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#61
06-26-2019, 10:15 AM
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I mentioned that, at my request, Tom was doing something special with the finish on the neck.
I’ve found that when I play a guitar with a neck that has a glossy finish, it tends to grip my hand slightly when I change chord positions, producing faint but audible squeaks. In the mandolin world we eliminate this by what are called “speed necks”, similar to the barely-there finishes on violin necks. Many mandolin builders will provide speed necks on their instruments on request, and it’s also a fairly common after-market modification. Basically, the finish & stain are removed from the neck down to the bare wood and it’s then given a very light sealer. The procedure works well and feels silky smooth, but it does look a bit strange on an instrument that has a stain and glossy finish everywhere else. Here’s a pic of the speed neck on my Michael Heiden mandolin done by the builder himself.  I asked Tom for something that felt similar, but integrated better visually with the rest of the guitar, so when the body was sent off to California to have the French polish finish applied, Tom kept the neck to apply the finish himself. The headplate, backplate and heel cap will get a glossy French polish finish, while the back of the neck will have a satin finish. Here you can see that the neck has had a black pore fill applied that really makes the mahogany’s grain pop with dimension and contrast. I’ve seen a few guitars that have had a similar treatment and I really like the look. More to come...  
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Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern. Last edited by jmagill; 07-16-2019 at 04:03 PM. 
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#62
06-27-2019, 12:01 PM
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Nice touch, Jim.
My McCarty has a raw (or close to) BRW neck. It feels so nice and like you say; silent and precise. Tom, sign me up! Quote:
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The Electrics check The Acoustics Tom Doerr - Trinity. Flamed Maple under Swiss Tom Doerr - M/D. Braz under Red
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#63
06-28-2019, 05:07 AM
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Quote:
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Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern.
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#64
06-30-2019, 05:00 AM
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Here, Tom’s holding a ‘fad’, made of absorbent cotton or wool cloth wadding inside of a piece of soft fabric (usually cotton) and used for applying the French polish finish.
 The backplate, before & after the French polish is applied…   …and the headplate. These two 'after' shots give the first indication of what this particular set of Brazilian rosewood will look like under finish.  
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Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern. Last edited by jmagill; 07-20-2019 at 07:22 AM.
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#66
07-03-2019, 11:28 AM
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First looks at the neck’s satin finish. Hope it plays as good as it looks. The French polished body should be heading back to Tom next week. Next up: bridge & fretwork.
 
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Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern.
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#67
07-06-2019, 05:25 AM
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Since someone asked in a PM, this guitar will also have a passive Schatten HFN pickup installed internally on the bridgeplate.
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Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern. Last edited by jmagill; 07-20-2019 at 07:23 AM.
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#68
07-11-2019, 05:34 PM
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The body is back from California with a beautiful, shiny new French polish finish.
 Gotta love the colors in this set of Brazilian rosewood. Tom tells me it was probably harvested in the 1920's, nearly 100 years ago. Well quarter-sawn wood with that much age on it makes it a bit more fragile, but with sustain and overtones superior to any other wood in his stash.  Very pleased with the rosette's rich colors under finish... 
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Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern. Last edited by jmagill; 07-17-2019 at 05:11 AM.
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#69
07-13-2019, 05:38 AM
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Quote:
...The wood rings better and ... coloring becomes much richer. Also, the internal stresses relax out (sometimes by cracking) but whatever it wanted do it pretty much has done leaving a much more stable board. There are other aspects to this too. Heat and humidity make wood expand and shrink. This reaction is reduced with repeated cycles. As wood matures it gains a more musical and complex sound quality and the sustain increases. ...
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Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern. Last edited by jmagill; 07-16-2019 at 06:57 AM.
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#71
07-13-2019, 08:30 AM
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Quote:
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Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern.
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#72
07-13-2019, 10:28 AM
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Anticipation....
I bet this knocks your socks off!
Have FUN Paul
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3 John Kinnaird SS 12c CUSTOMS: Big Maple/Cedar Dread Jumbo Spanish Cedar/WRC Jumbo OLD Brazilian RW/WRC R.T 2 12c sinker RW/Claro 96 422ce bought new! 96 LKSM 12 552ce 12x12 J. Stepick Bari Weissy WRC/Walnut More
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#73
07-13-2019, 11:29 AM
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One of the most beautiful sets of Braz I"ve ever seen!! The word, Masterpiece, is not an over statement for this instrument!
Just amazing, Jim!
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1993 Bourgeois JOM 1967 Martin D12-20 2007 Vines Artisan 2014 Doerr Legacy 2013 Bamburg FSC- 2002 Flammang 000 12 fret 2000 McCollum Grand Auditorium ______________________________ Soundcloud Spotify Mike McKee/Fred Bartlett Spotify playlist
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#74
07-14-2019, 02:36 PM
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Quote:
Nowadays, with so much of the Brazilian rosewood we see from builders being stump wood, wood with a lot of dramatic figuring, or wood repurposed from furniture, old house beams, etc. due to its scarcity, I’m still pleasantly surprised that some builders still have old-growth Braz. sets this well-quartered, this old, and this straight-grained for use in new instruments. The straight-grained Brazilian we see in vintage Martins, what many call 'the good stuff', is darker and fairly uniform in grain and color, without a lot of visual interest, so I think the little imperfections in the grain and variations in the colors of this set were just a bonus that add character to the wood. Here’s another shot of the back without quite so much reflection obscuring the grain. Click on it to see a closeup. Can’t wait to see it in person. 
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Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern. Last edited by jmagill; 07-20-2019 at 07:26 AM.
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#75
07-16-2019, 05:11 AM
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Tom has finished the bridge. Like so many other elements of this guitar, it's 'rosewood-bound-in-ebony', made from the same plank of Brazilian.
In a previous build, Leo Buendia convinced me that his teacher, Ervin Somogyi, was onto something by specifying rosewood for bridges instead of ebony, due to rosewood's reduced damping and higher 'Q' factor. The bridge is a critical component in the direct transfer of energy from the strings to the top, and by following his advice, Leo made me a pretty spectacular guitar, so, yeah, I'm now a rosewood bridge convert. The ebony binding diminishes that Q factor some, and it was the only instance during this build where I chose to accept less than the maximum tone possible for the sake of aesthetics. I went back & forth on this for quite a while, but ultimately decided that, if the other structural choices we made in pursuit of our sonic goal were successful, the damping effect of a little binding would be minimized, and outweighed by the beauty of the bound bridge and its visual harmony with the other elements of the design. I considered it to be a concession, but a relatively small one. I told Tom I can't wait to see how this bridge complements the Braz.-bound-in-ebony fretboard and the ebony bridge pins inlaid with rosewood dots. It's really coming together as beautifully as I had hoped...   It's a little hard to see in the photos, but this bridge is stepped, meaning that the center section is raised, with the wings not quite as thick. Here's a photo of one of Tom's earlier bridge designs that shows it better.  Tom expects to have strings on this baby by the end of the week. Getting close... ...
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Jim Magill Director, The Swannanoa Gathering Guitars:'07 Circa OM, '09 Bashkin 00-12fret, '10 Circa 00 12-fret, '17 Buendia Jumbo, '17 Robbins R.1, '19 Doerr Legacy Select, '12 Collings 000-28H Koa. Pre-War guitars: '20 0-28, '22 00-28, '22 000-28. Mandolins: '09 Heiden Heritage F5, '08 Poe F5 , 1919 Gibson F-4, '80 Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin, '83 Monteleone GA (oval),'85 Sobell cittern. Last edited by jmagill; 07-20-2019 at 07:29 AM.
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