Official Luthiers Forum!

I just shipped this guitar off to California this morning. It was one of the most interesting looking
sets of Cocobolo that I've used and, I have to say, I really liked the tone of it when paired with a nice
Carpathian Spruce Top.

Just thought you'd like a peek at it.....Thanks for looking.












Regards,
Kevin Gallagher

Here's a pair of OM model guitars that I finished last month. One is Cocobolo/Carpathian and the other
is African Blackwood/Italian.

They both sounded great and were the last two in my series of 25 "Creation Series" guitars.















Thanks,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

WOW! That coco is sweet!
Kevin, did that come from Allied? I recall seeing some that looked like that...


Gorgeous guitars!

_________________
Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Kevin,
as always, fantastic work!!

Gotta love that Cocobolo neck too...

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

Kevin,
That is one of the most beautiful guitars I've ever seen! Great job, and love that Cocobolo!

_________________
Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Sweet!!!!!!!! I too like that cocobolo neck in combo with the body. Is the neck on the AB guitar also AB, or is it just stained to match? Real sharp...

_________________
"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."

Those are absolutely amazing, Kevin. Your work is so flawless.

_________________
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

Wow!

So nice to see working coming out of your shop again Kevin! How's the shoulder?

_________________
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

Beautiful!
I agree, Kevin, that's some amazing Cocobolo.
Thanks for posting.

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thanks guys. I really liked that Cocobolo neck too and it's sparked a good number of other necks
similar to it to be added to existing orders.

The neck on the Blackwood guitar was stained to match the back and sides, but it really tied the
guitar together well. That dramatic contrast between the dark Blackwood and that beautiful Italian
Spruce top was all tied together with nicely flamed Maple binding.

Lance,
Yeah, that set did come from Allied. I was hoping to get the rest of it, but when I turned back
around to order it, it was all gone.
It really worked nicely and sounds great.


Rod,
The shoulder's doing well and I've been able to be back to a full workload for the past few months.


Thanks again,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Very beautiful work as usual and gorgeous wood Kevin.
I love that coco neck too ! I agree that blackwood and Italian Spruce
guitar looks absolutely awesome!

_________________
Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Way nice!

_________________
Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Beautiful work! I thought that was Allied.

_________________
Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Simply stunning As someone new to the art of building these things its an inspiration to try and get close to that level of craftsmanship - maybe in 20 years or so!

Sensational guitars Kevin. What type of finish do you use ? Do you do your own finishing?


Regards
Craig.

Sensational guitars Kevin. What type of finish do you use ? Do you do your own finishing?


Regards
Craig.

Kevin this is yet another beautiful guitar from you my friend!!!

Just so lovely. Gorgeous work, Kevin. Cheers.

Kevin as usual you have me humbled and bowing in honor. Not only is that Coco spectacular the execution is splendid as I would expect form you sir.

kevin,
Is that a cocobolo neck on the carpathian/coco om.

edit : sorry just your last post:
did you find the cocobolo neck added much to the weight i have been trying to get people touse it for necks instead of indian rosewood but so far people seem to want the indian rosewood in preferance.
I would be eager to hear your veiws of it as aneck wood.

it looks wonderfull by the way your your wokmanship is second to none,

Joel.

Thanks again guys....I'm truly humbled by your kind words. There are so many great builders here
at the OLF and to get that kind of feedback really means a lot to me.



Craig,
I'm using McFadden's UV cured polyester finish. It's the same material that Kevin Ryan, Jim Olson,
Tom Anderson, Bob Taylor and a few others are using and it can be a little tweaky and can make it
necessary for the person using it to be very finicky at times.

I use McFadden's isolation/sealer coating that allows the heat of the curing light to be applied
with no strange or troublesome activity in or reaction by the resins in the substrate. Kevin, Jim,
Tom and Bob have all moved on to high tech curing booths that employ lights with a very specific
application ability and bandwidth offerings while I still like to use the hand held curing unit that
I've used for so long.

I may have a booth built one day simply because the weight of the light with its heavy cowl can
get to my shoulder sometimes. Plus, with a surface and close proximity temp of over 1100 degrees
Farenheit, handling it can be a daunting prospect. I have to gear up every time I enter the booth when
the light is on to protect myself from the UV output....which is more than 10 times that of the sun
on a clear summer day and that is a bit of a hassle at times.

I still like to do all of my own finish work, but am hoping to streamline it a little in the near future.



Joel,
That is a Cocobolo neck on the Coco/Carpathian OM. I don't think that it added too much to the
overall weight of the guitar since I use two carbon fiber beams that run parallel to the truss rod on either
side. They do play a role in reducing the weight, but with the laminates being Maple and Ebony inside
of the Cocobolo, the heaviness of the Cocobolo is limited to only those our sections that are largely
cut away to form the radii leading up to the fingerboard edges.

It is an extremely stiff and stable neck as the Cocobolo had been cut and placed on a shelf more
than 10 years ago after a stint at a great vacuum kiln facility.

I'm one of those guys that believes that the neck works in cooperation with the body to create what
is the tone of the guitar. Being rigid, but very resonant makes a neck ideal to play its part in this effort
of all of the components to contribute in a positive way as they're shaken.

The rpofile on this neck was an easy "C" shape and pretty low in depth as to accommodate lots of
different playing styles for the owner. It presents enough mass in the hand to prevent quick hand
fatigue, but also allows the thumb to easily be thrown overtop to play bass notes with no trouble. It
was really comfortable for me to play while it was here and I'll probably use it on the next guitar that
I'm able to build for myself.

Thanks,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

That's some of the nicest cocobolo I've ever seen. Beautiful guitars Kevin!

_________________
"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

I read that cocoblo produces toxic dust and it's hard to glue. So what do you do to protect yourself?

I had a piece of wood before that smelled like chocolate! Is that what cocoblo smells like?

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Exquisite work in exquisite woods, Kevin- Bravo!

chris

Kevin,
Just wanted to add that your attention to detail and your styling our superb and inspirational.
Thanks for sharing.

-The other Chris C

_________________
Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

http://www.yardsaleunderwear.com
http://www.facebook.com/christopher.cordle