Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello all,

I messed up again and want some opinions on how to proceed. I build lattice braced classicals and I generally (almost exclusively) build with cedar. This time I used german spruce. I sanded the top too thin in the end block area and there is a very noticeable blackish mark where the end block is located on the soundboard (you can see the endblock through the top). I have thinned the sounboard to this dimension before with cedar but never had this issue. Kinda weird.

Anyway, I believe I have three options (hopefully more if you guys can come up with them . I can:
A) do a sunburst. I have never done this before but I have been practicing on some old tops and they look okay. Not such a fan of sunburst though, especially on a classical.

B) Relic the guitar. I have tried this before but it doesn't look very, how would you say, AUTHENTIC . I like the idea a lot, but the process is funky for me.

C) I can use a weird little "violin tie" like in the picture. Kind of unusual, I know, but I am limited on ideas at this point. (any thoughts on pros/cons for the sound of the instrument??)

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone has any "antiquing" secrets they want to disclose I would love to hear them.

Hope everyone is well and I look forward to the advice/opinions.

A thought.... how about inlaying a pendaloque. A feature used on some older instruments including this Martin Uke.



Rod

The inlay would probably weaken the whole thing too much?

I think the violin style would be more OK than a sunburst or an antique finish. The first simply looks inappropriate for a classical the second will probably look fake. But the violin-tie might could look like an innovative and inspired luthier modern conception, some classical players are drawn to this. I would use a normal shape bridge though. (actual an even narrower than normal one)

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Build log

Another option - pull the top and try again. Not as crazy as it sounds; Ross Gutmeier used to do it often for poor audio performance, but not so much any more (practice makes, if not perfect, then very, very good).

Dan

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Dan
http://www.acme-archtops.com

Rod--

Welcome to the OLF! I've enjoyed reading your posts on the UMGF for years. Good to have you here also.

Cheers-- Jim

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

Use a darker shellac finish.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.