About the construction of the Phaedrus guitars and basses:

I made all these in a regular workshop using regular tools, although two essential tools that might not be in every workshop are a drill press and a table saw with a rotary blade that cuts through metal.

The basic ingredient in these is a plank of metal, and those are available at big metal warehouses- usually not in your average hardware store.

I started making these out steel, but steel is way too heavy and difficult to drill through. I switched to aluminum and it worked out great. Aluminum has a lot of strength, and it's a lot easier to drill holes and it looks cool (because it's metallic), but it's pricey-$50 to $60 a plank.

The aluminum planks I use are 3" wide, .5" thick, and vary in length depending on the instrument. The first step is to cut it to size, using the circular table saw, with a special blade made to cut through metal. It'll take a while (5 to 10 minutes), and it creates a horrid smell (wear safety goggles and a breathing mask, and do it outside). To determine the length, I match up a regular P-bass from the nut to the bridge, and add about 8 inches to allow for the tuning pegs and name plate.

Then we have to start drilling holes, which there are a lot of- and this is where the drill press is a life saver. You can probably get a cheap or used one for about $100, and are great to have around for just about any drilling situation. The drill press is ideal for cleanly drilling holes in flat objects, as opposed to using a hand drill. And be sure and use cutting oil as well, to make the drilling process smoother. You'll also need a wide variety of drill bits, and they're pricey as well- the brass ones that are made for metal. The sizes range from the smallest you can get all the way to half an inch wide. And you'll need extras of the smaller bits, as they always breaking on ya.

The coolest aspect I discovered with the fretless Phaedrus basses is the fact that they don't need a traditional nut- the string comes out of the hole at the top of the bass (where the nut would be), and because of the string's thickness and the raised bridge, the string just travels up the neck and there's no buzzing. Plus it looks really cool not having a nut.

All the holes in the basses should be drawn on the metal with a felt-tip pen before drilling. In addition, I suggest getting a 'hole punch' or a 'hole starter', which is a spike that is banged with a hammer to make a dent so it's easier to start drilling, without having the drill bit wander around and make ugly marks.

I measure out where each string will go on the neck so they are evenly spaced, while still leaving a little room above and below the outer strings, on a document designed in Adobe InDesign. InDesign allows you the precision needed to put the target holes in just the right place (see similar illustration of the 4-string quadrant neck below).

I poke holes in the middle of the drilling hole targets using a pin, lay the paper just right on the neck, and use the felt tip pen to mark the proper spot to drill. One aspect of the Phaedrus basses is the fact that the strings stay the same distance apart from the nut to the bridge, that's just the way they are made. There's good points and bad points using this system, and the only drawback is having to get used to it when your playing. And, as a side note, there's not a lot of room to get our picking fingers underneath the strings and 'pop' them.

Another important tool I use is a screw tap. This is a 'T' shaped device that is used to carve out a pre-cut hole so a screw will screw right into it. You have to get the hang out of drilling the right-sized hole (not too big, not too small) to fit the tap, and it takes some trial and error. Again, cutting oil will make all the difference in making a smooth tap, and there's nothing worse than breaking off a tap inside the hole and having to drill the broken bit out, and perhaps ruining the project.

I use 10-24 sized screws/screw taps exclusively, it just seems so be the right size for just about anything.

Another aspect exclusive to the Phaedrus (as far as I can tell) is using individual screws that act as a bridge. And depending on the bass or guitar, the bridge screws route in either from the top (screw head on the string side of the guitar) or from underneath (screw head on the underside of the guitar). Whichever way the screws come from, the screws have to be filed with a 'U'-shaped crevice so the string will be properly seated and not slip off. I use a small, hand held rounded file for this task. One thing that the screw system does not allow for in guitar building is any kind of leeway for string intonation- once you drill the hole you are stuck with it forever. That's why these are more suited for fretless bass guitars, as the require less intonation adjustment. The screw nut system does allow for height adjustment, and again it looks really cool.

I use decent tuning pegs (the sealed, closed kind), and map out where the holes go for them by eye. I leave at least an inch of room between the nut and the tuning pegs for a restraining bar that keeps the proper angle so the strings don't slip out of the nut screws. The holes for the tuning pegs are obviously somewhat large, and require a lot of drilling. The best way to drill them is to go step by step, drilling a small hole with one bit, and increasing the hole size with larger bits. Again, trial and error with this one. Once those holes are finally drilled, I find that the actual metal plank isn't thick enough to fit the tuning peg, so I have to cut a piece of plastic (something like a plastic cutting board from your kitchen) the same width of the plank to make up for it. Then you have to drill holes in that. Once you put in the tuning pegs, you have to put in screws on the underside hold them in place. I stagger out the tuning pegs to make more room for turning them and, again, it looks cool.

I use an active EMG pickup, with its electronics housed in a metal box mounted on the underside. Because of the nature of the Phaedrus' construction, a pickup underneath the strings just wasn't possible, so I came up with mounting it above the strings. The whole contraption to keep the pickup in place is quite a chore to get right, because it has to be close enough to the strings to get a good signal, but far enough away so the strings don't hit them when they vibrate, and also in solidly in place so it doesn't fall off or get out of place if it gets bumped.

The two cleat hitches (metal bars that you string rope on) on the Dominator actually do have a purpose: the bottom one rests on your leg when you play it sitting down, and the top one holds the instrument against your body. They're also a nice handle when carrying it around and, you guessed it, they look cool. An additional cleat on the headstock keeps the bass in place when you lean it up against a wall, and I put a 'U' loop on the top so I can hang it on a wall. That actually doesn't look that cool.

But how do you know where to put your fingers when you fret a note? Once the bass is strung up, I tune the E string to pitch and use a tuner to find the where the notes go and mark them off with a file or a piece of thin tape, as I did with the Dominator. I keep the fret tapes in place with a strip of wide clear tape, they would eventually get knocked off if they weren't protected.