Greta guitar build / Mark Hatcher

[Mark Hatcher]

Thanks Ian!

Originally Posted by JamesO

Could you say some more about the lattice braced back? What's the goal there? I'm not used to seeing that, but it's intriguing.

Hi James,

My goal is to create a very active back on my guitars. I think it really adds to the player's experience because it makes the guitar feel much more alive. The backs can be made much lighter this way without getting the skeletal look you can get from a thin back pulled across four lateral braces. Also, with increased brace contact area you have a little better control on highly figured woods that might like to wander with time.

Thanks,
Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

Hello,

Today I thicknessed the top and am gluing on the Sitka X-brace and transverse brace:



Here I am bending a side:



We'll get a better view of how this guitar is going to look soon!

Thanks,
Mark

[Tony_in_NYC]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Mark, I've told you before...you make the coolest looking braces out there. They are like delicate little I-beams. Fantastic.

And they are light as a feather too!

[gstring]

Hi Mark.

Thanks for the great pictures

Has the Wenge been difficult to work with ?

It will be great to see it all come together.

daniel

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by gstring

Hi Mark.

Has the Wenge been difficult to work with ?

daniel

Wenge has a reputation for throwing a lot of splinters and I have to say you can count all the splinters on one hand, and then, count all the splinters on the other hand Actually, it isn't that bad only when it's in the rough and it also wants a lot of encouragement while bending. Now where are those tweezers?

[rcalcutta]

Daniel - if you enjoy your Greta half as much as I enjoy mine, you will be thrilled.


Mark - tremendous pictures as always. It is really cool to watch this guitar come together. You are a man of many talents.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by rcalcutta

Daniel - if you enjoy your Greta half as much as I enjoy mine, you will be thrilled.


Mark - tremendous pictures as always. It is really cool to watch this guitar come together. You are a man of many talents.

Thanks Rob,

I'm glad that guitar is working out for you!

Mark

[gstring]

Rob, I am already enjoying my Greta half as much as you and it is only half built. When I receive it I will enjoy it as much as you. And when I have had it for a few months I will enjoy it twice as much as you now enjoy yours LOL .LOL LOL

So I would have to say I am happy for both of us.

Thanks for the reassurance.

daniel

[Mark Hatcher]

Hello,

Here we have the Swiss Spruce lattice and finger braces going on:



The sides are both bent and I have radiused the bottom so that it can receive the back. Here are some pics of getting the sides set up:









Thanks for viewing!
Mark

[naccoachbob]

Mark, this is really a nice looking guitar that's coming together. I'm really interested in your bracing on the back. I see very thin braces, but tall. Looks like that cuts weight down pretty well. How do you target your dimensions for that type bracing? Is it an overall effect, or will some be lower than others (lighter than others)? Do you tap like many do a top? Are you looking for a consistent sound from location to location? I see that your braces won't be going into the sides much, so it looks like you want this to be very responsive. Also, what drives the design? Why 3 X's and equal spacing? Are you targeting a tone from the back that complements the top? I know this is a lot of questions.
Feel free to give me a long seminar on this It really piques my interest.
I enjoy watching your builds as you go along.
Thanks,
Bob

Edit: I see at the top of this page you answered part of my questions. But I'll soak up anything and everything you want to say about them. If a PM is more appropriate, please do.

[Mark Hatcher]

Hi Naccoachbob,

I wish there was a target number and dimension I could use. That would make this a cinch! Here is why the spacing is this size:



I like this look. It makes a great frame for the logo and I like taking the logo off the headstock so I can make headstocks that look like this:



and this:



Another reason I do the spacing larger is the way I do my joints, they each have 8 miter cuts. So that's 88 on a typical back. Now if I spaced them like Smallman did, back in the seventies, at say around 2 inches, a typical back would have about 36 joints with 288 miter cuts! And not a lot of room for a logo.

Further up in this build thread I said my goal was to give the player a guitar that felt more alive. This is not all that different from why soundports are getting more popular. Generally, I find many players like to have more connections with their guitars when they play.

The braces I use start at a certain profile and I carve them down until the back has some good movement while the player plays. It's easy to tell when you've carved them down too much because you get a delayed do-WOP sound from the back flopping around. My suggestion for you is to go for a do-WOP and then back it off from there. There are way too many variables to be more specific than that. It's something you need to do and learn and it varies with the woods, the customer's playing style, how good you are at making joints, what the customer wants, the model, etc.

Hope that helps!
Mark

[ross748]

Great info as usual Mark. Just amazing. Love your work.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by ross748

Great info as usual Mark. Just amazing. Love your work.

Thanks Ross!

[ross748]

Thinking it may be time to commission a Hatcher crossover.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by ross748

Thinking it may be time to commission a Hatcher crossover.

Great! Feel free to contact me anytime and we can discuss the details.

Thanks,
Mark