finished finally. 1929 SS Stewart Professional Archtop restoration

[ssstewart]

well, took me 6 months but finally done. got rid of the pickguard i made, wanted to keep it as original as I could, Finish turned out awesome, love the maple. kept as much of the patina/wear to keep its character. neck reset went very well and action/intonation great. Thanks to Luthier Pat Pattson of NB for guiding me through the restoring/rebuild of the ebony bridge over the phone. Salvaged a piece of ebony from an 1815 quebec cabinet. Just the machine heads are new ( still have the worn out originals) Tailpiece brass came out exceptional imo. plays like a dream, sooooo much volume and can feel every note in my chest when i play it. just waiting on strings i ordered from Newtone in UK (backordered out of stock- so will be a while) thanks as well to everyone who offered advice to me on this project, appreciated.

[Kerbie]

That's beautiful! I love Maple too.

[hubcapsc]

plays like a dream, sooooo much volume

I've been listening to Ken Parker on youtube some...
He says a good Archtop has the versatility to do
anything...

Have you flatpicked any bluegrass on that thing? ...

-Mike

[ssstewart]

Originally Posted by hubcapsc

plays like a dream, sooooo much volume

I've been listening to Ken Parker on youtube some...
He says a good Archtop has the versatility to do
anything...

Have you flatpicked any bluegrass on that thing? ...

-Mike

Ken Parker is amazing, his seminars are very very informative, he speaks the truth in volumes without prejudice.

lately been more into Piedmont & Delta blues with some chicago blues (they are all intertwined somehow including bluesgrass) and slide. everything sounds so pure and unadulterated on it. not much for picks, even for old piedmont i use my nails. Freight train by cotton sounds super on it

[ssstewart]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

That's beautiful! I love Maple too.

tks Kerbie...i gotta love Maple, I'm Canadian and the leafs' on our flag

[jklotz]

Great job! Looks fantastic.

[MC5C]

Is it solid wood, or laminate? I made an archtop back of solid highly birdseye maple and it's cracking a bit, not that stable. That looks like the top veneer of a laminate to me, in the photos anyway, but curious.

[Mandobart]

Very nice! Unique bridge - original?

[ssstewart]

Originally Posted by MC5C

Is it solid wood, or laminate? I made an archtop back of solid highly birdseye maple and it's cracking a bit, not that stable. That looks like the top veneer of a laminate to me, in the photos anyway, but curious.

hi MC its solid maple, and only cracking a bit around one of the f holes with the grain. when i got it ( in 2 pieces) spent 40+ hours using 0000 wool and 400-600 grit paper with beeswax to condition and clean it ( was dark dirty dirty and dried out) then around 40 more hours of hand rubbed finish. should stabilize the cracking and well conditioned now, but at 92 yrs old was in very good structural condition

[ssstewart]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

Very nice! Unique bridge - original?

2/3 is original ebony, had a luthier here guide through rebuilding rest of it from a piece of 1815 ebony i had, needed his help to ensure i didnt negatively impact its resonance/sound etc, turned out very well. hence why i wont put a pickguard or any float pick-ups, wanted the pure acoustic sound with no impedance. thing resonates like a baby grand

[Backcountry]

Beautiful! It looks huge, or is it me?

[RJVB]

Gorgeous! I can understand why one would want to hear just the wood (I wouldn't even use nails)!

This begs for a soundtrack!

BTW, what's the nutwidth? Looks pretty wide to me, was that typical in the day?

[ssstewart]

the nut is 1 7/8" which is pretty common among pre 1930 gits...martin 1923/1927 018/29s 12 fretters. but not alot of consistency in that some companies like martin went to 1 3/4" in early 30s but again depends alot on particular git and whether it is 12 fretter or 14 fretter..but its all over the map the 1 7/8" nuts do reduce the tension somewhat it is said compared to 1 3/4 or 1 11/16 etc. but with most prewar gits there are many exceptions..some companies decreased nut width up until 50/60's then when wider again. as well, alot of gits that are 1 3/4 are confused and called 1 11/16...

yes im trying to learn how to record this git as well as a half dozen other gits that id like to share soundbites of.( hence why i spent alot of time posting in record section for advice...was just going to try using my samsung s20 propped up against lappy) but bought a eridol roland R-09HR from an old jazz player friend i have. so trying to play around with it first and decide on whether i need a separate mic..already downloaded a DAW program, but that in itself will take me a while to figure out. not as sharp with technology as i once used to be years ago. but yes out of all my acoustics, this thing projects and reverbs like nothing i have felt in 40 years playing

[The Growler]

Sweet! Well done.

[willysunday]

Can you imagine the cost of this if you commissioned it nowadays? Doesn’t matter as much that you preserved a fine guitar. Way to go!