NICK KUKICH (Franklin Guitar Co.) The OMC (German Spruce / Cuban Mahogany)

[TomB'sox]

Gonna smell good with those spanish cedar linings!

[iim7V7IM7]

Here is how Nick constructs his upper bout A-frame construction. His upper transverse brace (UTB) has a thin Red Spruce bottom strip that is glued to the German Spruce top. The two Red Spruce A-frame braces are notched to accommodate the the UTB bottom strip and their ends are tucked into the x-brace.



The upper portion of the UTB is relieved to allow the two A-frame braces (notched and glued to UTB bottom strip) to pass through. The upper portion of the UTB is then glued to the UTB bottom strip.



Completed...

[Burton LeGeyt]

Thanks for posting these Bob. Very interesting to see!

[David Wren]

That's interesting to see the way he treats the area around the soundhole (and above).

[mhw48]

Originally Posted by David Wren

That's interesting to see the way he treats the area around the soundhole (and above).

Yes, it's interesting to see how all the braces interlock -- it must be like some kind of puzzle to put it all together! It's also interesting to see that the upper bout has a slight radius.

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by Burton LeGeyt

Thanks for posting these Bob. Very interesting to see!

You're welcome Burton...

Originally Posted by David Wren

That's interesting to see the way he treats the area around the soundhole (and above).

I found it interesting as well David...

Originally Posted by mhw48

Yes, it's interesting to see how all the braces interlock -- it must be like some kind of puzzle to put it all together! It's also interesting to see that the upper bout has a slight radius.

Yes, I believe Nick puts a 22' radius in the upper bout in his Solara from the sound hole to the neck block. The lower bout is left flat. A gentle radius (TBD radius, likely ~50'ish) is established to the lower bout of the top once the upward load of the strings comes to play when the guitar is complete.

[blindboyjimi]

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

You are quite welcome JT.... These posts are honestly here to help others in the future when considering commissioning a guitar from (Nick or inserts other luthier’s name here). We know that the signature sound of builders tend to differ, but we don’t really have a clue as to why. Photos series like these give just a peek behind the curtain.

Because Nick has been building as long as he has and has his roots in the OM, people think of him as a “traditional” builder. These photos clearly show that Nick is what I call an “evolved traditionalist”. His approach to bracing his top has obviously evolved to achieve sonic goals and structure over 40+ years building guitars...

This thread couldn’t be more cool. I think I posted here that I have 2 of Nick’s Euro/Brazilian OMs. My 1989 #445S OM-5 has very similar lower bout bracing but very different upper bout bracing. My 2004 #579 is built in this fashion. I keep both because tonally they are different. Now I see why. Very cool.

Nick’s Franklins have completely changed my way of approaching guitars. I have for years been a Martin/Gibson guy. In the beginning, it was newer guitars and then it evolved into vintage guitars. A few years ago I was a bit short of cash for a 30’s OM/000-28 so I took a drive to see Mike Joyce at Luthier’s Collection. I played a Sexauer (Schoenberg) varnished OM-28 and one of the best guitars I’ve ever played, a very strange Brondel A-2 and a little D-3, which is a mini dread shaped 12 fret ebony guitar and it just completely blew my mind, and mostly a Franklin Brazilian OM-28. Mike let me take the Franklin home and although I didn’t buy that one, I couldn’t get it out of my head and all week that was the only one I wanted to play. At the end of that week I had decided to sell 6 guitars. I am down to only 4 vintage guitars but up to 7 luthier built, and only one current Martin, my very special 000-18NB.

By the way, #579 is back with Nick for a small repair that was innocuously caused by my tech while re-fretting it. I have to wait a bit while Nick completes a custom guitar. I told them no worries as I was pretty sure which guitar was ahead of me!

[iim7V7IM7]

Nick and I made a few decorative decisions.

Custom guitars, even somewhat traditional ones, are frequently mixtures of different elements from their Nazareth namesakes. For this Cuban Mahogany guitar, we are deviating from the humble Style 18 aesthetic tradition. You will find both Style 28 and Style 40 design elements which are associated with Rosewood guitars incorporated into this Mahogany Franklin.

STYLE 28: For a backstrip, we have selected a “Style 28” Zipper backstrip that will tie into the black fiber/maple/black fiber back (and side) purflings and Sycamore Maple end graft. Instead of a Brazilian RW fretboard, we are using an Gaboon Ebony decorated with a “Style 28” long-pattern Diamonds & Squares position markers.

STYLE 40: Since Nick installed a Blue Paua Abalone Ring/Maple main rosette ring; we are going to use matching “Style 40” Blue Paua Abalone top purflings against the Sycamore Maple bindings.

[justonwo]

I like your Nazareth combos!

(Style 28 + Style 40)/2 is on average a style 34, right?

[iim7V7IM7]

You forgot to subtract 10 (Style 28 - Style 18 = 10) for it being a lowly mahogany guitar...

Originally Posted by justonwo

I like your Nazareth combos!

(Style 28 + Style 40)/2 is on average a style 34, right?

[justonwo]

I never was very good at Martin math, but I do know the suffix denotes the price, which I think is a heck of a deal.

[mhw48]

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

You forgot to subtract 10 (Style 28 - Style 18 = 10) for it being a lowly mahogany guitar...

The proper math here is calculus: When f(x){ (Style 28+Style 40)/2 - (Style 28-Style 18) then x = Franklin "iim7V7IM7" signature model.

[iim7V7IM7]

Well my OMC finally has a birth date (December 1st) and a serial number (#691 for Nick). Here is the braced top placed in the body mold sans rims. You can see how Nick tucks his tone bars and BRW bridge plate into a capped x-brace.



The Cuban Mahogany rims with Spanish Cedar kerfed linings are now installed. In the upper image, you can see how Nick tucks his Adirondack Spruce A-frame sound hole braces into a Honduran Mahogany neck block. The lower image shows the rims being glued to the top in the body mold.



A couple things that I would point out in this series. Nick focuses a tremendous amount of structure to his upper bout beneath the fretboard. First the top has a 17’ dish from the sound hold to the neck block (lower bout is flat for sound production and gains its dish from the upward pull of the strings); his sound hole A-frame braces are tucked into both the neck block and you can see that where the Upper Transverse Brace meets the rims, Nick adds a cap of linings. Interestingly, I see fewer side reinforcement strips (only 4) than most non-laminated sided guitars. In the upper image, you can also see just how tight the 0.75” radius of the cutaway is by the neck block by the splay of the kerf in his linings.



Lastly, the Cuban Mahogany back is on and the “box” is now closed in his body mold. On to the back strip, bindings, purflings, end graft and neck routing next...

[wezzywest]

Thanks for the updates, really enjoying the build and the explanations.

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by wezzywest

Thanks for the updates, really enjoying the build and the explanations.

You are quite welcome...

As guitarists, we spend much of the time discussing how an instrument sounds, looks or craftsmanship underpinning it. What these "build threads" do in my mind is give us a peek behind the luthier's curtain to see "why" their guitars sound unlike their peers. Every luthier that I have commissioned a guitar with works quite differently. Some of these differences are distinct, but others are quite subtle. I really appreciate that these craftsman stop to take the time to document what they are doing and sharing it. I also appreciate the open, collegiality of the guitar luthier community to openly share their craft. In other areas of lutherie such as violin making, their is much secrecy about building and finishing.