Ensor Guitars- NG Ebony/Sinker Redwood Build

CaE · #1 06-23-2014, 07:57 AM

Last year I built an auditorium for a client in cocobolo & carpathian spruce. This year he wanted another auditorium but in ebony and sinker redwood. We picked out a great set of New Guinea ebony instead of macassar. To make it fit with his other guitar, we decided to use some of the same themes- mostly the binding/purfling scheme, the rosette design, and the soundport. On his cocobolo guitar, these elements were curly maple. On this guitar, we substituted the maple for koa.

Specs:
Auditorium
New Guinea Ebony Back & Sides
Sinker Redwood Top
Florentine Cutaway
3 Piece Neck
Curly Koa Binding
B/Koa/B, Curly Koa, B/Koa/B Purfling and Rosette
Black Ebony Bridge and Fingerboard
Macassar Ebony Headstock Overlays
Oval Sounport w/ Koa Laminate
Matrix Infiniti Pickup

CaE · #2 06-24-2014, 07:10 AM

When I first got this set of ebony, I was curious to how it would compare to the macassar that I have worked with in the past. Curiously enough, it works, feels, and even smells identical to what I have encountered with macassar ebony. I love the variegation in this set of ebony. It has great visual appeal. But this set is also nice and stiff- even though the grain flattens out a bit near the edges.

As for the sinker, this set is exceptionally stiff as well. It rings like a gong when tapped. I am not a huge fan of the smell of redwood, but the sound and beauty of the wood makes up for that.

Here are the braced plates:

GeoffStGermaine · #3 06-24-2014, 12:18 PM

Wow! Those colours are great. The sinker redwood top looks like a negative of the ebony back. I can't wait to see more progress!

CaE · #4 06-24-2014, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffStGermaine

Wow! Those colours are great. The sinker redwood top looks like a negative of the ebony back. I can't wait to see more progress!

Thanks for following along. The combo of ebony and sinker is a fun one both tonally and aesthetically. The customer was more drawn to it for its looks. The first guitar I built him he was drawn to for its sound.

theEdwinson · #5 06-24-2014, 08:17 PM

I'm gonna be watching this thread, Chris. I'm a big fan of all the SE Asian Ebonies, this New Guinea striped variety is among the most beautiful. I bought some of this wood recently from Gilmer Woods in Portland, and I'm going to give it a couple years of seasoning time before I use it. Gorgeous, exotic looking wood- and like you say, nearly indistinguishable from Macassar in many respects.
And pairing this wood with that primo Sinker Redwood top, no doubt the guitar will have a lot of horsepower, projection, awesome tone color, and everything else you'd want in a top-of-the-line guitar. This one is going to be a thoroughbred champion for sure!

CaE · #6 06-25-2014, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theEdwinson

I'm gonna be watching this thread, Chris. I'm a big fan of all the SE Asian Ebonies, this New Guinea striped variety is among the most beautiful. I bought some of this wood recently from Gilmer Woods in Portland, and I'm going to give it a couple years of seasoning time before I use it. Gorgeous, exotic looking wood- and like you say, nearly indistinguishable from Macassar in many respects.
And pairing this wood with that primo Sinker Redwood top, no doubt the guitar will have a lot of horsepower, projection, awesome tone color, and everything else you'd want in a top-of-the-line guitar. This one is going to be a thoroughbred champion for sure!

Thanks for following along.

CaE · #7 06-25-2014, 12:27 PM

I made a bit of headway on the body. The sides have been all buttoned up with the liners and struts. Everything has been radiused to accept the plates as well. If you are noticing that this one looks a bit different, if may be because the client asked for an extra deep body on this one.

CaE · #8 06-27-2014, 07:31 AM

The body is now together. It has been sanded in prep for binding. It is crucial to get the sides perfect before routing for the binding since this is what the binding cutter references. For this guitar, the binding is curly koa. There is no purfling being used on the sides or back- keeping it simple and classy. The top purfling is black/koa/black, wide curly koa, black/koa/black. This style of purfling matches the style of rosette I used on this guitar perfectly.

Binding on:

MBE · #9 06-27-2014, 08:00 AM

Absolutely gorgeous. Can't wait to see what this looks like under finish!

CaE · #10 06-30-2014, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBE

Absolutely gorgeous. Can't wait to see what this looks like under finish!

Thanks for your interest MBE!

CaE · #11 06-30-2014, 07:30 AM

The neck on this guitar is a 3-piece of mahogany with a thin african blackwood center. The headstock overlays are going to be macassar ebony with a hand-carved volute on the back. The fingerboard is ebony with koa inlays. His other guitar had the same inlays, but in maple.

Here is the fretboard with the inlays installed and the radius established:

CaE · #12 07-03-2014, 07:04 AM

The neck has been laminated, the headstock has been overlayed, shaped, and the tuner holes drilled. I have also routed all the connection points (tenon, FB extension support) and now the truss rod is going in.

CoolerKing · #13 07-03-2014, 07:15 AM

WOW! The striping matches Well. Good luck!

44Runner · #14 07-03-2014, 07:17 AM

I love sinker tops but the ebony on this is truly beautiful. Really liking the relatively unstated looks as well. This guitar is right up my alley looks wise. Keep the photos coming.

CaE · #15 07-03-2014, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthewpartrick

WOW! The striping matches Well. Good luck!

Thanks matthewpatrick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 44Runner

I love sinker tops but the ebony on this is truly beautiful. Really liking the relatively unstated looks as well. This guitar is right up my alley looks wise. Keep the photos coming.

44Runner, I am glad you like it. This is some of the nicest ebony I have run across in a long time.