This week I'd like to share some construction photos. I'm currently working on three new builds a the moment - a gypsy jazz guitar, a 000 folk guitar and a new model based on a Martin 'OM' size. '000': 'OM': The soundboard of the guitar is generally regarded as the 'heart' of the sound of an instrument, whereas the back and sides will add or take away overtones. So it's important that a soundboard is allowed to vibrate freely whilst also being made stable enough that the tension of the strings doesn't warp or break it. The bracing patterns I use are broadly based on the original Martin guitars, however this time I've decided to try some subtle new ideas. Mainly I'm using ebony bridge plates
Here's another interesting instrument that passed through the workshop recently- one of Mario Maccaferri's G40 guitars, which were made between 1953 and 1964. Best known for his Selmer gypsy jazz guitars that were popularised by Django Reinhardt in the 30s and 40s, Maccaferri continued to push the boundaries of traditional guitar design by experimenting with plastics. He moved to the US in 1939, and began to pursue reed manufacture, eventually using plastics, and then using his discoveries in a line of plastic guitars. Far from being 'toys', they were intended to be serious instruments. The G40 represents the pinnacle of his designs: one can find a wooden fanned bracing pattern beneath the a
Well, this is the first blog entry really. I wanted to start something to document some of the oddities that pass through my worksho, and this gives me an excuse to put the tools down once in a while! What better to start with than with this guitar: This instrument came in a few weeks back for a refret. It’s an interesting specimen as there is no maker’s label, and it has an unconventional bracing pattern. It’s clearly hand made by someone somewhere - I have a hunch that it was made here in the UK - but there the trail goes cold. I thought nothing of it at the time, but it seemed oddly familiar to me. I guess I just thought that was because I’d seen it a few times before seeing as it belonge
