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I wanted to show you all the archtop I’ve just finished. Although it’s not the first archtop I’ made, it’s the first full size one I’ve made. It sounds quite mellow for an archtop.

dang, that's pretty!

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

Thumbs up from here!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Very nice!

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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.

Wow! That is really pretty. Love the colors!

Fantastic. That's a different animal there. I've been wanting to jump in and build one of those but it's intimidating. Nice job.

First archtop? I'm just finishing mine. Yours has a clean, sophisticated look. You pulled off the contemporary arch top look. Even the smooth finish. Congrats. This is my first real guitar, and I can't pull off clean or sophisticated. It just can't happen yet. I've never achieved a perfectly smooth finish.

I see from looking at yours that I need to really tune in my intonation and thin the top of the bridge. It is in the green with an online tuner, but not right on. I wanted to play it! But I need to make a new saddle out of bone, the rosewood is splitting. So I guess I have another day to get it done.

Nice work. It looks like something that someone would be playing on stage.

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Why be normal?

Very nice. Archtops are sensuous beings and yours is beautiful. I completed my first archtop a few months ago. Right now I'm taking it apart and rebuilding it. I did not like the neck so I decided to make a new one and while I'm at it, make it a 7-string. So new bridge and tailpiece too. Having played it for a while (with phosphor bronze strings) I decided I'd like a little more warmth in the sound. I'm doing a lot of reading and shopping to put together a string order so I can assemble some 7-string sets and try some different types. I'm going to try some experiments on the top too. I attached the top to the ribs with a paper gasket between so I can easily remove it. This guitar is a learning platform first and foremost. It certainly doesn't look as beautiful or sophisticated as yours!

Nice coloring and appointments. Very cleanly crafted. I like it a lot

Ed

Thanks for the compliments. I got a lot of help from you guys on this forum, so thanks everyone.
Anyway, I’ve had it strung up for about two weeks now and I’ve noticed that I’m getting some fret buzz that I had not had. So it looks like there is a little sinking of the top. I assume this is to be expected in the first few weeks, right?

Really nice guitar!

The top shouldn't really "sink"....
Hopefully it's not built too light

Check the contour of the neck and the frets, they usually need a little attention after it settles in.

I’ll keep an eye on it and see if it drops any more. The action was set pretty low to begin with so the drop isn’t that significant yet.

Daniel that is a beauty! Any chance of some pics of the build process?
I have assembled all the material I need to try my first archie.
Still a bit intimidated by the carve.

Thanks,
B

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

A few years ago I was chasing a fuller, rounder sound from my archtops and ended up pushing the limits of how light I could go. The test mule saw several sunken tops. It went from 3” rims to 1.5” thin line from having tops cut off! So if the top fails, don’t panic. Everything has a solution.

That said, tops will sink a little if the wood dries out. Not a problem. That’s why your bridge has thumb wheels. If you just moved the guitar from your shop to a heated indoors, that may be all that is happening. Let it stabilize over a week or so of playing and then check. Your neck may also slightly yield under the new tension of strings. Especially if you have flat wounds on her. Again, that’s why you put a truss rod in.

Super nice guitar, BTW. I just completed a non-cutaway and realize how much mojo they seem to bring. Yours is a real eye turner.


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Thanks Rirhett. The completion of this guitar unfortunately coincided with the heat being turned on for the winter. Forced air, woodburning stoves and radiators are all working overtime in my house right now. It’s a huge change from summer when I was in the midst of building this thing. I’m still checking a couple of time a day.

Keep a kettle on the wood burning stove. It will help humidify the air.

Beautiful! I'd love to try building an archtop some day! Already have the Benedetto book!

That looks lovely!

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

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

Looks nice!

Gorgeous

Nice! Let's see the headstock!
Alan