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Well it's over, I took my last test today and I can finally breathe again. The past two months have been incredibly busy for me, we had a death in the family, I'm testing to get back into College, I've had family issues that I've had to deal with. And this was supposed to be my time off!!!

On top of that I've had some CNC work for others that I have just not had the time to get too, after the funeral I decided to work on the house for my wife for Christmas this year. That way I could kill two birds with one stone by getting the work done and not having to go jewelry shopping this yet. One reason we bought this house was it had a 'Music' room, after a good deal of planning we settled on a plan, here are some pictures of how it turned out:



This is looking from the hallway into the room.



The back wall, I also have my pedal board and amp there as well...



Here is the fireplace, I built the mantel in one afternoon using MDF. It took longer to paint than it did to build


This is the couch where I sit and play now...



This is our baby grand piano, it's about 120years old and had been in my family for years. It still plays (not fully in tune mind you), my mom learned to play piano on it.



Here's a more detailed one of the fireplace, it turned out rather well actually, considering I spent maybe 5 minutes designing it

I put a humidifier in the room and keep it at about %45 all the time, it's so arrid and dry here that when I first pulled the guitars out they where showing ridges in the finish. After a couple of days at 45RH they look normal again, it should also help with the piano.

It's so nice to now have a place where I can play guitar without competing with the T.V. or the kids or anything else for that matter, I just go in, close the door and play. It also makes a great spot to show off my work and have people over to look at what I've built, it was a ton of effort but it worth every minute.

With this finally done, I'm back in the shop tomorrow to finish my CNC work and then I have a big package from LMI waiting so I can get started on my new guitars. I'm glad I took some time to reflect on things and spend time with the family other than just be a slave to the shop. I'm fully recharged and ready to roll...

Thanks for looking...

-Paul-

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-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Wow Paul! Very very cool room! One could just hide away in there and disapear for hours on end, eh?...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

No Hesh not all of them are mine, some I've had for a long long time, in the last year I've bought a couple for various reasons. I love to build but I'm not above buying something I really like, I'm jones'n for a Les Paul right now in fact... As I start building I'm going to need more room for everything though :)

That was the idea Alain, a place that I could just hide away and play music, it's something my mother did when I was growing up and I find it soothes my sould...

Cheers

-Paul-

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-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Paul.....good for you my friend. It's sooooooo important to take time for yourself, especially after all you've been through this past year+.

The room looks so inviting, very warm and soft. I love the piano. I sure like your history that you've shared with us, what a great sounding family your part of Paul.

Very cool.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

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Gotta like that room, Paul! Very inviting (you ARE sending out invitations, aren't you? ).

I'm looking forward to seeing some more Patriot guitars this coming year (bet you are, too!), so I'm glad to see you're ready to forge ahead!

Call me green with envy.

That is awesome Paul. One of my dreams is to be able to have a room like that.

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

The feeling of satisfaction, what a great feeling when our body, soul, spirit was committed to such a great project! Not a woodworker like you Paul but reading your story reminded me of how i felt when i built the deck for my trailer a couple of years ago, after it was stained and all, me and my wife would just sit there in the morning enjoying calm and coffee, waking up slowly to nature and me, feeling satisfied that i had built this. Must be a strong one in your case, it looks peaceful in there and warm like Hot chocolate, very nice!

My sympathy for the lost one Paul.

Serge

What a great looking room. The color's great.

Thanks for the kind comments guys, somehow finishing this room seemed to put a cap on all the stuff that's happened over the last couple of years. That and finishing my final test yesterday, I slept soundly last night for the first time in a long while. I'm going to start taking lessons again and see if I can get back some of the mobility in my hand so I can play again (I stopped playing because it would ache). I start the new job on monday and two of the guys on the new team are fans of my work and they both play so I'm hoping to have some people to play with again.

Carlton... Anytime you hit Idaho just call, the door is always open. We LOVE having people over, in fact my wife is inviting her whole team from work over for a Christmas get together.

I'm kind of debating right now about a new electric guitar, I have 3 options:

1. Save up and buy a Les-Paul, one of the nice Gibson ones. I could make a replica but if I get one I think I want the real thing, vintage if possible..

2. I could order the basic parts from Warmoth and do something like a PRS with my own headstock and my own setup.

3. I could just do the whole body and neck on the CNC here and call it totally my own, I'd have to get all the measurements for the cavity's somehow (maybe buy the templates from SM) and draw the whole thing up in Rhino. I'd also make the edges slimmed down like the Ibanez Edges (or do baffles in the body)...

Not sure yet what I want to do just yet, but if I do a PRS style though... It's going to have a Floyd Rose on it so I can dive bomb...

Man this is going to be fun, my wife does not even want to take me into Guitar Center anymore , but they have so many new tools and cool things to play with that I just can't help myself....

-Paul-

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-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

WOW! Love the color!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Nice, Paul! You pulled off the design and execution of that room perfectly. I feel at peace just looking at the pics.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Love everything about that room.... nicely done!

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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."

Most excellent, sir!

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

[QUOTE=Sprockett]I'm kind of debating right now about a new electric guitar, I have 3 options:[/QUOTE]
Paul, my friend, you forget about option #4--commission your dream guitar from a luthier. In fact, some of the guys here at the OLF have made some brilliant electrics. I bet if you do the math, you'll find a commission might cost less than a vintage (or vintage reissue) Les Paul. You might even be able to arrange a partial or complete trade, considering your own lutherie talents! Maybe even some CNC work in lieu of cash. Trust me, I know the appeal of the brand names with which I grew up. There are several that I covet, for sure! Sometimes there's just no substitute, but I thought this other option might be worth pondering, anyway.

There's an option #5, too--design and build your own from scratch. Take all the features and shapes you like from other designs, combine them into something pleasing and new, put your name on it and take orders after others see how cool it is!

BTW, thanks for the invitation!

It does look nice. Good work!

[QUOTE=Sprockett]
I'm kind of debating right now about a new electric guitar, I have 3 options:

1. Save up and buy a Les-Paul, one of the nice Gibson ones. I could make a replica but if I get one I think I want the real thing, vintage if possible..

2. I could order the basic parts from Warmoth and do something like a PRS with my own headstock and my own setup.

3. I could just do the whole body and neck on the CNC here and call it totally my own, I'd have to get all the measurements for the cavity's somehow (maybe buy the templates from SM) and draw the whole thing up in Rhino. I'd also make the edges slimmed down like the Ibanez Edges (or do baffles in the body)...
[/QUOTE]

Hey Paul,

Are you familiar with Melvyn Hiscock's book? I have a copy, and it is nicely done. The guitar on the cover, which is the one he shows how to build, is a PRS-sort-of-looking guitar, with its carved top and all. Might be worth giving something like this a go.

Great looking music room, btw. I'm envious. I have to share mine with three computers, a TV, and a rooster.

Best,

Michael


Best,

Michael

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