Official Luthiers Forum!

Ok if I may be so bold I'm just gonna throw out a possible spec's for the
guitar. These are just some thoughts right off the cuff.

Body Style: Small Jumbo      
Top wood: Sitka
Back and sides: Either The wavy or quilted sapele (whatever bob is willing
to part with)
Binding: Bloodwood with the black/maple/black side purfling. Bound neck
and headstock.
Purfling: black/maple/black-bloodwood-black/maple/black
Fingerboard inlay: Craig L's creation
Rosette: Abalone
Backstrip: Bloodwood with matching purfling lines
Tuners: Gotoh 510 with Ebony buttons
Nut Width: 1.75
Bridge Wood: Ebony 2.25 string spacing
Fingerboard wood: Ebony 25.5 scale
Headplate: Ebony
Electronics: K&K
Neck: 5 piece Mahogany/Maple/bloodwood/Maple/Mahogany
Nut Material: Bone or ivory
Saddle Material: Bone or ivory .125 width
Bridge and Endpins: Ebony or ivory or both and make stevie wonder
proud-haha.. couldn't resist.


Thoughts?

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Hi John,
I don't believe the small Jumbo model would appeal to everyone that might bid on the guitar?
Our original idea of an OM or OOO might have more appeal to a greater audience.
Especially women!!
It's just a thought.
WalterWalterK38534.511412037

I think a samll jumbo would appeal to a wide audience. Just another opinion.

I think the SJ would also appeal to a larger audience too. the OM and the
SJ are really VERY close in size. In fact I've seen an OM I made in an olson
SJ case made by calton and it fit like a glove, except for the depth.

These are just some ideas I had on the specs, of course it is not my say,
it's everyones!

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

I think a cutaway, mini jumbo with a bevel armrest with a flame koa back and sides would appeal to those with the cash to buy this thing.

More thoughts!







Craig L

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www.handcraftinlay.com

If you want the widest appeal, go with a dreadnaught. Face it, there are probably as many dreads sold every year as everything else combined. Flamed Koa sounds like a nice idea, it is certainly eye candy, but then again good ol' East Indain Rosewood is popular enough that it would sell too. Maybe we should try to find someone who is a guitarist who works for the charity we choose and see what they think? Nah...let's do a bunch of polls here and decide what we want to do. But I would suggest that we don't do something "way out of tradition", so that it will have the widest ranging appeal in an auction.

_________________
"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."

I was thinking in terms of elegance and simplicity.

Also I choose back and sides wood from what Bob C had on his site, so
Koa, ect did not make it on my radar.

A cutaway is cool, but adds quite a bit of difficulty to the task.

An armrest is very cool too, but again the simplicity thing. I find the
guitars that sell the best are not the ones that are over the top but are
simple yet elegant.

Now if we have more back and sides to choose from I'd love to know as I
could throw together a whole new set of specs for people to look at.

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Another thought... why not try to get autographs of well-known musicians on the thing so that it becomes even more valuable to the charity of our choice? Our local contry music station buys a guitar once a year, and has dozens of top-level recording artists sign it and then auctions it off for a charity. In this case, it's St. Judes, but wherever we decide to donate it, this will make the value even greater. They buy a cheap $300 guitar and they usually sell for thousands at auction.

_________________
"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."

I personally think you're right John. Keep it simple, and somewhat traditional.

_________________
"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."

I'll deal with it!
Hey maybe that's my next guitar I was describing...   

But- personally I really find signed guitars to be really ugly!. Don absolutely no offense, it's probably A good idea at some level, but then the actual fact it's a special guitar would be overtaken by the signatures. Most guitars that are signed are valuable ONLY for the signatures.
This one's about the instrument, the forum, the forum builders, and OUR commitment to aiding the charity.

Fire when ready...


C.Lavin

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www.handcraftinlay.com

I agree with you on the signatures. This guitars should be able to stand
on it's own without the aid of signatures, although I do see the financial
benefit I think it would "ruin" the guitar!

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Well, (and don't take offense at this, please) we need to think about whether this is something we're doing for the charity, to help them out the best we can, or whether this is a monument to our Egos. I understand what we're all about here, but if it's for charity, we ought to maximize their gain. All I'm asking is to think about that side of the equation before we make a decision. You know I'll go along with whatever we all decide, with my whole heart, my wood, my labor, and my money.

_________________
"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."

I want to Maximize my Ego.

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

I absolutely still agree with Don, and everyone else.
Maybe not letting my inlays be the "focal point"
but truth be told any inlay is a focal point, so that's that. If we do St. Judes, I noticed they have an AWESOME logo of a child with hands out in what seems to be either prayer, or giving as a logo. I can easily do that anywhere on the guitar.

That said, Don, if it was ONLY about money we could all donate cash. It is about egos a little, at least for me. I want to know I helped where I am best able to. For me that's inlay, either that or education (I teach high school as well) but that's not what were doing here. I also want to be a part of the guitar. If it gets attention great, if not, great. but I like know what I do can be seen by others. Other wise I would be an accountant!

Please don't anyone take this wrong...

_________________
www.handcraftinlay.com

How about a 3 piece back with a white mahogany center for signatures? Maybe a special celebrity label inside? I know, so much for diplomacy .   

_________________
Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Works for Don maybe....





It's been a long day...

_________________
www.handcraftinlay.com

[QUOTE=clavin]Other wise I would be an accountant! [/QUOTE]


Ouch....that HURT!



Don Williams38534.6869675926

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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."

I like the concept of a celebrity label. Can't hurt, and won't be a pile of egomaniacal scribbles on top of a beautiful instrument. The label design could either have a space for the celeb sigs, or could be a separate label.

As for inlay: I love clean, classy guitars without a lot of embellishments. But, I won't be bidding on the guitar. More than likely, the guitar will end up as more of a "trophy" or a symbolic icon rather than a performing instrument. (Especially true if it ends up going for a lot more than the going rate for a fine hand-built instrument.) So, I say "eye-candy" it up! Do an extensive inlay on the fretboard, soundhole, and end graft at least. (Not gaudy, but "dressed-up.") To that end, a nice black Ebony fingerboard blank is on its way to John Mayes, then it will be off to Craig Lavin for inlay magic!

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Maybe that's why you can afford to be a guitar builder!

I was recently hurt. I got over it too...



Craig

Inlay Magic Incorporated

_________________
www.handcraftinlay.com

Guys...You're donating your SKILLS--even those supplying wood and parts--so, please, give them a musical instrument (not a celebrity scratch pad), 'cause it's what you do best. Its value will ALREADY be maximized, because of WHAT it is and WHO did it. I suggest an interior label with the signatures of all involved with the project. That's prestigious enough!

And, please, please, please--don't use ivory, unless it's of the fossil variety!

Carlton

Hey guys, I know I'm not a part of this, but if I may I would like to make a suggestion.

I liked the idea of signatures of well known players, and I think all those involved in the instruments creation should be mentioned in some way. It is something for ya'll to be proud of giving your time,labor,materials,to help a very worthy cause.

Why not make a little photo album of all those involved in the guitar along with an O.L.F certificate of authenticity with the signatures of well known players. this might add to the anty.

Just a suggestion. D.L.

I only have 1 concern with this project, and this is it:

The guitar will sell for a lot less than it's worth, and all the labor, effort and money spent on shipping the thing all over the place will go unappreciated. That would be a tragedy.

So, in order to avoid putting a lot of effort into something that could potentially go unappreciated, (and mostly, no offense to others, I'm thinking of Craig's inlay work) why not check with the folks who run the auctions for that charity, and see what they would like? Do they even hold auctions at fundraisers? Let's not put the cart before the horse. Let's contact them, find out what they think of the project, and then proceed based on their expertise. It may be that a custom built instrument with custom inlay is exactly what they're looking for. But let's ask before we go through all the hard work.

Don the Practical

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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."

I believe you're right Don..
We should contact the charity and see what their views are.
I would hate to see this beautiful instrument bring in a $1000. Especially knowing it's worth a heck of a lot more.
Getting the guitar to the right audience is very important to bring in the most bucks!!!
A little research might be in order first.
WalterK

Don,

Auctions and particularly charity auctions would normally have an "opening bid", right? Why not allow the OLFers who are building to determine a starting bid? Let's say the number ends up being $3000. Then, all the builders will know from the outset that this will not be a $500 guitar.

I think the professional fundraisers and marketers for the charity could be a great resource, but I don't think they care if someone auctions off a cornflake that looks like Jesus or if they auction off a guitar - they will be very happy to accept the final check. Also, since the professional fundraisers may not know anything about the value of a hand built guitar, they may feel that it is better to start the auction off at $1 or $500, which might be advice that the OLF builders really do not want to take.

I'm guessing that it will not be that hard to auction off a beautiful hand-built guitar for at least the price that a musician would pay for the instrument, and if we're lucky, maybe someone affluent will buy it for a good deal more than that.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia