Rob's Baritone is Ready for Lacquer

Last week I built the multi-scale neck and got Rob's Adirondack spruce and Figured Walnut Baritone all ready for lacquer. The fingerboard, bridge, and headplates are cocobolo, the binding is koa and the rosette and tailwedge are madrone burl. It's a beauty! I tapped on the body this morning to see how it reverberated. When I came back from lunch I could still hear it rumbling out there in the workshop. :)

Some New Studio Shots for the Site

I've put some new studio shots of a couple recent builds up permanently on the site. Rune's 7-String Guitar is up in the Custom Instruments section, and there's a new photo gallery of the Italian Alpine Spruce/Maccassar Ebony Concert Nylon Cutaway that I'll bring up to the Healdsburg Guitar Festival in August.

Rob's Baritone Box is Closed Up!

Over the last few days I've completed the soundbox of Rob's multi-scale walnut/Adirondack spruce baritone. Here you can see that I'm very precisely thinning the perimeter of the lower bout. This is one of the most important steps in building a guitar that is extremely responsive. The binding is curly koa and the rosette is madrone burl, which I decided to mirror at the tailwedge. Rob really grabbed the reins when it came to picking out the wood combinations with this guitar and I'm really happy with the way it's coming together. The bridge, fingerboard and headplates will be cocobolo.
Photo Gallery 7 - installing binding and purfling.
Photo Gallery 8 - flush sanded binding, body completed with first round of finish sanding.

Rob's Multi-Scale Baritone is Underway

Rob's multi-scale baritone guitar is shaping up nicely. The Adirondack spruce top has a beautiful madrone burl rosette. I love this rosette; it looks almost like terra-cotta stone. The walnut back and sides have beautiful color bands and very nice curl figure in the grain as well. Rob picked out this set himself from the website of one of my favorite suppliers, RC Tonewoods, where they feature pictures of individual sets right on their site. We're using koa binding for this guitar, as well as a cocobolo fingerboard and bridge. It's so fun to watch how the different woods fit together visually. Of course it's also great to hear the tonal results as well!

Happy Birthday Mr. 7-String!

Rune Mandelid's 7-String plays like a dream. I kept the shoulders of the neck very shallow so it's very comfortable for the left hand. Rune's main target tuning for the instrument, from low to high, is ADGCFAE. The scale lengths are 28.25" on the bass edge and 26.25" on the treble edge. This multi-scale design is absolutely necessary to provide the extra scale length in support of the low A, and yet relatively shorter scale lengths so that the treble strings will not be overly tight. It's such an honor and a thrill to make an instrument for a musician as accomplished and creative as Rune. I can't wait to find out what he's going to do with this instrument. Hmmm....I've never been to Norway...:) Check out Rune's MySpace Page to see and hear some truly remarkable clips.

Rune's 7-Steel-String is On Deck

Rune's 7-String Steel String Multi-Scale Gutiar (there's a nylon twin in the works) is coming down the 'pike! Today I put in the frets...won't be long now. Isn't that a beautiful pattern of sheen on the Adirondack spruce top? The back and sides a Honduran mahogany...light as a feather.

Another Birthday for Ben's Baritone!

Ben's Sitka spruce/Indian rosewood baritone is a real powerhouse and the full frequency range comes pouring out of it with just the slightest touch. People think of Sitka spruce and Indian rosewood as relatively common, pedestrian woods...but LISTEN UP! THERE'S A REASON THEY'RE SO COMMON! THEY'RE JUST FANTASTIC! Sorry, I'm just used to yelling to be heard over Ben's baritone. I've set it up with the standard gauge nut and saddle. Next week I'll set it up with the second nut and saddle that Ben will use to play it with the heavy gauge strings (.070 - .016) for tuning down into "Deep Baritone" range. It'll be there soon, Ben! :)