#15 for Sammy is done

[Kevin in California]

This guitar took me around 7 months to get done.
The back and sides are birdseye maple. The top is redwood. Bridge, fretboard and headplate are ebony. Back strap is birdeseye maple. End wedge and heel cap are Macuaba.
Binding is indian rosewood. Abalone purfling front band back. Abalone rosette. Cocobolo pickguard at .030" thick.
Neck is honduran mahogany. Bolt on. Fret board extension is glued down.
Nitro lacquer finish
Gold frets and gold Gotoh tuners. LR Baggs I Beam active pickup.
The action is pretty low. .0150" at the first fret. Low E about .0850", high E is .0750"

The guitar went together pretty well, I just worked on it sporadically up until about 2 months ago, then I concentrated more on getting it down.

The sound is somewhat loud and full with tons of sustain. Brighter than the rosewood guitars I've built. To my ear the tone is balanced. I am amazed that the intonation is almost spot on with no additional adjustments to the saddle.
Strings are D'Addario EXP lights.

I put alot of lacquer on this guitar and had no sand throughs when flat sanding. However the top has a tricky look to it with the heavy grain, giving the appearance that it is not flat. I buffed it out the first time and it looked like this and I thought, hmmmmm, I guess I didn't get it flat. So I flat sanded it again with a 2 x 3" block, buffed it again and it still gives this appearance although it feels flat. I have used redwood on 3 other guitars and not really had this issue, but then this set has these almost white lines in the grain and I think the alternating soft, hard grain is more predominant.

Anyway, I'm happy with how it turned out. It is #15 for my son in law Sammy. He got #3 in 2010 and still plays it every week. I think he will be pleased with the way this one sounds and plays.

When I give it to him in a couple of weeks I'll record it a bit and post.

[John Parchem]

Wow!, Nice guitar. it sure looks fancy with all the abalone. The finish looks outstanding. I also like the neck and heel details.

[Herman]

That is excellent work Kevin. Sammy will be pleased. Looking forward to a clip.
Some don't like such a stripy top. But to me it looks like wood, and that is very appealing.
Anja wants you to take off the back and then sell it to me. She said "Wow!"
She is right. That is birdseye for a lifetime.
Herman

[Kevin in California]

Thank you guys.
It isn't perfect but I appreciate your comments. Herman. I still have one set of this maple left if you'd like to come over and pick it up.

I still can't believe I am able to take a pile of wood and come out with an instrument that kind of sounds like a guitar. I know you all probably feel about the same way.

I will start two more this summer...one for my 17 year old granddaughter, and another for my son in laws brother for whom I made #4 back in 2011. They will both be OM's. One a cutaway. Any probably both curly claro walnut.
The rest is yet to be determined. Can't wait to get started on them. Hope to build them concurrently.

[Kevin in California]

Here are a couple of sound files, my son in law playing a bit

Pickup is a LR Baggs I-Beam. I like these. Played through a small Acoustics 100 amp

Kevin

[John Parchem]

Sounds great!

[Herman]

Nice!!
Fun project!
Herman