The new CAMPELLONE V1K model begins

[BigMikeinNJ]

my new Holst which I talked to Steve about in June was supposed to be my last guitar buy, until the BigRed Special won my heart. I gotta admit I think the Campellones are MustBuy Values, like discovering a lost stash of fine older Cuban cigars - if your pocketbook can afford it, you’d be crazy not to spring for it, you’ll regret passing on. Yours will be quite nice Vinny. Let’s see if I can post this recent pic from Steve, the spruce is very old growth from Alaska.

I am the opposite of most. Most like the airey sound of wide grain spruce. I like tight grain. A more compressed sound.
This is basically a Standard with upgrades. Mark is doing me a solid.
This will be a fun build and at my age my last. My sunset guitar and most likely the most cherished.

[neatomic]

nothing beats a straight tight grain spruce...it reveals the healthiness of the tree, and the perfect quality of wood that came from it...a beauty ^

not surprised! campellone!


cheers

[vinnyv1k]

Machine cutting the back. Mark says quilt is extremely hard to machine cut. It gets so hot that it burns from the process. Easily sanded off though.

[Mark M.]

I am the opposite of most. Most like the airey sound of wide grain spruce. I like tight grain. A more compressed sound.
This is basically a Standard with upgrades. Mark is doing me a solid.
This will be a fun build and at my age my last. My sunset guitar and most likely the most cherished.

I’m with you on that, Vinny. I’m also a sucker for the “silk” (my term. I don’t know what else to call it) that runs across the grain on a nice spruce top. That one has it in spades.

[wintermoon]

Medullary rays

[Hammertone]

my new Holst which I talked to Steve about in June was supposed to be my last guitar buy, until the BigRed Special won my heart. I gotta admit I think the Campellones are MustBuy Values, like discovering a lost stash of fine older Cuban cigars - if your pocketbook can afford it, you’d be crazy not to spring for it, you’ll regret passing on. Yours will be quite nice Vinny. Let’s see if I can post this recent pic from Steve, the spruce is very old growth from Alaska.

It's a Holst / Campellone party thread. I like it! Three-piece rims, and beautifully done. Has anyone ever done that before on a real jazz box?

[BigMikeinNJ]

Holst has, the billet was too short to do the standard two piece, if you spend time on his Facebook page he’s got a couple photographs of examples, killer versions where in one he uses tortoiseshell like binding. It’s amazing. Vinny and I have been back and forth texting during his and my Holst builds. My build is suddenly springing up like a madman. Holst gets quite excited to see them get to this point, rightfully so. Vinnys guitar is a stunner. His Campy will be Divine.

It's a Holst / Campellone party thread. I like it! Three-piece rims, and beautifully done. Has anyone ever done that before on a real jazz box?

[MCampellone]

Mark Campellone does batches of 6 every 4-5 months. He is my age 65. I know he is probably wanting to slow down but with Gibson out of the archtop game I suspect he will be a very busy beaver.
He is a machine. His train is always running on time. He told me 4 months for my Special and 4 months it was.
Very humble man. Never advertises or goes to NAMM. Just builds great archtops. Word of mouth. Steve QAman told me I must own one and now I say the same. Campy’s are L5’s on steroids.

Wow, I'm a little nervous that buddy Vinny's post puts me on too high a pedestal (lol) - I am pretty conscientious about keeping deliveries on time, but we all know life can get in the way now and then : ) And I do advertise - been running ads in selected guitar mag's since I started building archtops - it's a good investment in terms of establishing credibility.

As for doing shows - true, I never exhibited my archtops at NAMM - didn't seem an appropriate venue for what I do - but I did pay my dues doing LOTS of guitar shows when I was starting out - most notably, the Long Island Guitar show, which ran for 13 years - and I was there every year! That show pretty much got my career off the ground (buddy Steve L can tell you all about that!)

[MCampellone]

I’m with you on that, Vinny. I’m also a sucker for the “silk” (my term. I don’t know what else to call it) that runs across the grain on a nice spruce top. That one has it in spades.

Actually, "silk" or "silking" is the correct common language term for this lovely shimmering cross grain effect found in spruce - it's created by the tree's "medullary rays" - cell structures which radiate from the tree's center to its outer surface -

[Max405]

Mark, All the credibility you need is right there in the guitars you build.
It’s rare to have a legendary builder come on with us.
You are, incredible.
I can’t wait... I will wait.. but I can’t wait..
I have to take my pill now..
JD

[MCampellone]

Machine cutting the back. Mark says quilt is extremely hard to machine cut. It gets so hot that it burns from the process. Easily sanded off though.

additional note - on quilted maple, the grain changes direction on each "bubble" of figure - on the areas where the grain runs in the same direction as the cut, the cutter teeth tend to "rub" the wood rather than cutting into it - with a relatively high cutter speed, this rubbing can generate enough heat to burn the surface - wouldn't burn as much if my cutter were freshly sharpened - but in general, figured maples are tough on machine cutters.

[Marty Grass]

While grain compression and medullary rays came up, and while we are waiting for further build updates, by coincidence I was researching opinions on tight vs wide grain. I had been told consistently for many years that slow growth spruce with tight grain captures the tonal spectrum better because of the density.

I was surprised to learn from well seasoned luthiers all sorts of conflicting opinions on grain density. I note though that my instruments tend to have a tighter grain toward the midline with more of a flair toward the edges. It seems like that's the tradition with the 17th and 18th century violins and violas.

Here are a couple of brief descriptions of wood choosings.

Stradivarius trees: Searching for perfect musical wood - BBC News

https://stringsmagazine.com/with-the...-violin-maker/

I recently saw this documentary below on Netflix. It's very interesting and a lot of fun. It is a must see for those who play stringed instruments.

https://www.netflix.com/watch/801346...041ff0f3%2C%2C

Here's a teaser of it.

[Max405]

Great stuff MG.
JD

[MCampellone]

While grain compression and medullary rays came up, and while we are waiting for further build updates, by coincidence I was researching opinions on tight vs wide grain. I had been told consistently for many years that slow growth spruce with tight grain captures the tonal spectrum better because of the density.

I was surprised to learn from well seasoned luthiers all sorts of conflicting opinions on grain density. I note though that my instruments tend to have a tighter grain toward the midline with more of a flair toward the edges. It seems like that's the tradition with the 17th and 18th century violins and violas.

Here are a couple of brief descriptions of wood choosings.

Stradivarius trees: Searching for perfect musical wood - BBC News

https://stringsmagazine.com/with-the...-violin-maker/

I recently saw this documentary below on Netflix. It's very interesting and a lot of fun. It is a must see for those who play stringed instruments.

https://www.netflix.com/watch/801346...041ff0f3%2C%2C

Here's a teaser of it.

True - when it comes to spruce, very close hard winter growth grain lines do not necessarily mean greater stiffness - I had one piece of Sitka Spruce with hard grain lines so close together you could barely discern them, and it yielded a top plate that was as flexible as wet cardboard : )

It's important, too, to distinguish between "stiffness" and "density" - high density will usually make wood stiffer, but it also means more mass and more weight, usually translating into more midrange resonance. On the other hand, a piece of wood can be lighter in weight (low density) and still possess good stiffness - this "stiffness to weight" ratio is a better measure than grain tightness when judging the acoustic tonal quality of spruce top wood - a very light, very stiff piece of spruce is the ideal for acoustic guitars, regardless of grain spacing.

[EllenGtrGrl]

Attachment 68340Attachment 68341

Oooh! That looks sooooo noice! Ever since I saw a Super 400 a few years ago, I've been intrigued by 18 inch archtops, but they're pretty rare, and expensive to boot!

[vinnyv1k]

Pretty cool having Mark Campellone and Matt Cushman here. Knowledge we would never know. Though they have no stars on the Walk of Fame like Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable they are certainly stars around here. Thank you Gentlemen. Though the love of archtops in the world is very small it is a huge passion. Frankly if all there was, were Strats and flattops I would still be playing the clarinet.
I tell this story all the time. The 1st time I heard a archtop was in 1973. George Benson’s White Rabbit album. I immediately traded my Les Paul for a 345 and started saving for a archtop. My 1st archtop was a new Byrdland. A 13 month wait for it. $1200 brand new.

[Max405]

Is that Robert Redford in the picture?

[vinnyv1k]

Put a D in front of the Redford Bro.

[2bornot2bop]

Pretty cool having Mark Campellone and Matt Cushman here. Knowledge we would never know. Though they have no stars on the Walk of Fame like Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable they are certainly stars around here. Thank you Gentlemen. Though the love of archtops in the world is very small it is a huge passion. Frankly if all there was, were Strats and flattops I would still be playing the clarinet.
I tell this story all the time. The 1st time I heard a archtop was in 1973. George Benson’s White Rabbit album. I immediately traded my Les Paul for a 345 and started saving for a archtop. My 1st archtop was a new Byrdland. A 13 month wait for it. $1200 brand new.

You look like my half brother David, who was from Livermore, CA, and tall and thin in the early 70's. He passed away last year at age 65 following a post op infection developed after a hernia operation!

Imagine that, saving for months to purchase a new Gibson Byrdland for $1200. Shaking my head.

[vinnyv1k]

Very sorry about your brother Greg. Back then my rent was $125.00 a month too.
Now here in the Bay Area a 1 bedroom apartment goes for around $3K + a month.

[silverfoxx]

Hi Greg,
Can I echo Vinny's sentiments ,that I too am very sad to
hear of your brother passing away last year, age 65 is
way too young , I hope that you are keeping well, we
have not communicated recently, i regret to confess.

[Max405]

2B,
Sorry about your bro, bro.
Nice see you posting again. Don’t be scarce. You are a fixture up in here..
Joe D

[vinnyv1k]

Top and back carved.

[BigMikeinNJ]

Very excited for you Vinny

[neatomic]

hah..so far, so very good!!!...

wonderous wood and matching!

bravo!

amazing to be witness to the creation of a masterpiece!

hopefully many more to come!

cheers