12 Fret Acoustic

[brianhejh]

I just acquired a 12 fret guitar.

When measuring at the 12 fret with a 14 fret guitar one still has two frets before the fingerboard becomes fixed.

Is there a specific set up process for the 12 fret acoustic considering number 12 fret is now at the body joint.

Thanks

Brian

There's no difference. Proceed as normal.

[Mr. Jelly]

Like he said +2

[jpmist]

Originally Posted by brianhejh

I just acquired a 12 fret guitar. When measuring at the 12 fret with a 14 fret guitar one still has two frets before the fingerboard becomes fixed. Is there a specific set up process for the 12 fret acoustic considering number 12 fret is now at the body joint.

Apologies in advance. Here we go again. . .

You don't mention if your 12 fret has a shorter scale than the 14. If they're the same scale there's no difference in setup - nut slots, neck relief & string height should be what you're used to on your 14 fret. But if the 12 fret is a shorter scale that might mean that it has a lesser string tension than your 14 fret guitar that might need to be remedied with a slightly thicker set of strings.

I stress "might" because the folks who made the guitar probably adjusted the bracing for a lesser tension for it's best tone, but it's something to keep on your radar when figuring out what strings you like on it.

Congrats on the 12 fret, once I got my first one the 14 frets gathered dust and got ebayed. . .

[Rbutton]

Just finished my journeyman’s class at Galloup. During the class our only option on the acoustic build was 12 or 14 fret. The scale s the same, just the bridge was moved farther back on the 12 fret (which I built). 2 things I liked. About the 12 over the 14 is that the bridge is centered more in the meat of the soundboard and it is more comfortable to play relaxing in an easy chair.

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by Rbutton

Just finished my journeyman’s class at Galloup. During the class our only option on the acoustic build was 12 or 14 fret. The scale s the same, just the bridge was moved farther back on the 12 fret (which I built). 2 things I liked. About the 12 over the 14 is that the bridge is centered more in the meat of the soundboard and it is more comfortable to play relaxing in an easy chair.

Welcome to the forum, Rbutton.

If you wanted to post a pic of the guitar you built at Bryan Galloup's shop, I am sure plenty people would like to see it.

[Rbutton]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

Welcome to the forum, Rbutton.

If you wanted to post a pic of the guitar you built at Bryan Galloup's shop, I am sure plenty people would like to see it.

Below is a photo journal of the project. The finished acoustic is on the last few pages. I did not expect to come out if the class with such a great guitar. The tone is balanced and bright. The class was pretty intense. We put in some long hard days. The instruction was first class as was the workshop and materials. I will be adding a K&K pure mini pretty soon. I changed the pick guard to black...much better look imho.

http://www.pbase.com/twistedlim/galloup_school&page=all

[M19]

Great work, Richard. You should be darned proud!

[brianhejh]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the feedback and thanks for the tip on the scale length comparison in this instance it is the same.

Thanks again

Brian

[raduray]

Rbutton, your photo journal is excellent. Hand forming the neck - wow! Guitars look great.

[ruby50]

Rbutton

Well done. Love the shot of the row of guitars with the bridges glued on. Did you make the compensated saddle? How long was the class to be able to polish the finishes?

Ed

[Rbutton]

Ruby,
Yes I did make a compensated bone saddle and bone nut. I estimate we had somewhere around 150 hours on the acoustic build but it is difficult to know exactly since we were doiing multiple tasks at the same time. If you finished one task early we would back to a “practice” guitar and work on fret installation, leveling, crowning and saddles and nuts. The instructor did a good job of keeping everyone moving along at the same pace but there were gaps due to student error or the occasional material problem. We made everything from raw wood blanks with the exception of the tuning machines and strings��.
For the most part I had little extra time and had to stay focused and on task to get things done. The class was 8 weeks long. 5 days a week and at least 8 hours a day. I would often work through the (2)15 minute break and as far into lunch as I could. They close up the building for an hour at noon to keep the students from working with machines and sharp tools when the instructors were not there.
We were given very good instruction on what to do, how to do it and why it was done the way we had to. The spruce tops were all checked by the head instructor for proper resonance. The thickness and density were measured and once the 2 panels were glued together we had to take the tops down to specific thicknesses depending on density and weight. The maple sides and back were not as critical but we did have to take them down to specific thicknesses. All the final thicknesses ere obtained by running the top, back, sides fretboard through the “Timesaver” which is essentially a huge drum sander that allowed us to tale material off to the nearest thousandth of an inch.
The biggest pain in the butt was the maple binding. It was a long day and I was covered in glue and my hand were aching from stretching the tape to hold the pieces in place.

We put a coat of sealer on the body and neck followed by 6 coats of lacquer. It sat for a few days and we sanded starting at 120 grit up to 800. We then padded 6 more coats and repeated the sanding going up to wet sanding at 1200 and then we buffed on 2 different wheels to achieve the high gloss finish.