Sexauer '23 (Chapter 2)

[Bruce Sexauer]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Beautiful Bruce! What type of wood is the bridge? It’s quite lovely!

The bridge is Pernambuco. It is the darker stuff I have, as is the binding and the head plates. It contrasts and compliments very nicely, IMO.

[Berf]

Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer

My latest flat top guitar, #332, is a big brick

That's quite some "brick"... very easy on the eye.
Are you incorporating sound ports into most of your builds these days Bruce?
Trust you are keeping well and coping with the El Nino heatwave we're hearing about in the news, Berf

[Treenewt]

Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer

The bridge is Pernambuco. It is the darker stuff I have, as is the binding and the head plates. It contrasts and compliments very nicely, IMO.

I agree! Really beautiful stuff Bruce.

[Bruce Sexauer]

Originally Posted by Berf

That's quite some "brick"... very easy on the eye.
Are you incorporating sound ports into most of your builds these days Bruce?
Trust you are keeping well and coping with the El Nino heatwave we're hearing about in the news, Berf

I do sound ports when asked to. Increasingly, I put them in my spec builds as well. So far, not in the more traditional Martin inspired designs, and doubt there will ever be one in a Schoenberg. My modest rendition of the side port certainly increases the guitar’s presence from the player’s perspective, and the damage done to the guitar’s projection seems mostly irrelevant in today’s world of sound reinforcement.

[Fawkes]

Randomly, I'd like to thank you for a video someone posted at YT of you putting peones in a flamenco guitar build. The freestyle way you are using a workboard in that video was very freeing for me as I contemplate a first guitar build. I've built other instruments and am not afraid of being held accountable for the quality of my bending, but if I never see another mold again it will be too soon.

[Bruce Sexauer]

Originally Posted by Fawkes

Randomly, I'd like to thank you for a video someone posted at YT of you putting peones in a flamenco guitar build. The freestyle way you are using a workboard in that video was very freeing for me as I contemplate a first guitar build. I've built other instruments and am not afraid of being held accountable for the quality of my bending, but if I never see another mold again it will be too soon.

The mold can be a boon to the factory with less than perfectly skilled workers, but it is a hindrance to growth for the hand builder who aspires to greatness. IMO, of course.

[tadol]

Well, I made it a point to run up to Petaluma and check this latest guitar out in person before it leaves. It is everything Bruce says - it has tremendous power and volume, while also having a crisp articulation and richness of overtones that seem characteristic of pernambuco. It can perhaps be best described as a “professional” guitar - anything less than well practiced style and technique shows itself clearly when playing, but when you get it right, the tone and clarity are beyond amazing. It may be in the top 2 or 3 guitars that Bruce has ever built -

That said - My style and technique are clearly not at the level demanded by an instrument of this quality. So while I did check, and Bruce does have one last set of master grade pernambuco large enough for an instrument like this, I really need to think about whether it would be inspirational to have one like it, or a constant reminder that I would probably never be the quality of player I want to be. And, I didn’t ask if he had another Adirondack top of similar quality, so there’s that, too -

And add to that, we also sat and played a few standards together, and I got more time on what he calls “Dread Lightly” - and it is such a fantastic guitar, with a balanced, dry tone more like a really great mahogany, and possibly much more conducive to a singer/songwriter player, as opposed to a strict instrumentalist. Such different guitars, yet either one would easily be a lifetime treasure. And thats without even mentioning the red narra OM, or the braz dread he has available, or the satinwood - yeah, always too much at Bruces shop (if you like guitars!)

[Bruce Sexauer]

The latest Pernambuco FT-16C has been shipped, and tracking says it will arrive before the end of day on Tuesday, well in advance of the looming UPS strike. This is a guitar that would NOT like to be lost in one of the increasing common weather bubbles we're seeing.

I do not have any guitar work at the moment, which works okay in light of the fact that if I had any, I would continue to succumb to my resistance to editing "the book". Like many writers before me, I find myself highly critical as I read through the nearly 100,000 words I have written so far. The book is highly anecdotal, autobiographical, and while there is probably enough hard core information in there to actually build guitar, it is intended to be more on the inspirational side. I am resistant to arranging it as step A through step Z as, for me, it is far more interesting to have the hard information in the context of my many (hopefully fascinating) life experiences.

Every now and again i read what seems like a nugget, and I offer one here:

My chief concern is balance. I rarely hear anyone talk about balance in the way that I think of it. Most people speak of it, if they do, in general term like "this guitar is bass heavy", or more commonly yet, "this guitar has no bass at all". And while that is indeed a type of balance, what I am looking for is every note to have a similar value, the goal being that whatever note is played, whatever the position, it is in tonal and dynamic balance with the other notes the guitar is capable of. The closer the guitar is to this ideal, the more competent it is as a tool for making music, and the less the player has to compensate for its inequalities. From this perspective, a guitar is only as good as its worst note.

Perhaps this is already familiar thinking to you, as you may have read similar words from me here in the forum over the years, but I liked reading it a few minutes ago.

[Treenewt]

Bruce, I am really looking forward to reading your book. I’ve long enjoyed your posts here, and that anecdote just whets the appetite for more.

[BrunoBlack]

I expect it will be nothing less than great. I look forward to the release.

Here’s a bit of a left turn: what guides your choice of truss rod? I’ve wondered why some builders conceal their TR and others (like you) have the end covered in headstock.

[Bruce Sexauer]

Originally Posted by Haasome

I expect it will be nothing less than great. I look forward to the release.

Here’s a bit of a left turn: what guides your choice of truss rod? I’ve wondered why some builders conceal their TR and others (like you) have the end covered in headstock.

Personally, I prefer the visual balance of my headstock with a truss rod cover on it. Also, it makes adjustment far easier. However, guitars made within the Martin paradigm virtually require that the adjustment end be inside the box. In reality, it is not important as far as the efficacy of the guitar is concerned, and I am happy to follow my customer’s preference if possible.

When I started out, I made my own truss rods. When rods became available from the supply houses I found them superior and never looked back. I prefer a single action rod for its smooth and predictable action, and near absolute reliability in service. I have not found anything that works better for me than LMIi’s TRST and TRSTA (different lengths) and use this same rod in both applications.

[Bruce Sexauer]

The pernambuco FT-16C has successfully negotiated the international customs maze and is in the hands of of the now 3X Sexauer guitar owner. More than an owner, actually, as all three guitars were commissioned and specified. I have a nice note from "him", and hope to receive permission to share it.

I visited Eric Schoenberg a couple of days ago and dropped off a few guitars for him to sell. The real news re the visit is that he commissioned a build while I was there. To me, that is. I will be making him a Myrtle/Euro single 0 with a cutaway. You are likely to hear more about that in the near future.

[Treenewt]

Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer

The pernambuco FT-16C has successfully negotiated the international customs maze and is in the hands of of the now 3X Sexauer guitar owner. More than an owner, actually, as all three guitars were commissioned and specified. I have a nice note from "him", and hope to receive permission to share it.

I visited Eric Schoenberg a couple of days ago and dropped off a few guitars for him to sell. The real news re the visit is that he commissioned a build while I was there. To me, that is. I will be making him a Myrtle/Euro single 0 with a cutaway. You are likely to hear more about that in the near future.

Bruce, getting that kind of response from a long-time customer must be very gratifying. And by that I mean both customers in this post. Congrats, and look forward to following the build along!

[Bruce Sexauer]

it is a short note, but I am delighted to hear such news.

Bruce,

Guitar is here!

After playing it for an hour, I'm so happy that I ordered a bigger one (FT-16) too! Pernambuco and red spruce from you is a magical combination and bigger size seems to add something more. Clarity and timbre are breathtaking. I have played only fingerstyle including some strumming with fingers and the guitar just delivers more and more.

Thank you for a magnificent guitar again!

[tadol]

Yeah - I am very glad to have made the time to hear that one before it shipped - and I agree, I need to rethink a larger build. Something that a larger body can deliver that a small one just can't quite achieve - close, but not the same -