A Tribute to my Daughter/Identification

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Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3282
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

A Tribute to my Daughter/Identification

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

My husband's daughter passed away almost 1 year ago. She left me her guitar. This is no ordinary guitar. This guitar was by her side since the late 1970's as she traveled the world. She lived a bohemian lifestyle, with very few possessions, but this classical guitar was the one possession she truly cared about. She spent years living in India, Thailand, Mexico, as well as countless other places. She was born and raised in Munich, Germany, so I'm sure she got the guitar in Europe. She never had a case for the guitar, she just slung it over her shoulder.

She was very ill for several years, and she lived in Florida. The guitar was exposed to very high humidity and mold without being in a case; after she passed away, her sister retrieved the guitar and kept it for me in her air conditioned house, until it was sent to me a month ago.

When I got it, the tuners were completely trashed and corroded. Needless to say the strings were corroded. But, more importantly, it had dried out warping the soundboard. The area between the sound hole and saddle had dished, the saddle had raised on the bottom (but not separated), and there was a bulge below the saddle. Also the finish had corroded in a couple of places.

First and foremost, I took off the tuners, which were not worth saving. I replaced them with the tuners that came on my Koa Limited Edition (I just changed tuners). I vacuumed big dust bunnies out of the body, even retrieving a Jamaican $2, made in 1990 (LOL). I cleaned the entire guitar and defunked the fretboard; I polished all of the frets. Then I put new strings on it. I figured I'd have to refinish the guitar, but I polished the entire guitar with stove top polish that I had on hand; amazingly it evened out the finish and got off the flecks of paint (from when she painted her walls), and other debris. I also polished the guitar with 1 coat of Bruce wax (which I know now, not to do again, from what I've read).

The whole time I was working with the guitar, I kept it humidified. I realized 2 days later, that the saddle started sitting down, so I stuck the guitar humidifier into the sound hole and sealed it off, every night. Now the saddle is almost normal and the top almost flat.

I had to correct the intonation a bit, but the guitar is not only playable, it has a warm tone and good sustain; the intonation is perfect (I spent a couple of hours correcting it).

Sue played the guitar so much that she left ruts in the fretboard. She was so talented that she played the sitar at the Indian Embassy, for dignitaries, even though she was German. I've decided that I want to keep the fretboard as is. There are still some bumps and dings on the guitar, but it just shows that it was loved and played.

When I play the guitar, it's like touching her hands again; I try to play it daily. I think Sue would be very pleased:

BTW, the tag has long fallen off. The guitar has an inlay (which is either bone or Ivory), and although it's faded, it had the picture of a Fibonacci shell. The guitar appears to be laminated mahogany sides and back (but it looks like the base wood is mahogany or rosewood), and the top is solid spruce. I'm sure she picked it up in Europe, but whether it was in Germany, Spain, or another country, we'll never know.

If anyone recognizes the manufacturer that would have used the Fibonacci, please let me know. I didn't take many photos of the guitar before restoration; the second photo of the ridges in the fretboard was taken just after I took off the nasty old strings; you can see a bit of the old tuners that were trash.

Here is the restored guitar:

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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
tippie53
Posts: 7067
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: Hegins, Pa
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Re: A Tribute to my Daughter/Identification

Post by tippie53 »

Nice job
It is a kick to get something to play again ,and the connection to family just makes it all the more special.
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
johnnparchem
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Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:50 pm
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Re: A Tribute to my Daughter/Identification

Post by johnnparchem »

Nice that you got the guitar back to playing condition and that it went back together with the proper humidity. It sure looks played and I am glad to hear it is being played again.

I have not seen a guitar with that inlay so can not help you identify it.
David L
Posts: 1319
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2011 8:04 pm
Location: Slidell, La

Re: A Tribute to my Daughter/Identification

Post by David L »

I like that you didn't do a total restoration of the guitar. Just replaced a couple of broken parts and polished her up. The instrument is practically original, the way it should be.

David L
RnB
Posts: 210
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 1:44 pm
Location: Bay Area

Re: A Tribute to my Daughter/Identification

Post by RnB »

A guitar worthy of restoration. Good Save...!

I've never knew that STP (stove top polish) could be used to this extent...lol. We all have our methods. For years, I've been using Ultra Finish to bring back dulled, grimed-up guitars. As long as no silicones' involved ..whatever works for ya?http://www.ultrafinishproducts.com/UltraFinish.html
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3282
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: A Tribute to my Daughter/Identification

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

RnB wrote:A guitar worthy of restoration. Good Save...!

I've never knew that STP (stove top polish) could be used to this extent...lol. We all have our methods. For years, I've been using Ultra Finish to bring back dulled, grimed-up guitars. As long as no silicones' involved ..whatever works for ya?http://www.ultrafinishproducts.com/UltraFinish.html
LOL. Thanks for the link, and information.

Cerama Bryte has no silicone, because Si can't be used on cook-tops. I was going to run to an automotive supply store to ask questions about rubbing compounds, when I remembered the stove top cleaner, which has to be very gentle for ceran cook-tops. I tried it on the worst area of the guitar and was amazed at how it cleaned and polished the guitar. I had figured that the guitar was going to have to be refinished, so it wouldn't have been a loss if it didn't work.

It worked so well, that I used it on the second to last coat of polyurethane, on the back of my Alvarez MD95, after repairing a crack. The final coat of poly went on like glass.

But, now I have to buy more Cerama Bryte since I used it all on the guitars...
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
warren47
Posts: 49
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2023 4:15 pm

Re: A Tribute to my Daughter/Identification

Post by warren47 »

If you are still trying to ID the guitar you might post on:
https://www.classicalguitardelcamp.com/ ... 7a91a3a54b

That's a good idea; thank you!
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