Finished at last, new build

Taffy Evans · Post by **Taffy Evans** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:44 pm

Finished at last, I could write a book about this build but it would be too depressing to recall the event.
Little mistakes and accidents took all the joy out of this project from about mid way through and through the finishing stage. In fact I strung it up as soon as I could to hear what it sounded like as I was thinking of scraping it, but it sounded good enough to keep me going. And now it is finished, and the name I gave it is â€œMysteryâ€

Hesh1956 · Post by **Hesh1956** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:17 pm

Taff bro Mystery looks killer to me!!!

I really like the treatment to the fret board extension and the inlay at the top of the back strip. Very cool details.

Some guitars just insist on being.... difficult and there is seemingly no telling when one is going to be uppity.... But usually we are out own worse critics and what ever we called mistakes probably are things that no one else would ever notice or aka: "features"

.

Beautiful guitar as always Taff!

WaddyT · Post by **WaddyT** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:40 pm

Fantastic, Taffy! What a beauty!

(Sorry for the Half-Hesh applause! )

ozziebluesman · Post by **ozziebluesman** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:55 pm

Beautiful Taffy!! Love the snake inlay and the back strip. The florentine cutaway and your body shape design look fantastic. Nice job on the pics too!! Thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Alan

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:46 am

Yep, for me it's the little details that really make this one a stand out. A very well balanced design, and as always, your choice of trim and colors are spot on.

What sort of case is that?

Dave Anderson · Post by **Dave Anderson** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:59 am

Very nice OO size guitar Taffy! I like your shape and cutaway very much.
Nice bridge too,What kind of wood is it ?

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 11:45 am

Very nice Taffy the NGR/IRW/Walnut combo all blend in very well.

Cheers

Kim

Ron Wisdom · Post by **Ron Wisdom** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 12:54 pm

Very nice, Taffy. I also like the FB end treatment, and I love the backstrip.

Sure can't tell that you were frustrated with it. Nice job.

Ron

Taffy Evans · Post by **Taffy Evans** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 7:54 pm

Thanks every one for your kind comments:
Hesh, your right, I put the guitar away for a week after playing it solid for a week, and I've forgotten what and where the little troublesome areas were, they dont jump out at me any more.

Waddy, thanks mate, any aplause is praise enough

Alan, "Mystery" is begining to sound a lot like "Dawn", be interesting to p-lay them side by side. Thanks for the pics praise, I agonised over those.

Allen, the case is a cheepy $120.00. I bought it retail from the shop where I meet my customers as a bit of a payback to the owner. Its far too big, but I like to reline the insides with extra padding for more protection.
Its got UXL on a gold plate on the out side.
A bit sloppy at the moment.

Dave, the bridge blank I pulled from a pile of NQ Ironwood bridge blanks but it turned out not as colourfull as the rest in the pile. I was worried about its weight, heavier than roewood by 28 to 36 grams so I tried to lighted it wherever I could. Guitar sounds very pleasing, one comment from a listener was a warm sound.

Bob Connor · Post by **Bob Connor** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 8:16 pm

Nice work Taffy. That cutaway sits really nicely with the 12 fret neck.

Stephen Kinnaird · Post by **Stephen Kinnaird** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 3:02 am

Taffy, I think that little guy is just beautiful.
The peghead is perfect for the shape of the instrument, and all the details work well together. (I know that's already been said, but I want to second that motion.)
AND I think Ron's comment should be repeated as well:
you can't tell that you were frustrated with it.
A sure mark that this came through a craftsman's hands.

Do you find NGR (we call it Narra) hard to bend?

Steve

Taffy Evans · Post by **Taffy Evans** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 8:30 am

Hi Steve, I used to find it hard to bend but I was not going to let that get in the way of good sounding guitars, that the average bedroom picker can afford. Its a cheep timber for the tone I can get out of it . I do not have any problems now. Its easier on my Fox bender, but I had ironed out the problems on my electric bending irons. My biggest problem is filling the grain well.
This was a challenge at one time.

DarwinStrings · Post by **DarwinStrings** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:11 am

Very tidy Taffy, love the end of the fret board reminds me of a band saw blade. I have started a small, short scale nylon string for my daughter (6 years old) and am using Narra for the back and side to, I changed my first design for it to one with less tight bends and the Narra was fine. I don't like to leave bits of it on the floor in case I get my foot stuck in the grain though. The artistic additions really set it off for my money too Taffy.

Jim

Stephen Kinnaird · Post by **Stephen Kinnaird** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 12:56 pm

Taffy Evans wrote:
This was a challenge at one time.

Yes, I can imagine! Say, aren't NGR and Padauk first cousins?
I find Padauk to be one of the real challenges at bending time, and was assuming the NGR would be something similar. It is undeniably beautiful, and if it taps like Padauk, it HAS to sound good. I envy you the ready availablity.

Steve

cactus bum · Post by **cactus bum** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:29 am

Taffy, this guitar looks great. I am loving the elegant and simple herringbone rosette you used. It is unusual in that there are no white borders either inside or outside of the herringbone and its black matrix. Where did you buy this rosette? Maybe you customized/altered a larger rosette to just leave the simple design you used. I hope to use a rosette like this on my guitar build. Thanks, Cactus

Taffy Evans · Post by **Taffy Evans** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:19 am

Hi Stephen, I'm not real well versed in timber but I did feel this NGR was worth persevering with, so I bought up a lot over the years. If you buy it as "tonewood" its dearer than "timber on the rack" at the local yard.

All on the 1/4. Takes some digging to get that.

Hi Cactus, I made the Rosette out of herringbone purfling as used in the mandolin above

ozziebluesman · Post by **ozziebluesman** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 12:18 pm

Just had the opportunity to have a close hand look at Mystery. I agree with Steve Kinniard that the peg head matches the shape of the guitar beautifully and is a stand out feature to my eyes. The snake inlay is a a nice touch. The NGR is of nice figuer and with the cedar top, it is a very responsive sounding guitar. The fingerboard is a very nice, dark, figured piece of Jarrah. Someting you can only appreciate in the flesh.

Taffy, your the man! Bloody beautiful instrument!

Cheers

Alan

Stephen Kinnaird · Post by **Stephen Kinnaird** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 12:56 pm

drool.......

What's yer plan fer all that, mate?

Taffy Evans · Post by **Taffy Evans** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:43 pm

Alan, thanks for your time to play the guitar and thanks also for your kind comments here. Twenty minutes after leaving you a very happy customer was picking "Mystery", his first words were "Wow! the sustain is fantastic". He was not happy with the price so I had to point out the "dings and dents", but he still insisted on paying more. Well if he's happy I'm more than happy.

Stephen, I used to use this timber for experimental instruments and first time projects, but It's moved up my list of prefered wood. I've got a small parlor guitar [smaller than the one above] a dread and a "000" on the go at the moment. I'm building two identical guitars one is NGR and a Blackwood, see photo of the Dread models backs.

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Finished at last, new build

Finished at last, new build

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