Hatcher Greta Unlimited Series

[Steve Kinnaird]

Wow, very clever Mark.
So, what do you think of the stealth tuners?

Steve

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

Wow, very clever Mark.
So, what do you think of the stealth tuners?

Steve

Thanks Steve,

So far I really like these little Stealth Tuners. They are tight with no slop. I especially like the opportunities they offer for new designs.

[ukejon]

Masterful work, Mr. Hatcher. Should be in a museum.....but one where it can be heard!

[grosskate]

What a piece of art... Love all the concepts of this guitar especially the unique soundport, and the fact that it has (at least at the moment) no abalone but woods. it makes it very classy. Stunning work, and beautiful guitar !! Can't wait to see it finished

[J.R. Rogers]

Looking just spectacular, Mark! Really creative how the design flows around the soundhole. Love how you've set those tuners in also and the look of the headstock.

JR

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Masterful work, Mr. Hatcher. Should be in a museum.....but one where it can be heard!

Thanks ukejon. I am excited at how this one is coming out! I've definitely made a push into the unknown on this one and it's holding together very well.

Originally Posted by grosskate

What a piece of art... Love all the concepts of this guitar especially the unique soundport, and the fact that it has (at least at the moment) no abalone but woods. it makes it very classy. Stunning work, and beautiful guitar !! Can't wait to see it finished

Thanks grosskate, I'm very proud of the sound port design. It's rare to develop something that is unique, makes sense, and looks like it belongs there. So far, in my design work I have been most proud of a couple of my headstock designs like the sculpted pillow headstock and the crossover's slotted headstock. Another more subtle design is the way I do the strap pin on cutaways.

Originally Posted by J.R. Rogers

Looking just spectacular, Mark! Really creative how the design flows around the soundhole. Love how you've set those tuners in also and the look of the headstock.

JR

Thank you J.R., I am very excited at how this one is coming together! Typically a guitar design starts as a foggy notion or maybe just a feeling I am trying to touch. Transforming that into reality can be nerve wracking but, I suppose that just makes it more rewarding if it actually starts to work out.

[Mark Hatcher]

Cleaning up to get ready for finish. Here are a couple pictures to show a little more detail around the body/neck area:





Thanks for viewing!
Mark

[David Wren]

Love it ... what a great headstock design ... and the way the front contours flow ... gorgeous!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by David Wren

Love it ... what a great headstock design ... and the way the front contours flow ... gorgeous!

Thank you David!

[CycleBob]

Unbelievable! Remarkable design and very beautiful. Great pictures in this thread as well!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by CycleBob

Unbelievable! Remarkable design and very beautiful. Great pictures in this thread as well!

Thanks CycleBob!

[Mark Hatcher]

I'm going to go back to talk about the top I'm putting on this guitar. Now that guitar has been voiced and is about ready for finish my expectations for the performance for this Redwood had greatly risen.
I said already that it was from a train tunnel that was built in 1835. I'd like to talk about some of the things I've learned. This was from the Shasta Route owned by Southern Pacific Railroad. This was a route between San Francisco and Portland Oregon. They advertised the scenic ride as "The Road of a Thousand Wonders" Here is a ad posted to The Woman's Home Journal" in 1899:



The train worked it's way through the Shasta and Siskiyou mountains and it was in these rugged Oregon Siskiyou mountains that tunnels 13,14, and 15 are located as the railway weaves it's way up the mountains. The railway sold scenic photo guides to the passengers enroute. I was able to locate one so I could post up some of these old photos:



I’m imagining the photos were shot in black and white and then hand colored. This first shot is from the beginning of the route starting in San Francisco. I have to show this one because I think it is just so remarkable. To get across the bay they used a giant steam powered train ferry:



This ferry was 433ft long and had a capacity of 36 train cars and two engines.

Here's a couple more to give the flavor of the route:





And here is a photo that includes both tunnels 14 (top) and 15:



The beams used to support these tunnels were old growth Redwood and were removed recently and replaced with cement. The original wood was provided by Dolbeer and Carson:



Because this rebuilding of the tunnels was a government contract the contractors were not able to actively salvage the wood or profit from it's sale so for the most part the beams were just cast into the ravines and forrest.
There were a few intrepid locals who have salvaged the best of these wonderful aged woods:





So that's the story of where these tops are coming from. I think the bigger story will be where they go from here!

[Mark Hatcher]

Just putting the final touches on before the finish goes on.







Thanks for following along!

Mark

[Stevied63]

Gorgeous Mark! Can’t wait to see it finished! How was Italy?

[cigarfan]

Kinda anxious to see it all shined up! That’s a real beauty Mark. Wonder what a Penelope in that Tunnel Redwood might sound like ... hmmmmm?