Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello everyone. I have been lurking for a long time and really enjoy this site. I just bought some really nice quilted sapele from Brian at Beach Tonewood. Really nice wood and really nice guy to deal with.

My question has to do with the sound of the sapele. My first sapele L-00 is about half finished so I don't know yet what the sound will be like. I really like mahogany guitars and I am hoping that I'll get that same sound, but with an exotic looking grain. Based on the one you folks have played/built, how close is it to Hond. mahogany?

I'm almost in the same boat James. I built one that will be back from
finish soon. It is a new model for me. A 12 fret parlor 14" at the lower
bout, but OM depth 25.5 scale that I'm calling the "Baby J". It is LS
Redwood/Crazy quilt sapele.
From working it I got the impression of a slightly glassier Mahogany, but
you just never know till it is done. I've played lots of Taylors with sapele,
and they sounded fine. Hard to say with Taylors though as most of them
sound very similar I think.

Anyway I helped you zero, but I'll know what my sapele sounds like in a
couple weeks!

Also built a Adirondack topped soprano uke from the same sapele...that
should be way cool...John Mayes38563.0232060185

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

James,

Welcome to the forum. Don't be a stranger! After looking at your website, I think you have a lot to add here. That Brazilian slope D you are working on is awesome! Did you just wing the body shape and bracing, or did you use an established design? I want to learn how to sunburst a finish like that. Just beautiful.

John Mayes,

Pictues my man, pictures! Let's see that "Baby J"!

Jeff

as you wish... these are rough pics obviously....

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Jeff,
Thanks for the kind words. That brazilian slope D is already finished. The pictures of the sunburst were taken by the owner. The in-progress pictures were the ones I kept as a journal for the owner, at his request. I put them on my website so that he could keep up with my progress.

John,
It is amazing how much your sapele looks like mine. Great looking guitar. I am bracing the back on mine as we speak. I am going with a 24 3/4" scale and adirondack top, and standard depth body. I'm still trying to decide what to use for binding. Probably curly maple.

James

John, are those purfs on the back w/b/w? The pics are a little fuzzy....

That is sure a good looking combination.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Jeff,
I forgot to answer your question about the design. The body shape and the bracing is based on the specs of an old advanced jumbo made by Gibson in the 30's.

James

no the are b/w/b although you can really only see the w/b because the
black blends in with the ebony bindings.. I'll get good pics when it gets
back from finish. The purfling on the headstock and neck though are a
10/10/10 maple/black/maple

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

You have a really good eye for the appointments. I really like this look.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

For those of you that don't, didn't know,.... James Burkett make some of the most beautiful "bursts" I ever seen.

Thanks brock. Your too kind.

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

I've had the same question. Sapele is so beautiful which is obvious from the pictures!! John What a great combo of wood and binding. I use the ebony maple combo alot as well. It works good with most anything. I have a question about your headstock I will ask in a different thread.

How was the sapele to bend? John Kinnaird has a Sapele Dread that he is finishing up and it is out of sight! I want to try Sapele myself so I hope the intel is good.

Tim, thanks for the kind words. I love a good burst.

Barry,
The set that I just bent for an L-00 shape was very easy to bend. Bruce Sexaur had posted in another forum that it was prone to compression marks in the tight areas. Therefore, I went slow in the waist and had no problems. It seems very brittle when dry, but gets pretty limp when misted with water. Good luck.

I just finished a redwood/sapele guitar today and the sound is just like what I've gotten from mahogany guitars. It certainly felt just like mahogany while I was working with it.

James, was your wood figured?Barry Dudley38565.4072453704

Hi James,
Good to see you on the forum. I have seen a couple of your guitars that Bert Siegal has had the past year or so. Killer guitars and I love the sunbursts. You will have to explain the "hair dryer" finish on the guitar Bert has now .

Barry,
Yes, my wood was very figured. It looks a lot like John wood pictured above.

Jimmy,
I'm glad you liked the guitars. I assume that's a typo and you meant Bert Stegall?? There's a long story behind the hair dryer finish. That's my experimental model that I'm using to get the sound and playability where I want it on that new (for me) body shape. I've been passing it around to some of my friends and letting them give it a good work out. It is never going to be sold, so I was playing around with the finish. I restore a lot of vintage Gibsons, and I wanted to see what that finish would do if I put 30 or 40 years of aging on it in a short period. That's necessary sometimes to match up with an old finish. The finish checked up in a rather extreme way. Now the people that play it don't worry too much a bout being careful.

Speaking of typos, make that Jimmie,    Sorry!

Yes James, I did mean Stegall. I wasn't quite sure how to spell his last name. It's always interesting to see what Bert brings to the jam on Sat. This week he had your "hair dryer special" and an old Gibson. I don't remember the year and I think it was an L-00 but I'm not sure. Great sounding guitar for a small body.I've had Bert play a couple of my pathetic attempts. He had some favorable comments, and I got some good feedback. I realize sound is a very subjective matter, but I respect his opinion on guitars,. Good to see you on the forum.Jimmie D38565.9395949074