My New Offset Designs: Artemis & Apollo - Builds Coming

[Gordon]

But will there be a lightshow option like in the Rickenbackers?

[Steadyriot.]

But will there be a lightshow option like in the Rickenbackers?

Can’t deny that’s the first place my mind went as well.

[ThePearDream]

Yeah, there's a little bit of that Rickenbacker in these, along with some Dan Armstrong too.

Here's a picture of a top, over a chambering template. I have a growing list of ideas for things to try with these plexi tops.
- clear tops, with arty dioramas in the chambers. Action figures? Murder scenes? Your grandma's house?
- fill the chamber with jelly beans and get the audience to guess the number?
- piezo discs in the chambers, along with things like rubber balls, wood chunks, the bones of your enemies, etc. to create an experimental percussive effect.
- small drum triggers installed in the plexi
- back painted plexi top with nicer wood back (no clear coat needed)
- mounting graphics or pictures or nice handmade paper between the plexi and back
- recycling old store signage acrylic sheet (like with graphics on it) for the top.
- The back portion, being 1.5" thick, could also be made from more commonly available lumber, including used building timbers
- use the plexi to protect and display delicate surfaces, like rough barnwood type textures



anyway, that's just a few ideas I've had for these.

[ThePearDream]

Gosh, that looks so freaking good! I've been toying with the idea of getting guitar tops laser-cut for years and you have me convinced here.
The frosty look is great, and there is something very satisfying with rounding over plastics.

How long left until the move to Michigan?

Thanks man! We leave in eight days.

[ThePearDream]

A few unused Artemis/Orion pickguards getting packed away. An extra black anodized jumbo-mfd guard & control plate set, a 1-ply white SS, and a raw aluminum P90 with a Strat bridge cutout and matching control plate. Something to look forward to next year

[ThePearDream]

Apollo 4 & 5 are all wired up and ready to drop in. Typical humbuggie wiring (500k pots and 0.022uf cap), reverse audio pots on the Lefty.

[letterstoboddah]

very nice and neat with the twisted wires i like it

[ThePearDream]

Ready for necks.

[Shadoweclipse13]

Very lovely

[ThePearDream]

Fresh strings, no setup.




After quickly roughing in a playable setup.

[Shadoweclipse13]

Gotta say... I've always loved this design, but the reverse headstock like you've got on the lefty, really works. I don't know that I prefer one or the other, but I do really like it!! Fantastic stuff Doug!!

[ThePearDream]

Thanks Jason! I was a bit unsure about the reverse headstock myself. It seems to work pretty good though.

A note about these pickups. Since I only had time to buy stuff that was in stock, I knew I'd have to settle. I figured, that if I was settling, I might as well settle on the cheapest thing I could find. So these ceramic Railbuckers were just under $30 a pair. These are kind of "proof of concept" guitars. I knew, I had just enough time to put these together, otherwise this idea was going to have to simmer on a back burner a bit. As it is, these are going into storage for a bit. After I have a permanent address again, I can order some better pickups.

And considering I don't play left handed very well, I'd love to have an OSGer claim the lefty off of me for my material cost + shipping, after it gets new pickups (which they could pick). We'll figure that all out later though.

I was kind of thinking something along these lines for these two:


But I'd also like to use some stuff like this on some future builds, with glossy plexi tops and nicer wood backs.

[ThePearDream]

Here's some better pics of Artemis 003.

[sciuri]

OMG I love it!

[ThePearDream]

Artemis 004 Glamour shots.

I did some changes to the tone circuit between initial assembly and final pictures. First I had dual 500k pots, but found myself wanting a little more brightness from the neck pickup. So I switched the tone pot to 1M, which shifted the overall circuit resistance higher, brightening everything up. I also changed the capacitors on the bass cut switch, since it was cutting too much. I had started with 0.003uf and 0.002uf, but 003 was too much cut for the first step, so I switched it to 0.004 and 0.003, which is the same combo that I settled on for the G&L mfd pickups in Artemis 002. Now there's a nice gradual cut, moving through the switch positions. This thing does thunderous lows, it does tictac, it has lovely cleans, it surfs. I can lose myself looking into the pickguard too, just like a nice piece of tort. It also sounds absolutely killer through my Hudson Broadcast clone.