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I've always been fascinated by Prewar Martins and particularly pre-1934 models (That's the year they went to t-frets and steel reinforced necks) There's a certain majic about these guitars and if you've ever had the chance to play one, you'll know what I mean. I've had a chance to play several and to my ear the tone of these guitars is "off the charts" when compared to most other instruments. I don't know if it's possible to duplicate the sound of these guitars, but after playing a couple at Eric Schoenberg's shop a couple of years ago, I decided to give it a shot.

So, I did my research, talked to the few "experts" in the field, and began the build. It's quite a different animal than the guitars I've been building for the last few years. HIde glue, bar frets, and ebony neck reinforcement require a different skill set than I had acquired and at times the learning curve seemed rather steep. The construction of the neck in particular was quite a challenge and I really won't know if I got it right until a many months after I get it strung up, possibly longer. Anyway, I plodded on and a lot of fun doing it. Hopefully, it will turn out well and I'll be able to send it out on a road trip, but either way, it's been a great learning experience.

I've go it ready to go to the spray booth, so it won't be too long before I know how my little experiment went. Here's a few pics of the progress so far. Thanks for looking.

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Jimmy Caldwell
http://www.caldwellguitars.com

thats super cool. looks like sitka over EIR? i know next to nothing about these vintage instruments. what else can you clue us in to about the construction of the box that is different from the guitars you say youve been building? quite interesting. id love to hear how it sounds when you are done. good job buddy.

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sweat the small stuff.

Thats an absolute Beauty.
Always an inspiration for a new builder such as myself too see such a beautifully made intsrument.

Cheers
Ankit

Jimmy,

Did you get any info about baking the rosewood? I have heard that it was put through some sort of extreme heating process before use. That guitar looks great. What sort of arching systems did you use? And did you adjust for humidity in a different way than you do with your modern builds? It seems like a fascinating undertaking. If you don't mind, what were some of the learning curves associated with the neck? And which part of it do you feel will change the sound most?

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.