Introduction, ideas, dreams and Designs
Will we be able to make all these musical items I wanna make or just a single one? Episode 01
Are you nuts Pekka?
I am a bit crazy, I know, you do not need to tell me that and I am not only crazy, I also have a limited budget and there is so many things I want to buy but I cannot afford it, so what **** crazy ideas have I come up with now? This struck me as lightning from heaven yesterday and maybe it will allow me to stop worrying about my own economy and how I can lay my hands on stuff I want to buy or get. It is not that complicated really if you think about it :D
My Crafting Background
I have been a mechanic from the beginning of the Universe, made lots of stuff in all kinds of materials between 1980-1994, mostly in metal but also in wood and all kinds of materials I could lay my hands on and use. As a pro I built gearboxes for SAAB 4 years and also fully functional Radar stations at Ericsson Radar Electronics in Mölndal and some stuff I built is flying around inside the Swedish Fighter jets today, both in JA37 and JAS39 or stations used by different militarizes all over the globe who bought our stuff made in Sweden. So what do I wanna make this time then? Well not weapons for sure, I do hate that stuff honestly. Never again will I make such dangerous items to be used by such dangerous people or countries!
Better to just play some guitar
What will I try to design and make
🛢 A complete drum set, maybe even 2? One analog to start with and later a digital drum synth, with Mech or similar pads, that do not make to much noises if placed in an apartment for training as otherwise one single analog set will do with impact mics attached to each drum, similar to DDRUM
🏺 Bass Amp + speaker
🏺 Guitar Amp + speaker
ꂯ 24 channel mixer
🏺 PA with amps and speakers
🎸 Guitar
🎸 Bass
💻 Figure out how to make digital hardware
🎤 Make impact microphone and sensors and learn how to make a real microphone for song and acoustic instruments
⌕ 🖭 Making a complete studio from raw materials only
Lesser words and optimize the text?
Not interested in that at all really. I type what is on my mind right now, funny memories, fun videos, odd stuff, ideas, more thoughts about anything, everything and nothing special at all. Music, instruments, amp or whatever in the periphery. Go inside the void and enter another dimension more or less if possible, enter the Stargate. Just follow the flow and keep your focus and mind open! ;) I got one complaint that this blog contains many words. That's good as we all need to learn more useful words for sure.
But there is optimizing templates, is it not?
Yes, I know, Kennedy, Gandhi, Hermansson and Olof Palme did some cool templates, about how to say or type stuff, as much as possible, with so few words as possible, knock out your audience, readers and opposition completely but that is not my goal and I do not like to use those templates of good and proper optimized writing until I get tired typing no sense here or even get tired of myself. If you now like those 4 guys better, well they did add their stuff to YouTube, so go there and watch them then… ;) I only wanna make some wooden items really.
The future?
If all goes well, so far after these items are made, I plan to build some other instruments as well. Either from scratch or if I will be in a hurry from pre-made and pre-fabricated materials and objects, but building from scratch with only base materials would be funnier really. But let's take one step in a time, shall we? :D
Custom made tools and machines?
Yes I will need some, several actually so this column will be expanded from time to time when I come up with new machines or new tools. I did get the highest grade available in Technology at a school for older students 1997 so making new customized tools and machines are my specialist area so let's talk about one of the most important machines/tools. One of the hardest things I will make is the fret-board on guitar necks. The distance between each fret will decrease the further to the body we will come and larger the closer to the head that have all loose screws for the strings attached. So this machine will at the base be a simple circular saw or a band saw, attached at a large table. The first thing I will do with raw neck material is to shape the fret-board, before I even make it look like a guitar neck. Making the tracks for the thinner metal fret dividers is a precious and vital stage in this process and it is vital for the sound and precision of each note and tone that the distance is as correct as possible as if you get it a single mm wrong, it will sound awful and false, like a cat during spring time, looking for other cats to play with. So a scale will need to be attached at the raw neck and before I even do that I need to calculate and figure out where I need to place each and everyone of the 20 different metal fret dividers, after that make some raw markings at the fret-board, attach it to a movable table and set the table in right position and make the track, with the right and proper width. I will come back to this adventure for sure as if I fail this task the final instrument will become useless and a waste of mine and your precious time. If all frets get attached at the right position, then the next problem will occur - Where do we place the stall, stable or Floyd Rose, bend arm in the other end where the strings other end will be attached? Well I will make that part adjustable to start with, making us able to move it 5-10 mm up and down the guitar body in X Axis, Y Axis is constant and another problem will also be the Z Axis as if it gets to high, you will not able to make the strings touching the frets or if it gets to low, the strings will constant be pushed at fret 20, with a high pitched tone only bats will be able to hear or maybe very young people too, not older half deaf morons like me for sure. I hear the lower high tones, mid range full and low range can even a deaf human feel. If a deaf one lay his hand on any instrument, they can feel the vibrations that we normal's cannot even hear but maybe we can feel them too? ;)
I also have a backup plan if I cut the fret-board at the wrong place, I will make the base material so thick that will be able to cut at the wrong place 20 times before throwing the wood stock out the window. Lets hope I do not forget to open the windows first.
The Neck Heads?
The tension of the strings will form the head of the neck. I will force the string to have sucj a low angle as possible, to get less tension at the end of the fretboard to the strings. The more we bend an item, the lightly it will break. I have broken hundreds of strings since 1971, but fewr rhe passed 30 years, because I used some steel wool and sandpaper at the parts that have direct connections with my strings as if there is any sharp edges, they will cut the string into 2 too short and useless strings amd trying to knot them together is very bad advice to even mention as it will break at the knot immediately. Just the thought is an absurd, sick, pointless and odd initiative really.
Posiotion of the screws
I will mention this again in the essay eåisodes where we make the guitar(s) so we do not forget this or make it in any other way. The string screws with 6 small gear boxes will be placed so the string will be a straight line from end to end. If we look at the guitar from the front side, the Y-Axis will be ZERO on my Design BluePrint but if it is possible or not, only time will tell.. The string itself follows the X-Axis parallel with the length of the guitar and the Z-Axis will have a slight angle of at least 1 degree or more as otherwise the string will not touch the Nut (left side at the picture) and we also see in the picture that the strings runs in different direction after the fret-board end, at the nut. This will also make the head thinner but longer. The form will take place when I draw straight lines from the Saddle to the tuning screws. Big angles are unacceptable. The guitar below will have its string easily broken, well the 2 E-strings have a very high angle in Y-axis in this picture really. I aim to make it lower. We will debate this later on, when the time comes for guitars again.
The Designs?
What will the items look like? RAW and primitive and unique for sure and ugly. Imagine me welding together the rings for the drum skins from different metal pieces. It will look like it came from MAD MAX 3 and that is the goal, making the stuff to sound good but look like junk, the eyes will fool anyone seeing the stuff but it will be in the highest possible quality but look awful and is the goal I guess. :D I have been thinking about this since I wrote this yesterday… The drums will now have wooden rings around the skins, holding and tightening them into the right position, not metal as I first planned to make, welding smaller pieces together, smiting and slapping them around with a smith hammer. I will make smaller wooden items, loads of them with the right radius, gluing them all together to proper rings in many layers so they become hard as steel in the end. I do have some time to change my mind about the rings several times. The rings cannot get too thick as then the sticks will touch them while playing and that is unacceptable as that will make the hit at that drum pointless or break the stick in 2. Like you do with crays and crabs before you eat the meat, crack all pieces apart and force them open with proper tools or your bloody poor teeth. Good that there are dentists that are able to repair cracked teeth.
Workshops?
So where can I build that stuff as I own just simple tools these days and only have access to 2 simple apartments as well and nowhere else to go? I used to have access to a workshop that my former father in law owned but I do not know if he is still alive even, I do have some contact with his son on FaceBook, but that is it. Andreas Larsson
How will I find a Workshop or Machine hall?
My plan now is to contact the cities around the west coast of Sweden, schools, education communities, clubs, handicraft societies or whatever or whoever that might have access to workshops, tools and machines to allow me to use them and take part in their activities. I can also apply as a teacher at any of those activities as well and teach all this stuff while I make my own gears, which might also result in a lower income and a plus or positive flow in my low almost non existing budget while having fun making my own stuff and sharing my knowledge to others, I am pedagogic after all and love to show off stuff and engage others, if they now want that, that is but if we do it as a team, I show of for free of course, but if you plan to become a passive audience, I will charge one single dollar for 6 hours instructions at least. It's just an idea so far, nothing else. But this is not impossible to make, well it is very easy honestly if we just think about it, one single step in a time but it will demand looooooads of time and hard work. I do have all the time in the world for this project if I do not run into a wall before that or get a band and we go on tour :D
I now only need to take my first step. *Per-Erik feels exhausted already and faints* ;) I might come up with more lunatic stiff later on, who knows?
Pekka relax with some tones and notes from:
Continues to relax with some SAGA music
Dream on Pekka…
More details of 2 different instruments will come in Essay 2, where we will make a guitar and a drum, from scratch, so keep an eye open for that specific announcement.
Nice Boat 2
SOOO NICE!!!
Per-Erik Petersson
Nick: Pekka - The dreamer :D
Promus Designs, Ideas, Dreams and Solutions - The dream project - No limits allowed.
https://promusdesign.blogspot.com
Also a hobby game designer, well I used to do that at least for 15 years, from time to time. That odd stuff is also on Youtube, same channel and also at Flickr
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