Building Blog
February 21st
The Rosewood/Lutz size 2 and the Mahogany/Sitka OM are back from finish and should be on the wall at The Podium in two weeks. They look great
I am starting to reinforce my transverse top brace with a inlaid carbon bar. It’s definitely a lot stiffer and should have better memory to prevent slow deformation over time from string pressures. Hopefully I’ll live long enough to see if it actually works. I would not expect it to have any effect on tone but who knows? It will make its first appearance on the guitars below.
The 201K Dred and OM are coming along nicely. Boxes are closed and ready for voicing and binding. These will have nitro on the body and an oil finish on the neck. Simple appointments. They will be priced more attractively. The tops have a beautiful ring so I have high hopes for a couple of great sounding instruments at a good price.
I have not built a large number of dreds but on the last several I’ve used a bracing pattern I saw on Dana Bourgeois’ instruments. A scalloped bass limb of the X and a tapered treble. For whatever reason it seems to stiffen the top in the right place and help the highs up the neck and balance the sound a little better to my ear. The 201K dred (above) will have this pattern as well as a slightly smaller bridge plate.
For the last few months I’ve been using a handmade string winder fabricated by Marty Reynolds, the world class repairperson at The Podium guitar store in Minneapolis MN. Marty uses various exotic woods and has the ergonomics just right. I actually look forward to doing setups now so I can use this thing. Highly recommended and available through The Podium
Marty
March 18th
I have two new guitars at The Podium. A Mahogany/Sitka OM and a Rosewood/Lutz size two parlor. The Parlor is a sweet sounding little thing. There are no cases available that fit a size two so Cedar Creek made me a custom model. It’s a beautiful case and fits the instrument perfectly.
March 31
The necks for the 201Ks are done. These are the first fretboards I’ve glued with epoxy and they stayed nice and flat. The water-based glues always seem to cause a little warp in the middle that has to be sanded out when leveling.
I’ve also started using reinforcement for the Cumpiano type neck attachment. You can see the carbon fiber bars in the pictures of the tenons. These also have the new Mark Blanchard designed two way stainless steel truss rod from Allied Lutherie. The thread pitch is finer and the adjustment seems more precise.
I now have three guitars at The Podium. Check out the sound clips by Kevin Lee
http://www.thepodium.com/p-16705-kennedy-2-28-rosewoodlutz.aspx
http://www.thepodium.com/p-16657-kennedy-rosewooditalian-spruce-hide-glue-om.aspx
http://www.thepodium.com/p-16754-kennedy-rosewoodsitka-dreadnought.aspx
