Official Luthiers Forum!

I've spent a lot of time playing a OO-28G on long term loan from a friend.
This one (late 50's) has a *beautiful lower register*, really spine tingling, but
the first and second strings are pretty lifeless- it's a lot of work trying to
make them sing. Maybe it's the particular instrument, but looking at the
bracing and that big ebony bridge, it seems more likely a design issue. fwiw.

What comes to my mind, in a quite different style, is the Torres FE12/17 plantilla,
maybe lightly braced in a 5-fan like FE12. Seems like it would be very flexible of styles. A thought.

Seems surprising at first, but it makes good sense on thinking about it.
What's surprising to me is how thin the top *seems to be* on this one,
not a lot more than .090" from what I can measure, with little sign of
imprinting. Maybe I need a Hacklinger though.
The body proper does seem to have some good qualities, eg the gen'l
size and esp the taper help the lower resonances, as far as I can tell.
Maybe it would work well with a lighter fan and bridge- when I first
saw the bridge, I thought "that can't be original", but having seen pics
of others, it obviously is. It'd be fun to change the bridge only and see how
it sounds- don't think my buddy would go for it though.

How about a parlor....lots of ragtime played on parlors in the early 1900's.

I've always been a fan of Paul McGill's drop shoulder Picasso models. It's an eye-catcher and a head-turner. A drop shoulder is on my list of things to do. It saves the cutaway bend and allows great access to the upper frets... for those who do play up there. Here is a link to the page on his website:

http://www.mcgillguitars.com/newmcgillh ... r20nov.htm

Paul is a member here and used to post frequently. I haven't seen him here in quite a while and would enjoy his participation and input again. His craftsmanship and artistry are exceptional.

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Peter

Well...you could go to a music store with your dad and try out the Taylor NS models. They come in 'Grand Concert' (15" lower bout) and 'Grand Auditorium' (16" lower bout) body shapes and have a slim (1 7/8" nut) neck.

What I've heard is that they aren't the best sounding nylon string guitars out there, but your Dad could see whether he likes the slim neck profile, and what he thinks of a slightly larger body.

Christian

Filippo, you should get some feedback from Dave La Plante. He makes some killer crossover guitars. 14 fret to the body nylon strung, narrower neck, etc. Talk to him, or shoot him an email at his website. www.guitarsbydavidlaplante.com

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Based upon what you have provided, my thoughts lead me to think of something like Lacote or Stauffer. Those early romantic European guitars worked towards a different character of sound than the Spanish guitars, a character which should be in line with how he tends to play. Also, the size of body and scale will favour his playing. I'm thinking that a Stauffer might be right up your alley looks wise, too!

Failing that, look at a flamenco guitar, where the idea is quickly articulated sounds.

You should have no problem getting the architecture right and adjusting the aesthetics.

I'll be looking forward to what you pull together.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

The early X-braced Martins were gut-strung. X bracing is a bit more efficient structually than fan bracing, and I've found the 000 size works well with nylon strings: most classicals are more like 00. Use a thin top and light bracing.

I'd suggest using a Spanish style bridge, with a tieblock. The originals used a pin bridge, but most people these days think of that as a 'steel string' thing, and will put steel strings on it if they're not in on the secret. We once had an 1844 Panormo come in with medium gauge steel strings on it. The guy found it in his grandmother's attic, and it had a pin bridge, so... Luckily, the ebony saddle area chipped from the winding moving, and he brought it around before the top was ripped off. That was one sweet little guitar when we got it fixed, and you could do worse than to make a copy of that one for your father. if you do, make it _light_.

+1 on the Panormo. I made a "copy" last year. At least as close as I could given that I had no original to examine. I will definitely make another.

I really should draw up my info into some sort of plan...

Alan, did you document the one that you had in the shop?

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/