davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Feb 2, 2014 11:34:06 GMT
To put Shubbs (Earwighoney) out of his misery I’ve started another of my “Anniversary Instruments” to mark 10 years of De Faoite Stringed Instruments – “An Tairneanach Mór” (The Big Thunder). This is my take on an old ladder braced Leadbelly Stella 12 string guitar. It will be a slothead using a "Samhain" body with 660mm scale length, 13 frets clear of the body, floating bridge and tailpiece and a hybrid ladder/A frame bracing design and will be tuned down to C-C in "standard" and to B for dropped tunings. I’m pondering using unison string pairs but might go with octave pairs for the bottom three strings. I’ll be practicing my furniture remaking skills as an old oak chest of drawers that came out of one of my daughters bedrooms has some really nice quatersawn pieces with the "whitebait" figure on them and yielded a nice back and sides set, neck and linings for this project plus sets for some other “interesting” instruments – watch this space. Many of the old Stellas were made out of oak back and sides so this seems fitting. “An Tairneanach Mór” will have a Lutz spruce top and Bog oak bindings and appointments with black / pear/ black purflings and I'll document its' making here. Here’s my rough plan – these don’t photograph that well I’m afraid. For pinned bridges the strings anchored at the nut and bridge exert a twisting force on the bridge and so X bracing with the X in front of the bridge and behind the soundhole provide a logical resistance to these forces. For floating bridge instruments with the strings anchored at the nut and tailblock the forces are different – more of a compression at the bridge and ladder bracing combined with front to back support of the rim is a more logical approach. My bracing design is therefore just a bigger version of my mandolin and octave mandolin pattern:  The Oak sides are thicknessed and then bent in the Fox-style bender using a heating blanket:   Here are the bent sides are in the mould:  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2014 11:55:51 GMT
Yummy! Can't wait to see how this one turns out Dave. I'm sure EWH will be over the moon as well,
Robbie
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leoroberts
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My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Feb 2, 2014 12:55:01 GMT
brilliant news, davewhite... this guitar should come with your usual CD, owner's manual, mictofibre cloth ... and these... link  |
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davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Feb 2, 2014 13:10:13 GMT
Robbie - thanks. Leo - I think I have a pair of those under the bench somewhere  This might be a better picture of the plans:  Or maybe not  |
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leoroberts
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Posts: 26,120
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Feb 2, 2014 14:25:44 GMT
Question, davewhite: Why did you opt for a slothead? I'm no expert but, from an owners point of view, I would imagine that a 'normal' head would make string changes quicker and easier. I know I have to book holidays if I change the strings on my PB 12-er .. is it an aesthetic decision? Musical/tonal? Or just what took your fancy? |
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Phil Taylor
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Post by Phil Taylor on Feb 2, 2014 14:33:20 GMT
Look forward to following this Dave  Phil |
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alig
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Post by alig on Feb 2, 2014 15:18:10 GMT
Great stuff Dave!
Gonna be interesting.
Alasdair.
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Post by earwighoney on Feb 2, 2014 15:27:46 GMT
To put Shubbs (Earwighoney) out of his misery I’ve started another of my “Anniversary Instruments” to mark 10 years of De Faoite Stringed Instruments – “An Tairneanach Mór” (The Big Thunder). This is my take on an old ladder braced Leadbelly Stella 12 string guitar. It will be a slothead using a "Samhain" body with 660mm scale length, 13 frets clear of the body, floating bridge and tailpiece and a hybrid ladder/A frame bracing design and will be tuned down to C-C in "standard" and to B for dropped tunings. I’m pondering using unison string pairs but might go with octave pairs for the bottom three strings.  Great to see you make a 12 string Dave and yes I am very excited to see this particular project progress! The design itself looks very interesting, a mix of vintage aspects with your own. Have you used oak before? I've heard a few guitars made from oak, they've all been great. Have you given a thought to the nut spacing and saddle spacing? I hope it will be fingerstyle friendly! The pictures so far look wonderful. Another question Dave, but not really do with the 12 but the all Walnut guitar you built for Bernd, do you know how it's sound has developed since it was first built? It sounded great when it was new. I've heard hardwood soundboard take longer to 'break in'. (For those who don't know I've been pestering Dave for several years to make a 12 string.) |
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davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Feb 2, 2014 16:23:26 GMT
Phil and Alasdair - thanks. Question, davewhite: Why did you opt for a slothead? I'm no expert but, from an owners point of view, I would imagine that a 'normal' head would make string changes quicker and easier. I know I have to book holidays if I change the strings on my PB 12-er .. is it an aesthetic decision? Musical/tonal? Or just what took your fancy? Leo - two reasons really. That's what the Stella 12'ers had and weight - that's quite a lot of shrapnel on the headstock if you don't use slotheaded tuners. I'm using these Golden Age Restoration Tuners with black buttons from StewMac:  Speaking of speedy string changes it was twenty years and counting and you still didn't change those five on that banjo Great to see you make a 12 string Dave and yes I am very excited to see this particular project progress! The design itself looks very interesting, a mix of vintage aspects with your own. Have you used oak before? I've heard a few guitars made from oak, they've all been great. Have you given a thought to the nut spacing and saddle spacing? I hope it will be fingerstyle friendly! The pictures so far look wonderful. Another question Dave, but not really do with the 12 but the all Walnut guitar you built for Bernd, do you know how it's sound has developed since it was first built? It sounded great when it was new. I've heard hardwood soundboard take longer to 'break in'. (For those who don't know I've been pestering Dave for several years to make a 12 string.) Shubbs - I haven't used oak before but this wood works beautifully and has a very nice tap tone. I've taken advice from Keith and like the original Stella's it will have a 50mm wide nut which should work nicely for fingerstyle. As for Bernd's guitar it sounded very nice indeed when I played it at Halifax last September and has blossomed but it sounded really nice when first strung up as well. |
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Feb 3, 2014 12:12:51 GMT
I'm interested in how the oak B&S work out for this build, Dave. Then of course, you can move on to the '5-string project'   |
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leoroberts
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My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Feb 3, 2014 12:20:07 GMT
Speaking of speedy string changes it was twenty years and counting and you still didn't change those five on that banjo well, I only change the strings on my musical instruments (and it wouldn't stay in tune for me (or Martin) so it would've been a waste, really) |
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davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Feb 5, 2014 16:52:23 GMT
Then of course, you can move on to the '5-string project'  The mahogany neck block is drilled for the bolt holes and for the 8mm carbon fibre rod braces. The fingerboard support is then glued in using hot hide glue.  Here are the neck and tail blocks.  The sides are then glued to the neck block using hot hide glue.  |
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Post by scripsit on Feb 6, 2014 0:07:07 GMT
Congratulations on starting this build, Dave, and I will be one following with great interest.
My first steel string guitar was a 12 (some strange Italian brand, with a pin bridge), sold to finance my first electric guitar, but I can still remember all the effort (mostly unsuccessful) I put into trying to learn an open G version of 'Parchman Farm'. I look forward to hearing the Leadbelly jangle.
12 strings are deeply satisfying beasts to hack away at in open tunings, although my experience is that parents several rooms away object to this happening after midnight.
Kym
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davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Feb 6, 2014 10:16:47 GMT
Kym, I hope you enjoy the build. I'm a bit ambivalent about 12 string guitars (apart from harp guitars ) and eight strings seems to be my favourite, but this one might change my mind. We'll see. |
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Post by clydeslide on Feb 6, 2014 11:19:41 GMT
Woohoo! another build to follow On a side note Dave I can't stop looking at your An Féa Caol Terz guitar... Wondering how to get that one past my wife, maybe I could try and say it needs playing in before my daughter gets it... |
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Jo whoever he is.
