New Small-Batch Campellone Build

[John Owen]

What a beautiful crop of Campellones!

[andrew]

Neat headstock inlay on that spec piece! Never seen that one before. Seems like Mark is coming up with some new headstock inlay designs.

[MCampellone]

Do you string them up raw for a few days? Bill Barker and Hollenbeck would always add the hardward in the raw and then string the guitar up for a few days to see how things settle. Then take hardware off and do the finish. Sometimes it might even be a week or two weeks depending on his work schedule. It was easy to evaluate how the finish changed the sound, which believe it or not, the sound did not change too much. I have to admit I know makers must build guitars all the time and never string them up till finish and all done, but that was a no-no for Barker.

For my first archtop, I did string it up before finish, thinking I might want to do some additional carving, and I was very anxious to hear how it sounded - after that I didn't feel the need to do it.

[MCampellone]

Neat headstock inlay on that spec piece! Never seen that one before. Seems like Mark is coming up with some new headstock inlay designs.

Look closely at the fingerboard : )

[andrew]

Look closely at the fingerboard : )

oooOOOOoooo it’s a stretched out Super 400 inlay! I get it now.

[Hammertone]

Vast improvement over its pathetically clumsy predecessor.

[MCampellone]

Neat headstock inlay on that spec piece! Never seen that one before. Seems like Mark is coming up with some new headstock inlay designs.

Since this spec piece is kind of a one-off build, I was trying to come up with a new peghead inlay, like I'd done on the previous spec piece I built (with the stretched fleur-de-lis) - I had this fairly large MOP rectangle with beautiful figuring - it looked so nice just the way it was, I thought it best to just feature the beauty of the piece rather than cut some intricate pattern where the figuring would be disjointed - simply inlaying the whole block would've been too unrefined, so I thought of just carrying the split block motif of the fingerboard on to the peghead.

[j.l]

The eagle-eyed among you may already have seen the Super 400 inlays peeking out from the corner in the photo of my fretboard back on page 3

;-)

[Rickco]

I just read this whole post again, I gotta wear a f---in bib when I look at the pictures!!!

[jaymen]

I have re-finished many guitars and done sunbursts on most of them. I always use the fan pattern, because it is the easiest to control, and also, how most spray guns are designed; they work best and do the best coverage using a fan pattern.

The trick is to point the gun at about a 45 degree angle to the surface you are spraying and only let the very edge of the fan hit the edges of the surface. This means about 75 to 90% of the paint does not hit the guitar surface, only the soft edges of the fan, about 10-20%, hit the guitar. You start at the very edges of the top or back, going around them as you spray,and when you see all the binding is covered, you move in a little and bring the faded edge of the color closer to the center until the desired amount of shading is achieved. I start with amber tinted lacquer, then go to a red tint, followed by brown, and in some cases, finally black. This creates a smooth transition such that each color fades into the next with no discernible change.
The amber fade is closest to the center of the top/back, and the other colors are progressively closer to the edges of the top and back.
I like to still see some grain around the F holes so I do not fade the darker colors too close to them.

To get the hang of it, you practice spraying on a sheet of cardboard and adjust you tint, air pressure and gun fan pattern accordingly.
The way you hold the guitar, and spray gun has a lot to do with how consistent the fade of the sunburst is, it takes practice and that is where the cardboard patterns are helpful, if not totally necessary. The cardboard practice pads help you control the 45 degree fan angle and your ability to follow the round bouts and waist curves of the top and back until you are ready to do the actual guitar.

There is no magic, it just takes practice and a high quality touch-up gun. I use a Devillbiss.

[j.l]

A couple more pics from Mark (thanks for humoring me!). The finish is just astonishing. The surprise, though, was the upgrade to the Special tailpiece—Mark thinks, and I agree, that it suits the guitar perfectly!

[John Owen]

Well, as it happens, I also got some photos from Mark this morning. Coincidentally, there was also a lovely surprise regarding the tailpiece on my guitar. I requested that all the hardware be in a nickel finish which Mark said was no problem except with the tailpiece since those come to him already gold plated. I told him that I loved his design but that a generic trapeze unit would be something I could live with if the Campellone unit was not available in nickel. As you can see from the photo, he was able to let me have my cake and eat it too. As you can also see, the rest of the guitar is also a real work of art.

[skykomishone]

Well, as it happens, ... he was able to let me have my cake and eat it too. As you can also see, the rest of the guitar is also a real work of art.

Yes, yummie cake indeed! It looks delicious John. You're going to love it. Mark is a fabulous guitar baker. I mean, maker!

[vinnyv1k]

The thing about Mark is the quality of a Standard is the same as a Cameo.

The Special tp is well really special.

[j.l]

John, it looks like you could fall into the gloss black on that headstock. And I'm glad that the tailpiece worked out for you, too—I love the nickel, and fun to be part of a small club of nickellones!

[j.l]

Listen: I'm just some dope, who will occasionally make doofy requests like "Hi Mark, would it be possible to mount the floating pickup without visible screw holes?" My assumption is that it'll take five minutes and a tube of superglue, because that's the only way I'd know how to do it.

Mark, being a craftsman of a rather different order, will spend half a day fashioning an acrylic bracket and produce something truly superlative. What a guy!

[MCampellone]

I have re-finished many guitars and done sunbursts on most of them. I always use the fan pattern, because it is the easiest to control, and also, how most spray guns are designed; they work best and do the best coverage using a fan pattern.

The trick is to point the gun at about a 45 degree angle to the surface you are spraying and only let the very edge of the fan hit the edges of the surface. This means about 75 to 90% of the paint does not hit the guitar surface, only the soft edges of the fan, about 10-20%, hit the guitar. You start at the very edges of the top or back, going around them as you spray,and when you see all the binding is covered, you move in a little and bring the faded edge of the color closer to the center until the desired amount of shading is achieved. I start with amber tinted lacquer, then go to a red tint, followed by brown, and in some cases, finally black. This creates a smooth transition such that each color fades into the next with no discernible change.
The amber fade is closest to the center of the top/back, and the other colors are progressively closer to the edges of the top and back.
I like to still see some grain around the F holes so I do not fade the darker colors too close to them.

To get the hang of it, you practice spraying on a sheet of cardboard and adjust you tint, air pressure and gun fan pattern accordingly.


The way you hold the guitar, and spray gun has a lot to do with how consistent the fade of the sunburst is, it takes practice and that is where the cardboard patterns are helpful, if not totally necessary. The cardboard practice pads help you control the 45 degree fan angle and your ability to follow the round bouts and waist curves of the top and back until you are ready to do the actual guitar.

There is no magic, it just takes practice and a high quality touch-up gun. I use a Devillbiss.

I was glad to see this post of yours, jaymen - I found the info very interesting. Since I'd never gotten comfortable using the fan pattern to create a burst, I've avoided it in favor of using the round pattern I've been used to. However, using the fan pattern on this recent piece, I did find it easier to control because of the lighter mist from the edges of the fan. The only trouble I have is getting the gun at the proper angle when spraying the perimeter of the lower bout. I hang the guitars upside down from the butt end - in that orientation, I find it pretty easy to spray the left (treble) side of the lower bout, but when moving to the right (bass) side of the lower bout, getting the gun at the proper angle feels very awkward, like I have to twist my arm in a direction it doesn't want to go - any tips you can offer would be greatly appreciated - you can feel free to email me at [email protected].
Thanks!

[MCampellone]

Well, as it happens, I also got some photos from Mark this morning. Coincidentally, there was also a lovely surprise regarding the tailpiece on my guitar. I requested that all the hardware be in a nickel finish which Mark said was no problem except with the tailpiece since those come to him already gold plated. I told him that I loved his design but that a generic trapeze unit would be something I could live with if the Campellone unit was not available in nickel. As you can see from the photo, he was able to let me have my cake and eat it too. As you can also see, the rest of the guitar is also a real work of art.

In the past, I had the plater strip the gold from a couple of tailpiece blanks for me - but he told me it could simply be buffed off, too - so for this tailpiece (and actually one other in this batch), I just applied some metal polish to a soft cloth, and with a little elbow grease, the gold rubbed off pretty easily, revealing the polished nickel base plate beneath it.

[andrew]

I’m loving all of these Campellone portmanteaus: Nickellone, Gibsellone, Epillone.

What comes next? Campgelico, Campberg? He’s restored some Gretsches, could there be an Italian Cowboy themed guitar in the future?

[Hammertone]

Please, it's the "Gibsellone Award."