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Hi Guys,
Here are some pictures of the last guitar I finished a couple of months ago.
The specs are:Sitka top,quilted maple back and sides,curly hard maple neck,20 year old Honduran rosewood pickguard,tailpiece,heelcap,bridge and neck laminates,ebony headplates and fretboard, 8 line purfling with curly maple binding,Schaller machines w/ebony buttons,Kent Armstrong pickup and nitro finish.



Brad Goodman38472.8807407407

Brad that is one beautiful guitar. Very classy

very nice!

Brad, that's really nice. I like the maple on maple.
How does it sound?

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Steve, Like most of the guitars i have buit on commission I had it strung up in my shop for 2 weeks before shipping it off so what it sounded like is just a fading memory,but as I remember it had a nice "woody" tone and was quite loud as most of my guitars are.

More importantly it's new owner loves the way it sounds.

Wow!    Gorgous guitar Brad,

I wanna build an arch top!

DANG!

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Brad
Nice design on the tailpiece also. Is that a hinged or Sacconi style?
Nelson

Wow ! That's pretty. Really nice proportions, and great choices all around.

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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."

Brad,

That is a real beauty. The maple neck is gorgeous and a great match with the body. Fantastic work. Did you learn archtop building from someone, or on your own through trial and error?

Jeff

Brad, it looks great! Just curious, do you use the flat Guild style heel on all of your guitars?

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Maple on maple..hmmm...i like. might have to try that one day. great work brad. its always nice for beginners, like me, to see stuff like this. gives me hope and makes me think the pile of scrap wood in the corner may not have died in vain

Real pretty Brad! I too like the maple on maple. Everything works. How about some more closeups?

John

Thanks for the nice words!
Nelson, The tailpiece design is neither sacconi type or hinged.What I do is bend a piece of brass(lacquered)at almost a right angle and screw it to the morticed tailpiece. I actually use machine screws and tap the ebony. It's a lot of work but I'm happy with it.

Jeff,I am a certified graduate of the school of hard knocks! It's been trial and A LOT of error!! When I first got into archtop building I relied heavilly on Bob Bennedettos book,which I feel is one of the best recources around (for any type of guitar building).

Don,I have carved this style of heel on my archtops for the last bunch but have done the more rounded type as well. I'm still not sure which one I like best.

Frank, Nothing is in vain. I have always believed that you learn more from your mistakes than your successes.
Just for the record my first 4 guitars collapsed!

Beautiful!! I don’t think I could make one that good.

[QUOTE=Brad Goodman]
Frank, Nothing is in vain. I have always believed that you learn more from your mistakes than your successes.
Just for the record my first 4 guitars collapsed!

[/QUOTE]

Were the plates too thin? I've heard that this is the most common mistake for beginners, and I believe it. I built a mandolin, and both the top and the back were too thin. Must have been a shock for you anyway, I admire your perserverance after early experiences like that.

Brad, Thats a really nice guitar. Maple on maple with a plain fret board, Class.

Eric, The ones that collapsed ( almost thirty years ago) were flattops,among other things the plates were too thin.
John, I found a few more pictures: