Blackwood duet: finished! Vid added

[Glenn23]

Here are the rosette pieces, separate, then glued in place, and a test I did in photoshop to work out some stain ideas. The color blends will extend up the maple fret markers and probably continue on to the headstock back plate. I'm still working out ideas for the headstock.

[Nemoman]

Absolutely beautiful--this is going to be one stunning guitar!

[cigarfan]

Man, that is some out-of-the-box thinking right there. Truly striking! This is fun to follow.

[TomB'sox]

OK, that's enough, you need to stop this immediately!!!! Liking overload!

[Marcus Wong]

Wow, I love your aesthetics so much!!

[Glenn23]

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Absolutely beautiful--this is going to be one stunning guitar!

Thanks! I'm really pleased with how the elements are balancing so far.

[Glenn23]

Originally Posted by cigarfan

Man, that is some out-of-the-box thinking right there. Truly striking! This is fun to follow.

Thanks, it's alway nice, when working at the edge, to have someone yelling "jump!"

[Glenn23]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

OK, that's enough, you need to stop this immediately!!!! Liking overload!

Can't stop! Having too much fun!

[Glenn23]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wong

Wow, I love your aesthetics so much!!

Such great support on this forum. Thanks!

[Joel Teel]

Hello Glenn,
I went back and revisited your "Mahogany Momma" thread, following the link that you provided earlier in this new thread. Many people have commented (and rightfully so) that your approach to guitar building is very "organic".

Since I was a young child, I've embraced and understood the idea that my Creator created me to be a creative being...and I find great pleasure in being able to appreciate the beauty found in the world around me. I look at nature, from the microscopic to the workings of our Solar System...and beyond, and I can't help but understand that there is "Intelligent Design" behind it all.

I bring this up only to offer perspective for what I'm about to say: Your sense of design and your eye for combining color and textural elements resonates strongly with my personal rhythms. I'm fascinated by your ability to create a final form that fits right into the natural, beautiful world around me...an "organic" form with "intelligent design" behind its creation.

Thank you for sharing this with us all,
Joel Teel

[Glenn23]

Originally Posted by Wood Knot

Hello Glenn,
I went back and revisited your "Mahogany Momma" thread, following the link that you provided earlier in this new thread. Many people have commented (and rightfully so) that your approach to guitar building is very "organic".

Since I was a young child, I've embraced and understood the idea that my Creator created me to be a creative being...and I find great pleasure in being able to appreciate the beauty found in the world around me. I look at nature, from the microscopic to the workings of our Solar System...and beyond, and I can't help but understand that there is "Intelligent Design" behind it all.

I bring this up only to offer perspective for what I'm about to say: Your sense of design and your eye for combining color and textural elements resonates strongly with my personal rhythms. I'm fascinated by your ability to create a final form that fits right into the natural, beautiful world around me...an "organic" form with "intelligent design" behind its creation.

Thank you for sharing this with us all,
Joel Teel

Thank you for your heartfelt comments. It's my goal to have design and function "breathe" in my guitars. I'm glad you've found some of that in my work.

[Glenn23]

The last dozen or so guitars I've built have had lattice backs. I thought the super stiff frames I've been using would benefit from a looser bracing pattern so I went with ladder bracing on this one. You can see the feathering of the braces so that no brace in the lower bout intersects with the rim. This prevents stress concentration and opens up the back for a more unified response with the top. One way to think of the back plate of the guitar is to imagine it as a plate reverb unit. At lower frequencies the back operates like a passive radiator, enhancing the bass frequencies. In the upper registers there's a certain amount of delay in response to the the vibrations of the top, adding sustain and a 'wetting" of the tone, which is why rosewoods are so famous for their "reverby" quality. Freeing up the backs motion should give that rosewood quality, while retaing the woody warmth of the Tasmanian blackwood.


On my top bracing I've used a parabolic profiled X brace that is quite tall and thin, and yet retains a good gluing surface. Very stiff and light. This is the first guitar where I've extended the asymmetric lower tone lattice onto the bridge plate. That design feature makes a lot of sense to me, and though changing my brace design on both top and bottom breaks with my rule of only changing one thing at a time to judge its influence, I'm confident both will help make this guitar even more responsive.

[jessupe]

Very cool stuff Glenn

[CoolerKing]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

[emmsone]

I'm enjoying this thread a lot. Thanks Glenn!