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  #16  
Old 01-08-2018, 02:20 PM
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cigarfan cigarfan is offline
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Met Tom last year at Artisan and played his 00 and OM. Stellar instruments. And Tom was very nice to speak with. This looks to be a really nice guitar. I’ll be following.
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  #17  
Old 01-10-2018, 02:39 PM
steveh steveh is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7 View Post
That’s a beautiful set of Padauk.... Do you know what variety it is?
So it turns out that I wasn't aware there were different types of Padauk, but I've asked a man who knows:

Tom says, "It's African padauk. Not to be confused with Burmease padauk"...apparently!

He gave me this link:

http://www.wood-database.com/african-padauk/

More drool very soon.

Cheers,
Steve
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  #18  
Old 01-10-2018, 02:50 PM
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iim7V7IM7 iim7V7IM7 is offline
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Thanks...there are three that I know of African, Andaman and Burma...

Quote:
Originally Posted by steveh View Post
So it turns out that I wasn't aware there were different types of Padauk, but I've asked a man who knows:

Tom says, "It's African padauk. Not to be confused with Burmease padauk"...apparently!

He gave me this link:

http://www.wood-database.com/african-padauk/

More drool very soon.

Cheers,
Steve
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  #19  
Old 01-10-2018, 08:03 PM
LouieAtienza LouieAtienza is offline
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Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7 View Post
Thanks...there are three that I know of African, Andaman and Burma...
LOL we used to call it vermillion... By the way, I absolutely love the smell of padauk, and wish they'd turn it into men's cologne. But the dust makes me sneeze instantaneously!
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  #20  
Old 01-11-2018, 04:22 AM
Michael Watts Michael Watts is offline
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LOL we used to call it vermillion... By the way, I absolutely love the smell of padauk, and wish they'd turn it into men's cologne. But the dust makes me sneeze instantaneously!
It does smell wonderful I have to agree!
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  #21  
Old 01-11-2018, 12:31 PM
steveh steveh is offline
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It does smell wonderful I have to agree!
Can't beat the smell of French Polish IMHO...for guitars anyways.

Speaking of finish, while Tom has done quite a few french polish guitars, he's keen to move to something a bit more dutrable on his guitars. I think we'll be using the same stuff that Stefan Sobell uses on his guitars - a 2-pack melamine. There's a guy over here in the UK that a lot of builders use - I think he's called David Wilson? Information here:

http://www.sobellguitars.com/the-glo...05-april-2008/

So, to satisfy all of the Padauk love going on here, Tom has sent me pics of the back and sides (I'm hoping all of the cr*p on the sides isn't permanent!):



The kerfing being glued in:



And the B+S together:



I think he is sending pics of the spruce top next?

Cheers,
Steve
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  #22  
Old 01-11-2018, 12:48 PM
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PS: While we're at it, anyone care to guess what the padouk is doubled with?

Cheers,
Steve
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  #23  
Old 01-11-2018, 01:05 PM
LouieAtienza LouieAtienza is offline
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EIR?........
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  #24  
Old 01-11-2018, 01:12 PM
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EIR?........
That was my guess. Or Wenge?
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  #25  
Old 01-11-2018, 04:20 PM
LouisLiu LouisLiu is offline
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Hi Steve! Nice pics! Is this MMD Tom finished several days ago or a new one? I can't tell haha! They are both stunning and in Padauk!
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  #26  
Old 01-11-2018, 04:21 PM
LouisLiu LouisLiu is offline
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Originally Posted by steveh View Post
PS: While we're at it, anyone care to guess what the padouk is doubled with?

Cheers,
Steve
I think it's probably wenge? haha, not sure at all! it looks very nice, super straight grain!
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  #27  
Old 01-14-2018, 05:28 AM
K Trespass K Trespass is offline
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Looks great Steve. I am on Tom’s list. ETA middle of the year. Probably a 00 but yet to fully spec out. Thoughts welcome.....
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  #28  
Old 01-14-2018, 10:00 AM
steveh steveh is offline
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PS: While we're at it, anyone care to guess what the padouk is doubled with?
Sorry guys, no cigar.
I had no idea and had to ask Tom: Apparently it's Peruvian Walnut.

Tom said it's the "standard" in the Somogyi workshop, so that's why he used it. Of course we all know that Ervin and his acolytes choose all of their materials very carefully, picking the woods out at night when the moon is full and high, and the planets aligned properly, so I asked Tom, "exactly why Peruvian walnut?" It turns out the answer is:

1. It's brown.
2. It's straight.
3. It's generally available.

!

Cheers,
Steve
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  #29  
Old 01-14-2018, 10:18 AM
steveh steveh is offline
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Originally Posted by K Trespass View Post
Looks great Steve. I am on Tom’s list. ETA middle of the year. Probably a 00 but yet to fully spec out. Thoughts welcome.....
Two things:

1. You will not be dissapointed. Several of my pals have Sands' guitars and all are completely bowled over with them; at least half of those guys have a very extensive knowledge of "high-end" guitars, whatever that is, and Tom is playing in that game easily. I wouldn't have got on his list otherwise. You made a wise choice.

2. I've played Tom's 00, OM and MMD, and that's a real difficult choice. His 00 is a superb guitar. I'm not normally drawn to smaller guitars since to me they all sound like "small" guitars. The best I've liked has been a Kostal 00 in wenge, that was (relatively) small but didn't display that boxy character and a BRW Claxton Malabar that was probably the best single guitar I've ever played. IIRC, I think Tom's 00 is about the size of the Malabar? Tom's 00 is a very, very sweet guitar but not at all boxy and reminds me very much of both the Kostal and the Claxton, specifically the beautiful mids and exquisite trebles. The bass is clear and well-defined, not boxy.

The MMD will give you a lot more bottom end at the expense of some of that treble; that's how the physics works. For me, I think the MMD is what I want as I love that deep bass response the Somogyi design provides - it's thunderous but wonderfully well-defined. I know people on Tom's list who have gone for the OM in the hope of sitting somewhere in the middle of the OM and MMD. If it's any consolation, after playing Tom's 00, I spent a long, long time vacillating between it and the MMD.

Tom also builds a standard MD, as do most other Somogyi apprentices, but I've not played one of those - he has his first under his own name in the pipeline for a friend of mine but Tom's commissions seem to be for slightly smaller guitars than many of the other apprentices. It think that's because of the particularly sweet mids and trebles people are hearing on Tom's existing guitars and guys are afraid they might lose that if they go for the full-fat MD.

Cheers,
Steve
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  #30  
Old 01-14-2018, 10:30 AM
steveh steveh is offline
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OK - spruce top was promised and here it is: Tom's recommendation was Sitka so that's what I've got. One of the best sayings I've adhered to in commissioning guitars is, "don't buy a dog and then try and bark yourself".

Here is the top:



Tom and I collaborated on the rosette design a lot. I'm not at all a fan of bling and unnecessary fluff, especially on guitars, and I wanted something simple; it's a guitar man, not a sideboard! I really like Phillip Woodfield's half-moon rosette on his classical guitars and suggested something like that. Tom then chose the materials to go with his overall aesthetic - burl maple, dyed, and copper:

Gluing in:





And the finished result:



Top bracing next.

...and thanks for all of the attention from those viewing this thread!

Cheers,
Steve
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