Abasi Concepts/Larada Megathread

[spudmunkey]

Thank you for your confirmations of my suspicions. I've always hesitated with using threaded inserts for anything load-bearing on larger items I've designed/specified, because once those fail, you're out of options except drilling out the huge hole, plugging, and re-drilling. At least with screws, you can just go up a size or two with the screws a time or two, and screws work fine if you're not doing it frequently.

On something as light duty as cavity covers, though, it seems like an appropriate place to use them, especially if there's a consumable (the battery) kept inside. I've had few issues with inserts that size...and the ones I did have were mostly my fault due to using too-soft brass ones, and driving them into incorrectly-sized pre-drilled holes into too-hard wood.

 

[bostjan]

Thank you for your confirmations of my suspicions. I've always hesitated with using threaded inserts for anything load-bearing on larger items I've designed/specified, because once those fail, you're out of options except drilling out the huge hole, plugging, and re-drilling. At least with screws, you can just go up a size or two with the screws a time or two, and screws work fine if you're not doing it frequently.

On something as light duty as cavity covers, though, it seems like an appropriate place to use them, especially if there's a consumable (the battery) kept inside. I've had few issues with inserts that size...and the ones I did have were mostly my fault due to using too-soft brass ones, and driving them into incorrectly-sized pre-drilled holes into too-hard wood.

Yes, but, then again, if it were up to me, I would opt for a magnetic cavity cover, a la, Dingwall. It seems like the best option.

All of this talk about USB micro charge ports and so forth, I agree that it will eventually become obsolete, but is easy enough to upgrade, as long as it's not purposely made to be difficult to reverse engineer. A lot of micro USB charge ports I have on older equipment have already needed to be replaced. I don't think it's really a great option to begin with for that reason. USB-C is more robust and probably has a good ten years or more before it gets fully replaced with something else.

 

[spudmunkey]

Oh, yeah...magnetic, all the way.

Weeeeeell....while USB-C is more robust on paper, I've been dissapointed in my own in-the-wild experience. 2 years ago, we put USB-A charges on 1000 people's desks at one of my clients' office build-outs. No issues.
About 8 months ago, we put the same unit on 360 people desks. The same product, just updated with USB-C...and we must've had 20 issues so far. The jack on my Note 9 is feeling looser than my Note 5 ever did, and I had that much longer. yes, still a small samples size, and merely anecdotal...

dat reversibility, tho...

I've gone to wireless charging more and more, if only to reduce wear and tear on the connections. Imagine a guitar case with a built-in wireless charger, that could charge the guitar while it's inside. Although...now we're asking people to trust the lithium ion batteries locked in a box with their precious instruments...and wirless charging is also less efficient, slower, and hotter (and likely worse for the batteries).

*sigh*

 

[AmoryDrive]

Maybe this guy was onto something....

 

[bostjan]

Oh, yeah...magnetic, all the way.

Weeeeeell....while USB-C is more robust on paper, I've been dissapointed in my own in-the-wild experience. 2 years ago, we put USB-A charges on 1000 people's desks at one of my clients' office build-outs. No issues.
About 8 months ago, we put the same unit on 360 people desks. The same product, just updated with USB-C...and we must've had 20 issues so far. The jack on my Note 9 is feeling looser than my Note 5 ever did, and I had that much longer. yes, still a small samples size, and merely anecdotal...

dat reversibility, tho...

I've gone to wireless charging more and more, if only to reduce wear and tear on the connections. Imagine a guitar case with a built-in wireless charger, that could charge the guitar while it's inside. Although...now we're asking people to trust the lithium ion batteries locked in a box with their precious instruments...and wirless charging is also less efficient, slower, and hotter (and likely worse for the batteries).

*sigh*

Wireless charging is definitely a lot less efficient and I'm worried about it's long-term robustness, but just about every connector wears out eventually, except those things they use for Dewalt power tools.

Maybe this guy was onto something....View attachment 77207

Electric guitar is just guitar + electricity ... aww no animated gif... oh well

 

[spudmunkey]

Wireless charging is definitely a lot less efficient and I'm worried about it's long-term robustness, but just about every connector wears out eventually, except those things they use for Dewalt power tools.

...but only their 20v(really 18v). I've already broken the 12v on my laser level. I've only had it for like 2 years, and have babied it.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Meh. I've had more trouble with anchors than not. Necks seldom are seated perfectly flat and tight in the pocket when you go to put the neck on and inserts get cross threaded pretty easily.

I've had some real nightmares with anchors.

1.) I've had them cross thread while coming out, make it out of the recess but not come loose from the machine screw, so they spin and ream out the hole so that they no longer lock.

2.) I've had anchors back out along with the machine screw all the way through the body, blowing out the hole through the body and causing paint damage.

3.) I've had anchors thread into the neck seemingly straight but it turns out they were cockeyed, so that machine screw tighens fully and seats flat(ish) but none of the other screws will actually bite into their respective anchors. Or they do at odd angles and you have heel gaps, so you have to overtighten them to get it flat and you likely make one or all of the anchors sloppy in their hole.

4.) I've had machine screws cross thread into their anchors halfway through, so you're turning the screw but it's actually driving he anchor further into the hole. You get to the "bottom" but the screw isn't flush and if you keep going, it can bulge the fretboard or in extreme case, unglue it.

5.) I've had literally dozens of anchors just flat out sheer or fall apart when backing them out or screwing them in.

Wood screws are perfect fine. Ideally they should be super course with the oversized flanged/finished head and a torx. I think those were what Ran was using.

Ehh I've never had anywhere near as many failures with threaded inserts as I've had with wood screws. But yeah if I could regularly source torx head screws, that would work fine. Torx>>>>>>> any other bit ime

 

[Lemonbaby]

Threaded inserts are the way to go for bolt on necks, everything else is just an improvised solution chosen for lower cost. Along with that: matching Torx M5 screws.

Please note that this is not an opinion, but the objective truth.

 

[diagrammatiks]

Guys rechargeable 9v batteries with built in usb chargers exist.

literally the same tech as the Fishman battery in a 9v casing.

 

[G_3_3_k_]

Am I weird in wanting the least amount of technology prone to becoming obsolete on a guitar as possible?

 

[spudmunkey]

]Guys rechargeable 9v batteries with built in usb chargers exist.

literally the same tech as the Fishman battery in a 9v casing.

Don't they generally have much lower capacity to make room for the built-in charger? At least that's how it is for the AA that have the same feature.

 

[cardinal]

lol Like any of us are keeping a guitar for 10 years before selling it to buy a shiny new thing instead.

 

[BlackMastodon]

Am I weird in wanting the least amount of technology prone to becoming obsolete on a guitar as possible?

Passive pickups only.

 

[G_3_3_k_]

Passive pickups only.

I like actives for some things. But I'm fine with a 9V or some other adaptation for a battery pack. But I don't want charging ports in the guitar. I'll pull the pack and charge it.

 

[diagrammatiks]

Don't they generally have much lower capacity to make room for the built-in charger? At least that's how it is for the AA that have the same feature.

it depends on the battery chemistry. Most alkaline 9v are 400-500mah.
The lipo 9v i use are 800mah. They are simply more efficient then akalines.

the biggest issue is that a lipo is actually going to be 8.4 volts for most of its capacity. But, the Fishman battery is the same thing. It puts out 8.4 volts as well.

the biggest difference with the Fishman is that the charger is a regulated charger and will regulate the voltage coming out of the battery. So it will experience less voltage drop and be safer to charge.

But an alkaline 9v will drop way before its total capacity as well.

 

[Kaura]

Psst... I'll let you guys in on a little secret.

There's pickups that don't require batteries. Crazy, I know!

 

[xzacx]

Psst... I'll let you guys in on a little secret.

There's pickups that don't require batteries. Crazy, I know!

Also, we've been getting by just fine using regular 9V batteries in EMGs for roughly 40 years. (Which, unlike Fishmans, aren't godawful sounding—but that's another discussion.)

 

[spudmunkey]

Also, we've been getting by just fine using regular 9V batteries in EMGs for roughly 40 years. (Which, unlike Fishmans, aren't godawful sounding)

...since when?

 

[G_3_3_k_]

Also, we've been getting by just fine using regular 9V batteries in EMGs for roughly 40 years. (Which, unlike Fishmans, aren't godawful sounding—but that's another discussion.)

I actually like almost all other active pickups better than EMGs.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Also, we've been getting by just fine using regular 9V batteries in EMGs for roughly 40 years. (Which, unlike Fishmans, aren't godawful sounding—but that's another discussion.)