Brentrup Guitars and Mandolins

[pgilmor]

If this forum had a "like" button, mine would have been worn out on this thread.

[Haans]

Thanks, Joe, guess we're just a couple of "retro guys".
The dots are actually encircled by brass tubing. Long story, and don't care for the effect, but didn't want to waste the F/B.
Much as I prefer the GC, been playin' the parlor a lot to break it in. Lot of sound for such a small guitar.
Pglmor, thanks! Very kind...least there's a few of us out there! Someday I'll step out of convention and start posting a mandolin build.
Got a couple of coats on the BRW (deja vu all over again) and all looks good this time.

[maurerfan]

Count me in as an enthusiastic "retro guy" ... all the modernist stuff that seems so prevalent on this forum doesn't do much for me. I'll say it again, your Larsonesque purfling work really does it for me ... thanks for carrying on with this aesthetic in your craft.

[Haans]

Well, that makes about 6 of us...
Guess the rest are going to HGF.
Here are some better resolution photos of the completed instrument. I won't take the good cameras down to the shop for obvious reasons.



Bridge and purfling detail. This is the older purfling with split herringbone.



Nicely bookmatched ray and flake on QS white oak back.



Lots of ray and flake on the ribs too.



Thanks for looking, folks!

[ewh2]

Beautiful guitar.

Looking forward to seeing/hearing the Hormigo GC. The dyed White Oak is very beautiful.

I'm a retro fan myself too. The designs/visual aesthetics look great but what I like the retro revivalists like Haans/Tony Klassan/etc instruments are the punchy sounds. Difficult to describe but it's the kind of guitar sound which is suited to quite fast fingerpicking with Dunlop Nickel fingerpicks eg Ragtime pieces/John Fahey stuff. A lot of the modernist guitars seem great for slow pieces (a la Celtic stuff) or material which suits modern playing characterised by a lot of tapping etc.

It's great to see guys like Haans provide some interesting alternatives.

[Steve Kinnaird]

Hans that's really sweet. That back is perfect.
Can mere mortals obtain WO like that?

Steve

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by Haans

Well, that makes about 6 of us...
Guess the rest are going to HGF.
......

Did you already count me? If not, make the count for "retro guys" 7 please.

Your recent guitars are looking fantastic Hans. Hopefully you'll have one or two that you could bring along to a future AGF get-together. Or otherwise maybe we could just meet for coffee.

Take care,
Chuck

[Haans]

Sorry Chuck, 7... I'll try to make the next get together.
Steve, this mere mortal is still looking for more of that stuff too. Very difficult to find. I stop by our best hardwood lumber yard quite frequently, but I'm afraid this is old growth wood. It's the last I had like this. I have some that is not like that but very good. Not the "instrument grade" stuff that I just bought. Drop me a line via email. What dimensions do you need? How long till you will need it?
ewh2, thank you! Just trying to keep some dying parts of guitar building alive.
Tonally, a large part of what you are talking about is, I believe, ladder bracing. I developed my X and W bracing to capture that tone with some structural modifications. It's a strong sound. Not delicate at all, although the GC's with the X bracing are more full sounding, and the BRW should be capable of delicate. Should build a GC with W bracing sometime...
So, here's the Hormigo GC top and back...
Top is very stiff. Had to add a couple of wings, but they will be covered by the purfling.



Hormigo back. Extreme, almost metallic bell like sound.

[Haans]

Pretty busy yesterday...
Glued the neck on the MJ-12. You can also see the strips of spruce and wenge surfaced and ready to glue up for bracing on the Hormigo GC.



Bent one of the Hormigo ribs. Rib was spritzed with SS2, left to soak in for a few hours and misted with water just before bending. Bent easily.



After the sandwich cools down, I remove the blanket, outside stainless, and paper towel to let the wood dry overnight.



Some of the laminated bracing glued up.

[Haans]

Had to brace the oak back after making up bracing. Now it can sit in the shop safely...





Inlayed the rosette yesterday. The outer purfling pieces are bent around a form and allowed to dry. Meanwhile the slots are carefully cut with a sharp bit.
Dial calipers used to keep everything even and the right size.



A Proxxon tool mounted in a Stew-Mac jig does a good job,



Rosette inlayed and ready for the center red/black/white purfling. Will sand pretty flush before doing that.

[maurerfan]

Looking good Haans! Nice grain on the oak ...should show nicely once under finish.

I can see your back bracing is tall and laminated .. vs. .. the more common Larson 6 braces w/ 4 & 5 low/flat .. such as depicted below. Curious about your thinking on this ...

[Haans]

Maurer, apparently, when the Larson bros. were building instruments, it was felt that the low braces opposite the bridge area helped the tone by not interfering with the reflecting waves. Now it's felt that the sound waves bounce all around inside the box. From what I can gather (mostly from the print that I got from GAL) Larson backs were pretty thin. Mine are a bit thicker, and as far as number of braces, 4 brace backs are pretty proven, and with such a high radius, it's all well supported structurally. Bracing can be sized differently too, when it's laminated. I've kinda always believed in tall, thin bracing. Something to remember is the function of the back. Lots of guitars are built with reflecting backs, especially dreadnaughts. Others are built with resonating backs. Mine resonate...
Finished the rosette yesterday and it turned out well.
Cutting the center strips on a Proxxon table saw.



Sections glued in.



Rough sanded.



Center disc cut out and showing the interesting style of Larson inner ring treatment.



Detail of rosette, sanded to 180 grit.

[Steve Kinnaird]

Cool little saw, Hans. What is that?
Oh...and beautiful work as always!

Steve

[Haans]

Steve, it's a Proxxon mini table saw. I used to cut the center strips on the bandsaw, but it left ragged edges on the strips. Then I found a used Proxxon on the bay. Makes the cuts a lot smoother.

http://www.micromark.com/microlux-mi...-use,7500.html

Didn't get anything done yesterday as I had to help the Boss.

[Haans]

Managed to get a little work done yesterday.
Here's the neck and tailblocks made and glued on the Hormigo ribs.



Here is the MJ-12 bridge ready for final sanding and gluing.



Also laid out the bracing on the top...