Michel Aboudib MA-D Sapiens I (Fall) Build Thread

doodahdoug · #1 11-09-2021, 02:40 PM

This is a build thread for a modern style Dreadnought that I have commissioned from Michel Aboudib. This is the first build thread on AGF for one of his guitars so first, a little background.

Michel is currently based in France but is originally from Syria and has also lived in Washington DC and California. He attended Tom Bowersox's B.I.G. show over Labor Day Weekend which is where I met him. While in the U.S. and just prior to arriving at B.I.G., he spent some time in California visiting with a few of his mentors in the luthier community there where he received favorable feedback on the guitar that he brought with him, his 14 fret OM style model MA-M (Euro Spruce - Cocobolo).

I listened to Tony McManus play that guitar on day 2 of the show and later in private I had the opportunity to play it myself and was hooked on it's sound and craftsmanship.

This commission will be his larger MA-D model. He has named this one "Sapeins I (Fall)".

For the tone woods, we selected a European Spruce top and striped African Ebony back and sides. The bridge will also use striped ebony. The top will feature a hand carved and painted rosette.

Michel works mostly with hand tools and builds in the "Spanish Tradition".

I will have to check in with him to get answers about this method as we go as it is new territory for me.

I found this explanation from AGF member Charles Tauber in the Build and Repair section:

"In the Spanish method, the guitar is built face-down on a board (solera) and the sides attached to the top and slid into saw kerfs in the sides of the one-piece neck. Using this method, a practical means of attaching the sides to the top is with individual wooden blocks (tentallones)".

Below are the basic specifications for this guitar:

Model: MA-D Sapiens I (Fall)

Top: European spruce
Back and sides: Ebony
Neck: Mahogany
Fretboard: Ebony
Bridge: Ebony
Tuners: Gotoh 510
Florentine cutaway
Total length: 1037 mm 40.83"
Body length: 514 mm 20.24"
Upper bout: 295 mm 11.61"
Lower bout: 395 mm 15.55"
Waist: 240 mm 9.45"
Depth at heel: 98 mm 3.86"
Depth at tail: 121 mm 4.76"
Scale length: 645 mm 25.40"
Nut width: 45 mm 1.77"
String spacing (at bridge): 57 mm 2.25"

Thanks for following along and stay tuned for more.

TomB'sox · #2 11-09-2021, 03:29 PM

Michel was a joy to host at B.I.G. and his guitar got a lot of attention until it was sold lol!

Building in the spanish style, check out Bruce Sexauer as that is how he builds also, no forms, builds from the top up so to speak. There is a lot of info in his threads about that.

The rosette here is stunning! Congrats.

MThomson · #3 11-09-2021, 04:01 PM

Congratulations. I love that rosette too. Completely different from anything I've seen before too. Look forward to seeing the rest of it for together too.

Nemoman · #4 11-09-2021, 04:04 PM

I had the chance to play Michel's guitar at BIG and was very impressed with it--super responsive and a very lightweight build. His rosettes are works of art and his finish was wonderful.

Your woods look uber cool, Doug--I look forward to following along!

BlackKeys36 · #5 11-09-2021, 04:18 PM

Like others have mentioned I was impressed with both Michel and his guitar at BIG and hope to own one someday. I particularly loved his rosette and the homemade violin varnish he used on the Cocobolo back and sides of that guitar.

Great choices on the woods; this one is sure to be great!

doodahdoug · #6 11-09-2021, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Michel was a joy to host at B.I.G. and his guitar got a lot of attention until it was sold lol!

The rosette here is stunning! Congrats.

Thanks Tom, yeah Michel is a wonderful guy. I wonder if this picture of him sharing a cigar with Dennis and his brother was taken after he made that sale

Quote:

Originally Posted by MThomson

Congratulations. I love that rosette too. Completely different from anything I've seen before too. Look forward to seeing the rest of it for together too.

Thanks MThomson, more to share soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemoman

I had the chance to play Michel's guitar at BIG and was very impressed with it--super responsive and a very lightweight build. His rosettes are works of art and his finish was wonderful.

Your woods look uber cool, Doug--I look forward to following along!

Thanks Kevin, I'm glad you got to play the cocobolo MA-M guitar. I'm really excited about this new one too.

Here's a picture of Michel painting primary colors on the rosette:

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackKeys36

Like others have mentioned I was impressed with both Michel and his guitar at BIG and hope to own one someday. I particularly loved his rosette and the homemade violin varnish he used on the Cocobolo back and sides of that guitar.

Great choices on the woods; this one is sure to be great!

Thanks for your comments John, it was nice to meet you at the show. You'll have to come by and check this one out once I have it in hand.

cigarfan · #7 11-10-2021, 04:23 AM

Congrats on the build Doug! I too enjoyed an audition with the B.I.G. guitar and it was stellar. I think a dread will be incredible. And after meeting Michel, I'm sure you will have a great time working through the build.

Carpinteria · #8 11-10-2021, 06:54 AM

At BIG, I really enjoyed meeting Michel and playing his guitar. Great guy. As others have said, this will be a wonderful guitar and a fun build to follow. Thanks for sharing it! Dave

TomB'sox · #9 11-10-2021, 08:40 AM

Just a shameless plug, this is what B.I.G. is all about. Look at the connections that were made there not only with luthiers, but with all the attendees. We all know each other after the weekend, we all met Michel, we all know the guitar Michel bought so we all have a feel for what is being built! I just don't think you get this with the bigger shows.

OK, back to the regular scheduled programing.

theEdwinson · #10 11-10-2021, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Just a shameless plug, this is what B.I.G. is all about. Look at the connections that were made there not only with luthiers, but with all the attendees. We all know each other after the weekend, we all met Michel, we all know the guitar Michel bought so we all have a feel for what is being built! I just don't think you get this with the bigger shows.

OK, back to the regular scheduled programing.

True that! I had some quality hang time with Michel at the B.I.G. also, and the guitar he brought was pretty astonishing from the first strum. There is so much air and space in the sound, it was like a six string Spanish cathedral. And I really admire Michel's devotion to the traditional handcraft of guitar making. He could transport to any century, and be right at home. Can't say that about most of us modern luthiers!

doodahdoug · #11 11-10-2021, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cigarfan

Congrats on the build Doug! I too enjoyed an audition with the B.I.G. guitar and it was stellar. I think a dread will be incredible. And after meeting Michel, I'm sure you will have a great time working through the build.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carpinteria

At BIG, I really enjoyed meeting Michel and playing his guitar. Great guy. As others have said, this will be a wonderful guitar and a fun build to follow. Thanks for sharing it! Dave

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Just a shameless plug, this is what B.I.G. is all about. Look at the connections that were made there not only with luthiers, but with all the attendees. We all know each other after the weekend, we all met Michel, we all know the guitar Michel bought so we all have a feel for what is being built! I just don't think you get this with the bigger shows.

OK, back to the regular scheduled programing.

Thank you Dennis and Dave. I'm glad you both got to meet Michel and try out his guitar.

Tom, I'm happy for you to plug the B.I.G. show here. It is hands down the most intimate and fun bespoke acoustic guitar show going. As you mentioned, most who have commented so far had the opportunity to meet Michel and play his cocobolo MA-M guitar at B.I.G. and therefore have a sense for what this build may hold.

Quote:

Originally Posted by theEdwinson

True that! I had some quality hang time with Michel at the B.I.G. also, and the guitar he brought was pretty astonishing from the first strum. There is so much air and space in the sound, it was like a six string Spanish cathedral. And I really admire Michel's devotion to the traditional handcraft of guitar making. He could transport to any century, and be right at home. Can't say that about most of us modern luthiers!

Thanks for sharing your take Steve. It was great to see and hear your new builds at B.I.G.!

The following two videos using two different Aboudib MA-D guitars were informative in helping me decide to commission this model.

The first one was written and performed by Antoine Aubry playing an Aboudib MA-D, 7-string configuration and multi-scale (Euro spruce - EIR).

The second is a live performance by Augusta Music on a six string Aboudib MA-D multiscale guitar (Moon spruce - Wenge)

More on the build progress to follow.

Steve Kinnaird · #12 11-11-2021, 08:42 AM

Doug this will be fun to watch! Michel impressed me with his congeniality. And, his ability to converse. I mean, he’s Syrian, living in France, yet discussing guitars in English. In addition, as can be gleaned from the above photo, he speaks Tobacco. What a guy!

soma5 · #13 11-11-2021, 12:31 PM

I, too, enjoyed Michel's company at BIG and was impressed with his guitar. There is a lot of very fine hand work in that guitar. I found the playability to be spot on and the tone and balance were excellent.

Thanks to TomB for setting the stage (also literally!) for a grand encounter with great people and great guitars!

doodahdoug · #14 11-11-2021, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

Doug this will be fun to watch! Michel impressed me with his congeniality. And, his ability to converse. I mean, he’s Syrian, living in France, yet discussing guitars in English. In addition, as can be gleaned from the above photo, he speaks Tobacco. What a guy!

Well Steve, I speak 3 languages myself: English, Texan and a bit of Espanol. OK, Michel's Arabic, English and French is more impressive. Seriously, its clear he made a favorable impression on the B.I.G. attendees both as a person and for those who played his guitar, as a builder. You and Ryan had an amazing selction of guitars on display, and I was also impressed with the 3 student built guitars from your shop that were there. Thanks for following along.

Quote:

Originally Posted by soma5

I, too, enjoyed Michel's company at BIG and was impressed with his guitar. There is a lot of very fine hand work in that guitar. I found the playability to be spot on and the tone and balance were excellent.

Thanks to TomB for setting the stage (also literally!) for a grand encounter with great people and great guitars!

Hi Soma, I'm glad you were able to play the guitar Michel brought with him as well. I share your evaluation of that one's sound and playability.

doodahdoug · #15 11-11-2021, 02:01 PM

Here are some more pictures and details from Michel on making the rosette:

From left to right -
1. Carving the channels for the lines inlay
2. Lines inlayed (made of 0.5mm thick black veneer)
3. Layout
4. Carving the diamond faces

Row 2 from left to right -
1. Defining "valleys" with a V gouge
2. Deepening "valleys" and cleaning faces
3. Pre-sanding
4. Cleaning with sandpaper