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I strung up guitar number 5 last night. This one is for my younger brother. It was supposed to be done in June for when I flew out to San Francisco to visit. Then he told me they are moving back to New York, so I put it on hold to finish #3, which was a White Oak/Lutz Spruce OLF-SJ that I ended up finishing in August. It was a gift for a friend's 40th birthday. This one sounds pretty good but not as good as the Myrtle/BC Sitka I finished on Saturday. I had a bit of a problem in that I didn't line up the jig correctly when I was routing the mortice for the neck. So, the neck and bridge are a bit off center. I didn't even notice it until I was gluing the neck on. There are still some other cosmetic issues, but I'm getting better with each one. One big thing I need to work on is getting things more symmetrical, particularly things that are carved, like the bridge and the back of the headstock. Anyway, this still needs a pickguard. I'm waiting for some clear pickguard material to come in. I thought the rosette was an original idea but then I saw that Todd Rose did something quite similar (only better!) on one of his recent guitars! Here's the specs:

Top: Carpathian Spruce (RC Tonewoods)
Back & Sides: Black Limba (RC Tonewoods)
Neck: Honduran Mahogany
Fingerboard: Ziricote
Bridge: Ziricote
Headplate: Ziricote
Bindings: Indian Rosewood
Purfling: Maple & Indian Rosewood
Rosette: Black Limba (left over from the back) with black fiber lines
Finish: Behlen's Rockhard Tabletop Varnish brushed on

Here's some pictures. Sorry they aren't that great.

Very cool Matt

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

Excellent looking guitar. Nice work!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Very nice Matt!
I like the rose allot!
The Limba looks great also .

How's it sound?

Don't worry about the off center part for this guitar.
poop happens!
Just work to get the next 100 or so even.
Everyone of us has a horror story to tell about guitarmaking.

Mike

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Mike Collins

Matt: Congrats,real beautiful guitar. They say confession is good for the soul. You didn't have to say a word because none of us would have noticed, good on you for being up front. That being said don't expect me to tell you or anyone else about my boo boos. Take care.
Tom

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

Thanks, guys!



Then I guess I won't tell you about cutting the profile of the sides on the wrong side before I bent them. I had wanted the lighter color to be towards the top, not the back. Oops! I think it still looks nice and my brother will like it and won't know the difference.



I like the sound but it seems to work better for finger picking than strumming. It's a little brighter than any of the others I've built but has nice bass and seems pretty well balanced.

Matt