Serial Number 021

Grand Concert

Started on December 15, 2023: completed on January 12, 2024

After branching off to try some new things – building a snare drum and the Stratocaster project, it is time to come back to build another acoustic guitar.

I wanted to actually try something new on this guitar but forgot to set up the inside of the guitar to make it happen. I have seen some guitars with an angled/curved bevel in place of an actual cutaway. The idea is neat because the back of the guitar is still the full shape and then you have the curved cutaway on the top side. I will have to try it on a future guitar.

In general, I just look at my build spread sheet and to compare the numbers of which guitar bodies I have built and then decide on what to build next. I use this method to choose the next guitar body unless I have something very specific in mind to build.

Although, I must say, with how well my Parlour guitars are turning out in terms of sound and volume, I am almost tempted to just go full out to build Parlour sized guitars. But I do like having variety for customers to try out.

I am actually not too pleased with the sound volume on S/N 008 – the first Grand Concert guitar I built. I am wondering if it is the wood combination or something else. I am not too sure but to have another guitar that customers can compare to is a good thing as well.

For this Grand Concert, I quickly decided on torrefied Sitka Spruce soundboard and eventually decided on Pau Rosa for the back and sides set. I was tempted on finally trying a set of Maple but that will probably happen on the next guitar. Pau Rosa is a new species of wood for me to try out and this particular set has a rainbow kind of colouring in it. I am not sure if Pau Rosa is just like that or if it just happens to be the set I had purchased.

I did want to use the binding strips that I had originally made for S/N 013 – Jason Bozec’s Grand Concert but one of them was already snapped and they didn’t really want to reshape when I tried to bend them on the hot pipe. A second strip snapped shortly after. I think the contrast in colour to the Pau Rosa would have been good. A lighter coloured binding was used in the end, it doesn’t look bad but I feel a full Ovangkol accent on the guitar would have been nicer.

*The colours seem so different from the pair of pictures up above and below*

I took another look at my last shipment of neck woods and ended up using Turkish Walnut with a thick piece of Blood Wood in the centre was used for the neck. This may be the only way to make use of the wood sent to me. I don’t like it but I don’t see a lot of other options to use them elsewhere.

The grain pattern on the Turkish Walnut wasn’t too bad in the end but I feel that Blood Wood in the middle is way too thick for my liking. I will have to try multiple thin slices of wood pieces.

I made the head plate out of figured Ovangkol I had pieces of. The figured pattern in the wood can barely been seen. It was noticeable when I put the first coat of Tru-Oil on but with the second coat, it was not apparent any more. The Ovangkol doesn’t look bad but the figured pattern would have made the head pop a little more.

With that, I opted for a Marblewood fingerboard as the Turkish Walnut is darker in colour. I wanted something brighter in colour but I realized that I didn’t have a lot of options for it. I also didn’t want to use Robinia since it was used on the last guitar.

A piece of Rosewood was used for the bridge to give the guitar some colour contrast. I find a darker bridge makes a good contrast to a guitar that doesn’t have a dark coloured soundboard as well as the light amber of the soundboard.

SPECS

Body 00/Grand Concert

Scale 24.9″

Top torrefied Sitka Spruce

Back Pau Rosa

Sides Pau Rosa

Neck Turkish Walnut/Blood Wood centre

Fingerboard Marblewood

Bridge Rosewood

Tuning Machines Gotoh 381

Strings Ernie Ball 2146 Phosphor Bronze strings