-
Happy new year everybody!
A few months back I had a NGD and I wanted to share the joy of this special instrument with you. It was built for me according to my specs by the master luthier Henning Doderer in Germany. It was commissioned in january of 2015 and delivered in early september 2015.
I wanted to have an acoustic archtop since I play a lot unamplified. Since I enjoy playing gypsy (I'm not good at it (see below) but it doesn't stop me from liking it :-)). I enjoy gypsy guitars, but I prefer the sound and playability of archtops. For the acoustic thing, I wanted to have an archtop that is as loud as possible. It is probably be difficult to compete with the acoustic projection of a Selmer/Macaferri type guitar but in the end the new guitar comes reasonably close but other than Selmer guitars it has a nice, full, round bass response and sweeter, less piecing highs. I'm sure that against 10 people doing "La Pompe" rhythm on Selmers , it would probably not cut through (but I haven't tried that).
In general I was going with specs that should be reasonably similar to old Gibson arch tops. However, the guitar is built completely different from modern L5's that optimized electric tone and sound pretty dead acoustically. This guitar is the opposite - The guitar is built extremely light with a very responsive carved and tap tuned spruce top with solid maple back and sides. It is overall 17'' lower bout (the optimal size for me) and has intentionally no cutaway. After conversation with the late Patrick2, I also decided to have unbound f-holes in order to not dampen the top at all. The finish is shellac, which, I figured, would look really nice on such an instrument - and it really does. I also suppose it will age well.
The aesthetics of the guitar is intentionally somewhat understated and there are also intentional no inlays on the ebony fretboard. The nut width is 1.75'' which I feel more comfortable with on an acoustic instrument. The depth is 3-1/4''. The neck shape is nice and full and rounded. It plays like a dream. The nut is made of bone. I really like the tuning machines (Schaller grand tune) - they are incredibly light and very precise. The Orca inlay on the headstock is a reference to my professional life and was very nice done by the luthier. The tailpiece is a quality ABM piece of equipment that I also had from a previous project.
I could not resist putting a pickup on though. After going back and forth a couple of times, I finally decided on a DeArmond RC 1100 RI. I like it - it sounds somewhat acoustic and very different from hum bucking mini pickups. There also is a Bigtone piezo pickup in the bridge base. The sound of the two can be blended using the thumbwheels at the pick guard. They are nice hidden, yet easily reachable. The magnetic pickup has tone and volume, the piezo only volume. There is a stereo output jack so that one could feed two amp, but I haven't done that yet.
With the bridge I went through one iteration. I had a Schatten archtop bridge with a piezo pickup from a previous project and this is what went on first. However, it was *extremely* disappointing. For starters it was too high, such that no good action could be dialed in. But worse, it really killed the tone and the sustain and the piezo sounded horrible. One had to fight so hard for every note to come out, it was really no fun to play. Hence, I kindly asked the luthier for another bridge and he made me a wooden one that has full contact with the top and hence transfer string vibration more effectively (also a recommendation from Patrick). This made the tone of the guitar nice and round and big and also gave it the right amount of sustain (IMHO).
I tried many string types. Initially, I thought I wanted to have bronze strings. I went through almost a dozen of them but at the end did not like any very much and settled on the John Pearse 0.012 archtop strings. They sound nice both electrically and acoustically.
After the honeymoon period I am still really crazy about this guitar and I play it all the time. It is so comfortable and the tone is really pleasing. Couldn't be happier with the outcome.
Compared to my Gibsons, it is of course much more acoustic and far less dark and smoky when amplified (the somewhat 'bell like' character of the tone comes from the RC 1100, it is not there acoustically; of course that is also expected from the single coil). The guitar is much much, louder than a present day L5 or Super 400 and also still considerably louder than my single set pub Heritage Golden Eagle. The Heritages sit somewhere in the middle - tone wise - between this guitar and a carved Gibson.
I have recorded a little Django piece ('seul ce soir') today. I had weird clipping problems with the computer, hence the sound is not quite what I wanted (and there also is no video), but I thought I'd share it anyways since busy times are coming up and I don't know when I have time to record again. I will want to really record the acoustic tone as well in the near future. The recording was done with the Kemper amplifier and the profile of my AER compact 60 - this is a fun piece of equipment!
I did suck on many of the faster licks ... but anyways, you know me and I'm arbitrarily far from a pro - but I'm having fun and I enjoy to share guitar stuff with you good people!
Again, happy new year to all of you! This is a great community.
Take care,
cheers,
FrankLast edited by Frank67; 01-03-2016 at 12:16 PM.
-
01-03-2016 12:06 PM
-
Wow, Frank, that is beautiful! I'm very happy for you
I like everything about it. The zero fret is a good idea, I think, and I like the tailpiece. I'm unable to listen to the soundfile right now, but will get around to it later. Congratulations on having a wonderful new guitar. I'll check out the luthier.
-
Oh yeah Frankie! gorgeous, gorgeous! The guitar exudes quality top to bottom, front to back. I love it! Great article too. It's nice when you bond with an instrument. Your playing is great. I like the touches you put on your notes. Very unique and well done.
Awesome. Happy new year and enjoy the beautiful guitar.
Joe DLast edited by Max405; 01-03-2016 at 12:18 PM.
-
Frank,
That's a winner! I listened to the track. Right on! You can hear the Django lineage, for sure. One of the things your track does is demonstrate the bridge between Django and Les Paul. Django was Les' favorite guitarist and principal influence. The lines you play, which are very Django inspired, have a proto-Les presentation to them. You really connect the dots. AND, the tone of your instrument is just super.
Nice addition to your collection.
GT
-
BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL!!
I upgraded the DeArmond 1000 pup on my Guild A150 to the 1100 and really like it. Very unique tone on my guitar.
One minor suggestion from my artist/designer brain : tuck the 1100 pup wire behind the pickguard! It's like having your lady's slip hanging below her gorgeous dress! ;-)
-
A beauty of a guitar. Love it. Love the deep German recurve and the elongated cello-esque f-holes. The shape of the pick guard is intriguing. Personally I love it. Verrrry elegant. I also love the way 1100s treat the bent notes too. Gonna have to get me one of those some day. But most of all I congratulate on bonding with it. That's the best thing.
The lack of cutaway is cutting it pretty close on a piece like this I imagine.... I seem to remember some non-negligible activity down in the 13th-15th fret on this tune. :smile:
-
I'm curious to how you adjust the action if the top changes due to weather (Winter and Summer)? I believe Ken Parkers archtops have an adjustable neck.
-
Frank,
You definitely learned how to get one seriously awesome guitar. Absolutely stunning piece of work. Love it. Congratulations and keep learning man!
Steve
-
Congratulations...I hope that it brings you happiness and takes you to new places musically...
kudos
-
Very original and elgant design
Congrats and play in good health
-
Congrats. May it inspire your playing for years to come. Very unique design.
-
So nice and unique guitar !
Congrats and enjoy it in good health
(We can hear that you already do, nice playing indeed !)
I guess once you have choosen your strings type (brand and gauge) then you don't need to adjust action anymore (at least in our temperate climate)
-
An amazing work of art.
Play well!
-
I like the pickguard solution to "covering too much of the F hole" problem. It looks like just enough pickguard to anchor the treble side of the Rhythm Chief and deflect an overzealous downstroke!
Last edited by 10course; 01-03-2016 at 05:55 PM.
-
You know, I used to really dislike the zero fret idea till I changed from flats to rounds on my 575 and realized that the nut was cut for MUCH fatter strings and when I played an open low "E" string with the rounds it buzzed. I had a few choices, fix the nut, replace the nut, or go back to heavier strings, I chose the latter and like it more now anyway.
Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
Wow, Frank, that is beautiful! I'm very happy for you I like everything about it. The zero fret is a good idea, I think, and I like the tailpiece. I'm unable to listen to the soundfile right now, but will get around to it later. Congratulations on having a wonderful new guitar. I'll check out the luthier.
The zero fret takes this hassle out of the equasion. And the TP? I have one on my Howard Roberts Fusion, such TINY tuning adjustments are possible that even the best tuners are a PITA by comparison. And that fitment of the bridge? LOVE it! That's a GREAT guitar Frank, use and play it well!
-
Fom top to bottom nice. Like your choice of slender f-holes. Like the headstock; reminds me of a Gretsch Duojet. Guess I like rounded shapes and arcs. Straight lines...not so much.
The solid bridge takes the cake. That is a nice feature although I imagine you feel the urge to change string action sometimes and feel a little impotent.
Play her in good health, Frank.
-
Very beautiful, I did not know bound f-holes were less preferable to plain ones. Enjoy it in good health !
-
Love the guitar Frank...AND the yard...talk about a piece of heaven! Almost looks like the Pacific Northwest out there! Congrats!
-
I love the tune and your playing, Frank.
Never stop.
-
I love it all Frank. Your choices were spot on. Herr Dodere out did himself. Especially the headstock Orca. And your selection of tuners and shellack give it an old world feel. Enjoy her!
-
Great sounding guitar.
-
Congrats, Frank! It's very satisfying to put together something very unique and utterly customized to your tastes. Play it well.
-
Superb integration of form and function. Congratulations, and play it on good health!
-
Now, that's a great look and sound. Enjoy it in good health for many, many years to come!
-
Dear friends,
many thanks for all the nice words! It is a truly is a special guitar. I agree that it appears to be a fairly unique design. Which I find almost surprising since it is really optimized for acoustic performance and one would think that a number of builders would pursue such a design. In any case - it really works! (what doesn't sound good should be blamed on me :-)). I should probably add that the the guitar is X-braced and that the neck is a 3-piece maple neck (just to complete the specs).
Have a great start into the new year!
Cheers,
Frank
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos