Sitka/African walnut ladder braced tenor guitar

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Dave White
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Sitka/African walnut ladder braced tenor guitar

Post by Dave White » Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:37 pm

These things are addictive. I made the first one with the view to showing it at the Cheltenham Acoustic Guitar Show this coming weekend but took it to guitar camp and couldn't resist a cash in hand offer for it. That got me in trouble with my youngest daughter Suzanna as she had named it and wanted it. So it was time to make another from the small stash of wood I had. We decided to use the one and only sitka spruce top that I bought in a moment of madness years ago and haven't known what to do with (Yes Steve K - I've finally lost my Sitka virginity :D) , and a small block of wood I bought labelled African Walnut that would do a neck, sides and four piece back, some EI Rosewood side offcuts for bindings and ebony for the bridge and headstock veneers.

African walnut would appear to be Lovoa klaineana or Lovoa trichiliodes, and to confuse things it is a member of the genus Meliaceae - the mahogany family. It is a lovely wood to work with and according to Suzanna and my wife looks like Tigerseye - which is interesting as one of its common names is Tigerwood.

These instruments were named by my daughter Suzanna after the shape-shifting Scandanavian Water Spirits who played enchanted songs on the violin. If properly approached, they will teach a musician to play so adeptly "that the trees dance and waterfalls stop at his music." Not exactly a violin, but very similar tuning - GDAE or GDAD. The first one was called Nøkken and this one is called Nácken.

The design is the same as the first one - 579mm scale length with 14 frets clear of the body on a Martin Size 5 body. The tuning is GDAD and the strings I am using are 49, 32, 22w, 15. The sound is pleasing so far - the sitka is more on the "fundimental" side of spruces I have used but it works well on the instrument and it will be interesting to hear how it opens out. These are real fun session instruments.

This time I got to do a soundclip. These are useful to do early in an instruments life (the strings went on last Friday) as you can go back later and compare. I find that there are tunes lurking in each instrument that seem to come out when you noodle around on them for the very first time. This one is appropriate to the ANZLF as it came out as a "loose" version of "Botany Bay".

Some pictures:
Image
Image
Image

Top bracing (lutz spruce):
Image

Back bracing (lutz spruce):
Image

Thanks for looking and listening.
Dave White
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Bob Connor
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Post by Bob Connor » Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:52 pm

Sounds and looks absolutely gorgeous Dave and a very nice version of Botany Bay.

It's got a very large diameter soundhole for such a small bodied instrument. Any reasoning behind it?
Bob, Geelong
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Dave White
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Post by Dave White » Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:02 pm

Bob,

Thanks. The soundholes on my instruments tend to be larger than most other makers I suppose. When I strated building I was influenced by makers I liked and I had a Dermot McIlroy guitar that was SJ size with a 110mm diameter soundhole that sounded great. I find that with the arching I use on my tops I get better volume and projection with the larger soundholes without sacrificing "tonal quality", so that's what I do. I've read somewhere that Mario Proulx does a similar thing. The soundhole on this one is 94mm diameter. On my own design instruments (rather than Martin Size 5) I have the soundhole further towards the neck block than is "traditional" - maybe this balances out the Helmholz rise in pitch.
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Bob Connor
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Post by Bob Connor » Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:14 pm

It looks larger than it actually is Dave.

We use 92mm soundholes on the O models so ther's not a huge difference there. I was thinking it was up around 100mm.
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Dave White
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Post by Dave White » Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:19 pm

Bob,

I find that optically, solid wood rosettes seem to make the soundhole look bigger than ones that are done with just bwb purfling combinations.
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joel
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Post by joel » Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:36 pm

That is another beauty Dave. I loved the look of you're first one, and this one looks the goods too.
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Post by ozziebluesman » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:18 pm

G'day Dave,

What a fun little instrument. It sounds warm and inviting. Is that the same ladder bracing as your concert sized guitar?

Beautifully crafted mate!

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Alan

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Dave White
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Post by Dave White » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:21 pm

Joel - thanks.

Alan - Thanks too. Yes it's essentially the same bracing but "voiced" to the top and hence not as tall.
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Colin S
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Post by Colin S » Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:31 am

Another great little instrument Dave. I think it would make a wonderful pub guitar. Another to add to my 'to do' list. Or of course you could just send it to me after Cheltenham, Suzanna would understand.

Your folder on my music player is getting quite full now.

Colin

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Post by SteveF » Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:51 am

Hi Dave.....Niiiiice,great sound great to look at,can't get much better than that(but you gotta try,eh).........cheers Steve

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Post by Stephen Kinnaird » Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:53 pm

Dave, what a treat! I always enjoy looking at your fine creations, but now that you've come over to the dark side, things are really going to get interesting. You done all that wood proud, M8.

A tip for bringing out the best in Sitka:
make all your measurements in inches, not milimeters.
Otherwise you'll just end up confusing your top wood.

Steve
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Post by Taffy Evans » Tue Sep 09, 2008 4:14 pm

Hi Dave
Another great looking guitar, I was thinking the same about the soundhole but you've cleared that up. Thanks for the spec's Dave I've just pulled out the timber to build a tenor guitar. I have a customer who is umming and arring about getting one so I told him I'd build it anyway for the experience, he wasn't happy as he said if he hears it he'll have to but it..........OK by me. Nice one Dave.
Taff

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Post by Allen » Tue Sep 09, 2008 5:49 pm

Dave, it looks like I'm late to this, so can't add much except I love that rendition of Botany Bay, and it's a really great looking instrument.

I'm going to have to build a ladder braced guitar soon, so hopefully I can pick your brain about some design considerations.

Looking at the top that you have braced, it doesn't appear that there is much of a radius in it. I think that you said that you build with an 8' radius. Is it just the camera angle that makes it look much flatter than it actually is?
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Post by Dennis Leahy » Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:42 pm

What a wonderful sounding little guitar!

Very stealthy seams on the back - who would know it's 4-piece.

Dennis
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Dave White
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Post by Dave White » Tue Sep 09, 2008 8:36 pm

Colin - thanks. I'm not sure Suzanna would understand :lol:

Steve - thanks. The next one will always be better - or that's always the hope.drive that keeps you building.

Stephen - I'm just glad that that particular piece of Sitka is no longer looking at me longingly and making me feel guilty. I'll remember the inch trick if I get another piece. I still think I prefer it with the White spruce infusion (aka Lutz).

Taffy - they are great fun to play and I bet you'll end up making one for yourself as well.

Allen - I'm glad you liked "Botany Bay". You can pick my brains any time. The bottom of the braces on the top and back were profiled to a 10' radius. I don't use any radius dishes so don't know what the radius settled out at but you can see the curvature from these photos:
Top:
Image

Back:
Image

Dennis - Thanks.
Dave White
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Post by sebastiaan56 » Wed Sep 10, 2008 5:34 am

Gosh thats nice Dave, I love the sound and your comments about the radius make good sense.

Is there any reason you didnt go for GDAE tuning?

Steve, do you recommend accents as well when voicing? a bit teutonic for Lutz,, a bit hispanic for BRW etc?
make mine fifths........

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Dave White
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Post by Dave White » Wed Sep 10, 2008 7:25 am

Sebastiaan,

Thanks, I like the sound a lot too and am pleased with how "Botany Bay" turned out. There's loads of space in there to add some lap-slide - hint Alan :lol: . I'm used to GDAD as I play guitar-bouzouki there a lot and like the modal droning you get. I couldn't have done that piece "Botany Bay" with the same chordal feel in GDAE, which is more a melody tuning imho.
Dave White
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gratay
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Post by gratay » Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:11 pm

Well Dave, Not only a beautiful looking instrument but very nice playing and it certainly has a lovely tone to it straight out of the box..

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