Andy’s hybrid acoustic/electric

With Richard’s mandolin completed and Martin’s uke’s oil finish hardening off, I thought it time to go back to Andy’s hybrid acoustic/electric. With the guitar having a carved soundboard, I have had to re-think the order in which I do things- the main problem is that its curved shape means my router won’t sit flat on top of the guitar. To allow me to use my dovetail neck jig, I glued the back to the sides and routed the female part of the joint before the soundboard was glued on.

Also it helps to think a number of steps ahead- I’ve made up these mahogany brackets which not only reinforce the sides but also allow me to run the pick-up wire around the guitar’s inside. It’s going to have the volume and tone controls (using a concentric pot) on the upper bout and I want to keep the wire out of view en route to the jack-socket.

You’ll also notice that I’ve used kerfed linings, instead of my usual solid ones. The reason that I use solid linings is (in my opinion) to improve sustain, however too much sustain on this instrument might lead to feedback, hence back to the kerf.

Parlour guitar videos

I’ve put a couple more Parlour guitar videos on YouTube: these two explain the how the purfling and binding is done.

If you’re not following the videos-here’s the story so far.

I deliberated for quite awhile about the binding; I wanted a contrast with the walnut and had this been the 19^th century, ivory would have been used. I decide to use some very plain hard rock maple; it’s off-white colour gives the aged quality that I wanted.

I can’t understand why there is a trend for some manufacturers and luthiers to leave off bindings and have to back/side joint exposed. The only reason can be cost. The bindings are not just decorative and have the function of protecting the joint and the edge of the back from accidental damage.

Who needs eBay!

You’ll remember the luthier’s literature post? All the books and one set of plans were sold. I still have the French polishing DVD and the plans for a spider resonator. I’ve also found these SG plans- they’re very detailed (3 sheets) right down to a wiring diagram. I bought them to get an accurate shape for the 12 string below. Yours for £5 plus postage!