Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi all,

I’m building a travel guitar loosely based on a Martin Size 5 - will call it 'The Cliff' (more on the name later). This is my fourth guitar and I’m looking forward to being a bit experimental and learning something new.

Something old
- Top: Offcuts of salvaged Sitka from Brent at Alaska Specialty Woods. This was a discount board ($15) in the first place, and the offcuts from my last build are just large enough to fit the size 5 shape.
- Back & Sides: Offcuts of Tasmanian Blackwood, again remnants of a large set that will fit.

Something new
- This will be my first parlor
- I’m making my own plan for the first time
- Thinking about trying a hand rubbed sunburst - I love that look

Something local
I’ve already got some domestic woods and I’m going to go out to collect something from nature for an inlay - what that is will depend on what I find!

You pick two
1. Travel sized guitar
2. I’ll work on a price cap
I like the idea of donating it but I will keep this one for myself and if it’s a success I’ll make another to sell and donate the money.


I've got a few more details to figure out but I will make a start and figure out the rest as I go

Here is my back and top joined:

Welcome aboard. Looking forward to hearing the size 5! Will it be a terz?

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Very nice. I like it! What's your planned scale length?

Can you explain what a Terz is? I'm somewhat confused about it

Scale length I'm thinking 21.4" based on what I've found on the internet

Ha I think most people seem to be confused as to what to call small guitars! I made a small guitar for the 2013 challenge. I think I settled on calling it a quinto guitar in the end, but just because I liked the name But the names terz, quinto, piccolo, etc seem to be sort of interchangeable.

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"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

As Peter suggested, there are probably lots of things that get called terz. I should have been more specific. I meant terz in the sense that it is tuned a minor third higher than standard pitch (like a capo on the third fret). I think guitars tuned like this usually have a scale length in the 20 to 22 inch range. Others will chime in with better info.

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Yep. If you don't tune them up higher - the strings get pretty floppy unless you move way up to like heavy strings. Check out Terz or Nashville tuning.