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I am about to start the Bling Bling display case guitar for my cousins music store, It will be quilted Sapele back and sides, I am thinking Snakewood for the binding. He wants bwb-green abalone-bwb purfling on top, back, sides, fretboard, peghead and rosette. The only thing really up in the air is what top to use. After seeing Lances LS Redwood I am leaning to Redwood to kep the redish amber hues going, however my cousin fell in love with the Sitka bearclaw on the OM I did to replace the Ovation I burned up.

Ok everyone pipe-up and give me your opinions. This one is going to be gaudy in my book but that is what he wants
MichaelP38590.4770138889

Master grade Adirondack red spruce

I was going to say the bearclaw, but then I realized that maybe, just maybe the bearclaw would add a little too much bling. I agree with Brad, either a master grade addy top, or a similar Carpathian top.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Sounds like over the top is the order of the day. Go with Bearclaw.
-C

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Freeborn Guitars
and home of BeauGuard©

I think that the combo of Green Abalone and a redwood top is gorgeous! Id vote for redwood. IF you were inlaying Red abalone I think a spruce top would be nice.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Red abalone actually looks better with redwood. Green ab and redwood looks like a Christmas guitar...

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Hi Michael,

If money is no object here, I would choose Adirondack Master grade with no color.
Or....Master grade and clean Engelman!!!
Good Luck!

Walter

Jingle bells!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Ok lance, Who did you get your redwood from?

That set came from Hank Mauel - about 2 years ago when he helped Alicia Carter clear out her late husbands stock.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Pretty set! nice silking

I think, in a show instrument like this, people are going to want to see cross-silk and the tightest, lightest grain lines possible. Bear-claw would be excellent if it fits those criteria.

I vote for redwood...gorgeous tops!

You can't ask Lance's opinion on what top to use...he will always say "redwood"! He doesn't build with anything else!

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

[QUOTE=MichaelP]... It will be quilted Sapele back and sides, I am thinking Snakewood for the binding. [/QUOTE]

"I am thinking" sounds like you might have an open mind on the binding. I would think about framing the figured wood, rather than figured wood next to figured wood. I would think about using either Ebony or a very dark set of some type of Rosewood bindings.

If this is the knock-your-eyes-out, ultra-3D, quilted Sapele, the stuff that is $600 at LMI, like Brian Hawkins (Beach Tonewood) was just selling, that would make Santa Claus sell Rudolph, then I would definitely not want to have figured binding compete with that.

Just a thought.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia