Members Johnnyb8612 Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 A few summers ago, my dad and I built our own custom version of a Martin HD-28 completely from scratch using a Martin blueprint. It was one of the best times I've ever had with my dad. We used a Master grade Adirondack Red Spruce top (insert hallelujah chorus) and Master grade Indian Rosewood back&sides. Instead of the traditional herringbone and ivoroid binding, we went with b&w wood fiber purfling and beautiful flamed maple binding. The neck was Honduras Mahogany, which we got from a hardwood lumberyard. It looked pretty rough when we got it, but as soon as we cut it open, it revealed a beautiful flamed figure. We decided to go with the Adirondack Red Spruce top braces and used the 'shifted forward' design for the X-braces, and Sitka for the back braces. We used the leftover Honduras Mahogany for the kerfed lining. We also used flamed maple for the binding on the headstock and the (jet black) ebony fretboard. My dad and I came up with our own design for our last name at the headstock in paua abalone. We left the soundboard just .095-.090 inches thick (slightly thinner about one inch in from the top edge all the way around, making the top act like a drum head), and it's a very responsive and rich-sounding guitar. I don't think anything can compare to the glassy boom that this tonewood can produce. The nearly black rosewood only makes the sound that much more complex. supposedly, the darker the rosewood, the more bass is expected from the guitar. That's what I hear, anyway. Finishing the guitar was the most painful, patience-testing and annoying part of building this instrument. Spray, sand, repeat. Spray, sand, repeat.Spray, sand, repeat. Spray, sand, repeat.Spray, sand, repeat. Spray, sand, repeat.Spray, sand, repeat. Spray, sand, repeat. Heaven forbid you should go a tad too far in your quest for a thin, even finish and sand into the sealer. That'll easily double your finishing time. Gaahhhh. I absolutely love this guitar. My blood, sweat and tears are all in it. It's a much more personal experience playing this instrument since I crafted it with my own hands. The sound is all I could ever want in an acoustic. I tested it side-by-side with a sweet Brazilian Rosewood Bourgeious, and call me biased but I honestly prefer the sound and feel of mine. I spent hours with a rasp and a scrap of sandpaper, finessing and shaping the neck until it felt right to me. I ended up putting a K&K gooseneck mic and Pure pickup combo in it, and it's pure magic plugged in. I feel like, if I buy another acoustic, I would be cheating on my one true love. Anyone else have an experience like this building a guitar? Let me know what you think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mgproudfit Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 Cool post. -Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mds2004 Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 Pictures! How much did it cost you to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mjuenem Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 Got any pictures from the build process? Finished product? Sound bites? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyb8612 Posted February 23, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 I'll post pics soon Including finish, trim, etc, I don't think we spent over 800 total on the project. The Adirondack Red Spruce top was the biggest expense that I remember at around $200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 I've never done anything like that before, but it sounds like it would be fun . I've often thought about picking up an old, beat-up Strat or Tele off of Craig's List and refurbishing it, but I've never actually pulled the trigger. Some pics would definitely be cool, if you have them .Freeman Keller has built a few of his own guitars, and Gary Palmer is a luthier. Perhaps they might chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Palmer Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 Hi John,The level of satisfaction involved in building and successfully completing a decent musical instrument is often hard to describe. Welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyb8612 Posted February 23, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 Oh wait, the Waverly gold tuners (well worth it) were actually the biggest expense. Never would've thought that. We got great deals on nice wood, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyb8612 Posted February 23, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 Thanks Gary, I appreciate that. Glad to be amongst my own kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members panhandler Posted February 23, 2010 Members Share Posted February 23, 2010 Wanna see Wanna see Wanna see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyb8612 Posted February 24, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Ok, I found a few pics:thu: More to come, it only lets me upload 5 at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyb8612 Posted February 24, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 More pics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyb8612 Posted February 24, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 And more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyb8612 Posted February 24, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 And the final product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Galabar Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mds2004 Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Starrshine Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Absolutely beautiful!!! Now we just need to hear it peleeeeeeeezeBob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mgproudfit Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Absolutely stunning. -Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kujozilla Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 I've never done anything like that before, but it sounds like it would be fun . I've often thought about picking up an old, beat-up Strat or Tele off of Craig's List and refurbishing it, but I've never actually pulled the trigger. Some pics would definitely be cool, if you have them . Freeman Keller has built a few of his own guitars, and Gary Palmer is a luthier. Perhaps they might chime in. Gull dude that is exactly what I am doing right now with a Red 1980's Yamaha SE300H and a Antique White Korean Squire Strat that I got for $50 2 days ago. They both need an overhaul on the electronics (soldering went bad). First time working on electrics. Fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyb8612 Posted February 24, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Thanks, guys. I'll try and post sound clips soon, if you like. It's actually in the hospital right now (my dad's house) undergoing some minor surgery. Also, if anyone builds guitars (or aspires to, or is interested in it), I'd love to hear the stories! =) On another note, when I first strung 'ol serial #001 up, it sounded great, but to 'wake up' the guitar, I set it in front of a sub regularly and it seemed to speed up the process. Has anyone else tried this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Wow! That's a beautiful guitar! I see it has a few more "non Martin" qualities as well though. What's the story behind the heel design and the choice of pick guard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Thanks, guys. I'll try and post sound clips soon, if you like. It's actually in the hospital right now (my dad's house) undergoing some minor surgery. Also, if anyone builds guitars (or aspires to, or is interested in it), I'd love to hear the stories! =) On another note, when I first strung 'ol serial #001 up, it sounded great, but to 'wake up' the guitar, I set it in front of a sub regularly and it seemed to speed up the process. Has anyone else tried this? That was an absolutely gorgeous guitar ! It looks like absolute eye-candy, and I'm sure it plays great too. If you can post some sound clips, I'd love to hear them.In regards to using a subwoofer to "speed up" the aging process, it's a fairly common practice. Terry Allan Hall (or TAH, as he's usually called around here) swears by it. IIRC, someone posted a link to some company that does this stuff professionally with massive speakers and vibrating tables and the like, but that was a while back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leadfootdriver Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 BAdass! The bindings are class. That think is like a refridgerator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnnyb8612 Posted February 24, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 Wow! That's a beautiful guitar! I see it has a few more "non Martin" qualities as well though. What's the story behind the heel design and the choice of pick guard?Thanks, Kwatatak. Yes, we did do all the trim in wood. The trapezoid-shaped endpin joint trim...thing....we made from mahogany and leftover wood fiber purfling from the soundhole rosette instead of the traditional ivoroid, and overall we just tweaked a few things here and there to taste. The neck cross-section I altered a little to my preference, and we squared off the headstock, but I think besides the trim and the very slightly thinner top and braces, we stuck to the HD-28 blueprint, so the scale, profiles, neck angle, and everything else is really a Martin Dread. The heel design I think you're referring to was just a blend of several different designs, and we just capped it off in maple to match the binding. Also, the blueprint we got had the traditional 'diamond contour' at about the nut level just below the backside of the headstock, and it took a while to hand-carve it, but I'm glad we kept that little detail. It kind of stops your hand from going too far if you're sliding fast.Believe it or not, for the pickguard I just made up a design on cardboard, and I liked the first try, so I traced it onto the tortoiseshell and called it good. I was trying to find something original, which was harder to do than I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Palmer Posted February 24, 2010 Members Share Posted February 24, 2010 She looks good and you both made a very tidy job of things. Many (I think most builders) have tried subtly vibrating the soundbox in front of a speaker or other means, as IMHO it can sometimes speed the intial waking up period. Primarily because it can help relax/remove residual tension from the soundboard and backplate if a guitar's voice seems stifled shortly after the first stringing.Did you pre-bake your soundboard in order to crystalise residual internal resins before moving onto crafting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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