Hi folks,
The day has come. After living vicariously through the AGF’s custom shop, it’s now my turn to bring a modest contribution to this temple of guitar geekery. This will be my first custom built guitar, so the excitement is paramount after a wait of almost 2 years.
A bit of background
For the guitar enthusiast, it is a good time to be alive. There are plenty of talented luthiers nowadays, and this healthy emulation drives them to keep pushing the enveloppe of guitar building. I would feel proud to own an instrument from many contemporary names, so narrowing down to the “chosen one” has been challenging. Still, a few variables had influenced me.
First, I have always been intrigued by the work of Mr. Somogyi, and I regretfully admit that I’ve never played one of his instruments. I chased down his latest apprentice and learnt about a young English luthier that was the latest addition to the Somogyi roaster. A prompt due diligence revealed adamant opinions, especially from the forum’s British crowd. Some advanced form of patriotism?
Second, my teacher at the time (Jonny Moss, member of this forum and part of the aforementioned crowd), got to demo Tom’s guitars and raved about a Spruce/Blackwood model L (“Large”, think MD). He even said the infamous words: “one of the best guitars I’ve played”, and gone was my last bit of resistance.
Finally, I read the adage that custom builds are about relationships, and it automatically clicked with Tom. He commands a wide range of artistic skills that go beyond guitar building, and his past woodworking background really shines trough in his aesthetic choices.
His social media accounts are also great ressources, (youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC54...gRDrJEz-aXB-Jg), full with light hearted and entertaining videos.
Start of the journey
Now the nitty gritty.
First and foremost, I have to thank Tom for his patience… Being my first build, I got slightly obsessed about getting it RIGHT. I spent countless hours imagining all sorts of wood combination and ergonomic choices, but without getting to any conclusion. It was enjoyable at first, but quickly got exhausting. Thankfully, I soon realized that my best option was to express my preferences to Tom, and to simply rely on his knowledge and skill.
So, enough talking, onto the specs:
- Model M (Think slightly larger than a Martin OM)
- Cutaway
- 12 fret
- Fan fret arrangement (25.75-25 I do believe)
- Arm bevel
Now, the woods… I love spruce - that was the easiest one - so I went for a master grade set of Swiss Moon Spruce. For the back and sides, Tom spoke highly of Malaysian Blackwood which he already used for 2 guitars (one of them being that very L mentioned before).
Below is the Blackwood set that Tom picked for me. Interestingly, the straight grained, quarter-sawn back reminds me of the pre war Brazilian goodness (first bias of many more to come, be warned!). I also quite like the hint of sapwood on the sides.
Screen Shot 2020-05-02 at 7.05.31 PM.jpg
For the bridge and fingerboard, we did something not quite conventional. We went for some stripped ebony, that almost has a rosewoody vibe to it. Below you can see how the lighter colors in the chosen one (in the middle) echo the brown of the Blackwood, and the darker stripes should contrast nicely with the spruce top.
Screen Shot 2020-05-02 at 7.05.04 PM.jpg
That will be it for now guys. For those that are still following along, I am quite excited about sharing this endeavor with you, as so many shared theirs before.
Until next time,
Tom
*****
Caveat 1: I am not the most knowledgeable aout guitar building, so I might not be the most accurate. Don't hesitate to chime in and add more context to the process!
Caveat 2: I am French so English is not my mother tongue. Please excuse any potential mistakes along the way.