Author Topic: Organic Guitars - anyone ever play one? (Read 13613 times)

Bob Johnson · « **Reply #15 on:** November 17, 2005, 04:02:39 PM »

Quote from: Underground_Player

Hi all,
And another thing - the necks are quite thin. If you don't like it, get Duncan to put a 1mm shim under the fingerboard. Did for me, free of charge of course :D

Think about this!!! If you are hand making a neck, to the customers spec, why would you need to shim up the fingerboard? Does not compute!

FELINEGUITARS · « **Reply #16 on:** November 17, 2005, 04:29:09 PM »

Quote from: Bob Johnson

Quote from: Underground_Player
Hi all,
And another thing - the necks are quite thin. If you don't like it, get Duncan to put a 1mm shim under the fingerboard. Did for me, free of charge of course :D

Think about this!!! If you are hand making a neck, to the customers spec, why would you need to shim up the fingerboard? Does not compute!

If your process was CNC based , then you might have to unless you were gonna change the programme. I believe Duncan uses a CNC machine

Bob Johnson · « **Reply #17 on:** November 17, 2005, 05:06:41 PM »

Quote from: FELINEGUITARS

Quote from: Bob Johnson
Quote from: Underground_Player
Hi all,
And another thing - the necks are quite thin. If you don't like it, get Duncan to put a 1mm shim under the fingerboard. Did for me, free of charge of course :D

Think about this!!! If you are hand making a neck, to the customers spec, why would you need to shim up the fingerboard? Does not compute!

If your process was CNC based , then you might have to unless you were gonna change the programme. I believe Duncan uses a CNC machine

My thoughts entirely Jonathan, hence the reference to "hand made". It isn't too difficult to re-programme the coordinates in one axis which is all you'd have to do to make the neck 1mm thicker. You could also use tool or object re-orientation on a lot of machines without re-programming anything. Of course this would cost you a bit of programming/set up time so it's probably cheaper to stick a shim in

stu__r · « **Reply #18 on:** November 17, 2005, 05:18:05 PM »

Quote

Think about this!!! If you are hand making a neck, to the customers spec, why would you need to shim up the fingerboard? Does not compute!

If i may but in here.

I believe the shim was done on that guitar because the customer bought a pre made one and then wanted the neck to be slightly thicke but had already purchased the instrument. Or wanted that particular one rather than haveing a new one made from scracth for him so the shim was a good was of solving the problem.

If the instrument had been made for the customer from scratch the the neck profile would have been changed. Also it comes down to money. It costs more if you want a neck done from scratch with a diff profile than the standard one, so as a compromise i guess the shim can be done tho i dout duncan likes doing it knowing how much of a perfectionist he is.

The classic and standard are roughed out on cnc and then hours of shapeing are done however if you want a custom profile or scale lenth or whatever than can be done and made from scratch.

Bob Johnson · « **Reply #19 on:** November 17, 2005, 05:56:04 PM »

Stu_r,

The recent discourse regarding the neck thickness was more of a technical discussion on why you would do it rather than any criticism of Organic Guitars. Having said that; if your proposition is correct it still begs the question of why, having removed the fingerboard, would you replace it with a 1mm insert rather than fit a new 1mm thicker fingerboard. Again this is not a criticism, just curiosity. Equally if you believe that an inordinate amount of time is spent in hand finishing the post CND'd part one has to ask the question, as a guitar maker, is the investment in CNC equipment paying it's way.

stu__r · « **Reply #20 on:** November 17, 2005, 06:41:11 PM »

The issue is that the cnc was not duncans up untill litteraly the last few weeks. The pieces went to be machined so he couldnt make changes easilily. That is no longer the case now he has his own.

I didnt take it as an attack on organic guitars i took it as a question that i answerd to the best of my current knowledge. Im not 100% sure of the situ with this particular instrument however but the answer was what i seem to remember from talking about the guitar in question.

Im not 100% sure what u mean by asking if the cnc is paying its way but i will add duncan does not have the bodies finished on cnc to the the stage were little finishing is needed simply because he wants to spend time shapeing each instrument. Yes its hippieish lol but he want to put his heart into the makeing of the guitars.

However you simply cannot attack the quality of these instruments (and im not sugesting you are) simply beacuse they are of the highest quality.

indysmith · « **Reply #21 on:** November 17, 2005, 06:59:57 PM »

I Love Organic guitars - I'd do ANYTHING for a fixed bridge custom. My ideal guitar. Expensive though (not for what they are, but certainly compared to like a LP standard)

Bob Johnson · « **Reply #22 on:** November 17, 2005, 07:04:00 PM »

Stu, this is way off topic now so this is my last comment. I'm not having a go at organic guitars. I have the greatest respect for their products on what is probably a more rational basis than yours. You obviously feel very defensive about about any comment made about them so I won't prolong the discussion. I'm sorry if your sensibilities have been offended; it's nice to see such loyalty to an outstanding British product.

stu__r · « **Reply #23 on:** November 17, 2005, 07:54:20 PM »

Im suprised you feel i have been offended or ofronted in anyway im just telling you what i know or what i can remember. I have little problem with what you have to say however this is a disccusion board so im giveing my opinion.

I have no need to be defensive im just answeing your questions to the best of my knowledge. You asked about the reasons for a shim so i said what i knew. You asked about cnc and i said what i knew about duncan not haveing the ability to do it himself untill very recently. I just said what i was aware of. Theres no defensive nature dude.

There was no agression behind anything i said just my opinions and my opinions are based of spending alot of time talking to duncan and playing his guitars.

I do have a loyality to them yes but simply coz i love them as a player and the guitars are what has cultivatd that in me. If i found flaws however i would say. I see things for what they are and if the quality went down hill or there was a prob or something made i didnt like i would say. I dont do blind praise lol.

Anyhow enough of the rambling hehe. Realy tho dude its not defensive or agressive and i havent been offended im just trying to put forward what i know in the disscusion.

Underground_Player · « **Reply #24 on:** November 18, 2005, 06:04:36 PM »

Duncan put the shim in because I thought the neck was a bit thin; I had the option to have a custom profiled neck but at a greater expense, which I couldn't afford.
He couldn't/wouldn't change the CNC programme, which would tie in with him not owning the CNCs.
Anyway at the time I got it he did custom necks from scratch by hand. Probably still does. I felt the neck, fingerboard and shim clamped together, liked it, so thats what he did. Simple as that! :)