Attempting to Build the Thinnest Guitar Possible

[@Fl_Broccodile]

Make a guitar pick guitar!!

[@Subscribe4goodluck7]

Probably one of the most expensive though when you really think about it

[@diegoofpeace6597]

Would it be MADE of actual guitar picks or would it just be ONE giant pick? 🤔

[@Fl_Broccodile]

@@-ShaquilleOatmeal It's still fun

[@Fl_Broccodile]

@@diegoofpeace6597 Just one would be cool but a bunch would probably be easier and make more sense

[@9yander]

He already did that

[@MikeLaRock88]

This is a sick piece of art to have in the house. Doubles the coolness that its a real, playable guitar

[@austinkoeppen6122]

I love art that also has a use.

[@DemnRaig80]

ALL GUITARS ARE ART

[@bionicleguy32]

@@DemnRaig80they make art, its not the same

[@theyarenthere]

​@@bionicleguy32who makes the guitar?

[@insertusersname8277]

@@theyarenthereLuthiers?

[@DavidNwokoye]

Honestly man you keep levelling up with every new build. I'd love to play that guitar someday

[@ebicgamer1134]

you could if you bought it :)

[@Naitik_Behera]

hey i see you in Bradley hall's comments!

[@smug9132]

@@ebicgamer1134 already sold :((

[@smarthalayla6397]

Ask him to make one from paulownia wood in this thickness.

[@CoreyKrattli]

This is absolutely one of my favorite builds! As for potential tips/critiques the bridge height issue can easily be solved by routing in a pocket for the bridge into the body. Wouldn't take more than a few millimeters. Also the pickup selector issue could potentially be solved by using Mini-On/Off switches for each pickup. Keep it up!

[@HyphenatedReality]

I know you've done a handful of solid-body acrylic guitars, but have you ever thought about making a hollow-body acrylic guitar? Old game consoles, controllers, and handhelds like the atomic purple GameBoy Color are such a big thing of nostalgia for me, that I can't help but wonder what a guitar inspired by those would look like. It'd even be cool if you wired in some modboards or just put in custom-ordered PCBs to really get that retro look, while being a bit lightweight.

[@rickcar94]

I still have the purple Gameboy color 💜

[@Supermelo29]

Great idea!

[@ts4gv]

great idea!

[@tomboy2980]

I love this idea! If he doesn't do it, someone definitely should

[@bretchamberlain8285]

A year ago I suggested what if he built a michael Anthony jack Daniel's bass, but put actual whisky in it so it has a similar effect like john 5's telecaster, a hollow body acrylic could achieve this!

[@susanj8158]

I’m so glad to see that both guitars sold already! You deserve to reap some fruits of your labor.

[@Bleats_Sinodai]

If you want aniline dye to really show on wood, try mixing it with isopropyl alcohol instead of water. It wicks deeper into the grains and dries quicker.

[@NineteenEighty8]

90% iso btw. nothing less.

[@voornaam3191]

You can also buy wood that looks better. You are addicted to dying?! WHY?!

[@GROENAASMusic]

@@voornaam3191 It's written "dyeing", not "dying" xD You only die once.

[@LordMondegrene]

@@Bleats_Sinodai Lignum vitae is golden brown to black, but can age to a deep green. It's also the second-heaviest wood in the world (after snakewood) so you would have to veneer it, or it would weigh 25 pounds. Doesn't need any finish at all, it's so oily and dense.

[@Bleats_Sinodai]

@@LordMondegrene looked it up, but that's not what I'm looking for. I want VIBRANCE, not slightly muddy green.

[@TheRustedShackleford]

If both pickups are always active, you're only getting half power from each regardless of where the volume is set. You can also use mini switches as on/off switches. Beautiful guitar!

[@michaelbarry7018]

Could use this guitar as a pick for another guitar.

[@HenryAmat]

😂

[@fongy200]

You can't go wrong with Lace tey are very good Pick up's. Never used their Humbuckers but I have Strats with Sensors in them, their superb as is your build. Thanks for sharing.

[@zigzagfuzz1]

Ken Parker started out trying to make the thinnest playable guitar possible that could hold the string tension and be stable. I played his prototype for the Fly and it was so thin that it didn't have a bridge, just basically nails/pegs and they stuck through the back. It was probably half as thin as this. It resonated like crazy and actually sounded great. But the Parker Fly itself is very thin. He used carbon fiber exoskeleton which is paper thin to add strength to the whole guitar and used a graphite truss rod which was considerably lighter than a traditional truss rod and also considerably stronger. Ken is a genius.

[@plutoloco2378]

Shut up

[@jimc2298]

I have a 98 Fly Deluxe and at one time owned a unfinshed deluxe prototype. It is/was my dream guitar that I purchased in the early 00's. Rarely does it ever leave its case, but it's always in tune. Truely an amazing instrument and so ahead of it's time (and maybe still is).

[@glb5053]

The Parker fly is still the nicest guitar I've ever played, and that was many guitars ago.

[@williampetteruto6403]

I came here for the P Fly comments 🤣

[@rusticraver82]

Always wanted a Parker Fly Deluxe composite as a kid, what a cool looking guitar.

[@bramweinreder2346]

Nice build! In this case instead of a three way switch, I would have used a blend pot if that fit, otherwise a dip switch or one that slides. But this works too and it looks good.

[@jesselaurin5139]

One of your cleanest/nicest builds to date. You're insane, dude. Well done.

[@joshlewis5065]

Your guitars are getting SUPER nice. Like they were really nice before, but now they ae getting to be very nice works.

[@YoMothar]

Have you ever thought about building a microtonal guitar? I think it would be really interesting to see what you could do to compliment the frets with the weirdness of the guitar build.

[@funcamp_ltd.]

Rattles me...

[@CouchEconomyTX]

@@funcamp_ltd. rattlesnake

[@tomvesely4008]

If not now then when?😂

[@Crookedile]

It would be a supremely ascendant guitar.

[@Gekiko7167]

@@funcamp_ltd. Rattlesnake...

[@revbox3038]

B. Your work, amongst all the traditional designs - the pieces you create, the art you employ - just Fantastic.

[@ScrapwoodCity]

Wow, loved the solo in the end! The clean tone is really cool!

[@bscguitars2278]

I had the same idea and mine came out to 16mm. for the pups i used stock prs humbuckers and modified the mounting tabs so there's still some adjusting available if needed as well I use a mini toggle switch to split the coils. The body is a figured cherry and the neck is flame Maple i torrified. I use a3 knob single tone two volumes that are independent of each other so no need for a switch. For such a thin guitar it has a thick heavy sound.

[@radicaloranges]

i could listen to you play for hours, your playing is always so peaceful and groovy and vibey....and then you started palm muting which also sounded pretty cool

[@scottashe984]

Alrighty then ..

[@lhmmhl]

@@scottashe984 wait what's weird about this comment?

[@timointrouble]

2:59 I just sprinkle some grains of salt on the glued surfaces in such a scenario. Usually this is enough to stop the two parts sliding off when putting the clamps on. It gives you perfect control to reposition the parts under light pressure. Works also great for super delicate stuff, inlays and such

[@timointrouble]

Great work, BTW!

[@Pelleministeri]

I like the how the wood grain came to alive so well when oiled, one of the best looks!

[@TheCorruptionCore]

DUDE lace pickups are amazing! This guitar is a shred MACHINE!!! A real Metal monster.

[@PapaShasta_]

Dude, you are inhuman. The guitars you build are out of this world. I Love your content man.

[@mikkosutube]

11:50...amazing sustain for a guitar with such little mass..normally mass along with a tuneomatic type bridge (as opposed to a fender style with those tiny pieces that hold the strings and wiggle along with the vibration of the string) will cause the vibration of the strings to reflect back into the strings rather than to absorb into the body..this is important for sustain in an electric guitar..in an acoustic you want as much of the string vibration to transfer to the top of the body where it will then be converted into audio waves, but in an electric the sound doesnt come from the body, but rather from the influence of the strings on the magnetic field produced by the pickups and the interraction with the amplifier.

[@augustvintermossa]

I always get so happy when there’s a new Burls art video, they’re just so relaxing to watch

[@sharonlee4773]

Fabulously inspiring mate! Im gonna do a similiar build-maybe even thinner if I use horizintal pots flush to top like Cort /Samick use to do.

[@mtst8609]

You never cease to amaze with your work! I'm glad to see you are selling some of your work. I will definitely be buying one of your guitars in the near future. Congratulations on your incredible work!

[@freespirit1776]

Great build. Black Limba is gorgeous.

[@Valarien777]

Regardless of thinness, it's a beautiful looking guitar! While your guitars may not be the most "perfectly" made, they sure some the most creative and fun designs around. Glad to see you're selling them, if they play even half way decent, they're truly unique creations of art. Keep on doing what you're doing! ;-) \m/

[@kevincozens6837]

Nice looking guitar. One option would have been to look for a low profile rotary switch but your solution of multiple volume controls for the pickups is also good.

[@robwalsh9843]

I'm not sure I'd like to own a super thin guitar(for sit-down playability)but I'll be damned if I wouldn't like to check one out. Well done as always brother.

[@CONEHEADDK]

Same with custom bikes. Many are not a thing, I'd like to own or ride, but I'm still happy, someone made them and shows them off.

[@1683clifton]

It reminds me of the melamine guitar I cut out as a kid. My dad had a cabinet shop and I made a more beer explorer on some double sided white melamine. I drew all the frets and hardware with a magic marker! Yours gives me lots of ideas. Cardboard thin versions of guitars that you don't even need to know how to play, wait...

[@WillyWonkenobi]

It's a beautiful guitar, I'd be interested in a follow up video in a few years to see what the effects of the string tension will be

[@ASSman864]

Put 9s on it and tune it to half step down should be fine

[@erik6737]

I think it should be fine, the neck through design makes it very durable already and the neck itself isn't really much thinner than that of a normal guitar

[@phredbull]

@@ASSman864 10s & a full step! ;)

[@joermnyc]

He put in a truss rod (that’s what the blue tape was covering when he glued the neck for the fingerboard.

[@WillyWonkenobi]

@@joermnyc it doesn't run the length of the body, a 3/4 thick body could bow too

[@dennisdewinter1997]

Nice job! Thanks so much for sharing your project. This was exceedingly cool! We done and nice playing at the end.

[@HVLmusic]

It’s such a joy watching you build this. Thank you!

[@philgallagher1]

Black Limba is also known as Korina. This is the wood Gibson used for the original Flying "V" so..... Excellent choice!! Beautiful piece of work!

[@ambrosia18]

This is a gorgeous piece of work. Love to see what happens when you challenge yourself

[@KeithPhillips]

Lol that's when he forages for materials in the woods and builds one outdoors away from civilization and power tools...

[@00xanawolf00]

Badass. Beautiful. Functional. A literal handcrafted work of art. This is an heirloom quality instrument.

[@joebwannabe]

I'm blown away by how good that guitar sounds man. Helps that you're a really good player on top of being a fantastic luthier. Way to go!

[@heut4384]

No. The thinner the body the sound is awful. No wood to project the sound. There's no sound coming from the wood. Do you know why Gibson LPs used

[@heut4384]

...thicker of the wood? If you don't know, you'll need to play longer.

[@Why_are_americans_so_dumb]

@@heut4384tonewood is a myth

[@kopfstandsnoopy]

@@heut4384 any basic science expermiment will show you that wood and string thickness doesnt matter for sound. its an old myth.

[@heut4384]

@kopfstandsnoopy Well, something don't matter, but guitar does. If you don't agree, try swapping a few pickups (i.e., Seymour duncan, LP classic 57) between a Gibson LP (or regular Ibanez RG) and a thin-line guitar similar (Ibanez, Yamaha, or PRS). You will noticed, the full range and basses will decrease alot in the thin-line guitar - while the regular LP will capture every sound (pickups + wood body). On the thin-line guitar, you only hear the pickup.

[@salmonti9707]

The grain on that body is insane. Love this project and congrats on your great work. Cheers.

[@randymiles904]

That's beautiful man. I just built my first kit, and it turned out infinitely better than I expected. I'm going to do a few more, then built one from scratch. Super fun hobby! Again, beautiful guitar!

[@mishmashmedley]

This guitar looks amazing!!! reminds me of old 70s and 80s album covers where guitars were spaceships. I love the angles and shape of this build!!!

[@mesarosmm]

This would be brilliant as headless with some lightweight headpiece and Hipshot bridge - it can go fairly low with saddless and fixes any possible head dive, since... no headstock. But it would need a lightweight headpiece too. NEXT CHALLENGE: HOW LIGHT YOU CAN GO WITH A GUITAR (while retaining comfort while playing)

[@BobJones-bh9qz]

Exactly what I was thinking! I do love the build, but as a personal preference, I would like to see it headless and the body shape with less extreme horns, somewhere in a similar vein to strandberg guitars.

[@Craftlngo]

He built a Guitar from insulation foam a couple of years ago, that was very lightweight but quite bendy. He even didn’t had to use a tremolo arm. He could create the tremolo effect by bending the whole instrument! 😂

[@normbarrows]

My lightest wood build is 3.25 lbs. My aluminum and carbon fiber builds might be even lighter.

[@epluribusunum6622]

This is probably my favorite you have made I've watched this video a few times. It looks alive.

[@KitteyWolf]

You say chunky metal riffs arent really your thing but that was a great little demo at the end. This guitar is super cool.

[@Alroofador]

Beautiful playing.

[@zombieprinting2670]

Your work never ceases to amaze me. Well done, and I absolutely love your instrumentals. I found myself making up lyrics to this one haha.

[@ryanintopeka]

Super awesome build. I used those pickups in one of my builds and was pleasantly surprised by how good they sound. Very open sounding present pickups.

[@vishwanathakhilkandagiri3915]

Never disappoints, this man.

[@kajpaananen5082]

So pleasing to watch this video -just great skills and eye to details

[@Rachels123]

You absolutely made my day! For years I waited for someone to make a thin guitar. You did not disappoint! Thank you thank you!

[@timbenham516]

Parker makes a very thin guitar been around for a pretty long while. I like his too.

[@jellybingus416]

That really cool looking! I've always preferred thin line style guitars, I bet this feels awesome to play! Sounds great too.

[@real_Fabiot]

I LOVED those metal riffs at the end! Great work as always, nice to see you're doing good

[@mikecarbone828]

Greetings! I finally took the time to watch this video, and I really like what you did with this build. It would have been really interesting had you angled the headstock, but that does require a bit more work to pull that off, however, if done properly, no string trees are needed and a good break angle can be established for the strings. The pickup selection was a good choice, you may have room for a mini toggle switch had you really wanted a selector switch, but you found a solution that is viable, however difficult to easily and momentarily switch from one sound to another, there may have also been another solution or more. The comfort carve makes the instrument appear even much thinner from that side. Overall, it sounds great. Thank you for posting these videos! Please have an excellent and awesome day! ☀️✨

[@superfakegamer6359]

Burls:" I attempted to build the thinnest guitar" Ibanez: " Finally a worthy opponent!"

[@Zsullivan27]

God dammit I was going to comment that

[@daro9582]

Underrated, would need to be the highest end Ibanez yet if they wanted to compete with this

[@kmcrafting4837]

Great build! Check out transtint liquid dyes they hold up better than powdered aniline dyes to light, and much less messy; and if you don't mind a little darkening add the dye to a wax free shellac (4lb cut) like Zinsser sanding sealer diluted 50% with DA. Helps bond the dye to the wood between sanding. I'm not not sure where it comes from that we tighten all the bottom clamps then add the top ones, but when clamping a big panel like that; after tightening the lower clamps and adding the upper clamps loosen the lower clamps and retighten. Helps reduce cupping of the panel.

[@rexdarvog]

Interesting build, I personally favor X-shaped guitars such as the Gibson Explorer and that natural finish really makes your X design stand out. The idea is a little different than the S series from Ibenhad because those bodies are thicker at the center and then sculpted thinner since they use conventional electronics. The Lace Alumitone pickups are also a curiosity, I remember looking at them a long time ago wanting them for a build but I ended up not purchasing any. Also, Burls Guitar Company when?

[@Fermonx]

I've started to see lace pickups around more and more. I have an idea for a partscaster I want to buy and heavily considering a set of Lace's Alumitone over some DiMarzio's, I just keep hearing good thing about those.

[@rexdarvog]

@@Fermonx The sound of Alumitones are little different from traditional pickups but fascinating as well, I don't think you would be disappointed unless you found the sound to be unpleasant after purchase.

[@darrylbuckett5380]

Great sound and wonderful woodgrain. Cheers

[@GlennMichaelThompson]

An absolutely beautiful instrument, no doubt! About the length of the body... it's possible to make it even shorter with a headless guitar design with the tuners mounted behind the bridge. There are some great headless tuners and hardware available by Hipshot and other manufacturers... with a 40:1 gear ratio the tuning is impeccable. Just a thought... and the guitar could be even lighter in weight! Anyhow, really enjoyed your video and wonderful guitar! Very cool!

[@teariana1]

Gorgeous!!!! I love designers who have vision, I wasn't sure and the colors until I saw the finished piece, nice! Too sad, about the sanding accident. The thing I think is funny is usually after seeing one of these videos I see another showing a different way of repairing that might work just a tiny bit better. In this video that I saw he used the sawdust created from using a lathe to repair a crack. Because they were longer stringy pieces it looked a bit better. Just an idea.

[@Fl_Broccodile]

Have you tried making an jaguar before? Could be fun!

[@karl7567]

For stopping the fretboard from sliding around when I mount it, I use a couple of brad nails that I trim down to a short length so they don't go all the way through the fretboard.

[@0madgod035]

0:11 rip headphone users

[@Ktakly]

Beautiful truly beautiful. The Bridge is classy, but I imagine the headstock is heavier than the body and it does what my BC Rich Bich does. Head stock dive....

[@jakekunz5168]

it would be funny to see if it’s possible to make a guitar out of balsa wood

[@fclefjefff4041]

Yeah, wow, hilarious.

[@scadstersworld5634]

Beautiful guitar...love the way the wood looks.

[@Sheepleton]

You might not be a metal player but damn you can groove in your style of playing. Looks and sounds fantastic.

[@brunostiglitz7535]

The metal was sell out sounding 🤣

[@ScottVanwilzonn]

I've been watching your videos for ever and you're getting so good at this. Keep on keepin on.

[@flensberg7415]

Wonderful build, and the play aswell. I think I can hear a bit of Clapton in it, simply sublime!

[@ChrisOBrien666]

Nice choice with the Lace Alumitones! I have these pickups installed in a few of my guitars and I really like the way they sound.

[@whatnow9159]

That is a really nice guitar. Thanks for sharing. All the best.

[@brunostiglitz7535]

The song at the end was so smooth and relaxing and then you’ve turned into the metal thrash around on guitar like how a high school kid would do haha

[@mario21329]

These videos just never get old! Keep it up man!

[@andycpd6669]

That's why I love the ibanez s series they are so thin, light and a beautiful looking guitar

[@aquaticstripper]

Your combination of physical and musical art mediums is awesome, I'm inspired by your creativity.

[@FranciscoDelaveau]

dude your soloing has gotten SO GOOD! i would drink a beer to a sunset with it anytime

[@JaywithdaK]

This thing sounds amazing and so did that aluminum guitar you made. You got me hooked off one video.

[@DaVinci0963]

I love the look and the tone came out great! Well done!

[@michaeladavis5225]

Thank you for so much detail. What a Beautiful Guitar this is. Kudos

[@johnjacobs8568]

Ridiculously awesome dude as usual.... You just keep lifting the bar higher and higher!

[@jeast9648]

I don’t know why but working with woods and building things just calls to me as a man. I love your videos dude. Very cool stuff.

[@Forrest-Jackson]

Love your channel and I'm glad the algorithm put you into my feed - You do very nice work. I have one bit of advice for you, though: Use a Sure SM57 close-mic'ed (and perpendicular to the cone) on your amp speaker when you demo your builds... what you're doing now isn't showcasing the tone of your gorgeous work. I know those Lace pickups sound great, but the recording quality of them needs to sell your work all by itself (right now it isn't). A 58 will work, too. Looking forward to your next build!

[@Pillowcase]

Reminds me of the parker fly. Really nicely done - the design really compliments the thinness.

[@heataced3342]

As a fan of the band "9mm Parabellum Bullet", this video got me excited! Their lead guitarist actually use a really thin guitar made by ESP, the model name is "Karmaster", and the wings are only 17mm thin!

[@slundqsale]

Wow, you ideas and skills are amazing! Keep it up!

[@murderface15g13]

Lace makes outstanding pickups! Maybe on the next build, continue with the thin concept, but with a Convex body structure, you can account for the space needed for electronics while maintaining the overall thinness of the guitar.

[@DreamscapesMusicCinema]

Awesome! Thank you for the wonderful video 📹. Very nicely done ✔ 👏. Such a cool shape! Mark Bensette Aux Bois 🇨🇦.

[@clarencemarsh7801]

When gluing two pieces of wood together try sprinkling some table salt in the glued area.Once 2nd piece is placed on top it will prevent movement.

[@jazzhopper1580]

About the slippery glue: try adding some grit (from sandpaper / sawdust) or some kosher salt between the layers to prevent misaligment while clamping

[@bulldrumm]

It was done quite some time before. It is called a "s" series ibanez. And than numerous times afterwards, and it is just a matter of contemporary components, that is to say, their dimensions. The thinner the electronics are, the thinner a guitar can be. AND, if you are not bothered by a guitar not looking as a conventional guitar, it can be as thin as you like, with whatever material you choose for a " frame" to hold stuff together. That being said, nice work.

[@SevenGC89]

After I got my Ibanez EGen 8 (Herman Li model) It's so hard to play other guitars, it's so incredibly thin and every other guitar I play now feels gigantic lol. Gorgeous build man, I love it!

[@HickLif3]

never built a guitar but at 3:40 man for a sec I was scared you cut on the wrong side of your line lol.

[@adamulias2315]

Broooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…. That is SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!! You did such a stellar job on that! Thank you for making this video and sharing the build from inception to plug-in. 😃👍

[@JoLap42]

Burl do you have an online store? The infinity mirror guitar and so many of your designs are absolutely killer...

[@MountainHomeJerrel]

What an awesome process to watch. Thanks for sharing this fascinating project with us. The end product guitar is gorgeous.

[@baileycownley1868]

I would be tempted to just mount the electronics and pickups to a plastic cover for the back of the guitar. Then the electronics would just slot into holes that go all the way thru the guitar and screw the cover on the back. Plus cleaner layout for swapping out. Still awesome guitar, love seeing your work

[@ericvernon1182]

As a metal player I applaud you giving it a go...the blues licks were very tasty...

[@michaelb.42112]

I was JUST thinking of this concept yesterday when watching a doc on Hofner violin basses and how Paul liked them because they're so light on stage. So, I thought what about thin ? 4.5 lbs is so light ! It looks great, and sounds warm.

[@ashrafulalam3936]

আপনার এই পাতলা গিটার বাজাতে শব্দ শুনে আমার মন ভরে যায় in English meaning: "Listening to sound of your playing this thin guitar is fills of my heart."

[@copych]

The guitar is great. And your playing I liked a lot. Thanks man!