The Hard Way - Building a Jazz Guitar

**oldane** · 05-09-2015, 04:02 PM

Very beautiful guitar. Great work. The shape of the recurve reminds me of the Rossmeissl guitars (and the Fender archtops of the late 1960s which were designed by Roger Rossmeissl).

**Jehu** · 05-10-2015, 02:58 AM

Thanks again, folks!

Originally Posted by whiskey02

May I ask what work you do for a living? Making instruments for a living is certainly not a path to wealth but you might be quite happy. Looks like you've got a few customers lined up already.

I'm an academic, teaching and doing research in a completely unrelated field. So this makes for a very nice distraction from that; I'm trying to convince my wife to let me go full-time into luthiery, but she won't let me quit my job yet.

Originally Posted by oldane

Very beautiful guitar. Great work. The shape of the recurve reminds me of the Rossmeissl guitars (and the Fender archtops of the late 1960s which were designed by Roger Rossmeissl).

Yeah, I can see that, and similar to some other old German models I've seen. That was completely unintentional; I would have preferred a less awkward transition from recurve to arch, but decided to stop messing with it while it still looked and sounded reasonable. It's actually not nearly as noticeable in person (honest!).

**LtKojak** · 05-10-2015, 04:12 AM

Jehu, this is only to congratulate you on a job well done. Apparently, all the stars and planets were aligned right all the way through the whole process, snafus included.

Hearing the recordings you made, I've found a thing in common, sound-wise: even though is a recently-built instrument, it sounds like a very old guitar with new strings. I can't imagine what it'll became after a year of playing!

No boxiness at all, chords ring beautifully, with extreme note separation and will certainly cut-through in a very dense mix like a knife in butter.

Definitely NOT for the sloppy player!

Good luck with your next build, which it seems has already started, isn't it?

Yours very truly,

**feet** · 05-10-2015, 08:00 AM

another episode of unsolicited aesthetic commentary:

-first of all, the thing is beautiful. the color is very nice, it really lends itself to a rustic, look. almost like you made it at home. it looks lived in already. and its so round! the body shape is amazing, possibly the best thing about it. the german carve is super cool.

-the stinger in the back is neat. the headstock melts into the neck in an appealing way.

-the tailpiece is nice, and bless your heart for routing the strings from the under side of it.

-the clean fretboard works, but the art deco-y side markers are genius.

-not normally a black binding guy, but it does help things pop here. maybe a tort or natural wood might have been interesting, as well.

-the headstock shape isn't bad, and those tuners are an unusual but not unwelcome choice. the inlay works. i'm not sure if its a paw or a tree, but i like it.

-i'm currently allowing the absence of a pickguard and pickup.

-while i don't advocate the use of those frets, the way the end of the fretboard mirrors the tailpiece is brilliant. its like they came from the same piece of wood.

-i might have liked to seen some more contrast for the headstock, truss rod cover and tailpiece. darker or lighter, but the color is too close to the rest of it for my tastes, though the color and wood itself is quite pretty.

-i'd like to see more (or less) burst on there. the two color burst is fine, but i tend to want to see a little more area covered, especially since it looks so good. ditto the back, but the neck is ok as is.

but again, you did a really great job. as a massive pervert, i hope you post more photos and continue to build. you've got something going here. and not for nothing, but it doesn't sound all that horrible, either.

**fritz jones** · 05-10-2015, 08:24 AM

finish looks nice, is it shellac?

**kkfan** · 05-11-2015, 03:48 AM

My goodness!

i have not read such an inspirational story of diligent perseverance in any forum before. And what gorgeous results you've achieved, both sonically and aesthetically!!!

Heartiest congratulations!

If at all possible, I'd love to see a video clip of it being played.

Again, a job extremely well done!

**Jehu** · 05-11-2015, 04:38 AM

Originally Posted by feet

another episode of unsolicited aesthetic commentary:

Wow, thanks feet. Of course I appreciate all of the compliments, but you've really gone above and beyond with the constructive feedback; I really appreciate it.

Originally Posted by feet

-i'd like to see more (or less) burst on there. the two color burst is fine, but i tend to want to see a little more area covered, especially since it looks so good. ditto the back, but the neck is ok as is.

I'd also like to see more (or less) burst. It was originally going to be natural, but there were a couple of flaws that I wanted to de-emphasise that happened to land in the dark regions of a burst. So I bursted. However, despite a post-burst seal, I think the dyes became reactivated by the application of the clear coats, which resulted in something substantially more subtle. I like how it turned out, but it wasn't what I'd planned.

Originally Posted by fritz jones

finish looks nice, is it shellac?

Nope, but that was actually what I had planned as well! It's a brush-on water based varnish over a seal coat of dewaxed shellac, over the burst dyes.

**feet** · 05-11-2015, 09:10 AM

Originally Posted by Jehu

Wow, thanks feet. Of course I appreciate all of the compliments, but you've really gone above and beyond with the constructive feedback; I really appreciate it.

i'm glad you saw it that way; most people don't. i can't really speak toward your (surely valid) reasons for making the choices that you did as i'm not a builder. but as a fellow artiste , i can certainly comment on that. that's why i always start upfront that its merely aesthetic advice. which isn't without merit in my opinion, especially given how staid and traditional jazz guitars tend to be.

and i figured that given how much time and effort you put into it, you'd appreciate a few thoughts on the minutiae of the guitar. but seriously, the side markers and neck/tailpiece are brilliant- i don't think i've seen that before.

Originally Posted by Jehu

I'd also like to see more (or less) burst. It was originally going to be natural, but there were a couple of flaws that I wanted to de-emphasise that happened to land in the dark regions of a burst. So I bursted. However, despite a post-burst seal, I think the dyes became reactivated by the application of the clear coats, which resulted in something substantially more subtle. I like how it turned out, but it wasn't what I'd planned.

Nope, but that was actually what I had planned as well! It's a brush-on water based varnish over a seal coat of dewaxed shellac, over the burst dyes.

heh, that's why the blondes are more expensive. still, i like and perhaps even prefer this burst on this guitar over a natural look, but would have liked a little more.

**Jehu** · 12-20-2015, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by Woody Sound

My one addition would be a fingerrest that matches the tp and fb.

I finally got around to making this happen...

The Hard Way - Building a Jazz Guitar-0-artsy-3-jpg

The Hard Way - Building a Jazz Guitar-0-front-small-jpg

**iim7V7IM7** · 12-20-2015, 05:58 PM

Very nice!

kudos

**nikotro** · 12-20-2015, 07:13 PM

It's Beautiful!
Kudos

**gspirro1** · 12-20-2015, 07:14 PM

Wow! Spectacular instrument. The finger rest is perfect!!

**Eric Rowland** · 12-20-2015, 07:21 PM

Amazing and absolutely fascinating. Thank you for the documentation of the project. Well done and keep up the good work!

**marshall** · 12-20-2015, 10:27 PM

What a beautiful guitar. I love it. Simple elegance!

**travisty** · 12-20-2015, 11:00 PM

Love that Jehu!

**lawson-stone** · 12-21-2015, 12:44 AM

Whoa... That's gorgeous and I actually love the subtle darkening toward the edges. It looks textured. If you just think of it as a variation on sunburst, the impression won't be accurate imo. I see it as more like human hair that varies in shade with length. Ash blonde with highlights? I think it's a heart-stopper.