Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey, all . I have been working on a stage acoustic I'm calling my Faux Acoustic. I recieved swome interest here and in the electric forum for pics when it is completed, so for those of you interested, I will post pics here as well as a link to this thread in the electric forum.
Without further ado:

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Sound clip.
https://www.box.com/s/7jbddw1ttcprkm2zl971

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

The Fauxcoustic!

Interesting - does it have an under saddle pickup?

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

it actually sounds quite convincing.....details please? pickup type/chambered?

OK, I listened and am reasonably impressed.

Details of the build now, or you'll be sorry!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Thanks for the interest, all.
It's a braced spruce top...


....with a fully chambered white ash body.



Pickup and electronics are the Schatten SBT and Fishman Powerjack endpin pre.



I wanted a stage acoustic that sounded good through an amp or PA, and as simple as I could make it.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Very cool, simple & elegant.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I like it.
I will add one to my "build it" list....

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

was the top as thin as a "real" flat top.....?

That's hard to say, isn't it? I don't think there's a standard, is there?
That said, I thinned it to .118", which is probably a little thicker than most. This is the first acoustic type instrument I've ever done, so I opted for what I thought was a little thicker top with braces thinned as much as I dared. Assuming top thickness is relative to body size, the body is an L-00.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Great job, Mike!

I have to ask- does it seem as though the bridge is about an inch farther north than looks "right" on an acoustic body? I'm sure you have a really good reason for this, it just looks slightly out of place to my eyes. Not to be critical, just wondering.

I have built one similar to this, and originally designed it, like this one, to be 16 frets to the body. More neck outside of the body = a shorter space from the neck joint to the bridge. In order to even out the look, I shortened the upper bout a bit. I chickened out though, and ended up making it 14 frets to the body. Congrats Mike!

Not to worry.
Yeah, the look is a little different, but I like it quite a bit, and most people who've see it like the look as well.
The reason I built it that way was to have the neck joined at the 16th, like many electric guitars. This guitar was designed as a sort of crossover between the two. I have some physical problems that cause issues when I try to play a standard depth acoustic. Even a small one. So I was looking to combine the comfort of a thinner electric body and a decent acoustic sound through an amp. I also enjoy playing lead when I can, so another consideration was easier access to higher frets. I didn't alter the body to compensate because I wanted as much "belly" vibrating behind the bridge as I could get.
Who knows? It might catch on. I bet when the 14 fret dred was introduced a lot of folk who played 12 fretters said similar("Wow, that looks strange"). In fact, there's still a bit of bias/opinionated preference between lovers of each type.
Any time there's a change in what we percieve as "normal", it kind of looks strange to our eyes. I don't see it as any more that that. And I don't have a problem being a little "strange".

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

....and would that physical issue be known in Western medicine as beergutius giganticus? i, too, suffer from that

LOL! No, but my potatogutius giganticus probably doesn't help any. I have nerve damage in both of my arms and hands, as well as a shoulder joint that is basically crumbling. So the shift in arm/shoulder position to reach over the thickness of an acoustic body can be quite painful if the position is maintained for very long.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Thanks, Mike. I figured it was a geometry thing. I don't think it looks bad at all, just different, like you say. Different is good, when done well, like yours.

I Love it , Simple Elegance ! Beautifull work and sound !

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Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
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Lincoln, Wud, thanks so much.
Wud, I like your avatar. I think I can relate.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I thought about it for a while, played around with that back panel, moving it around to see what various sized openings did to the tone, and decided I'd try a sound port/sound hole. Here's how she looks now.



I also did some more work on the bracing through the back panel access, thinning the tone bars down some more.
I think it sounds pretty good acoustically now. It's not a cannon, and definitely doesn't have the low end boom of a good dread, but it's volume is loud enough that it holds it's own with other acoustic guitars, and it's tone, which is pretty balanced with more of a midrange sound, cuts through well. It's definitely not got the richness of a true full bodied acoustic, and I think the bracing probably has a lot to do with that as well, but it is pleasing to the ears, IMO. It is what it is, and I'm happy with that, all those considerations included.
I will post a soundclip hopefully some time tommorrow evening, for those of you who might be interested.
It remains to be seen how the soundports will affect feedback through an amp, but since I play in church and am not close to cranking it anyway I've experienced no issues as of yet.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Looks nice! I like the Ash body

Thanks, Mark.
I like the ash as well. I think the grain is quite lovely, and I love working with it. The white ash that I use can be quite heavy, but for an application like this one, that's not a problem.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

That is really sweet!
Innovative too!
Like how the headstock and cutaway shapes are complimentary.
Well done!

Rob

Thaks, Rob!

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.