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  #31  
Old 07-21-2020, 11:02 AM
mhw48 mhw48 is offline
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The sides are glued to the top. Nick has put in side braces to stiffen the sides a bit. The upper and lower side braces align with the ends of the X-brace.
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  #32  
Old 07-21-2020, 04:17 PM
mhw48 mhw48 is offline
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Originally Posted by Wengr View Post
My guitar was built in 1992. It measures 3 1/2'' at the neck and 3 7/8' at the tail block. I purchased it some years back from Bat McGrath, and he referred to it as a Prairie State. I cant say What Nick called it.
Mine will be essentially the same dimensions.
I don't know if Nick ever officially called his jumbo a "Prairie State", although I've seen them referred to that way on more than a few occasions. Presumably because Nick's Jumbo was based on Stefan Grossman's Prairie State. I even found one reference to a "Franklin Jumbo Prairie State"! I'll have to ask Nick about it when I next speak to him.

Last edited by mhw48; 07-22-2020 at 08:34 AM.
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  #33  
Old 07-22-2020, 01:40 PM
Wengr Wengr is offline
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Originally Posted by mhw48 View Post
I even found one reference to a "Franklin Jumbo Prairie State"! I'll have to ask Nick about it when I next speak to him.
That would be much appreciated.
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  #34  
Old 07-22-2020, 02:31 PM
soma5 soma5 is offline
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Nick has clearly thought a great deal about bracing and how it affects tone, and how to achieve the tone he intends to achieve. I have a Franklin OM that has a particularly singing quality to the tone and I believe that he built it with just that tone in mind. He is a master. He and I discussed this guitar over email earlier this year. He is also a very pleasant man.

I would love to have another Franklin guitar - you are inspiring me with your build story!
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  #35  
Old 07-23-2020, 07:27 AM
mhw48 mhw48 is offline
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Originally Posted by soma5 View Post
Nick has clearly thought a great deal about bracing and how it affects tone, and how to achieve the tone he intends to achieve. I have a Franklin OM that has a particularly singing quality to the tone and I believe that he built it with just that tone in mind. He is a master. He and I discussed this guitar over email earlier this year. He is also a very pleasant man.

I would love to have another Franklin guitar - you are inspiring me with your build story!
I agree! After 49 years of building guitars, Nick has a real grasp of the nuances of guitar voicing. Other than telling Nick that I love the sound of his Dread, and discussing how various woods affect the tone, I left the final decision in his hands. Obviously the different body shape and the different tone woods will result in a sound that will not be exactly that of the Dread, but fundamentally it will have the "Franklin" sound.
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  #36  
Old 07-23-2020, 06:31 PM
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Yrksman Yrksman is offline
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I have a Brazilian Franklin OMC from 1981. Despite its age it is a superb guitar in amazing condition. The ivoroid binding had shrunk in places, this is quite normal, and after I bought it I had Jim Fleeting sort this out. It’s perfect now. Other than that no issues after nearly 40 years!
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  #37  
Old 07-24-2020, 06:43 AM
mhw48 mhw48 is offline
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Originally Posted by Yrksman View Post
I have a Brazilian Franklin OMC from 1981. Despite its age it is a superb guitar in amazing condition. The ivoroid binding had shrunk in places, this is quite normal, and after I bought it I had Jim Fleeting sort this out. It’s perfect now. Other than that no issues after nearly 40 years!
I intend to hold onto mine for at least 40 years! ... which means I have to live to over 100...
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  #38  
Old 07-24-2020, 10:53 AM
mhw48 mhw48 is offline
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The back is going on! You can see that the sides and the linings are relieved for the ends of the back braces. The ends of the braces are trimmed when the back is flush routed, and are hidden under the bindings...
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  #39  
Old 07-24-2020, 10:59 AM
mhw48 mhw48 is offline
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... like so!
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  #40  
Old 07-24-2020, 11:09 AM
Nemoman Nemoman is offline
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Looking good--that's a beautiful set of ABW!
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  #41  
Old 07-25-2020, 09:59 AM
mhw48 mhw48 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mhw48 View Post
I don't know if Nick ever officially called his jumbo a "Prairie State", although I've seen them referred to that way on more than a few occasions. Presumably because Nick's Jumbo was based on Stefan Grossman's Prairie State. I'll have to ask Nick about it when I next speak to him.
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Originally Posted by Wengr View Post
That would be much appreciated.
I asked Nick about the "Prairie State" vs "Jumbo" as the name for his jumbo guitar shape. He told me that it was actually his distributor, who was in charge of printing up the Franklin Catalog, who designated it the "Jumbo". It gets called his "Prairie State" from the fact that Nick modeled the guitar on Stefan Grossman's Prairie State Jumbo. Nick pointed out that Prairie State Guitars, built by the Larson Brothers, was a whole line of guitars from small 0 size up to massive jumbos, so I suppose Nick's guitar would have to be called his "Prairie State Jumbo".
So the short answer is that it was officially designated a Franklin Jumbo, but lots of folks call it a Franklin Prairie State.
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  #42  
Old 07-25-2020, 10:54 AM
mhw48 mhw48 is offline
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Nick is putting his signature back-stripe on my guitar. He constructed it out of a strip of the African Blackwood, surrounded with the figured Maple he's using for the bindings. The ends of AB are cut to a sort of arrow head shape; the maple strips are mitered and glued to form a point that fits the end of the AB. The maple is bent with a soldering iron. Nick has a special jig which he uses to glue the Maple along the edge of the African Blackwood. When the stripe has dried, he scores around the inlay, and then routs a groove in the back of the guitar and inserts the back-stripe.
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Last edited by mhw48; 07-26-2020 at 11:31 AM.
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  #43  
Old 07-25-2020, 10:55 AM
mhw48 mhw48 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nemoman View Post
Looking good--that's a beautiful set of ABW!
Thanks, it is quite stunning in an understated sort of way!
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  #44  
Old 07-25-2020, 11:57 AM
FormerFoodie FormerFoodie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mhw48 View Post
Nick is putting his signature back-stripe on my guitar. He constructed it out of a strip of the African Blackwood, surrounded with the figured Maple he's using for the bindings. The ends of AB are cut to a sort of arrow head shape; the maple strips are mitered and glued to form a point that fits the end of the AB. The maple is bent with a soldering iron. Nick has a special jig which he uses to glue the Maple along the edge of the African Blackwood. When the stripe has dried, he scores around the inlay, and then routs a groove in the back of the guitar and inserts the back-stripe.
WOW. The attention to detail is awesome. I'm wiping the drool off my keyboard as the pics come in! Thanks for sharing!!!!
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  #45  
Old 07-25-2020, 12:42 PM
mhw48 mhw48 is offline
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Originally Posted by FormerFoodie View Post
WOW. The attention to detail is awesome. I'm wiping the drool off my keyboard as the pics come in! Thanks for sharing!!!!


When it's broken down step by step each element is fascinating, and I'm also staggered by the amount of work (not to mention skill) that goes into building a Franklin guitar!
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Last edited by mhw48; 07-25-2020 at 04:06 PM.
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