Hatcher's Studio 2022

[Nemoman]

Beautiful, Mark--very classy!

[Scallywag]

I’ve been watching your studio threads for years and I don’t think I can hold out for much longer. I love these guitars.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Beautiful, Mark--very classy!

Thanks Nemoman!

Originally Posted by Scallywag

I’ve been watching your studio threads for years and I don’t think I can hold out for much longer. I love these guitars.

Thanks Scallywag. I’d be happy to help you with that!

m

[Mark Hatcher]

With the body all closed up it's time to do the binding:





We are going with African Blackwood binding with black wood and Maple purfling on the back.

[Mark Hatcher]

We are going with a slothead design for this guitar. Here are some pictures of a top contender for the tuners:





These are Scheller tuners from Germany. Their stock tuners are now the standard offering included in my new 2022 base price. This set has upgraded Horn buttons.

m

[Dustinfurlow]

Love those tuners, and of course as always - the photography!

[canuck7]

Those are the tuners!! Perfect black on brass design and the engineering is second to none.

[TomB'sox]

Very pretty and very well made, great choice.

[nootis]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

We are going with a slothead design for this guitar. Here are some pictures of a top contender for the tuners:





These are Scheller tuners from Germany. Their stock tuners are now the standard offering included in my new 2022 base price. This set has upgraded Horn buttons.

m

As always, looking incredible Mark.

I always seem to get mixed up between Schaller and Schertler Tuners, and have to Google them to remind myself which is which. I figured maybe you misspelled Scheller?? After my Google attempt, I realize now that you know how to spell, and as you have demonstrated, they are quite attractive. Both Schaller and Schertler are great tuners (I prefer Schertler), but am now just learning about Scheller..... Scheesh!

I'd be curious to try them someday.

[Hierophant]

Being one of those lucky guys who's playing a maple guitar from Mark, I already can hear this beauty sing. It looks incredible and will sound even better.

These Scheller tuners are way better than the Schaller Grand Tune imho. Totally smooth, precise, even and looking better too. I use either Scheller or Gotoh 510mini with a 18:1 ratio.

[Mark Hatcher]

Thanks for the comments! I have a couple more photos showing features of the Schellers that I think make them so special:



Buttons, They have a large selection available in quality materials. These are the Horn buttons. There are several different sizes and shapes for the buttons but, I think their regular ones look great and are very comfortable.



See those little brass collars holding the worm gear. There are ball bearings in there which greatly increases the feel, accuracy, and longevity. Even the main gear is made of bronze which wears better than the brass I am used to seeing.



Look at that string roller. Even that is made of bronze while it floats on more ball bearings on both ends.



Here is the Scheller roller compared to what I am used to using. Which would you think is less fiddly to change strings? Which one do you think will be breaking more strings?

All these ball bearings and high tolerances help get rid of the interference between you and a tuned string. Scheller's claim is "You can feel the string."

Since I'm going on about how much I like these tuners I should say I don't work for these guys. I offer their standard tuners in my base price so I suppose I am committed in that sense. However, I choose to offer them because I believe they are most in line with the direction I am steering my work.

Originally Posted by Dustinfurlow

Love those tuners, and of course as always - the photography!

Thanks Dustin! Start looking, you have a build coming up!

Originally Posted by canuck7

Those are the tuners!! Perfect black on brass design and the engineering is second to none.

Glad you are taken with them too!

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Very pretty and very well made, great choice.

Thanks Tom!

Originally Posted by nootis

As always, looking incredible Mark.

I always seem to get mixed up between Schaller and Schertler Tuners, and have to Google them to remind myself which is which. I figured maybe you misspelled Scheller?? After my Google attempt, I realize now that you know how to spell, and as you have demonstrated, they are quite attractive. Both Schaller and Schertler are great tuners (I prefer Schertler), but am now just learning about Scheller..... Scheesh!

I'd be curious to try them someday.

Same here nootis. The similarity in names is an unfortunate coincidence. I went some years overlooking them just assuming it was Schertler or Schaller. They are a small company and their history is more in the classic guitar community. More recently they started offering products aimed for us steel stringers.

m

[Mark Hatcher]

I spoke about the precision of these Scheller tuners but, what is the benefit?
I have been using Schertler tuners and a long time and Gotoh 510s for even longer. They look great and work very well. They are smooth, reliable and are on many of the best guitars. I came up with this little experiment you can try at home and compare tuners for yourself;

With the strings off turn the tuner knob a couple times around and stop. Now turn the tuner knob the other way until the string post just starts to move, stop.
How far did you turn the knob before you get past the slop and the string post engaged? Do a couple of each brand so you can averages.

That is what I did with Gotoh, Schertler and Scheller. My results?
One brand had free play for a pretty consistent 21°. The other one was 72°.
The Scheller was a consistent 3°!

I cringe every time there is an expensive guitar being discussed and someone inevitable says "Wow! that xyz costs twice as much as my zyx guitar. Does it sound twice as good?" Scheller tuners cost quite a bit more than many other tuners but using the logic behind the above question they are an absolute bargain!

That is one of the things that precision does.

m

[Dustinfurlow]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

That is what I did with Gotoh, Schertler and Scheller. My results?
One brand had free play for a pretty consistent 21°. The other one was 72°.
The Scheller was a consistent 3°!

m

Wow. Really worthwhile, trial-based info!

[OM28V]

I'm fascinated by these tuners with their bearing approach. I'm suprised the string tension doesn't make them un-wind a little, lol.

It appears (from the pictures on their site) they offer 16-1 and 18-1 ratio.

I kinda wish I was in the market for a set.

Impeccable work Mark.

JV

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Dustinfurlow

Wow. Really worthwhile, trial-based info!

Thanks Dustin.

Originally Posted by OM28V

I'm fascinated by these tuners with their bearing approach. I'm suprised the string tension doesn't make them un-wind a little, lol.

It appears (from the pictures on their site) they offer 16-1 and 18-1 ratio.

I kinda wish I was in the market for a set.

Impeccable work Mark.

JV

We're all used to strings giving a little after being brought to tune but it's not from the worm gear slipping it's the string post slipping in those degrees of slop.


Well, I'm going to need a neck to put those tuners on:



We are using curly roasted Maple for the neck that came from the same billet as the back and sides. It will have an African Blackwood center laminate bordered with Maple and black purfling. It will be the same as and a continuation of the guitars back center strip.