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  #61  
Old 07-20-2017, 06:17 PM
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The sides are bent, and the first of 4 sections is installed. In keeping with the style I am emulating, the radius of the bend is looser on this cutaway:



Because I want to help promote the SBAIC event, I am going to start a new thread in the Custom Shop centric to my involvement in the show, and I am going to complete the documentation of this guitar there. Of course my working life is considerably richer that the show stuff alone, so I will keep this thread going too and will field any general questions here. The new thread is HERE.
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  #62  
Old 07-31-2017, 12:18 PM
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Default 3 D's Video

My friends at Peghead Nation made a video presentation of the three dreads I made last winter. And here it is for your pleasure.

I am pretty sure it is possible to imbed this video, but it seems to be beyond me at the moment.
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  #63  
Old 07-31-2017, 03:30 PM
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Nice job on the video Bruce, you always seem so very calm and real....all the guitars were interesting, I do believe I found the last one to be most interesting and the first had the most clarity to me. Hard to know on a video of course. Hopefully I will have one in my hand to try out at Woodstock...
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  #64  
Old 07-31-2017, 07:23 PM
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The guitar you liked is the so-called "AGF" dread. You are an AGF mainstay at this point, Tom, so I feel pretty good about you favoring it. Each of the 3 guitars sounds very much as I intended it to, to my ear.

Aside from content, credit mostly goes to Teja Gerkin of PHN for instigating the session and doing the editing and production. He said "tell me about these guitars" and I spoke. It was one take. Basically, I know this stuff backwards and forwards, as I should at this point in my life.

PegHead Nation got to know each other when they were much of the staff of Acoustic Guitar Magazine. They are idealistic, dedicated, and totally married to our roots music world; they completely deserve any support we can give them. They are three, Scott Nygard you saw playing my guitars in the video, and Dan Gable looks after business as well as having a local band I enjoy called "Minus Mary". I have known Teja (pronounced like "Stay up" without the S or the P) the longest as before AGM he worked the counter in my local music store, Tall Toad Music.
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  #65  
Old 08-01-2017, 11:42 AM
SJ VanSandt SJ VanSandt is offline
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I really enjoyed the video, though it reinforced my prejudice for mahogany. Not saying it sounds better, just saying I like the sound better. Which is a comfort: I'll never have to save up more money for Brazilian, or worry about the legality of any of the rosewoods.
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  #66  
Old 08-01-2017, 01:04 PM
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Very much enjoyed the video Bruce, along with your Vimeo channel. I could listen to stuff like this all day.

Cheers.

Glenn.
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  #67  
Old 08-07-2017, 12:17 AM
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My friends at Peghead Nation made a video presentation of the three dreads I made last winter.
Interesting to see that two of them are East Indian Rosewood guitars, given some of your past comments on EIR.
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  #68  
Old 08-07-2017, 10:15 AM
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Interesting to see that two of them are East Indian Rosewood guitars, given some of your past comments on EIR.
I am glad you noticed! Not only am I luke warm regarding EIR, but also have to admit to thinking of the Sitka I chose to use for these two guitars as a second string choice. So, why would I do this? Two main reasons: First, this is what Martin uses for their mainstream D28, and it was my intention to directly compare my 28 with theirs; a relatively level playing field. These two guitars represent a fairly conservative rendition (the ivoroid bound "UMGF" dread) and then a progressive version (Cocobolo sapwood bound "AGF" dread), a guitar that uses my evolved thinking though still traditionally grounded.

The second reason I chose to use EIR and Sitka is more philosophical. It is precisely because I have been critical of them that I used them. While neither wood is what I consider to be the best choice for achieving the tone I most favor, as a "master" builder I believe that I can get better than acceptable results from just about any combination of appropriate materials, and this was a chance to test myself on the one hand, and also take myself a little less seriously. A little humility can be a very good thing.

By the way, I think this is the first time I have referred to myself as a Master in a public place. When I was in Canada for the recent Vancouver Guitar Festival, I stayed with my mentor, Michael Dunn. He is (and always was) the closest thing to a master guitar maker I know of, and we had adjacent workbenches when I started out in my early 20's. We have stayed in touch throughout our lives and become closer as time has passed. During this last visit, Michael twice introduced me to people in his inner circle as a Master luthier. I asked him whether or not this was just him being polite, and he let me know that it was entirely intentional. Thus I have been anointed.
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  #69  
Old 08-07-2017, 08:15 PM
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Default New Start

Today I joined the plates for my next build. This will be a second guitar for Vic Manuel, the man who was Eric Schoenberg's right hand before James Hipps, the current shop manager. Vic is a decent player/singer/songwriter, and everyone who rubs against him loves him, I believe. I am honored to be building him another.

I have been building mostly high end stuff lately, but I do make more modest guitars, and this will be one such. My standard Italian spruce over Honduras Mahogany, a Martinesque 000 with no bells and whistles whatsoever. It should be as good as any other guitar I've made, possibly better.

This is the last of 30 "E" grade Rivolta Italian Spruce tops Eric and I bought together in 2002. The end of an era!


Joined back:


Sanded flat and templates cut:
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  #70  
Old 08-08-2017, 08:43 PM
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My Sexauer mahogany mini D is the first thing I'd have my wife carry out of the house if there were a fire -
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  #71  
Old 08-10-2017, 12:54 PM
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If I ever have to replace it, Tad, there's every chance I could do even better today.

The "Santa Barbara Acoustic Instrument Celebration" has made a new promotional banner which has a certain appeal to me for some reason:

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  #72  
Old 08-10-2017, 08:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer View Post
If I ever have to replace it, Tad, there's every chance I could do even better today.

The "Santa Barbara Acoustic Instrument Celebration" has made a new promotional banner which has a certain appeal to me for some reason:

Everything looks more elegant with a black background.
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  #73  
Old 08-28-2017, 04:43 PM
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Default Post SBAIC/17

It is Monday afternoon and I got back from the Santa Barbara Show last night at 9:50 after a 6 1/2 hour drive including dropping off my assistant Tad Laird at his Berkeley CA home. SBAIC was a very class act show and is unlikely to receive anything but the highest praise from anyone who attended. Smoothly run, adequately attended, and pretty much opulent so far as the venue is concerned, Tad and I had people at our table and playing my guitars about 2/3 of the time the show was open! At 1 pm on the final day, yesterday, I drew a ticket from the raffle barrel on my table and gave away a brand new 00 guitar I had made to one of show attendees, LA resident Billie Jo Walsh. I have reason to believe that it is her husband who put her up to it, but Billie Jo herself certainly sounded excited on the phone.

My deep felt thanks to Kevin Gillies, the show's creator, and his crew for a job well done. Bravo!
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  #74  
Old 08-29-2017, 07:14 PM
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Both the giveaway and the Mod-D are shipped and should arrive at their respective homes by Friday.

I am going to look after some deferred housekeeping and then get back to work on Vic Manuel's mahogany 000.

After several years of spotty booking following twenty years of a 2 year wait list, I am once again seeing the phone ring, it fact it is ringing as much as it ever has. My wait list is almost back up to a year (next window available is Julyish), and if this goes much further I will raise my base prices for the first time in 9 years. When I take an order I do guarantee both the build window and the price structure. You know what I'm saying: if you're thinking about it, you should not put it off too long.
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  #75  
Old 09-08-2017, 07:27 PM
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Default B J Walsh owns the Walnut 00.

The FT-00-WRX I gave away is safely in the hands of Billie Jo Walsh, and I have a picture of her with the guitar to share with you all. Billie Jo and her husband both play, and it seems a better home would have been unlikely.

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