Electric Guitar Project Final Writing Assignment |
| Throughout the guitar lab, you probably noticed that my instructions to
you never outlined or documented exact procedure. Mostly, I stated objectives, and general
methods. There are several reasons why I did this. One is that this is only the
sixth
time I have done the lab, and still do not always know the most ideal ways for students to
carry out the objectives (I learned a lot from the few couple of years, and continue to
learn more now). Another reason is that it would take too much time to detail everything,
and there is limited time. But the most important reason is that you are old enough, and experienced enough, to take objectives and find your own solutions. The most creative ways of winding pickups, designing bodies, and correcting errors came from you. Some of the most rewarding laboratory work I have ever done has been a result of taking on the research, design and implementation of a project by myself. The errors were my own, but the results, and successes were as well. I want you to feel this way about your guitar. In order to consolidate your thoughts and efforts along the way, I expect you to write a descriptive paper entitled, "How to Build an Electric Guitar, and How it Works." The goal of this paper is to relate to an inexperienced reader what you have learned and done over the last several weeks. I have enclosed a detailed outline of objectives on the back of the page, but the order in which you present them, and the very nature of your presentation are up to you. You should imagine yourself as the learner, and imagine what you would want and need to be told to have success in a similar endeavor. This final report should be a web page and should include many neat, hand drawn or computer generated diagrams and pictures embedded along the way. It should include a table of contents, specifying page numbers for different parts of the lab (this should hyperlink to each part of the report), and a glossary of terms at the end (including vocabulary such as audio taper potentiometer, digital multimeter, micarta nut blank...etc.) The final reports will count as your entire grade for the lab (at least 40% of your quarter grade) and will be due Friday, May 31 for seniors, and Friday, June 7 for juniors. |
| A Summary of Objectives for the Electric Guitar Lab I. Describe detailed procedure for how to: 1. Design a body, including specifications II. Explain in detail how all the components work, including: 1. How a pickup works, (magnetic induction). How to determine the
number of coils 2. How the electronic are designed and why they work (Ohm’s law, resistance..etc.) 3. Why we use audio taper potentiometers (decibels, linear volume). 4. The relationship between volume knob angle and resistance, and coils and volume. Include derivations for both. 5. How the tuners work (simple machines, gear and radius ratios) 6. How a ¼" jack works (include a good diagram to show connection) 7. How forces and torques are distributed around the guitar 8. Exact methods for calculating tension in the strings, and shearing on the glue. Include how the birch plywood board can improve tonality. 9. How vibrating strings produce sound (tuning, tension, thickness, length, loudness...) 10. How sound is amplified and heard (how a speaker works, propagation, the human ear) 11. How strings produce sounds: definitions for open chord, beat frequencies, harmonics, overtones, wavelength, standing wave, nodes, interference 12. How to follow I-IV-V song sheets 13. Overall summary of how guitar works - the big picture III. Include a detailed list of all tools used, how each works, and when it was needed.
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