Blueberry Groove Review

[rattletrap]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Stewart...
Glad you got a nice guitar which you enjoy playing.

I hope you grow with it and that you don't take all this thread's ''critical thinking'' personally - after all you just bought an interesting guitar that others find a little too out-of-the-norm.

I wouldn't blame you if you just stop reading this thread and get on with playing your guitar...that's what I'm going to do.

If you are ever through Cheyenne, drop in and we'll share a cup of coffee and play some guitars.

Right on Larry!

Stewart,

Enjoy your new git! And if youre ever in Cali gimme a call and we can have coffee and jam for a while.

[bruce]

Stewart and Danny - welcome to the world of sticking your neck out for all the world to take a shot at. You are not the first, and I'm confident you won't be the last. When a funny looking guitar made by Fylde came to the attention of the AGF, you wouldn't believe the comments (actually maybe you would after reviewing the comments you have received) about a guitar made from reclaimed oak from 60 year old whiskey barrels. How could this funny looking guitar possibly sound good. The burn marks on the reclaimed Oregon Pine were just a gimmick. Someone dared to be different. But the guitar world is very fortunate to have luthiers that dare to be different. And being different, or innovative, is what leads to future improvements. I have no idea what your Blueberry guitar sounds like. My thoughts on the appearance of the guitar are exactly that -my thoughts. Some folks are quite vocal on expressing their thoughts. Perhaps that is what forums are all about. As you can tell from the above note, I do not post very often. But I just wanted to assure you that you are both very welcome to this forum, and you both have every right to be proud of your guitar. I am very proud and content with my funny looking whiskey barrel guitar, and if I am the only one that feels that way - SO WHAT!

[cotten]

You've got mail, Danny.

Obviously, many of us are very traditional in our guitar tastes. But then many of us are willing to explore tradition's boundaries, as well. One thing's for certain: we are all very passionate about our guitars! That's what brings all 26,000 of us together here.

I look forward to hearing from you.

cotten

[Fliss]

Originally Posted by lofapco

...Something you may want to consider as a sideline to your guitar building, is custom appointments crafted by your wood carvers. I would think that carved truss rod covers, soundhole covers, cool armrests, guitar stands, music stands and such could also be some ways for the carvers in Bali to create some additional business for the company.....

What a good idea, I like the idea of carved guitar stands.

Welcome, Danny, I hope we hear more from you.

Fliss

[Eugenius]

Originally Posted by Fliss

What a good idea, I like the idea of carved guitar stands.

Welcome, Danny, I hope we hear more from you.

Fliss

yes a great idea indeed, I'm sure those would supplement your sales and you could move a good amount if priced right.

I would buy 1 or 2 without question, should they be tastefully and safely designed.

[Jeff M]

Welcome to the AGF Danny!
Nice to have you here.

Sorry about the comment about the "C" chord.
It didn't occur to me that sitting down would be a problem.

I do have a few questions about Blueberries.
Do you have a full time on-site luthier....and I mean luthier in the sense of "somebody with extensive guitar building experience" at the site of production?
Why would grooving the inside of the top weaken it to point of structural weakness, but not grooving the top?
How are the groove designs chosen?
How are you finishing the grooved surfaces on these guitars?

[rattletrap]

Welcome to the Forum Danny.

I too have a question.

I saw at one point in time that Taylor was doing some testing on tops to see exactly how the top flexes under playing conditions, and it was anything but linear.

Your designs for the grooves in your groove top are very linear and geometric.

Have you played with different patterns, especially more organic and flowing designs to see how they work?

[Acoustic Rick]

Welcome to the forum Danny! Forgive me for mouthing my particular tastes and dislikes about the guitar you make. Sometimes we get online and forget that real people are on the reading end of what we say. It surely wasn't my intent to harm your reputation or to hurt your feelings in the least. I'm just an opinionated old fart.

[rattletrap]

Originally Posted by Acoustic Rick

I'm just an opinionated old fart.

Rick,

Youre not the lone ranger here! I fit that category well also! Just not in this particular thread

[Cainenabled]

Hi All,

In order for me to continue posting on AGF, according to the rules, it is necessary for Blueberry to become a sponsor - I have been in touch with the moderator in order to become a sponsor and I will come back once we are set up.

Thanks to all of you for writing - both praise and criticism keep us on our toes and help us become better - we certainly have no hard feeling and are glad you are speaking your minds.

Speak to you soon.

Danny

[jas]

oops wrong topic

[Grenvilleter]

So…Stewart dropped by and showed me his Blueberry Groove.
Things I noticed-

1. The top is standard thickness ( approx-3.3 mm) to the top of the grooves. The grooves eat up about .75 mm in thickness and are spaced about the same distance apart. The grooves are placed for aesthetic appeal and do not appear to be strategically placed however I suspect if the grooves were in a uniform symmetry all across the top, lateral top stiffness would suffer greatly.
If the grooves were cut in the inside of the top, too much gluing surface area would be removed and brace/top failure would be the likely result.

2. The bracing is a non-traditional double X pattern and braces are approx. 6.4 mm thick.

3. Fingerboard, bridge and bridge plate is rosewood.

4. Headstock is not garish or overdone . It’s a simple rectangular cut ”Martinish” style headstock that is also grooved for visual symmetry.

5. The neck has grooves placed at the fret markers for a textured feel against your thumb to give a tactile indicator of where your hand is placed along the fretboard.

6. All glue joints , purfling and bracing is impeccably done.

7. Body is Sapele and top is spruce. I suspect Sitka but Blueberry calls it Alaskan Spruce.

8. Neck is a 3 piece laminate and appears to be dovetail neck joint. Also it is a 2 piece mahogany heel.

9. Nut width is 1-11/16 “.

10. The guitar has a very solid tone and impressive bass response ( for a “hog”). Projection is very adequate as well.

11. Finish of the guitar is an oil rub rather than a poly or nitro composition. Type unknown.

Overall thoughts- Fretwork was better done than previous Blueberries I’ve seen all be it they were post production models. Setup was very nice for average playing however when strummed aggressively, some fret buzz was noticed. Stewart’s guitar has been worked and definitely passed around a bit. The cosmetic war wounds it has sustained were noticeable however non-detracting. At worse case, the tops of some of the grooves had been damaged but again, it did not detract from the overall appearance.
Long term usage I think will cause dirt to show in the wood along the tops of the damaged grooves.

The Bridge plate showed premature wear around where the string ball rests and some damage either through improper string changes or the bridge plate itself was softer than normal resulting in considerable chipping and wear. This resulted in the tone being compromised I am certain but it was still very impressive. A maple bridge plate would be a big improvement IMO but I lean toward sugar maple bridge plates in any guitar.

There you have it from my perspective. No gimmicks that I can spot. Don’t take my word for it however. I'm just a nobody. The MAN said, if you want to try one, give him a shout. It just costs you freight to try it.

[Jeff M]

Question for any builder here....
any concerns re; oil rub finish on the body vs. laquer/french polish/poly?

Also, thoughts about stability issues re; grooving the back of the top vs the front?
Seems like grooving the face of the top, the issues have to do with compressive stress, while if you grooved the back of the top, you are dealing more with tensile stress questions.

[vti814ce]

Should really be applied here, Its not fair to the others who follow the rules.

After all, someone said, All publicity is good publicity, there's no such thing as bad publicity!

Sammy

[bruce]

Grenvilleter - now you've done it! Now the whole controversy about you being an employee of Blueberry Guitars will start again. I'm sure some folks still are convinced that Stewart must be. Will it never end.