Dave Bianchin OMC - Swiss Spruce - "The Fiddleback Tree" Mahogany Build Thread

[doodahdoug]

The concept for this guitar dates back to a conversation I had with Dave Bianchin (AGF Sponsor "Carpinteria") at the 2023 B.I.G. IV event hosted by Tom and Kathy B'sox. Dave and I found ourselves outside on the back patio getting acquainted with each other. I soon learned that Dave, a retired pastor, had built 49 guitars over many years and was wanting to craft something special to commemorate his upcoming "50th guitar".

Dave has built guitars using Brazilian Rosewood and other premium tone woods but when he mentioned that he had a back and sides set of "The Fiddleback Tree" ("FBT") mahogany purchased in 2017 from Hibdon Hardwoods that he might use, that really grabbed my attention.

I have been fortunate to own spruce topped guitars with FBT back and sides from Tyler Robbins and Mark Hatcher. Both of those guitars are sonically and visually stunning Small Jumbo sized instruments. For this build I wanted a smaller body guitar.

After more conversations with Dave over a period of months, we agreed to move forward with an OM cutaway guitar with modern styling and voicing. This guitar will have a Swiss Spruce top paired with The Fiddleback Tree Mahogany back and sides. He will use dyed green maple burl and abalone accents for the rosette and also on the FBT headstock overlay along with ebony binding and back strip.

Below are a few pictures of the raw materials to get things kicked off. I encourage Dave to jump in to answer questions, provide his commentary as we progress through the build.

[dcn]

Really looking forward to this one. Dave is an awesome guy and (lucky for me) a fellow Chicago-lander so we've met up a couple of times in the past few months to talk and enjoy some guitar. Very happy for both you and Dave, Doug.

[Jlhunt]

Looking forward to following along on this build! I love the wood choices.

Jim

[cigarfan]

Congrats Doug! Really nice wood selection. And I love "green" anything on a guitar.

[s2y]

Looks great so far! Dave and his wife are great people!

[nootis]

I'm glad I'm not the only crazy one here on the Forum!

Congratulations Doug and Dave. This will be fun to watch. I love the colored burl and the MOP will certainly give it some pizzazz!

[doodahdoug]

Originally Posted by dcn

Really looking forward to this one. Dave is an awesome guy and (lucky for me) a fellow Chicago-lander so we've met up a couple of times in the past few months to talk and enjoy some guitar. Very happy for both you and Dave, Doug.

Thanks Diogo, this is going to be a fun build. I'm glad you and Dave get to hang out on occasion there in Chicago.

Originally Posted by Jlhunt

Looking forward to following along on this build! I love the wood choices.

Jim

Hey Jim...yes the Swiss Spruce is a very nice set and I'm delighted that Dave will be working with the FBT mahogany on this guitar.

Originally Posted by cigarfan

Congrats Doug! Really nice wood selection. And I love "green" anything on a guitar.

Thanks Dennis, I think the green burl will look great with these tone woods.

Originally Posted by s2y

Looks great so far! Dave and his wife are great people!

Thanks Sam, I'm glad that Dave gets the same kind of support from Julie for his guitar aspirations as I do from Cheryl, and yes they are both great people!

Originally Posted by nootis

I'm glad I'm not the only crazy one here on the Forum!

Congratulations Doug and Dave. This will be fun to watch. I love the colored burl and the MOP will certainly give it some pizzazz!

Thanks Dan, you say the word "crazy" like it's a bad thing . Btw, I'm really enjoying watching your latest build with Steve Kaufman come together!



Below are two pictures of the rosette that Dave crafted with the green dyed maple burl and abalone. The first picture is natural and the second one is wet to simulate the look under finish.





I think the rosette turned out beautifully and should nicely complement the guitar's overall look.

[colins]

Wow! Number fifty is going to be a fine-looking guitar.
And it is great that you can make that connection with Dave, to add to the guitar’s story and the enjoyment you both get from the build.

[Guitars44me]

Fantastic woods, and that Rosette is spectacular!!!

I will be following this one for sure

Enjoy the process…


Paul

[Carpinteria]

Thanks to all of you for the many kind comments and interest! This project is special to me, being guitar#50, and how it just "happened" out of my conversation with Doug. I was fortunate to be able to get a set of the Fiddleback Tree mahogany and I have been thinking for some time about how I might best use it. I had a basic concept of building an OM, and Doug really had some great ideas that will make the guitar extra special. His color-sense is going to really add to the project. So, thanks for following along!

[Jlhunt]

I love the rosette! The dyed burl looks like polished stone

Jim

[Steve Kinnaird]

Thanks for showcasing Dave’s work, he’s a fine builder and better person.
And so far—that rosette: mmm-mmmm! Delicious!

Steve

[TomB'sox]

I concur with everyone's assessment about David and Julie as well, great people and devoted guitar lovers.

I love a story like this, B.I.G. at work, a simple conversation starts on the back deck and the next thing you know, a new beautiful guitar is the result which by itself makes the world just a wee bit better.

The woods and rosette look fantastic, great choices.

[Nemoman]

Doug and Dave--awesome stuff!

Keep it coming!

[doodahdoug]

Originally Posted by Jlhunt

I love the rosette! The dyed burl looks like polished stone

Jim

I agree with you Jim...we took our time selecting the dyed maple burl to use and I think that Dave nailed the look that I was going for. The abalone really brings out some of the blue-green color in the burl.

Originally Posted by colins

Wow! Number fifty is going to be a fine-looking guitar.
And it is great that you can make that connection with Dave, to add to the guitar’s story and the enjoyment you both get from the build.

Thank you colins, it really pays off when you have met the builder in person and and continue the good communication throughout the process of the build. I'm sure Dave will provide more of his commentary as we go along.

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Fantastic woods, and that Rosette is spectacular!!!
Paul

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Doug and Dave--awesome stuff!

Keep it coming!

Thank you Paul and Kevin for your favorable review, so far!