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| Author: | J De Rocher [ Wed Apr 25, 2018 7:26 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Latest guitar completed just in time |
I'm taking this new guitar and a couple others down to the Northwest Handmade Musical Instrument Exhibit which is this weekend at Marylhurst College in Portland. http://www.nwmusicalinstrumentshow.org/ This is my first dreadnought. It's my own design, but it obviously borrows a lot from existing slope-shoulder dreadnought designs. Bear claw Sitka spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, Macassar ebony fretboard, koa binding, Madagascar rosewood bridge, and abalone inlays. It definitely has more bass than my smaller body guitars, as expected. The bass sound is clear, no mud thankfully. I'm surprised by how much sustain the guitar has. The Madagascar rosewood bridge was a surprise too for how light it came out. The lightest bridge I've made so far of this design was 24 g. This one is only 19 g. The bridge blank had a nice glassy tap tone, so a nice piece of wood. We had a bright sunny day here today so I took advantage of the light to take some photos. Attachment: osprey 1.jpg Attachment: osprey 2.jpg Attachment: osprey 3.jpg Attachment: osprey 4.jpg Attachment: osprey 8.jpg Attachment: osprey 5.jpg Attachment: osprey 6.jpg Attachment: osprey 7.jpg
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| Author: | johnparchem [ Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:09 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
The guitar looks great, such clean detail and very nice design elements. The top is spectacular, I love the way the bridge reflects bear claw figure. |
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| Author: | bcombs510 [ Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:18 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Really beautiful! Did you do anything different bracing wise? How does it sound? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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| Author: | Glen H [ Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
All around beauty! |
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| Author: | Michaeldc [ Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:53 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Can't wait to give it a go! |
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| Author: | J De Rocher [ Wed Apr 25, 2018 11:10 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
bcombs510 wrote: Really beautiful! Did you do anything different bracing wise? How does it sound? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk For the bracing, I studied a couple different HD-28 plans and plans for a Gibson J-45 and used those as a basis for overall brace dimensions. I ended up going with scalloped x-braces rather than tapered braces because I have more experience with those. One thing I did that I haven't done before was to leave the lower x-brace arms not tucked into the lining. I don't know if it made a difference, but I don't think it hurt anything. I'm really tempted to do an experiment and build a sister guitar with tapered braces to see what difference it might make. I have an almost identical bear claw Sitka top and Indian rosewood back and sides sets so it's doable in principle. I compared how it sounds to my HD-28VR, which I've had for almost twenty years, playing fingerstyle and flat picking. The overall volume is the same but they sound noticeably different. The HD-28 seems to emphasize the fundamental pitch of a given note while the guitar I just finished has quite a bit more overtones especially in the upper end. Good or bad depending on what music you play and your preferences. The bass on the HD-28 is kind of thuddy, but not muddy. On my guitar, the bass is strong, but I would describe it as crisper somehow. The top end on my new guitar is definitely brighter than on the HD-28. Here's a photo of the finished bracing: Attachment: osprey 9.jpg
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| Author: | George L [ Thu Apr 26, 2018 9:33 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Beautiful work, Jay, as always. I really admire the unique aesthetic you've developed. Wish I could attend the show, but I just couldn't clear my calendar. Break a leg! |
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| Author: | DannyV [ Thu Apr 26, 2018 9:55 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Quality woods and quality workmanship. Nice! |
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| Author: | giltzow [ Thu Apr 26, 2018 11:22 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Very Nice. Give us a review on the show if you have time - Mike G |
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| Author: | Haans [ Thu Apr 26, 2018 11:31 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Very nice, Jay! Having built several German spruce mandolins with heavy bear claw, I would be tempted to say that the extra-crispy comes from the stiffness of bear claw spruce. |
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| Author: | Alex Kleon [ Thu Apr 26, 2018 3:09 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Lots of nice elements, Jay, especially the craftsmanship! Alex |
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| Author: | Haans [ Thu Apr 26, 2018 5:31 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
I really like that purfling, Jay! Very delicate and seems like sort of a reverse of normal fare on that kind of purfling. Is it commercially available or did you make it up? |
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| Author: | sdsollod [ Thu Apr 26, 2018 6:50 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Really nice Jay! |
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| Author: | J De Rocher [ Thu Apr 26, 2018 8:01 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Haans wrote: I really like that purfling, Jay! Very delicate and seems like sort of a reverse of normal fare on that kind of purfling. Is it commercially available or did you make it up? LMI carries that purfling. They call it diagonal purfling. |
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| Author: | J De Rocher [ Tue May 01, 2018 1:19 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
giltzow wrote: Very Nice. Give us a review on the show if you have time - Mike G I got back home late Sunday night after a full weekend at the show. It was a lot of fun again. Attendance was even higher this year than last according to the woman who was running the front desk. I got to meet fellow OLFer Pat Foster which was great and got to see the guitar he has referred to as the Greene & Greene guitar posted about in this past thread: http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=48463&p=643741#p643741. I like that guitar a lot. There seemed to be a stronger representation for violins this year than last, but acoustic guitars still predominated. A good mix of steel strings and classicals and some archtops as well. Ukeleles were well represented. I had planned to take photos of other builders' guitars but never found the time unfortunately. Many beautiful ones to look over with top notch craftsmanship and aesthetics. The builders who exhibit there are a very friendly bunch and it was great fun to talk with them about their guitars, how they build, and other stuff in general. Although a majority of the builders fit the stereotype of the aging white male (possibly bald and bearded), there were quite a few younger builders including a few women there doing really good work which was good to see. For any of you who happen to be in the Portland area at this time next year, I highly recommend checking out this show. One great thing about this show is the demonstration performances held in the old chapel which has wonderful acoustics. There's a full schedule of 15 minute performances for five hours both days. Some of the attendees I talked to come for those just as much as to see the instruments int he exhibit hall. Two of my guitars were played this year by a Portland fingerstyle guitar player named Mark Hanson who put on a really fine performance and his song choices highlighted the tonal qualities of the guitars. One of the songs he played on the dreadnought I just finished was Georgia On My Mind which suited that guitar beautifully with it carrying the bass line through that song very nicely. If you're interested, you can hear Mark playing Georgia On My Mind on his own guitar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykoI7ULsnDM. He played a composition of his called Key To The Kingdom on one of my OM-size guitars which sounded amazing. Here he is playing that song on his guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVLymij3Dpw. It was fun to hear my guitars played by someone of that caliber. A few photos: Two photos during the set up in the main exhibit hall on Saturday morning. Attachment: Marylhurst 2018 set up 1.jpg Attachment: Marylhurst 2018 set up 2.jpg Shorty after the show opened from the vantage point of my table. See that pile of wood on the table on the right? I came home with two nice myrtle back and sides sets from Vince at Pacific Coast Woods. He had lots of gorgeous sets. The Gilmer Wood Company table was at the other end of the hall and that was a dangerous place to go. Somehow I resisted getting my wallet out there. Attachment: Marylhurst 2018 Show opens.jpg The performance hall: Attachment: Marylhurst 2018 performance hall.jpg The spring Chinook run was in full swing on the Willamette River which was packed with boats up and down the river both days. Attachment: Spring Chinook run 2018 - WIllamette River.jpg
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| Author: | Haans [ Tue May 01, 2018 2:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Very nice write-up and pix, Jay. I've been out to California several times at Grass Valley, Bakersfield and to Wintergrass once, even stayed in the lodge on Mt Hood. Always wanted to meet Pat, seems like a really nice guy. Looks like you all had a good time and wow, during the Chinook run...I would have been in hip boots (were I 30 years younger) way up a tributary! Looks like just the right size builder gathering. Reminds me of Grass Valley without the pines... Thanks, Jay! |
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| Author: | Pmaj7 [ Tue May 01, 2018 6:14 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Nice work Jay! Good style, crisp details and the bear claw is some of the nicest I've seen. Kudos to making the KitKat on the x-brace work even though conventional wisdom says they would be too soft. Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk |
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| Author: | johnparchem [ Tue May 01, 2018 6:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
I missed show I was in North Carolina for a wedding this week. I was bummed that they overlapped. The Northwest Handmade Instrument Exhibit is a favorite of mine. |
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| Author: | J De Rocher [ Wed May 02, 2018 12:36 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
pat macaluso wrote: Kudos to making the KitKat on the x-brace work even though conventional wisdom says they would be too soft. Another instance of conventional wisdom being off the mark. Kit Kats are after all a composite laminate of carbon-based complex molecules oriented in a multi-dimensional structural array for maximum functionality and resonance with A432. Or something like that... |
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| Author: | George L [ Wed May 02, 2018 4:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
Thanks for the update, Jay. I wish I could have attended. Maybe next year. |
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| Author: | Pmaj7 [ Sun May 06, 2018 12:05 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Latest guitar completed just in time |
J De Rocher wrote: pat macaluso wrote: Kudos to making the KitKat on the x-brace work even though conventional wisdom says they would be too soft. Another instance of conventional wisdom being off the mark. Kit Kats are after all a composite laminate of carbon-based complex molecules oriented in a multi-dimensional structural array for maximum functionality and resonance with A432. Or something like that... Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk |
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