Ladder Braced Tenor Guitar

[Dave White]

I love making instruments out of bits left over from other instruments. This is a little tenor guitar that I made as an experiment based on a Martin 5-15 using khaya (four piece top and back) with EI Rosewood binding and veneer, an ebony fingerboard and bridge and sycamore neck. Scale length is 597mm (23.5â€

[Colin S]

Not bad for bits of left overs, bit like a monday dinner, always looked forward to that.

It's great to take a guitar away like that and have someone like it so much they put their hand in their pocket, but again I suppose it is a Da Faoite.

Colin

[Bob Connor]

Nice work Dave. I love getting those left over bits to work as well.

How thick did you leave the top on this one? Reason I ask is that I'm about to start a couple of OM's with local hardwood tops (Sassafras and Celery Top)

Cheers

Bob

[Dave White]

Colin,

Thanks. That's the first - and probably only - time that's happened to me.

Bob,

The top was around 2.5mm thick in the centre and around 2.2mm at the edges. I make thicker tops than most as that's where I think you get good trebles from. You can get bass many ways. I love hardwood topped instruments and will be interested to see yours progress.

[Ron Wisdom]

Wow, this one is neat, too, Dave. I've never played a tenor guitar. Again, the thing that first strikes me (from the frontal shot, anyway) is how vintage it looks. I love that look. Fine job, as always.

Ron

[Taffy Evans]

Thanks for showing the guitar Dave, it looks great. I had a request to build a Tenor Guitar the other week. I did not jump at the offer but now I'm thinking it could be a good project, now that you've shared some info.

[Kim]

Great little guitar Dave,

I am with Ron, I really like that vintage mojo you seem to be able to produce so very well.

Yet another classic

Cheers

Kim

[Dave White]

Ron,

Thanks - your building chops are coming along amazingly too. You should like tenor guitars as a lot of banjo players use them. I am just amazed how versatile ladder bracing is and now really firmly believe that the dominance of X bracing didn't replace an inferior system, but has in some ways stiffled the development potential of a whole new exciting sound area.

Kim (and Ron),

I don't know about the classic look - I'm just using Z-poxy and pre-cat lacquer - although this is a classic Martin size 5 body. Unusual fior me huh?. I like the sound you get using z-poxy as a layer rather than just in the pores on hardwood topped instruments - it gives a real bounce and projection to the sound. There is a very definite symbiotic relationship that the finish adds to bare wood in an instrument's tone and people who say that it just kills tone are missing a real trick.

Taffy,

Go for it - they are a blast to make and play. I have in mind a 5 string tenor (they've been done before by the way).

By the way. the tenor guitar will be making a transit vist on Monday and I hope to do some recording then.