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Here is my new toy. It is a macaferri prototype built along side my great friend and mentor Rob Bagot. It has Osage for the back and sides, Ziricote appts, and a old bridge stringer spruce top. The finish is french polish. Thanks for looking.

Very nice. Interesting take on the tailpiece -- no problem with thte strings being long enough obviously. I like the grain matching on the back of the peghead. Did you dome the top or actually bend a pliage?

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Chuck Kish

Hello York,
The top is domed.

I tried the traditional style metal tailpiece with several different inserts. I didn't like any of them. This little stop tailpiece made of ziricote sounded better than the metal ones, and looked very minimalist (which went with the minimal theme of the guitar). Maybe it added some extra overtones. Maybe it's because it suspended more string over body since the distance from bridge to tailpiece increased greatly. Maybe it's because I thought it looked really cool. I have no idea..... I just liked everything about it better.
Thanks for looking, and thank you for your kind words! I really appreciate it.

Hans

That's really nice, Hans!
Is that ladder bracing I see through the port?
How does it sound?

I dug up this old pic of the bracing before I closed the back. I hope this helps answer your bracing questions. Thanks for looking, and thank you for the kind words.

Thanks for posting the bracing picture, Hans. Looks like the traditional Mac ladder bracing. I know that many talk about the length of string after the bridge making a tonal or resonance difference in archtops. Maybe someone can comment on that with some details? I do like the look with the stop tailpiece. What radius did you arch the top?

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Chuck Kish

Well.... to be honest I'm not sure I can answer that question very intelligently. I am merely a grasshopper in Luthier Fu.

I don't really know what the "radius" is per se. We went off the plans and measured them. There was about a 7/16" rise from the edge to the bridge location, so we made the bracing accordingly. However, it is a compound radius because it flattens out a bit in the upper bout, particularly under the fingerboard extension, as well as near the edges where it glues on to the sides. I hope I have answered your question sufficiently.

Hans my friend.
Great looking guitar.
Where did you find the Osage?

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

Hans,


very nice. just a question about the osage, did you source it localy and resaw it yourself?
I got some boards locally very dense stuff and rings like glass when i got it thin. when i did resaw them down i got alot of movement almost like cupping. i checked the wood and it was dry( and quartered). when i cut it it cut straight so it wasnt commpression wood. just wondering about your results.

Thanks Brent

Hello gentlemen. Thanks for the comments and questions. I greatly appreciate it.

I got the osage back and sides from my friend Don Madill. The osage neck blank was an internet purchase from Charlie at Woodcrafters. There was no way to source it locally. The osage in Kansas (most folks call it hedge up here) is very abundant but does not grow anything close to straight. It grows low, gnarly, and twisted, and therefore was historically used in long rows as fencing for ranchers. I don't think you could get a straight toothpick out of Kansas osage.

I didn't have to resaw it, so I have nothing to add there. It's workability was decent enough. I wouldn't want to bend any on an old torch pipe setup. It worked just fine in the Blues Creek bender, but beware of scorching. Rob did most all the neck carving and reported that it worked well with those tools.

I know a lot of wood turners and craftspeople who always turn it green because they say it won't sit still after it is dry. I have had no problems with it's stability thus far. I can ask Don if he resaws it green and then lets it dry while stickered. I do know that he uses a kiln.

Overall I would vote that osage is a VERY valid tonewood. The sound is really great. I've been very pleasantly surprised. I hope to get some good sound clips up soon.
Thanks for looking.
Hans

Beautiful guitar Hans! I love the colour of Osage but have never had the chance to work with it. Great reading about your experience with it.
Nice work!

-J.

Thanks man. I really appreciate it.

I love the color of osage too. I've been told that it will change a lot over the years, becoming a honey nut brown color (whatever that means). One individual likened it to paduak in that it goes from flamboyant to conservative. I can relate

Thanks for looking.
Hans

Below is a link to a short sound clip of the osage guitar.

I just made up a little lick that was kinda boom chucky and heavy handed. I'm using a very heavy ziricote and osage pic I made to match the guitar. I am amazed at the headroom of this style guitar, so my objective was to demonstrate this for you. I can push it farther than any guitar I've ever played. The damned thing just gets louder.

IT'S JUST SPLANKY!

Thanks for looking! More demos to come.
Hans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SdduWDDBIA

I like the sound. Sounds very clear and clean. I have a Gitane in that style - wanna trade? haha!

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Chuck Kish

Nice clip Hans! Thanks for posting that awesome jingle...

Could we see a close up of the elevated fingerboard?

~rob

Hey folks. The master stirs.
Pics of the fretboard......Sure thing maestro!
Here are a couple pics of the elevated fretboard.

Nice! I like that a lot.

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Chuck Kish