David Anthony Reid - Combolin and Vault Back

[nobo]

I dropped into see David Anthony Reid at his workshop over the weekend. I was going to get an endpin drilled to install a K&K PWM (he’s one of the few dealers over here in the UK/in London), get a bridge re-glued, and get him to look at a rather ancient (1934) English guitar belonging to a friend for repairs. And to catch up generally. Plus it’s a great excuse to play his lovely redwood/cocobolo vault back again (more on that below)! I've used him for a number of repairs and tweaks before (including an ultra-compensated bridge to convert a regular scale guitar into a baritone tuneable to low A/G) and have always been impressed with his work.

David’s not afraid to break with tradition and is making some fascinating instruments with intense passion, attention to detail and innovation. He’s currently working on a combolin (guitar with extra mandolin neck). I’ve never come across one of these before. It’s got a cocobolo back, master grade sikta top, brazillian mahogany necks. Pinless bridge for the mandolin, sound port, vault back. They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, so here’s a little essay:







The bracing’s most innovative (including a spring effect) and he’s clearly spent a lot of time considering and executing it. Doubtless his engineering background coming into play here. Sadly I don’t have any photos, but I imagine he’ll post some soon (http://www.darluthier.com/latest-pro...php?project=18). This should give you a flavour, though, of the sort of thing he's doing on other guitars:





I mentioned David's redwood/colobolo vault back earlier. This should give you a flavour of where the combolin's headed:













Stunning craftsmanship. 400+ hours of labour. A very delicate, detailed, light, airy and balanced tone. Very comfortable to play too, especially given the vault back, the arm bevel and the bevelling on the fingerboard (makes thumb over the neck style playing in particular very easy).

David’s also working on an intriguing neck development, but I’d best keep that under wraps…

All the best,

Dan

[steveh]

I played one of his bowl-back guitars several years ago and was mightily impressed - it was the one that won "Acoustic Guitar of the Year" in Guitar magazine.

Looks-wise, it reminded me very much of Bryn Hiscox's bowl-back guitars; most people are completely unaware that Hiscox used to build guitars before getting into cases made him change direction. I have a few photos of one of them here from an International Musician from the early 80s.

Cheers,
Steve

[nobo]

Originally Posted by steveh

I played one of his bowl-back guitars several years ago and was mightily impressed - it was the one that won "Acoustic Guitar of the Year" in Guitar magazine.

Looks-wise, it reminded me very much of Bryn Hiscox's bowl-back guitars; most people are completely unaware that Hiscox used to build guitars before getting into cases made him change direction. I have a few photos of one of them here from an International Musician from the early 80s.

Cheers,
Steve

Intriguing Steve - I didn't know that about Hiscox.

Incidentally, I think David's cocobolo/redwood is my favourite of his guitars yet. He's so fond of it that, despite many offers, I think he's keeping it!

[ewh2]

Originally Posted by nobo

I've used him for a number of repairs and tweaks before (including an ultra-compensated bridge to convert a regular scale guitar into a baritone tuneable to low A/G) and have always been impressed with his work.

Could you post a picture of this saddle? I don't think I need to go that far as to tune the lowest string to a A/G but, it'd be nice to have it to C/B! I'll ask him for a similar thing at sometime.

DAR's my local luthier. He set up one of my guitar's, the great thing was he pretty much taught me to sort out further problems regarding the issues I had with my guitar.

He's a very interesting chap to talk too. He spoke some cracking stories of other people he's encountered in the business.

I'm intrigued by the idea of his new neck development. I might ask him the next time I take one of guitars to him.

[Marc Durso]

When I first tiptoed into this hand made guitar world back in the late '90s I found this very interesting guitar by luthier Bernie Lehman, whose Model 2000 guitar uses concave staves to form the arched back, stemming from his extensive building experience with lutes.





http://www.lehmannstrings.com/guitars_flattops-2000.htm

http://www.lehmannstrings.com/images/Tune_Model2000.mp3

[geordie]

Gota say I love the sound of Bernie Lehman's fluted, vaulted back constructed guitars, very overlooked IMO,

ya want vaulted back construction ?, check out the rather excellent work of Lutemakers Stephen Barber and Sandi Harris below, I'm sure DAR is aware of their work -

http://www.lutesandguitars.co.uk/htm/cat11.htm

Baroque guitar after Jacopo Checchucci, Livorno 1623



After an original guitar labelled "Jacopo Checchucci in Livorno 1623. Its vaulted back has 17 fluted ribs, in ebony striped with ghostly-white holly

[nobo]

Very cool - thanks for those pics!

I'll dig out a photo of the ultra-compensated saddle when I get the chance (it's not on this computer).

Cheers,

Dan

[nobo]

Managed to remotely access PC - here are the photos of the ultra compensated saddle David Anthony Reid made - lot of work carving it from a solid block of bone to match the contours of the bridge - very nicely done, and very effective. (You can click on the photos for larger, higher res versions).

[ewh2]

Thanks for posting up those pictures.

It's interesting to see the 5th string (ie the 5th lowest string the 'A' string) looks like it's a bit higher at the saddle than the lowest 6th string. But as I wrote that it seems that could be down to the camera angle!

Looks fascinating though. I never knew how much impact a saddle could have on tuning and stuff.

I may well take my 12 string to DAR to make a saddle for that.

[Marc Durso]

Originally Posted by geordie

Gota say I love the sound of Bernie Lehman's fluted, vaulted back constructed guitars, very overlooked IMO,

I'd love to play and hear a Lehman someday. I assume it has a sonic relationship to carved back/flat tops.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by nobo

Managed to remotely access PC - here are the photos of the ultra compensated saddle David Anthony Reid made - lot of work carving it from a solid block of bone to match the contours of the bridge - very nicely done, and very effective. (You can click on the photos for larger, higher res versions).

those are ver cool saddles!

Originally Posted by ewh2

Thanks for posting up those pictures.

It's interesting to see the 5th string (ie the 5th lowest string the 'A' string) looks like it's a bit higher at the saddle than the lowest 6th string. But as I wrote that it seems that could be down to the camera angle!
...

or perhaps a radiused fretboard.

[geordie]

Originally Posted by nobo;3310425
[url=http://www.freeimagehosting.net/pdw29

[/url]

Lowden bridge
looks like a BIG string on the 6th or just camera angle ?

[Guitarbench]

Originally Posted by steveh

Looks-wise, it reminded me very much of Bryn Hiscox's bowl-back guitars; most people are completely unaware that Hiscox used to build guitars before getting into cases made him change direction. I have a few photos of one of them here from an International Musician from the early 80s.

Cheers,
Steve

Steve's absolutely correct- B.HIscox used to made bowl back bass and flattops- and from what I gather, his subsequent cases don't fit!

I played one at the old Andy's on Denmark Street back in 2003-4, nice instrument although it's rather deep!

Terence

[nobo]

Originally Posted by geordie

Lowden bridge
looks like a BIG string on the 6th or just camera angle ?

Yup - it's a Lowden O12 (hog/sitka), so there's a radiused fretboard (think theirs is 16'), but I suspect camera angle is playing up the difference in string heights, plus the string sizes. This is a set of baritone strings - 16-70. Guitar with the ultracompensated bridge, the guitar works surprisingly well as short scale baritone (which I was using it as until I stumbled across a s/h Lowden Baritone) - tunings from standard (but startding on a B) and tuned down from there to equivalent of DADGAD, CGDGAD and variants. The ultra compensation was there to handle the low A to G (with a 70 string) in particular.

[nobo]

Some pics of that combolin bracing...