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Drew
เข้าร่วมเมื่อ 9 มี.ค. 2007
How To Make The Top For An Archtop Guitar Using Steam Bending
Making an archtop for a guitar - or for that matter, any other similar stringed instrument - usually entails a lot of carving and shaping. Wasteful and hard work! In this video, I outline the technique I use to heat bend tops for my guitars from thin (~4mm) thick boards, be that spruce, maple, mahogany or whatever. Making the jig takes a bit of time, but once made, it's relatively much quicker and simpler to produce archtops by this method than carving. I would mention that I based this method on a paper by Helen Michetschläger, a viola maker, that you can find on the web titled "Steam-bending fronts - a practical demonstration".
มุมมอง: 31 684
วีดีโอ
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
มุมมอง 2143 ปีที่แล้ว
This was my second song for the week at the Riptide Virtual Open Mic, with the week's theme being songs used by TV ads. My band Fossil Farm plays this song, but I'm doing it solo here with the aid of a recorded drum track from the band. And of course, with the aid of a whole bunch of raisins...
In The Air Tonight
มุมมอง 1023 ปีที่แล้ว
The Riptide Virtual Open Mic theme for the week was tunes that had been used on TV adverts... so here's a song from a 2007 UK ad that combined Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate, a great Phil Collins tune, In The Air Tonight, and... an 800lb gorilla!
Life On Mars (David Bowie)
มุมมอง 483 ปีที่แล้ว
The theme of the week for the Riptide Virtual Open Mic was 'Rearrangement'. Just so happens that at the start of the virus outbreak 9 months before, I'd set myself a COVID-time consuming challenge of recording the brilliant 'Life On Mars' by David Bowie in a rearranged 6/8 time signature. As I'm no Rick Wakeman (who originally played on Bowie's track), learning this really was a challenge! Anyw...
Moonshadow
มุมมอง 1153 ปีที่แล้ว
Here's a cover of one of Cat Stevens' most popular songs, 'Moonshadow', from his album 'Teaser and the Firecat', recorded at the 2019 Scotts Valley Relay For Life. Backing orchestral string are generated on the fly by the excellent Jam Origin Guitar To Midi software.
Chasing Cars
มุมมอง 913 ปีที่แล้ว
Recorded at the 2017 Relay For Life event at Scotts Valley in CA, here's an acoustic version of Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars'. I'm using a JamMan looper, a Vocalist harmonizer, and Jam Origin Guitar to Midi software to drive the string accompaniment.
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd cover)
มุมมอง 7654 ปีที่แล้ว
This is the classic Pink Floyd song, performed solo at the Menlo Park Relay For Life 2018 in aid of the American Cancer Society. I'm using a looper to catch the intro riff, and my Jam Origin guitar to midi software running on my laptop to convert the guitar to sythn sounds. The Digitech harmonizer is providing the harmonies. 100% live, nothing pre-recorded, all done without a safety net! :)
Add Abalone/Mother of Pearl Inlay Faster Using Shell Veneer
มุมมอง 11K5 ปีที่แล้ว
In this video, you'll see an easy way to add a Mother Of Pearl or Abalone inlay feature to your wood working project, without the difficulty of actually cutting and inlaying thick shell material. Using sheet veneers, its much easier and faster to achieve a great effect, especially if you have a lot to do. I also show how you can use common Superglue as a great grain filler and all purpose prime...
Blackbird
มุมมอง 3386 ปีที่แล้ว
Taken at the 2018 Scotts Valley Relay For Life, this is the great Beatles song, Blackbird.
Yesterday
มุมมอง 727 ปีที่แล้ว
This is my version of the Beatles classic song "Yesterday", using Jam Origin guitar to midi software to create the backing string quartet, as performed at the Saratoga Relay For Life 2017 in July 2017.
Drew - Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)
มุมมอง 687 ปีที่แล้ว
Here's my version of Leonard Cohen's classic "Hallelujah", a kind of hybrid of Cohen's and Jeff Buckley's versions, as performed at Saratoga Relay For Life 2017, complete with string quartet... Just for the technically minded, I'm using Jamorigin software to convert guitar to midi to drive Sampletank strings.
Hows It Gonna Be
มุมมอง 917 ปีที่แล้ว
This is an acoustic version of the great song by Third Eye Blind, performed at the Scotts Valley Relay For Life 2017. I'm playing solo and all effects are live. For those technically inclined, I'm using the TC Helicon vocal harmonizer and Jam Origin guitar to mid software driving SampleTank strings.
Lost Time
มุมมอง 157 ปีที่แล้ว
Lots going on in this song, probably my most ambitious writing and recording to date! Hope you enjoy it :) It's all original, so advertisers, keep your ads off! Copyright Drew 2017
Pumped Up Kicks (Foster The People cover)
มุมมอง 1197 ปีที่แล้ว
This is a great song by Foster The People. The recording was made early in the morning at the 2016 Menlo Park Relay For Life as I played an "acoustic sunrise" set - listen carefully at the start and you can hear the birds singing their dawn chorus! Live effects include a Helicon harmonizer and Boss vocel effect processor, and a JamMan looper.
Drew - Clocks (Coldplay cover)
มุมมอง 2258 ปีที่แล้ว
This song was part of an "Acoustic Sunrise" set I performed early one Sunday morning for the "Relay For Life" participants, walking to raise money for cancer research. All live, I'm using a looper pedal and a vocal harmony pedal to add the depth.
Its Too Late / You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
มุมมอง 778 ปีที่แล้ว
Its Too Late / You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
Fitting an Active Piezoelectric Pickup To An Adjustable Bridge EKO 12 String
มุมมอง 42K10 ปีที่แล้ว
Fitting an Active Piezoelectric Pickup To An Adjustable Bridge EKO 12 String
Falling Down (Nobody Else - Atomic Rooster)
มุมมอง 17K16 ปีที่แล้ว
Falling Down (Nobody Else - Atomic Rooster)
This is quite difficult to make! I thought carved top is hard, but this is even harder.
The initial making of the equipment takes time, but now I have everything, I can make four tops in one afternoon.
The BIG problem not mentioned is that by placing the peizo bar underneath the metal cradle you RAISE the whole saddle! this will create HIGH action! Not agood situationas most 12 guitars already have rather high action due to thee almost DOUBLE string tension!
awesome video, hope to see more guitar building videos in the futrue
Would you be interested in selling processed and dried pieces?
You made some beautiful guitar. God continued smiles on your skills
I am repairing a 1953 Silvertone archtop that I am convinced was steam bent. These were made by Kay and Harmony at that time. I am not sure if it was maple or birch, but it was not carved. What you are doing is beyond my skill level, but enjoyed the video.
making that form seems the hard part here. how did you get it symmetrical. is this something I might be able to buy?
Thank you Algorythm! This is interesting!
beautiful desoiign
$5,000 in tools to build a $500 guitar? 😮
Not really $5000... The most expensive tool shown is my bandsaw, a recent addition to my workshop, about a quarter of that. But you don't need a bandsaw to do this. You can purchase 1/4" thick resawn tops from many sources - the spruce top on the guitar shown at the intro was from Stewmac, and cost about $25, and you can do all the fine outline work with a coping saw. The other tool being used a lot is a belt sander (about $150), but that's just because it's easier than a hand sander.
@@Drewmo2000 Not meant as a insult, it's a common joke, but you are correct about my lack of detailed knowledge.
@@primoroy Heh heh, no worries, the other guitarist in my band was forever telling me it was a lot easier to buy guitars from Guitar Center. But hey, personally I get as much fun out of making them as playing them😁
🎉 topissimo...
Topissimo...🙏🎸🇧🇷
hi,this is Cris from Philippines,how much will buy a veneer sheet in PCs., abalone and white m.o.p.
After watching this, I'll stick to carving a billet.
Absolutely brilliant. I've been trying to puzzle out a way to do a bent archtop instead of carving for a bit now. I can't wait to give this method a shot.
Cheers for that👍
I use a laser to fine cut veneers. I import the whole design into lightburn, remove all the non inlay parts, offset the inlays slightly and cut.
Fantastic video. Would love to watch a full build video, that contain some of the specs and reasoning behind your design choices. Am sure It would be very popular.!
I imagine that an arch top that is bent, rather than carved, is a bit stronger and sands to a better finish because the fibers conform to the desired shape and less end grain is exposed on the curved surface during subsequent shaping. It appears that an asymmetrical body shape just means double work on the frame assembly and shaper/interior form. Thanks for the information! Excellent instructional and beautiful guitars!
Thanks for your kind comments. Yes, the grain does all remain in the same plane, so I've had no issues to date with sanding and finishing that might otherwise be found due to end grain, as you say. One thing I have recently noticed using flamed maple for the first time is that you need to make the top a little thicker, maybe an extra 1mm or so, to allow for more sanding, as the same variations in the grain that cause the flaming effect also leaves the surface rather 'wavy' when it dries out, and so needs a little extra sanding to pull it back flat.
And also, yes, I've recently thinking about making an asymmetric shape using a second frame. The key thing here is to make sure that a similar profile shaping wedge be used so that the two sides meet together, which makes it a little more complicated. In that case the two halves in each frame could be used for the front and back.
Hi, do you have the music/chords for this song, I'm wanting to learn it too
Cool, love it!
Nice jobs. Nice tools. I need the exact opposite, but I guess this is as close as it gets. I have a flat top guitar that was obviously left outside in a rain, bottom up. The back bulged outward to the point it cracked. I am thinking of removing it and ironing it flat. I'd have it replaced but it is a Brazilian rosewood as far as I can tell, and very old, so no replacements. Thank you for mentioning the plastic sheet, I may want to preserve the smell.
If you haven’t already, let it acclimatise to a more normal humidity for a while before doing anything drastic. You may find that most of the problem resolves itself as the wood dries and shrinks, or possibly the ordeal will have left more permanent warping around the crack area.
@@ollimoore Thank you, no problem. It looks like the damage happened long time ago though. I think I will have it fixed professionally.
Magnificent video! I have been searching for guidance on this process for months & have learned so much from your expertise. Thank you so much.
Thank you for sharing the video Drew .interesting technique.
where did you learn how to do all this? Im very impressed at your skill and tricks. thanks for posting
great job on a great song. and let me say how amazing that archtop 12 string is.
So cool, congrats
A little complicated but very creative and cool ;-)
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JOSEHENRIQSOZASIVASOZASOZASIVASIVA SOUZA Aguiar SIVASOVA SIVASOVA SIVASOVA SIVASOVA
Beautiful! I’ve been doing this for a bit but haven’t perfected how to shape the inlay. Can’t wait to try your method - also need more tools:)
Thank you. Just what I've been looking for!
Quite the timing, I was just wondering about this today. I'm coming from the worlds of banjo and bowmaking and there's a similar process to bending wood there. It seems to me one of the trickiest parts of the process is probably making sure that your form is identical on both ends. Any advice on how to make sure you've got an identical curve along the bookmatch?
The former is made from two halves screwed together. Before screwing together, put the two halves side by side, and make sure they identical on each side and there is no height difference along the length. There is a bit of keeway when gluing the two halves of the top together to balance them also. In the end, you may have to sand away maybe 0.5mm or so to get the two sides to match completely, but that shouldn't be a problem.
@@Drewmo2000 along that line, i had to replay that part where you put the halves together. with the seperator i wondered how you got them even. then i saw the littlewood tool with the notch to go over the feature stripe and the two sides should then evenly touch the top. very cool. an archtop is in my future, and i like this method so might do it rather than carve. so, i saw someone making a 12 string but only to the 12th fret, he might have went to 14. he said 12 string players never play those higher frets anyway. true? you have short neck 12 strings? i'm not a 12 string player so i don't know. interesting though.
Brilliant! Thank you so much for all of your efforts.
I was really thinking about this method, cause makes cutting the shell easier and without jewlers saw, but I didn't know if it would work, also I was thinking to glue a wood piece of the same under the venner to make it more rezistant for the frets. Glad I found this video
I use this veneer on both bodies and fretboards. I've had no problems at all with it on the fretboard, though I do actually slightly inlay it in the surface and backfill to fretboard level with the superglue (CA). That way, it is absolutely level with the fretboard surface. Another thing: these days, I usually paint the underside of the veneer or the surface of the wood with a thin coat of black paint, as it makes the veneer really 'pop'!
@@Drewmo2000 Oh, so there is no need for an extra piece beneath the veneer for resistance, CA glue should do the job. Regarding the black paint, you paint after you inlay the piece and then sand? Or before Thank you for your answer and tips, cheers mate!
After 6 years I found my password to my music collection. Great song brings me back to the early 70s.
Only 46 comments for a work of art like this. Sir, my respect. Best of luck
I got "premium" veneer that seemed good because it was thicker and had micro-fractures allowing me to circle a curved surface like a flute. Problem was the clear film on top was terrible looking and evidently not really meant to come off because it leaves patches of adhesive.
Can't say I've ever used that stuff, as I only use veneers on reasonably flat surfaces. I avoid veneers with either an adhesive backing or some additional film on top as it just complicates things, but to put veneer on a very curved surface is definitely a tricky proposition. I would try some other makes and search around TH-cam for more info. Apparently anglers like to put abalone on fishing rods, so you might find some info there.
Fantastic job on that song and a riveting story, it confirms what i have said about the medical industry, no longer a humanitarian endeavor, strictly for profit
With all the high end guitars I have and all the abalone, wood purfling that is used, someone must have the patience of Job! This is a remarkable video. I am sure that "massed produced" guitars have a more mechanized procedure for abalone/mother of pearl inlays. Even some high end guitars use the real thing on the top and "cheat"/imitation on the sides and back, so say's my luthier.
The great thing about using veneer is that it is real shell, so is as authentic looking as the solid stuff, but much easier to work with. That said, these day's I've also been using some man-made thin veneers and getting great results. I've no idea how thick the MOP and abalone shell actually is on production guitars.
thank you
awesome work and ideas! where do you buy the shell veener mother of pearl?
Sorry for late reply... I buy it off Amazon. You can get also stuff with self adhesive backing, but I've never tried that.
This was awesome! Thank you! Subscribed.
3:48 i like this guy now
After watching your excellent video you have inspired me to order some and have a go wish me luck :)
Superglue wood filler /coating never seen this before in a large scale. Nice
Works great, though getting more expensive, especially the accelerator for some reason. But it's worth it, especially if you spray nitro, as you only need a few top coats and thus saves putting tons of lacquer down with the necessary very long drying times. Always keep a can of acetone handing though :)
You're great! Thank you.
This is an absolutely brilliant instructional video. Well done, and guitar 'inlay' looks fantastic.
Thanks Alan!
By un