rradams

It may be that you were compairing a smaller bodied Breedlove to a larger Alvarez. I believe the Focus is about 15" at the lower bout, and the Steel string Yari is Dreadnought, and a Jumbo(both are wider at the lower bout, and deeper). A larger box produces bass easier than a smaller box. Your first choice should be the size/model/design you think most suits your needs. That is the biggest factor in the sound of an acoustic. You can "tweak" the sound a bit. You can certainly get more focused responce with material selection and bracing configuration. In the end though, you can make 20 small changes that impact the sound a little, however you will never make as significant a choice as the size/design.

There are a lot of little things that you will question along the way on your first acoustic. Keep one concept in mind though, 20 little things may add up to a small change in performance. Stick with the design as drawn(I assume you will be using a set of drawings), and don't worry too much about making "improvements". Focus on good joining, getting a feel for the thickness/ stiffness/ tapped responce and so forth(don't put too much pressure on mastering these things, you are only trying to develop a first point of reference on your first). If you feel like making some little changes after careful consideration, do so, but remember little changes are secondary to solid construction.

Always feel free to toss out questions, or ask for dimensions others are using for this part or that. Also ask for tool and jig suggestions as well as dig around on the web for these things. GW is right that many books on building acoustics are outdated, and those builders are probably using several different methods today.

Rich

Thanks guys for all of the help and advice. I'm fortunate to have the tools... the ability to use the tools is another story. Rich, didn't put the guitars up next to each other to see if they were different in size... GW, I spent last evening downloading Steven's guitar build videos, great reference. That guy's style of teaching is great. I appreciate you guys being there.

Rubin

I need a little help... I have a tele on the bench about two weeks from finished and an acoustic is next on the list. Where I need a little help is, this morning I was able to side by side compare a Breedlove Focus and an Alvarez Yari. The difference in tone was amazing... My concern is as I'm planning and building my acoustic (right now walnut back and sides, top one of the spruces, neck either maple or cherry) how do I adjust for things like fullness of or lack of bass, or other tonal variables? Though the Breedlove sounded great... it is distinctive in the lack of bass. I just want to know before I end up with a guitar I don't like. Thanks

Rubin

You will have to read up on guitars. You might get away with a good first build. But that level of tuning will depend on alot. Thin the top near the edges to .90 will help. Scallop braces will also help.

GW... thanks for the reply. I guess you caught me on the reading up... I was looking for the easy solution. Not having built an acoustic, would you recommend someone who publishes a good tutorial on building one of them. Thanks,

Rubin

I need a little help... I have a tele on the bench about two weeks from finished and an acoustic is next on the list. Where I need a little help is, this morning I was able to side by side compare a Breedlove Focus and an Alvarez Yari. The difference in tone was amazing... My concern is as I'm planning and building my acoustic (right now walnut back and sides, top one of the spruces, neck either maple or cherry) how do I adjust for things like fullness of or lack of bass, or other tonal variables? Though the Breedlove sounded great... it is distinctive in the lack of bass. I just want to know before I end up with a guitar I don't like. Thanks

Rubin

I get a lot of satisfaction building my necks. I thinks you're cheatng yourself of some real enjoyment if skip that part. Give it a try... :-)

Rubin

Thanks Brian,

Any suggestions as to what I can do to get a finish on this thing. I have covered it with CA and sanded that down... the finish remianed gummy and scraped right off. Used Stew Mac water based grain filler and it stayed gummy... and scraped right off. My latest trial is wiping all if it down with denatured alcohol... and re spraying. I checked it this morning and it looks better but I'll have to see this evening. I would go with Tru-oil but I have an inlay on the headstock and would like to get a finish over that.

Thanks again,

Rubin

Hi there,

I am finishing a neck and am using Minwax polyurethane. The neck is cherry with a rosewood cap on the headstock. After 3 days of drying time the finish on the rosewood is gummy. The rest of the neck is great. Why is this happening and what can I do to fix it. I have always used ebony on my headstocks... this is the first time using rosewood. Help! :-)

Thanks in advance,

Rubin

Grindell,

It's good to hear that they're worth the money. Everything I have bought from Grizzly has satisfied me. I'd be interested in following a tutorial if you are going to do one.

Rubin

Hi Dugz Ink,

I have some that has been thru the kiln but I haven't used it yet on a guitar. It is pretty dense and is very yellow in color. Almost golden. It will require the right design to carry the rather bright color. I have worked wit it a little and it does machine well... router, drilling sawing etc. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has tried a guitar out of it yet.

Rubin

That thing is sweet... I have a scratch SG I'm building for a gift with a 25" scale (it's ready for finish so it's too far along change) I really love that 27" :-)

Hi sscovill,

The binding usually doesn't fold over the top. It sits on a ledge cut into the body and has enough thickness that it shows both on the side and the top. It comes in straight strips of many dimensions... (send for a Stewmac catalog and you'll get a good idea of what they look like. The catalog is great to have around as kind of a wish book. :-) The binding is then formed to follow the contours of the body. Be careful using high heat or open flame to help bending the material. Cellulose based binding can burst into flame on you. As said before masking tape is your friend while working with bindings... Hope some of this helped...

Rubin

Hi there,

I just finished the neck I am using on an SG I am building for a gift. I bound it thinking that I would finish it in lacquer but have decided to go with Tru-oil. Do I need to tape off the binding and leave it clear or will the Tru-oil set up over the binding. Thanks in advance for the help.

Rubin

Hi there,

I am getting ready to do a blue burst on a sasafrass SG style body and will use black paint for the outer color. Do I need to use gloss or flat for the paint. I realize with a clear finish over it the difference shouldn't be much, but would like to use the experience of others to keep mess-ups to a minimum. Thanks... :-)

Rubin

Hi there,

Check out: http://www.nymphusa.com/tele/

I think this is the one you're looking for... :-)

Rubin

Hi Matt,

The answer to your question really depends on the equipment your friend has. If the bandsaw can handle a one inch blade and has a fence that can guide your cutting the bandsaw may be the way to go. My experience (limited to bookmatching some maple for an LP cap) maple being as hard as it is, causes the blade to wander as you cut and generates a lot of heat. I used the bandsaw because the piece I was re-sawing was about 8" wide and the table saw blade wouldn't make it thru in two passes. (Thinking about it now I could have used the band saw the cut what the table saw didn't get) The chance of having to plane out or sand out any wavering would probable negate any loss you might get from the wider saw kerf of the table saw blade. Be careful with this either way that you choose and have fun... :-)

Rubin

Hi Curtis,

Grounding a TOM is usually easy. Depending on where the control cavity is located you can come in thru there or thru the bridge pickup cavity. Drill a hole from one of those into the TOM post holes. Run a ground wire from a good solid ground (a vol/tone control pot etc. ) into the TOM post hole. Be sure to strip the wire enough so that you make contact with the knurled part of the TOM mountin post. Pressing the mount into place will make contact with the ground wire and effectivly ground your strings. Hope this helps.

Rubin

Hi Wes,

Read carefully the link you posted... the cream binding it is ABS. :-) The warning at the bottom is a generic warning for bindings in general.

Rubin

Hi Adam,

I have also used the Stew-Mac cream bindings and dealt with the same frustration you are experiencing. The cream binding I don't believe is celuloid... I never had any problems with it burning. It will char it you get it too hot. :-) I used a heat gun that will shrink heat shrink tubing and it worked great. You have to wait for it to soften and use something (spoon) to roll it around the bends. I have used this on both the body and the neck and head stock. I pass this along refering only to the Stew-Mac cream binding though. I've only worked with this material for bindings.

Rubin

Thanks everyone for your help on this one... School is out on Monday (I teach 4th grade) and I will have some time to get started on this one. I have an LP style to finish up, gotta glue the neck on, stain and finish. 2 SG's one for myself and one a gift to move along and the self designed all local wood "Southern Man" that the persimmon will be used on. Good times... :-)

Thanks,

Rubin

Has anyone tried Persimon on a fretboard? I am going to build a guitar using only locally found wood and the fretboard is my last hold up. What I have read about persimon is that it is very hard as it is part of the ebony family. I realize I may have to deal with a lighter color. Thanks...:-)

Rubin

Hi Andreas,

For what it's worth, it looks like you're on to something. I agree with spirit though, the waist is a little fat, at least in the horizontal pic it seems that way. Keep posting progress... :-)

Rubin

What's the name of this place and where is it? :-)

Rubin

It gets better than that... I had about 18" of waste from each plank. If I'd done a little planning I could have made two complete bodies with the grain going the correct direction. I get sloppy at times because I have access to a 25 hp bandsaw mill and a solar kiln. I have 200 acres of hardwood around me (ash, cherry, poplar, walnut, osage orange, mulberry etc.) My only problem is that we dried a bunch that is rough cut to 1", planes to around 3/4" to 7/8" before I started building guitars. So what I am working with right now has to be laminated for thickness. I will be out scouting this summer for some body woods to have in the mill this year that are the correct thickness.

Rubin

Yeah, this is an exciting time... my other builds have been for myself. This is to be an Xmas gift for my future (by Xmas he will be) son-in-law. As far as the contrasting wood it would be a waste as you won't be able to see it once the body is finished. But thanks for the encouragement :-)

Rubin

You got it right... I have always heard the a good glue joint was stronger than the wood itself but never put it to the test. I am using ash on ash and finishing with a deep blue burst. The deep blue-black in the outside should cover the endgrain and joint on the wood while the more transparent blue dyed center parts will allow the grain of the ash to show thru. Thanks for the help.

Rubin

I have some ash that is planed to 7/8". I have edge joined to form two planks approx 18" wide X 24" long with a glue joint doen the middle. I am going to glue these one on top of the other to form a body blank for a lefty SG for my future son-in-law. My questions is, right now the glued centerlines will end up on top of each other. Does anyone see a problem or weakness with the glue joints coming together like this. Thanks,

Rubin