And Now For Something Completely Different! - A Fingerstyle Archtop by Thierry André

[GeoffStGermaine]

This guitar is really something else. The f-hole/soundport detail is very creative and good looking!

[SprintBob]

What an interesting and unique build, quite the ride MW is giving us !

[Michael Watts]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Wow, that looks just great doesn't it. I wasn't sure about the aluminum and then when completed it would be hard to imagine it without it!!!

Thank you Tom! There are some lovely metal flourishes being applied to luthier-built instruments these days. Tom Sands and Joel Michaud also spring to mind when it comes to complementing wood with metal.

Originally Posted by Flat5

I’m dying to hear what you’ll squeeze out of that...
Also curious about what ziricote will add to the tone.

Me too! I have every confidence that the ziricote will do what it does best - fat, fundamentals! It's really like maple in that regard.

Originally Posted by GeoffStGermaine

This guitar is really something else. The f-hole/soundport detail is very creative and good looking!

Thank you Goeff! I'm glad you like it!

Originally Posted by SprintBob

What an interesting and unique build, quite the ride MW is giving us !

I'm glad you're joining us! I'll have more for you as soon as I can!

[magirus]

A really interesting build in progress here, almost conservative compared to some of Thierry's past output! Thanks for posting the Romanillos videos, I really enjoyed seeing and hearing him. I also enjoyed your chat with Michael Bashkin on his podcast.

[Vaillant75]

After developing a new model with Jason, you're now venturing into the acoustic archtop space... you sir are always up for a new adventure!

A fun and original one to follow, looking forward to its development.

cheers,
Tom

[CoolerKing]

What an outstanding project!

[Michael Watts]

Originally Posted by magirus

A really interesting build in progress here, almost conservative compared to some of Thierry's past output! Thanks for posting the Romanillos videos, I really enjoyed seeing and hearing him. I also enjoyed your chat with Michael Bashkin on his podcast.

Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed the Romanillos videos, I found them fascinating and really quite moving.

It's true, compared to some of the instruments Thierry has made, (or indeed is making at the monent!) this is quite "reigned in". I should say that while it's a collaboration, Thierry gets final veto about any of our ideas, it is his guitar after all!

Originally Posted by Vaillant75

After developing a new model with Jason, you're now venturing into the acoustic archtop space... you sir are always up for a new adventure!

A fun and original one to follow, looking forward to its development.

cheers,
Tom

Thank you Tom! I have to sat that this project is a world away from working with Jason Kostal for my signature model. The primary factor being that I'm fairly confident I know what I'm talking about when it comes to flat-top acoustic guitars and specifically in the context of Jason's work.

Thierry is an artistic outlier in every positive sense of the word and that's why the offer to collaborate with him on this instrument was too good to pass up - I've always felt that if I'm not learning I'm stagnating and this was a wonderful opportunity for learning.

Originally Posted by matthewpartrick

What an outstanding project!

Thank you my man! Glad to have you here for the journey!

[Michael Watts]

Well, recently I've had a lot of messages asking what happened to this guitar so here is the finale along with my very best wishes to all of you for 2022!

The guitar was completed, as you can see in these pics - it's a beautiful example of Thierry's work!


With pick guard


And without


Some wonderful Ziricote


And the headstock!

I go into some detail in this video where you will get the chance to hear the instrument (it sounds wonderful!) - I hope you enjoy it!



All the best

Michael

[Diamondave]

Thx for sharing, fascinating work....!

[Scott of the Sa]

I am wondering how that magnetic pick up works with Nylon strings?

[Michael Watts]

Originally Posted by Diamondave

Thx for sharing, fascinating work....!

You're very welcome Dave- thank you for watching!

Originally Posted by Scott of the Sa

I am wondering how that magnetic pick up works with Nylon strings?

That could pose a problem... thankfully the guitar is strung with steel strings!