NGD - Froggy Bottom H-12

[SprintBob]

Happy day yesterday as my new Froggy Bottom H-12 arrived at my doorstep. This H-12 replaced a 2011 H-12 I had owned for 3 years and the changes were the addition of a Florentine cutaway, 1-13/16" nut, and 2-5/16" string spacing. Top and B/S woods stayed the same (Adi/EIR). We also changed the tuners from Waverly to Schertler. You either love or hate the matte black/gold of the Schertler's but they are WAY smoother and easier than Waverly tuners.

I’m quite pleased how good the tone is out of the box and it will only get better as it opens up with more playing.

Here are some pics with a build pic when the box rim was almost done and the completed guitar just before it got boxed up and shipped to me. Have to say that EIR set has the most purple hue in it I've ever seen. Also the builder's label had Michael Millard's signature on it even though he is officially retired. I did speak directly with Michael when I ordered the guitar last year but the last three months, Andy Mueller has been my contact.

[BrunoBlack]

Ain’t she sweet! Absolutely beautiful. I hope you enjoy another beautiful instrument from the guys in VT.

[RalphH]

No no no, they're doing it all wrong! Where's all the glue squeezed out and slopped everywhere? Far too neat and tidy in there. It'll never sound right!

[AcousticDreams]

WOW! So very classy!

[Deliberate1]

My 2014 FB H12 wants to welcome his new baby brother into the world.
As a note of caution, you may be up at 3am with it in your arms - but it won’t be for a diaper change.
Enjoy!
David

[martingitdave]

Did you get a nice discount since the forgot the back? lol

In all seriousness, congrats! It's a beauty!

[rule18]

Very nice, congratulations!

[markrj]

Wow! That is one gorgeous guitar. Congrats!

[Methos1979]

Very nice! Not sure how I feel about the Schertler tuners though. But I'm also not a huge fan of Waverly's so I understand. Congrats! Can't go wrong with a Froggy Bottom H-12!

[brianlcox]

Congrats!!! I'm looking forward to my new k in June. It should be on the bench as we speak. I also asked Michael if he would be willing to sign the label on my guitar, as he spec'd it out with me.

Enjoy in good health!

[Mr. Paul]

Wonderful, congrats ... .and yes x6 on the tuners.

[SprintBob]

Thanks for the well wishes AGF friends.

Interesting experience over the last 24 hours. I really like the Thomastik Plectrum strings. Their light set is 11-50's and their light medium set is 12-59's. I tend to prefer the 11-50's both in terms of tone and feel but when I had conversations with Mr. Millard, he just felt that playing this guitar with the 11-50's would be a sub-optimal scenario to drive the Adi top especially in DADGAD.

So I get the guitar yesterday with FB's standard John Pearse 80/20 12-53's. Very nice but the the feel and the tone seem tight, maybe bound up a bit. New guitar so get over it right? Nope, this morning I put on a set of the Plectrum 11-50's and the tone just blooms and not lose any volume as well it obviously feels easier to play. I know this seems to defy physics and you'd think it'd be even better with the 12-59 Plectrums but it seems to be not the case (even though I like heavier Plectrums more than the stock JP's). And I'll qualify this experience by saying I'm only playing fingerstyle with these strings. The results might go the other way if I was flatpicking or strumming.

Fun stuff.

[Treenewt]

My word, that is a beautiful instrument! Congrats Bob!

[BrunoBlack]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

Thanks for the well wishes AGF friends.

Interesting experience over the last 24 hours. I really like the Thomastik Plectrum strings. Their light set is 11-50's and their light medium set is 12-59's. I tend to prefer the 11-50's both in terms of tone and feel but when I had conversations with Mr. Millard, he just felt that playing this guitar with the 11-50's would be a sub-optimal scenario to drive the Adi top especially in DADGAD.

So I get the guitar yesterday with FB's standard John Pearse 80/20 12-53's. Very nice but the the feel and the tone seem tight, maybe bound up a bit. New guitar so get over it right? Nope, this morning I put on a set of the Plectrum 11-50's and the tone just blooms and not lose any volume as well it obviously feels easier to play. I know this seems to defy physics and you'd think it'd be even better with the 12-59 Plectrums but it seems to be not the case (even though I like heavier Plectrums more than the stock JP's). And I'll qualify this experience by saying I'm only playing fingerstyle with these strings. The results might go the other way if I was flatpicking or strumming.

Fun stuff.

I’ve had 4 FB. Two arrived comfy, loose & warm as a pair of slippers. They played like an old friend from day 1 (H-12 & C). Two arrived very tight (K & M). The K started to loosen up after a couple months and continued on its way to magnificence over years of play. The M was so tight when it arrived (Adi/EIR) that frankly, I was a little concerned. But being familiar with FB builds, I had faith and kept playing. That particular guitar took a couple of months before I felt comfortable and several months of play before I knew what strings worked well. The good news is the M is fast becoming a favorite. I know Michael loves JP strings, but I’ve never had much luck with JP strings on FB guitars YMMV. Good luck in the hunt.

[Quake17]

Congrats on the beautiful FB! I've become a fan of 12 frets with a cutaway as I think you get that sound without losing the access.