PETER OBERG - Classical (Western Red Cedar/Black Cherry)

[strings4him]

Originally Posted by rgregg48

Pete Oberg knows trade for sure,, what brand of tuners did he use?
Rg

Rodgers tuners are noted above--perhaps the finest made today.

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by rgregg48

Pete Oberg knows trade for sure,, what brand of tuners did he use?
Rg

Rodgers Style L330 tuners configured with 35 x 110 mm brass plates, black rollers with self-aligning bearings, & oval ebony buttons.

[iim7V7IM7]

A few shots of the Rodgers tuners strung up....

[Steve Kinnaird]

Love it!

Steve

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

Love it!

Steve

That makes two of us Steve...😃

[iim7V7IM7]

After about 4-months of building, Peter has completed the guitar and will be shipping it later this week. I am delighted with the finished design and aesthetics of how the cherry and cedar worked together.


The Western Red Cedar top which was originally harvested from the Bull Run Watershed in Oregon back in the 1980’s is showing a lot of unique character.

The flamed figure in the quartersawn Black Cherry came out beautifully and East Indian Rosewood binding and backstrip is providing some nice framing contrast. The Cherry will no doubt darken over the years.

The Cherry sides also show some flame on top of the quartersawn grain.

The ebony, pearl and green accented Torres tribute rosette complements the warm hues of the cedar under finish and the ebony fingerboard.

Peter used twin sound ports on the upper bout. I believe this approach is also used by his master/mentor Robert Ruck.

The headplate veneer in Cherry contrasts nicely against the inset, stippled Brazilian Rosewood

Rob Rodgers’ tuners handsomely adorn the headstock and the oval ebony buttons tie into the ebony fingerboard.

I have deeply enjoyed watching Peter’s mastery from afar over the last 4+ months. It has really educated me to many of the differences in guitar construction that underpin a classical guitar from a steel string flattop. These are inherently lower energy instruments and how one coaxes a balance tone (particularly trebles) that projects appears to be a more difficult game given the nylon strings.

I really appreciate the time that he took to photographically share this process with me. I hope that you also enjoyed seeing this as well. I am happy that we chose Cherry for this guitar. In the classical guitar world, anything non-rosewood guitars are quite unusual. You see some Maple guitars (a beautiful example recently in this forum actually!) and the occasional Walnut bodied guitar, but use of sustainable non-tropical hardwoods such as Cherry is quite unusual. With some luck (no promises), if Peter has the time, I have asked him if he could make a recording with it given his skills as an accomplished classical guitarist.

I look forward to auditioning it this weekend.

[mgeoffriau]

Love the details, particularly the rosette and stippled inset on the headstock.

[mc1]

looks great. i really like the cherry wood. i think in older days, fruit woods like cherry were more common.

[Hierophant]

Wonderful! Just wonderful. Looks absolutely gorgeous, in every regard. Hope it plays and sounds the same.

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by mgeoffriau

Love the details, particularly the rosette and stippled inset on the headstock.

I too like the textural contrast of the stippling.

Originally Posted by mc1

looks great. i really like the cherry wood. i think in older days, fruit woods like cherry were more common.

I am guessing that years ago, the use of locally available woods was more common. In more recent times, I would guess that >90% of concert level classical guitars are made from rosewood.

Originally Posted by Hierophant

Wonderful! Just wonderful. Looks absolutely gorgeous, in every regard. Hope it plays and sounds the same.

Thanks very much! The credit really goes to Peter.

[iim7V7IM7]

Well the guitar arrived yesterday in perfect order. I unfortunately am swamped with work, but I did get an hour in last night to audition it. Before I go there, let me tell you that the craftsmanship is absolutely top notch no matter how close you look at it. The beauty of the cedar top, cherry body and stippled BRW inset is amazing! The reddish cast to the woods is accented by the dark reddish/purple hues on the binding with subtle green purfling accents complementing the main canvas of the guitar. Tapping the lower bout of the guitar and listening to response gives you an appreciation of how amazingly lightly built it is. The neck is a very comfortable D-profile that I adjusted to easily.



I broke out my foot stool and sat down to play in a classical position. It is a fantastic guitar. It has a very colorful, resonant and responsive timbre. My biggest challenge is remembering to dial back from my steel string attack to unleash the different colors it is capable of producing. I also needed to readjust my right hand position over the strings to the bridge end of the sound hole and rosette to unleash its potential. When I did this, its presence was intact from the most soft, intimate and subtle sounds to pronounced, round ringing timbres. It is also a very "open" sounding instrument from the player's position, perhaps enhanced by the sound ports. It seemed to warm up and open up a bit across the hour, but perhaps it was my technique adjusting to the instrument. So that's it for now, but that's my 60-minute tour.

I look forward to exploring its potential and hearing it evolve over the years.