Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Hi All,

This is My first Nylon , it was a Steep learning Curve, Although I did have some Guidance from my mate Justin Montifiore. It was made for the same guy who I made the black and white Tele (guitar , not TV set) for , his brief was," I hate the feel of all the Nylon's I have tried, I hate the Look of all the Nylon's I have seen, I want it too feel like a Steel string in terms of the neck , I want it to look different from a Normal Nylon , I want to it to have a Pickup that reproduces the sound of the guitar , not the strings , and I want it to be Cutaway" . So This is what I have come up with, I used a plan as a rough guide , It has Falcate Bracing , but instead of a Transverse brace , It has a plywood ring around the soundhole that blend's up into the sides and becomes part of the neck block , It then has a Transverse brace that is 10mm down off the soundboard that supports the soundhole ring, and is attached by small blocks to the sides at the waist , with flying braces coming off that junction back to tailblock , Think Smallman meets Gore. the linings around the top are Laminated , the Neck is Bolt On , Bob Connor Style . The back and Sides are Monteray Cypress and the Top is Sitka , the Neck is QLD maple with a Rosewood lamination , the Binding's and Headplate are also EIR , the Pickup Is the K&K Ultra Pure active . It took ages to Complete and has caused it's headaches , But I'm well chuffed with the final result , as for the Sound I have nothing to compare it with , So i'll take it for a visit to Jeff and let him give his Critique, but for my money it sounds pretty good .

Cheers

Paul wrote..."But I'm well chuffed with the final result"

....so you aught to be Paul, that's a beautiful result!

Nice work Paul......I love the clean simple lines on this guitar.

I like that a lot Paul. Any chance you got some pictures of the internals?

I want! What a beauty, I love the colour/wood combinations & the lines are so clean you could cut your fingers on it. Excellent work Paul, if your customer isn't happy with it smack him over the head with the Tele & send this gem to me!
Like Allen, the internals have tweaked my interest so any shots of that would be very much appreciated.

Thanks for posting the pics of your guitar Paul. It certainly is a classy looking instrument. I do like the look of the Cyprus and your detail is impecable.

Cheers

Alan

Hi Gents,

Thanks for your generous Praise , I have a photographic memory , so It often never Occurs to me to Take Construction photo's , Now after using a makeup compact and a shitty camera I wished I had , So it's the best I can do, Sorry , But I did a Mock up using a MDF template, a "Opps I F#@* that up" soundhole support and a peice of Bracing to give you the concept !!! .

Congrats on completing such a wonderful guitar Paul . Not often we see a florentine on a classical , but why not ?.
Your Smallman meets Gore bracing set-up looks interesting . Wish I could hear it ,or better still ,play it. Love the wood choices too. Blondes have more fun right ?? Great work Paul.

Congrats!

My first thought was: "Cutaway meets soundhole"!

...and: "It looks great"! (of course).

ozwood wrote:his brief was," I hate the feel of all the Nylon's I have tried, I hate the Look of all the Nylon's I have seen, I want it too feel like a Steel string in terms of the neck , I want it to look different from a Normal Nylon , I want to it to have a Pickup that reproduces the sound of the guitar , not the strings , and I want it to be Cutaway"

And here I thought: "I simply would have told him it would be a steel string then"!

So I think you completed a Mission Impossible!

Craig wrote:Not often we see a florentine on a classical , but why not ?.

Because a a nylon string guitar with a florentine cutaway is not (yet) classical! (It's "only" a nylon string guitar).

I totally Agree Markus ,

I have never Called it a Classical , Just a Nylon In fact we should call it a " contempary " I love a Challenge, I'm not Bound by fixed Idea's of what I beleive an Instrument should be, I believe within reason , that It's OK to Push the Boundries, I'm Lucky to be Mentored and support by a builder Like Justin Montifiore, and to have a Muso like the guy that this Instrument is going to , to give me the trust to make an instrument like this .

It is what it is , and my measue of success it the Guy who's Playing it loves it.

Cheers,

What a beautiful guitar Paul !!!!
love that you used Cypress, (I think its a really underated tonewood), and that you really pushed the design good on you !!
love the contrast with the binding really crisp clean lines !!!
I wonder if has a Flamenco kinda sound to it?

Christian.

Well having played the guitar the other day, I can say Paul has certainly achieved his design goals on this.
It's a beautiful instrument as you can see.
Playability is fantastic, with the neck width, thickness and action closer to a steel string than to most classicals.
Sound is clear,full and even with a lot of sustain, more classical than flamenco.
Plugged in the sound was very natural, but with enough bite to cut though. definitely no UST twang with the K&K's and could get to quite high levels without feedback.
The new owner should be delighted.

Well done Paul

Impressive look and innovative design. The bindings frame out the blonde wood beautifully. I would love to hear what you have accomplished with your Gorogyi fusion bracing.

Cheers

Kim

I'll ask the new owner to do a MP3 file of a song , and post the Link when he does .

Cheers,

well chuffed indeed Paul

What can I say that hasn't been said, magnificent

love the contrast with the binding

Congratulations