Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Time for me to post some more pictures. First comes my OM guitar #3, very similar to #1, but incorporating everthing I learned from #1 and #2. Also none of the numerous boo boos of #1. Woods are Carpathian Spruce top, Indian Rosewood back and sides, African Mahogany neck, maple bindings, Ebony fingerboard and bridge, Myrtle rosette.

Hit the jackpot on sound with this one. Probably the best sounding small bodied guitar I have played (until I finished #4!). Huge improvement on #1 and #2. I got #1 back from the owner to fit a pickup so has been interesting to compare. No comparison, #3 is a major step upwards.

Here it is

Here is #4. This guitar has a lot of changes that I thought made sense, so is really an experimental guitar. Fortunately the changes seems to have worked since I think this is a better guitar than #3. I did a bit of fooling around with different bridge woods on the saddle of my mandolin to get some idea of the sound of bridge woods. It is MUCH easier to do this on a mandolin than to change bridges on a guitar. I have always preferred Ebony, but this time the Brazilian Rosewood saddle stayed on the mandolin. So, the guitar has a Brazilian Rosewood bridge. Fortunately I bought some big lumps of BRW for what now is a song many years ago so have enough to last me a very long time. This is the first guitar bridge I have made. I was reticent to make them until I worked out how to route the saddle slot without needing to buy an expensive jig. So that hurdle now overcome and that hoarded BRW will be put to good use. A lot of thought was put into the woods and the rosette. This one has a bit more bling than my other 3 guitars. Other woods are Red Spruce top, some of my very best Bunnings bought Tassie Oak back and sides, Qld Maple neck, EIR bindings, Huon Pine and Eucalyptus mannifera rosette, King Billy Pine linings, hand split European Spruce bracewood, Rock Maple bridge plate.

Sound is really nice, clear and sweet, with a big fat bottom end (maybe went a bit too far there). Rings like a bell, and is LOUD LOUD LOUD!! The owner of #1 and his son dropped around to pick up #1 and they had a session in the workshop. #1 got drowned, even though the son was fingerpicking and the father was flat picking as hard as he could on #1. Was really nice to hear them from a different perspective, and played by people who can actually play and not just doodle. Was obvious to everyone that the new guitar is a major step foreward. #4 is only 48hrs old and Red Spruce takes ages to sound at it's best so this is extremely promising. I actually prefer it over #3 already so I'm wrapped.

Here it is, enjoy

Hi Peter, they look lovely and I am glad that the experimentation has paid off. Did you do the bracing similar to what we talked about at the National?

Yep done on #4, and thanks for the tip, it works.

Peter

Wow Peter,
Thanks for showing off your latest, very interesting. never again will I just walk past the bunnings timber racks without thinking of you.

We have another good source of hard woods at the Tile Importer ,south Oakleigh in Melbourne.
cheaper than Bunnings by a fair bit,and probably a much higher turn over of stock
next time I will look closer.

Peter, Which Bunnings do you frequent to get such nice boards. Our Bunnies here only have 135 x 19 as the largest and rarely do we see nice figure the likes of what you have there. I have heard that some Bunnies have 200 x 35 stock but not in all stores apparently:(

John

I got it from the Tuggeranong store in Canberra around 4 years ago. At te time I had no idea what I was going to use it for, but just had to get it. It is 235mm wide and 19mm thick. I have enough to make 5 or 6 guitars from that one board, and you are right, it is flukey good. Quarter sawn, not a single split and no knots or resin pockets. Only found one like that. The last time I had a look around 6 months ago, they did not have any wide boards, just a couple that were joined in the middle. I did end up buying a just ok board 185mm wide for mandolin backs, slip matched. It is a fantastic tonewood for mandolins, my best sounding mandolins all have Tassie Oak backs.

Beautiful work Peter, always so crisp and clean and that tassie o is sweet as a nut. What difference have you made to your bracings since 1 & 2???

Cheers

Kim

The bridge plate and braces are now symmetric.

I have an MP3 of me dooding on guitar #4 you might like to listen to. It is no great musical performance, it is about all I can manage on guitar, but does give some idea of what it sounds like.

http://www.petercoombe.com/Guitars/Soun ... Doodle.mp3

Hi Peter,

Very nice tone and volume! The sound is a little compressed but when the red spruce opens up it will be a nice big warm tone.

Beautiful workmanship mate!

Thanks for sharing the demo

Cheers

Alan

The compression is me, with a light touch, not the guitar. The Red Spruce has huge headroom.

Those Schertlers are sure tuning up a treat.

Steve