Build Thread: Klepper OM, D. Tucarensis / European alpine (Italian Fiemme)

[jmat]

Hi all –

I hope you will enjoy following a build thread from the talented Howard Klepper. For some time I have wanted an OM guitar with old school tone and a few ergonomics peculiarities. Some years back I had the opportunity to play some of Howard’s guitars at Healdsburg and felt that his communication style and perspective would fit well with my own. Over the summer I had the good fortune to be able to visit Howard in California to ask a lot of questions, play a number of his instruments and explore his workshop that was full of gadgets and nature. Lovely place!


In terms of specs:

14-fret OM (Martin shape) body size with 25" scale.
Style A trim, plus:
Venetian cutaway
Bevel-small "mini" bevel
Half-herringbone multicolor marquetry top purfling
Wedge body, overall depth like Martin OM
Headstock front: multiple veneers bevelled like a Walker
Headstock rear: Martin style dart with veneer cut around the dart
Ebony fretboard with side dots only, bound with ebony.
Side body purfling
Madagascar rosewood body binding
1-25/32" nut
2-5/16 bridge spacing
Strings to align a bit to the bass side of center, to allow room for vibrato on high E
Deepish neck, C shape
Quartersawn D. Tucarensis rosewood back and sides.
European alpine spruce top

Here are the woods we have selected, in Howards words:

“…a special set of D. tucarensis (Panamanian, Guatemalan, Honduran depending on the seller): Usually Tucarensis has the brown/purple color seen toward the outside. About 5-6 years ago one of my suppliers sawed up a log and after cutting it into sections and drying it found these unusual patterns around a yellow center when he sawed it into sets. I have two sets left, and then it's all gone. I personally think this looks very cool. Not only is the set fully quartersawn, it has a wonderful ring when tapped--just alive sounding, even when handling it without tapping”





“Your top is joined and the amboyna burl rosette is in. The top is Fiemme spruce, which comes from the Val D'Fiemme in the Italian Alps. This is thought to be where the spruce for the great Cremonese violins came from. It also is called "Abete Rosso" which translates to "red spruce." But not our red spruce; it gets that name for its distinctive red cones. The locals in Italy say that it is a separate species, or at least a subspecies of European spruce. My supplier, Ciresa, only sells two grades: the best (grade I) and the very good (grade II). The best for you, of course, and with 8 years of seasoning. The top has a strong and deep tap tone.”








Regards,
John

[jaymarsch]

I have always loved Howard's guitars and this one looks to be a beauty in every respect. I love the unusual look of the back and it sounds like it will "sound" wonderful.

I will be following this thread and happy to see how it progresses.

Best,
Jayne

[ChuckS]

Congratulations; a commissioned guitar from Howard should be very special. Klepper Guitars has been on my radar for a long time, but I haven't had the opportunity to see/hear/play one.

I'm looking forwar dto the build thread. The woods selected look fantastic. I've seen a few pictures of similar Panama RW, I would imagine from the same tree; really nice and unique.

[JoeCharter]

The "best" sounding guitar that I played at Healdsburg this year was a lovely burst by Howard. Filled the room with richness and elegance.

Congrats on getting this build started!

[cpabolting]

Originally Posted by JoeCharter

The "best" sounding guitar that I played at Healdsburg this year was a lovely burst by Howard. Filled the room with richness and elegance.

Congrats on getting this build started!

Yes I concur... that was a fantastic guitar! Howard's attention to detail is flawless and his craftsmanship is exceptional. What an incredibly cool set of wood he has provided for this build... he takes a very intellectual approach to his building and construction, and I very much appreciate that!

[JamesO]

Congrats on the new guitar! I'll enjoy following the progress.

[BBWW]

Should be a very sweet guitar.

Jay

[mcozma]

This is going to be an amazing guitar - I'll follow this build with interest!

[jmat]

A few updates on the build progress.

Howard indicated that he has been working on a new custom backstrip in the early Martin "arrowhead" style and that my guitar will be the first to use it. That will be fun to see. While in Howard’s workshop I had an opportunity to see how he made his intricate half-herringbone multicolor marquetry top purfling. It was very cool in an old world way and one could sense the continuity of knowledge handed down from generations of artisans and transformed into something of Howard’s design.

Below is the go-bar deck and the gluing of the X braces which are red Adirondack spruce:




One more, the bridge plate is hard maple:




One more top photo from Howard, in his words: "...Another photo of the top with all its main braces in. I topped the Upper Transverse brace with carbon fiber. This brace does a lot to resist neck rotation and top distortion. The CF adds lots of stiffness, and will not cold creep over time (as wood does)."





Thanks,
John

[jmat]

For a bit of fun!


Howard makes a lot of the parts for his guitars, for example his wood turning passion has led to minutely turned custom string pegs. As I mentioned in a previous post Howard has been working on a custom backstrip and he has shared some photos of the process. I thought you all might want to get an overview of the method. The below text is lightly edited commentary from Howard, enjoy!:


“I took some process photos of making the backstrip material. They don't post in chronological sequence, but they show first, the layup of veneers--42 layers for this one, which is more than twice as many as I would use for a simple 2 or 3 color herringbone; second, the layup sliced into block on an angle; third, the blocks re-glued into one piece; and fourth, strips sawn from that piece, with a backing of black veneer that helps hold them together.”










“Next are a couple of photos of the backstrip inlayed into your guitar's back. It may look a little bright or strong for the back right now, but once the back is bound and finished, it will get back to being in balance.”







“This is very loosely based on the backstrip of a 1906 Martin 0-42. Martin imported all these colorful marquetry strips from Germany. The designs varied a lot. They became unavailable with the advent of WWI (The Great War to we old-timers), and were never made in the same kind of designs again--with so many layers and changes of color. So while I'm not doing a reproduction, I am working within an old tradition.”, “The design that I was (loosely) inspired by, a turn of the century (20th, that is) Martin Style 42”:

[ZekeM]

Very cool blackstrap! I love it. That will be a very unique guitar

[StillStephen]

Originally Posted by ZekeM

Very cool blackstrap! I love it. That will be a very unique guitar

+1 - great to see how these are made.

[jperryrocks]

That is a very "unique" looking back.

[justonwo]

I saw some of Howard's back strip and purfling work on an OM-33 at Schoenberg. Gorgeous! It inspired me to use style 30 trim on an OM I'm having built. That guitar played and sounded as good as it looked, too.

[JohnRII]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

Congratulations; a commissioned guitar from Howard should be very special. Klepper Guitars has been on my radar for a long time, but I haven't had the opportunity to see/hear/play one.

I'm looking forwar to the build thread. The woods selected look fantastic. I've seen a few pictures of similar Panama RW, I would imagine from the same tree; really nice and unique.

Agreed. I'll be very interested to see this one progress.