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I've decided to use this set for my next classical. This wood is very old and heavy, but I'm a little concerned about the dark streaks in the upper bout area. What is that figuration? Do you think it's anything to be concerned about?

Hello Trent,

Sometimes when wood is in lumber form for a long time those types of dark spots appear near the end of the board, which that might have been cut from. Just basic weathering or oxidation probably. I wouldn't give it too much worry. BRW is problematic to begin with, but I don't see that imposing any further issues beyond what you'd normally expect.

One thing that you can do to keep problems from arising in BRW is to do your pore filling with CA glue, which will penetrate into any tiny checks (which are the beginning of cracks) and seal them off. Sometimes such things aren't noticable until the final buffing, so it is a good bit of insurance with Brazilian And Madagascar Rosewoods.

Best wishes,
Joshua Frenchjfrench38383.6252546296

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Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
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Looks just like some cocobolo I have, with the exception of the streaking at the end. I'd guess it was what Josh suggests, or some sort of fungus or something like that.

That said, I actually like the looks of the streaking. It adds some character, not that it needed any more.

Don W38383.6327314815

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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 picked that set and the one pictured below (for an upcoming flamenco negra), even though they are both just a little small for the body/template (about one inch shy). I could have picked larger sets, but these two really impressed me in most other respects. What options are there when your set isn't quite big enough? Creating a smaller jig just for these two sets isn't an option. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Simple....you can take a small cutoff from the area outside the upper bout, and add it to the lower bout where it is needed. Technically, that makes it a 4-piece back, but with Brazilian you do what you have to do. If you're really careful, it can be done so it wouldn't notice unless you pointed it out to someone. Nice wood! Good luck. You can do it.

_________________
"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."

Trent,

Don's suggestion is right on the mark. However, if the back were not already joined you could have used a more elaborate center stripe joined between the halves, and coupled with a slightly wider purfling scheme you'd have made up the lacking width easily.

Joining a couple of pieces in the way Don described, if done well, will have no negative effect and be virtually invisible.

Best wishes,
Joshua

_________________
Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

Trent,

Beautiful sets of BRW! I really like set #2, very striking.

Thanks Don and Joshua for the tips on widening the back. I learn a new trick to add to my collection.

Jeff

Thanks for your feedback on this. Both suggested options remain on the table, since I simply placed the center strip of ebony perfling between each blank for the photographs. Nothing has been joined yet. I have seen a triangle-shaped center purfling, where the ebony starts from the upper bout with a "normal" width and then slowly widens all the way down to the tail. That would probably do the trick, but I don't think I like the way it looks compared to the more traditional perfling as shown. On the other hand, I really don't want these guitars to have (technically) a 4-piece back. I just don't know which way to go...