My long awaited second Michaud Made build thread!

[Alex6strings]

I'd probably need medicating if I was having one of those made for me. I just looked over at my guitars after seeing your “Lucky Tree” and they looked like a pile of firewood. congrats man, this is gonna be a ride and this guitar will hold that history.

[IBKuz]

Marcus, I look forward to seeing what they cook up for you. Now I'm triple blessed with Michaud builds

[JJI]

Joel is a wonder with his less is more, modern design. He sent me, unbeknownst to Marcus, a number of designs. Ultimately he landed on this...and it's perfect. The picture is of Joel's progress with this design on the stunning Brazilian rosewood back of Marcus' guitar.
Hey Marcus...check this out!

[AEmanuele]

Stunning. Is that braz? Looks more like madi to me.

[Marcus Wong]

Oh my goodness... finally a decent photo of the back!!! And it is beautiful! I have a feeling I might know what the offset rectangles are going to be made of keep the updates coming Josh!!

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by Alex6strings

I'd probably need medicating if I was having one of those made for me. I just looked over at my guitars after seeing your “Lucky Tree” and they looked like a pile of firewood. congrats man, this is gonna be a ride and this guitar will hold that history.

Hahah thanks Alex. The process is pretty nerve wrecking with all the suspense involved. And every guitar is beautiful in its own way

Originally Posted by AEmanuele

Stunning. Is that braz? Looks more like madi to me.

Thanks Andrew. Well, that's good; it would make passing through customs more simple

[virob]

Three Michaud builds at the same time. Wow!
I'll be watching this one closely.

Marcus, Never having seen, let alone played a guitar made of Lucky strike or the Tree, can you articulate what you are looking for in this build? I have read that Lucky strike is like spruce on steroids, and the Tree being more like a rosewood than a mahogany. How do you expect this build to compliment your current guitar?

Mike

[cigarfan]

Beautiful back on your newest Michaud Marcus! Just gorgeous. I really enjoy the look and function of a florentine cutaway and your back inlay here looks exquisite! Congrats!

[Steve Kinnaird]

For the "misery loves company" department, Joel is probably having some sleepless nights as well!
I once traded guitars with good lutherie pal John Calkin. The idea was to build for each other what we thought the recipient would best appreciate. No input from the other, just build a guitar. It was, in a way, a test as to how well we knew each other. Like John said, it made for some emotionally charged time at the workbench.

So, what a fun concept for your build! This surely will add drama when it's delivery day for your guitar?

Tell that cowboy Michaud "hi" for us,

Steve

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by cigarfan

Beautiful back on your newest Michaud Marcus! Just gorgeous. I really enjoy the look and function of a florentine cutaway and your back inlay here looks exquisite! Congrats!

Thanks Dennis! Would have loved to keep this set of wood as a non-cutaway but I really do need it haha fortunately I am a fan of how the florentine cutaway looks too

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

For the "misery loves company" department, Joel is probably having some sleepless nights as well!
I once traded guitars with good lutherie pal John Calkin. The idea was to build for each other what we thought the recipient would best appreciate. No input from the other, just build a guitar. It was, in a way, a test as to how well we knew each other. Like John said, it made for some emotionally charged time at the workbench.

So, what a fun concept for your build! This surely will add drama when it's delivery day for your guitar?

Tell that cowboy Michaud "hi" for us,

Steve

I can imagine; Joel's asking me for input on the build but I tell him no hahah I guess when a trust exercise like this takes place, the person on the giving end has a fear that the recipient might not like the outcome. I don't see that being possible with Joel though, so he's worrying for nothing

I'll be sure to pass the message along thanks for dropping by Steve!

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by virob

Three Michaud builds at the same time. Wow!
I'll be watching this one closely.

Marcus, Never having seen, let alone played a guitar made of Lucky strike or the Tree, can you articulate what you are looking for in this build? I have read that Lucky strike is like spruce on steroids, and the Tree being more like a rosewood than a mahogany. How do you expect this build to compliment your current guitar?

Mike

Hey Mike. I would say that Lucky Strike (LS) is more like Redwood on steroids. It has the brightness and punch of Spruce, but also some of the warmth and overtones from Cedar. What separates LS from other Redwood is the fact that it is stiffer and more resonant. I personally feel that this aspect makes it more spruce-like than other Redwoods I have played, as well as having more headroom - I have strummed as hard as I can go without receiving a complaint from the neighbours, but can't seem to find the ceiling.

It is harder to tell what part in the sound the back plays, but it is definitely somewhere between Mahogany and Rosewood due to its heavier density. It has some of the "dry" fundamental of Mahogany, as well as some of the Rosewood reverb, but I cannot tell you exactly where it lies on that spectrum.

Of course, all these descriptions of sound have as much to do with Joel being the builder as with the wood combination

My "Lucky Tree" is an OM-R in LS/The Tree with a Scoop Cutaway, Manzer Wedge, Arm Bevel and Fan fret while my upcoming build will be an OM-R in Moon Spruce/BRW with a Florentine Cutaway and Manzer Wedge. Coming to a decision on options for this build wasn't easy as I didn't want to end up with something too similar to what I already have. I wanted to consider another body size but I felt that the OM-R was already perfect for me, and wanted another to complement my current one by giving it a different "flavour". This build would serve partially as a way to educate me on the nuances in different tone-woods, while also allowing me to tick off every option that Joel has to offer. Spruce/Rosewood has always been Joel's (and many other luthiers') favoured combination, and I have to say that I am more of a Spruce than Cedar guy, so it made sense to go down this route.

So I guess to answer your question, I think that this build would complement my current one in a way that the wood combination would impart a different tone, whilst still physically feeling very familiar to me. The options of a fan fret and different cutaways would also allow me to explore different songs on each guitar. And it just so turns out that the woods Joel has chosen for this build, allows me to own guitars in some of the most famous woods in guitar building, so I guess that's pretty cool

Hope I managed to answer your questions!

[virob]

Hi Marcus,

Thanks for your thoughtful response. I'll be very curious to hear your evaluation when you have both guitars to compare. Your are very lucky to have two such amazing guitars.
I have one of Joel's older builds (Lutz/Cocobolo) that I bought from Doug. It had a beefy neck profile of almost 1" at the first fret and I contacted Joel about shaving it down. I have been so impressed with the guitar and after a lot of back and forth with Joel, I find myself on his build list, but I'm a couple years from a start. We have tentatively, decided on an 0M-R Sitka/Panama Rosewood, cutaway and wedge, so you can see why I'm so interested in your build.

I'll probably end up selling this one which lacks a cutaway and has a slightly wider 1 13/16 neck, because otherwise they are going to be too similar.

Anyway, congrats on your new build, it looks gorgeous and I know you will be very pleased with it.

[invguy921]

Marcus, well I gotta say this is quite intriguing. Joel is a fine fellow. I met him and chatted with him in Memphis. I played one or two of his guitars and was absolutely impressed with him and his work...who wouldn't be, right??

I'm anxious to see how this turns out. I love the first one he built for you and I'm equally confident this one will not disappoint! Fun stuff! Thanks for sharing it.

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by invguy921

Marcus, well I gotta say this is quite intriguing. Joel is a fine fellow. I met him and chatted with him in Memphis. I played one or two of his guitars and was absolutely impressed with him and his work...who wouldn't be, right??

I'm anxious to see how this turns out. I love the first one he built for you and I'm equally confident this one will not disappoint! Fun stuff! Thanks for sharing it.

We both have exciting builds underway very much looking forward to what this build brings. I'm glad you had the opportunity to meet the guy and play his guitars, he is indeed one impressive dude

I am pretty sure that I would not be disappointed with this either!

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by virob

Hi Marcus,

Thanks for your thoughtful response. I'll be very curious to hear your evaluation when you have both guitars to compare. Your are very lucky to have two such amazing guitars.
I have one of Joel's older builds (Lutz/Cocobolo) that I bought from Doug. It had a beefy neck profile of almost 1" at the first fret and I contacted Joel about shaving it down. I have been so impressed with the guitar and after a lot of back and forth with Joel, I find myself on his build list, but I'm a couple years from a start. We have tentatively, decided on an 0M-R Sitka/Panama Rosewood, cutaway and wedge, so you can see why I'm so interested in your build.

I'll probably end up selling this one which lacks a cutaway and has a slightly wider 1 13/16 neck, because otherwise they are going to be too similar.

Anyway, congrats on your new build, it looks gorgeous and I know you will be very pleased with it.

Well, if an OM-R in Sitka/Panama is good enough for Michael Chapdelaine, I think you're in good company very much looking forward to your build down the road!