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The bars been set too high rubbish, look at this I feel ashamed abouts it's fit and finish, as you can see its a OM 13 fret to the body, 24.9" scale length, mahogany back and sides with wenge bindings



Its the rosette I'm most ashamed of, though it's been a fortunate accident for me it's thinner in the middle than the edges and is over thin according to the books a wrong combination, but I love its sound a real warm bass tone my taste may not be others though.

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

John bro this is a great first guitar and if you were to list what you learned I'll bet that it will take you days to list everything. Your first looks better than my first did and I think that you should be very proud!!!

What's really important besides what you learned is that this one sounds great and that will keep you interested in building more.

Great job!

Hesh your way too kind so much learned true, at the moment it's only my photographic skills which are poorer than my luthiery ones

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

I have to agree with my friend Hesh. I only hope my first one looks half as good. Now on to the next one, and the next one, and the next one...

Vince

well done john its a great first attempt and i know your next ones will keep getting better and better.
i can attest to the sound as john bought into my shop last week although the saddle wasen,t fitted then but it does have a wonderfull mellow voice but with a presence that suits johns playing style well.

also you finished this in record time for a first attempt my first took 18 months.

wel done john keep up the good work

joel

Looks good to me! I think it's an awesome accomplishment to get the first one done - I'm still working on that. Hope my first is as nice.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Way to go, John. That sure looks good to me.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

If perspective is everything.......consider this.

How many people buy kits....and never start them?
How many people start kits they bought...and never finish them?

Does the reason they didn't start or finish matter?.....NO! The fact that you followed through puts you a little closer to the front of the line.

There is something....more...to building stringed instruments John. I'm a 3rd generation furniture maker...and I can tell you...there was nothing nearly as spiritual (if I can use that word...don't know what else to use) in tables in chairs. Guitars only have voices if you build them...and it's a special thing to hear the voice of a guitar you made.

You build more.

Chris

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

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"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

Whether it's your first or your 100th, you'll learn something from each one. Are you planning out your next one yet?

FYI, my first one is unstrung and stuffed in the closet somewhere...something about a neck angle problem.

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

John...I don't know why you would feel ashamed about that guitar...Its a great first guitar,better then most first timers...My first guitar,looking back,was a clunker, but man what a sound compared to most I have played...My best friend wanted to buy it (out of kindness I guess) and I sold it to him and since then have built sixteen instruments....I have yet to build the perfect instrument but have learned from every build and each one gets better and better...I love what I build and I learn from my mistakes and the people in here....Be proud of your first guitar and show it to your friends. They will be amazed that you have actually built a guitar .. ....Larry

That's great John, you built it, you play it, and you're pleased with the sound!
Remember, we are a rare breed. I know, when you hang around these forums, it seems like they're builders everywhere, and so many of them are truly awesome builders, and sure 'nuff deserve our respect and admiration.

But at least for me, a hillbilly hermit, I have yet to meet in person, anyone else that has built a guitar. So I would have to say that makes us all pretty special.

Joe

How many people do you know that can do what you just did
Congratulations

Hey John,

This is a journey, and we all have to start somewhere. My first real wood project was a mahogany lamp shaped like a pump hydrant that I made around 35+ years ago. The base on the lamp wasn't quite square and the brushed on varnish is very amateurish, but that lamp is still being used today by my son. As long as you move forward, you'll look back at this guitar some years down the road and marvel how your fit and finish has improved. And you will probably still be playing it years from now! Don't beat yourself up over it. Enjoy the things you did well and work on improving on the weak areas. You finished it, and it sounds good! Good show and have fun playing it!!

Thanks for sharing with us.

Ken

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http://www.casperguitar.com

Hey, not so bad for your first attempt! What did you lean? My first attempt is sitting out in the shop...no top. No neck for that matter. Just back and sides. Awful! It should be in the trash heap but for some strange reason, I cannot make myself toss it. Remember, one only fails when one stops trying (at anything).

Now, get back out in the shop. Order some new wood... and get back to work. Enjoy the trip and stop worrying about the destination. My 3rd guitar looks something like my avatar to the left. Note that I said "something like."

Mike

I bet you are proud of it, because you wanted to show it to us, and you should be proud. This building business is hard and the fact that she plays well and sounds good is better than lots of shiny, "perfect" guitars. Kudos to you!

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Hi John,
I think thats a great guitar.
Not many people actually make guitars, and look at what you've accomplished.
Looks better than my first guitar.
Just think of how much you learened.
Kudos to you

By the time you've made your third or fourth guitar you'll have better tools, better techniques, you'll have a system worked out, and you'll amaze yourself.

First one is always the hardest.
So what are you planning to make next?

Cheers,
Claire

John, you built a guitar. That is a proud achievement.

There are people who have built 15 of them who aren't doing any better than you. What's more, they don't see that their work is flawed.

Keep the bar high. This is a process of improvement that is never finished.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

John, great job actually, you built a guitar you can play! How excellent is that?
Everyone's right, you learned a ton and they'll just get better from here. I hope you're planning a next one.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

John,

I think it looks pretty dang good. I think you're right about the photography though. If you were to have it professionally photographed, I'd be willing to bet you could make it look like a lot of the ones you think look perfect. The lighting in your pictures is showing up little rub marks and smudges. If you'll notice right around the flash reflection on your guitar you can see imperfections, but away from the flash you cannot. That is why photographers use those umbrella lookin' diffuser thingies. I'm not saying there's no flaws, but I know I probably have a lot of the same ones on my first. That's what we're all working towards, getting rid of those flaws.

Lighting is everything whether taking pictures or looking at the instrument in person. The light will pick up the flaws on a surface. You can use this to your advantage when sanding and buffing. As you buff your instrument, have a small fluorescent lamp nearby. You can hold it at many different angles and pick up all the scratches and flaws you've missed so you can address them. Fluorescent lighting is very unforgiving. It won't always give you a true perception of colors but it will help you to find your scratches.

Overall, I think it's an amazing first guitar. Wait until someone asks you what brand it is and you tell them you made it.

Darrin

Now that's what a first guitar should look like! I get a little tired of the perfect first guitars that are posted here. Way to go! If the mistakes nag you like they should, your next one will be an vast improvement.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Looks pretty good for a first to me, and I've seen some absolute shockers. Some builders here won't show their first, so you're way ahead of the game already.

One first guitar that I saw somewhere (not mine! and not here!) was so bad that you'd have to discourage the builder from doing another, just out of pity for the wasted materials. In fact you'd be inclined to take away any sharp implements from this guy (I ain't kidding here either) and buy them a pack of crayolas and a stack of butchers paper. But they kept on with it and are now building some pretty good guitars. Not sure if you'd call it perserverance or just sheer bloody mindedness.

You're already several light years beyond this bloke.

Yours looks great to me and you can always go back later on down the track and refinish it if you're not happy with it, you can build ten guitars, or 50 guitars and still not be entirely happy with fit and finish. My first looks good in photos but I wasn't happy with several aspects of it, so after my second I went back and re-worked some of it. Now it looks pretty good and sounds wonderful. I wasn't happy with the rosette on my 4th and went back and put in a new one - after the box was together, and without taking off the top. Looks great now.

You done good, be proud of yourself. I've always felt that the hardest part about building guitars is having enough self belief to start and finish your first. Most people out there will never get that far because it wouldn't even occur to them that they can - guitars are something you buy aren't they?

John,

It's your baby, your child so be proud of it. It is what it is and you'll love it all the more for that. Well done - that's the first step of a long long journey. I'm looking forward to playing it in a couple of weeks time.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Great effort John, sit back with a cold one and enjoy a strum. I bet it's the best sound you have ever heard. As others have said, take some time to congratulate yourself, you came further than many and the lights are now on.

Cheers

Kim

Congrats John - Great job

I'm sure you're already working on your 2nd build by now!! I know you were in discussion about which finish to use on this one. I've just completed a couple of bodies using the Rustins Plastic Coasting. It's going to be a couple of weeks before they're strung up but I'll let you know when I've got pics. I think it will be a good finish option for your next guitar.

Well done

Mat