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I was fascinated by Shane's post on harvesting Lutz so in the New Year I bought 2 tops from him. I'm a die-hard Euro spruce man but this wood excited me as it looked and felt very much like Euro spruce, had very good cross grain stifness and rang like a bell. I have finally got round to making instruments with them and here's the first.

It's my Daithi model which is somewhere between an OM and SJ I suppose. This is for a very talented young guitarist - Joe Bardwell - who plays amazing Irish rhythm guitar. His friend is an amazing young bhodran player and he has leart incredible right hand technique from him. I took the guitar for him to my annual week at Burwell and his technique is so hard that he was leaving pick marks under strings 3-5!! I have had to put on a clear pickguard covering all of the strings and not just the first 2 as I usually do. The guitar sounds amazing and the Lutz is a pretty close ringer for Euro spruce. It doesn't have quite the same initial complexity of tone as euro but it's pretty darn close and I will be interested to see how it opens up. Kudos to Shane - your wood is top notch

I'm hoping to do some recording of Joe's playing on the guitar when he picks it up next week.

This guitar was my first venture into a pinned bridge (slotted bridge)and gave me freedom to invent a new shape. I also decided I would have a new headstock shape for my pinless models.

OK enough blab - here are the specs: Lutz/Cuban Mahogany with culy koa bindings. Neck is a 5 piece laminate of mahogany, sycamore, Old Rio Rosewood with ebony headstock veneer front and back. Ebony fingerboard bound with curly Koa. Macassar ebony bridge with Koa bridgepins. 655mm scale length. Gotoh tuners with ebony buttons.H and rubbed pre-catalysed lacquer on top, back, sides and headstock veneer; Tru-oil on neck.

And some photos:

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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

Dave

Class as always, I love the contrasting heel.RussellR38956.5740856482

Whoa...that rules. Beautiful.

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Wow, very nice!

I like the split saddle.

How do you find the popper position and angle for the 2 split parts?

Dave just another stunning guitar, Cuban/lutz now I'm relly interested in how that sounds. Has it got your usual CF buttress braces? Like you I'm a die hard Euro spruce man but I do have one of Shanes Lutz tops (and of course some Cuban) and would love to hear your impression of the top.

Waht style is the bracing? I'm assuming it "parabolic" with an X back brace. Details please especially your sound impression compared to Euro.

What with you and Russell, I really feel under pressure now!

Colin

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

Hesh

It is Macassar Ebony the Pins are Koa.

Dave
I like the bridge design, just curious why did you go for a pinned bridge on this one ?
RussellR38956.6111689815

Thanks for the kind comments.

Alain - I have worked out the different angles through building all my guitars to date to give me spot on intonation along the centre of each saddle and use different "wedges" on the slotting jig I use depending on the model. On this guitar with 655mm scale length, the string lengths from nut to centre of saddle measure 657mm, 659mm, 657mm, 659mm, 661mm and 662mm respectively. This works well for dropped tunings such as DADGAD and also with the 6th string dropped down to C, using lights (0.012"-0.053")


Hesh- Russell answered one - they are the Stew Mac Koa pins. My stock description for Cuban is that it's a mahogany with aspirations to be a Rosewood. You get all the nice things about mahogany - good string separation and clarity etc, but it has a lot of Rosewood reverb as well. Close your eyes and you could be listening to a Rosewood guitar.

Colin,

You'll love working with the Lutz. It's not as fussy and easily dented as Euro but in a lot of respects you feel you are using Euro. Great sound as well. My initial impressions are about 95% euro on first stringing. Euro has slightly more complexity and subleties, but the Lutz works fabulously with Cuban. It works even more fabulously on the guitar-cittern I have finished and will post about later this week. I will be doing recording with both and will post sound samlples. Yes - parabolic on both top and back with free floating neck and cf buttress braces (the guitar cittern also has an adjustable neck). I really like the X braced backs as they get the back really working with the top in a positive way. You can feel it in your stomach as you play. I didn't take too many pics of this one but here's the top and back bracing:


Russell,

The guitar cittern has 10 strings and 230lb tension and I didn't like to trust a pinless bridge. So I did a pinned with 5 holes - 2 strings per hole. I liked the bridge shape and thought it was about time I tried one on a 6 string so did this one.

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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

Dave thanks for that info, guess I've got to get some more lutz. Look forward to hearing it.

Colin

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

Very cool Dave! It looks stunning, and I'm sure it sounds awesome as well!

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Hi Dave!

        Another one finished ! It's got me @#$%^d how some of you guys can do these so quickly. I'll bet your bracing has a few people scratching their head.

I too , am a big fan of Mahogany . Such a great sound.

Dave White with a pinned bridge ! Wow! Well done mate . I'll be interested to hear how it sounds

Kind regards, Craig Lawrence

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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Beautiful guitar. Very nice hog!!!!

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

looks like a doubled up.....Shane Neifer38957.1012037037

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Canada

Hey Dave,

That is a WONDERFUL guitar! I love the shape, it really does suggest a great celtic gig! I am glad the Lutz is working well for you and thanks for your kind words. Seeing your guitars just makes me work harder on getting my little studio done so I can really get at making some of my own!

Thanks again....Awesome work!

ShaneShane Neifer38957.1020023148

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Canada

Way to go Dave, awesome guitar as usual!!

I'm looking forward for the soundclips as well!

Serge

I like the simple elegance of these guitars from across the pond. Nice one, Dave

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Dave-beautiful guitar!
I like the non-Martin lower bout bracing!It's time for makers to figure out why there is the martin buldge behind the bridge !
Also a straight across brace at the back of the bridge helps with top responce to input!It moves up & down with out the looseness of the martin design because of the stiff little brace behind the string -plate holding the top stiff in that area!
Lutz Is King!! Thanks Shane !!
I'll send some pics of a Lutz top as soon as I figure out how to!
Mike Collins

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Mike Collins

David, another beauty. Always fun to see someone with an instantly recognizeable style, and being able to follow how they develop that style.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin