Prostheta Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 Of course! I don't think that I could adapt my thinking to work any other way....I've been watching Andy's work develop for a while because acoustics are one of those things you could spend a lifetime developing yourself with, and still have a million miles to go when you're grey and shaking sticks at "these bloody kids, they know nothing". I doubt that I could overcome the degree of hands-on experience one needs with acoustics just by throwing drawings at them, however I'm certain it helps! Engineering with fuzzier organic edges and expected levels of fractious tolerance? Andy seems to have found a great stride with his acoustics, and it is 100% inspiring. I do think that I have to challenge myself with an acoustic or carved archtop. Voicing alone is something that I really think I'd enjoy, purely since you can't draw it. You have to get in there and see what you can take with what you're given. That has a beauty I can appreciate. Regardless, it would have to start with a drawing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 22 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Andy seems to have found a great stride with his acoustics, and it is 100% inspiring. For sure! I'm not sure I'll be following him into the acoustic world anytime soon. All those thin little pieces of wood are surely very unforgiving, and something about bending them intimidates me. I do find find the idea of something like @mattharris75's mandol0 quite intriguing though.. There's a lot of room for freedom of expression with the shape and the carved top and back are very appealing. There is still some side bending involved though.... SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 I recall a large number of years back, one of our members built a multiscale 8-string acoustic and that truly stuck in my mind and fermented a little. I think a 7-string with a milder multiscale, using the altered geometry and extending out what it implies to the rest of the design is deeply appealing. Obviously, the key word here is geometry....that has me mentally knotted up from the get go. Building a successful instrument around this specification as a first acoustic though, I'm not 100% confident that it's the best idea. Still, it's definitely an idea. I'd say "race you to it" Scott, however I'm sure that by the time I'd crossed the line you'd have three GOTMs and another GOTY under your belt before I tipped the glass over my head. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 1 hour ago, ScottR said: All those thin little pieces of wood are surely very unforgiving, and something about bending them intimidates me Talking of which...do you remember my first rig for bending (a good few years ago now)? : A gas blowlamp firing down an open-ended tube that one had to lean close to in order to bend the wood over. Two lessons learnt from this: - it's difficult to see what's happening to the wood with the smoke from your jacket constantly wafting up from your chest - it's remarkable just how quickly you can get a jacket and a shirt off when they are on fire Don't be inhibited by bending wood. It's the third degree burns that you should be worried about. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 1 hour ago, Andyjr1515 said: Talking of which...do you remember my first rig for bending (a good few years ago now)? : I do indeed. I'm trying to make myself say and it looks so innocent sitting there. But it doesn't. It looks like it's locked and loaded and willing to set you on fire. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Andyjr1515 Posted September 8, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 Anyway, a few more arty f**ty photos 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiloszM Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 f.. love this is prfessional! I want this in my hands 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted September 9, 2020 Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 10 hours ago, ScottR said: For sure! I'm not sure I'll be following him into the acoustic world anytime soon. All those thin little pieces of wood are surely very unforgiving, and something about bending them intimidates me. I do find find the idea of something like @mattharris75's mandol0 quite intriguing though.. There's a lot of room for freedom of expression with the shape and the carved top and back are very appealing. There is still some side bending involved though.... SR Side bending is cake compared to some of the stuff you've done, Scott! I'd love to see your take on a carved acoustic instrument of some sort, get going! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argytar Posted September 13, 2020 Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 Omg! What a beatiful build!!! Thanks for sharing!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gogzs Posted September 14, 2020 Report Share Posted September 14, 2020 Been following this one closely the whole time. What a lovely instrument, great job Andy! And the sound awesome For some reason I feel like this is to a guitar what a harpsichord is to a piano. Sounds really renaissance, love it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Gogzs said: Been following this one closely the whole time. What a lovely instrument, great job Andy! And the sound awesome For some reason I feel like this is to a guitar what a harpsichord is to a piano. Sounds really renaissance, love it! Many thanks! And yes - I know exactly what you mean. It's a good analogy. P picked it up yesterday - happily, he was delighted with it Phew! He also let me record him playing it - I'll post the clip shortly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Andyjr1515 Posted September 19, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted September 19, 2020 And so, as a post-script. P and his delightful wife arrived last weekend to pick up the Guitar Bouzouki. And I think he would be happy in me saying he loves it For me, that is a great pleasure and relief in equal measure! P was able to bring his standard Irish Bouzouki for me to have a look at and listen to and that was fascinating. We both agreed that the Guitar Bouzouki has a much richer sound (which would be hoped and expected) and a strummed chord just goes on, beating sub-harmonics all the way, for a long, long time. The neck between the two instruments was quite different, part designed and fully expected and part more of a surprise. P had requested it to be wider and shallower than his original which will always change the curves and feel, but the thing I noticed straightaway was that the 'V' on the original felt distinctly V shaped to the hand further up the fretboard than my build. It doesn't really show on the profile drawings but it does give it a different feel further up the board. Not necessarily a bad feel, but certainly a different feel. Changing that, if P's conclusion was that he wanted that tweaking, is actually a very easy fix and the sort of thing that can be done on a 'while you wait' basis. And there's a crazy coincidence (that I won't go into detail on) that might mean that finding a convenient time to do that would not be too much of problem. But, that said, even at first play, this is P showing how a Guitar Bouzouki should be played. Glorious! And particularly glorious through headphones 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 19, 2020 Report Share Posted September 19, 2020 What can I say? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonMay Posted September 19, 2020 Report Share Posted September 19, 2020 Boy howdy, that sounded so good. It sings forever. Great job @Andyjr1515 . I'm speechless. Ron 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 Very very very very.....really super nice. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 That's amazing. It may be what is being played, but its like you can simultaneously hear a mandolin, a banjo, a harpsichord, a fiddle (even), a 12 string guitar and a really nice acoustic guitar all at the exact same time. Sweet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 14 minutes ago, komodo said: That's amazing. It may be what is being played, but its like you can simultaneously hear a mandolin, a banjo, a harpsichord, a fiddle (even), a 12 string guitar and a really nice acoustic guitar all at the exact same time. Sweet. I have to say that, if I hadn't been there watching him playing it, I'd have said it was two instruments. Great playing by P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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