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I just thought I would post a few pics of guitars # 16 and #17.  The first one is an Adi and Indian Rosewood dread with curly maple bindings.  It's a special one because the maple came out of a tree on my land that a storm blew down a couple of years ago, and is my first wood bound guitar.

 

 

Here is a closeup of the tail wedge:

 

 

Here is the other one, a Bazilian and Adi:

 

The back:

an end view...say, does that grain on the left side look like a gorilla's face?? I just noticed that!

or maybe a neanderthal???  Anyway, one more pic:

 

Thanks for looking, and now that I just noticed, I'm going to go set the date on my camera.

Very nice guitars indeed. The maple shimmers like it's moving in the photo!

Congratulations!

Jamie

Very nice!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Nice...the BRW certainly is nice. Nice grain but I don't know about that gorilla!? You

 

Joe

Awesome. I love a dread. My favorite body shape.    

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

It's ChewBacca!

Great work, thanks for sharing it....

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Hmm.....I've misplaced my edit button...BUT that just let's me increase my post count...right?

Actually I'm afraid I *DO* see that gorilla now...but its generally a bad idea to ask people in here what they see in the grain...it a fast down hill ride!

Joe

Beautiful work Brad!!!

I see the gorilla but it looks more like Billy to me....

Your first wood binding job looks like something that someone who had done 100 of these would be thrilled with - excellent work!!

I would be very interested to hear from you how much of a difference, if any, you hear and feel from the BRW one since they both have Adi tops?

Great guitars Brad! 

Beautiful work, Brad!  Those are both top notch lookers.  I really like the first one.  The Curly Maple bindings are outstanding.     

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it.  That curly maple does shimmer when you turn it in the light.  Hesh,  although both are set up for  bluegrass guys, I actually had the honor of having both guitars played, one right after another, by a great finger picker who is blind, and he said that both guitars were killers, but he fealt he had to "dig" a little to get the same tone out of the EIR that he was getting out of the BRW...I immediately noticed a slightly more bass response to the BRW.  The BRW is being picked up tomorrow, and the other one is going out next week, so I'll let you know what they guy says about it, if you like.

Thanks Brad and I am not at all surprised - BRW does seem to live up to it's reputation.

Yes, let us know!  We love to hear the reactions of the people who get the guitars, or at least I do...

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

[QUOTE=WaddyT]Yes, let us know!  We love to hear the reactions of the people who get the guitars, or at least I do... [/QUOTE]

Yeah, me too Waddy.  I'm thinking about driving the maple one to Montgomery, Alabama, about a 5 hour ride for me, just so I can hand it to the new owner.  He is excited about it, and to me, a big part of this is being able to hand them the guitar in person and see their reaction when they open the case, look at it, then sit down and play it.

Maybe, someday, maybe!  That would be way cool.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I really like the look of the top on the second one, Brad.
It looks like you used a toner... If you don't mind sharing... what did you use, and how did you do it?

Both guitars look great!

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Beautiful guitars!

The EIR with the maple bindings really catch my eye. I know it means a lot to you because of the wood coming from your property. I have done something similar before and it really makes me proud to know where the wood came from.

EXCELLENT job!!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Bob, it's a dye, applied to the wood prior to finishing.  I use the stewmac vintage amber and mix it with a dark brown dye by febing, in alcohol and apply with a jamb gun until I get the right color.  I can't remember off the top of my head the ratio, but I have just experimented with the colors to get the tone I like.  It's something like 20 drops of vintage amber to 150 pipette drops of febing in 5 oz alcohol, sprayed until you like the color.  then I seal coat, then spray the lacquer. 

Both guitars also have a Tor-Tis pickguard.

Absolutley Stunning!

Brad, those both look amazing!

It's hard to pick a favorite out of those because they both look great, but I will say that I really like that 4th picture. Great photography work there.

Excellent work and those Maple bindings do look really good!

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

Beautiful work. Those curly maple binding look great.

[quote=JHerrick]Actually I'm afraid I *DO* see that gorilla now...but its generally a bad idea to ask people in here what they see in the grain...it a fast down hill ride! [/quote]



   I see it Joe, one has to look close but it's actually there! Huhm! You can just make it out!

Beautiful Guitar Brad! Those bindings are excellent!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Hey guys,

We just got done with a little jam session here at the house!  The proud owner just took possesion of his BRW guitar, and he was overjoyed with it!  He played both of the above guitars for comparison.  The BRW has a killer bass, but he also said it was VERY even, with great midrange, projection and trebles.  The bass sounded like it was gonna blow out the windows, he said!.  He would stop playing it, and it would just keep ringing.  The Indian rosewood has a little less of a bass than the BRW, and a more mellow tone, a sweet sounding guitar too.  He sat his new guitar down on the couch, pointed at it and said "Now THAT's a BLUEGRASS guitar!"  He played for about 2 hours, even could hear it good next to a banjo!!  Anyhow, just thought some of you would like to know how it went.

Brad

Gorgeous! And with my favourite binding scheme!

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Michael Lloyd

“I was born to ignorance, yes, and lesser poverties ...
I was born to privilege that I did not see ... I didn’t know it, but my way was paved” – John Gorka

Not sure if anyone has praised you yet for this--or not--but it should be said: you matched the curls of your maple bindings perfectly. Or perhaps "balanced" is the better word. There on the butt end the curls are all angling inward, as if they were pointing to the butt wedge. I know it's a small feature, but it shows thought and care...and I think it looks superb.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thanks, Steve, I appreciate that you noticed that.  I did puposefully match the maple grain in that fashion in order for it to look more symetrical.  I almost decided to split the wedge and bookmatch it too, but I thought I might end up with an obvious break in the middle that would have been from the top to the bottom.