Official Luthiers Forum!

As usual, Gary, your guitars show thoughtfulness in every detail. They are everything that everyone has said. I love the Rodriguez guitar. Got to hear Pepe Romero play his. Do you work from plans?

I'm curious about the elevated strip on your headplate. Is it only for design or does have another function? Once again the rosettes are bold and beautiful.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

no words...



congrats.. 

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everything you know is wrong

Sensational instruments Gary  and I'm not really that fond of classicals. I'd love to hear a sound clip or two if it's possible.

Craig.

A big thank you for all the enormously kind words. I am overwhelmed by the generosity. I will create a new post soon describing my construction methods for the elevated fingerboard and V-grafted head. Here are answers to the other questions raised:

Arnt: I enjoyed working with the ziricote. Prior to completing the box, I took no special precautions to prevent cracking, and encountered no problems. These sets from Hibdon, however, were well-quartered. Bending went very easily. When the box was finished, I pore filled with CA and sanded all the way back to the wood.

Udi: Yes, the head is a tip of the hat to Friederich. I will post a thread on construction methods soon.

Howard: My real name is Garrett (Gary) Lee.

Steve: Well, I don’t know when the next handcrafted anniversary gift will be, but there has been some hinting about a wish for a Celtic harp!

Mike: The central DNA double helix motif is my tribute to biochemistry, my field of training. It is composed of two tiles, one for the front of the helix and another for the back. The tiles are cut from logs made from stacked veneers and plates of ebony (for the larger black areas). The front pleat is cut with a chisel to the shape of a parallelogram, while the back pleat is laboriously cut in the oblique shape shown in the first photo below. I always strive for side grain on the faces for maximum sparkle. The white maple diamonds within the red padauk rectangles are tiles from logs made from maple sticks (approximately square in cross-section) that are encased in padauk sticks. The assembly is turned 45 degrees to transform the square into a diamond, and then shaped into a rectangular log on a belt sander. The second photo shows the diamonds being readied for inlay into an end graft.



Colin and Craig: Sound-wise, I really like them, which I did a meager job of describing in words in the original post. Sorry, I don’t have a way to record them yet, but hopefully one of these days.

Ken: The design is inspired by Tom Blackshear’s drawing of the ’76 Miguel Rodriguez, Jr. The soundboard bracing pattern is essentially that, but the plantilla and body depth are slightly smaller, and the headblock design is very different to facilitate the elevated fingerboard (more on that coming in a new thread). The relief carving on the head is purely aesthetic.

Spectacular rosette design.  Great color and originality.  Hard work too!   Great job!   

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Beautiful and Happy Anniversary!

WOW !!! Truly inspiring!!

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Gary:
Thank you for showing your tech. on the rose and butt strip!!!
Those guitars are beautiful!!
Your willness to share your knowledge is priceless!
(no Commercial)

I hope you keep making guitars!!
How is your neck joined to the body?

Mike

www.collinsguitars.com

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Mike Collins

Gary - You continue to provide the aesthetic standard for classical guitars here. Those are really beautiful.

I look forward to a tutorial on elevated fingerboards

I was wondering if your wife is comfortable getting wrapped around the Rodriguez. All of my completed classicals so far are Rodriguez copies, and I've had any number of people tell me that they are just too big.   What's the take on that in your neck of the woods?

Jim

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Jim,

   When I have someone try out one of my guitars, I generally don't tell them anything about it until they have played it for at least 5 minutes. None has commented on the size being uncomfortable yet. I designed my box to be smaller than that in the Blackshear plan: Max body depth 100 mm vs. 107, lower bout 366 mm vs. 371, upper bout 280 mm vs. 282. These more petite dimensions, plus a slightly narrower waist, put at least the plantilla in the ballpark of Friederich, Bouchet, Gilbert, or Ruck, to name a few.

As you are aware, body depth is one of the big factors that determines comfort, and the next one I make will probably be 96-98 mm. I also found that the fallaway in the upper bout due to the elevated fingerboard design gives the perception of a smaller, more comfortable box.

My wife has not complained about the size. There is however, one caveat. Before I started construction, I asked her if she would prefer a smaller, Granada-style instrument. She lovingly said that she wanted hers to match mine. I guess she pretty much waived her right to complain at that point.

Beautiful guitars Gary--seasoned professional work.

[QUOTE=Gary L]I guess she pretty much waived her right to complain at that point.[/QUOTE]

Never heard a wife do that before!!!

BEAUTIFUL guitars. great job!

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My soundclick xx luthier blog xx luthier soundclick

Thanks Gary.

I was going to ask how the decrease in body depth affected the sound, but it sounds like it is indeed a somewhat smaller guitar all over. Have you built a full sized Rodriguez copy before, and if so, how has the evolution to a smaller body size changed things?

Jim

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu