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meet boris. i strung him up sunday night and lost my job monday morning.

my second from scratch... third if you count the martin kit i made. pretty minimal. i'm trying to follow a three wood rule.

sounds better than my first, not quite as good as my lowden... go figure.

zero fret is my friend.

top/inlay: sitka spruce
back/sides/neck: sapele
binding/bridge/fingerboard/headstock: bloodwood
finish: gel varnish over z-poxy (as described in robert o'brien's dvd)

thanks to everyone on this forum. i've learned a great deal reading this every day.

click here for more photos, an mp3 sample, and a complete build gallery

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yakmatter.com

Wow, super looking guitar! I really like the look of a bound sound-hole.

Sorry to hear about the job situation.

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53% of all statistics are made up on the spot
http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

Boris is a very cool guitar and sounds great too!

I like the minimalist look of Boris and I am a fan of the 3 wood rule too although it is NOT easy to stick to......

Cool Page tune and playing too.

Great looking guitar, and very nice sound!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

hey, im really into that guitar man. it looks great and i love the minimalist approach. what is the body shape?

sorry to hear about the job. i hope it wasnt too big a loss for you and that things work out well.

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sweat the small stuff.

Homerun Adam.
Enjoyed the clip too.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Boris looks and sounds great - well done.

How old is your Lowden? Do another comparison when Boris has a few more bars under his belt, you may be pleasantly surprised.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

thanks for the kind words fellas.

...not too worried about the job. i'll land on my feet.

the shape is uh... i made it up. somebody else will have to chime in as to what it might resemble.

my lowden is from the 90's... not from the chinese factory, but probably not made by the man himself. to be fair, they're not very similar guitars. the lowden is a jumbo 023 with a cedar top.

it's true what many of you have said... we over brace our first. after two attempts at 'parabolic' bracing (which is what lowden uses), i thought i'd try scalloped. in building this guitar, i set out to underbuild as much as possible. the back braces are very thin, the scallops go quite deep, and light shines through the top. we'll see if it holds together. so far, so good.

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yakmatter.com

Adam,

I have gone back and looked this guitar several times; because it is a very unique looking instrument. I noticed you weren't too keen on the headstock inlay; was that because of the techniques you used or the design?

From here I'd say I really like the stylised K; it looks very Japanese, and I have a real fondness for Japanese design; it's good to see it works on a guitar.

The body shape is unique too; you notice the slight Lowdenesque influence with the roundness of the shape.

With regards to the tone, you'll find it, as you learn to tune the top and find an optimum bracing formula.. Write detailled notes on the strengths & weaknesses of this guitar; it will pay dividends in future builds as you refer back and find solutions.

Me, I just whack myself over the head with a mallet and shout, "Don't do that AGAIN!!!"

A pared-down, bling free guitar that seems very visually striking in it's simplicity. Well done!

...unless that mistake is a hole.

i'm happy with the design of the logo (i didn't design it with a japanese influence in mind, but i can see that it is there). i'm just exceptionally bad at doing inlay. my choice of material wasn't terribly well suited for a novice. there must be 20 different breaks in the spruce... and bloodwood is as hard as rock. in the end, i'm pleased with the fit. but, it wasn't easy getting there.

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yakmatter.com

Really really well done and the playing that would be my ultimate aim that fingerstyle sort of thing must find a good teacher now i guess

John

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

Beautiful guitar just gorgeous! Steve of Sturgill Guitars sksguitar@hotmail.com or Texassizzle12 on Ebay!

Hey Adam,

I'm new to all this and new to the board. I'm in that period where you fiend on guitar info like a junky. Anyway...I really think this is a cool guitar. The minimalist vibe is really nice and really clean. And I love the wood on wood inlay. Which is something I've been thinking about as well for my first effort coming up here.

Okay, but my favorite part are the fret markers in the binding. That is super cool. Classy touch. And the guitar sounds great too.

Well done, all the best!
Brian