Well, not many comments on this thread. Either I haven't shown anything interesting or folks just think I must be nuts going through all these gyrations
.....Yah, just get some fret wire and pound it in. Well maybe I can stir the pot a bit.
So, why is it that we do what we do? After all, it is getting to the point that if you sit down and play 2-3 dozen Chinese imports, you will probably find at least 1 that sounds pretty decent....and you probably won't need to spend much over 500 bucks. Hell, you can easily spend that much on parts and materials. So......
Beyond the fact that most of likely enjoy doing this, what is it we are after? An obvious thing that comes to mind is that we want to get the best sound, or at least a better sound. And we probably have quite a variety of what that is. And we try lots of things in the quest. Different wood, bracing, left brain testing, right brain intuition. etc., etc.. We have discussions, share ideas, take advice, disregard advice and march to our own drum, whatever. For the most part, we do seem to end up doing something that doesn't stray too far afield....X braces, 2 bouts and a sound hole, and so forth. Even within that relatively narrow formula, we manage to end up with quite a variety. But every now and then, one of us strays off into the bushes. Dennis built Angelina, John explored the falcate braces, we see carbon fiber here and then a few other odd things there. I have to admit that I have all my life kinda walked crosswise to the beaten path, so when somebody asked me about a dozen or so years ago if I could maybe come up with some different kind of bracing pattern, I jumped right on it. And with some minor modifications, I still use it. it sounds good to me and I like the idea of doing my own thing. Does it sound better than what most are doing? Probably not, but I think it does give a distinctive sound that I like. Is a bit more complicated and takes more time, but I like that aspect, too.
So what gives with these crazy frets?? When I built my "Organic Soundport" guitar a couple of years ago, I ended up making hand made copper bar frets, not for the sound, but for a unique look. But after a few really good players noodled around with it, I was hearing all sorts of good comments on the sound and the suggestion that maybe it had something to do with the frets. So my constantly curious mind has brought me to where I am now. And I want to explore this a bit further. Where it will lead, I know not, but I am optimistic. Obviously, this is taking a lot more time, but most of that is a learning curve. But any building of a guitar by hand, from scratch is a lot of time, so I don't look on that as a big issue. I anticipate that once I get things worked out, it will maybe add a couple of days to the building process. If I can really get an improvement (in my own opinion) to the sound with a couple of days work, bring it on, because that is only a fraction of the total effort that goes into the building process. Gets back to the original question...."Why do we do what we do?"
So that is my explanation of my crazy obsession FWIW. If it goes somewhere, great. If not, you can bet I will be exploring another obscure road, soon.
Just trying to explain my thoughts. Comments and questions are welcome
G
