Custom classical guitar.

[Ned Milburn]

Here's a few pics from a guitar I just sent to a client this week.

It is a classical guitar with 650mm scale, ebony bound fingerboard, high C extension, asymmetrically dropped top (ie: custom elevated fingerboard), special select matched Indian rosewood sides, back, bindings, & headstock laminates.

The guitar is loud with full clear trebles and with basses that remind me of the reed stop of a pipe organ - very resonant.

It was quite fun to build.

[GeoffStGermaine]

Gorgeous! That rosette is beautiful.

[Ned Milburn]

Thanks Geoff,

I wish I could say that the rosette was mine, but it was a pre-made. I plan to build my own rosette before my next classical or flamenco guitars are made. It has 272 tiles for the pattern, so it will be slow going making the mosaic.

[Ned Milburn]

A photo of the back:

[LouieAtienza]

Very nice Ned! Did you have to brace differently to allow for the "twist" in the top?

[TEK]

Beautiful Ned !
I love the back on that.
Travis

[Ned Milburn]

Originally Posted by LouieAtienza

Very nice Ned! Did you have to brace differently to allow for the "twist" in the top?

Louie, my first harmonic bar (transverse brace) is already at a slight angle making the treble side of the soundboard smaller than the bass. Santos Hernandez from Madrid used a similar modification near the turn of the 20th century. I came upon the idea independently just thinking of simplifying the Ramirez method of constraining the treble side with an extra brace.

So with the angled transverse brace that I use, the asymmetrical dropped top flowed naturally from this angle. It is nice because it keeps the body depth thicker on the bass side of the upper bout to ensure bass resonance, then the body becomes narrower on edge of the treble side of upper bout for extra ease of access to the fingerboard extension.

[Dan Lampton]

Very nice!

[Ned Milburn]

Originally Posted by TEK

Beautiful Ned !
I love the back on that.
Travis

Thanks Travis. I call that wood my "special select". Basically, it is wood that I'd want to build a guitar for myself with, but that will likely just go to my clients' guitars. ;-)

I'm lucky enough to live close to a specialty hardwood supplier where I visit regularly to spend some careful time picking out good boards to re-saw. This even allows me to sometimes match all Indian rosewood in the guitar (headstock, bridge, sides, back, bindings), as per this build.

Here's the back of the headstock.



And the bridge:

[tkoehler1]

Nice stuff Ned! Do you have a website?

TK

[jmat]

Looks wonderful!

[Ned Milburn]

Originally Posted by tkoehler1

Nice stuff Ned! Do you have a website?

TK

Thanks.

Yes I do. It is in dire need of updating. handcraftedguitars.ca

[kirkham13]

Beautiful.. I like the detail of the neck heel/ back. Sitka/ French Polish?

[Ned Milburn]

Originally Posted by kirkham13

Beautiful.. I like the detail of the neck heel/ back. Sitka/ French Polish?

Good eye!!

The Soundboard is Lutz spruce. Apparently a hybrid between a white and sitka spruce. And yes, the guitar is French polished.