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Matt Jacobs’ 4th guitar, 1st Classical
http://www-.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=8839		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  matt jacobs [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 6:20 am ]
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I just finished my 4th build, this was my first classical. It started out as an exercise in building a classical, so I planned on using stuff I had on hand, but as it started to come together I decided to spice it up. Based on the Romanillos plan with some variations. The vitals are:

B&S-Curly Goncalo Alves
Top-Western RC
Neck-Spanish Cedar
Fretboard- EIR
Bridge-Honduran RW with Snake wood tieblock
Rosette/Binding/End graft- Snakewood
Scale-650mm
Tuners- Gotoh
Finish-Mcfadden Nitro over epoxy pore fill

I like the sound, it's pretty well tonally balanced, and has plenty of sustain. But I have very little experience with Classicals so I don't have much of a base of comparison.


This pic is a little washed out, the other shots are more representative of the color.





Author:  Andy Zimmerman [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 6:35 am ]
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That is beautiful!!!!
The construction looks flawless. So does the finish.
Beautiful wood selection
Author:  LuthierSupplier [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:04 am ]
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That's incredible for a 4th guitar, or even a 50th guitar. Great work! I like everything about it. Great wood choices, and perfect finish. Keep building, or start learning to play classical
Tracy
Author:  Steve Saville [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:19 am ]
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Very nice!
Author:  Joe Beaver [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:30 am ]
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Great looking guitar Matt. That one will be around for a long, long time
Author:  D Stewart [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:34 am ]
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Wow, I had never been that taken with Goncalo Alves, but that is very sharp. Like Andy said, it looks flawless!

Great finish!
Author:  Sam Price [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:43 am ]
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Indeed, it is perfect.
Author:  matt jacobs [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:59 am ]
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Thanks for all the kind words everyone. It is far from perfect, but good photography certainly doesn't hurt.
Author:  ChrisC [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 2:12 pm ]
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Lovely guitar, Matt! I your 12-string (which I had a hard time letting go og when we were at Bruce's place)is any indication, I'm betting this is one great sounding classic!

Chris
Author:  Shawn [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 3:14 pm ]
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Congratulations...very pretty. great Goncalo Alves. The wood choices look really good together.

Having now done a classical, what did you learn from building it that you can reflect on when building steel strings?

While the dimensions of all of the internal wood is lighter, are there things that you liked better in building a classical or you still leaning toward steel string construction?

I ask this just because the two methods of building as so different that people tend to gravitate to one or the other once they have tried both classical and steel string.

I now build almost exclusively classical but have built a little of everything and for me having built in different ways caused me to think about and focus on what and how I wanted to build. It is all part of the journey.
Author:  Alain Desforges [ Fri Oct 13, 2006 4:29 pm ]
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Wow! What a fantastic looking guitar Matt!

That finish does look flawless!!!

I'm looking forward to seein no.5!!!
Author:  Dave Rector [ Sat Oct 14, 2006 12:58 am ]
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Great looking classical Matt! I really like yhe wood combinations you used.

Matt brought some very nice guitars to our get together at Bruce's place a while back. His 12-string was really awesome!
Author:  Serge Poirier [ Sat Oct 14, 2006 8:36 am ]
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Very elegant and nice combo of woods used Matt, the finish really looks perfect, is this nitro?
Author:  matt jacobs [ Sat Oct 14, 2006 12:08 pm ]
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[QUOTE=Shawn] Congratulations...very pretty. great Goncalo Alves. The wood choices look really good together.

Having now done a classical, what did you learn from building it that you can reflect on when building steel strings?

While the dimensions of all of the internal wood is lighter, are there things that you liked better in building a classical or you still leaning toward steel string construction?[/QUOTE]

Shawn, In most respects I found the classical to be much more difficult to build.
1. The spanish heel really limits your access to the instrument. just carving the heel is a pain because you have to work around the neck block.
2. Finishing is harder because you have to spray the whole thing in 1 piece, and when you are sanding and polishing it is hard to maneuver around the heel.
3. Voicing, the braces are so small and thin that I constantly thought I was going to thin, but I stuck with it until I got the "voice" I wanted.

I'll probably stick with steel strings as my primary, but there are many aspects of classicals I want to explore, so this won't be my last.

Chris and Dave, the 12-string is still for sale

Alain, No 5 will most likely be an Archtop or Mandolin, I started carving when I was waiting for the finish to cure.

Serge, It is Nitro

Thanks
Author:  Marc [ Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:00 am ]
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Very nice, great craftsmanship
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