Townsend Machine

EDITOR'S NOTE: (Update 11.19.2009) If you are a luthier and would like to beta test this multi-scale headless tuning system, please read eLUTHERIE.org article Skilled Luthiers Needed. We'd love to get your input.

I'm going to share one of my sources with you. I realize this is highly unusual business strategy, because most designers attempt to keep their suppliers secret. To me, it is important to know because I believe spending money is a moral choice.

You trade hours of your life in exchange for money, so money represents time. When you spend money, you are redistributing your time, and you are also supporting the ethics and morality associated with a product — including where or how the product is made.

The reason I believe we have a right to know is because of secondary consequences. Price is one consideration when making a purchase, but other questions include:

• Is everyone involved paid fairly and treated ethically?
• Is the legal system supportive of the rights of the inventor?
• How long will the device be expected to last before replacement?
• What environmental or human health impact does the manufacturing, shipping and disposal process have?

These are all hidden "costs" that factor into any manufacturing. We pay for them, even if we are not aware of them.

More and more I am aware that these choices I make — with my own time and money — send tiny ripples out into the world. When my ripples meet your ripples, we make waves, and the global geopolitical, economic and environmental landscape becomes a reflection of our values.

By sharing my sources, it allows you to make a better informed decision.

Multi-Scale Headless Tuning System

I absolutely fell in love with multi-scale while building Dove. The instant I strung the instrument, I realized fanned frets are the future. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Novax Guitars.

For more than a year I've been working on a tuning system optimized for multi-scale instruments. The new system is a fanned-fret compensating bridge with body mounted tuning. It can be used in fretless or conventional fretted arrangements as well.

The modular system works with acoustic, semi-hollowbody and solid body instruments, depending on the configuration you choose. Common elements throughout the system include:

• Accommodates bass and treble gauge strings (bass, guitar, ukulele, cello)
• Steel or nylon strings
• Any number of single strings (pairs or octaves excepted)
• Conventional plain end strings lock securely at the tuner (no tools required)
• String change in about 15 seconds

PHOTO: Beautiful precision machining by Townsend on pre-production prototype. Anodized 7075 aircraft-grade aluminum, bronze and stainless steel. No toxic platings are used. Patent Applied For.

Prototyping & Production

While working on the patents for my design, attorney John Vereb suggested contacting Townsend for prototype machining.

Townsend Machine is located in central New Jersey, USA and performs all work on premises. They have a reputation in the industry for prototyping and building a wide range of challenging and critical assignments, including ejection seat oxygen couplings, spray nozzles and in-line skate frames for the Italian Olympic team. Fluent in aluminum, bronze, stainless steel and titanium.

Bart Townsend is an entrepreneur and second generation owner of the company, established in 1962. Bill Goldy is his skilled and experienced shop foreman. Cindy coordinates orders at the phone and front desk.

When I showed them drawings and explained my goal to create a zero-compromise instrument tuning system for the premium market, Bart and Bill immediately began analyzing the concept and contributing suggestions for how to optimize the design for cost effectiveness and machining efficiency.

I love working with them because they respect the aesthetic spirit — intent — of a design but also apply their own creativity and intelligence to machining solutions. They are both direct and honest, offering critique if desired. Their efforts can help you elevate an excellent design to something exceptional.

I am unabashedly excited by the gorgeous work Townsend did on the prototypes. They earned my trust as well as my business.

Shop Tour

While Ola Strandberg was visiting last week, Monster and John Vereb joined me and the Townsend crew for a shop tour and prototype preview.

I really cherished meeting Ola in person (look for a collaboration from us in the immediate future) and it was great to have a day of comic mayhem and instrument talk.

PHOTO: Townsend's shop is extensively equipped with traditional and contemporary machines. This section of the floor is a selection of lovingly maintained (still in continuous use) classic Bridgeports. Left to right: Bill Goldy, Ola Strandberg, Bart Townsend, Monster.

PHOTO: Master machinist shop foreman Bill Goldy demonstrates loading raw material (7075 aluminum) into one of their Makino a51 CNC production machines.

PHOTO: Minutes later an intricate 3-D part appears, still dripping with machining oil and aluminum chips (which will be recycled). CNC operator (unidentified), Bart Townsend, Ola Strandberg.

PHOTO: Shop tour survivors pause for a group photo: Rick Toone, Ola Strandberg, Bart Townsend, Bill Goldy.

Market Direct

Bart Townsend and I have decided to work together to bring the new tuning system direct to market. This is another example of the flexible micro-partnership concept.

Townsend Machine has in-house capabilities to receive orders, manufacture, package and ship completed products to a global audience. Sales will be handled through my website and eLUTHERIE.org. This eliminates the need for distribution markup — saving you money — and just as importantly, is ecologically low impact because systems will be built to order and shipped direct.

No waste.

Townsend is fully capable of one-off modifications to the design as well as high volume production runs. Contact me for details.

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License

Comments

[Ola Strandberg]

I can only concur in the impression of Townsend Machine being an extremely competent setup. I know — I was there — and had a great time as well. Thanks to Bart and Bill for having us.

Rick, you and I spent a lot of time discussing working local vs. outsourcing off-shore. I like your analogy of the ripples and the waves, and I think our respective ripples will yield big waves at some point. It's not about the USA or Sweden, China or India, etc., but about nurturing your local eco-system whether it be suppliers, partners or trees.

At eLUTHERIE.org, we are not always local in terms of geography but close in many other ways. In the internet age, intellectual sharing is ignorant of location. But when the rubber meets the road and it gets physical, our respective ripples will be formed close by. If a supplier is "close" to you, it is "close" to me and this means that we are not necessarily restricted by geography either.

Let's keep sharing our secrets!

[Rick Toone]

Thanks, Ola.

Where and how a product is manufactured is probably not of interest to everyone. But hopefully that will change, as people become more informed and aware.

[Greg]

Hey, it's interesting to me! Looks like a great situation, and I'm looking forward to seeing the fruits of your labors.

Have any units been fitted into a guitar yet?

Greg

[Marc Ybaben]

Rick,
I'm excited to see how this shapes up. I play a Novax guitar, and also a Forshage headless/ergo guitar -- my two favorite guitars to play! -- and if you could marry these two styles, with options for different instruments (i.e., "steinberger" type setups can only use certain strings, etc,), that would be incredible! I know "parts" is one of the barriers for luthiers, so it sounds like you're on the right track with Townsend.

Can you post your drawings so we know what your system will look like?

Can't wait to see how it works!

Peace,
Marc

[Rick Canton]

Rick,
What to say, really looking forward to integrating this into a future design!
Keep us posted!
Rick

[Rick Toone]

Thanks, Greg. Appreciate your well wishes!

The first prototype is fitted to an acoustic guitar (prototype) utilizing the Neutral Tension Bridge. Here, I'll try adding a link...

LINK | http://www.ricktoone.com/2008/10/neutral-tension-bridge.html

When first designing the Neutral Tension Bridge I realized it really needed a tuning system that could maximize the new bridge concept potential. This impetus kick-started the tuning thought process.

Even though the new tuning system is a retrofit on the little guy, the two systems work better than I dared hope. I've realized it will be possible to build a Neutral Tension Bridge multi-scale acoustic guitar. This excites me because my passion as a player is primarily acoustic instruments.

So that instrument is a must build.

But first I'm going to build at least an electric guitar and bass to help demonstrate the potential of the tuning system when combined with the modular fanned fret compensating bridge. Less research and exploration will be needed for these electrics because they are much simpler, and already planned in my head.

My intention is to have the demonstration instruments built prior to product launch. They will feature the modular tuning system, the Trapezoidal Neck Profile plus a new type of neck truss structure that will also be available through Townsend Machine.

Shaping up to be a busy next few months.

[Rick Toone]

Marc, thanks very much.

I've got a few more patents to file in conjunction with other portions of the modular system. Once the paperwork is in place, we'll be able to discuss in more detail. I'd love to skip these steps, but not everyone in the world is quite as respectful of intellectual property as eLUTHERIE.org readers.

It's inspiring we've got such a great group here.

As soon as I am able we'll post downloadable .pdf diagrams and scale drawings to assist luthiers envisioning how to design for the system. That, plus the demonstration instruments (comment above) should start things flowing.

If you can't wait that long, consider joining us in the Design & Technology Exchange. We've added two new staff members to eLUTHERIE.org specifically to facilitate the membership process.

More on that later this week.

Ultimately, I hope others — yes, you — are inspired by this micro-partnership concept to bring your own ideas to market. We need more (good) hardware choices.

[Rick Toone]

Thanks, Rick. I will be sending you an advance prototype so you can begin to experiment, and give design feedback. Let's chat later this week.

[Eric]

I'm excited to see the design! This sounds like exactly what us 'enthusiast builders' could really use...

[chris]

Can't wait to see that! I've done a couple fanned fret head-ed instruments and dug it but never a headless. Cuanto dinero?

[Rick Toone]

Eric — funny you should mention that.

The whole system is almost the side effect of trying to solve a problem. I found myself struggling with how to (simply) construct a multi-scale compensating bridge. It's a challenging math problem, in many ways.

Also, I'm continually frustrated by how difficult it is to assemble instruments. Even after several decades of building experience, I find each instrument is a geometrical puzzle with quirks that must be uncovered and appeased.

So the excitement for me is I will FINALLY have hardware I want to build with.

(bemused)

[Rick Toone]

Chris, great to see you back.

We are in the process of creating a pricing structure for the system. Bart Townsend is tracking his time investment as we do a limited production run on the 5-axis CNC machines, in order to get an accurate estimate. Those numbers will form our cost basis.

Pricing will be consistent with the quality of the design and workmanship.

These systems are built from premium materials, selected for tonality as well as a lifetime of continuous heavy use. The metals and finish choices will function perfectly in humid marine environments with minimal corrosion, e.g., New Jersey in August. You might not want to tune your instument underwater in the ocean, but feel free to sweat all over it under stage lights.

I've spec'ed tolerances for consistently smooth operation from 32 F to 130 F — figuring those are possible conditions for instruments pulled from vehicle to stage without transition time. Townsend Machine builds critical components for aircraft so this is simple stuff, by comparison.

Let's talk about getting you an advanced copy to test. Drop me an email.

[James Harper]

Rick, from what I have seen and read here on your site you build some pretty (and thoughtfully engineered) guitars. While my primary interest is in the acoustic guitar world I look forward to seeing what your custom "tooners" look like. Your teaser shot looks pretty cool.

James

[Rick Toone]

James — thanks very much. Acoustic is my passion too. The first available Simplicity systems will be 6 & 7 string electric guitar, but followed shortly thereafter by bass and acoustic versions.

Bill & Bart are causing an absolute blizzard of metal chips...