New Rosettes and Planing Pau Ferro for Sides

Here are some photos through some of the steps of making new rosettes. These are all my own  various takes on the Torres FE19 and FE09.

A quick time-lapse video of me planing Pau Ferro sides, also known as Bolivian rosewood or Brazilian ironwood. It is has a good density and hardness that is similar to Indian rosewood. The grain structure is more interlocked like mahogany though which makes a bit trickier to plane. One needs a sharp blade and some care to minimize tear-out. The up-side is that the pores are virtually non-existent.

Vinyl & Music Festival Vienna

Spent the weekend in Vienna showing guitars at the Vinyl and Music Festival. I usually only show at classical guitar festivals, so it was nice to get out of my nerd bubble for a bit and see a whole other nerd bubble! I met a lot of very nice people, played some cool instruments and, surprisingly, ended up making a few new classical guitar contacts. I also found a pretty cool Leo Brouwer record from 1978.

New Classic Concert Model

Tuners arrived today just in time to string up this new Classic Concert Model and still be able to take some photos before I head up to Vienna tomorrow. I won't be showing this guitar at the festival this weekend as it is going on its own trip all the way to Colorado. Very happy with how it turned out! European spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, Spanish cedar neck, ebony fingerboard, slightly narrower custom string spacing, handmade Alessi tuners with roller bearings and ebony buttons.

Some Kind of an Experiment

Strung up this new guitar last night and I'm very excited about how it turned out. It was a bit of an experiment. I was feeling particularly reckless when I started it and I decided to pick out a relatively plain-looking top (though quite good in terms of stiffness and runout) and pair it with a weird-looking maple/rosewood/walnut back. The idea was to make something a bit more unconventional in aesthetic, but very traditional in tonal character. The bracing is close to a Torres, which gives it a loose and open sound, but with a bit more lateral stiffness that brings it closer to a Granada style guitar in my opinion; the high-end is just a bit crisper, but not stiff at all. The first string is nice and even up the fretboard and has a gradual clear decay. There is kind of a hollow breath to the sound.

I'll be showing this guitar at the Vinyl and Music Festival in Vienna this coming weekend. Here a link for more information: http://www.vinyl-music.at/

Vinyl & Music Festival Vienna!

I'm excited to be one of the few musical instrument makers participating in the Vinyl & Music Festival this year in Vienna. The event also happens to host the Vienna International Gig Poster Show. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun and the organizers are super nice, so come say hello and check out some cool stuff!

Website: http://www.vinyl-music.at/

Vinyl & Music Fest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/138969916834278/

Vienna International Gig Poster Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1826197334090756/

Making a Rosette

Getting back into the flow of things. Here are some photos through the process of making a rosette. Inspired by the Antonio de Torres FE09 owned by Miguel Llobet. It's become a classic design often used by Hauser and Velasquez. I've always been a fan of this motif, so I've done a number of different variations of my own often incorporating a little bit more color. This one includes Spanish cedar, walnut, padouk, ebony, rosewood, maple, cherry and dyed poplar.