3rd kit?

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Andy Mitchell
Posts: 58
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:54 am

3rd kit?

Post by Andy Mitchell »

OK, I first built a StewMac rosewood dread kit (loved it, and still do), then I built a StewMac Mahogany OM (also really great)... what would you all experienced builders recommend for guitar #3?

As background, I really like playing my guitars, but the fun of building them is is much more important to me right now than just acquiring another top-level instrument on the cheap for personal use. Not that I want to sink a whole bunch of time into something that I'll never play, you understand - but I am very much open to learning something about all the different instruments that are out there to try with this next build.

Completely irrelevant to this post, but both of the guitars I've built turned out great according to my (admittedly lower than your) standards. I love them. I played my OM more-or-less constantly since finishing it earlier this summer, but have gone back to the dread as my main guitar recently. I don't really know why, it could be as simple as which one is closer to the chair i sit in, lol. But both have been very enjoyable to build and play, and I'm sure the next one (no matter what it is) will be even more fun.

Thanks in advance,

Andrew
rcnewcomb
Posts: 359
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2015 9:04 pm
Location: San Jose, CA, USA

Re: 3rd kit?

Post by rcnewcomb »

If you prefer larger instruments you might consider something like a Gibson J-185 style.


At the other extreme you might consider a parlor guitar or even a Size 5
- Randall Newcomb
10 fingers in, 10 fingers out - another good day in the shop
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: 3rd kit?

Post by MaineGeezer »

You've built two kits. How much did you rely on the fact that they were kits? What benefits did you get from that?

You might consider building the next one without starting with a kit.

I've built all of mine from scratch, and frankly I don't see that it increased the difficulty much, if any. The kit collects all the pieces for you, which I suppose is a convenience, but it may also restrict your choices. It's easy to buy all the components separately, and I always enjoyed doing that.
A kt may offer services like bending the sides or slotting and radiusing the fingerboard. You can. if you wish, pay to get those things done for you.

I suppose that doesn't help any in deciding what to build, but it may give you more options

Another thought: build another OM, but modify the design according to your own ideas. That may be too much to contemplate, but doing something like making the body 1/2" deeper isn't too radical. Or add a sound port. Or ???
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Stray Feathers
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Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 11:39 pm
Location: Ladysmith, BC

Re: 3rd kit?

Post by Stray Feathers »

I agree with MaineGeezer that there are lots of options if you try another OM. I am on my fifth; two I modified to be 12-fret slot head guitars, I'm on my second 14-fret, and almost finished a 12-string OM. One has a cedar top, the others spruce, and four different back woods. And I agree that you should think about scratch building - it allows you to create the vision. Having said all this, I am going to try something different: I have bought materials to make a new mould for probably a dreadnought or two, or possibly a 0000. Whatever you do, enjoy the process! Bruce W.
jread
Posts: 560
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:52 am
Contact:

Re: 3rd kit?

Post by jread »

This is the point where I would find a musical friend who wants one of your builds and gift it or have them pay for parts. It’s a lot of stress and pressure but making my builds for musicians and watching them be played has been really gratifying. And boy do they love em. After a few friendly players who will accept imperfections you may gain enough confidence to take on a commission build for profit.
koolimy
Posts: 87
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: 3rd kit?

Post by koolimy »

rcnewcomb wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:12 am If you prefer larger instruments you might consider something like a Gibson J-185 style.


At the other extreme you might consider a parlor guitar or even a Size 5
I am not an experienced builder, but I wholeheartedly agree with the J-185 Kit! You can get one from Mr. Hall at Blues Creek Guitars. The J-185 size is beautiful (in my eyes), more comfortable than a dreadnought, and it also sounds pretty good. I think any Gibson style kit could be a nice departure from your more Martin style instruments, and the J-185 gives you both the Gibson tone and a different look. Of course, Blues Creek also seems to have the king of acoustics, the SJ-200, which could be a cool kit to try.

If you go with Blues Creek I would definitely try to go with more exotic woods, such as Cherry, Walnut, Carpathian Spruce, etc. It could be a departure from the more familiar Sitka/Rosewood or Sitka/Mahogany you get with StewMac.

Of course another style that could be very interesting is any sort of 12-fret instrument. I believe StewMac has the 000 12 fret kit. I don't know about you but I have never played a 12 fret guitar so I'm really curious how different one would be from a 14 fret guitar.
Andy Mitchell
Posts: 58
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:54 am

Re: 3rd kit?

Post by Andy Mitchell »

jread wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:43 pm This is the point where I would find a musical friend who wants one of your builds and gift it or have them pay for parts. It’s a lot of stress and pressure but making my builds for musicians and watching them be played has been really gratifying. And boy do they love em. After a few friendly players who will accept imperfections you may gain enough confidence to take on a commission build for profit.
This is pretty much where I am. A friend of mine that I race cars with (sportscars, not NASCAR lol) is a serious, semi-professional bluegrass musician and buyer and seller of vintage Instruments. I asked him to try out the two kits I built and give me an opinion... to him, the dreadnought was loud but ho-hum, the OM was 'wow, I love this thing'. He thought that OM was worth a fair bit more than the kit cost, and probably knows folks he could flog it to if I wanted to sell it. So I'm tempted to plow ahead building at least another OM-similar thing, in the hope that I could recover at least some part of the costs somewhere down the road. There is no doubt that I''l be building more guitars in the future... the only question is if I build them to sit in my living room or go out to other folks. :-)
MaineGeezer
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: 3rd kit?

Post by MaineGeezer »

It's incredibly useful to get the opinion of somebody who can be objective and who will give an honest assessment.
And to get somebody who plays reasonably well to play your guitar so you can hear how it sounds out in front of it.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: 3rd kit?

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Have you thought of basically putting together your own "kit", so to speak, and designing a guitar from the ground up?

There are sets of woods for guitars, backs and sides, from luthier supply houses, ebay, even members of this forum. The same thing with all of the components; I can make a list for you if you like. You can order a neck (dovetail or bolt-on, with matching neck block).

You can choose type, size, scale length, woods, basically everything. You would probably need your sides bent, and your wood thinned, unless you're ready to give it a go yourself. Many of the sources for backs/sides, offer this service, just ask.

We're all here to help you put things together if you want to go this route.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Andy Mitchell
Posts: 58
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:54 am

Re: 3rd kit?

Post by Andy Mitchell »

Thanks for the replies.

And yes, it was really illuminating to get an opinion from a serious player! As a neophyte guitar builder, I was really surprised by how enthusiastic he was about the OM. He was over the moon! And my 'ho hum' statement about his comments on the dread was a bit harsh - he said nothing but nice things about that guitar as well, but was just not quite as gushing with praise as as he was about the OM. Really surprises me that a total amateur such as myself build even a playable guitar, much less end up with an instrument that someone else thinks is good in absolute terms.

I've learned so much through these first two builds. I think now maybe I'm ready to perhaps tackle something a bit more 'custom', as several of you have suggested. But I worry about getting myself into something that would require some serious piece of woodworking equipment that I don't have (and that if I just followed my heart I'd end up with some horrible disaster of a design, lol). So I think some sort of kit is still my best bet, but maybe one with a bit more latitude for customization than the ones StewMac offers. I don't know exactly what that might look like, but have some ideas. Will probably wait to place the next order until car racing season winds up (a week or two), as that keeps me pretty busy over the summer months. But I am looking forward to getting back at building in the cooler weather.

Andrew
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