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    Here are a few photos of the African missions guitar. The finish is complete and will probably just get a light wet sand and buff after about a week to smooth it and address any small areas that need attention.

    Inlay is still up in the air, but the Elephant ivory as material is out. I did some checking with folks at the African embassy in Washington and they informed me and advised me that its use would not be the wisest or most politically correct decision on my part.

   Something simple and elegant is probably going to be used to keep the guitar attractive to as broad a base of players as possible.

Thanks for looking again,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

She,s just much more beautiful than the last time Kevin!

Excellence at its peak, what more to say, it's just beauty upon beautiful upon amazing!

Stunning, WOW!

Serge

I'm not a huge emoticon fan, but there needs to one of a drooling guy - then I'd put one here. I'll pretend it's this:    8-}__   Nice quilt.

I love the bridge and headstock especially. Kudos!

Mike

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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 looks awesome Kevin!!!

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Very nice guitar, excellent finish. Have a great time in Africa. Now we all want to go with you.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

That's a beauty!! Nice work, Kevin.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

absolutely georgous!!!

Kevin,

Stunning guitar!

Pete

Awesome guitar!!! I love it!!! The finish looks fantastic! What kind of finish is it??

Man, now that is one alpha Omega! A guitar like that don't need no stinkin' inlay! Seriously beautiful!

Carlton,
   I had considered a blank fingerboard, too. When I build instruments for myself, that's what i usually end up with. I'm just not sure yet on this one.



Colby,
The finish is a UV cured polyester finish. It's the same finish being used by Ryan, Olson, Collings, Taylor and several others. A 20 second cure under the high intensity UV light is equivalent to about 30 days of dry/cure time for lacquer.

   It is many times more durable than lacquer and because of that toughness, it can be applied thinner and lighter while stll providing good protection for the guitar.

   Another great feature of the finish is that it will never check or crack like lacquers and other finishes do with time and the expansion and contraction of the woods that occur with temperature and humidity changes.

   It can be age toned to give a warm vintage look right off the bat, but it will not develop that amber aging that occurs with lacquers. It will look the same in twenty years as it does the day it comes out of my spray booth. I lke that clear, tranparent appearance, but some guys like a more aged look so we give to them on a brand new instrument.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega GuitarsKevin Gallagher38871.6356712963

Kevin,

Upon reflection, I've realized that, since this is an auction guitar, you'll probably need to add some inlay flash. Too bad, though I'm sure you'll come up with something tasteful and impressive. If I were ordering a guitar from you, though, I'd say "I want one just like that!" Well, okay, with strings and stuff too.

Great looking guitar...
You drill and slot the bridge after you gule it??
I slot mine but do the drilling on the drill press before gluing. What is your advantage for diong it that way??

Gary

Kevin, beautiful guitar. Hope it brings in a lot of money for the orphanage at auction.

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Wow...that looks magnificent.

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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."

Gary,
I like to drill and slot them on the top, but don't always do it that way. I keep about 500 bridges ready to go on guitars here with slots and holes cut already, but strayed a bit from the typical footprint of my bridge on this one. I changed it a little for no other reason than to make it unique with a slightly deeper belly on it while I used a slightly smaller bridge plate to balance the addional material, weight and stiffness.

I used to slot and drill on the guitar all of the time. but for no other reason than that I enjoyed doing all of the locating off of the fingerboard approach. No real benefits or advantages, but it works just as well as doing it before. When I drill the pin holes before the bridge goes on, I only poke them at 1/8" so there's plenty of material to cut the pin taper into afterwards.

   I just cracked open a bundle of Brazilian Rosewood bridge and fingerboard blanks that I've had on a shelf here for ten years so I'll be machining them in the next few weeks and will slot and drill some and leave others cut to shape without the slots or holes.

   

Very,Very beautiful guitar Kevin. I really like your headstock shape and bridge too! Great work!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Gorgeous work Kevin. The owner and the orphanage are both very lucky to have you involved in their mission.

Craig

Thats awesome dude...very beautiful design.....

Kevin, that's truly beautiful.
What opus is this?

SK

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Gorgeous guitar Kevin. Very beautiful work my friend.

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Kevin,
just one thing to say:

you did it again!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

When and where will the auction be Kevin?

That is very, very beautifl. You are a true artist.

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Rod,
   I'm not sure where the auction will take place yet. After we return from Kenya, I will be meeting with a few very well known atrtists to have them play the guitar and offer short review quotes about and it will be displayed at a pair of very large outdoor music festivals before being auctioned.

Christie's in New York will work well, but we're not locked into any particular venue yet. Whether or not they will contribute to the cause by offering a reduced commission rate or free auction will help in determinig the final decision. There will be a fair reserve required in any case since I would be able to sell it now at my list price, but the auction's visibility will raise the awareness of all in attendance and may spark a desire in others to make donations directly to the orphanage outside of the auction forum.

    I did have a Japanese collector make a very flattering offer on it this week, but asked that he wait for me to notify him of the auction time and location in order to offer the amount as a bid then. He was very impressed with the participation of all here at the OLF in supplyng materials and parts for the guitar's construction.

   I had sent the most recent photos to a few players and collectors that I've dealt with in the past as a foundation for the upcoming sale. We're hoping that the cause that will benefit from it will motivate some to bid a bit higher than they normally may in order to offer some relief to a very deserving group of kids. Sometimes an auction setting brings out folks who are looking for a deal, but we'd like to see this guitar inspire the opposite motivation.

    The more I research the people and culture there in Kenya, the more evident how noble the cause is becomes to me. I'm in regular contact with several people who live there now and are giving me some communication tutoring to better prepare me.

   I've always believed that its not so important in life to work on making an impression than it is to actually live an impressive life of integrity and character. I know that the people I go to serve will make a much more impacting impression on me as they face the hardship that they do every day and are still the joyful people that they appear to be, but I hope they'll understand the reason that I came along to help them in a small way and be touched by it.

    It really doesn't matter if people remember us as long as what we do for them helps to raise their view of life and others a little.

Thanks,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega GuitarsKevin Gallagher38873.4208796296