I just realised that it has been a year since I posted any new instrument photos here… it’s been a busy year, mostly filled with things other than instrument making, but I have finished these three guitars in the last few months:
The first was a prototype classical guitar which I made to test out some different woods and new design ideas. It has an Austrian stone pine top and Finnish birch ply back and sides. The result is a nice, simple design, which I might develop into an affordable student model in the future.
The second was an interesting classical guitar commission / design collaboration, which ended up producing a very successful new design. It has a European spruce top, American cherry back and sides, Douglas fir and carbon fibre neck, and katalox fingerboard. String lengths are 630-650mm.
The third was this commission for a 9-string version of the Brahms guitar, tuned EADGCFADG (from low to high), with a 5 octave range from E1 to E6 (21st fret on the high G string). It has a European spruce top, sapelli and lacewood (European plane) back and sides, Douglas fir and carbon fibre neck, and a Rocklite Ebano fingerboard. String lengths are 600-690mm
With a bit of luck, my new workshop will be up and running soon, and I’ll be able to start working on my next couple of commissions…
Hi Martin.
What Kind of sound have these new guitars with these unusual Woods?
Fine work and design anyway.
Best.
Christian Vasseur
Thank you, Christian.
They sound a lot like guitars really, except the 9-string, which also sounds quite like a bass 🙂
Every guitar I make is individually designed around the sound: I decide what sound I’m trying to get, then work out the acoustic design first. I usually choose the wood early on in the design process, then the details of the design (thicknesses of the top, back and sides, design of the bridge, and the details of the internal bracing) will be worked out to get the desired sound out of that wood. Different woods do make some difference to the tone of the guitar, but most of that difference can be compensated for by adjusting the design to suit the wood. The remaining differences from the wood just give a slight character difference rather than affecting the quality (in the sense of being better or worse).
Hopefully, there will be some recordings/videos with these guitars soon, and you’ll be able to judge the sound for yourself.