Mark Blanchard - Sugar Pine [“Lucky Strike” Redwood | Carved, Curly Black Walnut]

[iim7V7IM7]

I have commissioned what will be my third guitar from Crowley Lake, California luthier Mark Blanchard. Mark has been quietly building superb steel-string, nylon string, archtop guitars and the World’s best truss rods for over the last 30-years.

http://www.blanchardguitars.com/

Model

Mark names all of his flattop guitar models after US West Coast conifers and the model that I have chosen him to make he calls a “Sugar Pine” (Pinus lambertiana). It is a 12-fret to the body, mid sized guitar, that is slightly larger than a CF Martin 000. Mark made me a “Pinyon” (his 12 Fret 00 sized guitar) back in 2015 and a “Bristlecone” (his 14 Fret OM sized guitar) in 2021.

While Mark is primarily a luthier who builds steel stringed flattop guitars, he also has occasionally built both archtops and nylon string guitars as well. Mark learned to carve archtop guitars from luthiers Linda Manzer and Tom Ribbecke attending a joint course that they taught 24-years ago. He has also built five steel string flattop guitars with carved backs. I have asked that this guitar have a carved back vs. a ladder braced flat back, so this will be his 6th carved back flattop guitar.

Soundboard

Mark is a big believer that the “tone is in the top”. For the sound board, we discussed a number of options for this project, and chose a set of “Lucky Strike” (LS) Redwood for this build. Mark has had this particular set for over 25-years. He purchased his LS Redwood from luthiers Hank Mauel and the late Lance McCollum, both of who helped the Carters process the fallen redwood tree into tonewood. This is the last one of his sets of this LS Redwood remaining.

The “story” behind LS is that it was a storm felled Redwood tree up in Humboldt County, CA. The large tree happened to fall over a small ravine and it left a large section suspended up in the air off the forest floor. The felled tree was discovered about 30-years ago and over the next few years, Craig Carter, his wife Alicia and others harvested a 3’ diameter x 60’ long portion of the tree and subsequently processed it as instrument tonewood.

The high stiffness to weight ratio, even grain pattern, color and high degree of medullary are some of the physical and aesthetic characteristics that have made this named wood so coveted among the luthier community. Mark measured the density of this particular set and it is about 451 kg/m^3 (28.2 lbs/ft^3) and it is unsurprisingly tremendously stiff along the long grain. Long grain elastic modulus and density in softwoods are fairly well correlated. Mark liked this set for this build because the ratio of the cross grain stiffness to the long grain stiffness is where he likes it for a guitar this size. Having built three other guitars with its sister sets provides him with insight as to how it behaves in his building approach.



You can see in this closeup shot about 27 to 40 grains to the inch late-wood on this set of redwood. The experts have suggested that the redwood tree harvested to make LS tonewood was estimated to be between 600 to 800-years old.



Back and Sides

For the back and sides, we are using a set of flitch matched, quartersawn, air dried, curly Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) harvested in Greenbrier County West Virginia about 5-years ago. Curl like this in Black Walnut is less common than it is Claro Walnut and finding a quartersawn billet suitable for a carving a back even rarer. This set was not steamed and has a rich, chocolate brown hue. To keep the figure pattern from shifting when carved, having a quartersawn set is important. Here is a photo of the two 13/16” x 11-5/8” x 24” back plates and matching two 7” x 36” sides. Due to their size, we will reorient the curl and shift the smaller body pattern within the set. Mark carves a fairly flat arch so the billet being < 1" is not an issue.







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Here are the basic specs for my Blanchard Sugar Pine:

Dimensions:
Lower Bout: 15-1/4”
Scale Length: 25-1/4”
Nut Width: 1-3/4”
String Spacing: 2-5/16”

Materials of Construction:
Soundboard: “Lucky Strike” Redwood
Carved Back and Laminated Sides: Black Walnut
Neck: Honduran Mahogany
Belly Bridge and Fretboard: Gaboon Ebony
Nut and Saddle: Unbleached Cow Bone
Binding: Macassar Ebony
Rosette: Brazilian Rosewood & Curly Maple
Headstock Veneer: Brazilian Rosewood
Purflings: Curly Maple

Ergonomics & Features:
Back: Carved
Cutaway: Venetian
Manzer Wedge: Yes, 1”
Headstock: Slotted Head

Hardware:
Tuners: Rodgers L130, 110 mm Brass Plates, Oval Macassar Ebony Buttons
Fretwire: Jescar EVO 43080
Truss Rod: Blanchard 13” Double Acting
Case: Hoffee, Gray Exterior, Black Interior

Here are the Rodgers tuners:


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The build of the guitar will likely to be a late 2024 or early 2025 delivery.

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[Tim Porter]

So exciting--this will be such a stellar guitar! Will be watching with great interest. I've had a Blanchard Tamarack for a long time now and just love it.

Enjoy! Tim

[Treenewt]

Absolutely wonderful woods selected for this one! Looking forward to following along.

[BlueBowman]

Your build threads are the best, Bob! I always learn so much and will be following along for sure

[Dustinfurlow]

I can't wait to see this come together!

[Guitars44me]

This will be fun to follow!

The entire axe sounds fabulous, and I heartily approve of the Manzer Wedge.

Enjoy the thrill ride.

Paul

[Jamiejoon]

Very cool, Bob. Echoing Blue Bowman, your build threads are the best. Erudite and entertaining, and always the prettiest wood.

[Rob L]

Hi Bob,
I have read your Buscarino Rhapsody thread several times. I'm expecting mine in about a month! I'm curious about the 1" Manzer wedge on this. Have you settled on the body thickness dimensions? I know the Buscarino was thin enough that a wedge was unnessesary.

[iim7V7IM7]

My Rhapsody is 4” deep at the rims (plus the arch) and is a 16” body. This Sugar Pine is only 15-1/4” and will be 3-1/2” on the low E side and 4-1/2” deep on the high E side. My Bristlecone from Mark has a 1” wedge as well.

Congrats on your Rhapsody (you’re going to love it!)

Originally Posted by Rob L

Hi Bob,
I have read your Buscarino Rhapsody thread several times. I'm expecting mine in about a month! I'm curious about the 1" Manzer wedge on this. Have you settled on the body thickness dimensions? I know the Buscarino was thin enough that a wedge was unnessesary.

[Tim McKnight]

Congrats Bob on what is sure to be a wonderful build. LS and Walnut pair extremely well together! Did Mark or anyone else enlighten you how Craig named the LS log?

[iim7V7IM7]

Thanks Tim.

I had heard that the name “Lucky Strike” was referencing a storm that likely uprooted the tree, but also to the fortune of finding a tree with unparalleled, uniform grain and density that fell in a manner that suspended it in the air off the forest floor.

What did Craig and Alicia tell you?

Originally Posted by Tim McKnight

Congrats Bob on what is sure to be a wonderful build. LS and Walnut pair extremely well together! Did Mark or anyone else enlighten you how Craig named the LS log?

[Steve Kinnaird]

Looks like luck struck twice, Bob. Congrats!
This will be a pleasure to watch come together.

Steve

[iim7V7IM7]

Thanks to all.... I enjoy sharing the nuisances of each luthier artisan's approach at the bench. I cannot communicate adequately how they will sound in each player's hands, but we can communicate what underpins it.

Originally Posted by BlueBowman

Your build threads are the best, Bob! I always learn so much and will be following along for sure

Originally Posted by Dustinfurlow

I can't wait to see this come together!

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

This will be fun to follow!

The entire axe sounds fabulous, and I heartily approve of the Manzer Wedge.

Enjoy the thrill ride.

Paul

Originally Posted by Jamiejoon

Very cool, Bob. Echoing Blue Bowman, your build threads are the best. Erudite and entertaining, and always the prettiest wood.

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

Looks like luck struck twice, Bob. Congrats!
This will be a pleasure to watch come together.

Steve

[Tim McKnight]

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

Thanks Tim.

I had heard that the name “Lucky Strike” was referencing a storm that likely uprooted the tree, but also to the fortune of finding a tree with unparalleled, uniform grain and density that fell in a manner that suspended it in the air off the forest floor.

What did Craig and Alicia tell you?

Hi Bob,

I never met Craig and Alicia Carter but I've known Hank Mauel for many years and after Craig's passing he helped Alicia market the last of their wood inventory. Hank told me the story that when Craig would hunt for trees in the forest, he would carry a baseball bat with him and he would "strike" trees with is bat that he considered harvesting, just to hear the tree's resonance. When he hit the LS tree he exclaimed "Wow, this is my "Lucky Strike" and the LS name was born.

BTW, I have seen LS tops with varying annular ring spacing from that huge log. LS tops don't all display super tight ring spacing and all the sets that I have seen are accurately processed and do display great silking or medullary rays. The silking is just another visual testament to the Carter's knowledge of how to accurately process redwood. As a downside of redwood worth mentioning is that it's all over the map in terms of mono and cross dipole stiffness because if its cut just a few degrees off quarter it can be as limp, floppy and dead as damp cardboard. Another notable trait for LS tops is the eerily long tap tone ring that sustains longer than any top wood that I have ever encountered. Paired with the right back and sides these tops can produce the longest sustain of any top and can be a handful for the lesser skilled player to control.

As Hank was retiring he sold me the last of his Carter Estate redwood tops. Not only did Craig and Alicia process the famous LS tops they also processed and marketed some lesser known redwood tops which they coined Tono Basso and Tono Alto. TB has a strong bass bias and TA has a very prominent treble bias. Both if these tops have produced stellar guitars too but see far fewer press in the forums.

[iim7V7IM7]

Thanks Tim...

QUOTE=Tim McKnight;7493443]Hi Bob,

I never met Craig and Alicia Carter but I've known Hank Mauel for many years and after Craig's passing he helped Alicia market the last of their wood inventory. Hank told me the story that when Craig would hunt for trees in the forest, he would carry a baseball bat with him and he would "strike" trees with is bat that he considered harvesting, just to hear the tree's resonance. When he hit the LS tree he exclaimed "Wow, this is my "Lucky Strike" and the LS name was born.[/QUOTE]