Hey All,
Well, I finished my parlor guitar last night. This was an experimental build. I tried an adjustable neck joint, and I wanted to see how light I could go with the bracing. It's redwood top, S.American Laurel b/s, EIR rosewood trim, and FP finish.
Here are a few impressions:
The Good:
I really like the small size, short scale, wide string spacing, and 12 fret neck. It's a really good fit and fun to play.
The amount/quality of sound was good. I was afraid that it would sound choked and lack bass, but it had plenty.
I liked being able to bolt on the neck without worring about fretting over the body or flattening the fretboard.
I learned a lot.
The Bad:
My first FP job was not a total success. I couldn't wait for perfection, so I went ahead without it.
I still have a ways to go to get a smooth, level surface.
My adjustable neck is not stable enough. All three contact points are too close together. I can feel a little movement. I see why some of you use
brass rods inset into the neck and pointed adjusting screws.
I think that I spent as much time fiddling with the adjusting screws as I would have just setting a regular bolt-on neck. Maybe the only adjustment needed
is neck angle. Also, I spent a lot of time working through the sound hole so I had a lot of opportunity to slip and ding the finish.
The Ugly:
I cracked the top while french polishing. Due to a couple of sand-backs to get rid of splotchyness caused by sloppy Z-poxy application, my top was waaay too
thin. Redwood sands fast.
The top is so thin and the bracing so light that implosion is imminent. The top is distorting badly and I doubt it will last long. I didn't even leave it
strung at tension last night. I'll rout the top off this winter and try again.
Here are some pics:
