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Sy8 - 8 Strings 'n Things


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Man, you do find the tasiest top woods. B-) I very much like the carve and the carved faux binding. It is difficult to tell--did you route a rabbet to keep it consistant or did you just do that during your carve? If you created that by simply carving....well, I know simple is not the correct term for that. Since going to deep in any one spot would make a wobble in your binding, doing it that way and getting this degree of accuracy is very impressive indeed.

SR

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Thanks Scott. I've still got enough from the original myrtle slab to do another 3 tops. Nice stuff to work with too, pretty similar to maple.

I initially started with a cove bit to set the carve depth leaving 3mm of myrtle showing at the edges, but the top I've used wasn't thick enough to give me the carve depth I was after, so on a whim I took the rest of it down with the spokeshave, scraper and sanding block. Nothing really special about the method - I guess go slow and check how it's looking frequently is the best way to describe it.

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Thanks guys.

If that is clear over the natural color of the wood, then that is the most beautiful natural top I've ever seen. Bravo.

That is indeed the natural colour of Tasmanian myrtle. Do a Google search to see lots of other examples of the colours you can get - burgundy, orange, salmon pink, pale brown are common.

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Now that this guitar is all said and done, how do you feel about the use of the Celery Top in the neck?

Do you feel it was too soft or do you fell it was hard enough? By the book it should be ok, but its at the lower scale of ok not the higher scale of definite.

My reason for asking is I've just bought a plank of it with intent on making a 3 piece Celery top neck with some Tassy Black wings.

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I've also been meaning to ask what the jarrah is like as a fretboard and what you used to oil it? I'm thinking of using it on my first full build, which is mainly maple and alder, in the hope that it might add a bit more warmth to the tone than an ebony or maple fretboard? All the guitars I own have rosewood fretboards so I'm trying not to use it on this one. Thanks

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Now that this guitar is all said and done, how do you feel about the use of the Celery Top in the neck?

Do you feel it was too soft or do you fell it was hard enough? By the book it should be ok, but its at the lower scale of ok not the higher scale of definite.

My reason for asking is I've just bought a plank of it with intent on making a 3 piece Celery top neck with some Tassy Black wings.

I found the celery top to be fine to work with. Grain is nice and tight. No real issues with strength that I can see so far, but the neck was a 5 piece which will have helped anyway. It's more resistant to dings than the Queensland maple I used on my previous neck, so I guess it's perfectly OK in terms of hardness.

I've also been meaning to ask what the jarrah is like as a fretboard and what you used to oil it? I'm thinking of using it on my first full build, which is mainly maple and alder, in the hope that it might add a bit more warmth to the tone than an ebony or maple fretboard? All the guitars I own have rosewood fretboards so I'm trying not to use it on this one. Thanks

I used tung oil on the jarrah, maybe 6-8 coats. Very dense wood. Given how hard jarrah is I'm not sure it would translate to a warmer tone. I would imagine your choice of body timber and pickups would have more of an impact.

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I found the celery top to be fine to work with. Grain is nice and tight. No real issues with strength that I can see so far, but the neck was a 5 piece which will have helped anyway. It's more resistant to dings than the Queensland maple I used on my previous neck, so I guess it's perfectly OK in terms of hardness.

Well I love working with QLD maple, so it definitely shouldn't be an issue then.

Cheers

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I've also been meaning to ask what the jarrah is like as a fretboard and what you used to oil it? I'm thinking of using it on my first full build, which is mainly maple and alder, in the hope that it might add a bit more warmth to the tone than an ebony or maple fretboard? All the guitars I own have rosewood fretboards so I'm trying not to use it on this one. Thanks

I used tung oil on the jarrah, maybe 6-8 coats. Very dense wood. Given how hard jarrah is I'm not sure it would translate to a warmer tone. I would imagine your choice of body timber and pickups would have more of an impact.

I've used Jatoba for several necks, though never a fretboard. It has a similar look as Jarrah, and is extremely hard and dense as well. It has a reputation for adding midtone warmth, and my guitars with jatoba necks certain have plenty of that. How much the Jatoba contibuted to that will always be debatable....but it's food for thought.

SR

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I've also been meaning to ask what the jarrah is like as a fretboard and what you used to oil it? I'm thinking of using it on my first full build, which is mainly maple and alder, in the hope that it might add a bit more warmth to the tone than an ebony or maple fretboard? All the guitars I own have rosewood fretboards so I'm trying not to use it on this one. Thanks

I used tung oil on the jarrah, maybe 6-8 coats. Very dense wood. Given how hard jarrah is I'm not sure it would translate to a warmer tone. I would imagine your choice of body timber and pickups would have more of an impact.

I've used Jatoba for several necks, though never a fretboard. It has a similar look as Jarrah, and is extremely hard and dense as well. It has a reputation for adding midtone warmth, and my guitars with jatoba necks certain have plenty of that. How much the Jatoba contibuted to that will always be debatable....but it's food for thought.

SR

Thanks guys, I had read that Jarrah has good warmth and mid tones, but I was unsure as they're characteristics not usually associated with hard, dense woods. Like you say curtisa, with it only being the fretboard it probably won't have much impact overall. I've ordered one now and when I eventually get my build back on track I reckon I'll start a thread so you guys can help me on my way!

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More than you would expect actually. Without sounding too literal, the fingerboard is like the icing on the cake. Not the main ingredient but certainly not one that goes unnoticed. In a neck through the fingerboard has more contribution than body wings in my opinion.

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