Hatcher's Top Ten Builds

[Mark Hatcher]

For week #7 I am offering a very colorful and figured Western Big Leaf Maple back and side set with an unusually clean and fine grained New Hampshire Red Spruce:










The Maple with bring out the fundamentals and separation and the Red Spruce top will serve to bring out the midrange and some overtones. Overall this will make for a very well balance guitar with quick response and lot's of headroom. I'd particularly recommend this set on my Greta grand auditorium for a strong all around type guitar with an unusually striking look!
The color of the maple would be well shown off if Bloodwood were used for trim or maybe even the fretboard:



I have the package pricing detail on the Marketplace forum: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...reply&t=534575

[Nemoman]

Another cool pairing, Mark!

That is some striking maple in color and figure!

[Guitars44me]

Wow that Maple is wild! And it is quite dark colored for Maple, isn't it?

Any of these would be a HANDSOME addition to any high end quiver!

Drooling over here...

This is a cool thread!

Thanks Mark!!!

Paul

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Another cool pairing, Mark!

That is some striking maple in color and figure!

Thanks Nemoman, it really is an attention getter. I bought it as a board and got several guitar sets from it. A couple other builders complained to me when they saw I got it, apparently they were watching that board. I didn’t watch it, I just bought it as soon as I saw it. What an I say?

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Wow that Maple is wild! And it is quite dark colored for Maple, isn't it?

Any of these would be a HANDSOME addition to any high end quiver!

Drooling over here...

This is a cool thread!

Thanks Mark!!!

Paul

Thanks Paul, it is dark. It has some mild spalting that’s stained it. I look forward to making a guitar out of this one!

Mark

[ukejon]

Beautiful and very distinctive. Maple guitars can be surprisingly dynamic and tonally strong. Look forward to hearing this guitar.

[SoCalSurf]

This thread has been so fun to follow. I think the wood selection process of a custom build is the most exciting part of the process.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Beautiful and very distinctive. Maple guitars can be surprisingly dynamic and tonally strong. Look forward to hearing this guitar.

Maple really is it's own thing. The closest that I find to it tonally is the totally unrelated Gaboon Ebony but, they are only similar in base and mids. In the trebles they part ways, Gaboon goes to overtones and Maple keeps fundamental.

Originally Posted by SoCalSurf

This thread has been so fun to follow. I think the wood selection process of a custom build is the most exciting part of the process.

It is very exciting. When you work in a studio all day and you're with hundreds of woods that offer thousands of combinations, well, it sets a mind to wandering!

[Mark Hatcher]

This weeks pairing is ancient Kauri and Swiss alpine Moon Spruce:





Those of you who have been following me lately know I am a big fan of old woods. So naturally I am very excited about building with the oldest available workable wood, ancient Kauri. It also happens to be gorgeous and makes a wonderful tonewood. It comes from New Zealand and has been trapped in peat bogs and preserved for over 45,000 years. You can easily find a lot of information on Google about how it is carefully controlled and managed in an environmentally responsible way, how the trees are gigantic, and how they can have a wonderful chatoyance called "White Fish".

I'd like to put 45,000 years in human context. Our technology then pretty much consisted of wearing skins and tying broken rocks to sticks to hunt with. Tools hadn't really differentiated much yet. The latest new technology was an eyed needle but, there was no fabric or clay vessels. It's likely nobody was thinking about making one of these trees into a guitar. In fact, humans never even got to New Zealand until about 700 years ago. Nobody at all in North or South America. There just weren't very many of us back then but, we had a much larger extended family. We had our kissing cousins; the Neanderthals who were in western Europe and the Denisovans further east through Asia. There were also other more distant relatives like the Hobbits in Indonesia and geneticists are speculating we had another cousin across northern Europe and Asia. There are likely more yet to be discovered. The oldest continuous human civilization, the bushman of southern Africa, didn't even start for another 10,000 years or so and even that culture is just a memory now. So excuse my maunderings but, 45,000 years is incomprehensibly old! Something to ponder when playing a guitar made of this wood.

Kauri has a very satin like look and feel. It is tightly grained and strong but, fairly light. It makes for a great all around guitar with even response and good note separation. I chose Swiss Spruce to pair with this because it would add a little more sparkle or highlights and it also has great all around response. This combination makes for a very versatile guitar in any size instrument you want.

Like all the pairings I am offering special pricing for this set of woods. I have lot's of ideas how this might be trimmed and imagine this to be an outstanding guitar. You can find more details on the pricing over on the Marketplace Forum: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...09#post5996009

[Zandit75]

So, the question has to be asked.
If an Ancient Kauri falls into a peat bog and there's not a single human on the island, does it make a sound??!!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Zandit75

So, the question has to be asked.
If an Ancient Kauri falls into a peat bog and there's not a single human on the island, does it make a sound??!!

Well we know no human heard it. I imagine after being stuck in a bog for 45,000 years it has a lot to say. What better way to give it it’s voice than shaping it into a guitar?

[Mark Hatcher]

Here we are on week#9 of the top ten pairings for guitars I'd like to make. This week it is a selected set of curly figured Redwood:



I love the dark lines in this Redwood. It looks like Koa:



I am pairing this with Claro Walnut. These two woods are fast becoming a classic combination:





Here is a picture of a finished guitar I made with a sister set of this Claro Walnut:



Here is a sound sample of this wood combination on a ​
Piña parlor:



This is a picture of the front of that guitar with a Bloodwood rosette:



If I were making a new version of this guitar with that dark figured Redwood top I think this type of Amboyna burl for the rosette would look great:



I think any of my models would work well with this pairing. It would make for a versatile and responsive guitar. I have another thread going in the Marketplace forum that shows the pricing and credits available if these are bought as a pair: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...68#post6002568

[Jamiejoon]

WOW!!! That redwood is insane. And the walnut too. And the amboyna burl rosette too. What a combo. That will make an incredibly beautiful guitar, I reckon.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Jamiejoon

WOW!!! That redwood is insane. And the walnut too. And the amboyna burl rosette too. What a combo. That will make an incredibly beautiful guitar, I reckon.

Thanks Jamiejoon, I think so too. That finished Redwood/Claro parlor I made as a spec guitar sold before I finished it. I didn’t have it long but, always thought it was one of the better wood combinations I’ve used. Since then as I’ve gotten more Redwood and started making that Amboyna burl rosette my thoughts keep going back to how good they would have looked on that original guitar. Hence my decision to incentivize a build.
Thanks for commenting,
Mark

[Guitars44me]

More BEAUTIFUL WOODS!!!

What a wood locker you must have...

My Sinker Redwood/figured Claro Walnut RT is a wonderful axe and will be a lifetime keeper if finances allow!

These are all so beautiful it is really difficult to choose a fave, but fun to try!

Have a FUN MONDAY

Paul

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

More BEAUTIFUL WOODS!!!

What a wood locker you must have...

My Sinker Redwood/figured Claro Walnut RT is a wonderful axe and will be a lifetime keeper if finances allow!

These are all so beautiful it is really difficult to choose a fave, but fun to try!

Have a FUN MONDAY

Paul

Thanks Paul, I do have a good selection of wood and it's easy for me to get lost in all of the possibilities. In a way picking out ten pairings was a way for me to help organize my thinking about the opportunities waiting.

Thanks for commenting!
Mark