Very early days

Now the 12 fret New World is with Dave Wilson, I am starting a Martin Simpson model.  I like to build one guitar at a time, this way I can concentrate on it without being distracted.

Having joined and thicknessed the back, sides and soundboard, I’m ready to start.  Here the spruce cross-grain centre back reinforcement strip is in place and gluing in the go-bar jig.

The Brazilian rosewood is recycled, having been used in early forest settlement houses for various furniture items.  It’s lovely but has some ancient worm holes.  I’ve filled these, and they blend in with the overall grain figuring; they add character and I personally love that this is recycled wood.

The trim on this guitar is not standard MS.  Instead of the MS red/white/red purfling, I’ve used my much loved red/gold/green.  The binding will be standard MS black Rocklite.

The position of the back braces is marked in white.  The centre reinforcement will be scribed and cut away to receive them.

Fretting and making the bridge

The last work before handing over to Dave is first fretting the fingerboard and then making the bridge.

Fretwire has undergone changes in the time I’ve been building. When I started, nearly 50 years ago now, nickel silver fretwire was considered the best available; I used it for several decades without giving it much thought.

I’ve learnt since it doesn’t actually contain any silver but is an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, and these can be combined in different proportions, so giving the metal different qualities.

In the early 2000s it became clear the Jim Dunlop nickel silver fretwire I’d been using for years wasn’t as hard as it had been. Not only were instruments needing re-fretting much sooner, but also leveling and re-profiling frets was noticeably easier and quicker; other makers were making the same complaint. But when Dunlop was approached and asked would they go back to the earlier nickel silver, they said there had been no change; it was the same now as it always had been. Clearly not the case.

Stainless steel frets have been discussed and used by some makers for many years, and while they are very hard had the reputation of being difficult to fit to a cambered fingerboard.  I was on the point of trying them when another option appeared. Jescar Gold fretwire (it has a very faint gold tint) is as hard as stainless steel but easier to bend to the fingerboard camber.

Since then I’ve used it exclusively, on both mandolin family instruments and guitars. I can’t say exactly how long this is, but it’s several years, and in this time I’ve had none back for re-fret and seen no dinted frets even on well played instruments.

Attaching the fingerboard

Ebony fingerboard glued and clamped in place

The fingerboard has been prepared in advance, and is an exact fit onto the Wengé neck. The truss-rod is placed in its slot (padded in the centre to eliminate rattle) and the fingerboard is glued and clamped. The large number of clamps is not to exert great pressure but to spread pressure along its length.

The guitar head is clamped in a gun maker’s vise, this brought to me by guitar guru Dan Erlewine around 20 years ago. Wonderfully versatile, I now wonder how I managed previously.

The larger clamps are relatively new; the smaller ones are decades old, some distorted by over-tightening, but all are fine for this job.

Next the fingerboard will be glued in place and the neck carved.

Every so often I build a guitar for myself.  Not that I’m likely to keep it permenently, but a guitar I’m specially interested in.  On this occasion I’m building a 12 fret to the body New World Anniversary model guitar (the seventh in the Anniversary series) with Brazilian rosewood back and sides and best aged German spruce soundboard. The neck will be Wengé, the fingerboard and bridge Indian ebony, the binding black Rocklite with red/gold/green purfling and arrow head trim around the soundboard and soundhole.

12 fret guitars can sound surprisingly different from the more common 14 fret models. Various suggestions have been made as to why this should be; my belief is the greater distance between soundhole and bridge (12 fret to the body guitars usually have fewer frets) and, more importantly, the location of the bridge closer to the tail are the major factors.

My long scale D guitars, while having 14 frets to the body, are based on my 12 fret Model 2 with extra frets at the head, so have 12 fret guitar characteristics. These are currently my favourite guitars, hence the decision to build a New World version. It’s many years since I last built one, so I’m looking forward to completing this one incorporating my latest soundboard design.

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There’s a long way to go yet.  Finishing and fitting the neck, gluing the fingerboard, shaping the neck, cambering the fingerboard, fitting frets and making the bridge will take up to another couple of weeks.

Then it will be with Dave for four to five weeks, getting many coats of lacquer, each flatted smooth before the next is applied.

When I get it back I will glue the bridge, true the neck and frets, make and fit nut and saddles and finally string it up and check and adjust the action.

Even when it is finished, it will be many weeks before the final sound begins to appear.  All in all, it will be at least three months before I can begin to assess it.

Adam Bell has had his 1995 Model 1a on my Available Now page for a while.  He’s had some interest but not sold it yet.  He suggested I take it down, but before I do, I want to see if we can find it a new owner – it deserves one.

It has Brazilian rosewood back and sides, a lovely aged top, and is in superb condition; there are no scratches or dings on it at all.  Surely this is a guitar someone is looking for?

Contact Adam Bell at ppod@outlook.com or telephone 07879 475892 if you are interested.

The Martin Simpson model to which I fitted a new soundboard (see News item 7 February this year) has been lacquered, strung and sold.  It worked out well. Here are a couple of quick photos taken in my office.

It was bought by Rubén Bada of Asturias, Spain; here is his email.

Hello Stefan,
I picked up the guitar this morning (which is fast for an international delivery with customs involved). Immediately I could see the cosmetic flaws you mentioned on your website. But as a firm believer on “wabi sabi” I think this only adds to the personality of the guitar and its uniqueness. I think it’s one of the most beautiful instruments I’ve ever come across.
On the other hand it’s probably the best sounding guitar I’ve ever played and it’s playability is second to none.

Thank you very much for making such beautiful things.
Best wishes,  Rubén.

When I wrote asking if I could publish his email he wrote back:

Hello Stefan,
I meant every word so feel free to use my mail if you want. The more I play the guitar the more I like it. When I play it I feel the same I used to feel when I was a classical guitar student and played high end nylon string guitars. The separation and clarity of the guitar is unreal, and still sounds huge. It has sounds I’ve rarely heard in steel string guitars. After a couple of days I feel a better player 😂😂

Thank you for this.
Yours sincerely,
Rubén

Messages like this make life worth living.