Official Luthiers Forum!

A year ago I attended a Tommy Emmanuel concert here in Jacksonville and was smitten with a little 34 Gibson L-OO he used on one of the songs he performed. I went home with the idea in my head that I wanted to build one of those guitars...with some twists.

I drew a plan for an early Gibson inspired body with 13 frets to the body and a 25 inch scale. In addition, there's not a stitch of mahogany in the neck. It's Padauk, Avodire, & East Indian Rosewood. None of that is a typo.

I showed the plan to a friend of mine that lives in Haslet Texas (Kevin) and upon telling him how busy I was and that it probably wouldn't be completed for at-least a year.....he suggested that he build it. Truth is, he really wanted to build it...he just wouldn't come out and say it. Sooooooo, I sent him the materials necessary and we scheduled a week in November of last year for me to fly out to his place...and we worked on this guitar (among other things like refrets etc.). Mostly however, this guitar represents Kevin's execution. He did a great job......AND IT'S MINE!!!!!! Photography credits belong solely to Kristen from LanierStar.com studio. She did an absolutely fantastic job of capturing all the things a guitar can be.

Cocobolo back and sides, Lutz Spruce top, Lutz bracewood, Grover Sta-Tites with 12 to 53's, and Ebony binding with a B/W purf.

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

that's one beautiful guitar Chris!
regards,
jack

Wow, beautiful guitar. I like the rosette and the back of the neck. Very artistic.

James

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Always remember you are unique......just like everyone else.

gorgeous - the guitar and photographs deserve each other - both gorgeous!!

That's really nice, Chris. Man, I have got to get busy.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

Chris, what an absolutely beautiful, inspiring guitar!

Thanks for sharing, Chris. I've got a 13-fret on my bench right now, and I'm always looking to others here for ideas!

The guitar and the pics are indeed very nice!

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

Chris, that is really nice, makes me want to get going on the 12-fret size 0 I started a few months ago. I'm also working on a 13 fret too but it's a 000.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I have to say this was a pretty succesfull build. I was trying to get the guitar to feel like a 12 fretter but have the benefit of the longer scale (atleast on this body size). To date I haven't told anyone that plays it that it's 13 frets to the body until after they've played the guitar for a few minutes. Each time they comment, "Wow...it feels great!". Most are surprised there's no mahogany in the neck either. Speaking of the neck...it actually turned out to be quite a bear. Once the Padauk is sanded it has that typical almost neon orange/red appearance. It really clashed with the Cocobolo. To make matters worse, if the neck was sanded past 150 and you didn't pay attention to where the dust goes, the padauk dust would pack the pores of the avodire and it looked really bad. So there was a lot of color matching and careful sanding on the neck to get it to look the way it looks. Aggravation aside I think the neck is a great match to the guitar. It's not any heavier feelings than a typical mahogany neck either.

Little body....BIG sound.

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

Beautiful. I love the pearl inlay on the peg head.

What is the diameter of the sound hole it looks big?

She's a real beauty and crisply executed. Kudos to you both.

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

Lovely Chris!
Not my style ( modern), but never the less, beautiful...

Very very nice guitar.

In the neck - question on the neck. I can see the laminations length-wise (duuh, well, yes) but did you also build the neck block from laminations cross-wise, or is it one piece? I can't see any glue lines at all, assuming one piece.

Pretty little guy! Like everything about it. I hope to do a parlor size soon. Need some plans.
A Tommy E. concert playing one ...would make you go create one. Now...the big problem is making it sound as good as he makes it sound. Tough row to Hoe!
Kent

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EXCELLENCE IN SCULPTURE, CARVING, LUTHIER, ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK AND DESIGN

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Thanks everyone.

Kenna the sound hole diameter is 3 7/8ths. It just looks big cuz the body is so small.

Haans I'm a fan of yours so thanks for weighing in.

Corky the neck is solid lengthwise (no stacked heel). The boards that were glued up yielded 2 necks.

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

that is definitely a rad guitar (yes, i said "rad"). i like everything about it. good work.

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sweat the small stuff.

Very cool Chris. How did you guys brace that one?

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Chris Oliver
Infinity Luthiers
...in the shop.

live every minute...

Chris - it's your standard x brace (pyramid style) no scallops. A single tone bar and 2 finger braces on either side. We debated over 1 or 2 finger braces but didn't feel especially strong on either so we went with 2.

I wish I could make a sound clip of it. It really sounds good.

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

What kind of finish did you use?

Nice! Very Nice! Love the Padauk, Avodire, & East Indian Rosewood neck. Nice contrast and change for a hog neck. Do you find it neck heavy??

I'm getting professional pictures taken of "The 60" this afternoon, now that I got it finished. Gotta love getting good pictures done.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

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James the finish is NC lacquer.

Rod you'd be surprised. It's not neck heavy at all. In fact everyone that picks it up comments on how lite it is. It's just awesome.

Chris

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

Chris bro that is one of the nicest little guitars that I have seen posted on the OLF - I want it!!!!

Great job!!!!

Very nice parlor Chris! Nice selection of woods on the neck and rosette as well.

Parlour guitars have always been a favourite of mine visually as they look so compact with a lot of features and detail, but that just blows most out of the water. I love the neck. I sometimes find laminate necks can be a little overpowering, but that is just .

Lovely Chris, just lovely.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com