Tiger Myrtle Guitar

[Hesh1956]

In honor of participating here on the ANZLF I wanted to show everyone my Tiger Myrtle guitar that I completed about a year ago. Even though some of you have seen this one prior please bear with me.

It all started with the help of Tim from Australian Tonewoods and his incredible Tiger Myrtle. Here is what my wood looked like the day I received it from Tim.



This guitar is built with the shape of a 1937 Gibson L-OO but that is where the similarities end. The scale length is 25.4" and it is braced with my own parabolic bracing scheme.

The top is Lutz Spruce from Shane at High Mountain Tonewoods and before anyone has to ask it was painted black by design, the top was master grade and perfect in all respects.

Here is a shot of the bracing - you can see that it VERY light.



The plan for this guitar was to do something different and celebrate the Tiger Myrtle by keeping the bling down. In addition I wanted to create the look of a 1/4" thick drop top but on an acoustic guitar. This was accomplished by using ebony binding that were/are not painted. You cannot tell where the black paint on the top ends and the ebony bindings begin except in direct sunlight.

In keeping with the same idea - celebrate the wood - the back is bound in Tiger Myrtle too and resulted in the coining of the term "stealth" bindings. I have this thing about binding guitars in the same wood as the sides and back, it's a look that I really like.

Here are some pictures of the completed guitar.









What resulted is my current favorite guitar of all the 14 that I have completed now. It is VERY loud even louder then my d***ds yet it still sings with a very light touch. The L-OO shape is the most comfortable acoustic guitar shape that I have ever played.

The finish is catalyzed urethane and the finishing was outsourced to a pro named Tony Ferguson who happens to live about 3 hours drive from me. I live in a condo in an urban area and after finishing many guitars here myself in one of my bathrooms (not smart....) I decided that it's safer to outsource my finishing going forward.

Thanks for looking!

[Rod True]

Dangit Hesh! You know how much I love that little guitar. Your just doing this to rub it in again aren't you?

My friend, that is one special guitar, I really wish you'd take me up on my offer to take it off your hands. I can play smoke on the water just as good as you can I bet

Again, I really love that guitar. That's about the best guitar porn I've seen ever

[Kim]

I never tire of seeing that beautiful guitar Hesh, but looking at the silking in that lutzii top in that shot of the bracing still makes me quiver

Cheers

Kim

[sebastiaan56]

Hi Hesh,

Ok Ive settled down now.... Porn is the best description, pant pant. One question, the top brace has a hole in it. Not by accident I expect, what is the reasoning.

I spent a quiet hour with an architect friend of mine discussing bracing for buildings, bridges etc and he spent a long time talking about compression / tension in beams. He commented on the bracing on my classical build and suggested drilling holes through the beams to lighten the structure. I have seen guitars braced with holey beams on the net. My understanding is that soundboards flex in numerous directions not just up and down. Was your hole the beginnings of such an architectural approach,

ps isnt it your bedtime?

Sebastiaan

[Rod True]

I'm really glad you bound the fretboard on that one in TM too Hesh. And the bound end of the fb is great too.

What are those bridge pins again?

[Hesh1956]

Rod if this was not my personal favorite I would give it to ya. Sorry to tease you again with the pics.

Kim yeah you can see the silk in the bracing picture. Lutz is a superb tonewood and even though it looks a lot like Sitka it is very rich with overtones when generally Sitka is not.

Sebastiaan the hole in the upper transverse brace is to permit access to the truss rod adjustment. I like to have my truss rods adjusted from inside the guitar as opposed to the headstock. My thinking is that the nut area needs to remain very strong and being cut away for the truss rod weakens it some.

Your right it is bedtime here so that is what I will do.

Many thanks guys!!

[Hesh1956]

Rod Tiger Myrtle is an excellent substitute for snakewood and it looks very much like it too. It also bends easier and does not shed splinters like snakewood does.

The bridge pins are 5 degree, non-slotted snakewood pins. Look at the rosette and then look at the snakewood pins and you will see what I mean by the color match.

[Dennis Leahy]

Hesh,

I don't know if I've ever commented about that guitar. So, I will.

I know you have taken some heat over painting the top black, and if you had asked my opinion before you started, I would have said no paint - just wood. However, there's something very sexy about this guitar, beyond what it would have been with a creamy off-white top.

Tim did supply a beautiful set of boards, and you morphed them into the Black Tiger.

I know from my furniture days that a flawless gloss black finish is very difficult to do. It's a testament both to your surface prep work, and Tony's masking/spraying/buffing/polishing. (I assume this one was by Tony.) As an aside, I'll have to get Tony's contact info from you.

Poor Rod's got jism on his keyboard now. But, I can see why; she's a beauty!

Dennis

[Rod True]

Dennis, how'd you know

I've also self appointed the name "The Black Pearl" to that guitar. I don't think Hesh has named it but my offer for the exclusive rights to name her still stands, even though Hesh doesn't want to give it to me

[BillyT]

Gotta love the Tiger!

Hey, maybe that would be a good name for it, "The Black Tiger"!!

I was just curious! How has the top held up? It seems like the black would show pick scratches like a big dog!

[Allen]

Thanks for posting those shots Hesh. I've only ever seen some small shots of it and others giving you a dig about it. It's a real beauty and someday down the track I just might have to try something similar. It's just so different that I'm sure everyone that sees it would want to pick it up.

On a side note. How do you find using urethane for a finish? I've not used it on a guitar, thinking that lacquer or shellac was the preferred finish, but now I see that others are liking polyester. For me its really a no brainer to use urethane. We finish cars with it all day long and it would certainly reduce the amount of time between spraying and buffing out.

[Bob Connor]

I never get tired of seeing that one either Hesh. It's an absolute balltearer.

Perhaps you should call it "The Thylacine"

Bob

[Hesh1956]

Thank you gentlemens.....

Bob and Billy nailed it - I call this one the Black Tiger.

Allen and Dennis I took some flak over it but about a year before I built a sunburst OM and the flak that I took there was nothing short of inappropriate. One person commented that I was going to ruin the prettiest set of Koa that he had ever seen...... Only the top was bursted, the Koa was left in it's naked splendor just like the Black Tiger. But the amount of flak that I took on the bursted OM really set me back personally not being the thickest skinned person on the planet.

I guess that what I am saying here is that when I have to measure the level of appropriateness, or not, of how I am treated I consider my own standards for treating others. What else do I have to reference? And I would never criticize a major "cosmetic" design element that someone else was excited about. It's just not in me.

Anyway by the time I did this one some folks had learned that I tend to do anything I wish anyway which might have kept the negative remarks down. In addition people have different goals with guitar building. Since I typically don't sell my guitars I am free to make all the mistakes that I wish.

In addition black is historically correct for 1937 L-OOs so it is not even my idea. Some were black, some were black bursts, and some were sunbursted. They were built in batches of 6 at a time and sold for about $30. One interpretation of the "L" in L-OO was that it stood for "learner" and was an entry level guitar. In my research I found pictures of them that included pictures of L-OOs in prison cells in Mississippi where black inmates were kept.

The guitar is historically tied to the birth of the blues and such notables as Robert Johnson who at one time or another used L-OOs.

L-OOs and the color black are tied in inextricably together in history and who was I to change that?

And lastly the idea of the faux drop top that I had, and like, worked very well with black and ebony.

Allen the catalyzed urethane finish is very nice indeed. It is tougher than nitro and will dull chisels in nothing flat. But I can still see the grain on the top telegraphing through the finish on humid days. It is a tad softer than nitro but still tougher in my opinion. I have often thought that the ideal guitar finish for tone AND durability would be a cat urethane back and sides and a French polished top.

Billy it has held up great and shows no problems what so ever. The tone has matured a bit and I would now rank Tiger Myrtle up with Brazilian Rosewood in tone. Yep you read that correctly, it sounds glassy and rich with deep powerful bass and piercing trebles. The sustain is incredible (probably the light top too) and for some music the guitar is not the best choice for this reason. You have to shut it up since it rings so long.....

Dennis yes Tony Ferguson did this one and he is a great guy to work with. I should have some progress pics to post here in a few days of my first BRW guitar. If you are interested PM me for Tony's contact info.

Rod I use tissue..........

[Hesh1956]

I forgot to mention that the Black Tiger weighs in at 3.6 pounds.

Thanks

[BillyT]

The sustain is incredible (probably the light top too) and for some music the guitar is not the best choice for this reason. You have to shut it up since it rings so long.....

Nice problem to have!

Do you remember offhand thickness and bracing particulars?

[Allen]

Good onya Hesh. I like to build whatever comes to mind as well, as you could probably tell by my choices for tops.

I'm only doing this as a hobby, and if it doesn't interest or inspire me, then what's the point? If someone else doesn't like it, so be it. I learned a long time ago that it's impossible to please everyone. So please keep posting your picts. I'm inspired by your work....and intimidated by your fixation with cleanliness.

I would never bash someone else's work unless they had asked for honest criticism and opinions. I'm in no way qualified to offer criticism, so all I've got left is opinion.

[Alain]

I never get tired of looking at that fantastic guitar, Hesh!

[Hesh1956]

I'm only doing this as a hobby, and if it doesn't interest or inspire me, then what's the point?

Exactly! I could not agree with you more Allen. This is why I have been reluctant to take on commission builds. I am concerned that if a client specified a guitar that I thought was ugly or not interesting that I would not be able to complete the thing........ This keeps it fun. I build what I like and if at some point I wish to sell and someone likes something on my wall then we have a match.

Billy the top was around .095 thick, Shane's very fine Lutz. Braces were, or are......, 1/4" wide and the X intersection is 1/2" high uncapped. The individual brace heights were determined by ear so I don't record them in as much as the next guitar with different bracing stock and top will need different specs anyway.

Thanks Al!!!

This guitar got a lot of attention on several player forums and even Lance at the OLF asked me to drop into one player forum and discuss this guitar with the members. When I got there they already had pics up and were having a lively discussion. It's interesting to me that a some people hate this guitar and some people have offered to buy it. It seems to evoke strong emotion with folks.

[BillyT]

It's interesting to me that a some people hate this guitar and some people have offered to buy it. It seems to evoke strong emotion with folks.

Yea! I bet! The thing about the black is it cleans up the over all look and makes the Tiger, which is already outstanding, stand out even more! I really can't remember seeing a painted top alone. Usually, the whole gamn duitar is painted!

If I'm ever so crazed as to paint a top, I will definitely go black on the nut and bridge, but other than that, the aesthetic is perfect to my tastes! (Well maybe a great big "Billy Dean Thomas" inlayed in the fret board would add a certain style !!! )

According to the definition of insanity- "doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result", do you plan to do this again!

[graham mcdonald]

I have been looking at the tiger myrtle guitar for a couple of days and thought I could add my mandolin...

(should be picture here)

...Ahh, the mysteries of posting a picture have confounded me, but you can have a look at http://www.mcdonaldstrings.com/healdsberg.html which doesn't really exist on the website and there is some stuff missing at the bottom, but you can see the mandolin

cheers

graham

[Hesh1956]

Hi Graham - picture uploading was not enabled for you so that was the problem. When you post you will now see a picture upload button. Sorry about that but you are good to go now.

Thanks

[Kim]

Thanks for picking that up Hesh

[Sam Price]

Oh Hesh- this is one of the most beautiful guitars I have seen on the web, and it has come up a few times from other forum members on the AGF forum too, with many, many positive comments.

I think you have created the definitive design elements for this wood- I can not see Tiger Myrtle any more without seeing the black top. Very unique.

[BillyT]

Graham:
You can also link directly to the photo by copying the URL by right clicking properties and copying it putting a "" at both ends like this



Without the space between the "h" and the "t" as a link disabler-

I.E.

[Allen]

Well, I might as well jump on the band wagon and post my Aussie wood guitar. Some of you have probably seen it before on those other forums

Tassy Blackwood back and sides, Fiddleback acacia bindings, Australian Cedar top and neck. It's the one I gave to a mate that has been battling cancer for about 5 years now, and who seems to be in remission now.