If lamination is allowed- and why should it not be?- this is my first through-neck. Nice rasp from the humbucker, and plays ok acoustically too. Not, however, a keeper- I have a studio guitar (#9) and a few acoustics, so this will probably end up on a stall somewhere. Confidence restored. This will be the last birch ply effort for a little while...
Read more…
What's the problem with birch? I suppose it depends on whether you have a fully equipped workshop with a proper bench and saw tables and power tools and the like. I have a small hand drill and a motley selection of craft tools. See that Reverend-inspired sound hole on #20? From first setting eyes on a photo of a friend's guitar, it took forty minutes to crop, trace, carve out, file and sand smooth that hole into a piece of 3mm poplar ply I had to cut to size before I started. The crescent on #19 took- at a guess- four or five hours over two days, and cost me a couple of blisters to boot.
And that is only the start- bigger boxes, wilder sound holes are possible with poplar. I've also sourced a hundred or so 30mm hardwood cubes that make corner bracing a snap: hence the 60mm deep box on #20. I think you might like the next one (currently at the varnish/stain stage), but no spoilers!
Comments
What's the problem with birch? I suppose it depends on whether you have a fully equipped workshop with a proper bench and saw tables and power tools and the like. I have a small hand drill and a motley selection of craft tools. See that Reverend-inspired sound hole on #20? From first setting eyes on a photo of a friend's guitar, it took forty minutes to crop, trace, carve out, file and sand smooth that hole into a piece of 3mm poplar ply I had to cut to size before I started. The crescent on #19 took- at a guess- four or five hours over two days, and cost me a couple of blisters to boot.
And that is only the start- bigger boxes, wilder sound holes are possible with poplar. I've also sourced a hundred or so 30mm hardwood cubes that make corner bracing a snap: hence the 60mm deep box on #20. I think you might like the next one (currently at the varnish/stain stage), but no spoilers!
Looks good to me Wal!
What was the problem with the birch?
Looks like a beauty Wal.