Was talking to my neighbour about my idea of morphing an acoustic into a resonator and hey presto he said I’ve got an old cutaway you can have, he deserves a beer.
So first step find guitar done
Will think about next steps for a while before cutting into it
That looks like a classical...You do like a challenge! It strikes me that you may want to have a truss rod in the "donor" guitar, because the string tension will be much higher. On the other hand, maybe it's not a big deal if the the action gets a bit high on a guitar for slide...
Having cleaned it up a fair bit I see it’s a really sweet little guitar in great condition, so I’m reluctant to cut into it. I asked the members at the men’s shed if they have any old guitars gathering dust at home, a couple have said they have so I’ll see what turned up.
Got another guitar with potential to become a resonator today. It’s old and neglected but I think it’s structurally sound, rusty steel strings, has a truss rod. It’s a brand called Magnum which I’ve never heard off but a quick look on the internet gave me this info
“The Magnum guitar brand was owned and distributed by the Tilben Company of Madison Heights, Michigan. The early Magnum(s) from the 70's until the early 80's were made by Ibanez. The late 80's through the mid 90's were built by Sammick and the Makers of Cort Guitars." -Comment by Ex-Magnum employee John Wrapp here“
Next I will clean it up a bit and have a closer look at the structure and overall condition
Started stripping it back today so, far so good, marked out the cut hole for the “cone” and “spider” both of which will (I think) be a couple of aluminium cake tins I picked up at the local vines. This is a budget build so trying not spend anything on it.
Ever time I think I’ve got a plan I stop and let it sit for a while then the plan changes ( trust the process apparently)
Stained and clear coated body ( looks a bit swampy again) joined the two aluminium cake tins and added a wooden ring to allow them to sit on the guitar face. Trimmed the bridge down. Made a tail piece. Started but unsure about a cover plate, it will be wood but ideas haven’t solidified yet.
So far spent about $5 and can’t envisage any further expenses oh maybe a peizo which will cost about $3
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