# NGD! Bostjan's Custom Oni 8 (56K - Dead milkmen)



## bostjan (Apr 11, 2008)

New Oni 8 String!

Perpendicular fret = 9th
Scale Length = 600-660 mm (oops)
Width near nut ~ 57 mm

Controls:
Active Tone Filter
Synth/Piezo Concentric Volume
Synth Sound Select
Magnetic Kill Switch

Construction:
Body and Neck: Sitka Spruce with Carbon Durashield
Fretboard: Acrylized Macassar Ebony w/ Stainless Frets






Thar she is.





Look how sleek and thin. The guitar is light as a feather!





13-Pin Synth Out





Lego Luke Skywalker loves the Carbon Fiber!





...and approves of the ultra-cool truss-rod cover!





He can even levitate the ultralight body using his lego-force.





Ultra fast sleek neck!





Partial fret for microtonal dabbling.





Back





Twins.


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## Michael (Apr 11, 2008)

That rules.  Dan does amazing work! 

Tell more about the partial fret.


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## -K4G- (Apr 11, 2008)

WOW. How much was the damage?


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## Zepp88 (Apr 11, 2008)

That partial fret idea is interesting....tell us more!


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## DevilsAngel (Apr 11, 2008)

KillForGod said:


> WOW. How much was the damage?




That all depends on how much attention the girlfriend will get now that the 8-string is in the house.


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## dpm (Apr 11, 2008)

Egads! What a monstrosity! How do you play that thing with all those strings and those weird looking frets 

Couple of corrections to the specs list

Perpendicular fret = 9

Scales = either 590-650, or 600 - 660... I can't remember 

Fretboard is acrylized mac ebony which is impervious to moisture and totally stable, and the fabric is pure carbon twill, not carbon/kevlar blend. And it was a bitch to make, a whole lot of things had to be done twice, but it sounds pretty freaking amazing acoustically so I might do it again if the money is right 

Seriously though, Bostjan has been immensely patient with me through this project. I can't overstate what a great dude he is to deal with!


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## DevilsAngel (Apr 11, 2008)

dpm said:


> Egads! What a monstrosity! How do you play that thing with all those strings and those weird looking frets
> 
> Couple of corrections to the specs list
> 
> ...



Very interesting that Bostjan didn't get the stuff right. Maybe he is still undeserving of such a nice 8-string? 

Ya did good Dan, Ya did good!


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## dpm (Apr 11, 2008)

Maybe he's just giddy with excitement


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## Durero (Apr 11, 2008)

Wow! Just wow!



How many frets?

Can you tell us more about the construction Dan?

Is it Parker-style with a light body & neck wood surrounded by a carbon skin?

Looks just slick as can be! I love the carbon weave showing through subtly.




Edit: Bostjan CONGRATS!!!


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## DevilsAngel (Apr 11, 2008)

dpm said:


> Maybe he's just giddy with excitement



That's an understatement. Well, actually he wore himself out with all the excitement and is now passed out(probably on my side of the bed too).


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## dpm (Apr 11, 2008)

wow, passed out already! I thought he'd have the recto cranked 





Durero said:


> How many frets?
> 
> Can you tell us more about the construction Dan?
> 
> Is it Parker-style with a light body & neck wood surrounded by a carbon skin?



30 frets iirc, can somebody check that for me 

It's basically parker style construction minus the carbon fretboard, and with a conventional 2-way truss rod. It's neck through, spruce neck and body, though I put an ebony fillet under the truss rod to ensure it had a solid surface to bear on. Then the fretboard went on, the basic cavities were machined and the whole thing shaped, next was laminating the carbon, then deciding I didn't like the neck shape so sand off all the carbon, reshape it, laminate the carbon again, pay someone to paint it, strip that paint off, buy spray gear, paint it myself.... blah, blah, blah... I think I should stop ruining Bostjan's thread now 

Oh yeah, and the frets are stainless.


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## Durero (Apr 11, 2008)

Wow, well the end result sure looks fantastic!

Bostjan I'm doubly envious of you now 


Dan do you plan to make more instruments with this construction style? Does it make a big difference in weight?


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## dpm (Apr 11, 2008)

It is significantly lighter, and allows shapes that would normally be impossible due to strength. Honestly, the first time you play it feels weird because your mind is telling you something that light must be delicate, it took me a while to become comfortable handling it like normal. I'm definitely doing at least one more, this time from balsa which will decrease weight by maybe 20-30% over the spruce (balsa is less than half the weight of spruce). I'm interested in how the tonal characteristics are effected by the wood vs. the carbon. It might even be possible to make a carbon truss rod now that I think about it  I have the balsa already but there's a few more projects to get finished before starting on that.


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## Justin Bailey (Apr 11, 2008)

dpm said:


> It is significantly lighter, and allows shapes that would normally be impossible due to strength. Honestly, the first time you play it feels weird because your mind is telling you something that light must be delicate, it took me a while to become comfortable handling it like normal. I'm definitely doing at least one more, this time from balsa which will decrease weight by maybe 20-30% over the spruce (balsa is less than half the weight of spruce). I'm interested in how the tonal characteristics are effected by the wood vs. the carbon. It might even be possible to make a carbon truss rod now that I think about it  I have the balsa already but there's a few more projects to get finished before starting on that.



wow, that's deinetly gonna be sweet.


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## Groff (Apr 11, 2008)

Congrats! That's a sweet looking guitar!

(What's wrong with the dead milkmen?)
[action=TheMissing]put on 'the thing that only eats hippies'[/action]


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## ohio_eric (Apr 11, 2008)

Dan,

You are my hero. 

Regards,

Eric


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## darren (Apr 11, 2008)

Good god, that's stunning, Dan!

I remember reading Parker's tonal description of Spruce, which they used on their Fly Supreme... "lush, lively and ferocious." Sounds exactly like the kind of tone i'd want. And with stainless steel frets and piezos, it's like the extended-range guitar we all wish Parker had made!

Kudos to you and Bostjan!


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## Hexer (Apr 11, 2008)

congrats to Bostjan on a great new guitar and congrats to Dan for making it!

I'm interested in that partial fret, too! tell us more about that!
I get how its cool to be able to play microtones, but why just one additional fret then? why in this place? what place is it btw? why only on those strings?....

tell me! tell me!

looks like a great axe!


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Apr 11, 2008)

fucking killer, i'v been looking at oni 8's for a while now, where can you even get them? i dont know where you look to order one or at the prices and options?


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## Randy (Apr 11, 2008)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> fucking killer, i'v been looking at oni 8's for a while now, where can you even get them? i dont know where you look to order one or at the prices and options?



I don't think there's a site up right now but;

Sevenstring.org - View Profile: dpm
MySpace.com - oniguitars - 29 - Male - Brisbane - www.myspace.com/oniguitars


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## XEN (Apr 11, 2008)

Wow! That is one beautiful guitar!! Congrats!!

Dan, your work is astounding!


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## ElRay (Apr 11, 2008)

Wow. First time I've actually thought :fap: was applicable to a guitar.

Ray


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## technomancer (Apr 11, 2008)

WOW 

So which six strings does the synth track? Or did you double some of them or something?


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Apr 11, 2008)

levelhead86 said:


> I don't think there's a site up right now but;
> 
> Sevenstring.org - View Profile: dpm
> MySpace.com - oniguitars - 29 - Male - Brisbane - www.myspace.com/oniguitars



thanks randy


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## Apophis (Apr 11, 2008)

Looks awesome, pure sex


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## daxworxguitar (Apr 11, 2008)

bostjan said:


> New Oni 8 String!
> 
> Perpendicular fret = 9th
> Scale Length = 600-660 mm (oops)
> ...


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## bostjan (Apr 11, 2008)

Sorry for spec-ing it out incorrectly. I only measured once, instead of twice.

I didn't even remember about the stainless frets.

The Synth tracks every string. I was a little surprised that my Roland unit tracks the low B so loudly, no matter what sensitivity I set on it, so I had to crank the other strings up a couple notches. I never had a seven string with synth before.

The partial fret gives one the ability to make chromatic runs a little longer without making them end up higher or lower... plus its great for a neutral third or diminished third when you need one in the right key (B, for instance).

Thank you for all of the congradulations.

Oh yeah, the guitar sounds killer, especially in acoustic mode! I've been blown away!

Balsa, eh? Has anyone ever tried that before? You may discover a completely untapped tonewood.

The dead milkmen is supposed to allude to the Monty Python sketch about the seduced milkmen that end up trapped forever.


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## HighGain510 (Apr 11, 2008)

Bostjan you own two of the coolest guitars on this entire site IMHO.  I was blown away by the silky oak 7 and this 8 is even more awesome if that's possible! Very cool design (love the body shape and overall design Dan ) and materials man. Congrats!


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## Desecrated (Apr 11, 2008)

Congrats


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## Randy (Apr 11, 2008)

I've never heard seen a piezo bridge used as a synth out (don't know the appropriate terminology for the system) before. Is there any examples of this application, or how it works? I'm intrigued!


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## technomancer (Apr 11, 2008)

bostjan said:


> The Synth tracks every string. I was a little surprised that my Roland unit tracks the low B so loudly, no matter what sensitivity I set on it, so I had to crank the other strings up a couple notches. I never had a seven string with synth before.



Something has to be doubled somewhere then, those hexaphonic jacks only send six signals...

Dan, how'd you wire this badboy, I'm VERY curious


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## ibznorange (Apr 11, 2008)




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## Kotex (Apr 11, 2008)

Jesus thats beautiful.


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## Papa Shank (Apr 11, 2008)

Impressive, I especially like the proportions of the design. Now...just got another 6 or so weeks and I should be able to pay up the second half of my ziri v8.1 

EDIT- I want to add, I remember back when Dan was showing me his shape for the first 8 and I was kind of like "It looks nice but idk", thinking that it could be a bit boring in the flesh however if/when I go back for another it will be Dans shape because as it's been shown time and time again it is fookin' sexy.


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## Justin Bailey (Apr 11, 2008)

I assume he used ghost piezo saddles. oh and by the way, guitar is pure sex, haha, great job Dan, and good going bostjan


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## The Echthros (Apr 11, 2008)

congrats all around: a luthier who puts out kickass breath taking instruments time and time again and to the lucky owner, of course.

It probably goes without saying, but here it is anyways: HOW BOUT SOME SOUND CLIPS!


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## dpm (Apr 11, 2008)

bostjan said:


> Sorry for spec-ing it out incorrectly. I only measured once, instead of twice.
> 
> The Synth tracks every string. I was a little surprised that my Roland unit tracks the low B so loudly, no matter what sensitivity I set on it, so I had to crank the other strings up a couple notches. I never had a seven string with synth before.
> 
> Balsa, eh? Has anyone ever tried that before? You may discover a completely untapped tonewood.



No need to apologize! 

Good to hear it's tracking. I couldn't test it with your exact model synth so that was a concern.

Balsa is one of the standard core materials in carbon panels, not sure if it has seen use in this exact application. Carbon/balsa bracing is used in Greg Smallman's lattice bracing. I did once see a foam core electric on a technology show many years ago, but I have no idea what happened to it.

technomancer - 4 of the bridge piezos pass through a '4 into 2' adaptor block. It's all GraphTech Ghost gear with the mini molex plugs so Bostjan can swap which strings go to which output (the 4-2 block came from Mouser). As I sent it the low B and E are output 6, A and D are output 5.


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## budda (Apr 11, 2008)

very nice!


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## bostjan (Apr 11, 2008)

Luke..._I_ *am* your father!

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................


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## bostjan (Apr 11, 2008)

I'm loving the high A tuning. With the multiscale, regular string gauges seem to hold just fine at that tuning, and it opens up a lot more than the high G tuning I've been using on standard static scale seven strings.

I got to play with a little higher volume levels today. Definately gives a very tight, extremely articulate, aggressive tone. The same pickup with different amp settings can sound pretty lush. I'm going to have to figure out some way to get clips going, but it may take a while for me to get them up.


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## ohio_eric (Apr 11, 2008)

Actually carbom fiber and balsa could kick a lot of ass. I've seen telescope makers use carbon fiber coated foam to replace plywood and metal. Here's an example. My 28 Inch String Telescope 

So balsa and carbon fiber might be great.


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## bostjan (Apr 11, 2008)

That's an interesting telescope.

I've always been a sucker for carbon fiber...and stainless steel.

I've been playing with the tone filter in the Oni. Definately blows any standard high-pass tone knob out of the water.


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## Shannon (Apr 11, 2008)

Dan outdoes himself.....again! Sick guitar, guys!


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## TMM (Apr 11, 2008)

dpm said:


> Maybe he's just giddy with excitement



damn, Dan, that turned out really nice. I couldn't really see much of it before ;-), but I love it!

Is that one of the new Oni pickups?


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## angus (Apr 12, 2008)

I take it you used dry cloth?


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## darren (Apr 12, 2008)

I'm not sure how good balsa is going to sound. It seems to have all the resonance of a dry sponge.


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## daemon barbeque (Apr 12, 2008)

Great Guitar Dan!
And Congrats Bostjan!!!!That's an uber Instrument!

I dunno about Balsa...I made Lot's of Balsa models ,and the wood is somehow Spongy!!!I dunno if it's good enough for building guitars.That will be a great experiment!!!


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## vansinn (Apr 12, 2008)

darren said:


> I'm not sure how good balsa is going to sound. It seems to have all the resonance of a dry sponge.



Yup, and this could actually prove pretty interesting. Think of ye olde days, when so many believed a good tone was synonomous with a sturdy construction, heavy woods, heavy tuners as anchors to the strings.

Knowledge change.. so think of todays cavity guitars and all the discussions about how different woods/materials interact.

Using a wood like balza could simply result in an instrument with a greatly dispersed set of resonances.

Last year I felt like taking up violin again, for use in symphonic metal, and wanted a 5-string viola type. Remembering how it was to hold/support the violin, I thought about using a balza/carbon construction, both for body and neck.

Whatever, these guitars exibit beatyful craftwmanship. And those are some very interesting comments on details..


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## dpm (Apr 12, 2008)

Yeah, it was dry cloth, laminated surfboard style. I don't have the necessary gear for prepreg (like a big freezer to keep it in ), though I might try resin infusion next time if it's feasible.

I don't want to go too far into the balsa thing in this thread, but I don't believe it will be a problem as the carbon certainly plays a huge part in shaping the sound. If anything I suspect balsa will give a very neutral and versatile sound, judging by it's tap tone compared to the other woods I have here. You have to keep in mind this is composite technology, the essence of which is combining materials in complementary ways. In isolation carbon cloth lacks stiffness, combined with resin it becomes an incredibly strong and versatile material.


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## vansinn (Apr 12, 2008)

Dan, I sometimes think about the differences between the cold process I guess most (of us) can perform with carbon/resin/epoxy, and the industrial pressure/vacuum/heat molding methods, i.e. in terms of structural, and maybe sonic, capabilities.

Which resin did you use BTW?

WRT balza, I remember once reading that the first Lunar lander used balza as part of a shock absorber in the landing gear. Dunno about which other materials was used..


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## Uber Mega (Apr 12, 2008)

Even though the body shape doesn't do much for me, that looks like a masterpiece...I always liked the way Parker weren't scared to use unorthodox materials,and you've obviously gone leaps in an 8. That fretboard is killer!

Nice axe!


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## Drew (Apr 16, 2008)

Damn dude. Straight scale, chrome OFR 7, that could be absolute sex.


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## jammy (Apr 17, 2008)

I'm speechless.

Honestly, that is inspiring!


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## TaronKeim (Apr 17, 2008)

Incredible axe!

_TJK*


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## kristallin (Apr 19, 2008)

That is an amazing looking guitar, I'm really intrigued by the synth pickup over so many strings.


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## BrianCarroll (Apr 19, 2008)

Wow, Dan, it's stunning... and very impressive !

Please, tell us more about the Magnetic Kill Switch


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## Elysian (May 30, 2008)

i'm in love. dan do you hand cut your fret slots, or do you have a jig figured out?


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## dpm (May 31, 2008)

BrianCarroll said:


> Please, tell us more about the Magnetic Kill Switch


 It's just an on/off switch for the magnetic pickups, nothing exciting really.


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## dpm (May 31, 2008)

Elysian said:


> i'm in love. dan do you hand cut your fret slots, or do you have a jig figured out?


 
I have some tentative plans for jigged multiscale slots drawn up, but nothing firm that I want to follow up. I guess I hoping to jump straight to CNC'ing them, so right now I draw them up in CAD, then have that printed 1:1 and glue it directly on the board. I line up a fence with the plotted line and hand cut them. The paper gets planed off afterwards.

BTW, nice to see you back


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## Ishan (May 31, 2008)

dpm> you should check these videos, it's from a company doing carbon fibre classical instruments:



As you can see, they don't even use wood for support, I guess something as light as balsa could provide a base for any electric instrument shape. Yamaha is using a similar technic with their A.I.R. system but use maple front/back/side on balsa, it sounds really great.

Very nice guitar btw, I always loved the way Parker did guitars with all those composite materials


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## Elysian (May 31, 2008)

dpm said:


> I have some tentative plans for jigged multiscale slots drawn up, but nothing firm that I want to follow up. I guess I hoping to jump straight to CNC'ing them, so right now I draw them up in CAD, then have that printed 1:1 and glue it directly on the board. I line up a fence with the plotted line and hand cut them. The paper gets planed off afterwards.
> 
> BTW, nice to see you back



wow, that actually sounds like a good method, ensures you have the frets placed perfectly, i like.


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## 12stringblues (May 31, 2008)

dpm,
have you ever done longer scale guitars (27-30 inch scale)?


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## Desecrated (Jun 14, 2008)

Sorry for bumping this thread, but I was talking about this guitar with a friend and we were both kinda wondering how it sounds like, is their any chance of some soundclips being posted ?


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## El Caco (Jun 15, 2008)

Wow, your work is incredible Dan.

I have not really taken to the shape but it just looks like such a comfortable and incredibly well thought out instrument and the materials you use look great together.


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## HighGain510 (Jul 11, 2008)

Bumping this thread because that thing is an awesome-looking instrument and I too was curious if you had any time to put together some sound clips as I'd love to hear how she sounds!


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## msherman (Jul 11, 2008)

^
And for crying out loud......take some better pics of that thing, so we can see more carbon fiber goodness

Dan, you really need to get that website up


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## Durero (Jul 11, 2008)

msherman said:


> ^
> And for crying out loud......take some better pics of that thing, so we can see more carbon fiber goodness
> 
> Dan, you really need to get that website up



+1


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