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New Guitar on the way

Absolutely stunning.

The inlay and rosette is very classy; just enough complexity to catch your eye. And how the top and sides join is something I've never seen before! Those ports would feel interesting under your arm... Does it add to richness in sound somehow? I also like the shape of how the fretboard ends at the sound hole - that detail really balances the instrument while complimenting the bridge, and reverse shape on the head.
 
YukonLiving said:
Taylor still make some nice sounding guitars! I've played a couple that were really bright, and lookers too!
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I bought an all Koa Taylor last summer that is a thing of beauty. Love the sound - very deep and resonant. I am waiting on a back ordered Gibson Les Paul Standard 60's re-issue (it's not the same as a 60's Les Paul, but an attempt to replicate it). Got it in an 'Unburst' version. Very excited about that.
 
Great looking guitar, I took up learning the guitar during quarantine this year, I suck but it has been keeping me busy being stuck at home some much.
 
djt311 said:
Great looking guitar, I took up learning the guitar during quarantine this year, I suck but it has been keeping me busy being stuck at home some much.
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There's something to be said about creating your own music or strumming out a tune... I'm not very good either, but it's still very therapeutic to play.
 
YukonLiving said:
Absolutely stunning.

The inlay and rosette is very classy; just enough complexity to catch your eye. And how the top and sides join is something I've never seen before! Those ports would feel interesting under your arm... Does it add to richness in sound somehow? I also like the shape of how the fretboard ends at the sound hole - that detail really balances the instrument while complimenting the bridge, and reverse shape on the head.
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Wow, you know your guitars. This builder, Kevin Ryan, popularized what is referred to as a comfort bevel along the top of the lower bout. It definitely makes the instrument more comfortable to play. You now see it in quite a few guitars. Taylor has put them in some of their higher end models.

The real genius with Kevin Ryan are, what you refer to as the ports. Side ports began to be seen more frequently about 15 years ago. The person playing the guitar definitely has a more pleasing experience when some of the sound is transmitted straight up to the player’s ear. Kevin developed what he calls his “acoustic flutes.” I think that they look really cool, built into the bevel. I will know in a couple hours how they work.
 
Tenputt said:
Wow, you know your guitars. This builder, Kevin Ryan, popularized what is referred to as a comfort bevel along the top of the lower bout. It definitely makes the instrument more comfortable to play. You now see it in quite a few guitars. Taylor has put them in some of their higher end models.

The real genius with Kevin Ryan are, what you refer to as the ports. Side ports began to be seen more frequently about 15 years ago. The person playing the guitar definitely has a more pleasing experience when some of the sound is transmitted straight up to the player’s ear. Kevin developed what he calls his “acoustic flutes.” I think that they look really cool, built into the bevel. I will know in a couple hours how they work.
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Nah - I'm just an enthusiast and appreciate hand crafted works.

The comfort bevel makes a lot of sense now that you put it that way! A person could play a full size dreadnaught or jumbo with the same ease as sitting down with a parlour or auditorium style while getting that richness of sound. Definitely interested to hear what you think of the acoustic flutes! Sounds like this luthier is quite innovative!
 
Tenputt said:
Here are some pics:

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Just got back to this thread. My Lord, what a beautiful guitar! Congratulations, that is truly a treasure! I love that bevel on the top of the lower bout, and those sound flutes are a very cool feature. The rosette, binding and headstock inlay are amazing.
 
YukonLiving said:
Nah - I'm just an enthusiast and appreciate hand crafted works.

The comfort bevel makes a lot of sense now that you put it that way! A person could play a full size dreadnaught or jumbo with the same ease as sitting down with a parlour or auditorium style while getting that richness of sound. Definitely interested to hear what you think of the acoustic flutes! Sounds like this luthier is quite innovative!
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i want an auditorium style acoustic in a bad way. something in the martin 000 vein. just can’t find one i like for under $2k.
 
Tenputt said:
Here are some pics:

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What a beautiful instrument, just stunning. As a wanna be player since I was 12 and just absolutley no natural talent I have resigned to just enjoying how others make it look so easy. My Dad was a self taught piano player and could listen to song on the radio and in a hour or so of tinkering play it, I did not inherit that ability unfortunately.

I could see how if you had talent it could be very easy to have many guitars, they are just a work of art and being handmade they will always be slightly different.

This thread is so cool, the stories from @Luchnia are priceless and I could read them for hours. I am going to post a picture of my guitar that I still have from when I was 12 and now lives in my daughter's closest, my hope is my granddaughter will be the one that inherited my Dad's talent and will be able to play a real classic.

The Guitar is a 1959 Hagstrom
 

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McLovin said:
i want an auditorium style acoustic in a bad way. something in the martin 000 vein. just can’t find one i like for under $2k.
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Just like most things that are used as toys by those with disposable income, guitar prices have increased significantly. I hadn’t looked for years and was surprised. It’s becoming difficult to find a nice instrument for less than $3,000 or more. They are out there, but becoming more rare. The problem, too, is unless somebody will give you a trial period, it would not be wise to by one without having it in your hands.
 
Beautiful guitar...congrats on the purchase.
 
Tenputt said:
Just like most things that are used as toys by those with disposable income, guitar prices have increased significantly. I hadn’t looked for years and was surprised. It’s becoming difficult to find a nice instrument for less than $3,000 or more. They are out there, but becoming more rare. The problem, too, is unless somebody will give you a trial period, it would not be wise to by one without having it in your hands.
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i think it’s a wood issue. aren’t there super strict laws and regulations centering on export of tonewoods?
 
McLovin said:
i think it’s a wood issue. aren’t there super strict laws and regulations centering on export of tonewoods?
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It’s called the CITES treaty. It applied to some of the most expensive tonewoods, such as Brazilian Rosewood, an example of which is below, another luthier-made guitar that I own. I had understood that some exceptions had been made for wood being used for musical instruments, but I am not well read on the current restrictions. Back when I was more up on it, some of the more common rosewoods, such as East Indian had no restrictions. It’s also interesting how far builders have expanded into different tonewoods. It used to be that the main woods for backs and sides were rosewood, mahogany and, to a lesser extent, maple. Now, the wood types are numerous, the macassar ebony guitar I just received being one example.

My own belief is that the price is driven more by the rarity of certain woods. It takes a long time for a tree to become large enough so that its wood can be used for a two piece back, the preferred construction method. The trees are being harvested rapidly. However, many builders built up a stash of great wood that will last them for twenty years or more. All of this contributes to the cost. A set of Brazilian Rosewood like pictured, which is quarter sawn, can add $5,000 to the cost of a guitar. There are no $3,000 guitars being made out of that type of rare wood. I think more than anything, it is supply and demand. They Yuppies drove up the price of guitars because they have had disposable income.

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Tenputt said:
It’s called the CITES treaty. It applied to some of the most expensive tonewoods, such as Brazilian Rosewood, an example of which is below, another luthier-made guitar that I own. I had understood that some exceptions had been made for wood being used for musical instruments, but I am not well read on the current restrictions. Back when I was more up on it, some of the more common rosewoods, such as East Indian had no restrictions. It’s also interesting how far builders have expanded into different tonewoods. It used to be that the main woods for backs and sides were rosewood, mahogany and, to a lesser extent, maple. Now, the wood types are numerous, the macassar ebony guitar I just received being one example.

My own belief is that the price is driven more by the rarity of certain woods. It takes a long time for a tree to become large enough so that its wood can be used for a two piece back, the preferred construction method. The trees are being harvested rapidly. However, many builders built up a stash of great wood that will last them for twenty years or more. All of this contributes to the cost. A set of Brazilian Rosewood like pictured, which is quarter sawn, can add $5,000 to the cost of a guitar. There are no $3,000 guitars being made out of that type of rare wood. I think more than anything, it is supply and demand. They Yuppies drove up the price of guitars because they have had disposable income.

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I think it is really neat how they split the wood and both sides are the same. The back and front of my Guild D50NT is like that, of course the Guild is not an expensive guitar.
 
This is another long story so bear with me. I do plan to get some pictures of the guitar at some point, but have got to dig it out in my office and I have been too busy lately. It is nothing fancy like the guitar this thread is about, but has a great story surrounding it.

W. C. (Bud) Winemiller was said to have worked for the C. F. Martin Co. a long time ago. My wife and I visited the Martin plant some years back to see what we could find out about Mr. Winemiller and they could not find any official record of him ever working there, however this was supposedly before Martin modernized the way they are now. At any rate, later in life bud made handmade quality sounding guitars on his own. If memory serves, I think Bud built around 38 guitars and my dad's was the last before Bud passed away.

Bud would come around the bluegrass festivals and would get out his fiddle and want to play with my dad. Bud was only so-so fiddle player (lot of guys would not play with him) but my dad would play with him and Bud loved it. My dad would say Bud was a grand old kind hearted gentleman.

Around 1976 Bud asked my dad if he would like a guitar built specially for him. My dad said he would but wanted something with exceptional tonal quality and not so much looks only. Once my dad told him that, bud told my dad to go find him some quality wood and he would build it.

My dad had an old Steinway grand piano that a lady had given him if he would remove it out of an old home. The piano was huge and had lion heads carved on the legs and was built around 1857 (I think that is the date-anyway it was really old). This piano was stored in an old cinder block building that had been severely damaged by a storm. The piano was damaged beyond repair, however much of the wood was still intact in the rubble.

My dad tore the piano apart and got the wood together and took it to Bud. I think the soundboard was some type of special wood in pianos back then. Some of you wood experts would probably know this type of thing.

I think the wood out of that piano is what makes the guitar sound so good. It was built on the design of the Martin D45. Many tried to buy the guitar from my dad, but he would not sell it. I have it now and will keep it in the family and pass it on to my children.

On some of the last recordings my dad was involved with, session musicians used the guitar on a number of recordings. One of them stated that it was an amazing sounding guitar - one of the sweetest he had ever heard. That is something when a session musician makes a comment like that about an instrument.

Another part of the story we later found out was that Bud had had heart surgery a couple years before he built my dad's guitar and the doctors had told him he would probably have a couple years left to live. Some months (think it was six) after he build my dad's guitar Bud passed away. It meant everything for Bud to build that guitar for my dad and it was the last one he built.
 
Luchnia said:
This is another long story so bear with me. I do plan to get some pictures of the guitar at some point, but have got to dig it out in my office and I have been too busy lately. It is nothing fancy like the guitar this thread is about, but has a great story surrounding it.

W. C. (Bud) Winemiller was said to have worked for the C. F. Martin Co. a long time ago. My wife and I visited the Martin plant some years back to see what we could find out about Mr. Winemiller and they could not find any official record of him ever working there, however this was supposedly before Martin modernized the way they are now. At any rate, later in life bud made handmade quality sounding guitars on his own. If memory serves, I think Bud built around 38 guitars and my dad's was the last before Bud passed away.

Bud would come around the bluegrass festivals and would get out his fiddle and want to play with my dad. Bud was only so-so fiddle player (lot of guys would not play with him) but my dad would play with him and Bud loved it. My dad would say Bud was a grand old kind hearted gentleman.

Around 1976 Bud asked my dad if he would like a guitar built specially for him. My dad said he would but wanted something with exceptional tonal quality and not so much looks only. Once my dad told him that, bud told my dad to go find him some quality wood and he would build it.

My dad had an old Steinway grand piano that a lady had given him if he would remove it out of an old home. The piano was huge and had lion heads carved on the legs and was built around 1857 (I think that is the date-anyway it was really old). This piano was stored in an old cinder block building that had been severely damaged by a storm. The piano was damaged beyond repair, however much of the wood was still intact in the rubble.

My dad tore the piano apart and got the wood together and took it to Bud. I think the soundboard was some type of special wood in pianos back then. Some of you wood experts would probably know this type of thing.

I think the wood out of that piano is what makes the guitar sound so good. It was built on the design of the Martin D45. Many tried to buy the guitar from my dad, but he would not sell it. I have it now and will keep it in the family and pass it on to my children.

On some of the last recordings my dad was involved with, session musicians used the guitar on a number of recordings. One of them stated that it was an amazing sounding guitar - one of the sweetest he had ever heard. That is something when a session musician makes a comment like that about an instrument.

Another part of the story we later found out was that Bud had had heart surgery a couple years before he built my dad's guitar and the doctors had told him he would probably have a couple years left to live. Some months (think it was six) after he build my dad's guitar Bud passed away. It meant everything for Bud to build that guitar for my dad and it was the last one he built.
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Another great story... Thanks for taking the time to write it for us.

My understanding (which often is not accurate, LOL), is that old Steinway pianos’ soundboards were made from Sitka Spruce. For guitars, the back and sides are made from hardwoods. Almost always, the top is made from a soft wood, such as pine or cedar. Many of the older Martin guitars had tops made of Adirondack Spruce. This type of spruce is very stiff. Sitka is used on many finger style guitars, which is less stiff than Adirondack. It would produce a sound that is not quite as bright. Perhaps “sweet” would be the correct term. So much of a guitar’s sound comes from the skill of the luthier who makes it. Great luthiers will do what is called “tap tuning” a guitar. The top is what creates the sound. Tap tuning involves shaving the braces in the guitar so that the top is stable, but becomes as resonant as possible.

Your dad’s guitar may have sounded wonderful to others because of the Sitka Spruce top. It may have vibrated more easily with a lighter touch and therefore creates a more sweet sound. Of course, all of this is conjecture.
 
Tenputt said:
He makes some amazing instruments and has been very innovative.
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So what kind of music do you play on that fancy guitar?


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tehuti said:
So what kind of music do you play on that fancy guitar?


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I mess around with singer songwriter music and fingerstyle instrumental music.
 
I have had the guitar for a week now and it is one of the better guitars I have ever played. It has really got me excited about playing again.
 
When I was a teenager I used some money earned painting houses to buy a very cheap stratocaster imitation, and man that thing was hard to play. I have never owned a quality electric guitar, but my post-surgery and pandemic boredom resulted in my pulling the trigger on a Gibson Les Paul. This is one of their 'standard' guitars (the 1960's version) they released last year to closely approximate the original Les Pauls. They also have a 50's version but it has a thicker neck so the 60's model is probably a better fit for me. This is the 'Unburst' finish model. Arrives Sunday. I am anxious to see how it performs.

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Tenputt said:
I started playing the guitar seriously in college. I did singer/songwriter stuff. I thought it would attract girls, LOL. Over the years, I gravitated into finger style music. I love lots of different styles, including Leo Kottke, Lawrence Juber (sp?), Tommy Emmanuel, and others. At one point I was a decent player. I haven’t played as much the last four years, but want to work on it more diligently.
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You just named 2 of my all time favorite acoustic guitarists, Kottke and Emmanuel! As you know, they are finger pickers. I have a couple of flat pickers ranked up there as well, Doc Watson and Billy Strings. I'll have to see what I might be able to scare up on this Juber fellow. I might enjoy listening to him as well. I heard Kottke about 50 years ago, and he's still going! Emmanuel much later.
 
Buckeyegolfnut said:
You just named 2 of my all time favorite acoustic guitarists, Kottke and Emmanuel! As you know, they are finger pickers. I have a couple of flat pickers ranked up there as well, Doc Watson and Billy Strings. I'll have to see what I might be able to scare up on this Juber fellow. I might enjoy listening to him as well. I heard Kottke about 50 years ago, and he's still going! Emmanuel much later.
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Juber was lead guitarist for Paul McCartney and Wings near the end of the band’s run. He is now a fingerstyle player. He plays a lot of incredible covers, turned into instrumentals. There are so many great guitarists who are fun to listen to. For some reason, acoustic guitar is extremely soothing and relaxing to me. Give Juber a listen. You’ll like him.
 
Boone said:
When I was a teenager I used some money earned painting houses to buy a very cheap stratocaster imitation, and man that thing was hard to play. I have never owned a quality electric guitar, but my post-surgery and pandemic boredom resulted in my pulling the trigger on a Gibson Les Paul. This is one of their 'standard' guitars (the 1960's version) they released last year to closely approximate the original Les Pauls. They also have a 50's version but it has a thicker neck so the 60's model is probably a better fit for me. This is the 'Unburst' finish model. Arrives Sunday. I am anxious to see how it performs.

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Great looking guitar, congratulations! I'm guessing that you bought it from Sweetwater Music, because my most recent acquisition (EVH Wolfgang Standard) posed in the same studio as yours! :LOL:

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Yes. Hard to beat Sweetwater. I did have a hiccup in this purchase but they resolved it quickly. That's a sweet guitar as well!
 
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