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pics of #3 - bocote-fir SJ
http://www-.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=7305		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  ksudar [ Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:29 am ]
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Well, this guitar was sort of an experiment. It is an OLF SJ and full of mistakes, but I decided from the outset that I wouldn't spend too much time trying to correct them. I mainly wanted to see how the bocote and douglas fir top would effect the tone of the guitar.

It turns out that this guitar is the sweetest sounding out of the 3 that I have built, and has really great sustain. It sounds similar to cedar topped guitars I have played but the highs seem to have more "shimmer". The only drawback is that the top starts to break up a bit with hard strumming - this is definitely a fingerstyle guitar.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the Bocote. Since I've finished the guitar there have been numerous cracks popping up on the sides and back, and I also had trouble with the sides cracking during construction. This might be a result of the sides getting thinned too much when I was sanding, but I didn't expect it to crack after the nitro was on there.

Anyway, here are the specs:

Top: Douglas Fir
Back/Sides: Bocote
Binding: bloodwood
Rosette: Leopardwood
Neck: Leopardwood/maple/bloodwood
Fretboard: Bocote
Bridge: Ziricote
Finish: Nitro
    










-Karlksudar38895.7731481481
Author:  Bobc [ Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:34 am ]
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Finally a bocote guitar. Doug fir too. Karl that looks great. Bocote is the same family as Ziricote.
Author:  hogan [ Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:35 am ]
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Very nice guitar and great pictures. How does she sound?
Author:  Serge Poirier [ Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:57 am ]
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Very beautiful guitar Karl, excellent craftmanship and great taste in bridge design!
Author:  Joe Beaver [ Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:35 am ]
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Karl,

It is a beautiful guitar, very finely crafted. I see what you mean about the bocote, very pretty but disappointing performance...
Author:  Bobc [ Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:08 pm ]
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I wouldn't take that to mean all Bocote is going to crack just like all Ziricote or all Brazilian RW doesn't crack. I have bent Bocote sides without cracking. Probably just that particular piece of wood. It is very beautiful.
Author:  CarltonM [ Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:09 pm ]
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[QUOTE=ksudar] It turns out that this guitar is the sweetest sounding out of the 3 that I have built, and has really great sustain.-Karl[/QUOTE]
Yeah, but here's the maddening part...is it the wood, or your improving building skill?

Nice looking guitar, BTW!
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:19 pm ]
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Karl, thanks for those pics. Timely post... I've got some Bocote being sawed now into a set, and I can see that it looks beautiful as a guitar.
And that top is gorgeous. Where did you get it?

Steve
Author:  RussellR [ Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:15 pm ]
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Good Job Karl looks really nice.

I was intersted to read your assesment of the Douglas Fir Top, I'm just making one with a Douglas Fir Top, it has a reputation for being very responsive, but lacking headroom so thats consistent with your comments.
Author:  Colin S [ Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:46 pm ]
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I much prefer the look of that to Ziricote, and you've used it to produce a very nice clean looking guitar. I'd be interested to hear the Douglas fir top, that to me is the most interesting aspect of this guitar. So, Karl any chance of a sound bite, Russell, when you've done get it down to Bristol and record it!

Colin
Author:  Arnt Rian [ Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:32 am ]
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Great looking guitar!

Nice clean workmanship (you DID cap that X-brace joint after the picture was taken, right? ; that's what your get for taking such clear pictures!)
Author:  Dave Anderson [ Wed Jun 28, 2006 2:02 am ]
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Nice job Karl,
    That Bocote and D. Fir are awesome! I really like your bridge design and the bloodwood bindings are outstanding too. Beautiful!
Author:  LanceK [ Wed Jun 28, 2006 3:14 am ]
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WOW! That bloodwood looks fantastic along side the bocote! Nice work!
Author:  RussellR [ Wed Jun 28, 2006 8:42 am ]
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No Problem Colin

The Douglas Fir/Walnut OM is going to David in Scotland so he will record some tracks with it.
Author:  ksudar [ Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:06 am ]
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Thanks for all the kind words!... and yes I did cap the X-brace! I wish I could post some sound clips but I don't really have a good setup for recording - I'll see if I can come up with something in the next few weeks.

Also - I found the doug fir tops from a seller on ebay. He had a bunch for sale and I bought 2 for a very reasonable price. This one is medium to tight grained (around 20 rpi).

The funny thing is that I just started my first commissioned guitar, and the client saw this bocote and wanted the same wood for his back/sides. So I'm a little nervous about using the bocote now, but the set I'm using for his guitar is much more stable than the wood I used for #3. That wood came from a hardwood dealer and I have doubts about the way it was dried.
Author:  MSpencer [ Thu Jun 29, 2006 1:29 pm ]
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Really nice, like the bindings alot
Great work

Mike
White Oak, Texas
Author:  Michael Shaw [ Thu Jun 29, 2006 2:42 pm ]
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Karl can I ask where you got the Douglas fir for the top. Do you have a dealer who sell's it? Can you give me info where I can purchase it. Thanks
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