Sexauer ‘23

[Bruce Sexauer]

Many thanks to my fans for saying so, you have kept me out of law school, among other places.

[BrunoBlack]

Another beauty!

[Jamiejoon]

There is no better Pernambuco in all the land. Wow that is purty.

[Bruce Sexauer]

More of the same, but with the Spanish Cedar neck:

[Treenewt]

Looking good Bruce! I love the contrasting shades of Pernambuco between back and binding. Is that your usual purfling? It looks much brighter on this one, but that may just be my eyes. Either way, it’s lovely!

[Bruce Sexauer]

.012” lack fiber on either side of .030” of flamed and quartered big leaf maple makes the.055” sandwich which is my typical purfling. That’s a yes.

[Treenewt]

Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer

.012” lack fiber on either side of .030” of flamed and quartered big leaf maple makes the.055” sandwich which is my typical purfling. That’s a yes.

Thank you sir! I figured it was my eyes!

[Bruce Sexauer]

Having completed the woodwork on the Vaiste FT-16C, I got some sealer on it yesterday. I used a strongly red tinted pore filler on the neck to move the IMO overly brown Spanish Cedar neck toward the P.

The top seems utterly grain aligned.

[Palladio]

I've never had a Spanish Cedar neck. What are the qualities compared to the usual Honduras Mahogany? Is it preferable to Mahogany due to lighter weight to balance the guitar?

I have an electric guitar made by my friend Rick Kelly that has an old growth Douglas Fir neck made from a reclaimed architectural beam in NYC. No truss rod and it's been perfectly stable traveling in all sorts of different climates for over a decade. It's also light as a feather.

[Bruce Sexauer]

Spanish cedar (Cedro) is much less common than Honduras mahogany, and is equally stable and has a great power to weight ratio. It was more common 150 years ago. It is noticeably lighter in weigh, and far easier to carve, though a bit more challenging to sand, IMO. This guitar will weigh a ounce or two less than it might have, had I used H. mah.

I am surprised to hear that a Fir neck is noticeably light as it is a fairly dense material in my experience, though I don't know its technical numbers. Living where I do and in a 175 year old house made from Redwood and Doug Fir, I may be judging Fir by out-dated standards.

[Bruce Sexauer]

Some of you old-timers will remember that I started a guitar a couple of months ago to see if I could make a D intended for light strings that would be able to play with the big boys. Well, the finish seems cured so I buffed it out and assembled the neck to the body, inlaid, and fretted it! We'll know how I did next week.

[Treenewt]

I'm excited to see how that one turns out Bruce. This was the one with the mystery mahogany, correct? Or are my eyes deceiving me yet again?

I have no doubt you'll achieve the tonal target you're after, though!

[Bruce Sexauer]

There are serious challenges in getting a D box to produce both volume and power, along with treble projection and overall balance over-all, but to do it with lights and target dug in bluegrassers makes this project a serious ask. But you know me!

[Palladio]

Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer

I am surprised to hear that a Fir neck is noticeably light as it is a fairly dense material in my experience, though I don't know its technical numbers. Living where I do and in a 175 year old house made from Redwood and Doug Fir, I may be judging Fir by out-dated standards.

Bruce thanks for your reply. I have been reading your threads with great interest for a while now, and finally acquired one of your guitars last month from a fellow forum member. I've primarily played vintage guitars for the past 35 years. I was lucky to have the opportunity to play a lot of them due to where I lived (near Nashville and later in NYC), and acquire some really great ones before the market went nuts. Your guitar has been a revelation to me. It's not just the only modern guitar I've found that I like as much as my vintage ones.....I actually like it BETTER! I never thought I'd say that. I've played guitars from other very talented and highly regarded modern luthiers, but yours is the only one that has the incredibly light build and responsiveness of the best vintage ones. It comes "alive" in your hands as you have said before. It is also much easier to play and has better intonation than any of my vintage guitars.

The electric guitar with the Fir neck I mentioned is made out of reclaimed wood from two NYC buildings built around 1880. The neck is Fir and the body is some sort of pine. Both were taken from buildings that Bob Dylan spent quite a bit of time in during his early years in NYC, so that is at least partly why they were chosen for the guitars Rick built for him. I don't know why it is so light but it is. Maybe I've got this wrong and the wood is Spruce? It is also very straight grained and rings like a bell when tapped. There were other Fir and Pine beams in Rick's shop that I've handled, but this particular one was exceptional for this particular purpose.

Sorry if I hijacked the thread a bit. Now back to discussing your amazing guitars......

[usb_chord]

Hey Bruce,

Have you ever considered building something in the Kel Kroydon ilk? I figure if anyone is capable of building that light (under 3 lbs), it's you! Always a pleasure to follow your work!