News
Just started putting shellac on this new concert model to celebrate my first year in the new shop! It should be available by the end of December.
Here is the newest concert model. It's sounding really great. Very balanced, dynamic and complex.
Things have been super hectic around here, so I haven't really had time to post anything new. Here are some photos of my ferry ride into work yesterday and a new guitar that I'm about to start finishing. I'll have some better photos of my last guitar and this new one in the coming days.
I'm currently sold out of guitars at my shop, as well as at The Rosewood Guitar Shop and GSI. If you are interested in a guitar and would like to be added to my waiting list, please don't hesitate to contact me.
I have a one Concert Model guitar that will be coming up in December that hasn't been spoken for yet. European spruce top, Claro walnut back and sides, Spanish cedar neck with an elevated fingerboard, French polish finish. I'm really happy with how these new ones are turning out.
New guitar on the way. Just started putting on the first coats of shellac yesterday afternoon. Old European spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, new rosette, flamed maple binding, Spanish cedar neck with carbon fiber reinforcement.
In other news, I just started working and teaching classical guitar at the Rosewood Guitar shop in Greenwood. It's a great place and a great group of people.
Took a couple of days off and came back to the perfect weather for gluing. Got some rosettes done, planed and started to brace up some new tops...
Finished up a new concert model yesterday and I'm very excited about how it turned out. This is kind of a mix of my infatuation with the guitars of Robert Ruck and Ignacio Fleta. I has a very even response across the fretboard and a big dynamic range. You can push this guitar very hard before it breaks up! The trebles are clean and the basses have plenty of definition and edge to project clearly.
Hopefully this will last for a while...
In other news, check out this cool little ant carting around a dandelion spore like a big feather duster. Way to go little buddy!
Managed to coerce the librarian into letting me take this home for a week so that I don't have to sit downtown and read the whole thing. Very interesting and strangely melancholy...
After being brought aware of John Eliot Gardiner's Bach Cantata Pilgrimage a long while ago, I've finally started reading his book Music In The Castle of Heaven. I'm only a couple of chapters into it, but it is already very exciting. It even got a good review from Philip Pullman!
I would honestly rather spend the rest of today lounging around and reading, but unfortunately I have to build more guitars!
Below are some photos a new concert model that I am working on. Indian rosewood back. Indian rosewood/Alaska yellow cedar sides. European spruce top.
On a similar note, Here is a recording of Gardiner conducting Schumann's first symphony. Schumann is often disparaged for having dense and muddy orchestration. Composers/conductors such as Mahler have even gone as far as to re-orchestrate his symphonies in an attempt to lighten things up. Gardiner maintains that when performed on period instruments and with enough liveliness, the original orchestration is just fine!
...French polishing time!
Just finished up a new guitar and started putting on the initial wash coats of shellac. It's got some cool new stuff going on. Most notably, the neck is made from a composite of super light Spanish cedar and Port Orford cedar. The resulting stripe looks pretty slick and reminds me of a penguin... or an orca whale... or both. Either way it's cool. I've also started messing around with a new Fleta inspired bracing system which I'm pretty excited about.
In other news, these cappuccino potato chips are disgusting and Patty got a new bed!
