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Build Thread: Indian Hill Short-scale Ziricote/Cedar for La Conner
Greetings!
I had an absolute blast at the La Conner show last year so when I was asked to show my guitars again at this year's festival there was no way I was going to turn that invite down! One of the great things about building guitars for shows is that it can be a good excuse to experiment and try some new things without having to convince a customer first. So, for this year's show I decided to finally build something I've been dreaming of for a while and I'm SO excited for it! Some of my favorite instruments of the past few years have been my tenor guitars. They always seem to have this incredible power and clarity that just sings and is not what you would not expect from such a small body. Here are a couple for reference... The only problem with tenor guitars is that, being uncommon, most people don't know how to play them! So, I decided it's time to build a short-scale 6-string version and try to capture some of that magic tone in a more accessible instrument. Essentially, this will be akin to a regular guitar as if it had a permanent capo on the second fret and built on my tenor body. Almost every day when I sit down to play guitar I pop a capo on the second fret right away -- comfort wise I love playing in that position, vocally it suits me better, and, well, I just find it more fun! So... on to the build... This guitar is going to have ziricote back/sides with a sinker cedar top. I've built three guitars with tops from the same batch and they're all in my top 5 or 6 of the past few years. I LOVE this wood! Here's a shot of laminating the sides and another of the rim getting joined.... Ziricote can be highly prone to cracking so with that in mind I decided to laminate my back as well... And as a quick aside I thought I'd share a shot from our weekly shop cleanup/meeting/hangout from this past week.... A couple of shop members get discussed on the forum so for the curious that's Jeremy Clark (52 Instrument Co.) with the white t-shirt, Joel Michaud (Michaud Made) sitting facing the camera, and Nic Delisle (Island Instrument Manufacture) with the beard playing chess. And a couple of the guys are antsy for me to get on with this build so they can build one next! Thanks for looking and more soon! Last edited by IndianHillMike; 04-02-2018 at 10:08 AM. |
#2
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Sounds like a fantastic idea Mike! The woods look great too. Would be interested to follow this one
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#3
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How typically Canadian - it's a co-operative where they build guitars, share space, tools, ideas etc. Plus a generous helping of Moosehead beer!
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#4
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That's very clever how your mold doubles up to be your laminate jig, well done...
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#5
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No trouble getting the sides to fit in the mold that way I guess.
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Fred |
#6
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Quote:
Exactly! I figure why mess around trying to make two molds that will perfectly match each other -- plus, with 4 different shapes only having one mold per shape sure saves a lot of space! |
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This guitar is moving right along and I hope to have most of the woodwork done on the body by the end of the week. One huge benefit of using structured sides (that's what my shopmates and I decided to call the extra thick sides we've been building with recently) is that the initial stages seem to fly by. Since they will be laminated, the individual pieces of the sides can be a bit thinner which makes bending much easier and faster. Once laminated there's less sanding required and no messing around with liners so it's basically ready to glue the back on!
This guitar will have an elevated neck which means there will be a bit more vertical/perpendicular pull on the top due to the increased angle the strings hit the bridge. You know how old guitars belly and the bridges twist towards the neck? I'm convinced that that twist and change in the direction of force is one of the things that helps make older guitars sounds so good. In a way, an elevated neck is helping simulate that effect. In this case it's not the bridge twisting towards the neck, but the neck is rising up and "twisting" towards the bridge. With all that in mind I like to use a lattice pattern (and it's even distribution of support) for my elevated neck guitars which means lots of braces going over and under each other... That's it for now, thanks again for following along! |
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Really looking forward to watching this one come together Mike ... looks great so far!!!
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David Wren |
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Quote:
Only time for a quick update today -- here's the top braced, carved, ringing like a bell, and ready to be glued on... With the top done and attached, it's always a nice step to get it a bit more cleaned up and see how things are looking. This rosette has radial ziricote for the main rosette and sound hole binding, surrounded by some radial arariba. The arariba was one of those random and too small boards hidden in a pile at the local fancy woods store for $5.95 that's perfect for this kind of accent work. I find the subtle transitions between sunset-like colors to be quite beautiful! For a little insight into how a guitar maker's mind works (well, mine at least) there's a pretty small detail in that rosette that most people will never notice but, ideally, still have some sense of. If you look at the outermost purfling line in the rosette (the dark brown Peruvian walnut) you'll notice it's just a bit thicker than the corresponding walnut line on the inside. The thickness of the two strips are in the golden ratio and I feel the difference, combined with the radial lines, creates some ever so subtle movement towards the center of the circle. Small details but I love thinking about that kind of thing! That's it for today and time to get up to the shop! Mike |
#10
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One last update before I head down to Pennsylvania tomorrow for the Artisan Guitar Show this weekend! The woodwork is finished on the body for this one and the neck is moving right along. Here are the various pieces of the elevated neck at the beginning of the process...
Once the neck angle is set and the tenon cut, I glue on the extension with a wackload of clamps... I've been varnishing over the last few days and now that it's flat and level it will hang for a week before french polishing... For those that might be going, I'll have my most recent f-hole guitar at the Artisan show... Hopefully meet some of you there! Mike |
#11
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It's been a busy couple of weeks in the shop since the Artisan Guitar Show getting this one finished up and ready for La Conner. Seeing as I'm currently sitting in the Philadelphia airport on my way out to Seattle it's definitely time for an update!
I still had a nice bit of ziricote with some sapwood to use for the headstock... I'm really happy with how the radial arariba turned out for the top purfling... I always enjoy carving and defining the lines of the volute in the back of the headstock... As usual I french polished this one. When you french polish you definitely get used to your polishing material and I try to make it last. I had this bit for a year or two but at this point it's more holes than material and has polished its last guitar... I'm incredibly pleased with how this one turned out -- being so small it's very very comfortable to play but if you close your eyes you would never guess the size. I'll post a few more final photos in the next day or two and hopefully some of you will get a chance to try it out in person! Mike |
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I'll be there for a bit on the Friday morning...
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#13
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Mike - we've met at a couple of shows (most memorably Healdsburg where you were voiceless!) and I'm looking forward to seeing you again this weekend -- and in seeing this interesting guitar.
Thanks! Phil |
#14
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I wish I could try this out! I've been dreaming about this very thing. We do so many songs in D and A at bluegrass jams that I'm capoed at the second fret more often than not. Post a video if you get the chance.
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Hatcher Woodsman, Collings 0002H, Stella Grand Concert |
#15
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Looks great Mike! I’ll swing by to see them.
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