New 8 string Project started

[Paul Higgins]

Hello everyone
I thought I would let you know....

I had a 8 string pickup made for me by a very kind gentelman who is a member of this forum

It was very kind of him I have tested it by holding by the six string and I carnt hjear any hum....He did tel me that he thinks our electric supply is better...
Im sure he will post and explain......I would have to ask if he wanted his name mentioned

I collected my wood today again 100 + mile round trip..
The wood is Indigbo is looks alot like Oak but a lot cheeper.....

I spoke to one of the carpenters that work for the timber company who said he hates the stuff he says it terrible to work with very hard ( that was after I had paid for it..

.I will try do some photo before I do anything to it...... I wouldent say it was a very stright grain to it but look.s ok..They do say that ofter being planed it will go more yellow with age..

one thing to ask.....if sticking to 24" scale will everything will be the same as the six string....apart from the head....I am going to keep to the brass nut and bridge and string holder....
A comment from my better half my wife....what do you want 8 strings for you carnt even play 6 string.....I couldent think of an answer quick enough......but I did say with the breeding season life has been a bit mad...and the last two weeks I have not been very well..so to defend my self I havent had a lot of time......
best wish's to all Regards Paul

[Bent]

Hi Paul,
Glad to hear you are starting your new lap steel.That wood sounds exciting..never heard of that kind before. Maybe it's some real good tone wood eh?

Yeah, I must plead guilty to being the winder of said pickup. I was elated to hear from Paul that there is virtually no hum in it. It had SOME hum here, which means that the 220V/50HZ elec supply makes for less hum. It was an 8 string pickup, wound to just about 10K. I understand that is a typical lap steel PUP.

Thanks to Allan for supplying the drawings. Allan, you are a great resource with your helpful attitude and great drawings.
Paul, thanks for entrusting your pickup needs to me. It was a great experience for me, and I do need the practice!

[Allan]

BLUSH! Yer welcome Bent...

Hey, Paul, keep us all up to date on progress, like you did last build...
PIctures and words, you know the way. Sorry to hear that you have been under the weather, hope things are better for you now.

Regards, Allan.....

[Paul Higgins]

Hi.....
Yes I think you are right Bent..as between you and Allan and my bit of wood a project has started...
This is what I dont understand the same on all forums so many people who dont know each other and worlds/cultures apart helping each other sharing there knollage /ups and down's and yet so many war's..
I was around and some many others before the internet how did we manage...We dident !!!! we just wouldent have ventured into the un knowen

although a carpenter and no stranger to wood I wouldent have never dreamped of making my own.....,
I have never heard of this wood either when I first saw it it looked like oak...
yesterday i saw it in its rough.....whom ever I spoke to when I ordered it put on the order rough sawn...So when i got there yesterday it was a plank 16ft long 10" wide and 2" thick..

I had so much hassel with them I just got him to cut it to 4ft face and edge it and put it through the thickneser... I get the final cutting done localy....
Printed Allans head drawing off today stuck it to some card and cut to shape..so the pattern is done....

I am hoping (cash availible) to get the fretboard from an engraver in the uk I think he was mentioned on the SGF....that way there is no slots to cut ( wrong ) as I did first time around....
Also I am hoping to incorporate into this one a small amp thing my son made so I can use headphones with it.....

It works on the six string but got wires all over the place as well as small to large phono plugs..
Trip to maplins Next to get the electric bits.....
Question..... Do I use same value cap with the pick up I have ????
Thats it for now Thanks all for your help
Best wishes Paul

[Allan]

Paul, where you used a .022 cap last time you could try a .047 this time around. That should do fine. You may need to experiment a little but that will give you a good start. I don't quite know what the effect of having that small amp in there will be.

Allan...

[Paul Higgins]

Thank you Allan
A quick update Ive had the timber (lumber ) cut to length..I did however make a bo bo I had it cout to the same length as the six string...Forgetting that the head now 2" longer for the other 2 strings....But just means that there is a little less room for the knobs for volume..or I could leave them off as some do and use the amp......But personaly I think they finish it off..as I think one expects to see them there..
All parts have arrived brass rod...turners, machine heads, drawing sent off for fret board..and as I have said I have the pickup from bent..gavent been to maplins but that is easy enough....
We have just lost our fantistic weather that we have been having..and I was hoping it would stay a little longer as I havent really got anywhere in door's large enough to do the machineing ....so Im hoping it will return again soon...

The pattern is all marked out and ready to go
Bent D day is comming to see how this pick up is....( im sure it will be fine.....Ill post again soon Regards Paul

[Bent]

Paul, Yes D-day for sure and I am waiting in anticipation!
Allan(or Paul) What is this talk about a 22 or 47 cap? Is it Capacitor and what does it do and where do you put it? Doe sit cut down on the dreaded H-word? (hum)

[Allan]

Bent, it's the tone control capacitor. I don't believe that many (any?) PSG's have tone controls on the guitar but most lap steels seem to. All they do is bleed off some of the treble output from the PUP. A completely passive system - adds nothing. I personally don't like having a tone control generally and on most of the guitars I have built I don't even put one in.

Allan.....

[Bent]

Ok, that explains it. Thanks Allan

[Paul Higgins]

Hi....
I getting to agree with Allan also......The tone I have on the six dose very little to speak about.....
I might get shot from here........
Unless different songe require a different tone and I dont know if this is so or not...

Then as some other members have said you can set the tone on the amp...
the other side of it is I think we set the tone to our own likeing what sound good to us (again Im not certain)
I personaly like a bit more bass than the pickup gives so up the tone (or cut some trebble down ) But when I tried the pick up that Bent kindly did I moved it further from the bridge to see what differance, and as Allan once told me the further from the bridge the more bass OR less trebble....remembering that was just holding the pick up to the strings..

So I might not put one on....But as I have said before I personaly like the 2 knobs on there as it looks like in my mind that it should 2 or looks strange with only one on there...But then again one dosent have to use it....

I will deside when I get that far......
Best wish's Paul