Hauser Classical

[Dominic]

Hey, life has turned up a lot of unexpected situations this year and one consequence has been that I decided to make a classical guitar which had to be finished by the end of November to take with me to Poland. It is for a pretty good player and I've never made a classical before so the pressure was on. So in 5 weeks I am at the finish sanding stage and am pretty happy so far. It been an interesting time because I have had to be quite disciplined and think ahead a long way so I didn’t face delays.
It is built closely following the 1943 Hauser plan from LMI. The only difference is the bolt on neck and carbon fibre neck supports. And I was also informed by Roy Courtnall’s great classical book. The braces are very small, 7mm wide and only 4.5mm high. Far different feel and flex than a steel string. It has a nice bong with plenty of sustain when I tap the unbridged top. Hope this translates into a nice sounding guitar.

I made a little jig for the slot heads that worked great (I’ll put up a pic in the jigs section) and got the LMI tuner hole jig to ensure accurate tuner placement. The whole process was much easier than I thought it would be.

I won’t have time to French polish it so I’ll use lacquer.

Top is eng spruce
B&S are IRW op grade
Cocobolo bindings
Mahogany neck
Ebony FB

Cheers
Dom

Hauser 001 (Custom).JPG

Hauser 002 (Custom).JPG

Hauser 005 (Custom).JPG

Hauser 009 (Custom).JPG

[Kim]

Fantastic work Dom!

I assume given the time constraints that the rose is a pre-made? It looks 'really' good, was it from Karin-Rost?

Cheers

Kim

[Allen]

Very nice Dom. That combination of Orange Cocobolo and IRW really works well. I've used it on 3 instruments now and I think it's my favourite, though the smell of the Coco is something I don't think I'll ever get use to.

Don't tell me it's cheaper to hand deliver a guitar to Poland that shipping it.

[Dominic]

Thanks Kim, I used the LMI Rosettes. Actually really nice. I would love to design my own with a little Australiana in it. But as you said, time was not on my side. Same reason I used a bolt on neck although I think bolt on necks are better technology that a spanish heel anyway. Apart from tradition I see no acoustic reason to change construction techniques.
I made a brace press big enough to fit my dishes into. I then used it to press flat fan braces into the radius. Its surprising how using this method you still end up with the correct radius - 25'. A bridge with a 25' radius fits perfectly. I would have thought you would lose some of the radius but you don't.
Allen, the binding side combo is really nice. Once a finish darkens the IRW, the contrast is lovely. But I love the smell of cocobolo. Still, I have 3 sets of coco but I am a bit scared to use it in case I develop sensitivity.
I'm taking the guitar to Poland for my girlfriend’s dad. We are expecting a child on 23rd December. The guitar is a bit of a bribe to get him to like me.
Cheers
Dom

[jeffhigh]

Looking really good Dominic,
I'll look forward to seeing it with lacquer
What a great bribe!

[DarwinStrings]

If it does not make him like you then at least there is a good chance he will like the guitar.

Na zdrowie

Jim

[WaddyT]

It's looking quite good. Depending on the stiffness of the top, you may be a bit heavy on the bracing. Hard to say for sure, but Torres' braces were in the 7 mm x 3mm high range. Now his tops were probably a little smaller, so that could make a difference. I'm sure you are in the ballpark though. Do you recall the thickness of the top?

[kiwigeo]

Nice work Dom. We have to compare notes..Im just now french polishing a classical that is Hauser based...its got Hauser's low "almost not there" fan braces and its the first time Ive used Graham Hein's Engleman for a top.

Cheers Martin

[sebastiaan56]

Looks great Dom! If he doesnt like you after that effort......

[Dominic]

Czesc Waddy, the plans call for 7mm x 4.5mm fans braces and I have stuck closely to that. Other plans have only 3mm high fan braces. They are triangulated and tappered to almost nothing as they approach the sides so there is not much there. There is quite a bit of deflection in the engleman top (from Graham as Martin guessed) which is disconcerting coming from a steel string back ground. The top is about 2.6mm thick and I still have the opportunity to thin it around the lower bout. I picked a very light top from my stash though. And I read advice on the OLF saying it is a good idea to keep the top a little thicker if using the hauser plans. At least it will provide me with a reference point for next time and I didn't want to push the envelope too far on my first classical. Wouldn't win any respect if I delivered a collapsed guitar or if something goes wrong after I come home. I am stealing Ryszard's beautiful daughter after all.

Martin happy to compare notes. Which plans are you using? The 1943 or the 37 "guitar of the epoch" plans or other?

Like I mentioned, I didn't use a solera as I was not set up. But you do don't you? Instead I used my 25' radius dish for the lower bout with my vac press and then glued on flat LTB and UTB. I used fish glue so i had time to get everything lined up and glued at once with the press. You would have to be really fast to use HHG with a vac press. I then glued the domed top to flat sides. It creates a bit of a recurve area like on an archtop which looks kind of cool. The back I did as usual for a steel string and profiled the sides in the dish. Back has 15' radius. I used reversed kerfing on both top and back. So pretty much used steel string construction techniques apart from the lower bout on the top. I'd like to have time to french polish it.

I have tops and backs jointed for 3 more classicals which I am keen to get started on but not until I get back end of January. I have really enjoyed making this guitar and I love the sound of classicals. I have heaps of guitars but no classical. I think a cutaway for myself.

Do widzenia
Dom

[jeffhigh]

Hey Dominic I would have to agree with you about classicals being enjoyable to make.
I only built my first(engleman eir) this year along with a engleman/cypress flamenco
Bracing is hard to get your head around when you read books like Courtnall and see the huge variations between guitars by the historical masters.
It might be outdated, and I will never build a steel string that way, but I quite liked building on a Solera and gluing on the individual glue blocks with HHG
I dont think either method has a sonic advantage.
cheers

[Dominic]

Hey, the Hausr is done and is sitting in my apartment in Warsaw. Here are a couple more pictures. Been frigging cold here. Was -15 when i arrived.

Cheers
Dom

Hauser 016 (Custom).JPG

Hauser 003 (Custom).JPG

Hauser 008 (Custom).JPG

Hauser 019 (Custom).JPG

And one of a frezzing but beautiful day in the local park

Warsaw 1 011 (Custom).JPG

[Dominic]

I also meant to add that this has been an interesting guitar. When I first strung it up I thought it would make a nice wall hanging but I hated the sound. It was very tight and I didn't like it at all. But now after a few weeks it has opened up very nicely and seems to sound better every time I pick it up. I was playing it yesterday and I loved the sound. It even seemed to impress the unborn child who has a very good ear and seems to be quite a harsh critic. The real test will come when he is born I suppose and I try to pacify him with some nice Metallica/classical tunes.

Spooky process. But I remember reading an article by Kenny Hill about a Hauser he made with a similar experience. The improvement curve seems far steeper than any steel string I have made.
Cheers
Dom