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-   -   Franklin Jumbo Build (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=586524)

Erithon 12-04-2020 12:25 PM

Woot! Next week is going to be fun for you, Martin. I'm excited to read your initial thoughts.

mhw48 12-09-2020 07:39 PM

1 Attachment(s)
"Open This End," but not yet! It's 34 degrees outside, so the box will remained closed for now so that its contents can slowly acclimate to indoor temperatures. Next the case comes out of the box and continues to warm up, and then!

hotroad 12-09-2020 08:02 PM

This creation is just waiting to explode with sound. I love the big/skinny shape. She is going to punch out notes like a piano on steroids. Not sure what type of music you play, but I do a lot of flatpicking and this one would shine. Congrats on your taste and patience.

mhw48 12-10-2020 11:22 AM

2 Attachment(s)
I took the guitar out around 11pm last night, after waiting about 7 hours. It looks amazing! I don't know what the physics behind it is, but the varnish looks "deep", even though it's actually a thinner coat than the lacquer Nick usually puts on. The amber color it gives the wood is really beautiful, the top is the color of a 30 year old guitar. And it smells good!

I only tried it out a little bit last night, but it was late and I was exhausted from a long day -- so exhausted that my fingers felt like rubber and I could barely play -- so I only really tested it out this morning.

I got a text from Nick this morning at 10:46 (so 7:46am his time), saying :"I have a horror movie going on in my head, you open the case and you hated it and you string it up, it sounds like crap and then I'm a real conman."
I had texted Nick yesterday early evening to let him know the guitar had arrived and that I was letting it slowly warm up before taking it out. Then shortly after I briefly looked at the guitar, I conked out and went to sleep.
Nick was obviously worried all night when I didn't get back to him after I checked out the guitar. So I texted Nick back that the guitar is beautiful and I really like the sound.
"That's good, I can go to sleep in peace."

The guitar sounds as fantastic as it looks. Throughout the past months I kept trying to imagine what the sound would be like, but the sound in my head was my Franklin Dread. The Jumbo is different. It has a lot of sparkle and presence as well as a strong bass. The Dread is mahogany and the notes are more fundamental and woody while the jumbo has the characteristics of a rosewood: lots of overtones and an almost bell-like ring. (And it really rings!) It's quite balanced across the strings and up the neck. It has the sensitivity and great trebles of an OM, but with really piano-like bass.
It also sounds new, although I'm not exactly sure how to quantify that, and I'm curious to see how it opens up.

mhw48 12-10-2020 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hotroad (Post 6571710)
This creation is just waiting to explode with sound. I love the big/skinny shape. She is going to punch out notes like a piano on steroids. Not sure what type of music you play, but I do a lot of flatpicking and this one would shine. Congrats on your taste and patience.

Very much like a piano, a grand piano! I mostly play finger style, and it works really well for that too.

4mykey 12-10-2020 05:21 PM

Glad you like it! When I visited Nick to commission my OM this summer, he showed me your guitar and I was really impressed with it. I'm normally not a jumbo fan, but yours has excellent balance. Very even across the registers. And it looks beautiful to boot! I love the rosette! Enjoy getting to know it! Cheers.

iim7V7IM7 12-10-2020 06:48 PM

Congratulations on your new Franklin...:up:. I have had my OMc from Nick for almost two years now and like yours it was great from the get go, but it and it just keeps getting better and better...:)

Diamondave 12-10-2020 07:16 PM

EPIC....!!!!! Congrats

mhw48 12-11-2020 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4mykey (Post 6572485)
Glad you like it! When I visited Nick to commission my OM this summer, he showed me your guitar and I was really impressed with it. I'm normally not a jumbo fan, but yours has excellent balance. Very even across the registers. And it looks beautiful to boot! I love the rosette! Enjoy getting to know it! Cheers.

It must have been really interesting to visit Nick’s workshop. Someday, when travel is possible again, I want to get to Portland and see where Nick works his magic. Speaking of magic, Nick does seem to have managed to make this guitar a big OM in terms of how it sounds. I look forward to hear about your OM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7 (Post 6572543)
Congratulations on your new Franklin...:up:. I have had my OMc from Nick for almost two years now and like yours it was great from the get go, but it and it just keeps getting better and better...:)

Thank you! I imagine my Jumbo will follow in the footsteps of your OMC. That’s sort of been the case since your OMC build thread here on AGF, which got me thinking about commissioning a build with Nick and then of doing this thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diamondave (Post 6572558)
EPIC....!!!!! Congrats

YES!!! And thanks!

blindboyjimi 12-11-2020 11:20 AM

Dang!!! That’s amazing looking. I’m glad you went with that rosette like on my 1989 Franklin. I play my 2 Franklins daily and they only get better over time. It’s hard to believe but this is the worst it’ll ever sound and I bet it’s spectacular. Thanks for doing this thread. I’ve talked to Nick so many times over the years but now I feel like I have been to his shop. Play it in good health.

Archaic Guitars 12-11-2020 11:40 AM

Beautiful guitar you’ve got there. I was tricked into thinking it was a torrified top until I read that the oil varnish deepened the color. Congrats! Do you like the feel and sound of the varnish better than you would lacquer or other more common finishes?

pegleghowell 12-11-2020 12:40 PM

What a result.The instrument is absolutely superb,I can imagine how wonderful it must sound.I love the shape..a sort of Prairie State vibe about it.Stunning.Congratulations and thank you for such an enjoyable thread.Enjoy in good health.

mhw48 12-11-2020 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blindboyjimi (Post 6573000)
Dang!!! That’s amazing looking. I’m glad you went with that rosette like on my 1989 Franklin. I play my 2 Franklins daily and they only get better over time. It’s hard to believe but this is the worst it’ll ever sound and I bet it’s spectacular. Thanks for doing this thread. I’ve talked to Nick so many times over the years but now I feel like I have been to his shop. Play it in good health.

I’m really happy with the rosette too. I wanted something that seemed unique to the design of Franklins. Talking to Nick was half the fun! At one point he offered me a video tour of his shop, but we never got around to it.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Archaic Guitars (Post 6573015)
Beautiful guitar you’ve got there. I was tricked into thinking it was a torrified top until I read that the oil varnish deepened the color. Congrats! Do you like the feel and sound of the varnish better than you would lacquer or other more common finishes?

I really like the feel, the look (and scent) of the varnish. The sound of the varnish mainly seems to be that it doesn’t affect the sound. Nick had the guitar strung up and tried it out before the varnish went on. After the varnish was on the sound wasn’t dampened at all. The guitar is really alive, but then that's been my experience with my other Franklin that has a lacquer finish... Nick's comment was that varnish won't make a bad guitar sound better, but it should let a good guitar sound great.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pegleghowell (Post 6573049)
What a result.The instrument is absolutely superb,I can imagine how wonderful it must sound.I love the shape..a sort of Prairie State vibe about it.Stunning.Congratulations and thank you for such an enjoyable thread.Enjoy in good health.

Thank you! The thread was a lot of fun, helped me to wait patiently, and I particularly enjoyed the questions, comments and exchanges with other folks on AGF.

niko 12-11-2020 04:06 PM

Superb guitar, congratulations, and thanks for the thread, I enjoyed it very much, being myself a lucky Franklin Jumbo owner :D

mhw48 12-11-2020 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niko (Post 6573188)
Superb guitar, congratulations, and thanks for the thread, I enjoyed it very much, being myself a lucky Franklin Jumbo owner :D

Thank you! It was a revelation to have Nick sending me photos and regularly discussing the craft and creativity involved in his building of a Franklin guitar. I hope that by offering a window into his working process, I might inspire some others to consider becoming future lucky Franklin owners!


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