Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Molly Reich and Gary Mahoney

Home , Electric guitar, Electric guitar design, Gibson SG, Humbucker, Solid body

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Goals of this presentation:

• Electric Guitar History • Critical Design Considerations • Electric Guitar Designing with CAD • Electric Guitar Production

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Fender Telecaster • “Tele” • First electric guitar to be industrially manufactured • Solid body • Available with 1 or 2 single coil pickups • Dual are most common • Produced since 1950s

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Gibson Les Paul

• Designed by Ted McCarthy • Endorser by Les Paul • Produced since 1952 • Maple and Mahogany construction • Humbucker pickups

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Fender Stratocaster

• “Strat” • Fender’s second big success • Three single coil pickups • Produced since 1954

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Gibson SG

• Designed by Ted McCarthy • Introduced in the early 60’s • Lighter Body • Solid Mahogany construction • P90 or Humbucker pickups

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design PRS • Designed by Paul Reed Smith • Produced since 1985 • Maple and Mahogany construction • Humbucker pickups

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Others

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Understanding some design physics

• Vibrating string length • Fret locations • Pickups • Types of bridges • Wood • Nut size • String spacing • String break angle

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Scale Length (Vibrating String Length)

Martin Guitars 25.34” Gibson 24.562” Fender 25.5” PRS 25”

http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Bodies_and_Necks_and_Wood/Archtop_Guitar/Fingerboards/Slotted_Fingerboard_for_Fender_Guitar.html

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Calculating Fretting positions

• 12th root of 2 A 440.00000 Hz A# 466.16376 Hz • 1.0594631 B 493.88330 Hz • F 698.45645 Hz C 523.25113 Hz F# 739.98883 Hz C# 554.36526 Hz G 783.99085 Hz D 587.32953 Hz • 739.98883/698.45645 = 1.059463 D# 622.25396 Hz • Rule of 18 E 659.25510 Hz F 698.45645 Hz • 17.817 F# 739.98883 Hz G 783.99085 Hz G# 830.60937 Hz A 880.00000 Hz

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/coleman005/Fretting%20Calculations.htm

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Calculating Frets

http://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Pickups

• Fixed distances • Neck and Bridge

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design http://www.stewmac.com Single Coil Pickup • 6 Permanent Magnets • Copper coil • 42 gauge (.063mm) most common • Thousands of windings • 7 – 10K typical • Produces a bright, clear sound

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Humbucker pickup • Two coils • Wired in series • Single magnet • Coils become poles • Coils are wound opposing • String current is additive • “Noise” is canceled • Produces a darker, “bassier” sound

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Volume and Tone

• Volume and Tone Control • Connected in Parallel • Tone Control • Treble bleed tone control • Pot with Capacitor • Capacitor functions as a high frequency resistor

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Not Much Room

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Pick-up Insert

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Jimmy Page Setups

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Basic Bridges (fixed distances)

• Telecaster • Stratocaster Trem • Hardtail • Gibson Tune-a-matic • Floyd Rose

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Hardtail Bridge

http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Bridges_and_Tailpieces/Electric_Guitar/Gotoh_Hardtail_Bridge.html

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Stratocaster style Trem bridge

http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Bridges_and_Tailpieces/Electric_Guitar/Gotoh_Traditional_Tremolo_for_Strat.html

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Telecaster bridge

http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Bridges_and_Tailpieces/Electric_Guitar/Gotoh_Modern_Bridge_for_Tele.html

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Tune-o-matic Bridge

Stop Tailpiece

http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Bridges_and_Tailpieces/Electric_Guitar/Nashville_Tune-o-matic_Bridge.html

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Woods

• Solid • Laminated

African Mahogany Alder Curly Maple

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Figured Woods

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Shrinkage and Stability

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Selection of Cut

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Nut Size and String Spacing

http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online_Resources/Nuts_and_Saddles/Slotted_Bone_Nuts_Sizing_Sheet.html

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Drawing the Nut

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design String Spacing

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Basic Peg Head Shapes

• String Angle • Break Angle

http://www.chubbuckguitars.com/blog/2013/01/02/1979-strat-getting-back-to-stock

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Peg Head Layout

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Angled Neck for Break Angle

• Around 12 Degrees

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design 1” Thick Neck with Guides or Keepers.

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Critical Design Considerations:

• Design Considerations: Criteria for Our Design: • Vibrating string length Vibrating string length 25.5” • Number of frets Number of frets 22 • Bridge Type Bridge Type Trem Bridge • Nut Width Nut Width 1 13/32”

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Critical Geometry Stratocaster

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Hybrid Methods

• CNC Machine Critical Features into a block of wood and then finish with traditional tools • Without CNC equipment: use handheld router with a rub collar. Guide can be laser cut

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Outline Removed

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Rub Collar

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Cutter Diameter (.5”) minus Rub Collar Diameter (.625) divided by 2 equals .0625 (offset Diameter).

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Rub Collar Method

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Free Hand Sculpt Method

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design CAD Modeling the Neck: Challenges

• Free online files are merely renderings • Joint areas are a mesh • Drawings contain insufficient dimensions for reproduction

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design CAD Modeling the Neck

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Loft then Move Face

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design CAD Modeling the Neck: Back profile

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design CAD Modeling the Neck: Back Profile

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Fillets

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design CAD Modeling the Neck

• Peg Head • Body Joint • Truss Rod • Adjuster Nut

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design CAD Modeling the Body

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Fusion 360

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Fusion 360

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Production

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design MasterCAM Toolpaths

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design CAM Toolpaths

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Test Cuts

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Test Cuts

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Tool Types

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Refining Toolpaths

• Sequence of Operations • Tool Types

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Refining Toolpaths

• Body Joint

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Neck Fixtures

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Fixtures: T-Nuts

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Machining the Back

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Questions?

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design Thank You

• Molly Reich • [email protected] • Gary Mahoney • [email protected]

Teaching STEM Through Electric Guitar Design