Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello everyone... First of all, I would like to say that there is some absolutely incredible work being done by the members of this forum. I've been watching this forum for the past year and figured it was about time that I finally joined in and shared what I have been working on.

I just finished these two experimental guitars. Here are the specs

Tops:
Sitka Spruce with Teredo holes, both from same billet


Back: Ziricote Flame Hickory
Binding: Curly Maple Black Plastic
Fingerboard: Ebony Ebony
Bridge: Ebony Ebony
Scale length: 25.5 25.5
Nut width: 1.7" 1.7"
String spacing: 2.125" 2.125

Those are very cool. Nice design elements. Especially like the bridge and the fingerboard extention.

Maybe you can elaborate on the hole thing. I've never heard of that Toledo thing.

Neil

Cool Idea and very nicely done. Let the worms make the soundhole

Toredo Worms - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipworm

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Welcome Andrew! Very interesting work....reminds me of the Benedetto Knotty pine top. Can you post a closeup of the cutaway?... can't really see what's happening there. Nice guitars though. (FWIW, I might have extended fretting right to the end of the fingerboard, but that's just me.)

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Dave
Milton, ON

A teredo (or toredo) is a fat stinky worm who lives in salt water & eats logs... Or any other unprotected wood. They love softwoods of all kinds & do a massive amount of damage once established.
At the infant stage, they enter a log or timber, leaving a tiny hole. They quickly grow to the width of the average little finger (often bigger) & chew their way along the grain. It's possible to have a log absolutely riddled with teredo holes & look perfect on the outside.
Drop that log on the landing & it will fall to pieces. And the smell will knock you down!
Sure looks cool on the guitars! Beautiful work & design elements.

im afraid i have to agree. some really cool ideas mate. nice one!

Wow i really like these. Nice job...Mike

Gorgeous! Amazing guitars and some very cool styling going on. I must be speachless as every time I type something to say I end up erasing it. I love them!!!
So can you tell us where the idea for the cutaway came from?It's a soundhole/Florentine/non cutaway all at once! I love it since I'm still worried of the tight bends normally accociated with cutaways. Does this design allow access to the upper frets easy enough?

Thanks for the kind words. Apparently I still have a lot of work to do on them though. Dave, I went and took some close ups fo the cutaway and then notice that I had a burn through, and then I was too embarrassed to put the pics up, so I'll put some up when I have taken care of that issue. Also, I think I agree about extending the frets all the way up the fingerboard, at least on the high E and tapered down. I didn't really realize how much I use the 17th fret until I strung them up(should have thought about it more). Alexander, I had the idea after I found the wood for the tops. I loved the idea of the teredo holes being the focal point of the top, and I didn't want to deter from that by having a traditional soundhole. It gives great access to the frets, although with the frets only going to 16, it doesn't leave much to be reaching for. Anyway, thanks again for the kind words.

Welcome to the forum Andrew. That's some beautifully wonderful creativity. Do you have more of the wood or is this the end of the guitar line for your bivalves? And of course the big question, "How do they sound?"

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

Ken, I'm in the process of obtaining some more stock of the Teredo spruce. So there will be more. As far as the sound. I have a hard time describing it. They aren't loud and booming like my Xbraced standard soundhole guitars. They are a little more quiet, yet way more responsive. They seem to play themselves. The sound is very balanced. Overall, I really enjoy the sound that they give, mainly because I have been more into fingerpicking lately and that is where they are at their best. Anyway, thanks for the welcome.

Love it! Very very interesting - and great for you for using wood that would have otherwise gone to waste, and doing it to come up with a very cool design.

I think it is like a Benjamin Scoop. Nick Benjamin uses them a lot. Google his name for a link (sorry on iPhone at the moment)

I'm not generally into unconventional guitars but those are really nice. I think it's because they are completely different to the norm. Great work would love to see more.

Lovely guitars!! And such a great idea!

I finally had a chance to get a closeup of the cutaway. And one of the bridge.