Bigfoot OMC in Spalted Tamarind and German Spruce

[cigarfan]

Fun read. Welcome!

[Amrit Sond]

Originally Posted by jmat

This is wonderful, please keep us apprised!

Pity on the teak

Thanks mate! When teak becomes 'less greasy' we might stand a chance! lol :-)

[Amrit Sond]

Originally Posted by justonwo

Great post. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks man! It's been great getting into the design and woods options... I'll be sharing more next week! Cheers!

[Amrit Sond]

Originally Posted by cigarfan

Fun read. Welcome!

Thanks man! :-)

[Amrit Sond]

Hello everyone and I hope you’re safe and well.

This is my third post, the first was an introduction and the second delves into the special journey of a Guitar in memory of my Mum that I had dreamt about for many years, until I met the man; Karan Singh of BIGFOOT GUITARS / India, that made it possible to give it life, and with keeping in mind of how important all the elements were to me in making sure that it was a sacred and fitting tribute to an amazing, beautiful and inspirational soul.

Karan and I talked about the essence of the guitar and what I was looking for in the build and, more importantly, what sound would inspire me? I’d run off ideas to him and he'd come back with his thoughts. In particular; I wanted a fingerstyle guitar! Period!! And what tone, warmth, clarity and projection would suit my playing? I mentioned that I am used to Lowden Guitars and I like the ‘singing’ presence they offer, especially in the high range. I’m not keen on an overly powerful bass response and prefer a supportive and rounded dynamic for balance to the highs and midrange.

I did not want a different sound as I have honed all my writing skills with this sound and it would throw my senses out! Scary for me! I needed continuity and familiarity, with levels above.

This was a good starting point as Karan said the top would have to be German Spruce. There was no compromise as it offered the best response due to its strength when it’s sanded down. Furthermore he had sets in stock that he'd handpicked whilst he was exhibiting in China at the Music Fair. He sent me a picture of one that he liked and reserved it for me, explaining it would need acclimatising in his workshop for 6 months as he'd recently acquired them.

We moved onto choosing the back / sides and Indian Rosewood was suggested at first as I was very particular about my ethos that most of the guitar would have Indian woods. Rosewood did appeal to me but I thought about it and it became apparent that I wanted a guitar that looked and felt unique. My first impression of BIGFOOT Guitars was the stunning Spalted Tamarind OMC Karan had on show at the London Guitar Show and I’d fallen in love with that model.



I said to Karan that I was inclined towards Spalted Tamarind which he advised would offer a different tone. I was not after another Lowden now and a different sound appealed to me! Plus it looked gorgeous and I remember when Karan took me to a quite booth to ‘listen’ to his guitars a couple came in with us and the lady said to him; Your guitars look like ART! Very beautiful! She was right! The detail / craftsmanship that BIGFOOT Guitars represent are pure art and that’s what I was after! A guitar that was stunning, unique to anything else out there, that sounded warm and gorgeous and represents ART!

Karan sent me some pictures of sets of Spalted Tamarind for the back that he had in stock and I loved one of them and he reserved it for me. It looked out of this world and I’d never seen any other wood characteristics like it before. I was becoming very aware of how beautiful this guitar would be. He chose the sides, also Spalted Tamarind, himself and they looked stunning and tied in nicely with the back. We left it at that for a few days.



Karan then sent me a message that his Dad was in Amritsar, at The Golden Temple to collect a few tokens there that we were going to have inside the guitar. As I mentioned in my second post; this was important to me as The Golden Temple was her spiritual home and she was born in Amritsar. Karan’s dad chose leaves shed from a 600 year old Bodhi tree that stands in the compound of the Temple. The tree has special spiritual significance and it was very emotional as I could not believe how the guitar was coming together, not only logistically but also with love, care and respect that Karan was giving to this build. He was feeling how important this journey and guitar was.



As Jason Kostal had introduced me to Karan I sent Jason pictures of Karan's dad to express my sincere gratitude. He was so supportive and touched by the way this journey was coming along. He wished us both the best, sending his love and said that he’d love to see the guitar once complete.



A few days later Karan said that he had been in touch with a mill in Amristar to get Indian Toon wood for the neck as he felt it would be great to source this from my Mum's birthplace. Again, I was touched by the amount of thought and love that he was giving to this build. He was so involved and I had not thought about the neck at this point and yet this seemed so right. Karan asked about the fingerboard and we went with Indian Ebony and I asked for a middle stripe at the back of the neck which he said would look great.

The other thing I wanted on the guitar was a Bevel! I’d always loved these as they look super sexy and hell why not? Karan said he could do this but explained I'd be losing some depth to the sound and I should think about this. I liked his honesty as he was making me aware of how my choices would affect the sound, but I could not resist, and if I could compromise a bit of 'sound depth' in exchange for a stunning body then why not? He eventually agreed to do it and said he'd make sure it was be as minimal a sound compromise as it could be.

The bevel would be in ebony as we'd chosen the bindings (ebony) to make the body elegant, yet simple. One important feature that I wanted was EVO Gold Frets! I was introduced to these frets by AJ Williams of AJ Williams Guitars, who makes exceptional guitars in the UK and more importantly I saw these frets whilst they were sharing some beautiful news to me. I will always remember that and these frets are a lovely memory for me.



Another feature I wanted was a 'black’ nut / saddle. I did not want traditional elements on this guitar by now and Karan ordered the gold fret wire and TUSQ black compound for the nut / saddle. Later on though Karan sent me pictures of ‘coloured’ bone nuts / saddles that he does, compared to the black Tusq compound, and I’m so happy he did as his coloured nut / saddle was very unique. It has character and tied with the overall ‘rustic’ look that I was after. He has a great eye for detail and knows what would look better in the long run, whilst still preserving balance.



We talked about the finish coat and I was undecided with matt or gloss. Again, all of my Lowden's are a matt finish so I decided on gloss wanting the BIGFOOT to be different. I was happy and at peace with every step that we’d taken so far. Karan suggested his beautiful trade mark ‘leaf stone’ inlays for the soundhole rosette. I thought about this and to be honest I like simple but elegant decors and I suggested if we could go with Spalted Tamarind as I’d seen it on his exhibit model. It looked great and tied in with the back and sides. Thankfully he agreed on this for me



I did not want an end graft ‘hole’ strap button / pick up hole for this guitar as I after an acoustic instrument. This was shaping up to be too sacred to start drilling holes and I wanted to maintain the integrity and beauty of the woods on show. I thought about a two tone Headstock veneer and we fooled around with a few designs but I was just pushing it to be something and in the end Karan said; let's just go with a Tamarind only headstock veneer. It’ll be simple, effective and very elegant. He was right! It tied in with the whole look of the guitar and I’m glad he stopped the process there as it was wasting our time.



I wanted 21 frets and Bigfoot Guitars have that as standard with a lovely curve where the fretboard ties in to meet the body. He showed me his newly designed bridge with chiselled curves that looked stunning!



Karan suggested a Karura Carbon fibre Guitar Case to protect the guitar. He said it would be worth it and he asked me to have a look at their exterior and interior colour options. I couldn’t seem to make my mind up and I asked him to choose the colour combos for me.

Everything was in place with regards to the look, wood selections and overall representation. He had a brand new OMC 2020 shape for the guitar body that would feature super slick curves and an overall sexier look and mine would be the first to embrace this! I was excited! We had a few minor details to talk about that he said we could chat about once he started the build.

I paid the deposit and I knew that the build was in safe hands. Karan had gone way beyond my expectations and he’d brought it all together in a way that I find hard to describe! He taken my dream to a different level! I was speechless!

Karan operates a three part payment scheme that makes the guitar affordable whereby you pay a 30% deposit, then 30% once the build starts and the final 40% upon completion. I was happy with this approach as it gave me time to accumulate monies in stages.

I’ll talk about the complete build in the next post. For me, this is one of the most exciting ventures that I have ever been involved in and I had faith in Karan that it was in the hands of an ARTIST! He had assured me that this was would be a very highly crafted and unique guitar. He felt very passionately about honouring ‘our’ journey and understood what it meant to me. I felt very safe.

[Amrit Sond]

Originally Posted by ericcsong

Thanks for sharing Amrit! Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks for all your help mate! :-) x

[ericcsong]

Originally Posted by Amrit Sond

Thanks for all your help mate! :-) x

Thanks you for sharing! I absolutely love all the details in your build. I love it how thoughful Karan was with including special things from your family memories!

[BlackKeys36]

Incredible story and further affirmation for me that I need to own one of Karan's guitars someday! Thank you for sharing and for all the details!

[mountainguitar]

Thank you for sharing this journey! What a beautiful guitar and it is so wonderful that Karan is so carefully including your family history as he builds this great instrument! I am looking to hearing you play it!!!

beth

[ericcsong]

Originally Posted by BlackKeys36

Incredible story and further affirmation for me that I need to own one of Karan's guitars someday!

Would love to see that!

[Amrit Sond]

Originally Posted by ericcsong

Thanks you for sharing! I absolutely love all the details in your build. I love it how thoughful Karan was with including special things from your family memories!

He's a GEM of a guy! :-)

[Amrit Sond]

Originally Posted by BlackKeys36

Incredible story and further affirmation for me that I need to own one of Karan's guitars someday! Thank you for sharing and for all the details!

You will not be dissapointed! I can assure you that... it's a very involved build and the whole approach is one to one! Very personal! Details on the complete build coming next! Thanks mate!

[Amrit Sond]

Originally Posted by bmh1

Thank you for sharing this journey! What a beautiful guitar and it is so wonderful that Karan is so carefully including your family history as he builds this great instrument! I am looking to hearing you play it!!!

beth

Thanks Beth! It's a 'dream come true' ...he's chosen some stunning woods for it and I'll be sharing the complete build next! He's such a gentleman too!

[Amrit Sond]

Originally Posted by Mrbirdog

Hello and Welcome!!

Thanks mate! :-)

[Amrit Sond]

Originally Posted by zmf

A rather generic description for what you're doing.
Fascinating music.

Thnaks mate! Folks need some sort of 'definition' ~ I'm still searching for me...