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#1
11-21-2005, 11:54 AM
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Building my third guitar - Sitka/Bubinga.
It is time to start my third guitar. It will be master grade sitka with lots of silking on bubinga. It will be the same size as the other 2 - OM body style, but a little deeper. The fretboard will be bubinga with a 24.5" scale and a 1.75" nut width. Headstock will be bubinga. The neck will be a 5 piece laminate with scarf joint - bolt on mortise/tenon/fingerboard overlay. Bubinga is a very beautiful and dense (heavy) rosewood.
Here is the wood -  Back and sides -  Back strip and purfling -  Spalted maple block for rosette? Maple for binding/neck strip. Mahogany for neck. Bubinga - far right - for head stock/neck strip/trim. 
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#2
11-21-2005, 01:26 PM
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Steve,
The wood looks great... I love spalted maple! If you were serious about maybe selling the third one after finishing, I'd love to have first shot at an original Saville... I really enjoyed playing and hearing your guitar at the gathering and believe your on your way to becoming an accomplished Luthier. Hope this one is as nice and even better than the first two. Dennis
__________________
Happy moments! Difficult moments! Quiet moments! Painful moments! Every moment! Thankful for something bigger than the internet to express my gratitude for living "If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” ~Martin Luther King Jr. |
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#3
11-21-2005, 01:42 PM
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Hey Steve:
I hope you have LOTS of patience as you are going to need it with the Bubinga. It is absolutely the HARDEST wood you will ever work with. Just go outside and practice sanding your sidewalk as that will be a cakewalk compared to the Bubinga! I don't mean to rain on your parade as it does make a good guitar after it is finished. |
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#4
11-21-2005, 01:52 PM
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Quote:
__________________
"All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff." --Frank Zappa |
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#5
11-21-2005, 02:06 PM
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Tim,
Thanks for the warning. It is nice to know what I am getting into. Dennis, Thanks you for the kind words. I think this one will be my best yet, but we'll see. If this guitar is good enough to, you are at the top of my list. There are 2 other members that have emailed me previously, but I told them it would be cocobolo so they might want to bow out. I hope you like the wood choices. I hope you enjoy watching it come together! You learn so much by doing. This is a lot of fun. It is cool to marry my love of guitars/guitar music with my love of wood. It is funny that it took me so long to try this. Classicalgasp, I'll have to look into that sometime - I thought it was in the rosewood family. Whether or not it is in the rosewood family, bubinga is a wonderfull looking and sounding tonewood. |
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#6
11-21-2005, 02:11 PM
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That is some awesome looking wood! Please take pictures as you progress while building this guitar. It would be fun to see it slowly taking shape.
__________________
Sometimes I'm sad and I'm lying in my bed And I look over out of the window And I see the sad faces The miserable faces of the lonely people walking by Thousands, millions, lonely people And I realize I should move Corky and the Juice Pigs |
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#7
11-21-2005, 02:13 PM
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Bubinga is Guibourtia tessmannii. Not rosewood, but still nice:
http://www.exotichardwoods-africa.com/bubinga.htm Good luck on this one, Steve. Your last two turned out great. I expect this will be likewise. |
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#8
11-21-2005, 02:16 PM
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http://www.sheppardguitars.com/bubinga.htm
Quoted from Gerald Sheppard site: "Though called African Rosewood, this lutherie wood is not a true rosewood. The appropriate name is Bubinga. Bubinga usually has a simple look similar to Mahogany yet it is prettier. Sometimes it almost has a Teak look. It is often available with a quilt similar to quilted Maple. Bubinga has a wonderful tone. It is responsive and full. It doesn't have quiet the low end as rosewood, but it is much more balanced than Mahogany. One of sweetest qualities of this wood is its price. Considering its stability and tone, it just may be the best instrument wood available for the money."
__________________
'08 Goodall KCJC (Koa/Englemann) '09 Fujii MD (Camatillo RW/German) '11 Martin J custom(EIR/Sitka w/PA1 appts.) '14 Collings SJ(Wenge/German) |
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#9
11-21-2005, 04:04 PM
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Thank you jhchang, rhubarb, and classicalgasp. OK, bubinga is not a "true" rosewood. Does that mean it is kinda sorta maybe rosewood?
squintbro, I'll try to keep updating with progress pictures. I just cleaned out the shop and installed a new water hearter. I should be ready to start soon. I think this one will go together pretty fast compared to the other two. Two things I can't decide on - Cutaway and soundport. Any thoughts? Last edited by SteveS; 11-21-2005 at 04:10 PM. |
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#10
11-21-2005, 08:28 PM
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A Nice Combination, Steve. Always interesting to find out what combination you are coiming up with. I like the spalted maple too.....
Cutaway? What about a Venetian? You have done a floretine and one w/o cutaway, so venetian might be the next for you to venture?  PS: By the way, I sent you an email days ago. Wonder if you receive it? God Bless!!!! C.S |
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#12
11-22-2005, 01:27 AM
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Hi Steve, definitely go with sound port!!
__________________
'08 Goodall KCJC (Koa/Englemann) '09 Fujii MD (Camatillo RW/German) '11 Martin J custom(EIR/Sitka w/PA1 appts.) '14 Collings SJ(Wenge/German) |
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#14
11-22-2005, 03:38 AM
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Soundport. . .YES!
Wish I had been able to make the gathering. I would have loved to have played one of your creations. Maybe next time. . .and maybe the Bubinga. Many years ago, I had a Jag XJS with a Bubinga dash and console. Very attractive and unique wood. But, I've never heard a guitar made from it. Should be a wonderful experience and a very exotic creation. I'll enjoy watching your progress. -Barry
__________________
Mastering the guitar is extremely easy. You just keep playing until tiny beads of sweat begin to form on your forehead and your finger tips start to fall off. It's really just that simple! 
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#15
11-22-2005, 10:12 AM
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OK, I'll make it with a sound port. I think I'll wait and see how this wood bends before committing to the Venetion cutaway.
I'm starting to think cocobolo binding would be real nice on this instead of flamed maple. I love maple bindings, but I think some darker red cocobolo with almwt black grain lines that I have will contrast with the bubinga nicely. I could make a cocobolo bridge too and rosette too. So many wonderful possibilities! |
