Official Luthiers Forum!

Like I said in another thread, I found a great piece of bubinga (African Rosewood ) at my local Woodcraft. Anyway, I resawed some for this OMish guitar. Sitka top from LMI, as well as Macassar Ebony FB and bridge. Walnut binding that I made, mahog-o-lam purfling from BobC. Walnut and mahogany neck. Maple end wedge, heel cap, and headstock back.

Huge thanks to Rick Turner for lots of help on this one. Rick Turner Flying buttresses, (although I used Dave White's slight variation. Thanks Dave). Rick Turner CF reinforced back seam. I'll call them RTFBs and RTCFRBS. So this allowed me to brace the upper bout much lighter than usual, although I did still glue down the FB extension (but lightly with white glue, ala Mario Proulx). Also put a couple CF bars in the neck on either side of the truss rod. It's a pretty solid unit. Big thanks to Robbie O'Brien too, and everyone else who offered advice and help.

I REALLY like the sound of this one. I don't like the soundport placement, and I don't like the rosette. I should have used the mahog-o-lam. I also think I went overboard with the amount of woods used.

Please give me your honest critiques.















Thanks fer lookin. Hope that's not too many pics!

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

And the innards:

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Mike,

I like the shape - the cutaway flows nicely - and the workmanship looks very good from the pictures (nice pics too). I think the woods work very well together and are interesting but I see why you think there may be too many. Perhaps the end-graft and heel cap in Macassar would have been a little less "busy" but the maple looks nice too. I actually think the rosette works very well and I like it. The bubinga looks mighty fine - not zooty bling but lovely and interesting grain and colour for all that. I've never tried a soundport on the lower bout - I'm very boring and put all of mine on the upper bout side. Well done for trying the flying buttress braces, now all you have to do is build the neck extension solid and free from the top altogether.

What's different and what do you like about the sound of this one?

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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

I am with Dave .. I LOVE that kind of venetian on an OM .. very smooth. Nicely done.

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

Lots of tasty details and the innards are just amazing. I love the work on the fretboard and headstock.

BTW, Mike did his own cat urethane finish on this one and it is one of the best I have seen!! Very nice!

Thanks a lot, guys! I really appreciate it.

Dave, the sound on this one.... Hard for me to describe. There's just more to it. Lots of volume. The bass is full but crisp, and the trebles are nice and smooth. There's also a "woody" tone to it that I like.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

That's some very nice work, Mike. I was under the false impression that you were a beginner.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Personally I like Bubinga like that more than the extremely figured stuff, it's pretty and elegant. The body shape is nice as well.

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

Looks great Mike!! I don't think you over did it at all. As taste, I generally go toward more simpler combo's but yours works very well! Great job!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Mike, that is off the charts man! Outstanding work and your attention to detail is flawless.

Top drawer!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Loud and Balanced huh Mike!?! haha That is a little inside joke for those that attended the Kent Everett voicing master class a few weeks ago.

That's a beauty Mike! I love the walnut neck... The contrasting tail graft is very cool too.

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

A very fine job indeed Mike. I like the look of the neck and
great job on the mitres. And Very perdy bubinga with
a great finish!!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Excellent looking work! You have some really great details in this one. I like the back reinforcing strip and the cutaway especially, but all the elements work well together.

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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."

Dang. Thanks a bunch, everyone.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Very nice Mike. Probably a dumb question but why do the insides of the sides look black? Are they lined with something?

Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

Striking! Nice miters and flow between the cutaway and heel. I like the rosette but would probably have used something a little quieter for the endgraft and heelcap. A very nice piece of work and great photography as well.
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Really nice, Mike!
I think the walnut/mahog neck was a bold choice for the Bubinga body, but--man--that looks great together!
Thanks for the new ideas.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

I was just checking out Mark Swanson's latest on the MIMF, about 180 degrees from your guitar as far as wood combos go. His uses only walnut and cedar. I loved that guitar, and love yours too. Personality. Most instruments fall in a narrower, more generally accepted range of contrast. Unique and sweetly executed guitars are what I like to see best, and seeing is all we can do across the tubes of the internet...

Hey, I think that if you hung that guitar on the wall it would really tie the room together. You must have spent all your free time on that, obviously, you are not a golfer. A guitar like that makes me want to treat objects like women man! Though I've never seen the queen in her undies, now that I've seen that guitar I know I can die without feeling like the good Lord gypped me... (end Lebowski tirade here).

The details kill me. One day I'll do a fretboard like that, an end graft like that, etc...

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Gabriel Regalbuto
Carlsbad, California
Freedom 35!

Mike,
Very nice! I think the woods compliment each other very well. But I like to see less different woods on my guitars. This one turned out exceptional, and you should be very proud! I like the rosette, the cutaway, the mahog-o-lam purfling is killer with your binding. I would have kept the sound port in the upper bout, and used a darker wood for the end wedge and peghead backstrap. But that is just my taste. Either way you succeeded with another awesome guitar! Congrats! Hope I get to play this one at the next CO Luthiers meeting.

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Shoosh, I'm pretty suprised at all the positive feedback. I didn't think you guys were going to like this one. Anyway, thank you all so much, and thanks for the constructive criticisms too.

Pat, the insides I dyed black. I thought it would look cool. Ok, maybe I was trying to cover something up too. Nice eye!

Terry, I have to take a LOT of pictures to get a few that are decent. Thanks.

Gabe, that's, like, your opinion, man.

Tracy, thank you. When is the next one?

Thanks again to everyone for the great feedback.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Geez, Mike, we're going to think you are serious about this guitar building stuff. Another beauty!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Personally, I don't care for the sound port placement, and the endgraft in the same wood as the bindings would be my choice. Small cosmetic elements that really are each to their own. I really like the rosette. The overall package is very nice, and the attention to detail is excellent.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

I think the guitar is great! Nicely done!

As for the pix! I'm not a big fan of the black background. I prefer more of the "dirty dog blanket" look like in Lances recent photos, still nice photos though!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)