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#1
03-27-2013, 10:15 AM
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All Douglas Fir & Walnut: 14-fret Parlor "Oregon"
I have been experimenting with douglas fir as a top wood and, incidentally in this case, a back and sides wood as well. The results have been very sonically pleasing, and I love the local sourcing of wood as well.
This 14-fret "parlor" (00 sized; the shape is inspired by a parlor guitar) is called the Oregon guitar- all of the doug fir and walnut (only 2 woods used in its construction) are from within 100 miles of my shop. I have begun collecting fir, and found that older, tight grain, reclaimed beams are a great source for some truly awesome tonewood. Of course, all of the trim and detail is shop made from the same woods. Enjoy!  Oregon guitar by JBH woodworking, on Flickr
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Josh Humphrey 
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#2
03-27-2013, 11:25 AM
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 Oregon guitar neck view by JBH woodworking, on Flickr  Oregon guitar neck detail by JBH woodworking, on Flickr  Oregon guitar bridge by JBH woodworking, on Flickr  Oregon guitar headstock by JBH woodworking, on Flickr  Oregon guitar fir tree inlay by JBH woodworking, on Flickr  Oregon guitar by JBH woodworking, on Flickr  Oregon guitar back by JBH woodworking, on Flickr
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Josh Humphrey
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#3
03-27-2013, 11:36 AM
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Nice one... the guitar looks great (love the rosette and headstock detail) and using locally sourced materials is a wonderful idea. Did using douglas fir for top, back and sides add any specific tonal qualities to your guitar?
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#5
03-27-2013, 12:05 PM
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Quote:
The Fir is used on the top. (...and the neck?)
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Larry Pattis on Spotify and Pandora LarryPattis.com American Guitar Masters 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists Steel-string guitars by Rebecca Urlacher and Simon Fay Classical guitars by Anders Sterner
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#6
03-27-2013, 12:10 PM
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Quote:
I really dig the neck inlays. Looks great.
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#7
03-27-2013, 12:12 PM
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Quote:
Could be the back & sides as well, I guess. I wouldn't have gone that direction, but that's just me...! 
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Larry Pattis on Spotify and Pandora LarryPattis.com American Guitar Masters 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists Steel-string guitars by Rebecca Urlacher and Simon Fay Classical guitars by Anders Sterner
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#8
03-27-2013, 12:45 PM
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Yep, all fir! Similar to the use of cypress in classical guitars, I wanted to establish the viability of fir as both a top wood and a back and sides wood. In both cases the result is excellent. This is for ecological reasons, curiosity, and just plain love of wood/trees on my part.
RE soundboard: old-growth tight grain fir compares very well with some of the tighter sitka spruce I have used. The tone is bright and clear, but believe it or not, there is plenty of warmth and room for bass as well. Sustain and volume are both readily available with fir. RE back and sides: fir is a funny one to bend; it loves to bend if it's soaking wet, but as soon as its dry it won't budge. I bend most of my woods dry (!!! - I have videos if you're interested) so this was surprising to me. It was no problem to attain my desired stiffness for the back, and it is lightweight and visually interesting. RE Neck: easy to find straight grain, locally sourced, tap tone rings like a bell, comparable in stiffness to mahoganies, but lighter. I love it! I reinforced with walnut strip for peace of mind, but I don't actually believe it was necessary. Joe is correct: all light wood is fir, all dark wood is walnut. For full disclosure: all internal bracing is fir; bridge patch is walnut; linings are walnut; neck block and tail blocks are walnut; FB and bridge walnut.
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Josh Humphrey Last edited by JHumphrey; 03-27-2013 at 12:46 PM. Reason: typo
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#9
03-27-2013, 02:34 PM
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Thanks for the direct update...glad to be corrected 9again), and hope the guitar does well over time...
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Larry Pattis on Spotify and Pandora LarryPattis.com American Guitar Masters 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists Steel-string guitars by Rebecca Urlacher and Simon Fay Classical guitars by Anders Sterner
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#10
03-27-2013, 02:45 PM
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I've never played an all fir guitar (for obvious reasons) but I played one all spruce guitar which I thought was very cool. To my ear, it sounded like a lively mahogany/spruce guitar.
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#11
03-27-2013, 04:28 PM
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I like the look of it very much, simple and clean, the woods really speak for themselves, and I would be intrigued to hear how it sounds. Dennis
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#12
03-28-2013, 06:39 AM
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Indeed...what Dennis ^ said.
Steve
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#13
04-01-2013, 01:07 PM
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Thanks guys.
Here is a video of the first version of the guitar. It sounds similar to this one, of course not the same but gives an idea of a small bodied fir guitar. They were definitely in the same ballpark tone-wise. https://vimeo.com/46555077 If you want to compare the two, here is a gallery of the first one. I made some very minor improvements to the design (mostly headstock design, and dimensions/bridge placement), but the first one is still nice! It is fun for me to see the evolution of a design.  Face by JBH woodworking, on Flickr
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Josh Humphrey
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#14
04-01-2013, 02:49 PM
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Very nice guitar and love the looks of the woods together. Nice sound and really nice playing. Have you ever paired the douglas top with another tone wood?
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Alvarez AP-70 Squire Contemporary Jaguar Kustom Amp (acoustic) Gamma G-25 Amp (electric)
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#15
04-05-2013, 12:10 AM
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Marty- so far I have used fir with walnut, as well as with myrtle. Both results were tonally in a place I was very happy with, loaded with natural crisp sustain and no shortage of mids/low warmth.
Out of the three, I'd have to say the walnut really hit the mark for what I personally look for in a guitar. Just an excellent tonal balance all around, and very responsive yet expansive. All this talk... wish I'd just recorded them all... next time!
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Josh Humphrey
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