Current Events

Well, the last couple of blogs have been a bit wordy. So, I thought that it was time to get back to the pictures. The repair load at Guru Guitars continues to take up most of my time, but here are some shots of projects I have going on the side. A number of years ago I was given this old parlor guitar. The stamp inside the body says Henry L.Mason, who is a maker I'm not familiar with. There is some speculation on the interwebs that these guitars may have been built by the Mason and Hamlin piano company, but I have been unable to verify that. If any one out there has any info I would love to hear it. Based on the bracing pattern I think it was built in the late 1800/early 1900's. It's in pretty bad shape but I've always wanted to resurrect it. It's a simple guitar with minimal appointments but it should be a fun one when it's all together.

The top has quite a few cracks.

The neck is loose.

In fact, It didn't take much to get it out of the dovetail.

The back and sides are in pretty good shape so the plan at this point is to remove the old top and make a new one. The old top has and antiquated style of bracing which was designed before steel strings became popular. The new top will have a more modern X-brace for use with steel strings. It should sound great! Stay tuned!

In addition to the parlor guitar project I have two custom builds going. The first is a 504 Semi-Hollow with fanned frets for a customer in Japan. Here are some in progress shots. The body and neck are made from Korina. Here is a picture of the chambering on the inside of the body.

This guitar has a Quilted Maple top. Here's the top fit into the body before carving.

...and the top with a rough carve.

another shot.

Here's the guitar with the top glued in. The f-hole is inlayed and cut out and decorative purfling is installed around the top. The fingerboard is Macassar Ebony. There is still a lot of work to do but things are looking good!

Finally one more 504. I've been calling it the 504 Jazz Jr. It is an exercise in simplicity. I've had this idea in my head for a while now for a simple, clean guitar which I could produce fairly easily. I was afraid that it might end up being too bland, but I think there are enough details on this to make it cool.

This guitar will have an inlayed pickguard, a simple tailpiece with a floating archtop style bridge and a Johnny Smith neck pickup. The body and neck are Korina. The fingerboard and all of the appointments are Honduras Rosewood.

Well, that's all for now, I'll keep you posted as all of these projects develop. Thanks for reading the blog!

Alcatraz

Occasionally I peruse the internet in search of inspiration. Lately I have been checking out other luthiers’ websites in an attempt to gather ideas for updates to my own site. I’ve begun to notice a pattern. Inevitably there is a photo of the builder in a spotless workshop. Often he is standing in front of an immaculately organized workbench full of expensive chisels and other hand tools. I’m always envious. Since the day I began to dream about becoming a guitarmaker I have envisioned working in the type of shops I see on the web. Perfectly organized, full of light, perhaps poised peacefully in a picturesque valley, gazing up through the mist to a majestic mountaintop. Or, Maybe nestled on the third floor of some old industrial building in a rough but up and coming neighborhood close to heart of downtown. I envisioned musicians coming and going. Downstairs, a quirky coffee shop staffed by cute artistic baristas with tattoos. I’m sure that there are a few Luthiers who have managed to make this kind of romantic vision into reality, I am not one of them.

During one of my recent excursions into the world wide web, I stumbled across video of a young builder peacefully assembling one of his acoustic guitars. His jigs and fixtures were beautifully crafted, and he deftly fit the top and back to his instrument with a quiet grace. I have always aspired to work with this careful and calm precision. In my mind this attitude has always been the trademark of a professional at work, but try as I might I never seem to quite make it to that peaceful place. It’s possible that something way down deep in my psyche thrives on chaos and is only motivated by terror. I’m pretty sure that way back at the dawn of time, when the first bit of ooze slurped it’s way onto tierra firma my amoeba self sat on it’s amoeba couch marveling “Wow! Check out the big brain on Jimmy! He just pulled himself out of the water! How awesome is that!” Perhaps it was only when an evolved ‘Jimmy’ returned with an intent to eat me that I began to contemplate my own evolutionary trajectory. I don’t know. What I do know is, unlike the young internet luthiers, I usually make a huge mess as I work. My shop is embroiled in a constant cycle of being cleaned and immediately messed up.
I have affectionately named my current shop Alcatraz. Not because I feel imprisoned there, but because it is a windowless, cinderblock cube devoid of humor and inspiration. It sits behind a pool hall in the parking lot of an antiquated strip mall west of downtown Raleigh. In the mornings, when I pull into the parking lot, I am occasionally greeted by a quasi-homeless man named Waldi. He is part of a colorful cast of characters that frequent the parking lot. I imagine it as a kind of strange sit-com. “ Oh Waldi”...Thumbs up...Wink...Freeze Frame...Roll Credits.
I am unsure of Waldi’s age. My guess is that he is in his late fifties. I often encounter him perched on a small retaining wall at the back of the parking lot reading the morning paper and sipping his breakfast from a 40oz bottle of Steel Reserve. Waldi once told me that he bought an authentic Rolex from a man in a bar for 10 dollars, only to lose it a few days later in a bus station somewhere in Idaho. How quickly greatness slips through our fingers. What I’ve gleaned from my occasional conversations with Waldi is that he speaks with a German accent and was at one time a Porsche mechanic-probably a fairly good one. He’s a smart guy, but a man over powered by his vices, and left behind by the world.

Each morning as a make my way from my parking space to the steel front door of Alcatraz, I’m careful to step around broken beer bottles and the assorted debris from late night pool hall traffic. In many ways this shop is not unlike all of the other shops I have been in. It’s hot in the summer, cold in the winter, surrounded by chaos and the occasional spat of illegal activity. A far cry from the peaceful mountain or trendy industrial chic of my imagination. During the summer months the air conditioner in Alcatraz occasionally clogs with dust and will back up draining all of the water down the inside wall of the shop. The fix is to vacuum out the drain with a shop vac. One afternoon as I dragged the vacuum and extension chord around the back of the building, I found Waldi asleep behind the air conditioner. I paused, not wanting to wake him, but eventually proceeded with my plan to clear the drain. To my surprise, the howling roar of the machine had no effect on Waldi. It was only after checking to make sure his chest was moving that I was sure he wasn’t dead.

I’m not sure how the young luthiers I’ve seen online afford such amazing workspaces and tools. I’m also not sure how they’ve had time and money to build the hundreds of guitars their websites say they’ve produced. My current theory is that there is rich aunt, trust fund, or lottery money that fuels their enterprise. But, I suppose it could also be that they’ve worked with a tenacity and determination which far surpasses my own.
Suddenly there seems to be an ominous shadow over my comfortable amoeba couch in my quiet tide pool. On occasion when I encounter Waldi in the amidst of his morning rituals, I don’t feel that far removed from him. I can feel how the relentless pursuit of some imaginary “perfection” can wear a person out.

Perhaps, I should clean up Alcatraz once again.

In Defense Of Creativity

Well, It's been a little over a month since the Montreal Guitar Show. The excitement of international business travel has given way to the quiet return of "business as usual". I must admit it has been a little bit tough to get back into the swing of things. I'm not sure what I expected after the show, but it has been humbling to once again put on my repairman hat and plunge into the never ending flow of cheap broken guitars. Since joining the "blog-o-sphere" a few years ago, I have resisted going on any kind of negative rant about cheap guitars. I really do understand the need for inexpensive instruments. My first guitar was a copy of a Les Paul custom made by Memphis. I bought it for $60 and played the crap out of it for years. My whole life as I know it now was born with that guitar. So there is some value.

But, it is hard to remember that story in the midst of my current day to day reality. The vast majority of guitars that come across my bench are made overseas in huge production facilities. Visually they all look like classic American guitars. There is very little innovation, few creative ideas, and zero soul. After a while it just gets depressing. What are we creating with our resources? All of this precious wood gobbled up in soul-less trash. My main concern is that finely made things are becoming less and less a part of our daily lives. As we become further and further removed from objects created by human hands, we unknowingly lower our standards. Craftsmanship, care and pride, are replaced by units shipped, and everything...faster...faster... faster!

I have avoided this rant for years because there is no answer. This is the way of world at this point. I can't say that one way is better than another. Perhaps fine craftsmanship has always been reserved for the wealthy elite. Perhaps lessening our attachment to physical objects is ultimately a good thing. I don't know, my only hope is that people continue to appreciate well made things; to surround themselves with objects which inspire them. Please forgive me my self-indulgent rant. Apparently this all had to come out. I will now pay penance by posting a few things which I think are awesome!


James Krenov was one of my favorite woodworkers. Sadly he passed away in 2009, but his work continues to be a huge source of inspiration for me. I love the organic feel of it! His book "A Cabinet Makers Notebook" really planted seeds that I am tending right now.

"It’s not that I had a message that was outstanding or unique or anything like that. I just expressed the feelings that a great number of people had ... 'Live the life that you want to live. Don’t be unhappy in your work.'" James Krenov

http://www.finewoodworking.com/Gallery/Galleryslideshow.aspx?id=87

http://jameskrenov.com/


I ran across this video the other day and thought 'My god! How incredible it this!' What amazing vision! What an awesome project!



Finally, Mark Ribot. One of my favorite guitarist. A lot of his work challenges me, it's sometimes hard to listen to! He is a true original, he plays from way down deep. He's not afraid to chase his own artistic vision. Some day I will have the courage to create like him!

Montreal Guitar Show Debrief

Well, We've made it back from Montreal. All of the guitars survived the trip intact. What a show! I'm not sure where to begin. The few pictures I took really don't do the experience justice. There was so much awesome work on display, I literally could not sleep. My mind spinning over all the beautiful instruments! I left feeling very inspired. If I were to write a detailed synopsis of the show, this blog post would be 125 pages long. So here are the high points.

This is the 5th year of the Montreal Guitar Show. This year the show sprawled across two convention rooms of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Montreal. One room featured acoustic builders and one featured electric builders. Although most of my work lies somewhere between the two worlds, I chose to exhibit in the acoustic room. I felt a little self conscious, because I had two electric guitars and only one which was fully acoustic. But in the end, exhibiting in the acoustic room proved to be a good choice. If there were any disparaging remarks, they were probably in French and I therefore did not understand them...ignorance is bliss! Anyway, all the instruments seemed to get a lot of attention.


Friday July 1st was opening day and it seemed very busy to me. By the end of the day, I was worn out from all of the talking. I met some really great people!

Be it ever so humble...my table...

Saturday continued in much the same way. Lots of talking, explaining fanned frets, construction techniques, and listening to people talk about their own projects. The guitars got played a lot, and on Saturday afternoon I sold the Archtop! It was really awesome. Saturday night, there was an after party for the builders on a roof top deck of the Hyatt. There was much drunken jamming...I did not partake, but it was fun to be there.

I could have sold the Archtop again on Sunday. A person who had played it on Saturday came back to see if it was still available...unfortunately, it was not. There's always next year!

Both The acoustic and electric room were filled with amazing guitars! Here are a few that caught my eye.

An Archtop by Dimitri Tenev. Very organic looking, I really like the rustic nature of this guitar. I've been interested in trying to include some organic elements in my work. I really dig the tailpiece on this guitar, Super cool!

An Archtop by Greg German. Another fanned fret guy.

William "Grit" Laskin. What can I say, his work is amazing! My photos don't do it justice. All of the inlay is hand cut and fitted by him. Here are some better pictures. http://www.williamlaskin.com/gallery2.php

In addition to his stunning inlay work, he is a very innovative luthier. Many of his designs are now standard practice for many guitar makers.

This guitar by Claudio Pagelli was really an awesome feat of engineering!

It's three guitars...and a banjo...in one!
...an acoustic...

...Loosen one bolt which holds on the neck and replace the top with and electric guitar...

...or a resonator...didn't get a pic of the banjo. Crazy!

Speaking of crazy...Ken Parker's Archtop! Crazy is probably not the right word...innovative is more like it! Really amazing!

I don't know what to say about this guitar...It was just stunning!
By Jean-Yves Alquier

This guitar by Christophe Grellier was probably one of my favorite guitars at the show. His execution was really awesome! I love the flowing design of the inlay and finger-rest. I'm sad I didn't get to play it!

Two more really nice Archtops by Pierrick Bura. I Love the sound holes!

Linda Manzer's more-strings-than-you-could-ever-need-o-caster. Her table was always crowded, this was the only picture I could get!

Pete Swanson...The amount of work that goes into just the rim on his guitars is staggering!
He cuts all those little squares on a tablesaw!

Finally I leave you with a video, which kind of captures the feel of the show. I stumbled upon this little impromtu jam on my way back to my table. This kind if thing happened all over the place! I don't know who these guys are, but they were killing it! Sorry about the video/audio quality, but enjoy!

Montreal Preview

Well, somehow a month has passed since my last post. Much has been happening!

As some of you may already know, I am exhibiting at the Montreal Guitar Show this year, and the July 1st opening day is fast approaching! I must admit that the 30+ page exhibitors guide was a little bit intimidating at first. Some of the customs information is down-right cryptic. So, naturally I've chosen to procrastinate! Unfortunately I cannot put this off any longer, so this blog will feature lots of pictures of me filling out customs forms and printing shipping labels. Anyone want to be a guitar builder now?

Just kidding, I thought I would post a little preview of the guitars I'm bringing up to the show.

The first is a little video my friend Rob Basile shot using the 504 Semi-hollow. Rob is a really creative guy and a super talented player! I cannot thank him enough for his help.




The second video is a little more magic from Rob Basile. It features Jared Wofford playing the new 415 Archtop.



Third video is a slide show I put together of the 510 semi-hollow. The music is performed by Mark Boling using the 510. Please excuse my amateur video editing skills!



All three of these guitars will be at the show. If you are in town please stop by and say hello!

Post Partum

Well, it's official, the archtop is alive! All of the months of sanding, scraping, tapping, and tuning have produced a guitar. Someone recently asked me if I had a hard time letting go of instruments once they where finished. At the time, I said no, but that was probably not entirely true. I've noticed, that the excitement of working out the final details often recedes into a kind of melancholy once the guitar hangs on the wall. It helps when they sell, and I don't just mean the cash, There is a kind of relief that comes from finding the guitar a good home. That process starts now!

Overall, I'm really happy with this guitar! It sounds very warm and rich. I hope to record some sound clips and possibly a little video or two stay tuned!

Tradition and the New Guitars

Whenever I begin a new guitar, I usually have some idea that has been floating around in my head which I want to explore. Sometimes It's construction related, design related, or sometimes it's a sonic investigation. Sometimes it's an idea which is brought to me by a customer. In this case, I wanted to use the Archtop and Flat top projects as an excuse to delve into tradition a bit.

One thing I've always been curious about, is Hide glue. It's a subject of much debate in the guitar nerd community. Some say there are tonal advantages to using it. Hide glue dries really hard and brittle, and the theory is that it transfers vibration through all of the glue joints better than the modern alternatives. I've used hide glue a bit for repairs, but never built a complete instrument using it. For those of you who don't know what hide glue is...it's a glue (shocking! I know) made from animal parts all boiled down to a goo... I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. By the time it gets to me, the glue is in a dry powdery form. I have to add water and heat to reconstitute it. Ethically I'm not sure I can get behind this glue, but I'm drawn to the tradition of it. Hide glue has been used as an adhesive for nearly 5000 years (if you believe Wikipedia!) Certainly some of the finest instruments around have been constructed with hide glue. In my world, the jury is still out, but I like the process of using it. I like that it takes skill and care to get a good glue joint. Skill and care seem to be disappearing from our world.


As I near the end of this build, my thoughts turned to the inevitable question of what finish to apply. The traditional finish for most Archtop guitars and most Flat-tops is Nitrocellulose laquer. I've sprayed my fair share of it over the years. These days I'm using a water based spray-on finish which I really like. It's less toxic than Nitro, it dries really hard and buffs out very nicely. My intent was to use this finish on the Archtop, but I could not stop myself from investigating another traditional technique...French Polish. Basically to French Polish, you apply very thin coats of shellac with a small pad, rubbing vigorously until each new layer blends with the previous one. It's a finish which has been used for years by furniture makers, violin makers and classical guitar builders. French Polishing quite an art! An art I would like to be good at, but after nearly a week of swirling shellac onto the Archtop, I decided that it was not to be. I love traditional ways of working and I enjoy exploring traditional techniques, but as I become more and more professional I'm finding a need to balance tradition with technology. In the end, I felt like French Polish was a lot of work. Shellac, even when applied correctly is a delicate finish. It can be damaged by water, sweat, alcohol etc. So, I decided to spray over the shellac with a few top coats of my tried and true water based finish. I'll let everything cure for about two weeks, and then the Archtop becomes a guitar!


Sanding the archtop between coats of finish

The archtop in the spray booth.

While the finish cures, I've turned my attention back to the flat top. It's pretty close to being done. I just need to do some fine tuning.

One of the last tasks is to inlay my logo on the peghead. I often feel that I need to get my "branding" together and come up with a better logo, but for now, I'm inlaying the letter "C" and some swirly bits. I made a crude jig to speed up the process. I use the plywood template to rout the recess for the scrolls.

I print the letter C out on to a piece of paper and glue it to some mother of pearl.

Next comes the careful work of cutting it out. I use a jewlers saw with a fine blade.

...And done...

The next step is to rout out a recess for the letter to fit into. It takes a steady hand...and a bit of patience. I scribe the outline of the "C" with a xacto knife and then use a white pencil to help me see the line. I do the routing with a Dremel tool and a very small bit.

Here's the finished inlay. The "C" is mother of pearl and the scrolls are thin aluminum which I bend to fit. The only thing left is a bit of sanding and then this guitar is off to the spray booth as well!