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My 000 12 fretter has been (mostly) finished for a few days. Been trying to find time to take some (bad) pics. Still have some final clean up to do but the set-up is done and the major work is complete.

Always need to thank everyone here as it just wouldn't be the same without you guys and gals and really could not be done without you all.

Some specs
Deep body, 4.5" at the tail, 000 12 fretter.
Only 15 frets - don't use the others.
Top: Redwood from LMI
Back and Sides: Bloodwood from LMI
Neck: Mahogany slot head from StewMac dyed with custom bloodwood dye made from pieces of bloodwood soaked in alcohol.
Fretboard: Bloodwood from LMI
Bridge: Bloodwood from LMI
Tuners: WAVERLYS!! Yum!!
Scale: 25.4
Saddle: Bone
Nut: Bone
Pins: Bone with abalone inlay.
Finish: CrystaLac Super Premium Gloss Waterborne

I am VERY happy with the results. The pictures do not do the bloodwood redwood combo justice. And the CrystaLac was a great finish. I'd use it again.

The greatest part of the whole adventure is how nice it sounds. I am not exposed to a lot of great guitars so my sense of tone is limited but I cannot stop playing it. My fingers are killing me.

It's a deep body 000 so it loses a bit of the punch that a shallow body might have but the overal tone is very very nice. The trebles have the chimey sort of tone that I have never really heard in person. Crisp and responsive and will hold up fairly well to strumming though it is a fingerstyle guitar in purpose and practice.

I have a feeling there are many who would love a precise description of the bloodwood and how it contributes to the tone but I simply am not that great discerning tone and which woods contribute what to what. Sweet is a word I would use to describe the tone and am really surprised how well the combination works. I'll post an MP3 if I can get over my bad playing and recording skills.

A word about the sound port - It MAKES this guitar. I think the deep body may have something to do with the overall tone of the guitar without the port but when closed up the sounds seems to 'stay in the box' and literally sounds like it is trapped. The port opens the trebles and projects the sound, from both the players and listening position. An amazing difference. May again be a function of the deep body but without it it is a different and lesser guitar.









You can see here how I solved the problem of getting those last frets on the fretboard extension. I simply never play that high up the neck so I left the last few frets off. Can't decide if I want to inlay something there or not.



Head stock with Waverlys. I used the same sound port design to do my first abalam inlay and the Waverlys were a very hard pill to swallow after the expense of the guitar but THEY RULE as most of you know. They add such a nice custom touch.







One of the coolest and most challenging parts was dying the neck. I bought some red and brown dye from LMI and was going to try and mix up a great red/brown to try and match the bloodwood. But bloodwood when soaked in water or alcohol gives up its color pretty readily so I soaked some cut up scraps in alcohol for a few days and used the resulting dye to dye the mahogany neck.

It worked unreal and looks great in person BUT having a dyed neck makes it SO hard to sand and shape and I also laminated the bottom of the fretboard with w/b/w which couldn't be dyed so it had to be protected and glued on after the dying process - WHEW - that's a whole 'nother story and if you decide to dye, think it through because it is a hell of a lot of work if you don't stage things correctly - I know.








And finally the bracing that I used. I cannot claim that this bracing system sounds a certain way or adds a certain tone but it sounds killer.

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Thank You and Best To All

Larry, she looks absolutely fantastic and I'm sure that it sounds just as beautiful.

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Aoibeann

Thanks Lillian.

I forgot to mention that I used the
Tim KcKnight Fretting Tutorial to set up the neck and frets and it made ALL the difference in playability right out of the gate. Many thanks for the effort Tim.

Another small note - I used LMI's new gold fret wire which looks killer against the red woods.

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Thank You and Best To All

Larry,

Bloodwood, sweat and tears . . . of joy. That looks a fabulous guitar and well worth the trials and tribulations you describe. Your face must be sore from smiling as much as your fingers are from playing.

It all fits together really nicely from a style and design prospective and I like the echo of the soundport in the headstock logo. Soundports are fabulous aren't they and I think they work on all sizes of guitar. The closest you come for a win-win for builder, player and listener just by drilling a small hole.

The bracing looks cool - the lower bout bracing looks similar to what I have seen Rick Turner describe he uses with the two fan frets behind the bridge.

But dude - stopping a the 15th Haven't you ever had the pleasure of playing Capo 10 You should inlay that bit of the fretboard with "The luck stops here"

Kudos

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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

Larry, you are way too modest imho. That instrument is a stunner! I like the whole package, especially the fb extension, which begs for an inlay! The finish is superbe and the woods chosen make for a unified theme. Cheers. Nice photos too!

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

Larry.....What a Beaut!
Oh if I could build like that!
She is wonderful in everyway.
That bloodwood is starting to grow on me lately. I really love the 12 fret.

Good luck and keep building brother Brother.
God Bless!

walter

Wow, Larry!
That is gorgeous!
Hey, red stands for "rich", doesn`t it?
Coe

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,

Wow! You have to be pretty happy with that. It looks like it would sound as
beautiful as it looks. Would you want to put sound ports on most of your
guitars now? I've never tried a guitar with one but it sounds like you really
like it.

Good Show!

WOW!
Thats a REAL nice looking mix with the bloodwood. All the work you put
into that neck really makes it!

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Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here

Very nice, Larry!
I think you should send some of those pics to LMI...
they might want to include those on their website.
Perhaps even make the next catalogue?

Clever dyeing technique on the neck, and it worked beautifully.

Mmmm-mmmm!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thanks to every one for the kind words of encouragement!!

[QUOTE=DannyV] It looks like it would sound as
beautiful as it looks. Would you want to put sound ports on most of your guitars now? I've never tried a guitar with one but it sounds like you really like it.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Danny,

I put a sound port in my second Martin Jumbo kit (this is my third guitar) and the difference was noticeable but not as dramatic as this guitar. Everyone including those who do not play guitar can tell the difference.

There's a science that perhaps Alan Carruth or another expert might understand concerning these matters. Something about air mass and resonant frequencies and the like. So far I don't see a down side. I wonder if the smaller bodies might have a larger effect? Dunno, again nothing to lose.

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Larry there are a lot of things about this guitar that I really like.

First off you did not go down the same old path that we often see here and your design and execution in very unique.

Second is the selection of your materials which I agree all worked very well together.

Third is the finish, I would not have tried this stuff but your results have me wondering favorably. Nicely done too!

And to take it over the top you used parabolic braces in a unique and seemingly good looking patern.

All in all a superb guitar, very cool setting for the photo shoot, and your craftsmanship and artistry tell me that you are on your way to being a top builder![/QUOTE]

Thanks Hesh,

What began as a very risky design endeavor turned out to be an exercise in much patience and creativity that I would not trade - no matter the results. It's not easy for me to try something that's been done a million times, and yet as we all know it has all been done in luthiery.

So it's nice to have something come out as visualized and be a sonic success as well.

Shot the pics in my front yard BTW.

[QUOTE=Steve Kinnaird] Very nice, Larry!
I think you should send some of those pics to LMI...
they might want to include those on their website.
Perhaps even make the next catalogue?

Clever dyeing technique on the neck, and it worked beautifully.

Steve[/QUOTE]

Thanks Steve,

Their web site is the place I got the idea for a bloodwood guitar so perhaps it would be a favor returned, though I won't pretend they will consider without hesitation.

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Thank You and Best To All

This is one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen. I am not a fan of 12 fretters, but this guitar has captured my heart!!

Right from the bracing to the design, to the finish, this guitar contains the much sought after grace and elegance that is not often found in a third guitar.

I really like the way you have brought out the depths of the grain.

A VERY well done, sir!!!!!

What, you couldn't get red Waverlys?    Nice looking guitar, Larry. Obviously, a lot of thought went into this one, and it paid off.

It all gives a new meaning to "Red Menace!"

Larry, that's a great looking guitar. I love it. I wish I could play it!

I think it's great that you just left off the upper frets. Who needs 'em? That's a great, no-nonsense solution, and I think it looks very handsome as well. If it were me, I definitely would not add an inlay there. It would almost certainly be a distraction from the understated elegance of the instrument as is.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Thanks for the kind words.

[QUOTE=Todd Rose] If it were me, I definitely would not add an inlay there. It would almost certainly be a distraction from the understated elegance of the instrument as is.[/QUOTE]

Too late Todd. Just before gluing the fretboard on yesterday I put in a single 1/4" round fret marker. Unfortunately I put in so far off center (if it can happen it will eh?) it is painful to look at. So now I'll have the fun of inlaying it (probably with a simple larger circle) with the neck attached. Now I really get what goes into building a custom guitar, at least for us that are bit ignorant in the actual process.

It seems that it is just one error repaired, after another, and another, and somehow it works out.

Again thanks everyone for the encouragement.

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Thank You and Best To All

That is a very beautiful guitar Larry! I really like how your rosette looks with the redwood top. It's all just Gorgeous ! Great job on the neck too.Hard to believe it's only your third guitar! WoW!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

[QUOTE=LarryH]

It seems that it is just one error repaired, after another, and another, and somehow it works out.

[/QUOTE]

That be right!!!!!

I've got an older neighbor who wears a hearing aid (or not depending on if he wants to hear you or not) that came over to see and listen to the guitar. He had it in, and turned on today.

I'm strumming a couple of chords and he says, "Hey does that there hole (the sound port) do anything?"

I strum the guitar with my hand covering it. Then again with it off.

He says from across the room, "It lets the sound out."

Hmmmm....

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Thank You and Best To All

Very Pretty guitar Larry. Very daring use of materials and it worked well. Looks like you do not have any waterborn blues.

John

Congrats, Larry...It's stunning! And after all of the harrowing escapes, it's none the less for wear. Sometimes the babies that survive a rough childbirth grow up to be the best performers. This one sure looks destined for greatness.

Well done and a true testament for patience and persistence!

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

This is a gorgeous guitar. The whole look is just spot on. I like the look of the bare fretboard past the 15th fret - it's got a ukelele vibe there.

I have a bloodwood set and always wanted to know what it looked like under a finish - it's attractive stuff. I don't know what else to say other than keep building them because you're definitely doing it right.

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

Really turned out quite beautiful! Congratulations

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Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

http://www.yardsaleunderwear.com
http://www.facebook.com/christopher.cordle