Indian Hill OO-13 for Woodstock

[Ryo Kobayashi]

Wow...
This is one of the most beautiful sunbursts I've ever seen.
I love your creations Mike.
I'm really looking forward to seeing you and this beauty!

Could you please tell me how you keep the color in the wood while the first session of the french polishing after hand rubbing?
I have an order which includes hand rubbed sunburst and now I am practicing.
I'm using ColorTone(=TransTint, right?) in Alcohol since I don't wanna use water based dye but it's quite tricky not to get rid of the color while french polishing...

[IndianHillMike]

Originally Posted by SJ VanSandt

Wow, the way you've shaded that top is pretty much my ideal! Most bursts don't look remotely natural to me (though I still like many of them), but this is beautifully organic looking - like a steak instead of a protein shake.

Thanks! It's tricky as a builder when you have a clear vision in mind and, to a certain extent, have to "submit" to the variations in wood (grain orientation, density, etc.) when staining. The plus side being a very natural look that (literally) lets the beauty of the material shine through!

Originally Posted by Ryo Kobayashi

Wow...
This is one of the most beautiful sunbursts I've ever seen.
I love your creations Mike.
I'm really looking forward to seeing you and this beauty!

Could you please tell me how you keep the color in the wood while the first session of the french polishing after hand rubbing?
I have an order which includes hand rubbed sunburst and now I am practicing.
I'm using ColorTone(=TransTint, right?) in Alcohol since I don't wanna use water based dye but it's quite tricky not to get rid of the color while french polishing...

Thanks Ryosuke! I used a few coats of wipe on poly-urethane after doing the color -- it was the best solution I could come up with to lock the color in before french polishing (maybe you could spray shellac?). I also didn't sand at all between applying color and until after my second french polishing session. I wanted to be absolutely sure I wouldn't sand through and touch color. Nerve wracking to say the least!

Are you going to be at Woodstock as well? Hope so, it'd be great to hang out again!

Mike

[David Wren]

Spraying a coat (or two) of shellac after the colour also works to lock things in before French Polishing.

[TomB'sox]

Please add me to the list of loving the color on the top, it is perfect!!!

I will be at Woodstock and hope to see it in person!

[Ryo Kobayashi]

Thank you so much for your help Mike and Dave!
I've sprayed shellac a couple of times.
I love shellac and wanna use it as much as I can for finishing but sprayed shellac doesn't dry as hard as french polishing, right?
Is that no problem?

Yes, I am. It's my first time to be there. I'm soooooooooooooo excited
See you there!

[IndianHillMike]

Originally Posted by David Wren

Spraying a coat (or two) of shellac after the colour also works to lock things in before French Polishing.

Aha! Thanks for the tip Dave. One of these days I'll have to get my spraying abilities sorted out. I sprayed laquer for a couple of guitars while at Sergei's but that's it!

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Please add me to the list of loving the color on the top, it is perfect!!!

I will be at Woodstock and hope to see it in person!

Thanks and looking forward to having you give it a test spin at the show!

Originally Posted by Ryo Kobayashi

I love shellac and wanna use it as much as I can for finishing but sprayed shellac doesn't dry as hard as french polishing, right?
Is that no problem?

Yes, I am. It's my first time to be there. I'm soooooooooooooo excited
See you there!

Hmmm, not sure how spraying affects hardness. And that's great you'll be at Woodstock -- always nice to see you and your amazing guitars!


Things are marching right along with work on the neck. Here are the head veneers glued on and looking lovely...



And the neck fully assembled and ready for carving...



Almost finished carving the neck yesterday but had to cut my time short to get ready for a classical recital we hosted in the shop last night. Some amazing performances particularly by Andre Rodrigues...



I posted about this in another thread, but in some other exciting shop news Joel Michaud is moving out to Montreal to join our shop starting in November. Fun times ahead for sure!

Mike

[IndianHillMike]

Getting things packed up and ready to head down to Woodstock tomorrow with this finished up beauty!







Once I had decided to bind the fingerboard with ebony and maple I thought I'd carry the theme to a few other spots on the guitar...







And here's a shot of the front head veneer -- I stained this side with a bit more orange/amber than the back to try and match the tone of the front...



Hopefully those of you going to the show get a chance to stop by and give it a test drive!

Mike

[redir]

Gosh darn that is beautiful. I imagine at one point you took the risk of designing and building this concept and it worked out. I applaud that. Woudl love to bang a few chords on that to see how it sounds.

[roberts]

Mike - Just gorgeous. Please don't sell it on Friday!....Robert

[David Wren]

Completely breathtaking Mike ... I just love it!!!

[J.R. Rogers]

Wow - one more time gotta say... beautiful job on this guitar, Mike! I bet she'd sound great with a set of Nashville tuning strings. Or even in a bluegrass trio.

JR

[roberts]

Had the opportunity to play this today at Woodstock. It sounds even better than it looks - deep, round, rolling tone. Not your grandfather's jangly L-00. Congrats, Mike....Robert

[IndianHillMike]

Thanks everyone! I'm REALLY happy with how this one turned out sound wise and the overall aesthetic. Definitely excited/encouraged to keep exploring this unique little niche of flat tops with f-holes!

This one made the trip back up to Montreal with me and is now looking for a home so feel free to PM me with any questions/reasonable offers!

Mike

[Martin Keith]

I got to share a table with this guitar - what a treat! Mike's game is strong.

Disregard what you may think about f-hole flattops - this has all the power and 'breath' of a really (really) good round-hole guitar. (Of course, the 'breath' in the tone must come from that Darth Vader bracing.) It's a very real and viable all-purpose flattop. The color and silking/detail in the spruce top was also just gorgeous.

Cheers,
Martin

[Dion James]

Agreed Martin! Mikes f-hole flat tops will certainly be recorded in the history books. Incredible tone and volume a completely unique voice!

Also, really nice to meet you at the show. Looking forward to the next time!