Selfies

[bsa-bill]

OH, need to know more Jools, New a guy at school who made a guitar in woodwork class (late 1950s), great shame as it looked good but sounded crap, so it's not easy

Mean while something else a little different
Me in the shed trying out the gravity drive Venspa (Venusian version of little scooter)

[Joolstacho]

Ah, the MEKON!!! -Eagle!!!  Classic!!!  Love it!!!

[Butch (cb)]

... New a guy at school who made a guitar in woodwork class (late 1950s), great shame as it looked good but sounded crap, so it's not easy

Ha. I've got a commercially available electric bass. That sounds pretty awful.

[bsa-bill]

Ah this was aucustic cyclobutch.
OT tho - but do electric guitars not rely on the amp or does the actual artical have a bearing


   

[RichardL]

Ah, the MEKON!!! -Eagle!!!  Classic!!!  Love it!!!

Oh, the things you learn on the A7/A10 forum!

Butch,

Do yo mean you own an awful sounding commercially available bass or you make one?

Electric guitars are, of course, very dependent on the tone, quality and power of the amplifer, but the acoustics of the guitar's construction plays a part as well. A Gretsch Tennessean sounds much different than a neck on a stick.

Richard L.

[Butch (cb)]

Apologies, I was being my usual flippant self. My main bass is a beautiful Italia Maranello in a red metalflake - called Krispy (for the strawberry glazed Krispy Kreme donut). You get to see Nicky Wire play one from time to time.

Main problem with mine being the guy who stands behind it. I'm not worthy.

[Topdad]

I've a neighbour aged 72 yrs young ,still playing Bass professionally ( and very well when I've seen him ) who I found out as a workshop where he makes guitars has done for over 35 yrs  . They seem excellent to me but I know nowt about guitars bob

[Joolstacho]

Yep, there's all sorts of nutcases hidden away, beavering at lutherie and stuffing around with ol' motorbikes.

www.whittakerdesign.com.au/guitars

(for the curious)

[RichardL]

Jools,

Very, very, impressive. I'm not a guitarist but I think I know enough about guitars to know that those are very nice. Aside from having been a touring sound engineer (at least a generation ago), I also had the pleasure to be friends with one Roy Noble back in the '60s. I was amazed at what he did and how much went into making a great acoustic guitar, and his dreadnaughts were much sought after. I see a lot of the same attention to detail and creativity in your work, but with more diversity (but you don't really need me to tell you those things). One thing that has stuck with me since then was how Roy made the inlaid mosaics used to circle the sound hole. Too lengthy to describe here, but I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about. The one bass I made back then was, indeed, horrible, but looked good in an SG body style with a Vox neck. Long lost to history but no loss to the music world.

Richard L.

[jachenbach]

Love the details on the Whittaker acoustics. The pearl inlay at the heel, binding around the headstock, ebony endblock. Beautiful

[SimonHolyfield]

Me, a beach and an Ariel

[RichardL]

Simon,

First, very glad you joined the forum. Love your collection of bikes.

Second, I think that must be a rather old photo, as it appears (from here in Chicagoland, USA) that the structure in front of which you are parked  has since been painted with an undersea mural. I also think it's funny that you are parked in front of a no cycling sign (though, I'm sure they meant "bicycling" but could not afford the "bi").

Third, how's the food at the Funky Mackeral?

Richard L.

[Greybeard]

It is legend that the two rear cylinders on a Squariel overheat but how is life on a Square Four in reality? Do you need to stop frequently to allow the engine to cool off?

[SimonHolyfield]

Simon,

First, very glad you joined the forum. Love your collection of bikes.

Second, I think that must be a rather old photo, as it appears (from here in Chicagoland, USA) that the structure in front of which you are parked  has since been painted with an undersea mural. I also think it's funny that you are parked in front of a no cycling sign (though, I'm sure they meant "bicycling" but could not afford the "bi").

Third, how's the food at the Funky Mackerel?

Richard L.

Now I'm puzzled. You are right, but how did you know about the mural? That picture was taken earlier this year for my series of articles in RealClassic. The new mural was painted this summer.

The Funky Mac is a great place to go for bacon rolls and flapjack. It seems to attract bike clubs - the Panther Club and the VMCC have both had ride-outs there recently, there is a handy cliff top car park above it.

Thanks for the welcome!

[SimonHolyfield]

It is legend that the two rear cylinders on a Squariel overheat but how is life on a Square Four in reality? Do you need to stop frequently to allow the engine to cool off?

I think (but maybe I'm not too impartial) that it is a fabulous machine. It's very smooth and torquey, and you don't do a lot of gear changing. You get a good rattle from the top end which you can hear most of the time. As for heat, yes, it does get very hot. I bought an infra red thermometer just to get my head around what was really going on.

After about 15 miles, and it takes a while to warm up, you will see 95 C in the oil tank. You'll see something like 180 C on the cylinder heads, but contrary to popular belief they do not vary very much front to back, nor side to side. i think probably the most alarming effect is at the carburetter - there is no insulation as standard, and without it you see over 90 C on the throttle body and on a warm day you will get a misfire when it is very hot. I have routed my fuel line away from the head, but I am currently using a KH tank which leaves the taps closer to the rocker box than the standard SQ4 tank.

I've now got a carb insulator and I've gone over to premium unleaded which might make a difference.

I am looking forward to having the Huntmaster in one piece though. The SQ4 has a rather under-specified charging system and it worries me that it won't balance charge at under 40 mph. Bring back the magneto!