Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm allergic to Cocobolo so I haven't used it for a bridge. The only reason I can think of to not use is it's sometimes hard to glue because it's so oily.

_________________
I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

Woody,

Coco is a good wood. It will makes a great bridge. I'm thinking any of the rosewoods are good.

Conventional wisdom says use quarter sawn but many say off quarter to riff is best.

Good luck,
Joe

_________________
Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Joe, me too.
As it seems it's as usual as the tone is the sum of the parts. I'd say use the coco bridge and see if it gives you the tone you're after or not. Just the bridge itself isn't going to determine the tone. It's not a tone knob. Read all the post again.

Not on topic but any reason coco shouldn't glue ok with HHG and fresh surfaces?

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I'd whipe the Coco with some acetone before gluing. But I do that with a lot of stuff if I think it might be oily as I read that somewhere years ago. Might have been about coco.
But if I'm wrong I'm sure I'll be corrected.

Chris, you are wrong!
I'm kidding, sort of... have read that some people warn against this as it is can just smear more oils to the surface, so I've never tried it. In my experience coco glues well without acetone or anything else like that as long as the surfaces have just been prepared and the parts fit well.

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Ok, I'm going to go ahead and use it. It'll be interesting to see how it sounds although I doubt I could ever tell the difference in tone based on the type of wood. If nothing else it should be a bit lighter than ebony and that goes along with my goal to build a light and responsive top keeping in mind I have no previous experience for comparison.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Just keep in mind what style of playing it is going to be used for.

As I reread my post I should have said lighter and more responsive than my current daily player, an HD28. Not as light as, for example, my 016NY. I fingerpick, play rhythm and flatpick (some say crosspick).

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

You don't want it too responsive for the rhythm or it will start sounding unclear if you understand what I'm trying to say. Your Martin might be built a bit heavy. But it sounds like you don't want to get much more responsive then it. The Mayes voicing tapes are pretty good at showing examples of voicings tops for different styles. It's pretty easy to go too far when voicing the top too.

Chris, I understand what you're saying. And I did go by John Maye's voicing DVDs. I know what I'm shooting for and the HD28 is a bit too heavy for what I want. I'll probably have to build lots of guitars to get it. Bummer, huh?

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Yep, Bummer.

Joe: Think your right on ,maple for a brighter,darker or bassy with the rosewood plate.My opinion at least

_________________
A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

A small point on gluing Cocobolo Rosewood.

I have practically no experience with Coco, except the guitar I just finished. I used epoxy for most of the Coco gluing but I used Titebond for gluing the linings in. (to messy with epoxy for me). I did some testing first on side scrapes. I wiped the coco just before gluing with de-natured alcohol and then let it dry. I also did some samples with no alcohol. I used both titebond and LMI white.

I got the best results with titebond with the coco wiped with alcohol. It actually bonded quite well.

My results were most valid for the coco I was using and may not represent coco in general. It also didn't prove anything about long term serviceability but after doing the test I trusted titebond to do the job. (I have heard someone say that when you use alcohol on a joint the oil is removed, but comes rushing back later and will soften the joint. Not sure I believe it, not sure I don't)

Joe

_________________
Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

There are pretty good plans available for the venerable D-28.... If you want a D-28 flavor Guitar that is a little lighter and more responsive.... they way to do it is get a set of plans and build it a little lighter than the D-28.... so go a little thinner on the top (Say 0.105 - 0.110" instead of 0.125") and a bit lighter on the bracing... like 1/2" - 5/8" rather than 5/8" to 3/4".

Remember, you are making trade offs... The D-28 is a great guitar for playing LOUD with medium strings and a fairly aggressive technique... Building lighter will make it less great for this... but make it better for playing with a lighter touch.

The bridge alone won't do it.

Good luck

John

John, no argument with you there. I'm hoping I can dial an OM into something a bit lighter and more responsive. I'd like to build a D size guitar eventually but then I'll probably go for bluegrass cannon. I think it will be awhile before I learn enough to fine tune my tone with the bridge but that doesn't keep me from trying to absorb everything.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"