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Curious as to what binding you guys would use on this back and sides. I love the L-1 I just built but it’s going to another home so I need one to keep.

Something plain as not to take away from the beauty of the back and sides or something a little flashier to help tie it together?

Creative thoughts?
It is sapelle btw



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Is that the top for this guitar behind?

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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.

My usual preference is to use offcuts from the sides...

No sir. That’s another back


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Bubinga
Here's a pic with Myrtle B&S, quite a dark red/brown

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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.

When the wood of the back and sides has dramatic figuring, I tend to favor binding that has little or no figuring and a consistent coloring or use binding that has a very regular and simple repeating figuring pattern like the kind curly koa or maple can have.

Then there's the question of whether or not to have the binding contrast with the back and sides (much lighter color or much darker color) or to have it blend in with or pick up on a color in the back and sides wood.

With that back, I would probably stay away from binding that had a busy, irregular type of figuring, unless it had a nice color and the figuring tended to disappear when the wood darkened under finish. I think the sapele you have speaks for itself and doesn't really need added flash so plain binding of the right color would look good.

What woods are you thinking of using for the fretboard and bridge? Would they be plain or figured?

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Do you have enough side height to cut some binding from it? A nice binding of the same material with a thin purfling line on the bottom might look nice.


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Simple rosewood at this point, but it’s not in stone. I haven’t even picked the top yet


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My binding choices are always based on a theme for the entire guitar. I like as few conflicting colors or woods as possible. So for yours I would want to know what you envision for the headplate, the rosette, end graft, fretboard and bridge. I would be very tempted to use an offcut of the back for the head plate (often you can use two pieces from near the upper bout to make a bookmatched head). If I was going to use a rosewood fretboard and bridge I would be temped to also make the rosette and binding out of rose. I would consider not binding the f/b since it will carry the body binding, but I would bind the head. I would also consider a thin purfling line around all of the binding except for the top which I would purfle to match the rosette.

Another thought that might look really good with that wood is the "new" ebony with all the wonderful brown grain (what I call the Bob Taylor ebony). It might be really cool to use that for fretboard and bridge, and then match it with an ebony headplate and binding. That might open up other possibilities for the rosette if you wanted pearl or some other look. I think to make ebony work you would want to hand pick each piece to get the grain and colors just right.

Last, but far from least, rip some binding from the sides and simply bind it in the same wood as the back, but put a single contrasting purfling line - probably dark.

Its nice wood, don't rush it

Snakewood with no additional purfling lines might look nice. Most of the sapele I've seen has been darker than what you have.

I’m with Freeman. I try to match the binding to the rosette, tailwedge, headstock veneer, heal cap if possible. Or using the off cut from the sides to match the body.

Here’s one I just finished, cocobolo accents all around. Back & Sides are Australian Blackwood.




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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

On mahogany guitars I have built I have you use the curly koa , rosewood or Ebony depending on which look I’m going for.
Here’s one I’m finishing now





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Here’s Indian Rosewood binding





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Another with Indian Rosewood bonding




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Ebony

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Pat

Rosewood, Wenge, Ebony, or Black Walnut. (something dark)

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
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Rod! Glad to see you're still building. I've taken a... few years hiatus. I'm still plugging away at my house renovations. Things are winding down though. I love those dot markers! Do you buy those or make them yourself?

Oh, and to the OP. I would go with something dark and not too flashy, or as Rod mentioned, maybe using off-cuts to match.

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Purpleheart. Will be striking when new, and still good after it ages to a more tame purplish brown.

Plain maple.

Mad Rose - only because I still have some. EIR would probably look good too.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Curly Maple!

EIR

Any woods not suggested pipe up or forever hold you peace....
Basic binding choice boils down to the same colour, darker or lighter, as long at it's of a reasonable hardness, but not very hard as it has a function to perform - protect the structure against knocks and bumps.
Hold some wooden strips again your body and pick your choose for the look you want.

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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.

Sometimes it is good to identify what "vibe" you are looking for with an instrument. Contemporary, traditional, simple, loud, rustic, something more specific. . . sometimes the wood will inspire that decision, sometimes it is the type of instrument and sometimes it is the intended owner.

I like to look at images online of as many guitars as I can to help inspire me or point me in the right directions and compare those with my materials options and design goals. I'm not advocating just ripping off another makers style, just to help develop a direction you might want to go for a given guitar.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

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

I'd use holly, it is pure white. I agree that matching the binding with the rosette and other decorative elements is desireable.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon