My Poljakoff S1 - Final pictures
 

After a full year of anxious waiting Jakob Poljakoff has started building my guitar. Jakob Poljakoff is a luthier from Berlin, Germany, in his thirties and probably one of the youngest independent luthiers in Europe. Jakob has been building guitars for several years, and the expert opinion is that he's working on a lonely high level of construction. Some would have no problem in putting Jakob's guitars on a similar level of construction as for instant guitars made by Kevin Ryan, James Olson and other high priced luthiers.

After having played one of his S-1 models - an experience which took me totally by surprise even though I heard a Poljakoff being played in concert before - I decided to place an order with Jakob in January 2016. It is going to be my first custom built guitar and it will, without wanting to sound dramatic, be my last. Communicating through the past year with the luthier himself to finetune every little detail and personal wish was pure delight. If you would wish to learn more about Jakob Poljakoff's portfolio do check out his website: https://www.poljakoffgitarren.de/english

I intend to keep you informed in this thread as to how far we are. This is the first photo I received today: the gluing of the soundboard. As you can imagine I am exited.

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...psp8gfupqc.jpg

Congrats!
 

Congrats on the start of your new build--looking forward to seeing it come together!

Care to share any of the specs as we wait to see the progress? :D

Thanks for this post. I looked at the builders website and man o' man, he does some impressive detail work. Very unique and well done. I'm a fan, and I can't wait to see what happens with this guitar.

Wow I love his headstocks and his chip carving elements! Very nice. Looking forward to seeing this build

His guitars have beautiful lines. I'll be watching this with interest.

Yup - totally on board for this one.

Would love to hear one...wonder what style of tone he is shooting for.

Those chip carving headstocks are amazing...

Jakob is a divine guitar-builder and does also real extremely good repair and tuning jobs with the right feeling for sound and look.. he tuned up my Lakewood and created from a good guitar a kind of "tone-monster"... beyond that he a real kind guy with lots and lots of good ideas.. BUT he is not the only young luthier in Germany and Europe working on such a high level ;) there are to mention some other guys and girls.. for example Daniel Stark, Alexander Voss, Christina Kobler, Oliver Klapproth or Wilm Stötzel... who build guitars on a comparable level...:)

How nice you know Jakob that well, LaFaro. You are absolutely right in pointing at other luthiers as well. That's why my introduction reads 'one of the...'. And yes his level is lonely-high but he is not alone at the top. It was a real joy to check out the websites of the luthiers you mentioned. There are more gods and godesses on the Olympus. :)

Thanks, Nemoman! The one I ordered is Jakob Poljakoff's Model 1, OM sized guitar. Upper bout 275mm, lower bout 377mm, body length 485mm, body depth (at neck) 86mm, body depth (at end block) 106mm. I asked for nut width 45,5mm.

With the following specs:
Cedar soundboard, East Indian rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard, Jescar gold frets, white pearl side dots, ebony bridge, rosette of two rings of paua abalone with rosewood enclosure, Indian rosewood soundboard binding, paua abalone purfling, Indian rosewood headstock veneer, bone nut and saddle, matt (oil) finished neck, shellack finished soundboard, matt (oil) finished back and sides, Gotoh gold mini 510 tuners, and a K&K pure mini pickup.

It's not so bad to have the possibiltiy to choose between a few gods and godesses.. and You've taken a real good choice... the Model 1 seems to be kind of a follower of Jakob's S1, which I could play some years ago, and this model was already a "beast of guitar" and a hard kind of "wooden temptation"... although she was still quite new, she sounded marvellous and played soooo easy....Jakob is a real artist... unfortunatelay he made his way back to Berlin...:( ;)
I know, that you will have a hard time to wait, but anticipation is another kind of joy...;) and I'm quite sure, that you will enjoy the "result" of the waiting

That's why I called last year my training session in the art of postponed longing...:) I have nothing against Berlin; it's a wonderfully energtic city and I can't wait to go there, meet Jakob and ... pick up my guit.

Heeling...

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...g?t=1486927073

Jakob thicknessed the ribs yesterday. Today he starts bending them.

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...psgbp2rwda.jpg

Noble handiwork
 

Bending and moulding.

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...g?t=1487428643

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...g?t=1487428519

Some further developments
 

Centerjoined of the back is being glued and the top is almost finished. Jakob Poljakoff got this week a raving review in Grand Guitars.

http://i841.photobucket.com/albums/z...pstm8jxlwa.jpg

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