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New "S" from Andy Birko

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theguitarwhisperer

Post subject: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:18 pm

Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:35 pm
Posts: 2561
Country: USA
Focus: Repair
Status: Professional

I posted this in the CNC forum, but I thought it was worth a repost here.

I recieved my first "S" from Andy, looks good!

The method he devised for making the inlay was CNC a background, and then cut the outside border and inner "S" to nest inside it. That way all the grain in the ovals and the sheen all match perfectly.

As you can see in the comparison picture, the first "S" inlaid in the guitar has some gaps that have been filled in, and there's a part that fills in one of the spaces in the "s" that has a completely different reflective sheen than the rest of the background (and even a few cracks!). At arms length it's not so bad, but it could be better.

The new CNC "S" doesn't have that problem, and the fit is much cleaner and tighter. Once it's installed, sanded super smooth and finished over it will be overall much cleaner looking in the guitar, with cohesive chatoyance. In fact, the lines flow better, look at the tail that goes through the middle "S". If it looks this good up close, it will look even better further away.

Thanx Andy!

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meddlingfool

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:25 pm

Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:15 pm
Posts: 7539
First name: Ed
Last Name: Bond
City: Nanaimo
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Professional

Slick!

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jackwilliams

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:59 pm

Cocobolo

Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:11 pm
Posts: 333
First name: jack
Country: usa

Very nice!

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Robbie_McD

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 8:12 pm

Contributing Member

Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2009 10:34 pm
Posts: 1073
First name: Rob
Last Name: McDougall
City: Cochrane
State: Alberta

Wow!
Andy is the man....

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Tony_in_NYC

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:49 pm

Contributing Member

Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2010 9:01 pm
Posts: 3031
First name: Tony
Last Name: C
City: Brooklyn
State: NY
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur

Killer. Andy's work is superb and your "S" is proof. He cut the "15" for my latest guitar. It's perfect.

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theguitarwhisperer

Post subject: Re: New

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 12:09 am

Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:35 pm
Posts: 2561
Country: USA
Focus: Repair
Status: Professional

Tony_in_NYC wrote:

Killer. Andy's work is superb and your "S" is proof. He cut the "15" for my latest guitar. It's perfect.

I will add that he didn't take any shortcuts or make any compromises, he worked hard to deliver exactly what I wanted, to my specifications.

I knew from his build threads that would be the case though, and also that he would be able to deliver.

I definitely feel that he treated the work for my guitar as if it were for his own.

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David Malicky

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 1:07 am

Koa

Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2009 2:40 pm
Posts: 505
First name: David
Last Name: Malicky
City: San Diego
State: CA
Zip/Postal Code: 92111
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur

Nice! Glad you tried Andy.

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David Malicky

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TimAllen

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 2:11 am

Contributing Member

Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:13 am
Posts: 450
First name: Tim
Last Name: Allen
City: San Francisco
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur

As I know from the custom fretboard he made for me, Andy does great work.

Nevertheless, I can't help imagining someone sadly singing "John Henry" in Vietnamese . . .

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Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."

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Fred Tellier

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 7:06 am

Contributing Member

Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:42 pm
Posts: 2360
Location: Windsor Ontario Canada
First name: Fred
Last Name: Tellier
City: Windsor
State: Ontario
Zip/Postal Code: N8T2C6
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur

Andy has a real good machine and has worked real hard to master its use. When Paul Murphy and I visited his shop to get my 26"/25" fan fret fretboard cut I shot this photo.

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

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Tony_in_NYC

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 7:48 am

Contributing Member

Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2010 9:01 pm
Posts: 3031
First name: Tony
Last Name: C
City: Brooklyn
State: NY
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur

Where is the moustache?

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theguitarwhisperer

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 11:31 am

Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:35 pm
Posts: 2561
Country: USA
Focus: Repair
Status: Professional

Tony_in_NYC wrote:

Where is the moustache?

..and the Presto Magician outfit?

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phil

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 6:33 pm

Cocobolo

Joined: Sun May 20, 2007 2:47 pm
Posts: 377
Location: Canada

very sharp looking work! well done on design and execution.

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Andy Birko

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 10:28 am

Contributing Member

Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:59 am
Posts: 1964
Location: Rochester Michigan

Thanks you guys, you're too kind.

This is actually the first shell - in - shell inlay I've done and it was interesting. It is definitely a bit more challenging than shell in wood but I'm glad we did it. I'll be using this strategy in the future!

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http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

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MaxBishop

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2013 7:31 am

Koa

Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:56 am
Posts: 855
Location: United States

Just awesome, Andy!

Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

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Joel M

Post subject: Re: New "S" from Andy Birko

Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2013 12:29 pm

Contributing Member

Joined: Sat May 21, 2011 3:05 pm
Posts: 145
First name: Joel
Last Name: Michaud
City: Calgary
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Professional

Looks amazing Andy

I couldn't agree more about Andy's products and service , absolutely top notch!

Thanks for the pics and info.

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