clubhouse wrote:
Beautiful! Well admiring of your skills, application and aesthetic.
Love the headstock. Is the build Benedetto inspired by chance?
Yes, the Benedetto book was my guide for this one and I stayed fairly close to it. But I did need to use other resources as well; Benedetto doesn't exactly give away all of his secrets!
clubhouse wrote:
What does it sound like? Did the mac bend very easily for the sides? What are the other timbers used? I'd be keen to learn how you carved/tuned the top. Is it X-braced or "parallel" bracing bars. What's the size of the lower bout? To be honest, I'm surprised that mac works for the neck. I didn't realise it has good beam strength/stability.
It actually sounds pretty decent. It is warm with quite a bit of low end and the mid-range honk characteristic of a carved archtop. It's lacking in top end, but that is probably more to do with the craftsman than the materials; I've been able to get much more top-end bite in more recent builds, and I'm confident I could bring it out in macro as well if need be. Not my ideal tonewood by any stretch, but fun and easy to work for a first attempt.
This one is 17" and x-braced (another reason for the above tonal characteristics). I've done parallel braced as well and if I were to use macro for a top again (which I probably won't!), I'd go parallel for a brighter, punchier sound. I wouldn't make a habit of using mac for a neck, but this one has stayed strong and straight. It was a nice, dry and perfectly quartersawn piece.
clubhouse wrote:
I have a couple of old Hofners (one's a carved Committee with rosewood back and sides, the other's a steam/pressed top) and a 1937 Gibson L-12 so I'm pretty keen on arch-tops
Wow, a '37 L-12... nice! I also have a nice '56 Hofner 459 with a carved spruce top, as well as a newer Jazzica Custom. Nice to see more archtop love around here!
