3/4 size Dreadnaughts from Albany

[Peter Young]

Hello all

As a follow up to the Wandoo guitar I have some pics of 3/4 dreadnaughts that a group of us have made over the last few years. I guess I an the visual record keeper of our little group of makers but I only take shots as they happen and do not always get the best aspect of view of things.

Anyway ... here they are ... 3/4 sized dreadnaughts as scaled down by Maurice. Most are 610mm or 620mm scale length, feel nice to play as a smaller guitar will and seem to have more mid range than full size dreads.

Blue gum back.jpg (132.17 KiB) Viewed 11349 times

Blue gum cedar top.jpg (145.25 KiB) Viewed 11349 times

Jarrah back & sides.jpg (72.25 KiB) Viewed 11349 times

Sheoak back.jpg (110.21 KiB) Viewed 11349 times

Sheoak front.jpg (106.67 KiB) Viewed 11349 times

Size comparison.jpg (43.21 KiB) Viewed 11349 times

I have not posted the Wandoo 3/4 or a 7/8 model that maurice did. Must say that I enjoy building this size .... a good one for starters as the bends are not too tight.

Thanks for looking

Cheers Pete

[John Maddison]

Stunning when you see them all on one page! Glad you're getting the hang of this image upload thing, Pete .

[Bob Connor]

Good work Pete. I'm enjoying seeing all of these as well.

[Kim]

Stunning when you see them all on one page! Glad you're getting the hang of this image upload thing, Pete .

John,

I think everyone who views this forum will be glad to see Pete is finally able to share some of the fantastic work being produced by you guys in Albany with us. Everything we have seen is a winner and I really like these 3/4's but must comment on the WA Sheoak dred...a real looker and I bet it sounds wonderful also...but what is the neck wood?

Cheers

Kim

[jeffhigh]

I think we need to be sending some vitamin D supplements to our WA brethren.
Obviously something is stunting their growth.

[ozwood]

Really Nice work , especially the Wandoo, Please keep Posting Future Builds , Love to see Aussie Timbers in all their Glory.

Cheers,

Paul.

[Kerplunk]

'Like the pickguard in the "Sheoak front.jpg" pic - is it also WA Sheoak or something else?

The Blue Gum also looks a little intriguing.

But more importantly, how would you rate their sound?

Looks like you all built off the same plan - and maybe with the same top wood too; if so, this group of builds should provide a great comparo of how each of the b&s tonewoods (looks like you've got Sheoak, Blue Gum and Melanuc in there) affects the sound. How would you describe the sound of each?

Cheers!,
Al.

[Peter Young]

Thanks everyone for looking and your comments.

Kim .... the neck on the dig dreadnaught is rock maple and is NOT neck heavy as you maight expect. The back and sides came from Tim .... the best "boing" I have heard in many a timber.
Al .... I have mostly played the Wandoo with a "Lutz" top and the Cedar top Blue gum. The later is a little warmer and mellow in tone but the Wandoo is a recent construct and may develop more in time. It did sound good to me straight up. The scratch plate and head stock on the Sheoak guitar built by Steve is Blue gum.

As a general observation, althought much the same plan, all the guitars have variations in terms of timbers and neck profiles, some are Spanish heels others bolt on etc. and the bridge materials vary. As said earlier, they ALL sound great to me. In my experience full size dreads often lack mid range but the smaller size top may focus or ballance the bass, middle, treble ..... hmmmm ..... strokes chin? I believe brace shaping on individual tops is probably the issue though ......

Thanks again for your comments .... I will post some pics of the "big - un" (guitar) and some other Sheoak instruments in a while.

Cheers
Pete

[Bruce McC]

Hi Peter
Great to see some of the fine work of your group.
It was Robin Johnston's Playmaker show on ABC
Radio National in May 2008, where she interviewed members
of your group, that inspired me to try and build a guitar
for myself. Four guitars later and my fifth is underway.
The next one will always be better.........wont it?

[John Maddison]

Hey Kim ... thanks for the kind words, mate!
------------------------------------------

It was Robin Johnston's Playmaker show on ABC Radio National in May 2008, where she interviewed members of your group, that inspired me to try and build a guitar for myself.

We're glad you enjoyed the radio show, Bruce, and that you found 'the spark' to get you going in lutherie. And a definite YES ... each subsequent build seems to improve on the previous one!

We sure had some fun back then by getting involved in the recordings during Playmakers '08, and I think it encouraged us all to keep going with this mysterious craft of making stringed boxes. From a personal perspective it's our ongoing Saturday afternoons at Pete's place that are a continuing source of shared inspiration, joy and great camaraderie (read: ).

For Forum Newbies who may not have heard our story, it can still be downloaded as a 49 MB .mp3 audio file from Radio National's Into the Music website, along with a gallery of images of us looking much younger than we are today.

It looks like our next step here is to break out the Zoom recorder and get some sound bites of the 3/4 dreadnaught gems organised. Pete: time to cue your young bloke Drew to do the demos .

[Kim]

It looks like our next step here is to break out the Zoom recorder and get some sound bites of the 3/4 dreadnaught gems organised. Pete: time to cue your young bloke Drew to do the demos .

Yes Please!!

We will move this and the Sheoak dred thread into the gallery once sound files go up...straight into the pool room

Cheers

Kim