16 Oct2021

12 Fret New World Anniversary model

Aged German spruce soundboard with arrowhead trim and ebony S logo

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.

Soundboard bound and ready for neck

Head glued and clamped to neck

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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 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.

Back and sides joined, lining fitted, lacquered and ready to receive soundboard

Back ready for binding, coated with shellac to prevent tape pulling out grain when it’s removed.

28 Jul2021

Adam Bell’s Brazilian rosewood Model 1a

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.

26 Jun2021

Video by Spoon Jar Films

A couple of weeks ago I was visited by Wayne Kelly and Matt Holt of Spoon Jar Films. They came to make a video for YouTube of me in my workshop giving my views on guitar building and life, the universe and everything. Yes, 42.

Wayne and Matt were charming, combining a casual, no nonsense and sympathetic attitude with undoubted professional competence. Clearly masters of their craft; I liked them a lot and want to take this opportunity to thank them for their time and hard work.

Here is their video: https://youtu.be/Iqep_ikrOCM

12 May2021

New soundboard on MS guitar update

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.

04 May2021

Collaboration with Colin Keefe

For a dozen years now I have concentrated on building flat-top guitars, but I’m regularly being asked to build citterns and bouzoukis; several people telling me mine were the best available. Now Colin Keefe and partner Janet will be working with me to build my citterns and bouzoukis.

Colin became interested in building them after fitting a new back to one of my very early citterns, the one owned by Andy Irvine, taken to the US by Paul Brady, but returning with a split back. Colin did a wonderful job, building and fitting purfling in an exact match of my original: a perfect looking and perfectly constructed major repair. The owner was so pleased with it, he and Colin brought it to show me. Both Colin and the repair impressed me, and the idea of collaboration was born.

Colin has experience and training that few builders can match, and his work reflects this. His guitars are excellently put together and his renovations, for which he is becoming famous, are immaculate. His CV can be accessed here.

Colin proudly showing he can finger E major

Colin marking out a fingerboard

For the past several years Colin and Janet have been working from their workshop in Long Eaton, near Nottingham, but are now in process of moving to the North East, looking at premises a few miles from me, making regular contact easier.

Janet profiling frets

Colin has already begun building instruments to my design. This isn’t easy at a distance, as my plans are comprehensible to me but not necessarily to anyone else. Even so, he has built a mandolin virtually indistinguishable from mine in both sound and appearance. Now he and Janet are moving so much closer, collaboration will be easier.

I’ll be giving more information as to cittern and bouzouki availability soon.

23 Apr2021

Anniversary model under construction

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Shot of Anniversary Steinbeck sides with heel and tail blocks in place.

Modern high tech workshop visible in background.

22 Apr2021

First Anniversary model to owner

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Yesterday Steve and Jenny Maguire came to collect Steve’s Anniversary guitar, a Verona model. Here is Steve with his new guitar.

Jennie brought me a very pretty cushion showing a guitar sound-hole and waist; here it is in my office next to a wooden version. Such a kind thought.

07 Mar2021

New World Classic for sale

German spruce and Brazilian rosewood New World Classic

This was the first I built. It sounded so good I immediately started on a second, the Douglas Fir and Brazilian rosewood NWC in the news item below.

This guitar is a little mellower. Still with more clarity and bite than I’m used to hearing from flat-tops, but a little gentler and warmer than my standard curved top New World. Now well played in, it’s a guitar I would have loved when I played the (unamplified) UK folk clubs – around fifty years ago now. Perfect bass to treble balance, nice solid treble, distinct and warm bass it would have been my perfect accompaniment guitar. It could suit a lot of players today.

Built from reclaimed wood that sat on my shelves for fifteen years but originally will have been cut decades and decades ago, possibly when the Brazilian forest was first occupied by settlers. The Brazilian rosewood back is featured in the article ‘Joining thicknessed backs’ towards the end of ‘Brazilian rosewood for sale’ https://www.sobellguitars.com/brazilian-rosewood-for-sale/. As well as colourful and pretty, it has the true Brazilian tap tone that gives that special Brazilian rosewood sound.

The soundboard is German spruce. It’s also been sitting on my shelf for over ten years, and has the slight colour variation of really old wood.

Photos and more details on my Available Now page https://www.sobellguitars.com/available-now/ .

23 Feb2021

Brazilian rosewood New World Classic guitars

Last year I built two experimental New World guitars. The first was Brazilian rosewood and German spruce but with a conventional flat top rather than my long serving curved top. This sounded excellent, a mellower version of my guitar sound. It occurred to me that all those decades ago when I played the UK folk clubs, how much I would have loved a guitar like this.

I’m calling this model my New World Classic.

I immediately started on another, also with Brazilian rosewood back and sides but with a Douglas Fir soundboard. I came across Douglas Fir around 25 years ago, and was struck by its stiffness, light weight and lovely colour. I built one very nice New World (standard curved top) around 15 years ago, but other matters took my attention and Douglas Fir was shuffled onto the back burner.

However, looking at it again recently, this seemed the perfect opportunity to use it, its lovely appearance helping the decision. I’m happy I did, this is also a lovely sounding guitar.

Jonny testing the recording setup

Louis and Jonny setting up to record Douglas Fir New World

I’ve known Jonny Moss ever since he bought a Martin Simpson model around ten years ago, later replaced by his current Steinbeck model. As well as being an outstanding guitarist, Jonny teaches and records; more details on his website www.jonnymossguitar.com. When I called to ask him about recording equipment to make sound clips, he kindly offered to both record and video the two guitars as well as my German spruce and Africa Blackwood Model 2D. I accepted immediately.

Jonny and son Louis recorded clips of all three; here they are.

Douglas Fir and Brazilian rosewood NW
‘e’ by Andrew York. Guitar tuned DADF#BD, capo 5th fret (pictured)

German spruce and Brazilian rosewood NW
‘AJ’s Boogie’ by Mark Thomson. Guitar tuned DADGAD, capo 2nd fret

German spruce and African Blackwood 2D
‘House of the Rising Sun’ arranged by Mark Thomson. Guitar tuned CGCFGC, no capo.

Both guitars have beautiful Brazilian rosewood back and sides chosen for their ring as well as looks. They are fully CITES certified, certification passes to the purchasers so that the guitars can be legally sold or exported in the future.

Both are built to my latest Signature model specification and finished by Dave Wilson to his unsurpassed standards.

The UK price is £10,000, just a little higher than the equivalent African Blackwood model. The price includes Hiscox case and CITES certification. Price to the US including export certificate, case and shipping is $16,000.

For more information email me: stefan@sobellguitars.com or telephone my workshop on +44 (0) 1434 673567 .

Douglas Fir New World Classic guitar

Soundboard:	Douglas Fir
Back and sides:	Brazilian rosewood
Neck:	Wengé
Fingerboard:	Ebony
Bridge:	Ebony with two piece bone saddle
Binding:	Black Rocklite with red, gold and green purfling







Trim:	Arrowhead edging with red line
Body Width:	402mm (15.8″)
Body Length:	495mm (19.5”)
Max body depth:	95mm (3.7”)
F/b width at nut:	1.75″ (45 mm), others optional
Scale:	643mm (25.3”)

Click on photos for larger image

07 Feb2021

New soundboard on MS guitar

Ever since building my first ‘flat-top’ guitar in the early 1980s, all have had a slightly curved soundboard: flat wood pulled over curved braces. But in mid 2020 I built three experimental guitars, one a Martin Simpson model and two New World models, all of which had truly flat soundboards. In other respects the soundboard design and bracing were unchanged.

A guitar takes a while to find its voice. Both New Worlds opened out nicely and sound lovely. But I didn’t love the MS.

Why would two sound excellent and one not so good? Every piece of wood is different, different size guitars react differently to the same bracing system, and there are always variations between even ostensibly identical instruments. Maybe just bad luck that one wasn’t so good. Maybe good luck that two were excellent.

The old soundboard and dusty end of the fingerboard have been removed, leaving the top lining and the neck extension visible. The Wengé neck extension was reluctant to release the soundboard and suffered minor damage which will be sorted later. The body end of the truss rod is just visible.

In any case, after looking at, playing and wondering about the flat-top MS model, almost on an impulse I cut off the soundboard so as to replace it; I had a ready built curved soundboard I’d rejected for use on a new instrument (because of a tiny and almost invisible cosmetic flaw) which I could use.
Because my neck joint is built in to the body, removing the neck isn’t an option, which makes top replacement more complicated. But here goes.

The soundboard clamped on while the glue dries – I love these wooden cam clamps.

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First I cut off the soundboard; I had no interest in re-using it so was ruthless and totally destroyed it. I then cut the fingerboard at the 14th fret, removing and saving the end section to re-fit later.

Next job was to offer the new soundboard to the sides. Because the original was flat and the new one curved, I scribed the sides and cut them down to allow it to sit precisely flush all round; it’s important that it fits exactly without needing to be pulled down by clamping.

I run white tape around the body to show the scribed line clearly. I also have to check the new soundboard meets the cut fingerboard at exactly the right level.

A guitar body without its soundboard has lost its rigidity, so the neck can move up or down to a considerable degree. With the soundboard fitted, the neck is fixed relative to the soundboard.
Since it must sit at the precise angle for the strings to meet the bridge at the right height, getting the neck correctly positioned before gluing on the soundboard was vital. It took a while before I was satisfied it lined up correctly.

Then I could glue on the replacement soundboard.

The soundboard trimmed to body size. The area above the neck extension had been removed before fitting.

The neck extension has been locked firmly against the soundboard, and the space above it filled with another piece of spruce. It sits proud but will be leveled when the glue is dry; the neck and body are now rigidly connected and everything is ready for binding.

I rout the binding and trim ledges with the ledge routing jig; the neck made life difficult and didn’t allow the jig to rout right up to it. So the last inch or so both sides I cut by hand. The neck also complicated fitting the neck end of the binding, which has to be fed between the soundboard and end of the neck.

The ledges complete, the binding and two piece trim have been bent to shape on the bender. I’ve mitred the tail end of the bindings to join up with the back trim, and all have been cut to exact length. I was now ready to bind.

The bindings and trim are glued and firmly bound with garish tape. This could be the colour James Joyce described as ‘a scrotum tightening shade of green’.
The waist is clamped up, and the ends of the binding are also clamped down. Now I’ll leave it to dry overnight.

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The red and black trim, Birdsfoot inlay and Santos rosewood binding are now sealed and scraped back. I’ve reshaped the underneath of the fingerboard extension so the frets line up perfectly with the rest of the fingerboard and glued it in place with a specially constructed ebony caul.

This will be left overnight, then I’ll fit the 14th fret and make sure the fingerboard join is neat and tidy.

Getting there. Soundboard bound, fingerboard extension and 14th fret in place, all made neat and tidy. I leave stripping old lacquer from the sides to Dave; deciding where and how to blend old and new lacquer is his area of expertise. Next to make the new bridge.

Ebony bridge blank

Bridge shaped and matched to soundboard curve, holes and saddle slots cut

Looking perfect, now ready for Dave and the spraybooth. The taped off bridge area can just be seen, the tape will be removed after lacquering so the bridge glues onto bare wood.