KOA!

 No, not Kampgrounds Of America, but the wood Koa, as in Acacia Koa. This species grows in Hawaii and has been used for musical instruments for years. And used successfully. It contributes a pleasing crispness to the sound, and as a real plus is undeniably beautiful. 

This guitar was built for a prior customer in Colorado who wanted our SJ model rendered in Koa. It sports a Bearclaw Sitka Spruce top, and Ebony appointments. 

The Death of Melody?

 I grew up in the sixties. That’s 1960’s, not as many assume, the 1860’s or earlier. Back then, AM radio was an exciting adventure, where each week saw the release of some new song from the latest hot group. New sounds, new concepts, new ideas were the norm. And regardless what our parents thought, there was real creativity being expressed. From Hendrix to Buffalo Springfield to Creedence to Booker T. and the M.G’s there was something for nearly every taste. It was an expressive era, and the music was memorable. You could whistle the tune and bring to mind the song. 

But no one is whistling these days. Other than those whistling down Memory Lane. Giving it my best effort to be objective, while listening to the modern offerings on contemporary radio, I’m struck by the absence of something: melody. Where did it go ? Where is the progress of a musical idea that takes the listener through a pleasant journey, building tension and resolving in a logical conclusion? Where is a tune that is recognizable as a tune? Moving cautiously, blandly, up and down a scale does not a melody make. Why is banality the norm?

It would be enlightening, if sad, to chronicle the demise of melody. If a diagnostician could tell us when and what was the cause of death. It’s probably a complex answer, and each line a sorrowful one. It probably deserves a song, doesn’t it?

Another 000–August, 2023

Our newest guitar—also a 000-12–just finished. This one sports a bearclaw-figured Italian spruce top, and Birdseye maple back and sides. Also, a player-friendly cutaway. Our finish ace, Tony Ferguson, nailed the “honey burst” on back, sides and top. Thanks, Tony!

Recent Work, July 2023

 This post will be an experiment in uploading pics from a 3rd party host.

This guitar is a 000-12 fret model, Sitka spruce top, Indian rosewood back/sides.

The customer wanted spalted maple accents, and we were happy to oblige.

To me, a 000-12 is nearly perfect in size, sound and looks. Here it is:

How long has it been?!

How long since we have updated the blog? The answer is, something like 7 years. That’s quite a long time to remain silent!  Perhaps we can do better in future… Looking back over old posts, I see that Photobucket’s policy change has removed some of my pics. And I’m afraid some of them are just gone. Ah well, we’ll try to go forward without their help.

To change the subject a bit, I’d like to quote a verse from a favorite hymn of mine:

“Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne;

Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but it’s own;

Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,

And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.”

This Ivory Palace will be glad when that anthem resounds unchallenged!

Ziricote SJ, part 2

Aaaannnnd......the back:



Ziricote SJ





Most recent guitar, Ziricote back and sides, Port Orford Cedar top.

The fretboard, peghead overlay and bridge are also Ziricote.

Hand-made tuner buttons, that's right: Ziricote.



White Tiger

A view of some previous work. This FS is made from Black & White ebony.

This fine material also used on rear of peghead and for the tuner buttons.

A real treat to come across large enough pieces for a guitar!

Where ya been?

Checking the date on the previous post made me realize just how delinquent I've been.
Update time!
We are in our new shop, and are as pleased as can be.
Totally finished? No...but we are enjoying the extra space as well as more logical layout.
I wish the exterior was a post card, but it's not too shabby either.
External view:

It utilizes cedar posts, with windows between and "stucco" above and beneath.
This was our inspiration:

Which is the studio of the artist who sculpted Mt. Rushmore.
Billie is just glad I was inspired by his building, and not by this one:

Or by this:

Thanks for looking,

Steve

View to the South

And here we turn back away from those north-facing windows and see  how the south part of the assembly area is shaping up. This area will be plate joining, inlay, bracing and brace carving. The open box facing north will hold our binding selection and double as a go-bar deck for gluing braces to top and back plates.

And the other corner of this room, where the rim assembly takes place. You can just see our molds and forms being housed in their new home:

And a few weeks later, we've moved in wood, more tools, and we're really starting to enjoy the new work environment. Drop by some time and get a tour!

More on the Shop

Apologies for the long absence. My PC quit talking to Blogspot, so I'm trying to learn how to do all this on an iPad. We'll see if old dogs can learn a new trick or two. I would like to show the progress we have made on our new shop. Here is the north east corner, and the first work bench for this area. Ryan is crouched in full work mode off to the right:

And with the second bench for this area, the space is nearly finished.  We are discovering that it is one thing to build a new building. It is quite another to make it fully functional.  But we're getting there, and with each step comes more encouragement!

And a view of the north west corner, or our "clean room". It gets carpet on the floor, because no dust will be made here. This room is for final setup, and such repairs as come in. Not long after this photo, we carpeted the benches to protect the guitar's finish. It is beginning to be usable!

New Sander...

...Or how to handle a crate weighing over 500 pounds
Here's the box sitting in our truck bed. This is as far as the carrier would deliver:

How to get this inside? Disassemble the crate...maybe the tool can be taken out in pieces?

Afraid not, it's all in one piece. Could we levitate?

In the end, decided to build a ramp:

And now we know how the Pyramid Builders felt:

In position! In the background our old Performax is blushing, now being upstaged by this Delta double-drum wonder. Now all we need is some duct work to the dust collector, and we're good to go!

Trim Work

Shop work has been fun lately, due to the completed appearance of things.
It's a bit like applying bindings on a guitar. Finishing touches are always rewarding.
For instance, just look at this trim carpenter...doesn't he look happy?

And here is some of his work:

This is the front door area, and the French door to the left opens to our "clean room".
Clean--as in only finished instruments allowed.

And the north bank of our assembly area:

Now for benches, work tables, tools, jigs and fixtures.
I almost hate to mess this up. It probably will never be this clean again...

Power!

Recently, Reece and his crew finished our wiring.
Here's Elmo, whose background is industrial wiring, demonstrating his skill with a conduit bender:

It wasn't long before the nerve center looked like this:

So with power running all over the place, the rest of the crew  could start installing lights:

And this view of the north wall, where assembly benches will run--each bank of windows will have these mini spots to throw light down on the benches:

Thanks for watching along!

Where were we?

It has been far too long since an update! And now my Texas lutherie buddies are starting to ask, "Did you ever finish that shop?" Short answer is: "no". Turns out that's also the long answer.
But I can elaborate a bit. There has been a great deal of interior work going on.
Like this shot of Jonathan working on the middle wall. To the right will be the Big Hall Of Tools.
To the left, where Jonathan is working, will be our assembly area.

 

 

Let these guys loose, and after a while there is this--a building within a building:

 

 

 

 

 

That two foot overhang is the walk way for our upstairs wood storage.

Now meet Daniel, son of Melvyn. He and his Dad are installing our HVAC system.

His burden is to keep us cool in the Summer and warm all winter. He looks optimistic, doesn't he? 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward through installation of wiring (failed to photograph that stage) and we are ready for insulation. Here is a view of the east wall, and the north east corner. Our drywall crew did a great job taping off exposed wood, not to mention protecting the floor:

 

 

 

 

And here is our drywall crew, seen from inside the "Clean Room":

 

 

 

 

Let these guys loose, and it wasn't long before we had real, enclosed spaces.

Here's a view of the front door area, and past my Dad's shoulder is our "Clean Room".

 

 

 

 

Only, it's not too clean just yet. Hopefully that will be soon.

So this is where we are, 29 September, 2013.

Thanks for watching along!

 

 

Bob Singer OM

New guitar going out today. Glamor shots to come, but here's the peghead.
It sports a rainforest theme, and the inlay was done by Craig Lavin.
Bob wanted Snakewood tuner buttons to match the overlay and bindings (and fretboard).
We're pleased with the way the buttons compliment the head:

Thanks for looking!

Rick's Cocobolo FS

Lest anyone think all we do is build shops around here, it seems prudent to post some pics of actual guitar work. This guitar was finished recently and sent to its proud new owner in New York state.
Rick's favorite wood (for back and sides) is Cocobolo. So it was with pleasure we used our best set for his guitar. With that we paired a top of really silky Lutz spruce. Here's a view of the front:

And a close up of the left shoulder, where you will find a sound port. An auxiliary sound hole, but this one aimed at the player's ear. Like a stage monitor, it enables a bit more sound to reach the guitarist:

Another interesting feature of this guitar is the Ryan-style arm bevel. Done in a dark piece of Macassar ebony (like the bindings) it adds a level of comfort for the player's right arm. No sharp edges digging in!

And a shot of that pretty back:

Finally a view of the end wedge detail, which also shows the Cocobolo's grain to good advantage:

Thanks for dropping by!