Mobius MegaBlog

The roof and walls are done, so now we make it functional –

(1) The Loading Dock door, from outside:

(2) And from inside:

(3) Finding the pipes:

(4) Pipes around the corner!

(5) Bernadette will help!

(6) Pipes marching toward the shop:

(7) Glenn’s little shovel:

(8) Glenn’s big shovel:

(9) The artist at work:

It’s fun watching Glenn finesse that big yellow fellow around!

Next week: Electricity.

Stay tuned. More to follow.

The windows were installed, so now the walls can go up –

(1) Wrapping Tyvek all around (keeps out the wet):

(2) Up goes the siding:

(3) Jess trimming and caulking:

(4) Trim around windows! Trim around doors!

(5) The back windows:

(6) The view out the back windows:

(7) Awaiting the big door, and watching out for cats:

The big door is scheduled for installation in about a week, and the electrical panel is going in soon. Then a visit from the Building Inspector. He’s just a fine fellow!

Stay tuned. More to follow.

This last week, construction has moved forward.

Now we’ve got walls, trusses, eaves, a roof, shingles, and the beginning of siding going up. Here are some photos –

(1) The spray booth will go here:

==

(2) The loading dock goes here:

(3) The office door goes here:

(4) Roof trusses have been delivered atop the walls:

(5) Upsy-Daisy! Up we go!

(6) Roof trusses all installed:

(7) Glenn and Jess building the eaves:

(8) Jess and Glenn laying the roof:

(9) By golly! We have a roof!

(10) Jess Senior and Bob adjust a thing-gummy:

(11) The trusses and roof all done:

(12) It’s cool under the roof:

(13) Time for a break!

(14) Jess and his truck. I would kill for this truck. But I wouldn’t take on Jess.

(15) The roof all covered with shingles. And that truck.

(16) Shingles and beginning the siding:

(17) The loading dock:

We’re now awaiting the delivery of our windows, which has been delayed slightly. After the windows are installed, the rest of the siding can go up. A scattering of doors, and Bongo-Mongo! we have the basics of a building.

Stay tuned. More to follow.

Like any builder of instruments, as time goes on, we want to enhance the design of instruments, while still keeping the features that have made our instruments popular.

As some will recall, at the end of last year our shop was all taken apart so that we could install machinery for greater production and greater precision.

We’ve been producing our new instruments on this enhanced machinery since February, and now all Mobius Megatar instruments are made in this new way, which delivers more value than ever before.

Here are the new enhancements:

NECK-THROUGH DESIGN

Our older bolt-on design was emulating Leo Fender’s breakthrough, because bolt-on design generally provides more instrument for less money.

However, with our new machinery — which wasn’t available to Leo Fender — we can now create the enhanced sound that neck-through design delivers, and at the same pricing as for bolt-on.

On a bolt-on instrument, any imperfection in the join of the bolt-on neck creates some loss of conductivity of the vibration in the wood, the sound changes. The frequencies most lost by reason of bolt-on construction are the lowest ones.

Therefore when you change to neck-through design what your ears hear is a smoother and slightly deeper or more mellow sound naturally coming from the instrument, as it is now delivering all of the natural lowest frequencies.

COMPUTER-PRECISE FRETS

We now own and operate our own computer controlled (CNC) machinery, which cuts fretslots with precision down to about 0.002″. A human with a saw just can’t match it, no matter how careful he is. More precise fretslots gives more precise fret placement.

More precise fret placement means the best intonation for your music.

DARK ABALONE FRET-DOTS FOR TRUETAPPERS

We have upgraded the dark plastic fret-dots, and we now install abalone fret-dots, on all of the maple light-wood TrueTapper models (Eclipse, Dragon, and Storm).

NEW FINISH

In the past, our finish was so-so. It did a good job of preventing water-vapor exchange, which is the number one job for a guitar finish. But it was not as clear and beautiful as we’d like.

So we’ve been experimenting, and now provide finish which is very clear and lets the grain of the wood show through. [Rosewood or Wenge fretboards on dark-wood instruments are still oil-finished, of course.]

SUMMARY

So — Computer cutting for precision, and hand-finishing for beauty. New abalone dot-markers and enhanced finish. Neck-through design at the same price as bolt-on.

Our website pix are not yet updated, but as of today on our EBay Megatar Store, you can see a Storm and a MaxTapper. So you can see the abalone dot-markers, the new finish, and detail photos of the neck-through design.

(Of course these particular listings could easily vanish soon, as these particular instruments can be purchased at any minute on EBay. But we’ll have more up on EBay, as production permits.)

EDIT: Oops! The Storm on EBay sold while I was entering this post. So I’ll put the two item numbers here, so you can see them for some time after they’re sold. (I *think* this will work.) –

TrueTapper Storm with new abalone dots, enhanced finish, computer fretslots, and neck-through construction is EBay EBay Item #290131836371

MaxTapper Dual with enhanced finish, computer fretslots, and neck-through construction is EBay EBay Item #290135409253.

All players on all instruments are welcome.

• Where: Ja Ling Tibetan Buddhist Temple 1417 E Fayette St. Baltimore, MD 21231, just blocks away from historic Fell’s Point.
• When: October 17th through 20th 2007.
• Itinerary: Classes daily @ Ja Ling, Evening shows in Fell’s Point and Federal Hill. There will be a Showcase Concert on Saturday, October 20th. The concert will be recorded (audio & video). More info. TBA!
• Tuition: $395.oo ~ All classes, lunch daily, and a guest pass to a very special concert on the 20th!
• Lodging: more info. on the way… scroll down for info on how to register.
• Teachers: Jim Wright, Brian Kenney Fresno, Randy Strom, Bill Burke, and Teed Rockwell.

Registration: Please contact D. Miñoza … minoza77@ gmail.com

• Please put “SEMINAR REGISTRATION” in the subject box of your email.
• Registration closes August 17th. 2007
• Space is limited.
  

More information, and any changes/additions to the schedule, check on the Official Baltimore Seminar page.

Recently, we purchased some land for the purpose of building a new and larger factory for the construction of Mobius Megatar instruments.

Our existing shop — the Secret Megatar Laboratory — has just become too small, and we need more space.

This last week, building has begun. Here are some photos –

 (1) The site before construction: 

(2) The new shop will go here:

(3) Digging the foundation:

(4) Patrick – Shop Foreman

(5) Glenn – Job Foreman

(6) Concrete forms and reinforcing steel:

(7) Pouring concrete:

(8) Smoothing the foundation:

(9) Up Goes the Front Door!

All this in just the last few days. I’m plumb tickled!

[More to come. Stay tuned.]

Now on YouTube: “Easy Touch-Style Guitar” with the first “Guitar Prep” video, from Mobius Megatar.

“Easy Touch-Style Guitar” is a method book showing how to play beginning two-handed touchstyle on a normal 6-string guitar. This book has been written, but has not yet been published. This video is based upon an early chapter in the book, where we discuss how to set up your guitar to work well for two-handed touchstyle.

This video describes how to make “Traktor’s SusPenders” to hold a strat or similar guitar in an upright playing position which will allow the fingers of both hands to access the strings as if it were a specialty touch-style instrument.

Want to see the video? Sure you do!

And, if YouTube is online right now, then here it is:

Yow! That was fun!

The online store is now operational, meaning that a world thirsty for a cool draft of Megatar music, can now obtain instruments direct from the website, along with accessories, and books, and all common factory modifications.

Now you can build your own custom instrument, just the way you like it. Choose a model, and if you wish add piezos or midi, change the saddles, change the trim from chrome to black or gold. There are well over 2000 possible combinations.

Also be sure to check out our new PiezoTapper “SongBird” model.

And if you’re looking for the popular TrueTapper, MaxTapper, or ToneWeaver just the way we’ve always offered them, then that works, too.

If you need another Megatar instrument around the house, to bring you years of music and fun, please visit the new Mobius Megatar Online Store. Available now at a computer near you.

Coming soon, the Mobius Megatar online store!

As in the past, if you have questions about models, or which tuning is best for you, you can still telephone or email our Customer Service office for a free consultation, or to order your Megatar direct from the factory.

And we will still stock ready-to-play and ready-to-ship instruments on our EBay Megatar Store. (Though it’s been difficult to get extra stock to put up on EBay just recently; people keep buying the instruments about as fast as we can make them!)

And now, you’ll have a third choice, the Online Store right on the Mobius Megatar main website. This terrific new feature allows you to customize the perfect instrument for your needs right on your own computer. For example –

Suppose you want to get a TrueTapper Storm (with the world-famous Bartolini pickups), but you want to customize it. Let’s say you want to upgrade to dark wood. (A “Dark Storm”) And maybe you want to add Graph Tech TusQ custom nut and saddles, and maybe you want gold tuner machine, and gold Strap Locks. You want our standard BassBottom tuning, and you’d like three extra sets of strings, and two of the music books we carry.

No problem.

Just add whatever you want to the cart, adjust it just right, and presto! Your order arrives at the factory and goes into the Shop Queue. In just a little while, you’re playing the instrument you customized!

As we used to say back home in Texas, it’s just neater than Dallas!

Please stay tuned.

Hello from the MegaBlog, the Mobius Megatar weblog, where you’ll find news from Mobius Megatar and the world of touch-style music, along with articles about touch-style music. Postings on no set schedule, but we’ll try to stay up to date!