Redwood/Cuban mahogany OOO

[Colin S]

My favourite steel string guitar has always been the slot-headed OOO 12 fret, I’ve built quite a few over the years, but this is the first one that I’ve put a redwood top on. In fact the first redwood guitar I’ve made. Here’s the details.

B&S: Cuban mahogany
Top: Redwood
Rosette: Redwood burl (courtesy of Steve Kinnaird)
Neck: Honduran mahogany
Binding: Curly maple
Purfling: Cuban mahogany, B/pear/B
Bridge/FB/headplates: BRW, (this wood went into the college stores in 1840!)
Finish: Frank Cooper’s chunky cut Oxford marmalade.

This of course has my usual ‘parabolic’ bracing but on this one I added an ‘A’ brace inlet into the X brace and headblock and passing through an open UTB. It also has my usual bolt on neck with the FB glued to a neck extension inlet into a mortice in the headblock rather than glued to the top. Never seen the point of bolting on the neck, only to glue the FB to the top.

I’m really pleased with this guitar, which was built more as a test of the top and bracing, but I think will probably become my main standard tuning guitar.







Here's a soundfile for you, this was recorded late at night after a fair amount of 18 year old Talisker had been consumed, some don't be over critical!

Slowdown

Colin

[Dave White]

Colin,

Mmmmmmmmm . . . Cuban!!

That's a fabulous guitar. Gorgeous wood combinations very elegantly put together. The slot head detail is great and the rosette, binding and purfling just work so well. Very Lowdenesque. The Frank Cooper marmalade finish really gives the wood a great lustre and it looks like a tactile wooden creation rather than something in shrink wrapped poly. I like the look of that straight grained redwood top rather than the curly wild stuff that seems to be all the rage at the moment.

It sounds fabulous too - I can hear the inbuilt reverb of the Cuban Mahogany and the balance and complexity of sound is really nice. And it's only a few days old. The Talisker certainly oiled the wheels - really nice grove and bounce to the playing.

Well done!!

[sebastiaan56]

Hi Colin,


eewwwwwww, nice, the Mahogony gives me goosebumps. The Redwood looks sweet, the construction appears first rate and if that's your playing after a few drammies you have nothing to be ashamed about. You do much better then me without the drammies....

there is obviously a story about the BRW, please share.

Im glad Dave started the comments about the marmalade, I note with great interest that Tesco's have it for 99p for 454g. OK, jokes aside can you point us poor colonials to some reference material about this finish. Im guessing its a wipe on varnish.

[ozziebluesman]

G'day Colin,

Thanks for sharing this wonderful instrument. The redwood, mahogany have a real earthy look and the rosette, head-plate and binding are beautifull appointents. Very sweet tone indeed!

I too love the 000 sized guitar. Fellow formite here Taffy Evans has just finished building a gorgeous 000 sized guitar for me and I can't put it down. Good tone, volume, comfortable playing size. I use my 000 in open d tunings and standard tuning, dropped a tone. The guitar sounds wonderful.

So if this is your standard tuned guitar, do you have a guitar specialy built instrument for lower tunings like DADGAD etc?

Beautiful guitar, thanks for sharing!

Cheers

Alan

[Kim Strode]

It's a nice looking guitar Colin. I'm interested to know why a prefer your guitars slot headed

[matthew]

Yep, I really like that one. Has a real "play me" look.

well done!

[Paul B]

Where's the pearl?

Thats a beautiful guitar Colin. Nice choice of woods, both tonally and from a standpoint of colour palette. It all works for me.

Slot-headed 000 12 fret guitars are my favorites too, just something about that size and style of guitar floats my boat. Hopefully I'll finish my twins at some point soon.

[Ron Wisdom]

Once again, Colin, a very fine looking instrument. I'm always impressed with your craftsmanship. I haven't checked out the sound, yet (slow dial up), but I will. Very nice!!!

Ron

[Paul B]

What's the scale length on that one Colin?

In the pic from behind, the neck looks shorter than my 12 fret 000s (from the stewmac plan), or is it a bit wider than 'normal'?

[josh_cain]

wow that looks amazing!

I think my next build will be a 000 size.

[Bob Connor]

Lovely work as usual Colin. Understated elegance in the finest British tradition.

I'm keen to hear your impressions of the Redwood as a tonewood. I got a straight grained top from Uncle Bob.

Interestingly enough, (but not surprising) the tap tone of the straight grained top was far, far superior than those figured tops that he had in stock.

[Lillian]

Colin, it is beautiful and sounds wonderful. Thank you for including the sound clip.

[Allen]

That just says "Pick me up and give me a play".

I love that one Colin. No Bling and it doesn't need it. In fact that would spoil a really lovely little guitar.

Cheers Mate.

[Colin S]

Thanks for all the kind comments, greatly appreciated. Let me answer some of your specific questions.

Sebastian, I do a fair bit of restoration work for the London museums, one of the colleges has a supply of very old wood in its store all labelled up with the origin and dates of acquisition. They gave me some of this BRW from 1840.

The finish is a hand applied oil varnish made by a one man violin varnish maker for me. It is intended for restoration work as it is essentially the stuff used by 18th and 19th century instrument makers. Tru-oil would be the closest commercial product. I rub it out using rottenstone and oil paste.

Alan, yes I have dedicated guitars for altered tunings. I use balanced string sets for each tuning, and of course intonate the saddle for those strings at the correct tuning.

Paul, its a satndard 632mm (24.9") scale witha 46mm nut. I shall ignore the pearl reference!

Bob, Dave says, and I agree with him, that Cuban is mahogany with pretensions to being rosewood. Redwood could be called cedar with pretensions to being Euro spruce. It's certainly a premium tone wood that I will use again and I really think that it complements the Cuban, an ideal marriage. I've only handled one piece of the curly redwood, I won't be handling any more. This top came from Hank Mauel from a batch for George Lowden, if it's good enough for George....

I thought that you might like to see the bracing. The A frame passes through openings in the UTB and is inlet into both the headblock and the X brace. Only the top arms of the X and the UTB are inlet into my solid laminated linings.

Colin

[Taffy Evans]

Hi Colin
I like your '000' guitar, looks really nice, I was surprised how well this size guitar can sound and project. I've built a lot of small bodied guitars but I think I got my most pleasing results from the '000' style.
Nice work Colin thanks for showing.

[Hesh1956]

Beautiful guitar as always Colin my friend!

[Stephen Kinnaird]

Colin, as stated at the OLF, you're guitar is a winner M8.
Though, I'm picturing it with a burst, and wondering why you held back this time?

Also, your use of the r'dwood burl looks much better than mine!
Glad to see it go to such a fine home.

Steve

[Colin S]

Colin, as stated at the OLF, you're guitar is a winner M8.
Though, I'm picturing it with a burst, and wondering why you held back this time?

Also, your use of the r'dwood burl looks much better than mine!
Glad to see it go to such a fine home.

Steve

Steve I did in fact consider doing a burst, and pearl ornamentaion in the Martin 45 style, maybe even the Martin 100 style, but then I woke up and realised it was all a horrible nightmare!

For those that don't know me from the OLF, Paul and Steve's comments are because I have something of a reputation for not liking bursts and pearl on guitars, or in fact any unnecessary shiny ornamentation. Mind you for a lot of the guitar players I know any fret past the fifth could be classed as unnecessary ornamentation!

Cutting the rosette from the burl was the most nerve-racking part of the whole build, it shatters if you just look at it wrong, and I thought if I make a cock-up of it, I'd never hear the end of it! I did however find a layout that had the grain running in quite a nice circle around the rosette. Thanks again for the kindness in sending me the wood.

Colin

[Stephen Kinnaird]

You bet. My pleasure, totally!

SK

[Dave Anderson]

A very fine looking guitar Colin and sweet sounding as well!
Love that Cuban ......and good playing too.Thanks

[Alfred J]

Thanks for posting the photos and soundfile. The guitar is gorgeous and the soundfile says it all. Superb work!

Good to see a departure from the bracing norm. Obviously it works. I was surprised to hear that the trebles sound full and sweet even though you use parabolic bracing. I tried it once and found the trebles too bright even though the bridge was well into the lower bout and the bridge plate did not crowd the X brace joint.

Did you use rock maple for the bridge plate? That extra little brace behind the bridge plate attracted my attention too. (Seriously) how did you arrive at the idea of isolating the UF brace from the "A" braces in that way, and do you think it has any noticeable impact on the tone of the instrument?

If that's you playing, how about a Youtube clip? Loved the double thumb pick piece.

Alfred