Pulling the trigger on a Nyberg Cittern

[jayhawk]

OK, so it is not really a guitar, but I'm hoping the mods will have let this stay here, it is a custom build. (Think of it as a short scale, 10 string guitar )

I've been thinking about some other kind of stringed instrument to add to my collection after having a 12 fret Koa Taylor for a week and it just wasn't enough variation. I saw and played a cittern (think octave mandolin or Irish bouzouki with 5 courses) at my local shop and became intrigued. One think led to another and I started talking to builders.

I have settled on having a mid scale (22 1/2 inch) cittern being built by Lawrence Nyberg from Vancouver Island in BC. Lawrence and I have been talking for a couple of months now and have settled on some specs. I have become very comfortable with Lawrence. He is good to give ideas to and give feedback of how he thinks it will work. He has also given me several ideas back, based on what I have been describing to him. A very easy working relationship. Here is what we have come up with:

First off, it will have a Port Orford Cedar carved top. I have been curious about POC for a couple of years now. Lawrence normally builds with red cedar or spruce. I mentioned a couple of alternatives. When I brought up redwood I didn't get much excitement from him. When I brought up POC he really got excited. The fact that he had that much interest made me feel more comfortable about it. It is not going to be just another build for him.

He and I spent a couple of weeks trying to locate a good source of POC. I found several that I passed along to Lawrence. He then checked them out and he thinks we've got a very knowledgeable source for it.

He is going to use walnut back and sides with bloodwood binding. I've seen a guitar build with this combination and it works very well together.

The other unique thing is he is going to use Baskin style fret markers. I have admired them since I first saw pictures of Larry J's Baskin guitar. I think the are incredibly classy. We are still talking about what material to use for the markers. I talked a little to Larry J about his experience and I am considering what material to use for the markers. I want something that is visually attractive and also easy to see as a player in all lighting conditions. One idea that Lawrence had was to use copper. For some reason that sounds really cool to me. It seems visually interesting both as a bright copper color or tarnished to copper/green color. My concern is that expansion/contraction of the fretboard with heat/humidity could be a problem. We have time to settle on this.

The other question we are talking about is the neck material. We are talking about either solid walnut or a laminate of walnut with center strips of maple and a bloodwood center.

I am probably looking at getting the instrument in February of 2011. I am excited. In the meantime I have taken my 12 string guitar, retuned and capoed to start working on some cittern music.

Jack

[colins]

Hi Jayhawk,

let me be the first to congratulate you! Please mods, let this stay, as I have yet to hear of an Acoustic Cittern Forum!

This sounds like a beautiful instrument and I am really looking forward to some pics and eventually a sound clip. Walnut is a fantastically musical wood (he said having just put down his walnut guitar tuned to DADGAD) and the teaming with POC sounds great.

Bloodwood binding sounds good too. Mike Baranik recently built me a guitar with jarrah binding (an Australian wood that is also a deep red). Mike bound the body and headstock in jarrah but bound the neck in ebony – as it allows the dot markers to be seen with less visual distraction. I like it that way, and find that there is no discontinuity between the neck and the body.

Keep the posts coming!
Col

[John McGillivray]

Lawrence is a great guy and builds some amazing instruments. I know his father-in-law well and have played some of his guitars. He's on the next island over ~ Hornby, and is a great place to visit if you get the chance. I'm really looking forward to seeing pictures, but I guess I'll have to have a peak at in person as I'll be going over to his shop in a couple of weeks.

I'd love to have him build me an octave mandolin one day ...

Congratulations to the both of you.

John

[jayhawk]

Thanks for the comments. John, that is good to hear that you think his instruments are good. I was feeling very comfortable about his quality, based on what I had found, but it is always good to get more feedback. He has been doing this long enough that I felt very comfortable that he had mastered his craft.

Jack