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  #61  
Old 09-24-2020, 10:39 AM
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Here it is! Wow, gorgeous. Sorry I wasn't following along from the beginning.
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  #62  
Old 09-25-2020, 09:48 AM
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Congrats! Looks fabulous!

I love following Tom's builds, all the more so as a Sands player myself. And even more so as someone who has (wood choices apart) a very similarly spec'd fan fretted Sands Model M due to start next year! So I'm super keen to find out how you get on, particularly with the scale lengths and parallel fret positioning (what was the thinking behind 12th fret?).

Best,

Dan
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  #63  
Old 09-25-2020, 09:56 AM
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That looks glorious. I love the backstrap!
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  #64  
Old 09-27-2020, 07:09 PM
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We demand photos under finish!!!!!!
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  #65  
Old 09-29-2020, 11:10 AM
Vaillant75 Vaillant75 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nobo View Post
Congrats! Looks fabulous!

I love following Tom's builds, all the more so as a Sands player myself. And even more so as someone who has (wood choices apart) a very similarly spec'd fan fretted Sands Model M due to start next year! So I'm super keen to find out how you get on, particularly with the scale lengths and parallel fret positioning (what was the thinking behind 12th fret?).

Best,

Dan
Hi Dan,
To be honest I very much trusted Tom on the scale length design, since I believe he mostly built 25-26s - excluding Beverly - so ended up going with his preference. I simply had a couple of beliefs:

1/ I love 12 fretters, and Tom's past M-12s have consistently impressed me. Adding a cutaway to the mix allows to keep good access on the dusty end of the fretboard. So clearly no compromise there.
2/ I play 50-60% of the time in open tunings (down to C), so the fan fret arrangement seemed like a reasonable option. I must admit that I first did a lot of research on the span, but ultimately trusted Tom.
I like having 25 (short scale) on the trebles, and 25.75 (something I considered) or 26 did not seem like a major difference to me.

All in all, not the most advanced thinking, but I know I should be pleased with the result. Also interested to understand what's the reasoning behind redwood/mahogany? Does that complement your current collection well?


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Originally Posted by matthewpartrick View Post
We demand photos under finish!!!!!!
And I'll oblige! Tom sent it to finish early last week, so it should not be too long..

Last edited by Vaillant75; 09-29-2020 at 11:32 AM.
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  #66  
Old 10-05-2020, 02:45 AM
nobo nobo is offline
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Originally Posted by Vaillant75 View Post
Hi Dan,
To be honest I very much trusted Tom on the scale length design, since I believe he mostly built 25-26s - excluding Beverly - so ended up going with his preference. I simply had a couple of beliefs:

1/ I love 12 fretters, and Tom's past M-12s have consistently impressed me. Adding a cutaway to the mix allows to keep good access on the dusty end of the fretboard. So clearly no compromise there.
2/ I play 50-60% of the time in open tunings (down to C), so the fan fret arrangement seemed like a reasonable option. I must admit that I first did a lot of research on the span, but ultimately trusted Tom.
I like having 25 (short scale) on the trebles, and 25.75 (something I considered) or 26 did not seem like a major difference to me.

All in all, not the most advanced thinking, but I know I should be pleased with the result. Also interested to understand what's the reasoning behind redwood/mahogany? Does that complement your current collection well?
Seems like sensible thinking to me! I have a tendency to overthink these sorts of things, whereas "in Tom we trust" is a sound approach. So I'm tempted to follow suit! We shall see...!

As for wood choices, I've always loved the sound of mahogany (particularly on larger bodied guitars). Lovely midrange and growl, and a sort of dry, woodiness (whereas I tend to thing of more viterous woods as sounding more glassy/metallic/crystalline). I think hog works particularly well on guitars with a lot of overtones (e.g. Lowdens with cedar tops) and with the massive bass and inherent reverb you get on Somoygyi school guitars. Tom also builds with particularly sweet trebles, which can otherwise sometimes get a bit raspy/brittle with mahogany, so I figured it'd be perfect for a built with Tom. I also found a set I fell in love with...

As for redwood, I've never owned a redwood guitar, but thought it'd give me responsiveness, a fast attack but also some warmth to round out the mahogany.

Added to which, redwood/hog will nicely round out the collection - the guitars that get most of the action being Beverly - Swiss Moon Spruce/Ovangkol - so more vitreous b/s; my Kostals (including a Euro/Madrose OM) and my Wingert (German/Braz). In the longer term, fear I may struggle to justify holding on to 2 Kostals as well as 2 Sands ... Beverly is certainly here to stay, and I'm confident my Sands M will be too. I just can't quite get my head around parting with either of the Kostals! I suspect I'll have to wait until needs must, but since we'll need quite a chunk of money soon to adapt our house to our son's needs, I fear that day is coming!

Looking forward to seeing your Sands in all it's glossy finery!

Best,

Dan
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  #67  
Old 11-02-2020, 05:06 AM
Vaillant75 Vaillant75 is offline
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Hi gents,

The guitar is back from finish and Tom is waiting from the Scheller tuners to arrive from Germany. Frets are ready and I am hoping to see guitar stringed up by the end of the week. France is back to lockdown for at least 4 weeks so this build is like a ray of sunshine on a rainy day..

I haven't see the finished guitar cohesively yet but I am happy to share some elements of it. Again, the picture quality does not do it justice, but I trust your imagination .

First the top. Really high quality stuff, some good silking and no runnout at all. "It's like a snow drift" told Tom, If only I was a better skier..
Jokes aside, Tom really has access to great Swiss moon spruce.

finished top.jpg

Then a hint of the rosette, which comes to life under finish. It's Tom's signature element and I like the color palette he went for. The gold will match nicely with the streaked ebony of the fingerboard / headstock.

finished rosette.jpg
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  #68  
Old 11-02-2020, 05:32 AM
Vaillant75 Vaillant75 is offline
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I appreciate that Tom is willing to depart from the established guitar aesthetics, especially dark ebony. I love dark ebony, but the streaked stuff has been growing on me. At the end of the day it's about harmony and the fingerboard / headstock grain continuity with the bridge should be a nice theme.

Here is the headstock. No copper inlay, so the wood does the talking.

Headstock.jpg

Nice marbling on the side of the fingerboard. I am admirative of the level of craftsmanship achieved by luthiers. Also Tom decided to dye the fingerboard blue, what do you guys think?

123606651_1012320489285210_7478775747148861513_n.jpg

And I kept the bling for the end, here is the full copper blackplate under finish. We're going for gold hardware to match the color palette.

Backplate copper.jpg

As always, thanks for following. Not too long before the big reveal..
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  #69  
Old 11-02-2020, 05:35 AM
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That headstock slays.
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  #70  
Old 11-03-2020, 10:24 AM
Vaillant75 Vaillant75 is offline
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Thanks Marc, Can't wait for you to ding it once lockdown is over
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  #71  
Old 11-04-2020, 04:20 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vaillant75 View Post
Thanks Marc, Can't wait for you to ding it once lockdown is over


I’ll make sure to bring the beer then ding your dear.
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  #72  
Old 11-04-2020, 10:18 AM
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This is just absolutely beautiful!!! I am sure you are over the moon with anticipation...

Hang in there. Soon....

Stay vigilant and stay well!

Paul
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  #73  
Old 11-09-2020, 01:58 PM
Vaillant75 Vaillant75 is offline
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Originally Posted by Guitars44me View Post
This is just absolutely beautiful!!! I am sure you are over the moon with anticipation...

Hang in there. Soon....

Stay vigilant and stay well!

Paul
Spot on! Tom should put the finishing touches next week. I start having dreams about the guitar, should I consult someone?...

Thanks for weighing in and following along Paul.

Last edited by Vaillant75; 11-09-2020 at 02:03 PM. Reason: typo
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  #74  
Old 11-21-2020, 02:14 PM
Vaillant75 Vaillant75 is offline
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Gents we're getting close. Tom is putting the finishing touches and the guitar should be stringed up next week.

Before seeing the full guitar, he first sent me some pictures and a video of the neck that I want to share here. This is crelicam ebony and copper treatment on the backplate (and Scheller handmade tuners). Please have a look at the video to see the result in higher quality:



from fini.jpg

Back fini.jpg

Next time it will be the full package!
As always, thanks for looking.
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  #75  
Old 11-21-2020, 04:29 PM
MThomson MThomson is offline
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Looking forward to seeing the whole package on this one. Been watching it come along and think that it's one of the nicest I've seen from Mr Sands. I'm sure it'll sound incredible too. Hope the waiting isn't too hard.
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