Official Luthiers Forum!

Here is a youtube clip of Marc Damon playing "How High the Moon" on one of my 14 fret D-hole guitars.
I am sure some of you guys are gonna dig this one.

You can link to the video from here (blog)

http://collinsguitar.com/news/marc-damo ... of-guitars

or from youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... IjWado7Ew#!

Don't forget to subscribe if you want to see future clips of some great players.

Guitar Specs:
670 mm scale length
Traditional shaped Quarter-sawn Walnut neck with two way truss rod
Ebony fingerboard 20” radius
Mother of pearl face dots
British Columbian select Lutz Spruce soundboard (From Shane at High Mountain tonewoods)
Solid interior liners
Adirondack Spruce top bracing
Adirondack Spruce back bracing
Laminated East Indian rosewood back and sides
Solid Rosewood or Ebony bindings
Solid wood purflings and rosette
Ebonized Rosewood Bridge and moustache trim
DR brass tailpiece with solid Ebony insert

Thanks for checking it!!!

Michael Collins
www.collinsguitar.com

Looks and sounds very nice, Mike! Thanks for sharing the video.

Are there benefits to laminating the back beyond crack resistance? Is it possible to achieve a lighter back plate by laminating, without compromising tone? Thx.

I use the laminated backs and sides in keeping with the traditional construction method used in Mario Maccaferri's original design. The benefits are lighter weight, and elimination of cracking along the grain. The exterior veneer is East Indian Rosewood, while the other two laminates are Honduras Mahogany.

Very cool. I didn't realize Maccaferris traditionally used laminated backs. Thanks Mike.

No problem Charlie.

MC

I like it a lot.
some day I´ll build one of those for my self. can´t play much on django´s stile though, but I´ll be happy having one to mess around a little.
have you tried sitka for a soundboard on these?

Nice!!!!!!!

Great playing too!!!!!!!

Wow!
Looks great, sounds great, and obviously plays like butter.....sweet!

That's awesome Mike! I'm just starting to finish the oval hole guitar now, my first Selmer, based roughly on your book and I can't wait to get her strung up. It's been quite an experience and I made a whole lot of mistakes but I'm eager to try another one, possibly a D-hole.

Do you use adjustable truss rods in the D-hole only or are you using them in all your Selmer's now? That was one concern I had from the original design. I used two carbon bars in my neck. I guess the typical Selmer strings have pretty low tension on par with an electric guitar.

Also what strings would you recommend for an oval hole?

Bruno,

Sitka spruce works very well on these guitars. Holds the bend in the soundboard quite nicely.

MC

jfmckenna,

That's awesome Mike! I'm just starting to finish the oval hole guitar now, my first Selmer, based roughly on your book and I can't wait to get her strung up. It's been quite an experience and I made a whole lot of mistakes but I'm eager to try another one, possibly a D-hole.

Do you use adjustable truss rods in the D-hole only or are you using them in all your Selmer's now? That was one concern I had from the original design. I used two carbon bars in my neck. I guess the typical Selmer strings have pretty low tension on par with an electric guitar.

Also what strings would you recommend for an oval hole?

I would use Argentine 10's (www.caravanguitars.com). They are the correct string for this type of guitar (670mm)On a 12fret d-hole I would go for the Argentine 11's.
As for the truss rod, I include them as a stock feature, unless the person is a traditionalist and specifically wants the neck made the exact way Selmer would have done it.

MC