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Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=27636		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Alexandru Marian [ Mon May 31, 2010 3:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
I am rather excited about my latest (#7) and thought about showing it around for a bit.
Some specs:
-lightly flamed Austrian spruce top (from Rudi Fuchs)
-quartersawn Madagascar RW back and sides
-Spanish cedar neck with Madrose insert; Madrose headplates, bridge and binding; bloodwood/green rosette and top purfling; bold maple and Indian rosewood back and sides purfling fully mitered.
-"Ramirez style" planetary pegs - these things really work nicely.
-FPed amber shellac.

I am very pleased with how open and sustaining this thing sounds from day one. Although "French" - based on R. Bouchet, the tone is very Spanish, sometimes reminding of a flamenco negra with extra depth and sustain. This outcome fits the owner (seen in the pics) perfectly - he is a classical guitarist who deeply loves flamenco, as much as using a high saddle flamenco guitar for all his gigs.

I should have a sound clip or video in a few days.

Thanks for looking :D The backgrounds are so uninspiring yeah, but right when I wanted to take it out in the garden for some nice blurry vegetation background shots, rain started. So I just took a few quick shots on the balcony and in the shop...
Author:  Stephen Boone [ Mon May 31, 2010 3:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
She looks wonderful! Excellent!
Author:  senunkan [ Mon May 31, 2010 4:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
[clap] [clap] [clap] [:Y:]
I like the thick purfling scheme. Really stands out.
Author:  Alexandru Marian [ Mon May 31, 2010 4:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
The planetary pegs are the next best thing for guitars since the birth of Torres :) They have gears inside, from the outside they look like ebony pegs (anodized metal and OK plastic, they really look good enough and have been installed on very fancy guitars) Installation can be made with a drill press and/or 1/15 taper reamer.

They are light, very pleasant to tune, string changing is easier (a pro might need to change strings every few days, which is a horrible chore) and have this archaic/romantic look wrapped around some very clever engineering. Not cheap but worth it.

This linkshould provide the best description of the stuff.
Author:  jfmckenna [ Mon May 31, 2010 4:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Wow very cool I had no idea that such pegs existed. I like the look of that head stock too, very nice.
Author:  Peter J [ Mon May 31, 2010 5:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Beautiful work Alexandru... Congratulations on a very nice instrument. The pegs lend a certain individuality and clean lines in the headstock. Very nice work! I like your treatment of the 20th fret. Keep up the great work.
Author:  Elman Concepcion [ Mon May 31, 2010 5:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Alexandru

Do you believe the lightness of the machines add to the responsiveness of the instrument?
Thanks

Elman
Author:  Alexandru Marian [ Mon May 31, 2010 5:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Thanks all!

Filippo, the knob continues inside the metal body and it is retained by a sleeve/bracket which is likely press/popped in. Not sure you can replicate this with ebony which hasn't got much elasticity if you know what I mean. Also you would need to perfectly re-attach the gear shaft to the knob. Really not worth the effort, as the plastic looks just like ebony, or the other way around. If want other sort of pegs, you can try wooden pegs too. They really work very nice lf all done by the book. I want to use plain boxwood pegs on the next guitar I build for myself.

Elman, I couldn't say because it is too young, and the only other guitar I made on this bracing has a very different back (lighter and thinner Indian rosewood, different stiffness and density spruce too, plus other details with the bracing, bridge) Way too many variables. In any case I was happy to shave some weight off the total as the back was extremely dense. I don't like heavy guitars, just for no reason. Some folks say that flamenco guitars that have machine heads fitted over pegs sound worse after the operation. Not something one should become opinionated upon without building a lot of similar guitars first.
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Mon May 31, 2010 6:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Beautiful, Alex! You did yourself proud! Amazing looking guitar. How does it compare to your others? Looking forward to the sound clip.

Another source for planetary pegs is http://pegheads.com. They guy is in Winnsboro, SC, which is where my wife grew up. I know other builders who have used those, including, if I'm not mistaken, Joshua French.
Author:  Ken Franklin [ Mon May 31, 2010 11:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Beautiful guitar, Alex! Here's another link for the pegs: http://lessonsinlutherie.com/peg_page_01.html
Author:  MaxBishop [ Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Wonderful looking guitar, Alexandru. The FP job looks immaculate. I love the binding/purfling treatment you did.

Congrats,
Max
Author:  Howard Klepper [ Tue Jun 01, 2010 1:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Very nice, Alexandru. Do you have any closeup photos of the purfling, especially at the tail?
Author:  Alexandru Marian [ Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Thanks. I only have a couple decent half-close "in the white" if you can call that mess white.
Author:  douglas ingram [ Tue Jun 01, 2010 8:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Looks great!
Author:  CWLiu [ Tue Jun 01, 2010 9:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Excellent job! Congratulations!
Author:  Howard Klepper [ Wed Jun 02, 2010 1:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Euro Spruce / Madagascar classical with pegs done
Great looking miters and big, bold side purfling. That's what I wanted to see.
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