That is looking fantastic! It it really amazing that you were able to have input like that on the neck shape as it was happening. By the way, I was just on the phone with Nick last week and mentioned that I was trying out Straight Up strings, so it is funny to see a set in your photos.

That's funny! I like them. The tone is very well balanced and the tension is lighter. Side story....I used to always use nickel strings. Then a couple years ago I switched to PB strings and tried numerous sets and settled on the SUP strings. A while ago I threw on a set of nickels again just for fun. And the tone blew me away. My Collings had significantly more depth and sparkle. So I might be switching back. Cheers.

Hmmm. I like the Phosphore bronze strings, but maybe I’m trying nickel strings next...

So, there was a little problem with the original neck that facilitated Nick having to recarve it. Which is unfortunate for him. But on the upside, he's added neck and headstock binding at my request. And this particular headstock is a design he just came up with this weekend and was his first try at it. And I went with it because it was so unique...simple but elegant and one of a kind!

Nick has also applied 3 light coats of his amber varnish to the top and it's almost ready for finishing. He says 2 weeks or less until it's done!!!!!!

[IMG]https://i.ibb.co/T4JV1XV/IMG-0866.jpg[/IMG]

Wow! That’s really beautiful!

And I just noticed the continuation of the same bindings down the sides of the fingerboard. That is really classy.

Agreed! It blends really well with the neck binding and purflings. Not sure what possessed Nick to do it, but he made one headstock with his traditional binding and then did this one. He said it was really frustrating trying to bend the purfling and curly maple to such a tight curve at the top. Said he's got a pile of broken pieces. But he offered me either headstock and because this was so unique and looks elegant...I went with it. And I'm glad I did.

I'm starting to get really itchy and restless now!!!!

I bet! This is looking really amazing, and will umdoubtably sound amazing as well.

By the way, you mentioned Amber varnish on the top? That's very cool, too.

So.... It's been a month since I posted here about my Franklin. Long story short, things got delayed a bit because there was a flaw in the original neck that Nick wasn't happy with. So he recarved the neck, added fingerboard binding and created a custom headstock. Then we talked about finishes and once that was settled, it went through two weeks of curing.

As of last night.... The guitar is almost done! Just needs to have the frets put in and the set up done. Nick did string it up last night and said just strumming the open strings... "It sounds amazing." I think he's really happy with it. And he says it looks beautiful too. He's going to send me pics tonight or tomorrow, which I'll be posting right away. Bottom line..... I'm picking up the guitar on Sunday! Already planning on taking Monday and Tuesday off so I can get know my new friend.
Cheers all!

That's exciting news, I can't wait to see photos!

Congratulations again. Soon you’ll have it in your hands and I bet you’ll be dreaming of it for the first month or so as it develops into Nick’s incredible tone. When I look at the pictures on these build threads nothing seems particularly unique, yet the amount of tone and nuances are so different from my 3 favorite builders; Nick, Jules Borges, and Bruce Sexauer. I’d love to hear a podcast of those 3 just chatting, “this is how I do this and that is how I do that”. It’s a mystery and a mastery of their ears, hands and ways of thinking about how to reach their tonal goals.

Yup...I probably will be pretty restless for the first month or two. I love hearing how guitars settle and break in. It's that getting to know them process, seeing what they excel at and what they're "lacking" in terms of one's personal preferences. I guess it's partially a matter of learning the instrument's natural proclivities and then learning how to modulate your playing to coax the sounds you want from it. Some instruments just speak to you right away and encourage you to play your best and reward you immediately for that. And then other times it takes longer before you get that relationship. It's a fun process.

Agreed! That would be so awesome to hear a roundtable discussion with those and other luthiers about their build techniques. It's really amazing how you can have two sets of nearly identical woods, but the end results of two different builders can be drastically different. I think voicing really is an art. If I were 20 years younger and had a wood shop...I would totally apprentice myself to Nick. Someone needs to carry on his builds into the next generations!!!