Thursday, May 07, 2009

Jill's Mandolin V

As you saw in the previous post the two Blackwood instruments are now being finished. An hour or so is spent on each one and the remainder of the day on Jill’s mandolin.
You can see the bracing of the soundboard and back. The X-bracing works very well on the back, giving it a graceful arch. I’ve always used X-bracing on mandolin backs it seems to make more sense on a small, almost round body shape, compared to transverse bracing.


Before the soundboard and back are glued on to the sides, small housing joints are cut into the linings to take and support the braces.
Next stage, glue them together!

How do they do it?
I’m always surprised when you see cheap electric guitars, how on Earth can they make them so cheap? Raw materials, hardware, labour costs, factory up keep, shipping, dealer’s mark-up etc.
I’ve been commissioned to build an ergonomic electric guitar later in the year and have just bought some prime mahogany for it. Below you can what £100 worth of neck and body blank looks like. So a guitar for under £100! How do they do it?

1 Comments:

Anonymous Ryan said...

I would guess not using one-piece bodies and cheap ash or alder and huge quantities. Plus, cheap guitars are usually a method of advertising for the maker more then a money maker. Obviously, there balance sheet isn't just available but it's my guess.

11:32 pm  

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