Official Luthiers Forum!

I love ebony binding...it is almost my trademark. I have made one very
beautiful Koa guitar and it looks great with ebony.
It seems to be a what most are suggesting and I couldn't agree more!!!

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Hesh,
Just beautiful! I love everything about this one. Wish I could hear it. Way to go!

As for the scheme on your new one, I'd go with Brazilian Rosewood, or EIR. The bouzouki I finished with Koa and EIR turned out really nice. Can't wait to see this koa under a finish, that is a killer set!
Tracy

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Hesh another beauty from Heshtone Guitars. I love that mahogany and have a couple of sets stashed away in hopes that I can find time to build again. On the Koa guitar bindings I think a lot depends on the look your trying to acheive. For an elegant look I would go with Koa from the sides if they are wide enough separated with a thin black perfling.

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Hesh,
Here is the koa guitar I am working on with ebony bindings:

Beautiful looking guitar Hesh. Congratulations.

Just to be different I'll throw Cheesewood in as an alternative for the bindings on the Koa.

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Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia

That French polish sure came out nice. I don't think you need to buff it at all. Great job Hesh!

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Very nice Hesh.

Great job on your first French Polish too! I'd have to agree that it looks great as is.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

Hesh,
Looks great as usual! I am going to build an L-OO in the future so expect some questions if you don't mind, as you have got it down pat! Very impressive guitar bud !

I like the idea of cutoffs from the koa with a purf line

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Beautiful Guitar Hesh!

I like the guitar racks also !

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Reguards,

Ken H

Smokin'!

But may I suggest a contrasting binding like Curly Maple??? The darker body hides the binding.

BTW, My wife said all my taste is in my mouth. (I still married her!)

As always Hesh, well done. Your work is sooooo clean

Hesh - instead of the buffer just hand rub on some Meguiar's Glaze #7 if you want to increase the shine. "Rub on, rub off" Easy and no mess and no possibility of going through the finish.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Great job Hesh. Awesome selection of materials and top notch execution.

Bob K

Fantastic work, Hesh!

Yer givin` me an inferiority complex. But hey, don`t quit now!

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,

That's very good, Hesh! The finish looks real good, too. it's always hard for me to do any french polishing in the tight areas, like the peghead behind the nut and so on, but you did a good job there.

It is truly amazing how well these little guitars perform, and I agree with you that the shape is the most comfortable thing there is.

For that next one, why not make an ALL koa guitar, top and all? I have plans to do that soon myself.

And thanks for the compliments on those plans! But I cannot claim full credit there. Jamie Unden, of Guitar Plans Unlimited did as much if noit more than I did! Everyone should have a look at his website for lots of great plans, including the only slope-shouldered J-45 plan I know of. Jamie is a member here, too!

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Mark Swanson
Swanson Guitars
http://www.MarkSwansonMusic.com

Beautiful, beautiful work, Hesh.
You never fail to inspire.

As for your next (Koa) guitar, on the bindings:
from down here in Texas, it looks like what you need to do is pick up and compliment that one really dark line in the back. The one that makes the pointy elipse.
And actually, you've got nearly the same line in your sides. (What a killer set of Koa! Yay Doug!)
Anyway, I don't think it'll matter too much what species of wood you use, just match the color of that dark line in the Koa, and that will tie everything together.

There's a couple of pennies for ya.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Hesh, what can I say that hasn't been said already!?

A truely stunning guitar, my friend!!! She looks absolutely fantastic! That finish looks sweet as honey too!

I'm very glad to hear you like the tone right off the bench! Imagine how she'll sound once she's opened up!? (O.K., maybe that doesn't sound too holesome...)

As for binding the koa guitar... You can never go wrong with black. It will match pretty much anything. That's the safer route, I guess.

I find that koa so gorgeous, that I woule be tempted to use cut-offs and use just those with a b/w/b purfling...

However, Steve's suggestion got me thinking about that dark line... (great eye in Texas!) and I got to thinking about a dark, curly walnut... Some very dark claro (like the set I have) or some black walnut would probably do the trick very nicely...

That's some pretty crazy koa, by the way...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Amazing set of wood!!!

WOW!!!!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Hesh, I absolutely love the warm glow coming off that guitar. It looks figuring popping fantastic!

A Koa guitar next....beautiful set of wood ....as for the bindings....I'm thinking.....

Beautiful guitar Hesh, I commend you for your perseverance with the FP. I hope you switch hands once in a while so you don't end up with one popeye arm!!

Just a thought... even if you don't use the off cuts of the Koa as binding make sure to save them so I can use them on something later.   

Long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Hesh .. ziricote or afr blackwood - just bound a curly hawg in it and it rocks .. bent like a dream too.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Hesh,

Another great looking addition to your growing collection!

How about this for a solution for your speaker problem? Try putting the guitar racks on the other side of the room against the opposite wall... Now crank up the NHT Classic 4's until you start to hear the sympathetic vibration start to move the guitars and then find out at what frequency the guitars main mode frequency is at...

At that point you will not have learned anything but the neighbors will all come running to hear what all the noise is about... the Audiophiles will want to know what pre-amp/amp combination you are using to drive the NHT's and the musicians will say, "nice guitars"!