RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR

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Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

I think this is where I'm going to stop fine tuning, install the tap plate and finish the guitar. Right now, everything seems to be in place for the initial building phase.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 5 2014 16:24:38

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Here's some more tonal display

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 6 2014 16:50:27

estebanana

Posts: 9360
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Good work Tom,

I did not understand much of it, but the guitar sounded better at the end.

I was impressed you took the bridge on and off. That was ballsy. Will you tinker more with after the tap plate is on or it that it?

Guitar sounds really good and you have some nice solea licks, I used to know a few those, but I have not taken lessons in along time and I lost about 90 percent of my material. I could sit and listen to you play, you have a good sound to my ear.

Ole' tu.

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https://www.stephenfaulkguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 7 2014 12:25:51

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to estebanana)

The guitar is essentially tuned right now unless something comes up to have to tune it some more.

The tap plate will solidify the tone more.

The fine tuning is not only for the tone but a lot of it is to get the top timber working with the right and left hand techniques. Correct articulation is important for this. I try and make the guitar respond to all of the techniques, as much as possible.

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 7 2014 12:56:11

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

The tap plate is glued on and there is a noticeable difference in tone and solidity of the timber; not so much is tonal character but in clarity and sustain.

I'll try and do a video tonight when the strings are stretched out more.

I'll try and compared this earlier video below, with the latest tonight when I post it.

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 9 2014 14:38:25

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Here is a little check out on the third string that I fine tuned to blend with the other treble strings as best I could make it.

I have glued the tap plate down and this is the tone with the tap plate.

And here is a little Solea.....

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 10 2014 1:23:17

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Here is a close up tuning of the fan braces:

And here is the tonal out come from this last tuning:

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 13 2014 3:06:31

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Here is a next to last tuning

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 17 2014 19:46:11

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

This is the last part of the tuning process, and now I have to finish the guitar and then allow age to do the rest..........Not all the time do I need to take this much time to fine tune but sometimes it turns into a real search.

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 20 2014 19:57:22

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Here is La Susi with her brother Joaquin playing what I think is a guitar that is muy Gitano.

I'll record my guitar that I lowered the action to 2.5 mm at the 12th fret and 8 to 9 mm height at the saddle. My action is not as low as his but I hope you can get the idea what this new guitar does with an old guy who doesn't play much. I'll load it in a little while. Here it is:

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 22 2014 22:47:56

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Well, here is the latest I have on Manuel Adalid's flamenco guitar played by Daniel Veliz, a friend of mine from Houston Texas. This is the Tom Blackshear model and this is Manuel's top flamenco model sold out of his shop in Valencia Spain. This particular guitar has the very best of woods and is French polished. I did a little fine tuning of the voice, otherwise the guitar as is.....very nice.

If you are interested in the price and other facets of the instrument you can e-mail me at tguitars@texas.net

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 25 2014 10:43:47

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

It's getting too soft to continue further so I have to stop and let it harden up a bit.

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 26 2014 4:51:16

Ricardo

Posts: 14828
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tom Blackshear

It's getting too soft to continue further so I have to stop and let it harden up a bit.

Do you do anything different for negras in terms of fine tuning vs cypress or other types of back/side wood? Or basically you do the same type of thing regardless?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 27 2014 0:04:06

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Ricardo)

It's really a matter of finding the sweet spot in any fan braced guitar, not that all guitars are done the same way. Each guitar will demand its own propio sello, and it's basically up to the builder to find it.

For example: Manuel's guitar was a simple adjustment; not too hard to accomplish getting the treble to sing with a noticeable sweet edge. But my present guitar is an experiment that I decided to work on until it either became a failure or something really good.

I think Ive reached my level of incompetence with this instrument and can go no further with it, without sacrificing the top.......the guitar's capability has about gone over the edge due to my working on it.

But I've learned a lot about certain facets of sound with this experience; something that will help make a better instrument the next time.

The reality of this practice is to learn enough about this technique to justify spending so much time with it. I know what I will do the next time, as I've experienced a lot about this guitar's sound adjustment.

The idea is to not go further than each instrument can tolerate, and the more I work on it, the more chance I have of moving the sound from a secure setting. And then having to try and bring the sound back to its rightful place.

I done this several times with this experiment, and now it's time to stop. I'll try and do one more video with it before I take the strings off and finish it.

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 27 2014 1:00:46

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Here is the last adjustment for the sound........

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 27 2014 4:36:47

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

There is no adjustment just playing it in a little:

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 29 2014 23:37:48

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

This has to be the last play as the tone seems to be settling in nicely. Now I have to finish it.

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jul. 31 2014 3:42:01

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

No Joke, this is the last demo for the tone....I'll take the strings off today and begin finishing the rest of the Guitar:

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 1 2014 14:36:13

Sr. Martins

Posts: 3079
Joined: Apr. 4 2011

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Doesn't seem to be lacking trebles.

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"Ya no me conoce el sol, porque yo duermo de dia"

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 1 2014 17:54:22

SephardRick

Posts: 358
Joined: Apr. 11 2014

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Tom,

To my ears you hit the ideal point, where the notes are bold and defined with instant decay. Thanks for sharing!

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Rick

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 1 2014 20:29:08

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Sr. Martins)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sr. Martins

Doesn't seem to be lacking trebles.

I take it by your comment that the guitar needs more bass? Well, I agree that it could use a more distinct bass so I took it a little further and fine tuned; not the bass so much, but to level the treble end a little and then synchronize it with the bass.

It is starting to develop a further hollow sound and breaking edge to the voice, like some of the old Santos guitars, so I have to stop now. I'll post it later.

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 2 2014 14:51:07

tri7/5

Posts: 570
Joined: May 5 2012

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Tom what is the point of diminishing returns? At some point the rest has to be left to the player and the guitar naturally aging. You've tuned it some 30 times now?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 2 2014 15:03:17

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to tri7/5)

quote:

ORIGINAL: tri7/5

Tom what is the point of diminishing returns? At some point the rest has to be left to the player and the guitar naturally aging. You've tuned it some 30 times now?

Yes and this has to stop. The reason to start out was to show some fine tuning of the articulation and sound but it has to stop.

Here is the sound at the present time, and then age has to take its course:

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 2 2014 15:14:57

Sr. Martins

Posts: 3079
Joined: Apr. 4 2011

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

quote:

I take it by your comment that the guitar needs more bass?

In fact I was just joking with my own signature below. If you end up with a hole on the top, don't send me the bill.

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"Ya no me conoce el sol, porque yo duermo de dia"

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 2 2014 17:29:54

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Sr. Martins)

Not a problem with the tonal adjustment. Right now I'm trying the match the sides and back color to match the top. I'll put some pictures up in a little while to show off the color match. And then on to the final polish.

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 6 2014 14:24:25

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

Here is the sprayed on color for the guitar's sides and back to match the top, as close as possible. I've just sprayed on the clear coats to lock in the color and now is the time to start with the padding of french polish to smooth out the texture and bring the finish to a smooth high gloss. Hopefully I'll finish this puppy in the next week or so. And this is played with exceptionally worn out strings on it. Actually, it might sound better with worn out strings

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 14 2014 9:46:57

SephardRick

Posts: 358
Joined: Apr. 11 2014

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

quote:

Actually, it might sound better with worn out strings

It is hard for me to imagine this instrument could sound any better!

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Rick

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 26 2014 20:00:35

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to SephardRick)

Wow! now that could be taken two ways, either there is no better sounding guitar or nothing can help it now :-)

Anyway, I have spent way too much time on this guitar and I hope to finish it off soon. But I have to admit, its a fire cracker. Wish I could play it better.

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 26 2014 20:19:55

SephardRick

Posts: 358
Joined: Apr. 11 2014

RE: FINE TUNING A GUITAR (in reply to Tom Blackshear)

quote:

now that could be taken two ways

Tom,

Maybe I should put it like this...It's time for your wife to remove the masterpiece from the artist. It's done! I'm already day dreaming how nice it would to have ten grand just sitting around...Well, you get my drift:)

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Rick

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 26 2014 20:56:01