Describe your most rewarding build experience.

[justonwo]

The Holidays are a good time for reflection on all the good things in life. I’ve had the privilege of commissioning some guitars from a few amazing builders. Most of the experiences have been very positive.

My most recent build was by John Slobod. It was a 3 year wait, and I pinballed all over the place about what I wanted. John was a gentleman at every step. He was generous with his time on the phone and all my indecision about what to build. I ultimately decided on a very traditional OM build. Howard Klepper was kind enough to provide the gorgeous style 30 purfling for that guitar, making it an absolute knockout with very unique stylings.

Of course, the best part of all was getting a guitar that sounded and played better than my expectations, which were high. It has matured over time and the adi is settling in beautifully. It was a phenomenal experience from start to finish.

What was your great experience?

[LouieAtienza]

Beautiful guitar Juston... Two of the nicest gentlemen whose generosity of time and word would never be forgotten.

[jt1]

Here is my favorite build. A few years back, when visiting the shop of Kim Walker, who’d already built me a couple of guitars, I asked what happened to sonically superb, but visually challenged woods. “Will your customers accept them?” The answer, of course, was no. So, I hatched a Save the Ugly Woods plan: whenever Kim came across a great sounding, but visually unappealing piece of wood, he’d put it in a pile for my next guitar. When he’d accumulated enough pieces, he’d build me a Nick Lucas style guitar and paint it black. Well, varnish it black: Kim only uses his secret recipe varnish for finishing. Because the guitar would correspond approximately to his 1/3 of a century of guitar building, I wanted to honor the Century of Progress motif that Gibson used for the guitars it built in conjunction with Chicago’s 1930s Century of Progress exhibit. The Kim Walker One Third Century of Progress was born.

The top is European spruce cut more than a century before Kim used it on my guitar. The back and sides are half-century old Honduran mahogany.

Not content to leave well enough alone, I decided to use that black, blank canvas to honor some of my favorite periods of visual arts. Kim had some original, 1930s, Italian pearloid “Mother of Toilet Seat” – the exact same stuff Gibson use for the headstock overlays (and fingerboard overlays) of its Century of Progress guitars. Kim’s script logo is Elizabethan in look. I added a Romantic era flora inlay. In honor of the Gibson’s 1931 L-2 guitars, I had Kim mix up several concoctions of glitter for the purfling, and settled for a mix of gold, silver, red, orange, and, of course, champagne. In a nod to Op Art, I tracked down what I learned was the last bit of original, 1950s, Rickenbacker checkerboard binding left on the planet. In a stroke of pure genius, Kim added the Post-Modern fingerboard inlay.



MOTS-covered headstock:



One of a kind serial number:



Inspired (or despised, depending on your taste) combo of artistic themes:



[Edited to remove ginormous image!]

[iim7V7IM7]

Honestly, ALL of my custom commissions with luthiers have been extremely rewarding in different respects. Some have been rewarding because we collaborated on creating a specific design aesthetic. Many were rewarding due to the generosity of the luthier sharing the details of the “black box” of their work process. Others were rewarding because the luthier tried something acoustically new, took risk and succeeded. So selecting one build to expand upon is difficult. In lieu of that, for this thread I will simply discuss what was rewarding in the last custom acoustic that I received.

What was particularly rewarding about this one was visiting the luthier’s shop (Bruce Sexauer) and spending some hours with him hand selecting the wood sets that he used in person together with him. Because the internet is primarily a visual media and luthiers are frequently located afar from their clients, many never participate in this part of the process. To feel difference in weight, to flex a piece and note differences in stiffness or to hold it by a node and hear distinctions in how they tap. This can be an eye opener for a guitarist layperson. Having someone with many decades of experience taking you through the process was truly special.

The sets of Brazilian Rosewood and German Spruce that we selected out of literally dozens of peers acoustically stood out above all others in the profound timbre of their tap that we considered in Bruce’s wood locker.



Another extremely rewarding aspect was watching the creation of a traditional “bird’s beak” bridle joint using simple shop tools for a period correct slot-head peghead.





The project resulted in a truly superlative guitar. One of the best that I have played bar none. I was able to share it with others by allowing Bruce to exhibit it at last years Woodstock show. Again and again I watched players and fellow luthiers walk off with it and return bearing that enthusiastic smile that says it all.

[justonwo]

Both superlative guitars, guys. Wow. Bob, is that a 00 or 000? Is It voiced as a vintage Martin?

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by justonwo

Both superlative guitars, guys. Wow. Bob, is that a 00 or 000? Is It voiced as a vintage Martin?

Juston, that is a single 0 is lower bout size (13-1/2”) but Bruce adds a bit of length to his body and uses a CF Martin long-scale (25.4”) which both give it some extra authority to punch way above its weight. It is voiced very much in the tradition of guitars of old, but Bruce’s take on that (it is braced differently).

[justonwo]

It looks killer. I imagine the sound is spectacular.

jt1, it goes without saying that that Walker is a head turner.

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by justonwo

It looks killer. I imagine the sound is spectacular.

jt1, it goes without saying that that Walker is a head turner.

You can ask John Slobod the next time you speak with him. He played it...

[JamesO]

This is definitely mine. Even restringing her last night I thought, "I can't believe I made this." This was my fourth guitar and a big leap forward for me in just about every way. Original design. Technical aspects that stretched me. Etc.

This is the build video, but a pretty mid-forward recording: https://youtu.be/Sbwx19rLymc


And a short recording of Clive Carrol, b/c the rest is far beyond my ability . The recording is much more life-like though. https://youtu.be/hBAiha1umeI

[printer2]

This is a little off the wall from the norms of the Custom Shop, it is not finished either but I hope to remedy that in the next couple of months. I have been making instruments from humble woods in part to try different design ideas and methods in building to determine which suits me best. I think I have gone as far I could with the non-luthier woods part in this project. Other than the walnut binding the back, sides, top and neck has been made out of a single pine (I think) 2"x4". Yes it was not your average 2"x4" as it was pretty much quartered and straight grained.



The guitar is an 00 size and will get a jatoba fretboard and bridge. Nothing fancy, just building it to say it can be done. I have a few other guitars that I started and need to be finished this year but this one is the most interesting given the constraint of building it from the one stick of wood (not including the jatoba and walnut).

[jt1]

Originally Posted by justonwo

jt1, it goes without saying that that Walker is a head turner.

Thanks! A rather uninspiring sound clip:

[justonwo]

Makes me really want to try a Walker.

[Cocobolo Kid]

Originally Posted by justonwo

Makes me really want to try a Walker.

Don't wish for old age or a premature lack of mobility.

Great builds so far!

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by Cocobolo Kid

Don't wish for old age or a premature lack of mobility.

Great builds so far!

Well, the ones with the built in seats do seem pretty cool.

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by justonwo

Makes me really want to try a Walker.

The one I tried at Fran's was jaw-dropping.