The AK47 Travel Guitar

[moon]

I've been wondering about building my own Yamaha 120S - type guitar, something similar to this:



The aims, in order:

(*) something light which packs small so I can stick it in a rucksack or bike panniers when I'm off exploring

(*) something I can practice on without disturbing anyone

(*) if possible, a good, usable, musical tone that will give me another voice for home recording

Size and weight are relatively easy to figure out: just cut away everything but the neck and saddle. I call this the AK47



With no headstock and as little body as possible behind the bridge, this would be significantly shorter than the Yammy design - much easier to pack.

One thing I don't fully understand is how the body of an electric guitar influences the sound. I've heard people say tonewoods influence the sound in similar ways to acoustics: eg maple is bright, mahogany emphasises mellow mids. I get the impression that you must have a certain amount of mass. The shape doesn't matter too much but the key thing is a big, hard, dense slab of wood. Is that correct?

This could be a problem since I'm trying to cut away as much wood as possible. If so, are there ways to compensate for the inferior characteristics (whatever they might be) of a low-mass guitar? I was thinking about using graph tech ghost (including a midi option) but maybe Yamaha had to use all kinds of fancy electronics to make their unusual, minimalist shape sound good.

Incidentally, I think Yamaha make the SLG's with maple bodies and maple (steel strung) or mahogany (nylon strung) necks.

[martinedwards]

I've dabbled in this sort of thing.

for headphones to work you either need powered headphones, or an onboard amplifier (not just a preamp)

For a headphone enabled guitar I'd just buy the silent guitar electronics that appear on ebay regularly.

I put one into the electric cello I built my son and it worked really well.

for research, why not do like I did and buy one of the really cheap sojing copies. here's one on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/silent-guitar-...item3360fd23ce

I bought one, enjoyed it, switched the nut & saddle for bone, gave it a really good setup and sold it for a slight profit, having learned a LOT in the process.

if you dont want headphones options, then a regular preamp & piezo UST is all you need. I put one in a strat and it sounds great, especially with a little chorus and reverb.

[Kitchen Guitars]

I wouldn't put that model number on it lol. You'll never get through an airport! Where are you going to put the tuners?

[moon]

@martin: thanks for the advice - hadn't heard of Sojin. I think I might even be able to find some DIY headphone amp designs on the forums.

@yamahajunkie: Where to put the tuners - good question. It's important to keep it as short as possible so that means no headstock and as little material as possible behind the bridge. The guitar would be strung in reverse with the tuners (Steinbergers, probably, unless I can find something even smaller) fitted somewhere out of the way in the body. I'm assuming that I can route the strings anywhere I like provided I keep a good break angle at the saddle.

[martinedwards]

I have seen a travel git where the strings loop round the end and travel back into the body where the tuners are in slots. the total length is only about an inch over the scale length

[susitna]

Here's one tuner placement solution, as seen in the custom shop:
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...7&postcount=30

The other idea in my head is to use one side of a set of tuners for a 12-string slothead. That would give you 6, but fairly tight together.

[cotten]

Originally Posted by moon

...are there ways to compensate for the inferior characteristics (whatever they might be) of a low-mass guitar?...

Why settle for low mass? Simply head over to your local pawn shop and pick up a supply of spent uranium. That should give you the mass you're looking for without the physical size.

For both safety and security checkpoint convenience, I'd recommend VERY spent uranium...

cotten

[pgk2010]

Check out this site for loads of different options with and without headphone amps and a choice of headless configurations too.

www.playawayguitars.com