Greta guitar build / Mark Hatcher

[gstring]

Yes Tony I will be one very happy guitar player.

The pics allow one to follow the build process first hand and they help with the decision making process. They will also be a permanent memory long after I am no longer able to play ( hopefully many years from now lol lol ). The coffee table book that I am making of my build and Marks other builds will certainly add to the resale value at some point down the road. ( am I sounding too practical )

The next set of pictures should be very exciting to see.

dgd

[Mark Hatcher]

Here are some pictures of the rosette being put together and a few of the back braces getting the first rough carve:





















Tomorrow I'll be working on the sound board bracing

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

[gstring]

Mark, as you assured me you nailed the rosette.

I asked Mark for a rosette that was flowing and not angular. Something bold but not overpowering. Classic but not flashy. Something to complement the head stock and at same time make a statement on its own. I think there were several other criteria. lol lol

I think this rosette was well thought out and superbly executed.

Thanks Mark.

dgd

[drcmusic7]

Congrats, Daniel and Mark. The guitar is looking good!

Kindly,
Danny

[Nemoman]

+1 on the rosette--very elegant and classy...

[Tony_in_NYC]

Nice rosette! I like it.

[gstring]

I zoomed in on the last set of pics and if I am not mistaken the ''Float Wood'' Sitka is flawless and could set a new standard for referencing bookmatched.

I will ask Mark to comment a little on how he is voicing the top.

daniel

[Mark Hatcher]

Thanks for the nice comments!
Here are a couple more pics of the rosette a with the sound hole being cut out and a better look at how it fits together:

Originally Posted by gstring

I will ask Mark to comment a little on how he is voicing the top.

daniel

There are many things that will effect the voice of a guitar. Many of the choices will have very small effects and the thought is an accumulation of enough small right choices can add up. At the very least you want to try to quantify what you can to try to avoid potentially bad decisions. For instance here is the stock I'm going to make most of the braces from:



They are Sitka and the light colored ones are Swiss. I have been happy with the result I get when I use Sitka X braces and Swiss for the lattice and finger braces. Both the Swiss and the Sitka were made from single billets that were split out to help control run out. Each set consists of sister sticks. I've marked the weight of each. Notice how much of a weight difference there is between sister pieces cut from the same board? The Swiss varies by more than 10% in weight. Do you think it would be a good thing to match the heaviest one with the lightest one? I'm thinking probably not. They will weigh the same for consistency.
I could book match the braces but, what if the heaviest one is right next to the lightest one?
That's just one thing. What if one brace bends like a wet noodle but happens to weigh the same as the stiffest one in the bunch? I check that too.

Here are some braces profiled:





Spending the time up front minimizing run out and keeping them well quartered really pays off when it's time to do the final carving. They will cut like butter and the chisel won't take a nose dive because of miss-aligned grain.

I prefer to use carefully selected non-laminated braces. I don't think I'm allowed to express my concerns about laminated braces because the last time I did I was accused of "unfounded speculation" by one of our more bristly luthiers, no explanation on why I was wrong mind you. To this day I'm still wondering what "unfounded speculation" means. If it was well founded, would it still be speculation?

So, I don't use laminated braces

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

[micahmed]

Speaking of voicing. I sent you a message mark wanting to ask you a question about it. Not sure if you got it.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by micahmed

Speaking of voicing. I sent you a message mark wanting to ask you a question about it. Not sure if you got it.

Hi Micah,

Yea, I did get your message. Give me a call sometime during the week.

[micahmed]

Okay, could you send me your number? I neve got it from you when we met up.

[ukejon]

Mark, I've told you before...you make the coolest looking braces out there. They are like delicate little I-beams. Fantastic.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Mark, I've told you before...you make the coolest looking braces out there. They are like delicate little I-beams. Fantastic.

Thanks Jon!

[Ian John]

Love the bracing profile! Fantastic work all around!

[JamesO]

This is really cool documentation. I love the pics! Could you say some more about the lattice braced back? What's the goal there? I'm not used to seeing that, but it's intriguing.