New build Completed

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New build Completed

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Flamingrae

Posts: 220
Joined: May 19 2009

New build Completed

Just sharing a few images of my new baby. This started life as an ebay rescue and came in the form of a dreadnought (in bits) with super thick ribs, back and the front I think is sitka spruce. I promptly set about and showed it the error of it's ways and at the same time set myself some challenges.
I used a Barbero pattern this time round, had a go a doing my own rosette, lots of slimming down on the support inside, Rosewood laminate on the neck, french polish on the front, nitro on the back and sides. It's a 660 scale which is a bit different for me but I can still stretch from 1st to 5th (ok just).
Soundwise - it's still new, less than 2 days old and it's changing a lot. The basses are full with a good bit of bite (growl). Trebles......mmmmm ......I'd like them to be brighter but maybe this might change and I'm using a different set of strings than I normally use (they were there at the right time). I'm going to take the action down a bit more on the top end too, not that it needs much but this will make the pull off's easier.
I'm just having a little moment of reflection and any feedback would good.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 24 2012 13:45:30

Flamingrae

Posts: 220
Joined: May 19 2009

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Flamingrae)

and a few more

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 24 2012 13:46:54

Flamingrae

Posts: 220
Joined: May 19 2009

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Flamingrae)

and enough

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 24 2012 13:48:52

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Flamingrae)

Very nice work. All the stellstring style purfling is not my taste, but I can always reaspect a good work.

Did I understand you right, you made a peghead negra out of a dreadnought kit or what. Thats a different attitude to life.

At first I thought the soundboard was a pale cedar, but looking close, it looks like a very pretty piece of sitka. People will tell you that you cant make this and that with sitka spruce but its just babble. I´ve made some very nice guitars with sitka tops. You have to work thin though and then the trebles will take time. One of mine took half a year to open up in the trebles.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 24 2012 19:05:34

Flamingrae

Posts: 220
Joined: May 19 2009

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

quote:

id I understand you right, you made a peghead negra out of a dreadnought kit or what. Thats a different attitude to life.

Ha! Well, the way things happened I was on the look out for materials, and I put a bid on ebay for some unfinished projects. The main lot was for a couple of unfinished guitars, both dreadnought patterns. One was in mahogany and the other in rosewood. Along with this was a bunch of bindings and other wood, mainly strutting but other useful bits too. I gathered from the seller that the original maker had given up on what he was doing so I figured that I had an open book to do what I wanted to. I pieced together enough of the original package to do what I thought would make a good instrument and then set about dismembering most of what I had bought.
I dont know how the original maker did it but the ribs were bent at about 4mm thick and so there was plenty of material to loose. I had to get rid of all the linings and straighten everything. The back was good but the front needed re-jointing.
I know that most advice is to go with a pattern until you find "logic" in what you are doing but I wanted to try something new and as I had no real emotional attachment with the package, I thought lets try and see what happens.......
The top was thinned from 1.9 on the bass to 2.1 on the treble. This was a change for me as I've done even all over before - and I added a bridge support too, but that is standard on this pattern.
I'm still trying to find a style and I guessed that this might not be to everyones taste in terms of decoration etc. but when you have an open book, why not try and see what happens.
The next one will be more experimental re. the rosette and I'm going for a blanca with some 2nd grade cypress but good quality spruce.
It's nice to hear you say about the trebles...even after a few hours they are improving.
Thanks for your comments, I nearly put pics up of the first one just to check the difference.
As they say, "mucha mierda" and catch you at a later stage.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 25 2012 1:58:46

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Flamingrae)

Well, Mucha mierda is something you say when someone go out and play in public and not when you build.

Anyways, the guitar looks good. I really like that Sitca spruce top. The color is just so pretty.
I´m inpressed with ways of working. Must have been a lot of work. Good luck with the next.

PS. Remember to post the pictures and not just as an attachment. We the internet surfers are a lazy pack.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 25 2012 7:20:38

Ruphus

Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Flamingrae)

That´s right.
Check the "Embed picture in post" button. You can still do it and the pics will show in the post.

Ruphus

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 25 2012 8:40:16

Flamingrae

Posts: 220
Joined: May 19 2009

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Ruphus)

Ahhhhh from one extreme to the other........I'll get it right one of these times. I thought I'd made the images small. Thanks for the heads up on that Ruphus.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 25 2012 12:42:52

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Flamingrae)

I've never seen Sitka that dark. Did you apply a stain? It looks like cedar and had you not mentioned it being spruce, I would have thought otherwise. Very good work.

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Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 25 2012 17:12:44

Flamingrae

Posts: 220
Joined: May 19 2009

RE: New build Completed (in reply to TANúñez)

quote:

I've never seen Sitka that dark. Did you apply a stain? It looks like cedar and had you not mentioned it being spruce, I would have thought otherwise.

To start with I thought that it was spruce. When I bought the collection of parts they had been hanging around for some time and the outside of the wood had weathered to a darker colour than the inside. By the time I started building it may be between 15 and 20 years old. It's possible it may have been exposed to a bit of direct sunlight. Then I started questioning whether it was spruce or not and flagged up pictures of what it could be. I did think at one stage that it might be cedar but I put that idea aside when close ups of sitka revealed a truer picture.
I did stain - but only my recipe for the inside. That was covered in an earlier post on that subject. Outside is finished with a blond french polish. I put about 10 coats on and rubbed down at intervals. Ok, I came through on a couple of little parts and this might give a bit of colour variation (damn). Hope this gives an explanation - of sorts anyway, and thanks for the compliments.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 25 2012 22:13:47

Sean

Posts: 672
Joined: Jan. 20 2011
From: Canada

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Flamingrae)

Congrats, there's a Dread I could actually like

I'm with Anders about Sitka, if John Gilbert can make beautiful sounding Classical's with Sitka there is no reason why it can't work in a Flamenco.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 26 2012 0:11:49

Flamingrae

Posts: 220
Joined: May 19 2009

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Sean)

quote:

if John Gilbert can make beautiful sounding Classical's with Sitka there is no reason why it can't work in a Flamenco.

This is what came with the package. I did'nt start out with a view to use sitka and I just thought that it was caucasian. What I did try to do was use what was in the bundle and to that end, I used the same wood for braces etc to keep it all "together". I was hoping to find the original maker just to say that his efforts had not been in vain and that I tried to keep (more or less) the things that were in the original package. I have a pic of the bare wood before it was finished and you will see that it is dark, but it's not cedar.
Sorry they are not great pics but it's all I have to hand

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 26 2012 1:20:53

meencantalaguitarra

Posts: 12
Joined: Apr. 28 2011

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Flamingrae)

Wow even the pegs have the purling design. I'm in awe of the amount of work that must have gone in. I also really like the earthy colors and tones of the guitar. Very beautiful. Congrats!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 26 2012 3:51:15

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: New build Completed (in reply to TANúñez)

quote:

I've never seen Sitka that dark. Did you apply a stain? It looks like cedar and had you not mentioned it being spruce, I would have thought otherwise.

The texture of Sitka is very different from Cedar and you can see that even on a relatively poor photo. Cedar is pretty dead looking while Sitka can be very lively. Sitka spruce is a very pretty tonewood IMHO.
The texture of sitka can also be felt when you work it. Even compared to other spruce types. Its hard and it feels dry.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 26 2012 6:53:14

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

The first few guitars I built were out of Sitka. The were loud instruments. I like Sitka very much.

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Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 26 2012 14:31:55

Shawn Brock

Posts: 271
Joined: Sep. 19 2011
From: Louisville KY

RE: New build Completed (in reply to Flamingrae)

It seems like Sitka will change color and darken quite a bit over time. When I could see better, I watched my 89 Taylor 510 get darker and darker over the years. It went from almost white to a look that's closer to Redwood. She never laid out in the sun, so I don't know what may have caused that. Not a bad thing, not a good thing, just an observation...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 27 2012 17:08:40