Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Here's a good one - NPR Tiny desk concert with Gary Burton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15IHNYq6stw

That is a very finely crafted package. You really have the aesthetic theme well worked out in all of the different elements. I notice how the nut compensation means that you can eliminate the need to slope the saddle. It is a subtle thing but it actually changes the appearance of the guitar a lot to...

So Martin, what caused you the headaches in doing a multiscale? Although I would not do it again with a falcate bracing system, I think an X-brace or some sort of fan brace (i.e. any system that doesn't have the braces crossing the bridge plate) would make the body build and the bridge placement no ...

He was one of those that brought music into a new phase and saw beyond genre boundaries. And just bloody talented. Lately I have been listening over and over again to the Miles Davis album In a Silent Way. He had three keyboard players in that band - Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Joe Zawinul, plus...

Trent, you also asked how I liked the multiscale? I really enjoyed building it (this is only my second one), and when playing the finished guitar I really appreciate its advantages. Playing it is absolutely natural feeling and you hardly even notice the difference. It is very ergonomic for your left...

Thanks for the comments. Trent, I have searched in vain for a photo that I thought I took of the bracing - but I can't find it. But if you look at Martin's epic thread here you will see what he did for his multiscale build (picture about halfway down), and I essentially copied that idea. http://www....

This is what it used to look like.

An alternative title for this thread would be “polishing a turd”. Some of you might remember this episode from back in 2009. There was a chap named Vic who was into guitar building, but not known to us on ANZLF. He died and his wife was selling off the contents of his shed on EBay. We had a good cha...

Hi Anthony. It sounds like you have been experiencing some really exciting changes. The new space looks good (nice workbench!) and the way it is provided at minimal cost is cool. I hope you are managing to be creative and productive with all of this change swirling around you (not to mention a pande...

Looking good Martin. I like the separate rooms for the dusty, noisy machines and the clean work. And the store room separate again - that is ideal. The main work room has great natural light, I am very jealous of that. Do you plan to build a go bar deck over one of those benches? Are you trying to m...

That does have a lot of life to it!

If it sounds as good as it looks.............

This is tantalizing.

Nice job, and a good outcome by the sound of it. Thanks for sharing your successful strategy. The mini fan idea is very original.

I love the style and look of that. I think the offset soundhole and "rosette" is very creative - have never seen anything like it before. The curved bridge is a really nice part of the theme also. Overall, a very pleasing design (very funky and retro), and the building looks excellent too. Great job!

Happy New Year Lillian, and it is great to think that your new workshop is going to be built soon. Can you show us some pictures as it goes up, or when it is done? I would love to see a “Lillian’s shed” thread on the forum.

Hi Al, is this an acoustic or hollow-body? If so, you might have removed most of the offending material from the outside of the guitar but still be getting lots of retained smell from the unfinished wood on the inside. Have a look at this classic tip from Frank Ford at frets.com http://www.frets.com...

Lillian’s suggestion to look up a Men’s Shed is a good one (sorry Lillian - that is the name that they go by in Australia. They do not exclude women, but the name makes a very gendered assumption about who would want to use them). It could give you good access to bigger tools like a thickness sander...

That certainly is pretty!. I would fill the cracks with CA and cocobolo dust - or, because it already has a lot of black figure, black tinted epoxy. And maybe also cleat on the inside face.

OK, you will work out your own way forward from here. But it sounds like you want number two to have mitred purflings and an arm bevel - so the planning has already begun. Maybe a Tassie timbers theme (tiger myrtle and Huon pine). And since you already have a OM it will need to be a different design...

I agree that you produced a really fine looking and sounding guitar - an outstanding outcome for a first try. All of that planning paid off. You say that you want to make another - and that is no surprise. You are looking for another course to do. Is that because you feel you still need supervision ...

Yep, my jigs are usually quick and ugly too - but hopefully effective. Thanks for the video link. I like seeing and hearing the people contributing to the forum.

Looks like you got a good result. Maton is a good quality instrument, so if the price was good you have done really well.

Martin’s advice is sound. Bottled hide glue is certainly not the same as hot hide glue made fresh from the granules. I would also be going for Titebond original ( red label) to repair a cracked neck.

Complements of the season everyone! Thanks to Martin and Jeremy for keeping my favourite forum humming along for another year. Here’s hoping that 2021 has fewer surprises, and more loofery for all.

Great work Trevor. I love how you did your homework, worked out the design, and then plugged away until it was done. Learning a lot along the way - it is maybe the best part of the first build. Enjoy it, then get on with number two!

Nice one Bob, thanks for the demonstration. Are all of your jigs laminated with figured koa? It makes the Martin model look pretty plain!