Notes and observations

Here are some photos of a 4 fret long scale tenor I finished recently. It features select non-curly dark koa top, back and sides, a Spanish cedar neck with a slotted headstock, rosewood faceplate, rosewood body bindings with top and side purfling, a paua rosette, a rosewood scalloped heel cap, a radiused ebony fingerboard with 2mm MOP side markers, bone nut and saddle and an ebony pin bridge with snake wood pins. It is fitted with Gilbert zero-backlash geared tuners with ebony buttons, finished in gloss lacquer and strung with Savarez Alliance KF fluorocarbon strings.

It has a clear, bright and resonant voice with good intonation and playability.

Here are some quick photos of two sopranos I finished this week. The first features master grade curly koa, a paua rosette, a Spanish cedar neck, an ebony faceplate, an ebony fingerboard with snowflake face markers and 2mm MOP side dots, an ebony pin bridge with snake wood pins with paua dots, a bone nut and saddle, rosewood binding, paua top purfling and a scalloped rosewood heel cap. It is finished in a hand rubbed gloss lacquer, fitted with Gotoh Deluxe friction tuners and strung with Savarez Alliance fluorocarbon strings.

The second features master grade curly koa, a rope style rosette, a Spanish cedar neck, an ebony faceplate, an ebony fingerboard with MOP dot markers and 2mm MOP side markers, an ebony pin bridge with snake wood pins with paua dots, a bone nut and saddle, curly maple bindings and scalloped heelcap. It is finished in a hand rubbed gloss lacquer, fitted with Gotoh Deluxe friction tuners and strung with Savarez Alliance fluorocarbon strings.

Both have clear sweet voices, good intonation and playability.

I've been working on a couple of custom tenors this month and I've also built two sopranos for sale from stock. I'm stringing them up today.
Both are master grade koa with ebony fingerboards, faceplates, and pin bridges. One has a rope rosette and curly maple bindings. The other has a paua rosette and rosewood binding with paua top purfling and snowflake fingerboard markers. Stay tuned for photos tomorrow. Thanks for the click.

Here are some photos of a model A3 14 fret long scale custom tenor I finished recently. It features master grade koa back and sides, a spruce top, curly maple body bindings with paua top and back purfling and a paua rosette, a Spanish cedar neck with a slotted headstock, a macassar ebony faceplate with curly maple binding, paua purfling and crown inlay, and Gilbert zero-backlash tuners. The ebony fingerboard has MOP crown face inlays and 2mm side inlays. It has an ebony pin bridge with snakewood pins and a scalloped ebony heel cap. It is finished in a gloss lacquer and strung with Savarez Alliance KF strings. This tenor has a bright, resonant and clear voice with good intonation, loudness and playability. Its on its way to Australia soon.

I just finished a new 14 fret long scale tenor in koa. It features dark select curly koa top, back and sides, curly maple body bindings, paua rosette, Spanish cedar neck, ebony
fingerboard, pin bridge, and scalloped heel cap, macassar ebony faceplate and a slotted headstock with Gilbert zero backlash tuners. Its finished in lacquer and strung with
Savarez Alliance KF strings. Its a very nice sounding instrument with a bright clear voice, excellent sustain and good loudness, intonation and playability.

My build schedule next year is extremely limited because of the demands being placed on my time and energies by my participation in a new internet software startup. I currently have 2 slots open for 2012 delivery custom orders. I'm planning on delivering outstanding 2011 orders over the next several weeks.


Best wishes for a cheery holiday season and a good new year. Stay tuned !

I mentioned recently that while I was finishing up a few custom orders I had an extra soprano in the works. This soprano (#51), constructed of richly colored master grade koa, features an ebony fingerboard with MOP face and side markers, a Spanish cedar neck, rosewood body bindings, top purfling, a simple rosette, ebony pin bridge with snake wood pins, bone nut and saddle, and a scalloped ebony heel cap. . Its finished in a hand rubbed lacquer, fitted with Gotoh Deluxe friction tuners and strung with Savarez Alliance KF strings.

Like a nice cup of Black Cat Classic, it has a distinctive character, with a plucky bright voice, good loudness, intonation and playability. It features my latest (2012) evolution of sound board graduation style.

I have 4 instruments in the works and finishing up in the next few weeks. 3 are customs and one is a handsome little soprano in master grade koa with ebony trim, rosewood binding, Gotoh deluxe friction tuners, lacquer finish etc. that will be available for purchase. If you are enterested, please email. I'll have photos of it in a couple of days.

Here are a few quick photos of a classical guitar I finished recently. This is serial number 53, anno 2011. Based on the plantilla and construction style of a Torres guitar, it is constructed of California (Monterrey) Cypress and Engelmann spruce. It has a 50mm bone nut, 650mm scale ebony fingerboard, Spanish cedar neck, Honduras mahogany body bindings with black side and top purfling, and a rosewood bridge. Its finished in a hand rubbed lacquer, fitted with good quality Gotoh tuners with ebony buttons and strung with La Bella Medium Hard 2001 series strings. Cypress is most commonly found used by flamenco builders but it was also used and favored by makers such as Torres and Romanillos in classical guitars.

This guitar has solid and full basses and supple sweet singing trebles. It has good intonation and playability, a quick response, good projection, medium sustain and loudness. It'd make a nice recording instrument and in the hands of a sensitive player it will mature into a beautiful and expressive guitar.

Here are some photos of a custom order sopranino ukulele I finished recently. It features Indian rosewood back and sides, a swiss spruce soundboard with simple black/white/black rosette, a Spanish cedar neck with an ebony fingerboard, ebony faceplate, ebony binding, top purfling, an ebony bridge with snake wood bridge pins, and a bone nut and saddle. The scale length is approx. 288mm (11.3"). It is finished in a hand rubbed gloss lacquer finish, fitted with Gotoh Deluxe friction tuners and strung with Freemont fluorocarbon strings. It has a loud and bright voice with good playability and intonation.

Here are a few photos of a custom tenor ukulele I finished recently. This model A3 14 fret long scale cutaway tenor features Indian rosewood back and sides, a Swiss spruce soundboard, a curly koa rosette, a Spanish cedar neck, curly koa binding, a rosewood faceplate, a radiused ebony fingerboard bound in curly koa, an ebony tie style bridge and a bone nut and saddle. It has a slotted headstock fitted with Waverly tuners, its finished in a gloss lacquer finish and its strung re-entrant with Savarez Alliance KF fluorocarbon strings. Its has a very smooth tone and action and is on its way to Hawaii soon.

I've listed a new classical guitar with ebay. #52, in Indian Rosewood and old bear claw Englemann spruce, is built in the general style of Antonio Torres. Torres built instruments which were just a little smaller than today's big 'n fat designs and they lend themselves to intimate music in small venues.

It has an old (30+ years) bear claw Englemann spruce soundboard, nice Indian rosewood back and sides, a Spanish cedar neck, ebony faceplate, fingerboard and bridge, mahogany body bindings with black top, back and side purfling. Its finished in a hand rubbed lacquer finish, fitted with high quality Gotoh tuners with ebony buttons, and strung with La Bella 2001 medium tension strings. The scale length is 650mm and the nut width is 50mm. This guitar has seen occasional and careful use as a demo in my studio and is in like new condition.

It has a nice tone with solid clear bases and sweet and warm singing trebles. Intonation and playability are very good. I expect this guitar to develop an exceptionally expressive and articulate voice over the next few years in the hands of a sensitive good player.

Here are some quick photos of two new ukuleles I finished recently for auction on ebay. Both are made with Honduras mahogany, a wood traditionally used by Martin for their ukuleles and a wood in increasingly difficult supply.

The first is a soprano ukulele with an ebony faceplate, fingerboard, pin bridge and scalloped heel cap. It has curly maple body bindings, snakewood bridge pins, a 35mm bone nut, a bone saddle and a rope style rosette. Its finished in a gloss lacquer, fitted with Gotoh Deluxe friction tuners and strung with Savarez Alliance KF strings. It has a nice chunky bright sound with good intonation , playability and loudness.

The second is a Model A3 14 fret long scale tenor ukulele. It also has an ebony faceplate, fingerboard, pin bridge and scalloped heel cap. It has curly maple body bindings with top purfling, a paua abalone rosette, snakewood bridge pins, a 38mm bone nut and a bone saddle. It too is finished in gloss lacquer, fitted with Gotoh openback geared tuners and strung with Aquila strings. Its has a nice tone with good playability, intonation and loudness.

Here are some quick photos of a custom nylon strung acoustic guitar I finished recently. It features East Indian rosewood back and sides, a cedar top, curly maple body bindings with sea foam green top, back and side purfling, a fine line paua abalone rosette and a Spanish cedar neck with a black walnut center section integrating a carbon fiber composite structural reinforcement beam.

The radiused ebony fingerboard is inlaid with paua snowflake face markers, 2mm MOP side markers and has a scale length of 660mm with 14 frets to the body. The guitar has an ebony faceplate and an ebony backplate with an inlaid paua abalone crown. The bone nut is ~ 1 13/16 and the string span at the bone saddle is ~ 56mm. The plantilla and bracing are based on a design by the Spanish flamenco guitar maker Manuel Reyes, with small modifications by this builder.

The instrument is finished in gloss lacquer, fitted with Gilbert zero-backlash tuners and strung with D'Addario Pro Arte strings. A K&K Classical 4 element pickup and endpin jack is installed. It has a sophisticated modern voice with very good balance, clarity, and string to string separation. The tone in the lower registers is clear, big and slightly dry. The trebles are bright and clear with increasing sweetness and resonance as you play up the fingerboard. The K&K setup provides a slight mid-range emphasis which serves to balance the character of the cedar top.

This guitar should please a discerning finger picker, record well and provide good counterpoint to voice. Its on its way to California soon !

Here are some photos of a new model N4 14 fret long scale concert ukulele I finished recently and have listed on ebay. It features a quarter sawn, air dried Swiss spruce soundboard with a black ring rosette, curly koa back and sides and curly maple body bindings with black top purfling. It has a Spanish cedar neck, an ebony faceplate, ebony fingerboard with MOP face and side markers, and ebony scalloped heel cap and an ebony pin bridge with snake wood pins. It has a 38mm bone nut and a compensated bone saddle. Its fitted with smooth and reliable Gotoh Deluxe friction tuners, finished in a handrubbed gloss lacquer and string with Savarez Alliance KF fluorocarbon strings.

It has a bright and clear voice with good intonation, loudness and playability. The scale length is approx. 409mm (16"), half way between a standard concert and a standard tenor, to facilitate optimal placement of the bridge. Regular readers of my journal will know that this is one of only a very few concerts I've built in the last several years and represents a $1750 retail value.