Acoustic Guitar Construction

No 33, my first 12 string.
Difficult because of the dimensions. No one tells you how thick the plates must be. So you are out there in the dark.
The top, before sanding, I made 3.0 mm. (0.120"). Plus the 3 tone bars and a larger bridgeplate. That must do the trick. Well, it turned out very nice. I made a compensation on every string at the saddle (1/8 " wide) and a slight compensation on the nut.
In stores most 12 strings sound out of tune to me. But this one all is just right.
The new customer will make us a sound sample, so give us a minute.

Red gum is a great tonewood. It looks satin so you expect a walnut like sound, but it has an excellent good clear ring to it. On the net it says: "....but when Dana Bourgeois calls and says that Red Gum sounds (his words) "fantastic", he gets our attention."

Here are some sounds:
Sound 1

Sound 1

For more pics look at my site:
https://www.hermanarendsenguitars.nl/33 ... 20gum.html

Gorgeous guitar! I would love to hear the sample. I have a 12 string on the list of guitars I have on order. On my last 12 string I kept the top in my steel string thickness range and up the braces about 20%.

What a beauty. I'm going to look for some red gum.

Thanks boys.
The bracing was made 8mm wide (5/16"), with a bit more height. You can find a pic of the bracing pattern on my site. The bridgeplate is significant larger (2").
O, and I tucked the lower end of the X braces in the side, which I usually never do.
The back was kept on the thicker side (2,8mm)

BTW: the sustain of the sound seems manupulated. But honestly, this thing rings forever.

That's a beauty Herman. You also take great pictures of your guitars. I have found that to be pretty difficult!

Thanks Kenny,
The way I make pics nowadays (I used to take them in the park) is not very difficult.
I got a good camera with good lenses. But any decent camera will do.
Furthermore, I bought me a studio cloth 10"x20".
I hang that from the wall and I wait for good daylight. .....click. Thats it.
I tell myself to iron the folds next time, and I do that.... the next time
Herman

This guitar prooves a top with a wider grain (12 per inch or so) does not have to be a lower grade. This one felt very stiff to me, as I looked for the stiffest top for the 12 string. My view is: as long as it is stiff, it is stiff. Period, despite the looks.