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http://www.darkmatterguitars.com/blog/

I've got the top on my fanned fretter. This week's job is binding.

Andrew,

Interesting stuff.

That's some seriously heavy bracing you've got on the top - was that how the braces were when you closed it up?

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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

Very nice!! is it for a 12 string?

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

It's a seven string, fanned fret, so longer scale on the bass meaning a bit more tension than normal.

Look at the second of the bracing photos, that's after shaping. The first ones just rough carving to remove a lot of wood. I did actually go a bit further than in the pictures, but it wasn't much.

My normal flex tests felt fine, so on she went...

[QUOTE=jammy] Look at the second of the bracing photos, that's after shaping.[/QUOTE]
Still looks a bit hefty, but if the flex is right the braces probably are, too.

That's going to be an interesting guitar. I really like the rosette, and your work on the back and sides looks smooth and clean. Nice work!

The only thing I can comment on from the pix is that it looks like when the bridge is in its correct position for intonation, the bass side will NOT sit on top of the X brace .. I dont think this is the greatest of ideas, and when I design a multiscale (f@%fret) bracing pattern, the bridge position determines where the X needs to go - ie, for me, the wings MUST sit on top of the X brace itself. My X patterns are not symmetrical for multiscales (they dont cross on the centreline of the top, but are close - how could they be since the bridge sits at such an angle).

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Cheers for the commments guys.
The X was capped after the photos were taken.

As for the bridge placement...
The bass side is JUST off the X, but should be supported sufficiently by the thicker than normal bridge plate. I used the same method on my baritone and it worked just fine

Shop pics to come...

Hey Jammy .. so where is the straight fret ??? with scales of 29 and 25.4, you have a 3.6 inch delta to take into account .. so if it is around 7, that woudl be a 2 inch delta at the bridge, and 1.6 at the nut - thats pretty crazy (to play that is)!!! I finished up an 8 string electric ala Charlie Hunter for a local client and the scales where 25.5 and 29.25, but with an electric its easy to have most of the offset at the bridge - after all you are just mounting the saddles into a solid chunk of wood ...

Oh BTW - did you take in to account the comp on the bottom strings when figuring out where the bridge will lie - I would say you need about 5mm for that low B ..

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Straight fret's going to be the 12th, I've had a look at the plans, and though it's a serious fan, I think I can manage! This guitar is somewhat of a technical exercise though.
Compensation has been taken into account, yeah. It's getting a pretty thick saddle too, allowing for adjustments at that stage as well