Aluminum Guitars

For guitars of the straight waisted variety (or reverse offset).
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AlumNeck
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Aluminum Guitars

Post by AlumNeck » Mon Sep 16, 2019 6:35 am

I have a thing for aluminum guitars for quite some time now and if you get a chance to play one go for it. It all started for me playing a Travis Bean in a shop when they were just a few hundred bucks, I went back to buy that guitar and it was gone.... been saving and wanting one ever since! Well used they are pretty expensive so I decided to get a more modern take and I am so glad I did!

Current roster from top to bottom.

EGC Tyranny with stock SSS pups
Normandy Guitars with Aluminati neck with stock SH pups
Liquid Metal Guitar stock with SH pups
Normandy Guitars Archtop with stock HH pups
EGC Standard with stock HHH pups

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VPO
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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by VPO » Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:07 am

Loving these guitars.

Hope someday some European company would start to make this kind of instruments. Or just necks with strats neckpocket style and scale length.

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MechaBulletBill
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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by MechaBulletBill » Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:08 am

that white doublecut is very cool

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AlumNeck
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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by AlumNeck » Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:09 am

VPO wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:07 am
Loving these guitars.

Hope someday some European company would start to make this kind of instruments. Or just necks with strats neckpocket style and scale length.
If you're in Europe you are in luck! I have these guys on my Radar and would so pull the trigger but I just have too many projects right now, not super expensive either starting price: 1350€. I believe they do just necks s well.

https://tttides-guitars.com

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Last edited by AlumNeck on Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:25 am, edited 2 times in total.

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AlumNeck
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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by AlumNeck » Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:10 am

MechaBulletBill wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:08 am
that white doublecut is very cool
Really is amazing with three HB pups too! You can blend them together and get these really great in between pick up sounds.

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somanytoys
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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by somanytoys » Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:30 am

The guy I play with has 2 aluminum guitars, and is waiting on a third to be completed.

They have a very distinctive sound.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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VPO
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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by VPO » Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:43 am

AlumNeck wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:09 am
VPO wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:07 am
Loving these guitars.

Hope someday some European company would start to make this kind of instruments. Or just necks with strats neckpocket style and scale length.
If you're in Europe you are in luck! I have these guys on my Radar and would so pull the trigger but I just have too many projects right now, not super expensive either starting price: 1350€. I believe they do just necks s well.

https://tttides-guitars.com

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Oh yes! Thank you! :w00t:

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AlumNeck
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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by AlumNeck » Mon Sep 16, 2019 1:24 pm

somanytoys wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:30 am
The guy I play with has 2 aluminum guitars, and is waiting on a third to be completed.

They have a very distinctive sound.
That's cool I bet they suite his style, they really do have a sound about them. I find mine to be be really clear and harmonically rich almost a slight natural chorus effect, and certainly not better or worse just different.

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AlumNeck
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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by AlumNeck » Mon Sep 16, 2019 1:28 pm

VPO wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:43 am
AlumNeck wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 11:09 am
VPO wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 10:07 am
Loving these guitars.

Hope someday some European company would start to make this kind of instruments. Or just necks with strats neckpocket style and scale length.
If you're in Europe you are in luck! I have these guys on my Radar and would so pull the trigger but I just have too many projects right now, not super expensive either starting price: 1350€. I believe they do just necks s well.

https://tttides-guitars.com

Oh yes! Thank you! :w00t:
Also Alef is based in Israel I have one of their necks on the way they are good to deal with and very reputable, I am super excited to try one of their necks!

https://www.facebook.com/alefguitars/

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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou » Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:47 pm

As cool as they look (I really dig the white one with the 3 pups! :? and a lot of the Travis Bean guitars... hell even John Dwyer's SG and some more)...and maybe sound... still: people/companies would have to pay me to play one of those!
I mean - you burn your fingers when playing a open-air festival show before sundown, you freeze your fingers to death in winter...even when indoors in the rehearsal room - and these beasts are f***ing heavy! And they let you pay 2-3000 for it. No, seriously...that's ridiculous!
And please... just stop putting an EGC (or similar) neck (headstock!!) on a Jazzmaster/Jaguar Body. It just looks wrong! :-X
Aluminium necks with a fitting headstock on the other hand... why not?

one of my rehearsal-room co-users has a EGC Tele style guitar and had one of their necks installed on another 70s Tele body (head-dive!). I really tried to like them... but sadly I don't.

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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by AlumNeck » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:04 pm

MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:47 pm
As cool as they look (I really dig the white one with the 3 pups! :? and a lot of the Travis Bean guitars... hell even John Dwyer's SG and some more)...and maybe sound... still: people/companies would have to pay me to play one of those!
I mean - you burn your fingers when playing a open-air festival show before sundown, you freeze your fingers to death in winter...even when indoors in the rehearsal room - and these beasts are f***ing heavy! And they let you pay 2-3000 for it. No, seriously...that's ridiculous!
And please... just stop putting an EGC (or similar) neck (headstock!!) on a Jazzmaster/Jaguar Body. It just looks wrong! :-X
Aluminium necks with a fitting headstock on the other hand... why not?

one of my rehearsal-room co-users has a EGC Tele style guitar and had one of their necks installed on another 70s Tele body (head-dive!). I really tried to like them... but sadly I don't.
First thing everyone says when they play the EGC is holy shit the second thing is this is heavy. The bolt on's keep in mind are different and come in one profile. The profile on their guitars can be different, see photo of the thin EGC neck. The same thickness at the nut as at the 20th fret. Agreed on the weight though and that is my only complaint on EGC they are both over 11lbs but then again they are balanced and no neck dive. EGC bolt on necks are pretty heavy as are most of the ones out there. In the 3-4lbs with tuners so yeah you gonna neck dive on a tele, pretty hard I would imagine. The temperature stuff in all honestly, I am not playing outdoors and it really stays in tune just fine, certainly as good or better than any of my wood guitars which have their own temperature and humidity issues. Alminiati on the other hand is light under 2lbs (about the same as wood) and have a carbon fret board so it looks and feels more like a regular guitar neck and no neck dive. The one in the picture is light and on an Aluminum body, the whole guitar is 7.4lbs and resonates almost like an acoustic the whole guitar vibrates you can feel it in the neck. Aluminum still has a way to go mostly around the weight and price, the tone is there. In the meantime I will be doing a couple Jazzmasters but they will have inline headstocks and "normal" looking fretboards from Aluminati. In general I agree though 3x3 on Jag or a JM just looks weird, a few have made it work!

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Singlebladepickup
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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by Singlebladepickup » Mon Sep 16, 2019 7:36 pm

Can someone explain why the aluminum necks are desirable besides the sound?

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AlumNeck
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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by AlumNeck » Mon Sep 16, 2019 8:07 pm

A few things from my perspective. First the shape, see that neck above, can't do that with wood, if you like thin necks this is bliss. Maintenance there is no truss rod and most have stainless steel frets which pretty much don't wear out. Also age, these will not dry out, they will not really change much with age and they are way more durable than wood. Aluminum also naturally shields the pickups if used for the body, they are extremely quiet even with single coils no shielding required, its built in.

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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by X-Ray Spex » Thu Sep 19, 2019 4:32 am

MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote:
Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:47 pm
As cool as they look (I really dig the white one with the 3 pups! :? and a lot of the Travis Bean guitars... hell even John Dwyer's SG and some more)...and maybe sound... still: people/companies would have to pay me to play one of those!
I mean - you burn your fingers when playing a open-air festival show before sundown, you freeze your fingers to death in winter...even when indoors in the rehearsal room - and these beasts are f***ing heavy! And they let you pay 2-3000 for it. No, seriously...that's ridiculous!
And please... just stop putting an EGC (or similar) neck (headstock!!) on a Jazzmaster/Jaguar Body. It just looks wrong! :-X
Aluminium necks with a fitting headstock on the other hand... why not?

one of my rehearsal-room co-users has a EGC Tele style guitar and had one of their necks installed on another 70s Tele body (head-dive!). I really tried to like them... but sadly I don't.
There's a lot to unpack here.

1/ The necks are never insanely hot or insanely cold, unless you live in a climate with abnormal temperature swings like the extreme North etc. I'd actually argue they're a lot more thermatically stable than people seem to think, mine rarely goes out of tune unless I knock it off something.

2/ Heavy is relative, mine weighs less than your bog-standard Les Paul and people still seem to play those.

3/ The 3x3 headstock on an offset body isn't a new thing, it looks great on Gibson RD's or Dunable stuff, I play an offset with a 3x3 headstock and I always get compliments and questions about it https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn8phStHgnK/
''It's not what you play, it's what you play'' - Troy Van Leeuwen

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Re: Aluminum Guitars

Post by burpgun » Thu Sep 19, 2019 7:11 am

I've often wondered about the EGC Bass VI replacement necks that pop up from time to time. I've got a PSVI and the neck has required the most frequent adjustments of any of my guitars, like several times a year. Meanwhile, my maple neck '75 P Bass can go a decade between set ups. A little added brightness to the sound and confidence the neck will hold together for the life of the guitar seem appealing, at least to me.

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