Official Luthiers Forum!

Let me apologize in advance for placing my abomination next to the fine works of art I see here. I am a weekend tinkerer. Anyway, I thought I would see how well carved sides would work. So this gift for a friend (he may no longer be a friend after this gift) turned into a wild experiment. So far I have made electric instruments, and cigar box guitars. But a proper guitar project is in the near future. I am slowing learning to put my breath into the construction, as Padma says.

-bamboo neck
-no truss rod - carbon fiber rod instead
-wenge fretboard
-AA spruce top
-carved poplar sides
-ready panel (paneling !) back
-polyurethane finish, sanded to 800

Things I learned:
-double check the top before shaping (I shaped it with the grain pointing off to the side a little doh !)
-no more cheap tuners for me. One jammed shortly after installation, and I ended up re-drilling all the holes and going back to the more expensive Gotoh tuners
-next time I will use a tight foam clamp for the headstock veneer (it bubbled on me). After that I guess it is time for a vacuum bag.

Thanks for looking.

That's really cool. What's up with the saddle. Am I flipped over in my head, or is it compensated the other way? Is there method to your madness?

Wait. I just rewatched the video Is that fan fret, but fanned the other way? Now I've got to spend some time on google and see if my memory is just completely shot.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

i think your right. and your fret slots are a little off square...but for real cool little fan fret instrument. its a little soloing machine.

You have a sharp eye. Typically fanned fret necks make the highest pitched string the shortest scale. But my friend played one of my other fanned fret (FF) guitars when he asked for this one, and asked if they could be fanned the opposite way for ergonomic reasons. The low F bar chord can be a little more work on a normal FF guitar. So I said, why not, let's try it. I have actually made two this way for other people. I prefer the normal way.

If you listen on the video I try to play an E minor bar chord at the 12th fret to show that it intonates pretty well.

wow....

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Very cool little instrument and some great playing!
Is it wedge shaped also? One shot in the vid looks that way, and it has a long slot port on the upper side?

Kind of a Picasso guitar,
Joe

No, seriously, it's really good to see people really thinking out of the box. Very interesting project.



Good luck on you next build.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I am lactose intolerant. So, I will not tolerate you.

hahahahahaha seriously, by what name are you called? When you were a kid, and your Mom was really ticked off at you, and she opened the door and yelled for you to come home to face the music, what name did she yell out?

This is a cool instrument! You broke pretty much every "rule" and still have a fun, whimsical, instrument that sounds good. I applaud your spirit of adventure!

Gotta ask about the bamboo neck: are we talking about a single (hollow) stalk, ripped? Or is it some sort of laminations of bamboo?

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Thanks all.


Not a wedge, although I have spent some time speculating how I might make a body with a wedge. Building a cardboard model is one idea. The sound port is on the upper side. I have a print of the Manzer Pikasso guitar hanging in my living room if that says anything (other than I am not married ).


You stole my lactose joke ! Being in the computer business I am a little paranoid about what info I publish. But my name is mark.


I buy these laminated boards, 1/2 x 4 x 30" from Oakland Axe Factory, around $40 each. They are pretty much the same as normal wood when cutting, sanding, rasping. Occasionally I have seen a strand or two come off but nothing big. I am a big fan. I have been considering making an archtop out of it, but the cost would be high.


Thanks for the input. I agree, I need to work more on my curves. My guitars that is. I am in shape, round is a shape.

Yes, this is a safe hobby for you. Just stay away from car building.

Very interesting. Like others have said, thinking outside the box is a good thing.

Have fun!

Mike