Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Latest finished guitar. Basically from the same billets of wood as my first guitar.

Scale Length - 24.725"
Fret Board - 12" radius
Body, Neck, Fret Board - Silky Oak
Bridge - Rosewood
Soundboard, Head Stock veneer - Hoop Pine
Finish - Hand-rubbed Oil
Machine Heads - Cheap n' Nasty
Strings - Elixir

That's a beautiful looking guitar!
I love the shape of those sound holes. Very elegant, indeed.

Love it. You wouldn't have any pix of the top bracing? I'm thinking of something similar for a future guitar....with f-ish holes....Neck joint too, if you would...

Thanks in advance....Nick

Nick work Mike, it certainly looks great & the 'f' hole (if you can call them that!) shape fits nicely with the shape.
How does it sound? I ask because just looking at it I'd say the bridge could afford to go on a diet, that's a fair chunk of wood that may make the top more responsive if it lost a little weight, especially as it looks like it's a flat top or close to it. It looks like you could narrow the width almost down to the same width as the 'saddle'? Dunno it just looks a little chunky against the flow of the design. Perhaps if you have any of the wood (looks like Ebony) left over you could experiment and make a thinner,lighter version, then if it doesn't work you could always pop this one back in.
Not meant as any criticism Mike, just some thoughts I had looking at it.

Nick wrote:Nick work Mike, it certainly looks great & the 'f' hole (if you can call them that!) shape fits nicely with the shape.
How does it sound? I ask because just looking at it I'd say the bridge could afford to go on a diet, that's a fair chunk of wood that may make the top more responsive if it lost a little weight, especially as it looks like it's a flat top or close to it. It looks like you could narrow the width almost down to the same width as the 'saddle'? Dunno it just looks a little chunky against the flow of the design. Perhaps if you have any of the wood (looks like Ebony) left over you could experiment and make a thinner,lighter version, then if it doesn't work you could always pop this one back in.
Not meant as any criticism Mike, just some thoughts I had looking at it.

Thanks for your comments Nick. It sounds OK!! I'll post a video similar to previous soon. I'll give your idea of a slimmed down bridge a go though and get back to you.

nnickusa wrote:Love it. You wouldn't have any pix of the top bracing? I'm thinking of something similar for a future guitar....with f-ish holes....Neck joint too, if you would...

Thanks in advance....Nick

Unfortunately a bit slack with photos this time round and only took some as an afterthought. Really should keep better records.
Anyway I based the bracing on archtop X-bracing and adjusted the angle so they didn't interfere with the "f" ish holes. (OK lets just call them fish holes-maybe gills ). I added just one diagonal tone bar for the lower bout and patched the soundboard below where the bridge sits.
I've tried to get some pics of the inside, but access is now pretty limited. No pics of the neck join either. But it is a standard dovetail join with the fretboard cantilevered beyond the 14th fret.

Tha nks heaps for the photos....

Gives me even more to think about....

The top's not carved, tho, is it?

So, sorry for more ?'s, the top is NOT carved, right?

I think that's a shit hot guitar.....

Mine's not gunna look much like it. but the bracing interests me, especially, if it can be used with a standard acoustic top....

nnickusa wrote:the top is NOT carved, right?

You are correct.

Hi Mike....That design looks like a great candidate for some sort of modified falcate style bracing system....With no soundhole where a trad flat top has its soundhole (ie a very inconvenient place) you could design a laminated falcate brace to come basically straight down and bend away to come under either foot of the bridge and then taper to nothing at the lower bout...food for thought...


BTW....what are your braces made from?

John

woodrat wrote:Hi Mike....That design looks like a great candidate for some sort of modified falcate style bracing system....With no soundhole where a trad flat top has its soundhole (ie a very inconvenient place) you could design a laminated falcate brace to come basically straight down and bend away to come under either foot of the bridge and then taper to nothing at the lower bout...food for thought...


BTW....what are your braces made from?

John

Thanks for that John.
I have heard of this bracing system but not sure exactly how to tackle it. I am now planning to build another guitar similar to this one so happy to give it a try. There are a few other things I'm also planning to modify - and probably use some better timber.

The bracing for this one was laminated hoop pine and silky that I salvaged from the rest of the make.