The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #61  
Old 11-29-2017, 04:12 PM
Truckjohn Truckjohn is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 1,307
Default

Do not fear a birch top guitar.

I love to remind folks that both Mahogany and Koa are Hardwoods... And yet people seem to have no issues with Mahogany or Koa topped guitars.... Birch guitars can sound fantastic just like Spruce topped guitars can sound terrible....

I am working my way through an old 1940's all birch Stella 1141 (GC size).... It sounds great. It is also plenty loud. Does it sound like spruce? No - but it still sounds good...

You will be amazed at how good it sounds and plays when Steve gets done with it.... It won't be a kid toy anymore.....
Reply With Quote
  #62  
Old 11-29-2017, 04:19 PM
printer2 printer2 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Middle of Canada
Posts: 5,098
Default

If the one I have didn't have a hard V neck I would have made it playable by now.
__________________
Fred
Reply With Quote
  #63  
Old 11-29-2017, 04:48 PM
Looburst Looburst is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 2,678
Default

Hey Fred, Steve can probably re-profile that neck to a slimmer style.
Oh I'm not afraid of the Birch top at all, John. In fact, when I strung it up, just before sending it to Steve, I heard how great the tone would be and this alone caused me to have the guitar sent to him in the first place.
__________________
Dump The Bucket On It!

Last edited by Looburst; 11-29-2017 at 06:07 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #64  
Old 11-29-2017, 04:50 PM
Looburst Looburst is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 2,678
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by guitar george View Post
Do you think with some unique shaped braces or creating a unique bracing pattern or adding a few extra braces you could get the warp result up to around an 8 or so? Any of these ideas could affect the sound, for better or worse, however.
Very true, George. We will talk over these options. I did explain that tonal balance is at the top of my wish list on this and for it not to be just some updated toy guitar. He knows that.
__________________
Dump The Bucket On It!
Reply With Quote
  #65  
Old 11-29-2017, 05:04 PM
zombywoof zombywoof is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 9,356
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Truckjohn View Post
Do not fear a birch top guitar.

I love to remind folks that both Mahogany and Koa are Hardwoods... And yet people seem to have no issues with Mahogany or Koa topped guitars.... Birch guitars can sound fantastic just like Spruce topped guitars can sound terrible....

I am working my way through an old 1940's all birch Stella 1141 (GC size).... It sounds great. It is also plenty loud. Does it sound like spruce? No - but it still sounds good...

You will be amazed at how good it sounds and plays when Steve gets done with it.... It won't be a kid toy anymore.....

I love those Figure 8 body style Harmonys.

The thing about birch is that it was used not because of anything to do with sound but because it was the cheapest hardwood available. But the real reason birch guitars tend to be ignored was the build. They were more often as not cheaply built with at best pretty clunky ladder bracing - certainly a far cry from the ladder bracing you found in guitars built by the "Italian Guild" in NYC.
__________________
"You start off playing guitars to get girls & end up talking with middle-aged men about your fingernails" - Ed Gerhard
Reply With Quote
  #66  
Old 11-29-2017, 05:39 PM
Looburst Looburst is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 2,678
Default

Just talked with Steve in detail about the tone I was after and he shared with me a sound bite of a 1930s Oscar Schimdt, all Birch parlor that he had converted and you wouldn't believe the tonal balance he got out of it. He said that all completely Birch guitars from these two decades (1930s to 40s) are essentially the same, once you convert them to X bracing. It really brings out the hidden balance that exists underneath.
Wish I could play for it for you from my gmail email account, but I don't know how to do that.
__________________
Dump The Bucket On It!

Last edited by Looburst; 11-29-2017 at 05:59 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #67  
Old 11-29-2017, 11:04 PM
printer2 printer2 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Middle of Canada
Posts: 5,098
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Looburst View Post
Hey Fred, Steve can probably re-profile that neck to a slimmer style.
Oh I'm not afraid of the Birch top at all, John. In fact, when I strung it up, just before sending it to Steve, I heard how great the tone would be and this alone caused me to have the guitar sent to him in the first place.
I could do it just as well but then I would need to refinish the neck. I doubt I could match what is there so that leaves refinishing the whole guitar. And then it becomes any other (birch) guitar.
__________________
Fred
Reply With Quote
  #68  
Old 11-29-2017, 11:11 PM
Looburst Looburst is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 2,678
Default

True, I see your point. The look is part of the fun with these.
__________________
Dump The Bucket On It!
Reply With Quote
  #69  
Old 11-30-2017, 11:01 AM
printer2 printer2 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Middle of Canada
Posts: 5,098
Default

Mind you if I strip the guitar I could do a cool sunburst.

__________________
Fred
Reply With Quote
  #70  
Old 11-30-2017, 02:52 PM
Looburst Looburst is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 2,678
Default

Very true, like John's Harlin Bros. in that video.
__________________
Dump The Bucket On It!
Reply With Quote
  #71  
Old 11-30-2017, 03:01 PM
Tony Burns Tony Burns is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: middle of no where
Posts: 8,030
Default

almost looks like you could just lower the saddle a bit and it would be playable -
Id try that first before you spend any money on it -thou its worth it if you do -would just be cooler to do it on the cheap .
I own several older guitars- about the only thing i ever did other than a slight action change -was put nylon ball end strings on them -
makes them more of a folk guitar.
__________________
---------------------------------
Wood things with Strings !
Reply With Quote
  #72  
Old 12-04-2017, 11:54 AM
Looburst Looburst is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 2,678
Default

Rough bracing and maple bridge plate are in place!
Now brace shaping begins.
Stay tuned!
__________________
Dump The Bucket On It!
Reply With Quote
  #73  
Old 12-04-2017, 03:31 PM
Truckjohn Truckjohn is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 1,307
Default

Very cool.

To my eyes - that looks very "forward shifted" - but it might also be the picture...
Reply With Quote
  #74  
Old 12-04-2017, 03:57 PM
printer2 printer2 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Middle of Canada
Posts: 5,098
Default

Need...



... more.
__________________
Fred
Reply With Quote
  #75  
Old 12-04-2017, 07:57 PM
Looburst Looburst is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 2,678
Default

LOL, I do too Fred! Hey John, it is maybe a more progressive bracing but one that Steve uses with great success on these older Style 0 parlor guitars.
__________________
Dump The Bucket On It!
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:53 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=