13 Jun2014

Filming with Martin Simpson

Today Martin Simpson arrived from Sheffield to collect his new mandola.

Martin was also filming part of a Radio (!) 2 show for Trevor Dan. Trevor and camera men John and Tom were in my workshop for nearly three hours, filming Martin playing and talking about his Martin Simpson Signature Sobell.

They also shot footage of the workshop and me whittling in the background, some of which might be used behind the music.

I was intrigued to discover that these three hours will be edited down to exactly three minutes of the finished program. This program will be available in the UK on line and on the red television button while BBC 1 is playing. I don’t really know how this works, but hope to have a link when it’s out.

Martin mandola front

Admiring back
Martin with new mandola

DSC_0568 Rc 900

Trevor, John and Tom filming Martin playing his Martin Simpson Signature Sobell in my workshop

Another couple of pictures of Trevor and the boys. Outside the sun was shining; early June is the most wonderful part of the year in Northumberland

Martin also brought me the African Blackwood New World guitar he is selling to look over. It’s perfect and as new. Pictures up soon on my ‘available now’ page.

12 May2014

Visit from Keith Potger

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Today Keith Potger visited; Keith is best known as the 12 string guitar player in the Seekers. He was travelling between gigs on the current UK Seekers tour, commemorating 50 years since the band formed.

Keith played Martin Simpson and New World Model guitars, and also my original 1981 arch-top, as shown here.

Keith is returning to Hexham on 10 June to join Frank Ifield at the Hexham Queens Hall.

Incidentally, fellow Seeker Bruce Wardley had one of my mandolins for many years, but this was wrecked by the Melbourne floods of around four years ago.

The 1981 arch-top Keith is playing was my first guitar, built after I’d been making mandolin family instruments for about eight years. It was heavily influenced by my 1931 Martin C1 arch-top, with its round sound-hole and flat-top style non carved back.

By the time I built this guitar the Martin C1 was fifty years old. The neck was still perfectly straight (despite having no adjustable truss-rod), but the soundboard had sunk around the sound-hole.

So on this first guitar I modified the design of the soundboard bracing around the sound-hole, and thirty-three years on, the neck is straight and the soundboard has not moved or sunk.

Most of the arch-top guitars I build now are my arch-top 12 strings, large bodied with 12 frets to the body. The arch-top sound suits the 12 string particularly well; the rather hard arch-top sound is softened by the pairs of strings but the arch-top punch gives good separation and a clean strong bass.

02 May2014

Mandola for Martin Simpson

I have built Martin Simpson a maple bodied mandola and Martin is selling one of his four Sobell guitars to make room for it. The guitar he’s selling is his African Blackwood and Italian spruce New World, photos to follow on the Available Now page.

29 Jan2014

D guitar

The Model 2D is a long scale (28.5″ – 725 mm) guitar designed to be tuned one tone below standard.

Fitting a capo to the second fret gives standard pitch at standard tuning and standard tension. Played open without a capo it has a magnificent depth of tone; played with a capo higher up it blossoms as a different guitar, bright and ringing.

2020 German spruce and African Blackwood Model 2D.

History

A few guitarists keep their guitars tuned permanently low, sometimes a semitone below concert pitch, sometimes a full tone. But tuning low on a standard scale can have limitations, so in 2004 I built a long scale guitar to tune a tone down from standard.

My first D guitar was built on a 12 fret version of my Model 1 guitar, but when Maurice Condie came to see me about having me build him a D guitar, he suggested I base it on my Model 2. This has a longer body and was designed as a 12 fret, so needed no adaptation – a really good idea I should have thought of earlier.

The 2D has now become my standard D guitar. It is available with a German spruce, figured Sitka spruce and now also Douglas Fir soundboard and Maysian Blackwood, African Blackwood and Brazilian rosewood back and sides.
Not only does it play a tone lower, but whatever the tuning the D guitar has a wonderful deep resonant sound, a sound you just don’t get from a standard scale guitar.

Darrell Scott in 2019 playing his 2D. He tunes it a tone and a half below standard, making it a C# guitar.

Maurice and his 2015 2D ‘Still loving the guitar. It has become my most used live guitar. It really does do everything.’

Model D specifications

Scale: 725mm (28.5″)
Soundboard: German spruce, figured Sitka spruce or Douglas Fir
Back and sides: African or Malaysian Blackwood, Brazilian rosewood
Neck: Wengé
Fingerboard: Ebony
Bridge: Ebony with bone saddles
Body shape: Model 2
Max body width: 410 mm (16.14″)
Max body length 525 mm (20.66″)
Tuners: Gold plated Gotoh s, Gotoh 510s optional
Nut width: 45mm (1 25/32″)
String spacing at bridge: 60mm (2 3/8″)

Martin Simpson playing the original Model 1 Sicilian based D guitar in 2004

‘This is one of the very best guitars you’ve built, which means it’s one of the best guitars on the planet’ Martin Simpson with 2D July 2016

14 Jan2014

Two new guitars

Figured Sitka soundboards

For many years I’ve not used Sitka spruce for soundboards, having had indifferent success with it when first building instruments. However, it turns out there is Sitka and there is Sitka. While visiting Pacific Rim Tonewoods in the Cascade Mountains near Seattle I saw sets of lovely looking Sitka spruce, both straight grained and figured. They looked so good I bought two of each, and I’ve recently built two guitars using the figured sets. These are a Martin Simpson D model (long scale tuned a tone low) and a New World model, both with African Blackwood back and sides, Wengé necks, ebony fingerboards and bridges, and figured Sitka soundboards. Both are a rich colour and extravagantly figured. And they sound wonderful; I’m so pleased to have another combination of woods I’m really happy to offer. I plan to keep the D model for a while, but sell the New World model (see my ‘available now’ page).

26 Oct2013

Long neck mandolin project part 8

Back from the spray-booth

Last week Patrick’s long neck mandolin came back from the spray booth. David has worked his magic on it and it looks beautiful, with the golden finish Patrick requested.

I’m leaving it to settle until next week before starting stringing it.

16 Oct2013

Available now page problems

One instrument gone and another available

At the moment I’m unable to update my ‘available now’ page. My computer guru (aka Jason Sobell) is away from his desk this week so it will be a while before this is sorted out.

In the meantime I can announce that Mike Moskal has sold his Model 2 so this is no longer available.

However, there’s now another instrument available. Stewart McIsaac bought a 10 string bouzouki from me in around 1993 (to add to his earlier 8 string). He now wants to sell the 10 string.
He says it is in good condition apart from a couple of very minor dings, and from the photos he sent, this looks to be the case.

Stewart’s contact details are:
Landline 01416494090
mobile 07931721495
email stewart.nadia1@btinternet.com

16 Oct2013

Model 2 D guitar

Maurice’s good idea

Some time ago Maurice Condie asked me to make a D guitar and suggested I build it on my Model 2 body – a really good idea. A 14 fret to the body D guitar has to be based on a 12 fret model, and whereas the MS and NW D guitars I’ve built have been 14 fret bodies adapted to take the 12 fret bridge position, my Model 2 was designed as a 12 fret to the body guitar from the start and needed no modifications.

To my eyes, the proportions work out particularly well, the longer neck balancing the relatively long body. Built with African Black-wood back and sides, a German spruce soundboard and a Wengé neck, it should sound excellent. Both Maurice and I are looking forward to being able to play it.

There are double position dots at the second fret, and standard dot positions from there up. So the octave double dots are only at the octave when a capo is on the second fret, giving standard scale and tunings. I fitted them this way after discussion with Maurice, previous D guitars have had the orthodox dot positions.

Not great photos (especially the one below), but they show the shape and proportions of the guitar. It’s now ready for David and the spray-booth.

03 Oct2013

Long neck mandolin project part 7

Ready for the spray-booth

Very nearly three months after starting work on it, Patrick’s long neck mandolin is ready for Dave and the spray-booth. I will get it back after around a month, when I will make and fit the bridge and can then string the mandolin for the first time.

02 Oct2013

Long neck mandolin project part 6

Shaping the neck

At this point it was time to shape the neck and add the last piece of binding and trim across the heel.
Here the mandolin is strapped to the neck shaping arm, held in place by a strap round the body and a clamp over the head.

Working to the guide lines drawn on the neck, I start by tapering the sides of the neck with a draw-knife. This Cuban mahogany is a pleasure to work, with the wood peeling away from the knife smoothly. Other woods can have interlinked grain so that whichever way you work, the knife digs in and the wood wants to splinter. Wengé in particular is not nice to work with knives and chisels so has to be rasped and sanded.
The neck has now been rasped into five flats, ready to be smoothed into the final shape.
It’s hard to see in this photograph, but it has also been tapered so as to be a little shallower at the head end.

Here the neck has been rounded with a fine rasp and sanded through the grades. I’ve also fitted the binding and trim over the heel.

Next the fingerboard will be leveled and cambered, dots inlaid as required, and then the fingerboard can be fretted.