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Right. Hopefully I'll wrap up the 'almost done' projects in the next few weeks, get them ready for finishing (Strat, Tele, Baritone Acoustic), and be able to get a start on the acoustics I want to build next year. The one that's giving me the most of a 'headache' is the medium-jumbo I'm building for a friend of mine.


Basic specs are these: Walnut b/s, walnut/wenge/maple/wenge/walnut neck, ebony headplate+backstrap, WRC top, flamed maple binding all 'round with b/maple/b purfling. Right now I'm dithering about whether the appointments I've chosen will work well.

Here's the thing: being kind of 'country', the guitar he showed me when he said 'want one of those!' was a blingy, moustache-bridge J-200. Which doesn't really work for me, aesthetically. So I sort of took that, took a Ryan Grand Cathedral, reimagined the whole thing, and came up with the following shape, give or take (although this pic is a bit mor accurate):


Inlay's going to be in abalone (lighter stuff for the vine, darker for the leaves), white MOP and touches of black MOP on a black ebony board. Closeup inlay shot:

My idea was for most of the 'stem' to be green abalone, 'flowery' leafy bits white MOP, the stamens black MOP. Bridge has a mirrored design. Fine lines, thin pieces, not too heavy. Thoughts on the design, balance, material choice?

The guitar's also getting a wedged body, and a smallish sound port in the upper bass bout, which I was thinking of doing in a patterned cutout to 'mirror' some aspect of the inlay, but which I haven't designed yet.

Where things get a little tricky: rosette and top purfling. I'm pretty committed to maple all 'round for binding, and the guy and I are both quite enamoured of spalted maple rosettes. He's chosen this one (that's the WRC on top, btw, for colour):


I'm thinkin what I've got there is just a hair too wide, be better thinner, and will be framed by bwb purfling lines.

I guess what I'm really worried about is that, on balance, the top/rosette will be too 'woody', and the bridge+fingerboard+headstock will be too 'shelly'. I'm not crazy about abalone in 'wild' wood rosettes, and I'm worried even two thin rings (one inner, one outer) would be a bit overpowering. And for me, the stronger/wider rosette has a kind of visual impact I think works well with my body shapes. At the same time, I'm quite seriously considering (thin! but what's a good thickness?) abalone purfling around the top.

I'm trying to walk the fine line between making a fairly ornate, inalid acoustic, yet still maintaining a modicum of class in the overall design.

Comments and thoughts are much appreciated. I can't guarantee they'll affect much of anything, though ;-)

In my opinion with all the high figure wood, if I was intent on the vine inlay, instead of abalone I would do all of the vine in figured MOP. This is a personal opinion only, but so much supreme wood, I think the abalone will get lost. Mop will stand out and still be classic in aperarance.

Um...what 'all the high figured' wood? The Walnut's slightly figured, subtle, and the maple binding's going to be lightly flamed (same batch as this stuff), and there's the spalt. But that's about it, really. Ebony bridge, ebony headstock, ebony fingerboard.

The 'worry' I have about MOP is colour; I'm planning on using light-coloured abalone because I think the greenish hue will set off the warm, golden colours (WRC, Walnut) nicely. I fear Only Mother of Pearl may be too...white.

another thought would be gold MOP but it is hard to get in very large pieces but might contrat well with out being godie..I cant believe I am say this since I am by nature the king of over the top Who knows maybe I am mellowing with age.

Mattia--I agree with your concerns. I think if one is going "shelley" on the fingerboard, that really should be supported somewhere else on the guitar. Otherwise, the instrument begins to look--to my eye--like a patch work quilt. I like a bit of balance. So, given the preference for a woody rosette, I believe I'd balance it with inner and outer rings of abalone. That would tie things together a bit. And I agree, I'd make the ring a bit narrower. Let me see if I can dredge up a pic:



This is from an Applegate guitar. I think the same treatment would look good on your SJ.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Mattia - I'm a fan of fairly big rosettes as well. If you think its too "woody", why not break it up with a thin ring of ebony right in the center of it, creating the look of two rings. Or better yet, make it into two rings and rotate one so it looks like the spalt covers more of the cicle. Just some ideas, i'm not really sure how they fit with your vision of the guitar. That looks like a lot of planning out though!

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Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

I like the body shape. I would drop the pearl on the bridge, too much visual action in a small place. If you want pearl there, go with something simpler. Then you can position your bridge pins in an even distance from the saddle and get a better break angle for the middle strings too. I would make the rosette thinner and choose a darker wood to contrast the pearl. If you choose to go with pearl around the body, don't inlay any along the fretboard (like on a D-45), it will just take attention away from the overall shape.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I agree with your concerns. I would make the rosette smaller and probably give yourself some space between the soundhole and the I.D. of the rosette.

I might also look @ walnut as your rosette wood. I think that Spalted Maple might be too much visual sensation with all of that pearl.

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

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

The vine is non-negotiable, and I'll probably do the inlay on the fingerboard before I do most of the rest of the work.

Joshua: Hmm. Will play with photoshop to see if I can get a visual feel for the various options. Rosettes are difficult!

Arnt: The bridge inlay is the bit that's far from 'final'. I think I'm done with the basic fingerboard design. I'm thinking maybe a few small 'leaf' type inlays on the wings, and nothing else. I'm no big fan of abalone around the top, so that won't happen.

John: how thick are those abalone purflings around the inner circle/line?

Brock: I fear walnut will be too dark against the WRC as a rosette. The spalt maple at least somewhat mirrors the binding scheme, although it might (indeed) be a bit too much. I'll be making it smaller and leaving a bit more room between the ID and the soundhole (soundhole may be a touch smaller to compensate for the side sound port.

I'm also wondering if I should just 'end' the fingerboard inlay on the fingerboard, and not carry it over to the headstock.

[QUOTE=Mattia Valente]
I'm also wondering if I should just 'end' the fingerboard inlay on the fingerboard, and not carry it over to the headstock. [/QUOTE]

Mattia, carrying through the vine onto the headstock was one of the many things that I really liked about your layout. (What does your customer think?) I gather the truss rod adjustment access will be through the soundhole?

As far as the fretboard vine - it looks like it is a little to close to the edge for my taste.

I'll bet you've already got a lot of time invested in your plans! Nice work.   It's a great way to communicate with your customer. On one of my commissioned builds I've been back forth about 4 or 5 times with the client via emailed pictures -- sure saves a bunch of time and makes them feel very involved with the PLAN! Anthony Z38688.8801736111

Love the Maple Rosette, I think a simple B/W line each side would look class.