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..or at least my version of an OMish sized guitar. Shape is still evolving and needs design tweaks like sound hole lower but overall pretty pleased with the design.

Sitka top, rosewood B&S, bloodwood binding, red gum rosette, bloodwood bridge, hog neck died slightly redder to tie in the bloodwood. Hog fret markers with hog fretboard binding

12 fret short scale.

EnduroVar finish back and sides and Sutherland Welles Uralkyd 500 top and neck - oh yeah crappy pics too.

Has a very sweet sound. I'll look for bracing pics but I use a fan braced hybrid with a curved low brace behind the bridge plate.

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Thank You and Best To All

Found the bracing pics. Something a little different.

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Thank You and Best To All

Nice!

Very stylish and amazing craftsmanship! I love it. You going to post an audio or video clip? Congratulations, Larry!

I like the look of your back bracing. Is there a theory there?

Oh, and overall very beautiful work.

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Michael F Smith
Goat Rock Ukulele
http://goatrockukulele.com

Very nice looking guitar. Interesting choice for binding the neck and the fret markers, never saw Mahogany used for those before. In the picture it looks a little monotone but probably looks very different in real life.

I am curious about your back bracing and the reason for the bridging over the back strap? Is that to give the back more flexibility?

Overall I like it and it is very different from the "norm". I like different so I think it is pretty cool looking.

I would also be interested in hearing a sound sample of it.

Cheers,
Bob

Nice!

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Thanks for the kind words.

As far as a theory goes for the back bracing I remember trying a couple different ways to install the back strip pieces and one was to cut them individually and place them between the braces and the other was to glue the entire back strip in place then cut pieces out for the braces, then install the braces.

It was during the last method that I noticed a pretty nice curve would remain in the back after gluing the entire length of back strip from the radius dish. As soon as I began cutting the pieces out for the braces that curve would (of course) disappear. So I thought it was cool to leave that curve in so I left the piece intact and cut the braces around it, preserving that initial curve. Seems cool but can't attest to any structural or tone differences and I do them all that way - just because I can

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Thanks Bob. The hog fret markers are very understated and when done right they blend right into the binding and the neck material. Not easy to get a really clean joint there and I think they show up just right in real life.

As far as the back bracing see my response above.

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Thanks for the reply Larry,

I would make a guess that the Mahogany bindings and markers look really cool when the light hits it and the grain shows. Yes as you say very understated and I like it a lot.

As for your back bracing it does look quite nice. I did something a bit similar on the parlor I did. I slightly scalloped the braces in the middle of each brace. No particular reason other than when I was shaving them down I started in the center and thought it looked pretty cool so I did all the back braces the same. It is very subtle but you do see it when you look in through the sound hole. Not sure if it has any effect on strength or sound but it looks cool...

I am also curious about your fan bracing on the lower bout. Is that something you came up with? It is a bit of a cross between classical and steel string bracing. Have you been able to compare it with anything else you built? It would be interesting to hear it next to the same body style with conventional X bracing.

It is nice to see people work outside the box and try new things.

Cheers,
Bob

I was trying to imagine the vibrations extending from the bridge out along those braces through the top and it made sense to lay it out as you see. I've since seen someone else do a very similar thing but I didn't see it before I came up with this pattern. It makes for a very sweet sounding guitar and I've actually never built with standard tone bars because I've never been able to make any sense of them - maybe one day.

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Hi Larry,
I followed a similar path during my bracing development - which means, your guitars must sound awesome I am currently incorporating an unbroken centerstrip and a floating brace (credit to Jeff Traugott) for my back bracing. It is extra work but I like the results.

The guitar looks great, I like the look of the back braces and the curved brace under the bridge plate. Looking cool is plenty good enough reasons for changing up the bracing. I am sure the guitar sounds as good as it looks.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Nicely done. Yet another group of photos I wish I could hold. Congrats.

Tim

My only worry about the way you did the bracing is you have an area that runs the length of the guitar on each side of the centerline that has no cross bracing. I just wonder if that creates stresses that could lead to a crack forming there at some point.

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Michael F Smith
Goat Rock Ukulele
http://goatrockukulele.com

Nice Larry. I like the shape. Good on you for doing something other than clones.

Excellent job! Congratulations!

Hi, Larry,
I think it's beautiful inside and out. Wonderful craftsmanship. Congratulations!
Patrick