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-   -   My first international commission! Very excited for this one! Bigfoot Guitars! (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=523232)

kwerry 10-31-2018 08:42 PM

Great to see Karan Getting noticed
 
Karan is a great guy and a very talented building who is really dedicated to his craft. So nice to see that word getting spread around.


Kerry

ericcsong 11-07-2018 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericcsong (Post 5877444)
One of the ways I was able to find out more about Karan and Bigfoot guitars is through Facebook. Ever since my first build with Jason Kostal, I have loved his guitars so much but more importantly I have gained a friend that I respect so very much. Every now and then, I look on Jason’s facebook to see a famous artist swinging by the Kostal fun factory. I also see the collegial attitude when Jason welcomes other luthiers into his shop. I ran into one of his posts in July about Jason wanting to give back and help others when he can. He welcomed Amber, recent grad from Galloup School of Lutherie, and Karan from New Dehli to spend some time in his shop:
https://i.imgur.com/w2w4btQ.png
Amber was there for a few days but Karan as able to spend a month with Jason to observe his building process and to take in some new ideas to implement into his own guitars.
https://i.imgur.com/MwKPNxW.png
Trying to get into Jason's head....
https://i.imgur.com/Qh0wlWl.png
I asked Karan to tell me more about how he and Jason met. Karan said when he met Jason in Berlin, he knew who Jason was and knew that anything he could learn would benefit him in his building (keep in mind that Karan being in India has little to compare to). He thought he could use some critique on his current work so he threw it out there and asked Jason if he could spend a few minutes to let him know what he thinks. Two and a half hours later, Karan had a bunch of notes on what Jason liked and what he thought needed work.

Fast forward 8 months later to the Vancouver show in 2017, Jason was able to check Karan’s updated work and Karan said that the notes on the critique list were much shorter! And then when they met again at the Holy Grail show in May, 2018, Jason said he was real happy to see Karan’s work. I asked Jason about it and he said that usually when someone receives a lot of critique and a long list of things to improve, people get frustrated and don’t pay attention to half the things on the list. What impressed him most with Karan is that he paid attention to every little detail and came back with a guitar that had all boxes checked from the list!

It was at the Holy Grail Show last year that Jason invited Karan to come out to Phoenix to spend some time at the shop to talk about guitars and learn more about the building process with him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikealpine (Post 5877452)
This is one of the most enjoyable threads, love the details, and I feel like I am along with you and Karan on the journey. Thanks for sharing all of this!

Thanks Mike! I loved your Edwinson build. Hope you are loving it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomB'sox (Post 5877491)
I was just in Phoenix and so wanted to try and set up something with Jason, but my conference just did not allow me the time to do so. I will be seeing him again in March though and am looking very much forward to having him.

Eric, you put so much of yourself into your builds and threads, it is a pleasure to read. Thanks.

Thanks Tom. I'm still trying to figure out how to get over to your event next year!

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwerry (Post 5878078)
Karan is a great guy and a very talented building who is really dedicated to his craft. So nice to see that word getting spread around.

Kerry

It is great to see Karan getting more exposure! Here is a recent interview with Karan at the UK Guitar Show in Kensington, London:


ericcsong 11-13-2018 07:57 AM

Last Week, Ben Montague posted an amazing video interview with Jason Kostal at his shop. If you haven't had the chance to watch it, it really is a great interview that speaks volumes about Jason and his take on the luthier community.

If you watch the video and fast forward to the 27:00 minute mark, Jason speaks about Karan!

Direct video link works: https://youtu.be/Yy_a__jbpCE


ericcsong 12-04-2018 08:45 AM

Karan has been getting a lot of traction lately and now the fun part is to pick which set of wood to use!

Before the wood choices, please take some time to read this article that was recently published on Bigfoot Guitars! The article is written by Saul Hudson, owner of Yamahamusicians.com based on what he saw at the UK show in September:

https://yamahamusicians.com/bigfoot-...nRH6w63gD6xMQc

I have a Poll going on to see which sets of wood to choose from:
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...j03Wp_0L2O955A

Here are a few pictures from the poll:

https://i.imgur.com/ofN88Kv.jpg?3

https://i.imgur.com/UdI9iGj.jpg?2

Straight Grain:

https://i.imgur.com/aKAkOJS.jpg?2

https://i.imgur.com/nG6fKeL.jpg?1

jt1 12-06-2018 04:53 AM

Sorry to have missed this thread, somehow!

I met Karan and his guitars at the Holy Grail show in Berlin May. He's a lovely fellow who builds lovely guitars.

I'll be following this with great interest. Thanks for sharing the build process with us.

moga 12-11-2018 11:30 AM

wow, you are doing it again!!!

can't wait!!

ericcsong 12-18-2018 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jt1 (Post 5910496)
Sorry to have missed this thread, somehow!

I met Karan and his guitars at the Holy Grail show in Berlin May. He's a lovely fellow who builds lovely guitars.

I'll be following this with great interest. Thanks for sharing the build process with us.

Thanks for following! It's been great getting to know Karan as an amazing luthier and also as a wonderful person.

Quote:

Originally Posted by moga (Post 5915776)
wow, you are doing it again!!!

can't wait!!

I can't wait either! The fun is about to start!

So we have narrowed down the choice of guitar to a brand new model that Karan is building. My guitar will be the first in this new shape and size and I am beyond excited to have this guitar built for me!

After spending some time visiting Jason Kostal at his shop, Karan was heavily inspired by both Jason's building techniques and philosophies. I often think how many luthiers are inspired from a week long course with Somogyi "on the subject of The Principles and Practice of Voicing the Guitar."After a week with Somogyi, many say their post Somogyi class guitars are much better than before. Karan was able to spend 4 weeks with Jason and is so excited to bring new ideas to his guitars.

Karan loves smaller guitars and I love sounds that I get from bigger guitars. He wants to build his version of a Modified Dread but a little smaller. Since he loves to build the smaller bodied guitars, this will be his take on a model that I already love.

He is doing some drawings by hand and its fun to see the progress come along:

https://i.imgur.com/DHkxOi5.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/4ViM08G.jpg?1

Here are the specs for my Bigfoot Mod-D
Length - 19 3/8"
Upper bout - 11 1/16"
Waist - 10"
Lower bout - 15 1/16"
Depth at heel - 3.75"
Depth at tail - 4.25"
Scale - 25"
12th fret body join, 18 frets total
1 3/4" bone nut width
2 1/4" string spacing at bone saddle

I don't currently own any 12th fret guitars so I'm very excited to have one coming my way. And of course if you've read anything about 12th frets, it basically pushes the bridge more toward a sweet spot on the top soundboard.

We wanted to go with something very familiar to me so we decided to go with a very special set of Spruce that Karan has from his personal stash. I very special set that tapped very well had beautiful bearclaw and since I don't have any bearclaw topped guitars, I thought this would be perfect!

The plane was made from an old block of Purple heart :)
https://i.imgur.com/I7d39od.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/b8uIzz7.jpg?1

And then of course, the wood for the back. I am down to my final two choices of Indian Rosewood that are very special. One is figured and the other looks like old growth Brazilian!

https://i.imgur.com/ofN88Kv.jpg?3
https://i.imgur.com/aKAkOJS.jpg?2

And then this beautiful indigenous Indian wood popped up on his facebook....
https://i.imgur.com/SsAwG3f.png?1

JJI 12-18-2018 11:57 PM

You certainly have a tough decision here!

nobo 12-31-2018 05:51 AM

Great thread (as always) Eric! Loving the stories, the detail and the photos.

As for wood choice, you already know what gets my vote. Actually, scratch that - go for something else so Karan can save that one for me ;)

Looking forward to following this one!

Best,

Dan

printer2 12-31-2018 07:40 PM

I would be a little concerned with the figured set.

runamuck 12-31-2018 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by printer2 (Post 5934738)
I would be a little concerned with the figured set.

Me too. I've seen what that leads to plenty of times.

ericcsong 01-08-2019 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJI (Post 5923184)
You certainly have a tough decision here!

Thanks Josh! Looking forward to seeing your Halland come together!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nobo (Post 5934126)
As for wood choice, you already know what gets my vote. Actually, scratch that - go for something else so Karan can save that one for me ;)

Dan, the Ghamar is available for you! :D

Here are my thoughts on my back choice of woods. I was really wanting to try the Ghamar wood which had beautiful color and amazing figure. It looked like master grade Koa and when tapped, it was much more resonant. But again, I am drawn back to the overtones that a great Rosewood guitar will bring.

I was really on the fence between my final rosewood choices and was about 50/50 between the two. The straight grain really reminds me of some of the very nice old growth Brazilian sets I've seen. I absolutely love the darker lines that are really sharp and are sure to POP under finish!

The figured set is something very unique for your typical Indian Rosewood. The majority of Indian Rosewood guitars that I see have very straight grain. With such a special project, I wanted a set that was both interesting an unique.

At the end of the day, I don't think I could go wrong with the choices, but for this build, I'm happy that I'm going with the straight grain! I'm a sucker for good braz and this old growth piece reminds of of it!

The good news is that if you are interested in a Bigfoot guitar, then the other wood options are available for you! :)

Picture of back without backstrip:
https://i.imgur.com/7n2JdiG.jpg?3

Picture of back with backstrip:
https://i.imgur.com/ORkVv0q.jpg?2

ericcsong 01-13-2019 08:40 PM

This is extremely satisfying to watch :)
A quick video of the back being sanded:


ericcsong 01-17-2019 08:18 AM

back looking great together!

https://i.imgur.com/czRmlMA.jpg?2
https://i.imgur.com/FJciIlC.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/UEw8X52.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/kEH3CWE.jpg?2

ericcsong 01-20-2019 09:19 PM

label created and attached to back :D

https://i.imgur.com/Wap3dsX.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/E9QNoc2.jpg?1


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