Official Luthiers Forum!

Thanks Guys

Colin you are making me blush , are the veneers you got from Anita .6mm or did you managed to get something thicker. I'm sure you will do that redwood justice.

Shane on alternate tonewoods, don't be afraid to try it I am all for a bit of experimentation (I love some of the guitars Steve K makes as he doesn't worry about if it is a tried and tested wood, just uses what he thinks will work), I used cedar of lebanon for neck stock recently and everyone told me it was too light, the guy who owns the guitar reckons it is the most stable guy he ever owned yesterday he was playing outside for 3 hours in the cold, said it didn't need tuning before, during or after.

Wade in terms of measurements it is 92mm at the bridge, 90mm at the tail, and 83mm at the front, Sorry for the metric.

Hey Russ,

Oh mercy, that's nice. I really like the back; but I can tell that the walnut you sent me was the really nice stuff!

I like everything about your guitar, but the rosette is what really does it for me.

As for using my name as a reference point, you are only chipping away at your own credibility... but I appreciate the comment!

Colin's remark about the amount of sheen / shine that is welcomed or expected in the UK has just about convinced me to relocate. The offer to come work in your shop still stands, Russ....

Merry Christmas,

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Russell,

Really nice work. I really like its understated look. How's the bass compared to the midrange of yours?

I just finished my first with the same body style and scale length as yours but with a cutaway, EIR b/s, WRC top, about your body depth at neck but 4 1/8" at tail. It is also strong in midrange but I feel the bass is a bit lacked and not warm. Or is it just the typical sound of this body style?

By the way, mine is taperd braced, not scalloped.   ParamesB38709.0584837963

Steve

The Walnut I sent was "top draw" I have three sets from the same board waiting for good homes, but then the Zebra Wood you sent over is also top stuff.

Of course there is room in my shop for you

Their is a little story behind the rosette I was looking in a small store at thier wood stocks and at bottom of a big pile of odd split bits of wood was the piece this came from, I asked the guy what he wanted for it, he said oh you can have that! I explained to him what it was, but he still insisted that I just take it


Parames

The Redwood has a reputation for its Mid Range or so I am told, I have not used much Redwood, but I think the extra weight on the base side of the bridge really helped to pull up the base, I would use this design against with redwood, not sure it would be great on my design of guitars with the European Spruce, which has great balance, as I think it might pull the bass to far forward.

Russell, the veneers are all .6, but I have used that before, I have a lot of .6 beech and I laminate it, which has the advantage of stabilising the sometimes weird burl before using it. I don't know what some of it is but their is some really outrageous stuff.

Steve, if there is no room at Russell's your welcome to build in my shop. It's not used during the day so we could hot bench it in shifts Oh, and bring Joshua with you, then we can have the complete plucked instrument shop, steel, classical and lutes. Penny is good cook.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Colin, Russ, thanks for the kind offers!
An embarrassment of riches to be sure.
But perhaps the best idea yet is just to skip the work and eat Penny's cooking?

What's on?

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

[QUOTE=Steve Kinnaird]
But perhaps the best idea yet is just to skip the work and eat Penny's cooking?

What's on?

Steve[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that's what I usually do Steve! Goose this year.

Colin

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Oh I want to work in your workshop

[QUOTE=Colin S] Shane, that high quality but understated style is very typical of UK luthiers, Russell here,and Dave are both great exponents of the type. Of all the luthiers I know only one has a power buffer in his shop, and many offer a sheen as their standard finish and a glossy buffed look only as an option which they'll try and put you off having. You'll rarely see any pearl or abalone either, I used it once and I thought it made the guitar look "cheap", so it was one I gave away.

One of my friends recently bought a guitar from a well known US custom builder and (nearly) the first thing he did was get the 0000 out and break the gloss finish, and boy did it look better, you could see the wood rather than the finish.

All a matter of what style you like and get used to seeing I guess.[/QUOTE]

What would you say is the most common finish then, Colin? Because for some models, a nice high gloss looks appropriate (like that blingy/inlaid thing I'm building for a friend with...odd tastes), but sometimes I long for something more organic looking. French polish that hasn't been rubbed out? Danish/TruOil? Or just matte laquer/rubbed back gloss laquer?

Mattia I only know a very few that use Nitro, it's very much a cottage industry and the Health & Safety Executives requirement for spraying nitro would be prohibitively expensive for most. FP is the most common finish among those that I know with hand rubbed oils in combination with shellac just like Russell's great guitar here (look back at some of Dave's postings as well). I use FP but don't buff it or glaze it too much leaving only a sort of shiny silk. You know the look old Sheraton that has been hand polished for 200 years.

I like your phrase "something more organic", that is precisely the idea, we build with organic materials, let them be true to themselves, nice phrase.

Colin

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

[QUOTE=Colin S]
I like your phrase "something more organic", that is precisely the idea, we build with organic materials, let them be true to themselves, nice phrase.

[/QUOTE]

Agreed!


Better phrase?

[QUOTE=Colin S] "Goose this year"

[/QUOTE]

Hope it's great!!!

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com