Hatcher's Top Ten Builds

[Mark Hatcher]

For this week's perfect pairing I am offering an Italian Olivewood back and side set with a very clear Yellow Cedar top. Some time ago I got a couple well seasoned Olivewood boards from an olive grove in Tuscany. I was able to cut out several well quartered billets the were wide enough for guitars:



The back set I selected is straight grained with a bit of curl figure which is extremely rare in Olivewood:



I am matching it up with a very clean Yellow Cedar top:





So besides the fact that this top and back/side set look absolutely great together what makes this a Perfect Pairing?
This Olivewood is very much like Black Ebony as far as weight, hardness, and stiffness goes but, it is very different from Black Ebony in it's effect on sound. Black Ebony (like Maple) has a scooped response, it's strong on bass and treble. Olivewood is just the opposite in that it is very midrange strong.

Yellow Cedar is stiffer and harder than spruce. It has a quick response and when properly thinned and braced it will even out the overall response of the guitar. Both Olivewood and Yellow Cedar are also tough woods. The guitar will stand up very well to harder playing. Which is not to say it will not have the voicing such that it will respond to a light touch. The response will be very dynamic but, I wouldn't recommend this combo to someone who has a very light flesh only playing style.

I would recommend the combo on my grand auditorium Greta, small jumbo Josie, and the Penelope:





As hard as Olivewood is it also makes a great choice for the bridge and fretboard. Its just beautiful when carved:







As in previous weeks I am posting pricing etc. in the Marketplace forum: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...58#post5961758
Thanks for viewing!

Mark

[Guitars44me]

Drool alert!

Dang that olivewood is mighty purty!

Love it

Paul

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Drool alert!

Dang that olivewood is mighty purty!

Love it

Paul

Thanks Paul! It is a great wood to work with. Soon as it touches a sander the whole place smells like an Italian restaurant. It also makes a very good tonewood.

Mark

[Nemoman]

Wow--another great pairing, Mark!

Love hearing your thoughts and seeing your awesome tonewood stash!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Wow--another great pairing, Mark!

Love hearing your thoughts and seeing your awesome tonewood stash!

Thanks Nemoman, I certainly enjoy getting to work with the woods that I do.
The characteristics vary so much and there are always surprises. Then I get to put that together into a guitar that is an infinitely complex instrument. Both the characteristics of guitars and the woods are so easily over simplified when what makes a well made individual instrument exceptional is the attention to the nuances.

Mark

[grosskate]

Where do you buy all those gorgeous woods ? Your sets are all amazing ...

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by grosskate

Where do you buy all those gorgeous woods ? Your sets are all amazing ...

Thank you grosskate! I get wood from all over the place and all different circumstances. I have been fortunate that a number of retiring luthiers have contacted me and given me first crack at their stashes. Also, since I’ve gotten more proficient at re-sawing my own tonewoods I have many more opportunities. Mostly, I’m a sucker for good woods so I’m always on the lookout!

Thanks for following along, I have more to come in this offering.

Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

Koa may be the most beautiful of the American domestic woods. In this Perfect Pairing I am pairing a Koa top with a Koa back that is a sister set:









This offering is restricted to the small jumbo Josie guitar with a wedge and fan fret multi-scale:



I made a similarly set up all African Mahogany guitar that I felt was a great success and have ever since I have been wanting to do an all Koa version:





This guitar would be very full and responsive and extremely balanced sounding.

It would be fun to do Hawaiian petroglyphs on this one!

There is something special about combining a fan fret with a wedge. In order to get the nut angle for the multi-scale the headstock needs to have a little tilt to it. If you match that tilt angle with the wedge angle on the guitar back it brings back a subtle symmetry to the whole guitar plus it makes the guitar incredibly comfortable to play!
The pricing will all be posted on my Perfect Pairings thread over in the Market Place forum: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...51#post5968751

[ukejon]

Love a well built all Koa guitar. Just gorgeous. Break in can be a bit slow and dare I say it Tone-Rite can assist with that process. Will this be a Josie?

Nice all mahogany guitar you picture there!

[ukejon]

I see that it is a Josie. The fan/wedge combo on that body is amazingly comfortable.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Love a well built all Koa guitar. Just gorgeous. Break in can be a bit slow and dare I say it Tone-Rite can assist with that process. Will this be a Josie?

Nice all mahogany guitar you picture there!

Originally Posted by ukejon

I see that it is a Josie. The fan/wedge combo on that body is amazingly comfortable.

Thanks for commenting ukejon, Yeah I'm betting you're pretty familiar with that all Mahogany Josie

[Mark Hatcher]

This is a wanted notice from the last great American train robbery. The robbers used dynamite to blow up the postal car on train #13 while it was inside tunnel 13. The tunnel was originally constructed in 1835 and this Redwood top was cut from one of the support beams that came out of that tunnel:



I am offering this in inadvertently "torrified" top with a beautifully black Gaboon Ebony back and side set:



This is the last black Ebony set I have that I re-sawed from a billet years ago:



The previous guitars made from these sets sounded wonderful. I would recommend this combo with my Pina parlor or my OO deep body 14 fret models:



When I look at this combo I envision a Raven theme. Take a look at this little Raven chick and then look at the way I do my throated sound port and if you see what I see maybe you would like to consider this as a starting point on a build:





As I am doing with all of these pairings being offered 10% of the cost of my base price and the up-charge for the woods is credited back for upgrades which would more than cover the cost of my unique sound port system.
You will find more details of the pricing on my Perfect Pairings thread I have on the Market Square forum: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...22#post5975722

[mikealpine]

Yup, Redwood and Ebony...that's going to be gorgeous. I'd be curious to see if anyone takes up your parlor idea. I'm not really into smaller size guitars. I'd be more Greta or Josie, with arm and rib bevels, and (as cool as it is), a standard sound port. Whichever way this goes, it will be stunning!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

Yup, Redwood and Ebony...that's going to be gorgeous. I'd be curious to see if anyone takes up your parlor idea. I'm not really into smaller size guitars. I'd be more Greta or Josie, with arm and rib bevels, and (as cool as it is), a standard sound port. Whichever way this goes, it will be stunning!

Thanks For commenting Mike!

Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

This week's pairing is Western Red Cedar on rather rare curly Ovangkol.







Ovangkol is a beautifully colored wood that is comparable to rosewood in tonal characteristics. Curly Ovangkol is rare and can look a lot like Koa when finished. I recently finished a custom order with curly Ovangkol and before I even finished the guitar I was so impressed with the tone and beauty of this wood I was already searching all of my resources to find more of it. I was able to find this one set and haven't seen it since. Here are a couple pictures of the recently finished custom Josie small jumbo guitar:





The figure comes alive under finish.

I am pairing this with a selected light colored Western Red Cedar top. The cedar will come to life on this Ovangkol. Cedar is one of my favorite tonewoods. I have a deep understanding of the characteristics of cedar and feel the work I do around the bracing and voicing of cedar greatly extends the headroom beyond experienced players expectations while retaining the easy response to a light touch offing a very large dynamic range. I also am able to bring out more overtones than are typically expected of cedar. I like cedar. I've liked it for a long time.

This all makes for a great sounding guitar that crosses borders without the rosewood hassles.

This a great combination for any guitar model I make, from parlor to baritone. You choose!

As you may know already I am offering these pairings with an incentive. You already aren't paying rosewood prices and cedar carries no upcharge. My pricing and incentive is explained in more detail on the Marketplace Forum on my Perfect Pairings thread: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...94#post5982494