The world of Wez :)

frankus

the #13 one would make me want a Steinberg again!

suspiciousminds

In awe!!
Some seriously nice guitars!

DrBob

frankus;22838" said:

the #13 one would make me want a Steinberg again!

Mmwaahaahaahaa...

^ that's meant to be an evil laugh btw

WezV

so... starting to think about things moving forward and have just been asked about a 9-string fanned fret acoustic.   the GBE will be string double course like a 12 string.

i have  been thinking about a 9 -string fanned fret something or other for a while then an electric version was posted here recently and I saw my ideas for that would work and don't feel i need to build one... But looking at some fanned fret lowdens recently I can see how 9-string fanned fret acoustic could be awesome

anyway, 9-string acoustic , fanned fret, sound port, wedged, forearm contour, hybrid X/classical bracing... wood to be decided

Still very early in the design stages but  its promising

WezV

new apprentice is doing her required reading

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/1236456_10151610519058693_418775096_n_zps7660a09e.jpg

TTony

WezV said:

new apprentice is doing her required reading

:-O

She's growing quickly ... time flies!!

WezV

its a bit crazy. 18 months ago she was a freshly popped milk drinking machine.  now she walks, tries to talk and is already trying to be a strong independent woman.    either that or she is just a bit stroppy

either way, she says 'daddy' and 'guitar' quite well and likes her books and her guitars... even if they are technical manuals first published in 1975 and a tenor uke made by me whilst she was in utero  

DrBob

Is she having opinions about your driving yet ?

No ? It's in the post mate, believe me !

WezV

does travel sickness count as an opinion?

anyway... I am starting an acoustic project.   Not done many of them before.  I have constructed 1 from a kit, retopped a few and I have bent wooden bindings on a hot pipe but never full acoustic sides.

this is the initial idea for spec, although nothing is set in stone at this point

9-string - double course on the GBE

fanned fet 25.5 - 27" scale lengths, 6th fret ish being perpendicular to the centre line

Black Walnut back and sides

Port Orford Cedar top

Ebony fretboard, Bridge and headplate

Laminated 5-piece neck  maple/wenge/purpleheart/wenge/maple

Purpleheart/wenge or flamed maple/purpleheart -  simple binding/purfling scheme

4x5 or 3x6 tuner arrangement

Sound port on upper bout

wedged body 

arm rest/bevel

i really like this kinda style:

Lowden are also doing some interesting fanned fret stuff

This pic from PRS shows an interesting bracing pattern  which is quite close to something I have been thinking about for a while.  obviously it will need a redesign for the fanned frets

i made a wood bender this weekend which seems to work pretty well, needs a few improvements but a promising start

TTony

WezV said:

9-string - double course on the GBE

fanned fet 25.5 - 27" scale lengths, 6th fret ish being perpendicular to the centre line

Black Walnut back and sides

Port Orford Cedar top

Ebony fretboard, Bridge and headplate

Laminated 5-piece neck  maple/wenge/purpleheart/wenge/maple

Purpleheart/wenge or flamed maple/purpleheart

That all sounds very interesting.

Is it a commission, or a personal challenge?

(I'm skint, out-of-work and don't really play acoustics, so I'm only asking out of interest!)

WezV

Its definitely a bit of a challenge, but i have done all the individual elements on other things except the side bending. There is a buyer involved in the process.   I may well do two so one can be a rolling prototype as I go along, although that would be for myself

bluenose

Evilmags said:

bluenose;7479" said:

Wow ! A Rangers Tele  >:D

Not if that criminal low life Charles Green has been near it. I used to work with him. He's a dodgy conman.

Come on then, dish the dirt :-)

WezV

been doing a bit of sketching.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/drawing1_zps40c861d1.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/mockup1_zpsdaf7b2c2.jpg

a couple of ideas for bracing - i like the version i drew above but it won't work with the fanned frets

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/bracing1_zps6fafc1c8.jpg

Megii

Wez, I must say I think you are pretty amazing at what you do with guitar building. It's also quite inspiring for a modest guitar modder/parts builder like me to see from this thread how you've gone from the earliest steps, to the level you're at now. This latest project is very interesting too. Can I ask what will decide the final bracing pattern - is it just a kind of hunch or feeling for what will work? Obviously you have to build the guitar before finding out how it sounds, so I'm just curious about that, cheers!

WezV

 the main difference between the original drawing and the other 2 bracing patterns is the contact between the bridge and X brace,it seemed important to have both ends of the bridge over the main X in a similar way. 

but the rest  is pretty much just a hunch - but its a hunch based on research and seeing what else is out there

ThePrettyDamned

I would do disgraceful things for that blue fanned fret.

Hmm. I wonder if I can source a fanned fret bare Wood guitar to wudtone... I was scared of them, but fanned frets just make sense, even for funk!

Oh, by the way, I'm constantly in awe of your skills and knowledge. Being self taught makes you a very talented man. Your hand carved first build even looks pretty good!

Megii

WezV said:

 the main difference between the original drawing and the other 2 bracing patterns is the contact between the bridge and X brace,it seemed important to have both ends of the bridge over the main X in a similar way. 

but the rest  is pretty much just a hunch - but its a hunch based on research and seeing what else is out there

Cheers, will be a good hunch I'm sure - will be interested to follow this build taking shape.

WezV

today has mostly been spent working with MDF, which I hate.  but thankfully B&Q did most of the messy work for me

I had them slice me up a big 8x4' sheet into:

1 4x2' = a nice workboard to help with the clean work ethic i need to adopt for acoustic work

2 2x2' = the top and bottom of a new go-bar deck which will be used for glueing braces etc

8 1x2' = glued in two stacks of 3 (2 spare) to make molds

EXAMPLES

http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/newsletter/ts0044/ts0044gobars.gif

http://www.bluescreekguitars.com/shop/images/martin-guitar-mold.jpg

i may make a basic 6 string parallel fret acoustic of the same style before starting the 9 string - just to test processes

WezV

just finalised my mold and  bent my first set of acoustic sides - all seems to have worked out pretty good.   first side took ages correcting bends and making fit, the second was done in half the time

i went for black walnut for the first go - its known as a good wood to start with as it bends easily

WezV

so i did get slightly ahead of myself.  I had saved some offcuts from inside the mold to make a spreader for the middle - i forgot to make it into a spreader before i bent the sides, so they are wedged in place at the moment

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/1234649_10151650882573693_95217984_n_zpsd273af9d.jpg