally. Just watched a guy on UA-cam make a guitar with resin poured over bubble wrap in a silicone mold.
A Belly cut, arm carve and reshaping the neck access cutaway would have lost as much weight, been more comfortable and not looked so unsightly.
Yeah but that's boring
I'm pretty sure that's something he knows, but wouldn't have made a very interesting video.
You could always make some short plugs, maybe 1/4 inch thick that can be glued into the top of the holes and then sand to match the guitar body, either match the colour or a darker wood like whats on the back, finish coat the body and youre done.
Personally if it was my instrument it looks like it is screaming out for those holes to be covered with the same coloured wood as the accents on the back, that dark wood contrast just looks amazing. If you could get the capping absolutely flush but that dark colour I think it would look really visually interesting and tie the whole thing together. I have to say, I'm not someone who could ever afford one of these things but the raw nature on show on the front there is absolutely stunning, what a beautiful instrument.
Thanks for helping me decide to not do this. I have considered it many times, but your statement at 9:57 "Would I recommend doing this? No." sums it all up. Great video!
I don’t believe in TONE WOOD so I really enjoyed the lightening task. Carbon fiber mesh tape over all the holes.
Same here, tone wood for violins and acoustics, but on electrics where the sound is generated by a string vibrating in a magnetic field, it's rubbish. Use a nice wood if going with a natural finish, otherwise cheapo Poplar.
Wish you would have showed us how it played after make the holes go around more further weight reduction
looks good as it is i wouldn't over do it with mesh etc ..
👍🏻☮♥️
The idea of a lightweight model is very appealing to me, as I have a spinal problem which makes full weight guitars difficult.
If you were to use a drill press and use an assortment of drill bits, the "honeycomb" effect could be quite intriguing.
More please Ben! Love the Channel!
My PRS SE Soapbar 2 weighs in at about 5.8 pounds and is the most resonant guitar I have. My two other best guitars are about 8.4 to 8.8 pounds. I am tempted to do some weight relief (not for weight but for tone) and am looking at the guitar Russ Ballard had when he was with Argent. My theory is that if there was less mass on the body, it would return more energy back into the vibrating string rather than being damped by the more solid body. I've recently watched some videos where they played tones underneath a metal plate with some powder on it and it created patterns at certain frequencies. Meaning that the position of the weight-relief holes may be important. Down the rabbit-hole I go. :) :)
The old Yamaha SG 2000 was often notoriously heavy, a real beast in fact. Have a go at that one.
ooh yeah, they are beasts! Very cool, but heavy
I like the idea of weight reduction, but why not START in the existing non visible cavities? Nice holes, but they will be dust and dirt magnets. How about simple black plastic inserts (lightweight remember?) Three other things to think about. How does this affect the sound? And the sustain? Finally, how does this affect the structural integrity of the instrument? When assembling the guitar, one could slice front and back apart from each other on a bandsaw and go inside to remove material invisibly. The last thing is about playability. Will this become a “neck-diver”? I see no easy way to remove weight from the neck.
2:47 a Les Paul or my H150 sitting in at 9 lb.+ currently, heavy as all get out, but that neck ...it's sublime
I was going to do this to one of my guitars that’s weighs as much as a boat anchor. After watching this I’m thinking I gotta come up with a different solution. Thanks for doing this, it answered a lot of questions I had about the direction of my project.
Glad to help. DC
I'd add a small radius at the edge of the hole, sand smooth inside and coat the first couple of inches inside. Leave open. No mesh.
If you can find one, and an owner that will let you, I recommend this surgical procedure on the infamously weighty Peavey T-40 bass.
"Wabi Sabi" bro. The beauty of imperfection.
0:36 I love the editing where you chose to roll the intro there
Now fill the outer inch or so of those holes with a shot of expansive foam plastic, then veneer over that part of the perimeter and refinish the edge.
You are a very brave man Ben. I have a 1978 Les Paul which weighs 4.8 kg - obviously I would never do anything to it. I love it just the way it is. I think your guitar turned out quite nice with the holes. I was wondering what you could fill them with if they had turned out to look terrible. Balsa wood? Some sort of light weight resin? Led lights? Metal mesh, doesn’t appeal to me to be honest. Copper caps maybe? Anyway, very thought provoking.
Turn some inlays on the lathe and plug the holes. I'm thinking conical or inverted cone shaped that fits perfectly into the hole made from a lightweight wood or possibly polished aluminum.
Actually 'Michael Kelly Guitars' do the same thing on their enlightened models
I thinkg that presfitting some polished nickle rings into the holes would to two things. Protect the wood in the opening, and bring the theme of nickle plated hardware to the side as well.
I'm a bit mystified by the current obsession with light-weight instruments. If you are really troubled by the heaviness of your guitar then take a tip from us bass players and buy a wider strap. I have to say that I am not a fan of the solution in this video. If the holes were covered with flush fitting wooden plugs then it could have really added to the look of the guitar. The poor thing just looks wounded now.
Thank you. Tales of overly heavy guitars are just sob stories (unless your back is already injured or weak). In my last band, the bass player had a MM Stingray five string. It is far heavier than any guitar I own and he bopped around with it like it was barely there.
I agree with your “wound” comments. At this stage perhaps some thin veneer plugs of something wild, ebony, or purple heart come to mind... Try to make a wound look at least a bit “healed”
I have a, now permanently detached (failed surgery) bicep. I'm 59 and I can easily reach out with my bad arm, pick up and play four sets standing up with my heaviest guitar. Without pain or suffering. I don't know why this "pussification" of guitarists started, but it is unbecoming to our image. No wonder it's almost impossible to find anyone to do any actual work these days, if lifting and holding an electric guitar causes intolerable stress.
Many people have tried to do this with marginal results. I think the most effective way to do this is to saw or plane off 1/4" or more off of the top or back and chamber the body. Then attach a new top or back and Bob's your uncle. It's a good excuse to put a nice top on something :)
I think I would have cut holes and filled them with shotgun shell brass caps. Also nice to see you back using metric for once.
I've often wondered how I could work shotgun shells into a build.. cool idea
Any chambering is better than no chambering. It increases feedback, which improves sound, unless you go way overboard and create a squeal monster. Plus it reduces weight. My problem is that I'm not brave enough, I should leave much less wood.
One of the best features of my shop smith is that I can use it as a horizontal drill press. A job like this would be very simple.
You could take a strip of mesh, inlaid covering all holes and the end of the strip pointed or rounded or arrowshaped.
Kind of loudspeaker slot or soundhole like
Or if you could start over, you could have split the lumber in half, hollowed out a chamber where a f hole would normally be from the control cavity before sealing it back together, effectively making it a duo jet in terms of hollow/solid construction.
I did something similar to balance a cheapo Harley Benton. Lovely thing (especially for the price) but horrifically butt heavy and would flip the neck up if you tried to play seated. Scales, measuring and simple sums to work out how much to remove and where, then drilled about 250g drilled out the back of the body from behind with a fat forstner bit. Like a second electronic cavity but open. Balances wonderfully on the knee now and I was going to respray it anyway...
To make things harder on you I say make some wooden cross (plus signs?) design or the like to put in the holes. It definitely needs something. You know someone is gonna end dropping a guitar pick into one of those wholes somehow. And once again kudos to the editor for another perfectly placed “Burn It”.
Perhaps a U shaped groove where the holes are and then soften the sharp edges. And the cavities can provide access to allow for invisible weight relief holes.
I made an Explorer replica years ago and it ended up neck heavy. To balance it I drilled two 15mm dia holes (approx. 150mm deep) into the upper part of the mahogany body then bonded in 2 brass rods & capping with mahogany before painting.
elegant solution, sounds awesome!
I'm wondering how something like this would look on a different guitar with maybe a diffuser sheet over the holes and as as part of the pickguard with some LED's behind them, or do something stylistic with the weight reduction holes like the phases of the moon
If I was trying to do this in a stealthy manor, I would take off the control plates and do the hole boring inside the cavities so nothing was visual from the outside, but it was obvious that the intention in this was to make it a part of the visuals and I liked it! I'm surprised that so little weight was taken off from the drilling. That was a decent amount removed. I expected it to be reduced more
I really thought, hell.. it FELT like I removed more than that :)
It's nice to see this done by a professional. Like many others, I had thought of trying this technique myself, but suspected it would be a lot of work only to find that the difference in weight was too small to justify the risks. Sad to say, I think that this exercise confirms that. There is only so much wood that you can remove from a guitar body before you run out of safe areas to work on, particularly if you don't want to change the appearance of the the instrument's top. Far better to pick a less dense wood from the start and get your weight relief via dimensions and, if necessary, internal chambering. You will save far more weight this way than you could possibly remove by drilling, and you can see exactly what you are doing. Combine that with metal parts chosen for light weight, and you should get the result you want. If you want to use a dense wood for a particular appearance, use thin caps or veneers rather than whole-thickness pieces. A deep belly carve and deep or scooped cutaways reduce the weight further. Thinking about overall body thickness is worthwhile, too: many of the older designs that conditioned our ideas about guitars were built like battleships, without any real justification beyond the prejudice that 'weighty feels reassuring/quality/good value'.
Interesting idea. I have a tele I built that weighs in at 11lbs. Was thinking of removing material from under the pickguard.
Like that old Ibanez MCxxx much in the past, incredibly sustain and tone, but incredibly heavy too. Would be great to do this to such an old Ibanez…
Man, I'm 62 years old, and my knees aren't that great, and I recently got this import guitar, and the place I got it from, before they ship it out, they do a complete set up on it per the buyer's spec's. I've got to say, besides this Music Man Silhouette I have, it just plays really good. It's a Floyd equipped guitar, HSH, 24 frets...and is super heavy...I don't really want to sell it...I will probably eventually mod it with Fishman Fluence Open Core Classics, but dread doing that, because I have this shake in my hands, and soldering is not my favorite thing to do, but I want the guitar to be noiseless, and I've seen demo's on YT that just made me conclude I should get them. I've watched many of your videos, so when I did the search "How to weight relief your heavy ar$$ guitar" and saw it was you, I was really glad. The guitar is a neck thru construction, Ebony fretboard that is sweet, frets aren't stainless like my MM Silhouette, but since their new, it'll probably play really well for a while. My main concerns probably are, of coarse, 1) not to destroy hidden wiring that they may have snuck through it, but all the electronics are on the lower bout...you know, the whole 1 vol, 1 tone, 5 way switch deal...anyway, and 2) not to cause it to be neck heavy to the extent that I'm having to constantly be readjusting it while playing gigs. I wish it was as light as a Parker Fly or a Strandberg, but I know that isn't happening, but if I could get a couple of pounds off of it, I would be happy....it's a black guitar, too, so that's an easy one to be able to keep a bunch of holes in the back of it not looking like "oh, no...what did you do to your guitar?!?!?", hahaha! I might even get elaborate and make the holes different colors...OK so on to watch your video...I have the tools to do it, it's just a matter of getting the guts to do so. Thanks for the video, and hope you and yours are doing great!
Personally as a bedroom rocker!!🤘I love heavy 13 pound guitars. This is painful to watch. But I love the field your running through.
Now this man is an expert, not a YT shill for companies.
Love this channel! The owner of that guitar needs to have regular access to compressed air, or a desperate urge to collect guitar dust-bunnies!
Exactly! I think it's an awful idea. Maybe just sand down a belly cut and more curves?
I call anything with holes that aren't easily cleanable "spider housing", rough house siding with places for spiders to build webs being a main one. I would have to build covers of some sort for these holes.
Hey Ben, I know this is almost a month old now, but forstner bits are designed to not wander. By predrilling like this, you are actually eliminating the most crucial part, where the point of the forstner centers on the wood. Step drills can actually wander more than a forstner, in a deep bore the wall of the hole keeps the bit centered, where the step drill has cutting surfaces on each step on each side. Just sayin 😁😁
Crimson new motto , `We drill holes in guitars `
Now find a bunch of tiny figures and glue them in the holes.
Or better yet, lights. Little spotlights that flash randomly like Christmas lights!
As with any work of art, whether the holes should be covered or not is your decision. I'd prefer not to have them visible if it was my guitar, but I also understand the need and don't see how they could be covered up without losing the raw feeling of that piece of wood or adding weight back.
I vote for a dark wood veneer strip covering the holes kinda like the control covers on the back!
A top, a 2 piece body OR a pickguard, which I've used several times to hide weight relief holes
Well, I was thinking about weight-relieving a heavy Sandberg bass. Now I know that it won't change enough to be worth the effort. I could and I would never drill holes this enormous into it. And yet, the end result wasn't even that much lighter.
AS for this guitar, I would prefer the holes being covered up. Even though the rest of the body already has a roughed-up look, the very technical look of round holes doesn't fit in my eyes.
Yeah but.... how did it sound afterwards?
I have done this on my guitars in the past, but found the same - that it's very difficult to remove a meaningful chunk of weight with round holes. You've gotta go full thinline to get wood like hard ash or sapele down to the mark. I think this is part of the magic of the Blackmachine formula - the easiest way to reduce body weight and increase resonance is to just make it thinner.
i have done same on my practice les Paul style guitar
It looks ok to me and quite an interesting concept. As many people build guitars to a theme, I see this one as maybe a “cowboy” guitar with a few horse tack inspired accessories like a strip of leather and bridle rosettes over the holes. A small hand tooled pick guard, a strap with a buckle somewhere maybe and of course a matching shoulder strap. Those accents could look good with the imperfections and nice woody finish if the right shade of leather were used. I realize this would be adding weight back but there is room for more holes around the bottom and maybe even in the forward bout. I don’t remember the electrics on this one but it would need a coil splitter switch so it could have the popping voice the country pickers like.
I do think it look a little naked and unfinished with the holes showing, like a unnecessary cover piece has come off and the secrets of its making are showing.
Ben has really embraced the "burn it" intro gag
that is Talitha, the editor.. but yeah, we love this particular joke :)
Whilst I always love watching your videos, Ben, I think that this might be a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist. I think most people who find themselves in possession of a guitar that is heavier than they like would just sell it and find one that they feel more comfortable playing. If you are ordering a custom guitar that comes with weight relief in this style then that's a different thing entirely - but it makes the boring of holes in an existing guitar method redundant.
It's different. Different is GOOD.
not really, les pauls sound amazing but are back breaking, mine is 13lb a 70's reissue.. i dream of doing this to it lol.
Of course many will scream the tone will suffer. I think it's been proven scientifically that on electric guitars, wood & weight matter little. It's the pickups that matter. Acoustics are an entirely different story. Still, it's your guitar. (My Telecaster weighs exactly 8 lbs as does the case. I had a dachshund who weighed 13 lbs)
Can you relieve a neck though? If it has a neckdive :)
good idea in theory, but neck dive. oh my, the neck dive.
I'd be tempted to put a string of color shifting LEDs inside (assuming it could some how be powered by the guitar) and capped the holes with clear plexiglass. The caps would of course need to be shaped to match the curve of the guitar body and then polished to clear again.
very cool
Hi Ben, I have one of your Raw Descendant(split body) Series , "copper" rodded versions. I, as an old codger find it very heavy. The question is, if it's lightened, will it end up neck heavy?
I'm not far, about 45 miles from you, so could make it available for YOUR video. What do you think? I certainly would not tackle such modification myself.
ps I watch and love all your vids. Best wishes, Peter, West Sussex.
Hi Peter, drop me an email through Crimson HQ. I would love to make her more playable for you, and would do it on video too.
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars Wilco
Yeah, I have a neck-heavy Gretsch 12-string semi-hollow, and it's not playable unless you attach the strap to the headstock, like a '60's folk singer.
Hopefully Ben can help you avoid that.
I think some type of mesh would be awesome. May have it look like speakers going around the edge.
Definitely is staying in line with your recent lite weight/minimal material builds, your GGBO guitars come to mind.
Looks very cool. I am curious where you get the unique wood you use? I have an idea of making a guitar out of live edge and have never seen a video of someone leaving one that way. I have seen live edge where they pour epoxy in but I am talking about a roughness like the back of this guitar.
What would be really interesting is to record some demo before you do it and then some after.
I like the step drill look tbh, I bought a set of three based on your advice on them during a build in early 2020.
You have a CNC machine. Try cutting the Crimson Guitar logo through the body where an F hole would go. The Crimson Jem!
Champer the holes so they almost touch and leave them open , that's my 2 cents anyways LOL. This has made me question tho. If you drilled a hole between the strap button and the jack then pressed in a steel bar leaving the hole open or sealing it afterwards , could you correct a headstock heavy guitar ? Essentially rebalancing the instrument.
Kaptain you a brilliant, also I just made a similar comment :)
I am actually in the process of doing something similar. I built my first body out of solid maple, as I was under the incorrect impression that alder needed to be grain filled. That did not interest me. To compound matters, the body had only one pickup, a tiny control cavity and a Floyd with no spring rout. It weighed a bloody TON.. Consequently, I rarely played it. So now I'm routing for 3 pickups, the full Floyd Rose, enlarging the control cavity and carving away the top and the heel. Now it's only heavy-ish! 😀
If anything maybe recess aluminum rings like ferrules to dress it up , but I think that screen on the top edge could be an irritating surface against your arm as you play. Especially if just the edge of the screen is in contact with the arm. Maybe brass for the hole ferrules polished or even copper as you like various metals.
Looks awesome, and I don't have the skill or tools to do what you are able to do. But....yeah there's always a but......I would drill the hole slanted, that alwas makes a cooler effect for me. Rock on man!
My Christmas wish list (Actually a Top of the list wish list) would be one of your guitars with Cream T pickups installed for a guitar that would end up being a snarling, crunchy and drop dead sexy as all hell! When I hit the lottery, you will be busy!! Truly-out of all the "custom builders I see on you Tube-You are by far my utmost favorite. Hope you have been well.
Thank you for your comments and yes, keeping well. Hope you win the lottery soon. Ben