Guitar building course

[Zandit75]

Another month down, Three months to go! Time for another update.
Return flights booked now, but that was rather expensive compared to getting there.
Flights from Tassie to Queensland - $140.00 AUD
Return Flight - $324.80 AUD!!

Admittedly there is extra luggage charges for oversized baggage, but the basic flight charge itself was double the initial flight.

[Zandit75]

I'll modify this post as a running tally for those interested.
Should be interesting to see how much this all adds up to!
All costs shown in Australian Dollars (AUD)

Edit - Final costings listed below!!

Course - $3,850 - Includes standard hard case(I booked before this was changed to an optional extra) and Cutaway
Flight TAS to QLD - $140
Flight QLD to TAS - $325
Pickup - $466 - Fishman Matrix Infinity Mic Blend.
Case Upgrade to a Hiscox - $200
Tuning Machines Upgrade to Gotoh 510's - $80
Accommodation - $715 - Got a great place on AirBnB just around the corner from the course!
Food & General Expenses - Approx $900 - Includes some accessories I purchased including a Dehumidifying System for the case

Total Final Cost - $6,676.00 AUD - Australian Dollars.

[Zandit75]

This coming Sunday, we're down to 8 weeks before I jump on the plane to start the course. Not that I'm counting down or anything!!

I thought some of you may be interested in this video introducing Aaron Fenech who will be looking after me during the course!


Perhaps we can start enough interest for all of the builders on this site to make an introductory video about themselves!

[colins]

I don't know if you'll do a video when you are there, but I am certainly looking forward to our pictures.

Cold in Penguin at present? Makes Qld look even better!

Col

[Zandit75]

Originally Posted by colins

I don't know if you'll do a video when you are there, but I am certainly looking forward to our pictures.

Cold in Penguin at present? Makes Qld look even better!

Col

That will depend on the final quality of the build!
More than likely there will be something along those lines.

Yep, Tassie is pretty miserable at the moment. Not looking good for the rest of the week either!

[Zandit75]

8 weeks today, and the next thing is locked in.

I've placed an order for the newest Fishman product, the Matrix Infinity Mic Blend pick up.


I've been hounding the local suppliers for this, but it seems that supply to Australia has been delayed for now, with no guarantee that it would arrive in time for the course.
I found one through Ebay which would have normally been a lot more expensive than what I could get locally, but Ebay had a special offer on, and I was able to bring the price down. Locally I would have been paying $450AUD, but I got this one coming from the US at $466.00
I've adjusted te overall price list to reflect this.

[Zandit75]

So apparently I can't count, which is not a good look for a "musician"!!!
7 weeks to go now, I missed a week in my calculations somewhere, hopefully that's the only mathematical mistake I make for this build!

So, another update for you all, I've received my pickup from Bluestar Music.
A huge thank you to Ted Blue, as I order the incorrect model, but we caught it before the unit was sent. I needed the Narrow Piezo, but I ordered the Wide format by mistake.
7 day delivery from the US to little ole Tasmania is a seriously impressive shipping time, so I can't recommend these guys highly enough!

Below are a couple of photos of the Pickup. This is newly released this year at NAMM in January, and as I mentioned before, stock is not available here in Australia yet.

The complete assy weighs in at 117grams/4.1oz for those interested. This does not include the weight of a 9v battery.

[colins]

Not sure if I missed it in an earlier post, but how did you select this particular pickup?

[Zandit75]

Originally Posted by colins

Not sure if I missed it in an earlier post, but how did you select this particular pickup?

No, you didn't miss anything, but this has been a long process.

Up front, I will say that I am a Fishman fan. The Sonicore pickup in my 8-String Ibanez gets lots of good feedback(not the real screechy type most of the time!!) from audience members and other performers who are listening. It may only be a standard Piezo system, but it doesn't seem to have that real quack that some have. Personal opinion there, some may disagree.

With this build, I'm not looking to use this at every gig I play at, but I'm forking out quite a bit for this build, so I also didn't want a cheap pickup to go into it.

Having said that, I didn't have the dollars to stretch to something like the LR Baggs Tru Mic system which was one of my other choices.
While there are not many reviews of this system out there, I like the idea that it has been voiced with new Acoustic Specific Amps in mind, which weren't on the market previously.

Having all of the controls at my fingertips in the sound hole was high on my want list, as I didn't want a big barn door style system that required cutting a huge hole in the side of the guitar. The new upgrades to the Fishman system sound like they have listened to previous comments about not having an easy access to the boost control, which was something you set prior to installing inside the Pre-amp housing.

I play a mixture of easy listening music and Country, both strumming, and playing individual strings with the plectrum. But a majority of my songs are ballads that I play finger style with just the pads of my fingers(I'm a chronic finger nail biter ) which has, I guess, become a signature sound for me. The fact that I can flip a switch to add some mid range boost for this style of playing, or take it away to do a strumming song sounds like a match made in heaven.

Does that cover everything?!

[colins]

Good answer thanks, and it's good to know that there are gigs in Northern Tasmania - do you go to Launceston or pick them up closer to home?

I'm a city dweller so I tend to think of gigging mainly in one big town.

[Zandit75]

I don't actively chase gigs, but there is quite a large amount of places to go regardless of your taste in music. Considering there is only a population of around 500k in the whole of Tasmania, we are very spoilt for choice.
Just here on the north west coast there could be 3-4 country music events to choose from every weekend. Add in other styles of music, pubs, clubs etc. and you would almost think there is an over-saturation of places to go. Launceston attracts quite a few mainland acts and its less than 2hrs away by car. Hobart is another matter, that's over 4hrs each way from where we are here in Penguin.
I play at a lot of charity events, but I occasionally get some paid gigs. I've only busked once, fairly recently, but I wouldn't mind doing it again soon.

[Zandit75]

Quick questions for the profession builders out there.
In regards to soundhole size/rosette diameter ratio, is there a golden rule for certain sized guitars, or is it purely eye of the beholder kind of stuff? Does a sound hole have to be a certain size?

Secondly, depending on the fretboard timber I select, I may include a 12th fret marker, and as mentioned before, I have been thinking of doing rectangular block made up of scrap pieces in this style


So, the question is, can this block inlay go full width without affecting the integrity of the fretboard, and also double up as the side marker for the 12th fret? What issues would this raise, if any?
Due to the time frame of the course, fretboard binding is not an option.

[Zandit75]

Less than 4 weeks to go, but I was panicking today. Thought I had blown it all.

I may be 43yo, but last year I wanted to get back into my martial arts. It's been great to get some measure of fitness back, plus you get to hit things and other people!!!

However, last night we were doing some light sparring, and I had just checked a light kick to the inside of my right knee, yet when I placed my foot down, my placement was off, and I rolled my ankle badly. It blew up straight away, and all I could think of was the course, and how much of a struggle it would be if I'm in plaster or on crutches for the next 6 weeks.

X-Rays show no breakage thankfully, just a bad sprain. Will just need to be careful with it, and not aggravate it any further. Ice for the next couple of days, but I have to continue walking on it, the more the better.
Doctors actual words were "Have a cup of cement and harden up!!"
Best Doctor I've ever had, even though I only spent 5mins with him!!

[colins]

My wife got into karate a while back and she thinks the best training for it was the judo she had learnt as a kid, because it taught her how to fall safely!

Good luck with your recovery.

[Zandit75]

Originally Posted by colins

My wife got into karate a while back and she thinks the best training for it was the judo she had learnt as a kid, because it taught her how to fall safely!

Good luck with your recovery.

Thanks Colin, most appreciated.
I first started martial arts back in my 20's when I spent about 10yrs working my way up to a black belt in Viet Vo, which is a Vietnamese style of kickboxing. I took about 10-12yrs off due to moving towns because of work, and just got too lazy. This particular style did not do any ground work including rolls or throws, so falling safely was never really learned. We also didn't train on padded surfaces, so we avoided falling at all costs!

Last year I finally got off my butt and found a new gym nearby who had a lot of similar style punches and kicks, but also a great group of people, and I'm now working my way through the belts of Wing Chung Kung Fu. We also incorporate a lot of Brazilian Jujitsu, which is pretty much all ground work, wrestling, chokes and arm/leg locks etc. It's been a steep learning curve, and I'm still no where near as flexible as I used to be(probably never will be!!), I just take it easy with the close contact stuff.

My main concern in regards to the course is the amount of walking I'll be doing. I won't have transportation except for buses when they are running, but my accommodation is about 800mtrs from the workshop, and all supermarkets/food outlets etc are all within walking distance. No doubt I'll b on my feet all day in the workshop also, so all the recovery I can do between now and the 10th of September will be helpful.

Just got to keep at it!!