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Posts: 1708
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to mango)
quote:
Also I find it hard to get rid of these little buildups around the bridge.
Mango--
Your guitar is TOO GOOD for a first guitar. You are putting us to shame.
Be aware that a shellac finish will continue to shrink for a long time, maybe months. After a while, those bumps will become insignificant (if they aren't already).
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to mango)
quote:
ORIGINAL: mango
Thank you guys for all your support!
Somehow my tone is better with the rests of the shellac on my fingernails :-)
Mango,
And olive oil in your hair, you know, if you were doing it right.
If you've done it right your new guitar will become an inspiration to take your playing to the next level.
Speaking of the next level and doing it right, have you started thinking about your next Flamenco guitar? What would you do differently? What would you tell some one headed down that path of their first build?
And better yet what do you love most about your new girl, go ahead, brag a little, you have earned it.
And lastly welcome to the club con luthiery.
HR
_____________________________
I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy, doesn't have to be fast, should have some meat on the bones, can be raw or well done, as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor.
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to JasonM)
quote:
Do you guys ever touch up areas like the bridge or rosewood after the shellac has shrunk?
A lot of builders do but there are many who don't bother with it. Shellac is going to shrink quite a bit the first year. This is clearly seen on many guitars that are French polished.
You could adopt a system by using lacquer to pre-fill the wood before polish out but this just uses more time that many don't think necessary.
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to Tom Blackshear)
I see, that makes sense with the laquer. I noticed shrinkage on my bridge but it’s also possible I exposed pores when sanding it. But I’ve seen it on other bridges.
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to JasonM)
quote:
I see, that makes sense with the lacquer. I noticed shrinkage on my bridge but it’s also possible I exposed pores when sanding it. But I’ve seen it on other bridges.
On occasion I have used Crazy Glue to fill in open spots in the binding/purfling. Also, lacquer sticks with a small heat/iron. There are any number of ways to do this; even pumice mixed with shellac.
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to Echi)
Well, looks like this project is done after more than one year. First of all thank you all for your great support. It really helped me a lot!
Of course I was not patient enough to wait longer than one week before I started playing... Now I have some prints from my arm and my pants on the shellack. Well I don't care as I won't sell it anyway.
What I like most about the sound of the guitar is the great dynamic range. It sounds very sweet when I just touch the strings and can also be very loud with a quality tone. Also it has a good bass and a nice singing voice at the upper frets while still having the quick flamenco attack.
What I don't like so much is that the strings feel a bit harder than I am used to from my other guitars (even the 660 ones... this one is 650). Is that the price for the great dynamic range? I thought about to sand the struts a bit down but I am not sure because it also works as it is and sounds good... I don't know. Will the top maybe soften a bit over time? Or maybe sand a bit strut 3 and 5 (the big ones) on the sound hole side?
One thing works really well... I made a compensated nut. That was my plan from the beginning, so I slightly changed the position of the frets to be able to do so. I really never had a guitar in my hands that intoned to well. very happy about that :-)
My "tap tone" (body air resonance) ended up at G#. Actually wanted to have it lower, but now I am not that obsessed with this anymore... but maybe I could have sand the top more in the end... well next time. Surprisingly there is no wolf note although it pretty much hits the note. Maybe because the top is generally on the stiff side?
Well... good night everybody. Thank you again and see you soon!
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RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to mango)
Congratulations on finishing Mango. Hard to believe it’s your first one with your level of craftsmanship.
Pretty cool how you did the nut compensation. I would like to try it myself but not sure I have the cajones. Seems like once you commit to it by altering the fret positions then you better get it right on the nut and saddle. Like there isn’t any room for error.
Not sure if you read my thread on loosening a stiff top. But I did take a little off the tops of the fan braces and it made a difference. Actually, I sort of regret having done it because I replaced the fretboard to lower action further and sanded the braces All at once. Both have a factor on tension feel of course.
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to mango)
Congratulations and well done. Thats a bonny instrument for a number one. No. 1's are always quite special and you have some good features. You are going to enjoy this. There is a point further down the road where everything has settled and the sound will change again - usually for the better. Enjoy.
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to JasonM)
quote:
Pretty cool how you did the nut compensation. I would like to try it myself but not sure I have the cajones. Seems like once you commit to it by altering the fret positions then you better get it right on the nut and saddle. Like there isn’t any room for error.
Actually it is not very dangerous to alter the fret positions a bit towards the nut, because you can always go back to the original scale length by routing out the nut like you see it on the photo. But keep in mind that you have to move the position of the bridge as well. It really worked great for me, but I only recommend it to people who are like me going crazy with little intonation issues... You know, many generations of guitar players performed great without nut compensation ;-) But if you hate retuning your guitar after you put the capo on, this is a way to solve that problem.
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to Stu)
quote:
Never seen a head stock plate on the underside like that.
This is how Bogdanovich does it in his book. When I first saw it I didn't like it and decided to do it the "normal way". But then I went too far plaining the headstock so that it became too thin. So I had to put that backplate to compensate... well now I like it a lot hahaha...
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to JasonM)
quote:
Not sure if you read my thread on loosening a stiff top. But I did take a little off the tops of the fan braces and it made a difference. Actually, I sort of regret having done it because I replaced the fretboard to lower action further and sanded the braces All at once. Both have a factor on tension feel of course.
It is magically starting to feel softer now... I don't know. Perhaps I am just getting used to it, or the wood is loosing some tension by itself? I think I will leave it as it is and see how it behaves over time.
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to mango)
Ha, had to laugh but only because your playing could make a really bad guitar sound good.
Could get my iDevice to play through my little Yamaha stereo so only through my phone. Hard to make any evaluation but she sure sounds nice.
Which one are you building now? HR
_____________________________
I prefer my flamenco guitar spicy, doesn't have to be fast, should have some meat on the bones, can be raw or well done, as long as it doesn't sound like it's turning green on an elevator floor.
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to Echi)
Impressed. Everything just excellent. You may compensate the hard pulsacion by lowering a little the action or just going for lower tension strings. I assume it’s hard just because of the characteristics of that specific spruce top. If you would decide to shave a very little the braces through the soundhole you may use the search function and look for some advices shared by Tom Blackshear here in the foro. I also remember some interesting suggestions of Andy Culpepper. For a more scientific approach you may search for the opinions of Alan Carruth on the Delcamp forum: in my understanding he is more focused on the bridge wings, at least in similar cases. To be honest with you I would just leave it like it is. I am sure the guitar will improve further in the next months without any need to intervene, and by the way, much better a guitar overbuilt a little in the long term.
Posts: 3486
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to mango)
Congratulations! A beautiful guitar and excellent playing.
I'm sure you know that the sound will change during at least the first year, especially with a spruce top. It's gradual enough that I sometimes wonder how much of the effect is due to change in the guitar, and how much of it is my learning to play it.
Usually you will get more bass and a "warmer" sound, with more mid-range harmonics.
The result may be the sensation of a slightly softer pulsacion.
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to mango)
Mango,
The guitar sounds good, perhaps a little tight in its articulation but good. And this could lead to a loosening of its tightness toward being a really good one. I like the cosmetic value so all I see for it now is to get a little age on it to see where it goes with its personal stamp, (Character).
RE: Bogdanovich´s method for flamen... (in reply to Echi)
Thank you guys! Yes, the pulsacion is still a little hard, but in a way I like it because it makes the guitar so incredibly growly. A lot of fun when playing Pulgar :-) I think I will leave it as it is for now. My second guitar was also a little hard and I was able to improve the sound a lot by shaping here and there through the sound hole... now it is still tight in a good way, but it sounds much more colorful. Currently I am polishing my third guitar (Spruce / Pau Ferro). I already played a bit on her and this one will be the total opposite of that Blanca. Soft and sweet with a lot of bass... I am enjoying to get to know all the variations.
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