Great content and information. I am a luthier here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I started building in 1992, and I always seemed to go against the norm in many ways. I like the use of unusual and sustainable woods lately, but I have a shop full of native and exotic woods that I can choose from. I will always listen to builders who take chances with non-traditional woods and building styles. I enjoy your content and I look forward to your upcoming releases.
I'm building with Australian woods because that's what's local for me. I think there's a lot of value in experimenting outside the traditional materials.
The mic I use is fairly good for spoken word. And I need a lavaliere mic to do the videos that I normally put out. I don't play on my videos very much and so I'm very reluctant pay the price for a good one.
Kevin re: the Mic. You know better than to present your $10,000 guitars to the buying public with a $10 mic. Those guitars ARE YOU man...months of your effort and craftsmanship so don’t shortchange them. No way do you want us to hear them like an AM radio😂. For recording your guitars spend $100 on a good old warhorse Shure SM58 or 57...and another $50 for a little Behringer interface to get it into your DAW. Still not the ideal mic but it'll sound 1000% better than the typical “podcaster USB mic” and you can use it for PA work somewhere on the weekend 😂. I come through your area from time to time and fully intend to order a guitar from you before we both leave the planet.
Thank you so much for your comment and suggestion. In view of so many comments about the sound quality of this video, I have begun to do some research and it's telling me that your very suggestion seem to be the easiest, best results for the dollars spent, most practical. Thanks for you input.
Hi, I wish I was stood there in person as you demo'ed these 3 guitars. Fantastic stuff Kevin, well done & credit to you. Can you play them again through a better mic set up 👍 Love your work & ideas.. John UK
I love your videos. Thanks for all your good work here on UA-cam. Now, just a small hint for when it comes to sound examples. At this stage the tones can't be classified correctly... since there is a strange flanging effect on them - probably due to the fact that you're wearing your microphone between your chest and the backs of your guitars. While that's good for your voice - it's not for the guitar tones. I'd love to hear that tones more clearly with some kind of distinct microphone. Doesn't need to be an expensive one but a different one from what you're using as your voice mic. Just a thought. Best regards from Germany.
I second the comments on sound quality. To my ears, through that mic, the second guitar hits it out of the park. It has just the right bass and sustain. But through a good mic, who knows? I might prefer 1 or 3. But all three sound wonderful. Have you done the same comparisons for a bone bridge vs. brass?
Really appreciate the time and energy you put into sharing your building expertise! Especially enjoy the thoughts and results you have with locally sourced non traditional woods. I know you have received WAY too many comments on your mic. I am a small builder and recently purchased an Audigo mic. I was looking for an inexpensive way to record my guitars as I finish them. It is a reasonable cost, and you don’t have to subscribe to pay extra monthly for enhancements. You can do everything you need without those. It allows you to process a video with nice audio quality just using a phone and the mic. Sorry if this sounds like an advertisement! I really like the simplicity of this recording/processing system, and it fits my budget as I only build 2 or 3 guitars a year. Thank you so much for the information you provide!
Your videos inspire me more than most of the others on youtube. Guitar making is what I want to do when I retire in a few years. I already have a wood shop, but I'm trying to learn about the "specialized" tools. Do you make right handed guitars also?
Yes, the vast majority of my instruments are right handed. You see a lot of left handed ones in my videos because I frequently use instruments in my own collection to film with.
Your guitars sound wonderful but that microphone is not doing them justice. I like your approach to guitar making and your taking time to make these videos.
I agree, that microphone pretty much stinks, but I’m not about to pay the excessive price for a top quality microphone at this point. Still, I guess I wish I could do better.
@@thepragmaticluthier you don't need to spend top dollar for a good quality microphone though. Even just a Zoom H1n portable recorder is less than $100 and will give you a great stereo sound. Even condenser mics can be had for less than $100 and the modern ones have USB interfaces built into them so you don't need an external recording device in between
@@thepragmaticluthier firstly, thank you for the channel. The pragmatism is refreshingly familiar to the way I think when people tell me "it is this way". I started my career as a location recordist, and worked in event sound after that... So my first thought was that my ears had finally given up 😂 but clearly you're not happy with the sound. As someone else suggested the rode mics are affordable. Depending on what camera setup you have, the "wireless go" could be an excellent solution. However, I think boosting your output volume in the edit might help in the interim. The mic sounds clean, just overall level is low (on my device at least). I'm just finishing building a new workshop and watching you getting ready to have a play with some unconventional designs when I'm moved in. 👍
Hey!!good show! Butternut is beautiful, pianos before 1930 did use quite a bit of it, we find it in the framing and back posts especially. Good tone wood. We did find from extensive experiments that whatever pitch the tap tone on the back is,,, will affect notes in that frequency range, making those notes on the scale louder. Backs "i found out" are major contributors to tone and it doesn't seem possible to make a back correspond to the very high pitches and it's better to have low sympathetic vibrations than high ones. So--we've been making our back panels low in tone below A as close to low E as possible. Anything above A the guitar will respond and result in louder sympathetic tones. Causing out of phase chaos. We've been using Chestnut, it is a lot like butternut. "from old pianos" We made a couple with yellow birch and they were bass-e, one of which we changed the back panel to a laminated back panel and wasn't so bass-e anymore. Oh-well. Oh--back tapping must be done wit6hout strings.
Thank you. I found your comments and the bits of playing very interesting. I did feel that the aluminum bridge plate gave that guitar an oddly different tone - not exactly tinny, but like the difference between a player piano and a Steinway. Good video, Kevin. Thank you for sharing.
Did I hear you right? I though I heard you say the backs on those guitars are "X_braced". I love the way you explore using various woods. I'm in Santa Fe now but I used to live in Ithaca...long before I became a luthier. Not as many local choices for wood here. Love your work!
I'm sure the response does change when the top is assembled into a box. The point is, by comparing a voiced top to the end results (more than once) you can arrive at a fairly predictable end with much greater predictability.
@@thepragmaticluthier that makes sense. As a new builder still working on their first guitar, what tone would you recommend... say for a parlor sized guitar? I would guess G or D since those would be the mid range... so G if you want a higher pitch. I will probably go for D. Thanks for the reply.
I love the information and presentation, and applaud your intent in making the video, however I don't think that the recording did the guitars justice - not so much the microphone, but the fact that it ended up in fairly random positions, very close to the back or side of the guitars. I would love to hear a recording made with a microphone at a consistent location in front of the guitars (even using the same microphone). Once again, thank you for the idea behind the video and for offering your insights - I find it fascinating!
Quality recording is indeed a problem. So many have mentioned it and a couple of local people have made infers to help me improve on that. And I'm looking forward to that.
I source my material for backs, rims and necks is as locally as possible, all Northeastern hardwoods. My Spruce and Cedar comes from Alaska, my Douglas Fir from the Northwestern U.S. I procure my white Pine locally also and frequently use reclaimed and salvaged material, the guitar with the Hemlock top is an example.
Hemlock is quite a surprise. I have often thought that it would be a good choice for a top plate. And Hemlock taken from a barn provides it with some rich colors. I am considering it for a project coming up.
My experience with Hemlock has demonstrated that it has great potential, but is not easily trusted. It has great potential, but it is clear to me that the stability that come with age is a tremendous advantage, much more that with Spruce, Cedar and the other frequently used conifers. Eastern Hemlock is rarely if ever quarter sawn and that, combined with the fact that a log or section large enough to produce a two piece top either by sawing or splitting, is very rare. Four piece tops become the norm, with two piece tops being practically impossible to obtain.
I love your content and presentation. Please tell me what finish you have used on three guitars in this video. They really look good! I love the satin finish.
I have used alternative back pricing, quite extensively ranging from white Pine to Walnut, cedar, and even cherry. I am of the belief that the more dense the wood you use to brace the back, the stiffer, the back becomes, and will become, therefore, more reflective, meaning a quicker startup response. With respect to tops however I only brace in spruce and have never been able to venture away from that. Clearly, I should try some other stuff. Another technique that I have use for back is laminated braces. It’s a good way to keep the weight down and the stiffness up .
Amazing video and insight as always. Unfortunately, all guitars sounded the same through that lavalier microphone you mentioned at the beginning. There are a lot of cheap, second-hand mikes, that I am sure would level up the production in terms of recording a good guitar sound. Thank you once more!
I appreciate that. It has been very busy here since last June and it's still pretty active in the shop, but i'd like to get back to being more regular with videos.
Sorry for such a delayed response. I am always considering one. Weather is a big concern. I generally prefer to do seminars when i can have the shop doors and windows wide open.
Ditto. Since an acoustic guitar's body is basically a mechanical amplifier and speaker similar to a drum, a deeper body reacts and projects more in the bass frequencies with more 'volume,' so as with typical orchestra/auditorium sized guitars with shallower bodies, there are some sonic compromises accepted in return for comfort and compactness. Kevin's theory about how a smaller sound hole can help make up for that missing bass range acoustically is interesting. These guitars would sit well in a mix with other more widely-voiced instruments. My somewhat unqualified opinion at 4:20am. Love to think and talk about this stuff!
Deepening the body of a guitar to increase the base response is a common method, but as the interior volume of the sound, chest increases, it reduces the compression and rarefaction. Increasing body depth, I think, has a limited ability, and if used needs to be used carefully. I have noticed in the past that by increasing the depth of the body you arrive at a less compressive sound almost as if the guitar had asthma at its worst. These are just my experiences and thoughts, nothing chiseled and stone here.
I have a question. Do you have any advice on doing a dovetail and fitting it on a guitar body with a radius at the neck? I'm looking at a L-00 that has about a 20' radius at the neck block. Everything I've done so far has been flat at the neck block.
The problem you need to solve is independent of the style of neck joint you employ. You will need to flatten the area of the top above the upper cross strut. That can be done by sanding the rims with a flat sanding board. Care must be taken to maintain a correct neck angle, but processes actually a good way to control that. When sanding the rims, you can check for correct back angle by laying the sanding board on the upper bout area, placing a board of the same thickness in the rims where the bridge saddle will be and measuring the air gap between it and a straightedge held to the sanding board.
you play your guitars left handed. Can they just as well bu played right handed? I see the “bridge (?)” to be not square to the strings. does that make a difference in sound?
The bridge saddle is set at an angle to compensate for the inherent sharpness of tones as one plays up the fingerboard. The inside of a left handed guitar is also different from that of a right handed instrument.
It does indeed and I'm inclined to use them more frequently. Brass seems to be expensive, but when compared to bone nut and saddle blanks, it cheaper, if cost is a factor in the equation. Aside from that, I use if for its ability to add to the brightness of the instrument. It's a component of that "shimmer " that I aim for in most of my guitars. I use bone. It's a standard and most people expect it, but I hate it. It's expensive and inconsistent in thickness, often too thin. "Corian" makes an excellent nut or saddle, but many cross their eyes when you mention it. It is more dense than most bone and is more consistent in density.
The ash guitar has a lot of the qualities of JT’s guitars. A better mic ( even something as affordable as a workhorse SM58) will capture the basses and mids way better…. But you already know that. Lovely guitars, all!
@@thepragmaticluthier I’d bet you sweetwater music has a whole section on the kind of adapters and software you need. I just get one of my 13 year old grandsons to show me 😎
One would not need a Bridgeport, just a hack saw, couple files and a vise. "Good lighting and skill also" The brass is available in almost any shape and thickness. Strange enough! a couple months after having conversation with the "guitar notes and notions" person wondering why this is not done. The notion arose from observing someone putting a brass rod inside the guitar and passing it through the string grommets instead of bridge pins. LOL. what a joke. If you broke a string it was a big bummer. You have to take all the strings off through the sound hole. Anyways! I saw that someone made a 6 piece brass saddle and were bragging about it. I'll find it and let you see.
Many builders design and produce instruments intended to seek new height, better sound, push the limits. Such innovations are frequently impractical, even ridiculous, but they are the experiments and explorations that undergo evolution such that they become accepted, understood and incorporated in actual practice. Cases in point, X-bracing, adjustable truss rods, double tops. Sometimes those kooks and nutty professors come up with something good.
Congrat's on the brass saddle. There is no reason to not use it. What would they be??? I made this suggestion a little while ago to a popular U tuber and all I got back was traditional crap. No scientific reasoning whatsoever. Ohhhhhh it would "maybe" sound metalic and that was the end of it. just a lot of BS! After all the strings are metal. no--yes. I did suggest that 6 individual pieces would allow to make saddle adjustments easily. One "aliquot" could be changed or adjusted without taking all the strings off every time. And it is a dam better conductor. no bs. This tradition thing keeps guitars in the horse and buggy days. ---Oh well.
I'm guessing that metal saddles of any kind are not in common use because they can be difficult to make, particularly getting them to the correct thickness. I can machine them if necessary, so it's doable in my shop. I'd like to see them in use much more, but as Ghandi said, " if you want to see change, be that change."
Great content and information. I am a luthier here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I started building in 1992, and I always seemed to go against the norm in many ways. I like the use of unusual and sustainable woods lately, but I have a shop full of native and exotic woods that I can choose from. I will always listen to builders who take chances with non-traditional woods and building styles. I enjoy your content and I look forward to your upcoming releases.
I'm building with Australian woods because that's what's local for me. I think there's a lot of value in experimenting outside the traditional materials.
Beautiful guitars, why don’t you purchase a good microphone
The mic I use is fairly good for spoken word. And I need a lavaliere mic to do the videos that I normally put out. I don't play on my videos very much and so I'm very reluctant pay the price for a good one.
Kevin re: the Mic. You know better than to present your $10,000 guitars to the buying public with a $10 mic. Those guitars ARE YOU man...months of your effort and craftsmanship so don’t shortchange them. No way do you want us to hear them like an AM radio😂. For recording your guitars spend $100 on a good old warhorse Shure SM58 or 57...and another $50 for a little Behringer interface to get it into your DAW. Still not the ideal mic but it'll sound 1000% better than the typical “podcaster USB mic” and you can use it for PA work somewhere on the weekend 😂. I come through your area from time to time and fully intend to order a guitar from you before we both leave the planet.
Thank you so much for your comment and suggestion. In view of so many comments about the sound quality of this video, I have begun to do some research and it's telling me that your very suggestion seem to be the easiest, best results for the dollars spent, most practical. Thanks for you input.
Your insights and originality greatly appreciated! Thx!
Glad you like them!
Hi, I wish I was stood there in person as you demo'ed these 3 guitars. Fantastic stuff Kevin, well done & credit to you.
Can you play them again through a better mic set up 👍 Love your work & ideas.. John UK
I love your videos. Thanks for all your good work here on UA-cam.
Now, just a small hint for when it comes to sound examples. At this stage the tones can't be classified correctly... since there is a strange flanging effect on them - probably due to the fact that you're wearing your microphone between your chest and the backs of your guitars. While that's good for your voice - it's not for the guitar tones. I'd love to hear that tones more clearly with some kind of distinct microphone. Doesn't need to be an expensive one but a different one from what you're using as your voice mic.
Just a thought. Best regards from Germany.
I second the comments on sound quality. To my ears, through that mic, the second guitar hits it out of the park. It has just the right bass and sustain. But through a good mic, who knows? I might prefer 1 or 3. But all three sound wonderful. Have you done the same comparisons for a bone bridge vs. brass?
Very excited about the woods used on these 3. I'm in your camp! I saw right away the Hem and Pine.
Beautiful guitars Kevin.
The sustain and "shimmer" on the second maple (?) guitar sounds exquisite Kevin...
Thanks. All three of those guitars are in my living room at all times and i sort of A, B, and C among them every morning.
@@thepragmaticluthier I love these non-traditional tonewoods you use too.....they certainly do "shimmer" !
Really appreciate the time and energy you put into sharing your building expertise! Especially enjoy the thoughts and results you have with locally sourced non traditional woods. I know you have received WAY too many comments on your mic. I am a small builder and recently purchased an Audigo mic. I was looking for an inexpensive way to record my guitars as I finish them. It is a reasonable cost, and you don’t have to subscribe to pay extra monthly for enhancements. You can do everything you need without those. It allows you to process a video with nice audio quality just using a phone and the mic. Sorry if this sounds like an advertisement! I really like the simplicity of this recording/processing system, and it fits my budget as I only build 2 or 3 guitars a year. Thank you so much for the information you provide!
Thank you for your comment. It's one of only two that offers a suggestion.
Your videos inspire me more than most of the others on youtube. Guitar making is what I want to do when I retire in a few years. I already have a wood shop, but I'm trying to learn about the "specialized" tools. Do you make right handed guitars also?
Yes, the vast majority of my instruments are right handed. You see a lot of left handed ones in my videos because I frequently use instruments in my own collection to film with.
Your guitars sound wonderful but that microphone is not doing them justice. I like your approach to guitar making and your taking time to make these videos.
I agree, that microphone pretty much stinks, but I’m not about to pay the excessive price for a top quality microphone at this point. Still, I guess I wish I could do better.
@@thepragmaticluthier you don't need to spend top dollar for a good quality microphone though. Even just a Zoom H1n portable recorder is less than $100 and will give you a great stereo sound. Even condenser mics can be had for less than $100 and the modern ones have USB interfaces built into them so you don't need an external recording device in between
@@thepragmaticluthier I'm hearing these weird phase effects which are not doing justice to your great work. Invest in the Zoom!
@@thepragmaticluthier firstly, thank you for the channel. The pragmatism is refreshingly familiar to the way I think when people tell me "it is this way".
I started my career as a location recordist, and worked in event sound after that... So my first thought was that my ears had finally given up 😂 but clearly you're not happy with the sound. As someone else suggested the rode mics are affordable. Depending on what camera setup you have, the "wireless go" could be an excellent solution. However, I think boosting your output volume in the edit might help in the interim. The mic sounds clean, just overall level is low (on my device at least).
I'm just finishing building a new workshop and watching you getting ready to have a play with some unconventional designs when I'm moved in. 👍
Hey!!good show!
Butternut is beautiful, pianos before 1930 did use quite a bit of it, we find it in the framing and back posts especially.
Good tone wood.
We did find from extensive experiments that whatever pitch the tap tone on the back is,,, will affect notes in that frequency range, making those notes on the scale louder.
Backs "i found out" are major contributors to tone and it doesn't seem possible to make a back correspond to the very high pitches and it's better to have low sympathetic vibrations than high ones.
So--we've been making our back panels low in tone below A as close to low E as possible.
Anything above A the guitar will respond and result in louder sympathetic tones.
Causing out of phase chaos.
We've been using Chestnut, it is a lot like butternut. "from old pianos"
We made a couple with yellow birch and they were bass-e, one of which we changed the back panel to a laminated back panel and wasn't so bass-e anymore. Oh-well.
Oh--back tapping must be done wit6hout strings.
Thank you. I found your comments and the bits of playing very interesting. I did feel that the aluminum bridge plate gave that guitar an oddly different tone - not exactly tinny, but like the difference between a player piano and a Steinway. Good video, Kevin. Thank you for sharing.
I agree. I just had to try that metal patch. It was like a bug bite that you can't stop scratching.
Did I hear you right? I though I heard you say the backs on those guitars are "X_braced". I love the way you explore using various woods. I'm in Santa Fe now but I used to live in Ithaca...long before I became a luthier. Not as many local choices for wood here. Love your work!
Thank you. Should you ever return the Ithaca are, please visit the shop.
@@thepragmaticluthier I'd love to! Thanks!
What is the purpose in getting the pitch you want in the top before creating the box? I would think once you make the box, it would change the sound.
I'm sure the response does change when the top is assembled into a box. The point is, by comparing a voiced top to the end results (more than once) you can arrive at a fairly predictable end with much greater predictability.
@@thepragmaticluthier that makes sense. As a new builder still working on their first guitar, what tone would you recommend... say for a parlor sized guitar?
I would guess G or D since those would be the mid range... so G if you want a higher pitch. I will probably go for D.
Thanks for the reply.
I love the information and presentation, and applaud your intent in making the video, however I don't think that the recording did the guitars justice - not so much the microphone, but the fact that it ended up in fairly random positions, very close to the back or side of the guitars. I would love to hear a recording made with a microphone at a consistent location in front of the guitars (even using the same microphone).
Once again, thank you for the idea behind the video and for offering your insights - I find it fascinating!
Quality recording is indeed a problem. So many have mentioned it and a couple of local people have made infers to help me improve on that. And I'm looking forward to that.
@@thepragmaticluthier Me too :) Thank you
They turned out beautifully and i can hear the sustain even with that mic. Where do you source most of your wood?
I source my material for backs, rims and necks is as locally as possible, all Northeastern hardwoods. My Spruce and Cedar comes from Alaska, my Douglas Fir from the Northwestern U.S. I procure my white Pine locally also and frequently use reclaimed and salvaged material, the guitar with the Hemlock top is an example.
Hemlock is quite a surprise. I have often thought that it would be a good choice for a top plate. And Hemlock taken from a barn provides it with some rich colors. I am considering it for a project coming up.
My experience with Hemlock has demonstrated that it has great potential, but is not easily trusted. It has great potential, but it is clear to me that the stability that come with age is a tremendous advantage, much more that with Spruce, Cedar and the other frequently used conifers. Eastern Hemlock is rarely if ever quarter sawn and that, combined with the fact that a log or section large enough to produce a two piece top either by sawing or splitting, is very rare. Four piece tops become the norm, with two piece tops being practically impossible to obtain.
I love your content and presentation. Please tell me what finish you have used on three guitars in this video. They really look good! I love the satin finish.
The finish is Mohawk nitrocellulose lacquer.
Nice shirt!😊
Thanks! 😁
What are your thoughts on alternative woods for bracing?
Color contrast between back wood and braces would be interesting…..
I have used alternative back pricing, quite extensively ranging from white Pine to Walnut, cedar, and even cherry. I am of the belief that the more dense the wood you use to brace the back, the stiffer, the back becomes, and will become, therefore, more reflective, meaning a quicker startup response. With respect to tops however I only brace in spruce and have never been able to venture away from that. Clearly, I should try some other stuff. Another technique that I have use for back is laminated braces. It’s a good way to keep the weight down and the stiffness up .
Amazing video and insight as always. Unfortunately, all guitars sounded the same through that lavalier microphone you mentioned at the beginning. There are a lot of cheap, second-hand mikes, that I am sure would level up the production in terms of recording a good guitar sound. Thank you once more!
I tried that once. It sucked almost as much:) :(
I have been missing your videos.
I appreciate that. It has been very busy here since last June and it's still pretty active in the shop, but i'd like to get back to being more regular with videos.
Kevin, Happy to see you again!
Hey, thanks!
Are you planning another seminar in the near future?
Sorry for such a delayed response. I am always considering one. Weather is a big concern. I generally prefer to do seminars when i can have the shop doors and windows wide open.
Would a deeper body be an option to get the sound you're wanting?
Ditto. Since an acoustic guitar's body is basically a mechanical amplifier and speaker similar to a drum, a deeper body reacts and projects more in the bass frequencies with more 'volume,' so as with typical orchestra/auditorium sized guitars with shallower bodies, there are some sonic compromises accepted in return for comfort and compactness. Kevin's theory about how a smaller sound hole can help make up for that missing bass range acoustically is interesting. These guitars would sit well in a mix with other more widely-voiced instruments. My somewhat unqualified opinion at 4:20am. Love to think and talk about this stuff!
Are they all left handed?
@@Malone67 his person guitars are, by the looks of it.
Deepening the body of a guitar to increase the base response is a common method, but as the interior volume of the sound, chest increases, it reduces the compression and rarefaction. Increasing body depth, I think, has a limited ability, and if used needs to be used carefully. I have noticed in the past that by increasing the depth of the body you arrive at a less compressive sound almost as if the guitar had asthma at its worst. These are just my experiences and thoughts, nothing chiseled and stone here.
Yes, they are all left-handed. I have 35 of them.
I have a question. Do you have any advice on doing a dovetail and fitting it on a guitar body with a radius at the neck? I'm looking at a L-00 that has about a 20' radius at the neck block. Everything I've done so far has been flat at the neck block.
The problem you need to solve is independent of the style of neck joint you employ. You will need to flatten the area of the top above the upper cross strut. That can be done by sanding the rims with a flat sanding board. Care must be taken to maintain a correct neck angle, but processes actually a good way to control that. When sanding the rims, you can check for correct back angle by laying the sanding board on the upper bout area, placing a board of the same thickness in the rims where the bridge saddle will be and measuring the air gap between it and a straightedge held to the sanding board.
@thepragmaticluthier thank you!
#3 for the richness and warmth. Not woody, but a beautiful tone. Well done.
Thank you. I'm looking forward to further improvement with this approach.
you play your guitars left handed. Can they just as well bu played right handed? I see the “bridge (?)” to be not square to the strings. does that make a difference in sound?
The bridge saddle is set at an angle to compensate for the inherent sharpness of tones as one plays up the fingerboard. The inside of a left handed guitar is also different from that of a right handed instrument.
The last one was the most balanced in tone.
Talk about your saddle material. Your 2nd guitar seems to have a brass saddle.
It does indeed and I'm inclined to use them more frequently. Brass seems to be expensive, but when compared to bone nut and saddle blanks, it cheaper, if cost is a factor in the equation. Aside from that, I use if for its ability to add to the brightness of the instrument. It's a component of that "shimmer " that I aim for in most of my guitars. I use bone. It's a standard and most people expect it, but I hate it. It's expensive and inconsistent in thickness, often too thin. "Corian" makes an excellent nut or saddle, but many cross their eyes when you mention it. It is more dense than most bone and is more consistent in density.
Paradise for Southpaws...!
You should see my studio; 35 left handed guitars :)
@@thepragmaticluthier 🥰🥲😍
The ash guitar has a lot of the qualities of JT’s guitars. A better mic ( even something as affordable as a workhorse SM58) will capture the basses and mids way better…. But you already know that. Lovely guitars, all!
My favorite is the middle one
You're quite right. And i have one, or an equivalent, but I haven't figured out how to use it with an iPhone. Better do some homework.
@@thepragmaticluthier I’d bet you sweetwater music has a whole section on the kind of adapters and software you need. I just get one of my 13 year old grandsons to show me 😎
The do look beautiful. And I'm sure the sound is good, but the mic isn't so good.
How TRUE! I've had a few offers of technical help to correct that problem, just in the last tay or two. I'm going for some improvement.
One would not need a Bridgeport, just a hack saw, couple files and a vise. "Good lighting and skill also" The brass is available in almost any shape and thickness.
Strange enough! a couple months after having conversation with the "guitar notes and notions" person wondering why this is not done.
The notion arose from observing someone putting a brass rod inside the guitar and passing it through the string grommets instead of bridge pins. LOL. what a joke.
If you broke a string it was a big bummer. You have to take all the strings off through the sound hole.
Anyways!
I saw that someone made a 6 piece brass saddle and were bragging about it.
I'll find it and let you see.
Many builders design and produce instruments intended to seek new height, better sound, push the limits. Such innovations are frequently impractical, even ridiculous, but they are the experiments and explorations that undergo evolution such that they become accepted, understood and incorporated in actual practice. Cases in point, X-bracing, adjustable truss rods, double tops. Sometimes those kooks and nutty professors come up with something good.
Maybe move that mic out front?
I'd like to move that mic out to the garbage:)
Congrat's on the brass saddle.
There is no reason to not use it. What would they be???
I made this suggestion a little while ago to a popular U tuber and all I got back was traditional crap.
No scientific reasoning whatsoever.
Ohhhhhh it would "maybe" sound metalic and that was the end of it. just a lot of BS!
After all the strings are metal. no--yes.
I did suggest that 6 individual pieces would allow to make saddle adjustments easily.
One "aliquot" could be changed or adjusted without taking all the strings off every time.
And it is a dam better conductor. no bs.
This tradition thing keeps guitars in the horse and buggy days. ---Oh well.
I'm guessing that metal saddles of any kind are not in common use because they can be difficult to make, particularly getting them to the correct thickness. I can machine them if necessary, so it's doable in my shop. I'd like to see them in use much more, but as Ghandi said, " if you want to see change, be that change."