#31
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Congratulations! Nick makes beautiful instruments and I’m looking forward to seeing this one. You’re a lucky man!
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www.michaelwattsguitar.com Album Recording Diary Skype Lessons Luthier Stories YouTube iTunes Guitars by Jason Kostal, Strings by Elixir, Gefell Mics and a nail buffer. |
#32
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Mistaken post...
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings… |
#33
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I spoke with Nick and we decided upon some aesthetic details:
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings… Last edited by iim7V7IM7; 10-02-2018 at 09:07 PM. |
#34
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Thanks Michael..
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings… |
#35
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Quote:
I'm still getting over the Cuban 'Hog. The flame is so nice, there are times when I feel it looks like koa! |
#36
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Well, the Cuban Mahogany tree grew in Hawaii. Must be something in the terroir...
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings… |
#37
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I am bummed that I’m signed in but I can’t see the pictures. You are in for a treat. I have 2 German Brazilian Franklin OMs. One is 29 years old with a skinny neck 1 23/32” nut with 1.5” spacing and one is 12 years old with a chunky 1 13/16” nut. They are very different. The newer one is a bit deeper bodied and a touch more modern toned. The 29 year old one has made me re-think of my relationships with vintage Martins. I own 2 because I couldn’t pass either one up and I am so happy to have them. I’ve always wanted to try a Mahogany Franklin OM.
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#38
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Congratulations! You are indeed lucky. I will eagerly be watching the progress of your OMC build. I am only recently the owner of a Franklin: Nick's 12 Fret Dreadnought model, Adirondack over figured mahogany with the most beautiful hand-rubbed sunburst. I didn't order mine new from Nick -- so at first I was a bit jealous that you get to think about, discuss and select every aspect of the guitar; then I realized that there isn't anything about mine that I would have actually done differently! I did buy it "pre-owned" directly from Nick, after a great time emailing and talking with him about his various models. He's incredibly knowledgable as well as incredibly personable. Initially I hadn't actually considered his dreadnought, assuming that it was a square shouldered "Martin style" dreadnought and since I am not a flat-picker, that didn't interest me. It's not, however. Nick was inspired by Gibson’s Roy Smeck Radio Grande model which has an incredible reputation with fingerstyle guitarists. From what Nick was saying about the dread, it seemed like a fantastic fit for my playing. I wanted something with a bigger voice than my current OM (non-Franklin), a bit more bass but focused, not boomy. I've owned a number of 12 fret guitars, and the warmth of their tone has alway appealed to me. I am still amazed by the sound of my guitar every time I play it, and I am hearing more and more every time. I have alway leaned towards the sound of Mahogany, I'll be very curious to hear your impressions of the Cuban. Nick's guitars are really at a whole other level. You are going to love your guitar!
Last edited by mhw48; 10-05-2018 at 05:33 PM. |
#39
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Quote:
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Circa OM-30/34 (Adi/Mad) | 000-12 (Ger/Maple) | OM-28 (Adi/Brz) | OM-18/21 (Adi/Hog) | OM-42 (Adi/Braz) Fairbanks SJ (Adi/Hog) | Schoenberg/Klepper 000-12c (Adi/Hog) | LeGeyt CLM (Swiss/Amzn) | LeGeyt CLM (Carp/Koa) Brondel A-2 (Carp/Mad) |
#40
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https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=423508 I asked El for his thoughts on Nick's Dreads and he raved about that one, "it's as light as a potato chip!" then told me it was back with Nick. He'd owned it for a time, then decided he needed a 14 fret neck because he often capos on the 2nd and 4th frets, so 12 frets didn't have much room left over. El suggested that if I was interested I should contact Nick, so I did. |
#41
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Plates joined
The 1968 German Spruce plates have now been joined. Nick was able to trim the plates some to about 8” each (lower bout is 15-5/8”) so the age associated oxidation is visually less distinct.
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings… |
#42
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Oh yeah, much better. Gonna look great!
Steve |
#43
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Nick trimmed about 3/4” from the length, a 1/2” off the outer edges, 1/4” from the center seam and thickness planed the German Spruce plates before gluing up the set. This definitely helped reduce the appearance of the 50-years of oxidation. That said, the photo of the raw set (top) has naphtha applied to it which brings out the appearance like nitro will and the process set shown (bottom) was phographed in a dry state which tends to diminish the appearance of these aesthetic artifacts.
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings… |
#44
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It looks like the oxidized area in the center of the upper part of the top will be mostly covered by the fingerboard extension or cut out by the sound hole. That leaves some thin dark stripes which I think will be quite attractive!
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#45
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I am honestly not worried about any of the residual oxidative aesthetic artifacts of age that may remain. I chose this set based on its sonic potential and not on aesthetics. Nick has some milk toast perfect Swiss Spruce in his woodlocker (great wood btw), but to his hands and ears it did not have the same sonic potential of this stuff. I believe he only has 3 or 4 sets remaining of this old German. How often does one get the opportunity to have a guitar made in 2018 using wood resawn back in 1968 that was selected by two great luthiers (Nick Kukich & Jeffrey Elliott) that was left to season a half century?
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings… |