High-figure maple Concert -- Michael Kennedy Guitars

[IndianHillMike]

Hi everyone -- I've got a beautiful Concert model that I'm building for La Conner that I wanted to share with you all. Originally, I thought that the back and sides were quilted maple but now I'm not so sure! This is the second guitar I've built from the same board of maple, and when I was showing the first one to Mark Blanchard (if I remember correctly), he mentioned that because the grain was relatively quartered, it was technically flamed/curly maple. When I started calling it that on the internet, of course people had opinions! Some other (seemingly) knowledgeable people seem positive it's quilted. So.... call it what you will, but if nothing else it's super pretty!

A bit of a random mish-mash of build photos for this one, but I promise to get a nice set of finished shots when it's done!

Bracing the back...




Maple and EI Rosewood rosette...




Cleaning up the binding...




I've been trying out a new way to reinforce my necks with some pulltruded carbon fiber my shopmate had made. Having carbon fiber on the bottom of the channel makes it much much stronger than just two vertical rods on the sides of the truss rod...



Head veneer and magnetic truss rod cover mid-process...




Almost finished up...




And now it's time to make that maple pop!






Ready for finish...




I'll be shipping this one out for finishing this week and can't wait to see how the maple turns out! Thanks for looking and more soon...

[s2y]

That tint made me wonder if it was The Tree or a nice set of sapele.

[xaxinojo]

Wow that back is crazy interesting.

[Deliberate1]

I believe the species of that wood is called "WHOA," from the family of "OMG" trees.
Lovely work.

David

[Guitars44me]

Beautiful woods, and workmanship and the headstock shape is cool too!

I like the spalted bits a lot.

That is some RAD maple

Paul

[nacluth]

Stellar like always Mike! Nice job.

[BlackKeys36]

Incredible, Mike!

[dcn]

W-h-o-a! That is some show-stopping texture right there.

[ssstewart]

I have been a maple freak for many many years and that sir, is one heck of a beautiful maple back, beyond stunning.

[RJVB]

Now that's really one of those guitars where you have to regret that you can't hold the string side against your chest while playing!

Originally Posted by IndianHillMike

Originally, I thought that the back and sides were quilted maple but now I'm not so sure! This is the second guitar I've built from the same board of maple, and when I was showing the first one to Mark Blanchard (if I remember correctly), he mentioned that because the grain was relatively quartered, it was technically flamed/curly maple. When I started calling it that on the internet, of course people had opinions! Some other (seemingly) knowledgeable people seem positive it's quilted.

Quilted maple is supposedly softer or less stiff, no?

But whatever it is technically, this just cannot be called anything other than ripple maple. Do you hear the sea when you put your ear to the soundhole?

BTW, is the back arched or is that a visual illusion?

[Steve Kinnaird]

I’d call that holy cow grain. And the tinting is fabulous.
Anther maple fan here—thanks for sharing, Mike.

Steve

[Carpinteria]

Incredible wood and lovely work, Mike.

[difalkner]

The figure and shimmer (chatoyance) in that is amazing! And so is the rosette and other features of the guitar - great job!

[IndianHillMike]

Originally Posted by s2y

That tint made me wonder if it was The Tree or a nice set of sapele.

Yeah, I had that in mind when I was mixing up the color -- it should brighten up and get a bit more orange/red once the finish is on as well. We'll see!

Originally Posted by xaxinojo

Wow that back is crazy interesting.

It was a board I had to have once I saw it!

Originally Posted by Deliberate1

I believe the species of that wood is called "WHOA," from the family of "OMG" trees.
Lovely work.

Hahaha, thanks!

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Beautiful woods, and workmanship and the headstock shape is cool too!

I like the spalted bits a lot.

That is some RAD maple

Originally Posted by nacluth

Stellar like always Mike! Nice job.

Originally Posted by BlackKeys36

Incredible, Mike!

Originally Posted by dcn

W-h-o-a! That is some show-stopping texture right there.

Originally Posted by ssstewart

I have been a maple freak for many many years and that sir, is one heck of a beautiful maple back, beyond stunning.

Thanks so much everyone!

Originally Posted by RJVB

Quilted maple is supposedly softer or less stiff, no?

But whatever it is technically, this just cannot be called anything other than ripple maple. Do you hear the sea when you put your ear to the soundhole?

BTW, is the back arched or is that a visual illusion?

Hahaha, I can totally see some sort of ad campaign with people holding soundholes up to their ears and hearing different things. And whenever I use woods with tons of figure like this, I always like to laminate the back both for long-term stability and to stiffen things up. And the back has my standard 15' radius arch on it.

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

I’d call that holy cow grain. And the tinting is fabulous.
Anther maple fan here—thanks for sharing, Mike.

Originally Posted by Carpinteria

Incredible wood and lovely work, Mike.

Originally Posted by difalkner

The figure and shimmer (chatoyance) in that is amazing! And so is the rosette and other features of the guitar - great job!

Thanks, thanks, and thanks!

[ChuckS]

Beautiful guitar!