Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi all

Had thought about joining in on the board a while back, but though it might be better to wait until I actually started a guitar... and since then, a year and half later (hey first guitar, maybe two hours a week, borrowing a workshop from the respected classical builder David Whiteman) I have finally completed number one.

Not quite sure how to submit pics (?) and I have yet to take any of the completed guitar but the link below shows it post finish pre bridge attachment.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29991740@N05/

Spec is:
Top AAAAA German Spruce
Back and sides/headplate - Macassar ebony
bindings curly koa + simple maple purfling - body, fingerboard and headstock
Bracing standard X heavily scalloped, forward shifted
Nitrocellulose finish

shape - well .... I know its tricky to do something new, and I am sure others have been there before, but I took a standard OM, increased teh waist, and the lower bout a little and also its aboput 12 mm deeper that an OM. The tone surprized me - well defined trebles and mids with a VERY good bass response - not sure if this is the Macassar or the quality of the top which David helped me to choose!

In terms of tone alone, its up there, was very pleasently surprized - sort of like a very good OM with a better bass response. Cosmetically, there are construiction flaws which I hope to rectify in number two (same top but with claro walnut three piece back (flamed maple centre strip), flamed maple bindings etc)... one or two inconsistencies with the bindings, my fretting was not great and the rosette is poor, but I must admit, you dont half get a sense of pride on completion even with the inevitable flaws in no 1.

Hopefully be moving in the new year to a place wher my good lady has promised I can have a room as a home workshop - little does she know that this 'addiction' will cause me to be shut away most evenings

Hi Frank and welcome to the forum.

I must say, if that is your first guitar, I better place my order with you now! She's a real beauty and I like the shape.

I hear ya with this part time building in someone else's space thing....I started numbers 2 and 3 about this time last year, and they'll be several months to finish them.

My first has a bunch of little things too that I want to fix or do better, so I keep telling myself it was the first so I don't spend another a few months picking at it.

I post pictures with the free program photobucket. I just copy and paste the image code and it seems to work just fine.

I can 't wait to see the next one.

Welcome aboard!

Laurie

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Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

Many thanks for the kind words... you are right though no point in chnging this now, just enjoy playing it for a while and hope to improve on number 2. The only other slight departure I forgot to mention was some of the 'classical' techniques used, for example a larger 'slipper' shaped neck block - would be interested on thoughts on how this might impact on tone?

Hi Frank and welcome to the OLF!

Your first guitar looks great from here and it sounds like you have learned a great deal in the process. That is what it is all about.

It also sounds like you encountered the big surprise that we all go through too. And that is that a guitar that you build yourself may just sound as good or better than anything else that you have ever owned or purchased........

Congrats on #1 and again welcome to the OLF.

Yup! it was certainly a nice surprize! - I was just hoping not to feel embarrassed about the tone. It is up there as one of the best sounding I own - and my modest collection includes a couple wonderful guitars from Patrick James Eggle, Santa Cruz and Martin - I kinda feel wierd saying that, dont want to show off as there are plenty of cosmetic issues I need to address, but I guess it was the 15 odd hours smoothing those braces and all inside surfaces pays off! David Whiteman also made a good point in that I had teh advantage of decent tonewood since even many $5000+ wont use AAAAA or mastergrade tops - which considering they are available for $100 seems odd when you think about it.

But guitars Judging by some of the outstanding examples shown on here though I have a long way to go, but will enjoy the journey! Will try and post some 'finished' pics when I can.

Welcome to OLF, Frank! Nice job on the guitar!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Hi Frank great job on this guitar by the way. Welcome.

Img tags will allow you to link post those pictures.

Thanks for sharing your work, nice bridge there too.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Thanks again...but I notice that the address between your image tags is different from that of the site where these were posted.... maybe just me being dumb but how did you create that link from the site?

Welcome to the forum Frank, from a fellow UKer. That's a great acheivement for a first guitar.

Welcome aboard Frank,

Congratulaitons on your first build, it looks to be a beauty. The second will be a bit easier I'm sure... and the third.

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Peter

Hi frank,

welcome to the forum,

your guitar looks wonderfull welldone.
you are very lucky to have the input of a experinced luthier to help.

You are right about even expensive guitar not using high grade tops (by the way standard grading for guitar tops is A, AA, AAA and master grade you tend to the AAAAA plus grades with maple) most factory guitars and even alot of high end luthier built guitars are only AA.
but this does not mean they are not great tops, once you get past AA tops are mainly graded on aestetic values rather than physical.

for example most AA grade tops will be perfectly on quarter with minimal run out, straight grain,good medulary rays and betweeen 14-30 grain lines per inch (depending on species) but they will have color banding that some luthiers and players associate with low quality but has no effect whatsoever on sound.
An AAA Top will have all of the above but it be pretty much even in color with no (or very little banding).
a master grade top will be perfect in every respect and will have strong medulary rays, homogonous color,strong medulary rays, no run out whatsoever and will just be perfect.
i have seen very few of these type of top but really know them when you see them.

a A grade top can all sorts of problems including run out, off quarter, knot shadows etc etc but can still make a good guitar if used correctly.

All that said there are some quality,s of tops that can not be graded such as stiffness and tap tone (this tends to have some relation to density,stiffness and other factors) and these can be found in all the grades.
unfortunatly there is no regulated grading scheam in our trade so grading can cuase confusion at times as anyone can grade to there own standards.

Anyway your guitar is wonderfull keep up the good work and before long you will up there with best

Joel.

Cheers all for the kind words and advice - Joel, thanks for the Soundbaord tips. David Whiteman gave me access to his personal stock of Soundbaords and took me through those points. Due to the highend classicals he builds he only carries the very best, with such tight straight grain, which come from split billets. Lovely stuff, and he also tries to give them at least 10 years in his store before they are used... the top I chose was purchased in 1994.

You are right, I was very lucky to have such experience to lean on, a great guy and total craftsman - would not let me skimp on anything - and no symapthy for the blisters when scraping the back and sides.... the macassar being so dense the scrapers had to re burred every 2-3 minutes!

Will have to remember to check out your site when looking for the next sets!

Cheers

Frank

PS. Still not got round to taking daylight pics to post, but hopefully this weekend.

Welcome to the forum or luthiers fix!!
We all get good advise here and help each other !

That guitar looks great!
The way you described it's tone means that's fine also!

We all make mistakes-unless every bit of your guitar is made with a CNC machine & assembled by robots!!!

make another as soon as you can and keep records of wood thickness,bracing demensions & such!

Mike

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Mike Collins

And we have a whole other thread on that subject!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

OK finally some pics which seem to have distorted a bit but should give an indication.