This is my blog about guitars and lutherie -- my avocation, but maybe my vocation after I retire from computer science; you can find a blog with my thoughts about professional life, computers, etc. elsewhere.
I am not currently using blog software, so if you want to talk to me about this web log, send mail to nutt at gnutt.com
Most images have a link to more detail about the guitar, although
sometimes the link might just be to a larger image of the thumbnail
image on the web page. At some time, I might forget to put a link on
an image, in which case clicking an image merely exercises your finger
a little bit ...
The surprising thing about these small, rosewood guitars is that they seem to have great volume, coupled with nice tone. I built a Palo Escrito (Mexican rosewood) and it sounds great (I have never sold it, because the fit and finish are sub par). Scott really likes his 00-28, especially for blues. I play the Palo Escrito guitar all the time, and use it as a pattern for other 00s.
Bob will receive his new guitar on about July 1. It turned out well.
It is patterned after a 000 12-fret guitar that I own,
except it has Madagascar rosewood for the back and sides, and Adirondack
spruce for the top. It has a 25.4" scale and a 1 3/4" nut, so it is
extremely easy to play ... and it sounds great (sweet tone, and really good
volume). I am becoming a real believer in Adirondack (although I must
admit that the Engelmann that I got from a guy in Denver has also turned out
really well).
Yesterday the Indian rosewood OM-21 was shipped to Larry, its new owner
(Larry is in the production end of the Nashville music business). This was
an interesting project since Larry asked me to build the guitar, but not
to finish it. He will finish it (using TruOil) and have a friend set it up.
This means I don't get a chance to remedy any ills that I can't detect until
the guitar is strung up :-(,
but it also means that a seasoned veteran will set it up :-). It
will be interesting to see what the owner thinks of it when it is all done.
I think that in its current state of completion, it turned out pretty well:
it does not have any glaring faults, and it has a nice tap tone.
An old friend (who had earlier bought a different guitar from me)
decided to take the 00-28 as well. He likes blues, so this guitar
should be a great second guitar for him.
This has been my most ambitious project to date. The back & side wood is
rare (pre-CITES Brazilian rosewood) and would not have been replaceable
if they had been damaged in building. It has ebony fretboard and bridge,
bone nut and saddle, etc.
It turned out pretty well. Its tone is very nice, but
like all new guitars, the tone was still developing (as it will be for many
weeks) when it was shipped today. Click on the picture to see more details.
(Bill is my brother.)
Addendum, May 28, 2008: Bill likes the tone and playability of the
guitar. Pat (who has been playing violin for many years) says that the tone
is competitive with Bill's other guitars.
He showed it to a few of his guitar friends,
and reported that they generally seemed to like its volume and sound.
In late March I put a
00-21 guitar
(picture on the left)
with a palo escrito rosewood back and Engelmann spruce top on eBay.
Ultimately, I did not sell the guitar, but the interest in inexpensive,
small guitars seems very high. Two people bought
custom guitars (a Madagascar rosewood 000,
and an
Indian rosewood OM)
that are currently under construction, I think in part because they saw
the 00-21 on eBay.
I just finished the OM-21 project. This guitar is patterned after a pre-war Style 21 000/OM guitar. (I tend to use the "000" designation for 12-fret guitars, and the "OM" designation for 14-fret guitars.) This guitar has back and sides made from Honduran rosewood with an Engelmann spruce top. As is typical with an old OM guitars, it has a 24.9" scale. The fretboard and bridge are made from cocobolo (a Central American rosewood). This guitar is finished with the water-borne finish that LMI pushes (KTM-9).
This guitar turned out pretty well. I strung it with D'Addario light strings (EJ-16), finished setting it up, and it sounds great (and it is easy to play). During setup, I had to shim the heel of the neck a little to get the neck to set properly, but otherwise (other than the usual imperfections in applying the finish) it turned out pretty well.
An update: In February, my friend Scott bought this guitar.