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-   -   MARK BLANCHARD Bristlecone [Italian Spruce | Brazilian Rosewood] (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596397)

iim7V7IM7 02-14-2021 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamiejoon (Post 6635427)
Bob, your posts are some of my favorite - so interesting and educational...and you have great taste. This guitar looks like another masterpiece. The BRW is exceptional.

Jamie, I am glad to hear that you enjoy these build posts. I sometimes feel like I am writing to myself :). I know after all these years that most people read them and don’t take the time to comment and they continue to be read many years after the last posting.

jt1 02-14-2021 05:11 PM

Bob,

Stunning stuff, as always, from Mark (and from you, too).

Mark offers a rare blend of old world craft and new world innovation.

I’m liking forward to the day this year (fingers crossed) that we can meet at a guitar show, hang and trade guitars (bring this one, please), and partake of a good meal mated with equally good wine.

iim7V7IM7 02-14-2021 07:26 PM

It will either be Oct 2021 (Woodstock), Apr 2022 (Artisan) or Oct 2022 (Woodstock) at this point JT, but you can count on it...:up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by jt1 (Post 6635781)
Bob,

Stunning stuff, as always, from Mark (and from you, too).

Mark offers a rare blend of old world craft and new world innovation.

I’m liking forward to the day this year (fingers crossed) that we can meet at a guitar show, hang and trade guitars (bring this one, please), and partake of a good meal mated with equally good wine.


Gitfiddlemann 02-15-2021 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7 (Post 6635645)
I sometimes feel like I am writing to myself :). I know after all these years that most people read them and donÂ’t take the time to comment and they continue to be read many years after the last posting.

Not just writing to yourself Bob.
Mark's work is amazing, and his results speak for themselves. This latest build of his/yours is spectacular. (Mark told me once: All rosewoods are nice, but brazilian is king.:))
When I took my Pinyon in for a tune-up at the Music Emporium a few years ago, the in house luthier/tech at the time said that he had never encountered such detailed workmanship and customization on the inner bracings. An area that a player is unlikely to ever see, or appreciate, but is really crucial to the overall build. As we have witnessed in these descriptions of your Bristlecone.
Speaking of which, you have such an eloquent style of describing Mark's work. It's like reading the captions that accompany stills in a fine art book. I really enjoy reading your threads so no, you're not just writing to yourself.
And hearty congrats on your next Blanchard!:up:

iim7V7IM7 02-15-2021 08:13 AM

Thank you Andre...:). My narrative is only as good as the time that Mark takes to generously share his process with me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndreF (Post 6636352)
Not just writing to yourself Bob.
Mark's work is amazing, and his results speak for themselves. This latest build of his/yours is spectacular. (Mark told me once: All rosewoods are nice, but brazilian is king.:))
When I took my Pinyon in for a tune-up at the Music Emporium a few years ago, the in house luthier/tech at the time said that he had never encountered such detailed workmanship and customization on the inner bracings. An area that a player is unlikely to ever see, or appreciate, but is really crucial to the overall build. As we have witnessed in these descriptions of your Bristlecone.
Speaking of which, you have such an eloquent style of describing Mark's work. It's like reading the captions that accompany stills in a fine art book. I really enjoy reading your threads so no, you're not just writing to yourself.
And hearty congrats on your next Blanchard!:up:


Ukulele_Eddie 02-19-2021 09:06 AM

Fantastic thread, Bob. Thanks for highlighting Mark's exquisite work. I'm sure you are excited to soon receive this gorgeous guitar.

iim7V7IM7 02-19-2021 09:26 AM

Thanks very much.

It is always exciting to see an instrument go from a mutual client/luthier vision, to wood, to components to becoming an instrument. There is a special bond between an owner and a guitar that comes from witnessing its creation. The guitar is in Mark's nitro finishing process through mid-March. I am hoping to receive it in April...:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ukulele_Eddie (Post 6640508)
Fantastic thread, Bob. Thanks for highlighting Mark's exquisite work. I'm sure you are excited to soon receive this gorgeous guitar.


iim7V7IM7 02-24-2021 06:57 PM

Nitro
 
Mark was able to finish applying the nitrocellulose lacquer to my Bristlecone today. In about two weeks, he will do the first wet sanding, then hang it back up on the drying rack for another two weeks.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...C412F8936.jpeg

cigarfan 02-25-2021 04:50 AM

Looks great!

Absolutely the most anxious part of a build for the soon to be owner. Paint can never dry fast enough. Hope you are doing well Bob! :)

iim7V7IM7 02-25-2021 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cigarfan (Post 6646333)
Looks great!

Absolutely the most anxious part of a build for the soon to be owner. Paint can never dry fast enough. Hope you are doing well Bob! :)

I am doing as well as one can in month number 14 of 2020 Dennis and I hope that you and yours are as well...:).

While this time in a build can seem to pass slowly due to anticipation, the part that is worse at least for me is once strings are on the guitar. I have always chosen to leave a guitar with a builder for a week or two after the strings are on to let it settle in and allow for a post-settling in setup.

mhw48 02-25-2021 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7 (Post 6646337)
I am doing as well as one can in month number 14 of 2020

That is a very apt description of the strange, suspended times were are in...

Steve Kinnaird 03-03-2021 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamiejoon (Post 6635427)
Bob, your posts are some of my favorite - so interesting and educational...and you have great taste. This guitar looks like another masterpiece. The BRW is exceptional.

Indeed, what Jamie said. Bob, you could recalibrate your straightedges against that Brazilian grain. Wow! That’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t grow on trees. And the Koa purflings are an inspired choice against that dark sea of Brazilian linearity.

Steve

iim7V7IM7 03-04-2021 05:26 AM

Glad to see that the power has returned to Nacogdoches Steve and thanks as always for chiming in :). Mark usually uses maple for his purflings and given the dark, straight grained nature of this set a lower contrast yet figured purflings seemed like a good choice. The “dark sea of linearity” seems like the name of a song or a poem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird (Post 6652634)
Indeed, what Jamie said. Bob, you could recalibrate your straightedges against that Brazilian grain. Wow! That’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t grow on trees. And the Koa purflings are an inspired choice against that dark sea of Brazilian linearity.

Steve


BlackKeys36 03-04-2021 09:03 AM

You definitely aren't writing to yourself! Enjoying every word of the thread and can't wait to hear this one and see it complete!

iim7V7IM7 03-05-2021 04:28 PM

I am glad to hear that you are enjoying seeing Mark’s Bristlecone go from, concept and wood to becoming a finished instrument. This thread (and others on AGF) provide a bit of insight why all of these luthier made guitars sound so different from each other...:)
Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackKeys36 (Post 6652910)
You definitely aren't writing to yourself! Enjoying every word of the thread and can't wait to hear this one and see it complete!



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