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  #16  
Old 06-15-2021, 03:16 PM
BrazGuy BrazGuy is offline
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Originally Posted by colins View Post
It's a delightful sort of pain, the waiting. I think it must be the adult equivalent of Christmas Eve for children. We all understand what you're going through
Yep! I already bought a thumb pick that I want to try first on this guitar, and a bunch of guitar strings that I want to try too and let the guitar choose the right one. It's something like buy the shirt, hat and shoes that you want to wear on Christmas Eve
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  #17  
Old 06-25-2021, 03:30 PM
BrazGuy BrazGuy is offline
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body bindings are almost on, but first some "taste" of how it will be, they are made of brazilian hog and I love it!!






Last edited by BrazGuy; 07-30-2021 at 03:23 PM.
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  #18  
Old 06-26-2021, 12:53 AM
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colins colins is offline
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That binding should look great.
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  #19  
Old 07-01-2021, 05:39 PM
BrazGuy BrazGuy is offline
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That binding should look great.
For shure mister. Bindings are on, next step are neck carving, pictures soon.
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  #20  
Old 07-30-2021, 03:25 PM
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simulating the herringbone purfling

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  #21  
Old 07-30-2021, 03:40 PM
BrazGuy BrazGuy is offline
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body bindings? check
neck? check


Now the body is waiting for the final sanding and then we will have a guitar... an unfinished guitar lol, but closer to the end than a few months ago.

Headstock before bindings and the woodpicker inlay (yep a woodpiecker inlay, thats crazy and nice):







Neck on the body (unattached):





Body after all bindings and top purfling (dirty):

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  #22  
Old 09-16-2021, 01:46 PM
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The guitar is ready, ahead of schedule and beautiful as I wanted, some photos before the end of the work and some of the finished product.















Now it's time to enjoy the new baby, as soon as I get my hands on it I'll provide a sound sample and post it here, for now I'm (anxiously) waiting for the scheduled date for its arrival (the luthier has a policy of turning over all guitars in hands)
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Acoustic guitars are like beer, the next one will always be the best.

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Last edited by BrazGuy; 09-16-2021 at 01:56 PM.
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  #23  
Old 09-16-2021, 03:00 PM
Al Mojo Al Mojo is offline
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Congrats on your new custom guitar! Looks awesome!

What finish did you decide to use?
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  #24  
Old 09-16-2021, 03:18 PM
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Congrats on your new custom guitar! Looks awesome!

What finish did you decide to use?
it's lacquer dyed with a very thin finish, I think it's nitro or maybe polyurethane, I don't know much about the luthier's finishing process, the only choice I made was the color of the soundboard.
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  #25  
Old 09-16-2021, 10:21 PM
alohachris alohachris is offline
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Default Has Your Luthier Finished the Insider of the Guitar Too

Aloha,

Hey BrasGuy (I never use Z's either), nice looking guitar. Not trying to spoil the mood, but you'd better make sure that your luthier finishes the inside of your new BRW guitar as well - post-construction. Why?

Although you may have fallen in love with that completely flat-sawn back & sides set of Brazilian Rosewood, it is the absolute worst choice for a long-lasting, uncracked BRW steel-stringed acoustic guitar.

That is because BRW is about the worst of all species for cracking, & it really does not like changes in humidity. It hates an accidental sharp hit to it, or a bump against a mic stand, even in its case. And those are true whether it is quartered or flat-sawn BRW. This guitar body is all-flat-sawn BRW except for it's nice German Spruce top. And it's under 250 lbs. of pressure per square inch w/ steel strings. So...

But to me, flat-sawn BRW is the absolute worst choice for a long-lasting, stable, uncracked guitar, no matter its care. Note: I repaired hundreds of old cracked BRW Martin's, & way fewer EIRW (or other species of RW) guitars. Long ago, I also travelled & gigged with BRW guitars. I also tracked & hand-selected my entire supply of BRW kants in the 70's in Sao Paulo. So I know (& love) the species & its issues here.

Now,.....IMO, a luthier should lightly finish the inside of such a guitar as yours in order to reduce the overall mosture-exchange rate & thus, give this guitar a chance to survive more than a year or two - uncracked. It's common sense based on history & knowledge. AND it's the traditional approach that luthiers have understood & applied for 1000+ years, until recently. Quarter-sawn wood is what you use in musical instruments. Not flat-cut.

Today's luthiers, in today's economy, with a dwindling supply of tropical tonewoods, & with this raging COVID in control, will always try to satisfy the customer's every wish in building their dream guitar...and also try to keep the orders coming in. Unfortunately, that includes choosing flat-sawn guitar sets or even promoting them as an option for the customer to choose - often in BRW b/c of its mystique, rarity & many values.

Many luthiers don't even source BRW any longer because it's largely unavailble or what is available is of unacceptable quailty. It's also on the CITES list of endangered species (since 1991) & so would make it difficult for you to travel with it to many countries.

Yes, there are almost no quarter-sawn BRW planks or kants readily out there any more, even recycled wood or in Brasil. As a coastal wood, it was easy for humans to love it to death, But, that, FOR ME, is no excuse for using today's inferior woods now just because it's pretty & Dalbergia nigra.

Questions: Was this guitar constructed & finished in a dehumidified shop? Where will it mostly be played?

The only scenario that I can see for the woods used in this guitar surviving is if you keep your guitar ALL the time in a solid, humidified case,. Or, you don't play very often or out at all, and never, ever travel or use an airline with this flat-cut BRW guitar. And still it will probably crack someday.

Additionally, if you experience large seasonal humidity changes where you live, you MUST consider that strongly every year when you turn on indoor heating sources to protect your guitar accordingly from the drying air & moisture loss, pressured tonewoods' biggest enemy.

I cannot say that I've never used slightly off-quartered BRW for my guitars/customers. But I can say that - despite stabilizing my woods for at least 10 years in a dehumidified shop, taking all precautions in design & finishing to protect them inside & out, - BRW guitars, by far, cracked more than any other species I used overtime. So, it's not just theory talking here, it's common sense, history & experience as well.

I hope I am wrong about this new, nice looking instrument & that it will become the Dream Guitar you are seeking as you play it in. And also that it will remain unscathed in its lifetime. Of course, I don't know all the facts here. But I do have enough luthierie experience (218 acoustic guitars) to be able to make an educated guess in this case, visually. Ask your luthier about finishing the inside of the guitar, if he hasn't already.

Good Luck! Enjoy your new guitar, BrazGuy!

alohachris

Last edited by alohachris; 09-16-2021 at 11:31 PM.
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  #26  
Old 09-17-2021, 07:17 AM
BrazGuy BrazGuy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alohachris View Post
Aloha,

Hey BrasGuy (I never use Z's either), nice looking guitar. Not trying to spoil the mood, but you'd better make sure that your luthier finishes the inside of your new BRW guitar as well - post-construction. Why?

Although you may have fallen in love with that completely flat-sawn back & sides set of Brazilian Rosewood, it is the absolute worst choice for a long-lasting, uncracked BRW steel-stringed acoustic guitar.

That is because BRW is about the worst of all species for cracking, & it really does not like changes in humidity. It hates an accidental sharp hit to it, or a bump against a mic stand, even in its case. And those are true whether it is quartered or flat-sawn BRW. This guitar body is all-flat-sawn BRW except for it's nice German Spruce top. And it's under 250 lbs. of pressure per square inch w/ steel strings. So...

But to me, flat-sawn BRW is the absolute worst choice for a long-lasting, stable, uncracked guitar, no matter its care. Note: I repaired hundreds of old cracked BRW Martin's, & way fewer EIRW (or other species of RW) guitars. Long ago, I also travelled & gigged with BRW guitars. I also tracked & hand-selected my entire supply of BRW kants in the 70's in Sao Paulo. So I know (& love) the species & its issues here.

Now,.....IMO, a luthier should lightly finish the inside of such a guitar as yours in order to reduce the overall mosture-exchange rate & thus, give this guitar a chance to survive more than a year or two - uncracked. It's common sense based on history & knowledge. AND it's the traditional approach that luthiers have understood & applied for 1000+ years, until recently. Quarter-sawn wood is what you use in musical instruments. Not flat-cut.

Today's luthiers, in today's economy, with a dwindling supply of tropical tonewoods, & with this raging COVID in control, will always try to satisfy the customer's every wish in building their dream guitar...and also try to keep the orders coming in. Unfortunately, that includes choosing flat-sawn guitar sets or even promoting them as an option for the customer to choose - often in BRW b/c of its mystique, rarity & many values.

Many luthiers don't even source BRW any longer because it's largely unavailble or what is available is of unacceptable quailty. It's also on the CITES list of endangered species (since 1991) & so would make it difficult for you to travel with it to many countries.

Yes, there are almost no quarter-sawn BRW planks or kants readily out there any more, even recycled wood or in Brasil. As a coastal wood, it was easy for humans to love it to death, But, that, FOR ME, is no excuse for using today's inferior woods now just because it's pretty & Dalbergia nigra.

Questions: Was this guitar constructed & finished in a dehumidified shop? Where will it mostly be played?

The only scenario that I can see for the woods used in this guitar surviving is if you keep your guitar ALL the time in a solid, humidified case,. Or, you don't play very often or out at all, and never, ever travel or use an airline with this flat-cut BRW guitar. And still it will probably crack someday.

Additionally, if you experience large seasonal humidity changes where you live, you MUST consider that strongly every year when you turn on indoor heating sources to protect your guitar accordingly from the drying air & moisture loss, pressured tonewoods' biggest enemy.

I cannot say that I've never used slightly off-quartered BRW for my guitars/customers. But I can say that - despite stabilizing my woods for at least 10 years in a dehumidified shop, taking all precautions in design & finishing to protect them inside & out, - BRW guitars, by far, cracked more than any other species I used overtime. So, it's not just theory talking here, it's common sense, history & experience as well.

I hope I am wrong about this new, nice looking instrument & that it will become the Dream Guitar you are seeking as you play it in. And also that it will remain unscathed in its lifetime. Of course, I don't know all the facts here. But I do have enough luthierie experience (218 acoustic guitars) to be able to make an educated guess in this case, visually. Ask your luthier about finishing the inside of the guitar, if he hasn't already.

Good Luck! Enjoy your new guitar, BrazGuy!

alohachris
Thanks for your experience and your comments, as mentioned I could choose some straight grain BRW, but I have experience with straight grain for over 9 years on my dread and never experienced any problems, and for this one I wanted something different, insane and flat saw, I never built guitars on my life, but talking w/ the luthier and other builders they all said that quarter or flat BRW don't affect the sound but flar are harder to work with, so I decided to use the flat and figured one over the straight ones that he picked. And yes! The inside of the guitar is finished with a thin sprayed coat of polyU for better control of humidity, and this set was resaw in mid 80's by the luthier's father so the lumber was cut a long time ago (prior the CITES I believe). I really appreciate your comments and concerns, but I have some experience (nothing like yours of course) taking care of BRW and never experienced any trouble.

If that makes you feel safe, my next one (000-12 fret) will be quarter BRW from the same builder, with the same precautions and constructed (as this one) in a dehumidified shop.

Again thank for your time and consideration!
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Acoustic guitars are like beer, the next one will always be the best.

Cordeiro OM (bear claw german/brw)
Rosa Dreadnought (adi/brw)
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  #27  
Old 09-17-2021, 07:22 AM
BrazGuy BrazGuy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alohachris View Post
Aloha,

Hey BrasGuy (I never use Z's either), nice looking guitar. Not trying to spoil the mood, but you'd better make sure that your luthier finishes the inside of your new BRW guitar as well - post-construction. Why?
Actually was my mistake, I receive the pictures of the guitar being sealed, but I don't take care and time to post it here

Quote:
Originally Posted by alohachris View Post
AND it's the traditional approach that luthiers have understood & applied for 1000+ years, until recently. Quarter-sawn wood is what you use in musical instruments. Not flat-cut.
Now, I can't agree with you on this statement, big companies as Bourgeois, Santa Cruz, Huss&Dalton, Collings... are making guitars using flat saw not only BRW as well EIR or MAD-ROS, as well great builders as Ryan from Ryan Guitars, Mr O'Brien, Nathaniel Wright and so on. Quarter saw wood on top makes a lot of difference, actually non quarter saw spruce or any conifer don't make guitars, but about B/S I see a lot of great guitars (even true vintage Martins) that uses flat wood, it's better or worst? I don't know, but if was good enough for CF back in the late 40's early 50's (I believe that is the date of the guitar that a saw once on instagram sitting on a neck re-set bench) and is good for this high end companies and builders, are good enough for me, a guy who just wants a great sounding guitar to love.
__________________
Acoustic guitars are like beer, the next one will always be the best.

Cordeiro OM (bear claw german/brw)
Rosa Dreadnought (adi/brw)

Last edited by BrazGuy; 09-17-2021 at 09:33 AM.
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