Wren Guitar Works : Lutz/Madagascar build

[David Wren]

Originally Posted by Tim McKnight

Welcome back David. Its great to see another one of your classy and beautiful builds on the AGF. Your tasteful and inspiring artwork has been missed.

Hey Tim ... thanks for the welcome back Tim! I've been following your "Dominator" thread. That thing is going to just have a crushing sound I'll bet ... love it!!!

[David Wren]

Not much to post on this thread today, so maybe I'll highjack my own thread with shots I recently took of my first pro steel string from 1975 ... just to keep things interesting (or less boring?)



I made my first guitar (a classical) in my dad’s garage over the winter of 1972-73 … then started my apprenticeship with Jean Larrivée in ’74 at which point I made an arched top mandolin under his guidance. Later in ’74 I received my first pro commission when a gentleman walked into the small shop on Mt Pleasant and asked Jean “do you make arched top jazz guitars” to which he responded “no, but he does”. I realized that I was the only other person in the room. Yikes! We drove to New York City a couple of weeks later and bought a set of cello wood from International Violin, and away I went.

This flattop from 1975 was my first pro flattop steel string and is essentially a Larrivée Concert model from that time period … but made by myself in Jean’s shop while I was still apprenticing. Jean encouraged us back in those days to make our own projects at night, so that we could get our skills up. Good times!




My hand printed pencil label has lasted better than I thought it would!




I was messing with the image of this 1975 example, and a current guitar … started making a collage and was going to put “1975” on the left and “2018” on the right, but it started looking too much like some kind of obituary! I left out the dates and included the image just for fun anyway!

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[Dion James]

Originally Posted by David Wren

Here's a shot of me bending the solid lining. I'm finding these days that I'm getting good sonic results from a stiff side assembly with decent mass.



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Hey David, thanks for sharing. I always like following your builds. I've been finding the same thing stiff rims and a little mass have really improve the sound of my guitars.

[Bill Kraus]

I like your opening "guitar making still life" photo, nice lighting, nicely composed.

[David Wren]

Originally Posted by Dion Bews

Hey David, thanks for sharing. I always like following your builds. I've been finding the same thing stiff rims and a little mass have really improve the sound of my guitars.

Hey Dion ... thanks! Those three you've got on the go are going to be nice too eh? I love the way you construct your rims!

[David Wren]

Originally Posted by Bill Kraus

I like your opening "guitar making still life" photo, nice lighting, nicely composed.

Thanks Bill ... I love the photography part of the biz ... no idea what I'm doing, but it's fun!

[David Wren]

Here's a couple more progress shots! I love my old Stanley scraper and my original hot pipe that I've bent every set of sides I've ever used for the last 45 years!

[LouieAtienza]

Have a bit of scraper envy... Veritas makes a modern version, and suppose I'll have to succumb to the temptation...

[Richard Mott]

David—That poster is such a slice of life and work of art, the aesthetic arc of the instruments and the two versions of the builder! Great stuff. —Richard

[David Wren]

Originally Posted by LouieAtienza

Have a bit of scraper envy... Veritas makes a modern version, and suppose I'll have to succumb to the temptation...

Hey Louie ... the scraper is a beautiful thing ... saves soooo much time and does such a great job!

[David Wren]

Originally Posted by Richard Mott

David—That poster is such a slice of life and work of art, the aesthetic arc of the instruments and the two versions of the builder! Great stuff. —Richard

Hey Richard ... thanks for that! It's funny looking back that far ... seems not long ago and a different lifetime simultaneously! I love having fun with the photo stuff, and doing a shoot of the 1975 guitar seemed like a good opportunity to have some fun!

[David Wren]

Here's a couple more shots of my progress on this one!







I remember early in my apprenticeship, Edgar Moench (the man Jean Larrivee apprenticed with ... made instruments for Bream and Segovia etc) came to Canada for a brief visit. We were riding in the car with Jean driving, Edgar riding shotgun and me in the back. I was desperate to come up with an intelligent question to ask Edgar and came up with "Why do you use solid lining on the back and kerfed lining on the top?". I was already for an in depth treatise on the physics of sound production, but Edgar just looked over his shoulder and said "I just like the look!" It turned out to be a lesson in keeping it real. I try to remember that lesson.
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[David Wren]

On reading my comment from yesterday, it strikes me that it might sound like I don't think that solid linings have anything to do with sound. In fact, I find a stiffer side assembly with more mass does help my sound. I just thought I'd relate a (slightly?) humorous anecdote.

[Dion James]

Originally Posted by David Wren

Hey Dion ... thanks! Those three you've got on the go are going to be nice too eh? I love the way you construct your rims!

Thanks, yeah they're turning out great! I have to pass the credit for the rim assembly on down the line. I got the idea from my old shopmate Jeremy Clark, the idea was given to him and Mike Kennedy during the apprenticeship with Sergie.

[stuartb]

Both lovely guitars. The modern guitar looks amazing. Visually stunning.

Stuart