What is a "British" guitar? (upcoming NGD)

Tannin

Kilgore said:

Tannin said:

PS: I am amazed at the stupid price of trains in the UK! Exeter to Settle is close to $800! (more than £400.) Strewth! OK, that's first class and there are ways to get discounts if you book early but not too early, nevertheless it is ridiculous. It's of no consequence to me as I have a Eurail Pass which gives me train travel (almost) anywhere in Europe on any 10 days I please, - and yes I checked, it does work in the UK - I'm just amazed at the crazy price. 

First Class just guarantees you a seat. 

The funny thing is that I paid $794 AUD for a 10-day Eurail pass. That gives me 10 days of free first class rail travel (almost) anywhere in Europe. It's actually cheaper than just buying a 1st class ticket from Exeter to Settle!

I imagined that the Eurail pass (which is only available to tourists) would be a subsidised thing designed to encourage people like me to visit and spend money on meals and hotels and stuff. But no - you can buy the equivalent Interrail pass (sold only to European citizens) for the same price.

Go figure.

Kittyfrisk

^ Don't try to figure out why UK railways are as screwed up as they are, it'll take too long & you'll have a headache that you really don't want  

guitarjack66

Kittyfrisk said:

^ Don't try to figure out why UK railways are as screwed up as they are, it'll take too long & you'll have a headache that you really don't want  

Greed aka Privatisation is the simple answer.

PCT57

Brook make lovely instruments and a reasonable cost. English walnut would be a good choice for the back and sides. I have a Lamorna I like very much made from English Walnut with an Adirondack top and it's my favourite of the three Brooks I own. You can see my Lamorna a few times in this video in particular on the bench with Andy.

https://youtu.be/n_toW8yVF_Q

Have a great trip.

Phil

Ps I understand the Fylde waiting list to be 2- 3 years whereas Brook is usually 9 months or so but things could have changed.

Tannin

Hi Phil. That is a nice, informative video. I've seen it before (as evidenced by my YT "like" button being already clicked) but quite a while back as I didn't really remember it. 

After re-watching that I went wandering around on You-tube and found an even better video which you modestly didn't mention. 



Unlike the majority of viewers, the rosewood Torridge would be my third choice (I've gone off the rosewood sound in recent years) and my favourite - by a narrow margin because they are both lovely - is the Lyn. 

Lovely playing, by the way.

Mellish

Very nice, I enjoyed listening to that.

Almost sent me to sleep - compliment  

Tannin

Tannin said:

my favourite - by a narrow margin because they are both lovely - is the Lyn. 

Sorry, I was unclear @PCT57 ;By "both" I meant the Lyn and the Lamorna. 

PCT57

Tannin said:

Hi Phil. That is a nice, informative video. I've seen it before (as evidenced by my YT "like" button being already clicked) but quite a while back as I didn't really remember it. 

After re-watching that I went wandering around on You-tube and found an even better video which you modestly didn't mention. 



Unlike the majority of viewers, the rosewood Torridge would be my third choice (I've gone off the rosewood sound in recent years) and my favourite - by a narrow margin because they are both lovely - is the Lyn. 

Lovely playing, by the way.

Thanks very much. I hope you have a an enjoyable and successful trip.

Phil

Tannin

Yesterday we drove down to Exeter and visited Project Music and played three Brooks. Lovely guitars. Lee was a fount on information and, for context, provided a number of other interesting instruments: a familiar Maton SRS-60 to calibrate my ears on, a Lakewood just for fun (loved it, quite different to the mahogany one I played in Hobart a few years ago, absolutely beautiful Alpine Spruce top), and of particular interest, two Irish guitars, both in cedar and Black Walnut - a Lowden and a McIlroy. Both lovely and very different, the Lowden especially impressed me with its rich, complex, but remarkably open sound. 

As for the Brooks, yes very good stuff, all three different even though two of them were notionally the same (Lamornas in Englemann Spruce and rosewood). 

 I had several specific questions to answer for myself at Project Music. Not sure that I am any the wiser now. In fact I have even less idea of what I'm going to order on Monday than I did before. But it was great fun!

Today we float around Devon visiting national parks if it will only stop raining. Monday, off to Brook. 

Teyeplayer

Tannin said:

Today we float around Devon visiting national parks if it will only stop raining. Monday, off to Brook. 

Enjoy it, God’s own county that.

Edit: it rains on Dartmoor 333 days per year, you might want to pop a raincoat on.

WafflesOnHorseback

Tannin said:

Hi Phil. That is a nice, informative video. I've seen it before (as evidenced by my YT "like" button being already clicked) but quite a while back as I didn't really remember it. 

After re-watching that I went wandering around on You-tube and found an even better video which you modestly didn't mention. 



Unlike the majority of viewers, the rosewood Torridge would be my third choice (I've gone off the rosewood sound in recent years) and my favourite - by a narrow margin because they are both lovely - is the Lyn. 

Lovely playing, by the way.

That is rather wonderful. Lovely sound and very musical playing.

Timcito

My first ever 'good' guitar was British - it was a 000 cutaway in cedar and mahogany made by John Hullah, who had worked for Fylde before going solo. The style of guitar I bought was glowingly reviewed in Acoustic magazine in 1988, and I saw one in Forsyth's, Manchester, soon afterwards and bought it.

It was a great fingerstyle guitar and well suited to the what I was learning - classic fingerstyle ragtime. It was a guitar that really opened up, too. Some years after buying it and moving to a more humid climate, I became struck by how good it was sounding. I'd never thought it was a spectacular guitar, but then I did.

I live in the US now, but if I were in the UK, I wouldn't even look at US guitars. Britain has so many great builders whose stuff you can't get over here, so I would capitalize on that. Around ten years ago I was in Forsyth's and they had a wonderful OM in Sitka and maple built by Scottish Jimmy Moon. To this day, I regret not buying it and bringing it back to the US. 

guitarjack66

Tannin said:

Yesterday we drove down to Exeter and visited Project Music and played three Brooks. Lovely guitars. Lee was a fount on information and, for context, provided a number of other interesting instruments: a familiar Maton SRS-60 to calibrate my ears on, a Lakewood just for fun (loved it, quite different to the mahogany one I played in Hobart a few years ago, absolutely beautiful Alpine Spruce top), and of particular interest, two Irish guitars, both in cedar and Black Walnut - a Lowden and a McIlroy. Both lovely and very different, the Lowden especially impressed me with its rich, complex, but remarkably open sound. 

As for the Brooks, yes very good stuff, all three different even though two of them were notionally the same (Lamornas in Englemann Spruce and rosewood). 

 I had several specific questions to answer for myself at Project Music. Not sure that I am any the wiser now. In fact I have even less idea of what I'm going to order on Monday than I did before. But it was great fun!

Today we float around Devon visiting national parks if it will only stop raining. Monday, off to Brook. 

As strange as it sounds,July is notorious for rain in the UK. I mean,it's not like it's the height of summer or anything is it!

Tannin

Job's done.

I'm not much of a hand at typing on my ancient little laptop but briefly, I've ordered a Lyn.

Lyn (roughly 00 size)
European Spruce top (I picked one with a lovely hint of ripple in it)
3-piece back, walnut and Yew in the centre, walnut sides.
5-piece laminated walnut, yew and Sycamore neck (or European Maple if they prefer)
Bog Oak fretboard, bridge & headstock veneer
Gotoh tuners
Box briidge pins
45.5mm nut
650mm scale
12.5 fret neck-body join

Simon & Andy were a bit set back by the notion of a join not on an exact fret but came around to seeing the logic of it. They thought it would look as though they'd made a mistake, but I knew what I wanted.

A real pleasure to deal with them.

drofluf

Great choice! I love my Lyn. Mine's similar but with walnut back and mahogany neck, but it sounds like you've achieved your objective of an English (mostly) guitar.

Now the waiting starts!

I'm curious - what's the thinking behind the 12.5 fret join? 

Tannin

Ahh, good question!

I wanted the tonal benefit of a 12-fret bridge placement but I find 12 fretters just a little too tight. Even an extra 10mm would make all the difference. 

Meanwhile, the Lyn is a short scale instrument (630mm  or Gibson scale) and I very much prefer long scale. So by putting a 650mm neck on a standard Lyn, we get the best off all worlds. Only Simon reckons he's going to go cross-eyed building it with the join in the wrong place. . 

As for the all-British plan, now that I've met European Spruce trees in person (over in Croatia where there is a lovely one growing right in front of my brother-in-law's house - not to mention others all over Austria and Slovenia), I am only too happy to have a bit of one in my British (part-European) guitar. Such a good-looking tree.

The waiting won't worry me. Think of it as nine more months of staying happily married.

digitalkettle

drofluf said:

...I'm curious - what's the thinking behind the 12.5 fret join? 

He was just testing to see if they were willing to alter all their plans/templates/jigs/whatnot

Tannin

^ ha!

Actually, they are willing to do that and happily offered to do so. They seemed to think that was all in a day's work

However my scheme does not require any alteration of significance other than making the "wrong" neck. The body stays exactly the same. Same mould, same bracing, same bridge placement. It just promises to do their heads in when they get to mating the dovetail up.  

digitalkettle

Bonus points for finding the place (drove over there myself many years ago)!

Tannin

^ I had a native driver/guide.