Official Luthiers Forum!

Well, been a while, but this is the last guitar that I will have completely built. Any future instruments (maybe 3) will be finished and have final assembly by someone else.
This guitar was started along with 2 other parlors about 7 years ago as a batch build of 3. As I have said elsewhere, I don't build in batches, and actually never built these as a batch. I had three boxes sitting in the shop for years and, one at a time, they finally were completed. More on that later...
This instrument is red spruce/QS white oak, ladder braced with mahogany neck, ebony overlay, fingerboard and bridge with MOP inlay. It is bound in a Larson style with green abalone pieces. The top is a 10' cylindrical radius, while the back is a 10' dish. Finish is Mohawk instrument lacquer. It has a 3 brace top and 4 brace back. It has a 12.5" lower bout and a 24.5" scale...





Note the very narrow spruce areas between rings on the rosette.



Here is my off center pyramid bridge. I really liked it better than any other of the pyramid bridges that I built...



Slotted ebony topped peghead with Larson torch inlay...



Filled and dyed white oak back with matching center strip and B/W/ivoroid binding...



Detail of Larson style purfling. Note broken abalone as it's bent as it was done on '20's instruments...



Detail of heel joint...



Another shot of heel and center strip...



Back of peghead...



This last parlor sat in the shop as just a closed box for about 4 years unfinished, all the time soaking up all the vibrations from the shop, machinery noise. I finally made a neck for it and finished it off. Then it sat for a couple of years before I sanded the finish and buffed it. Then it sat for at least a year before I put it together, fretted it and set the action.
I figured the lacquer was going to make a glass like finish (something I pretty much despise), but even after a year, the grain started showing up after a short break in. The really interesting part is that the guitar sounds older than any guitar I have ever built. It had a broken in sound after a few weeks of playing and now after 6 months of playing, sounds like it's 10 years old. Loud too for a parlor. I guess I could attribute the tone to all the time it spent in the shop vibrating and also the years the box had to relax from being initially built, the shrinkage of the lacquer from the long drying time.
Anyone had a similar experience?
Thanks for looking...

That's a beauty Haans!

If that is your last complete guitar, Haans, you are going out in style! QS white oak is one of my favourite woods. What did you use to dye the oak, if I may ask?

Alex

_________________
"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Wow, the work of a true master. Gorgeous

_________________
http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Haans, your attention to detail has always amazed me. It's one thing to build a great guitar, but making it look as beautiful as it sounds is something else again. I hope that we have the benefit of your experience and wisdom for many years to come.

Brent

Such elegance, Haans.

Pat

_________________
formerly known around here as burbank
_________________

http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Beautiful work! Truly masterful!

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Has Dakota Dave gotten his hands on that one yet Haans? What a beauty.

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Wow, just wow!!

Not bad for a beginner

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Yup that's a beauty. I would love to pick a few notes on it.

I love the tight waist. That thing is sexy!

You know... last night I was working on a uke. I've switched to all hide glue construction and was gluing on a bridge for the first time with hide glue. I was hyper focused on the process. I did three dry runs. I heated up the bridge with a warming lamp, had my vacuum clamp positioned perfectly. I executed the glue up with perfection. The glue squeeze out cleanup was just as advertised, very simple and left no visible impact to the French polish. I was so happy. I moved on to installing the tuners when I looked down the neck and below the sound hole, what do I see? String slots! I had put the bridge on upside down. Luckily it was only an hour of elapsed time so I removed it and cleaned things up. Feeling sorry for myself I turned off the shop lights and came upstairs to watch the Packers game. Got even more depressed watching that and started the whole "why am I bothering with this" crap. Opened up tapatalk and see this beautiful parlor and I'm reminded that the reason I'm "bothering" is to maybe one day make a beauty like this. I started building in the first place because I wanted to make my own parlor guitar. Really great to see this and thank you for sharing, Haans.

Brad

_________________
Insta - https://www.instagram.com/cbcguitars/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cbcguitars

Very very pretty.

I am especially impressed that you were able to get such a good bookmatch out of the white oak rays..... That is very difficult to get....

On the sound... "Old" is the tone descriptor I would assign to Oak.. That's the feedback I have from my Oak guitars too.... Not sure why this is - but it seems like they come out of the gate with the tone you expect out of an old Rosewood guitar....

Immaculate!

_________________
Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Brad, I must apologize now for laughing so hard

You gotta love being human sometimes, we do the damnedest things.

Beautful, Haans.

Chris-

Stunning work - true inspiration.

Beautiful work Haans. You've always made up the best looking purflings. Bet that one is fun to play.

First off, Stunning Work!!! Love it. I've never thought of Oak as a guitar wood, but I love the look of it. Certainly something to aspire to.



Yup. Done the exact same thing. dang symmetric bridges!

_________________
Tony Thatcher
Bozeman, Montana

Wonderful!!

_________________
guitarsbygiltzow.com

Holy Cow! that's almost too nice to play

absolutely beautiful!
Nice clean work!

Mike

_________________
Mike Collins

That's one you should certainly be proud of, Haans. Masterfully done.

_________________
Guitar Maker and Purveyor of the World's Finest Tonewoods
http://www.aaronhixguitars.com/
http://stores.ebay.com/A-Hix-Tonewood-a ... r-Supplies

Thanks folks!
I did finally find the photo of the bracing. Years ago I started playing around with braces and the usual deformed ladder bracing spot in between the bridge plate and LTB. I finally settled on what you see here, and it keeps the deformity away, doesn't seem to affect tone at all. The 10' cylindrical radius helps too.



Note also the laminated back bracing...and the other two parlors.
Alex, the grain is filled with BLACK (ebony Stew Mac with a lot of black TransTint and black tempera paint powder) tossed in. When dry, it was sanded, a mixture of TT brown mahogany, red mahogany and medium brown dye in a water base was applied and wiped off.
Terry, Dakoty hasn't seen this one. Think he's more of a GC/Nick Lucas kinda guy.
Brad, it is the true parlor shape of the 1890's. Lots of instruments called "parlor" these days...
John, that was some of my last "old" oak. Was resawn by me. As far as the old tone, I know what you mean, but this one seems to have an "age" to it... and of course, it does. But it just broke in so fast, faster than anything I had ever built.
Tony, QS White Oak is a real bluesy sounding wood. When combined with red spruce, it is really fundamental, with well broken in strings, it almost has a F5 mandolin "thud" in the bass. Would probably sound a little more muddy with regular X bracing, maybe not.
Kevin, I've always built instruments to play, and not to stick in the case. All my old mandolins have a lovely patina to them and I hope the guitars have a similar look...played.

Thanks for sharing this, Haans. It's wonderful that you were able to finish this one yourself. As always, your aesthetics are exquisite and craftsmanship superb. Your work is a true inspiration to countless luthiers, both pros and amateurs alike.

_________________
George :-)