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This month, I started building a batch of archtop mandolins to be completed by winter, 2025. They’ll feature Loar-inspired arching and graduations for that punchy tone that cuts through in a jam session (see video clips of my instruments below). I prefer to build 5-6 instruments as a batch, but to customize the design of…

My experiment with two guitar bracing systems has come to an interesting conclusion. Both guitars have great volume and projection, and a strong bass tone. The Martin-style scalloped X-bracing (1st video: sorry for the cell phone quality audio!) seems to have produced a relatively stronger treble response (more “sparkle” according to one player), while the…

This tenor ukulele is instrument #3 in a series I’ve made from Mninga (Pterocarpus angolensis) reclaimed from old furniture in Tanzania. The customer, a for a water walker in Minnesota. She said she wanted a water theme, so after some conversation we agreed that I would inlay the course of the St. Croix river in…

I’ve been building two guitars with similar design, but different bracing. Once an instrument is structurally complete (but not varnished) I like to string them up to get an initial idea of their tone. First impressions: Despite their different bracing strategies, they’re both VERY loud and they sound remarkably similar. Their fundamental frequencies rose considerably…

Carving the neck is one of my favorite steps in building an instrument. The many curves and angles each have a function, but when it all comes together, it feels like sculpting a work of art. The neck starts out as three pieces glued together and cut to shape: The heel is rough carved with…

Sent my first requinto out in the world. This is the 3rd instrument I’ve built from Mninga (Pterocarpus angolensus) wood that I salvaged from the top of a coffee table in central Tanzania. Requintos, mainly played in Mexico and Latin America, are tuned 4 steps higher than a standard guitar, and use nylon strings, but…

The backs are on the two guitars I’m building to compare bracing patterns, and this allows me to measure the main frequencies of each guitar body. The results fit my expectations with the more modern Gore-inspired bracing producing higher pitched main frequencies than the scalloped X-bracing. In fact, the latter was so low (main air…

Last month I described an experiment I’m conducting with 2 different bracing styles on 2 guitars I’m building.  The tops are now attached to the ribs, so I can begin testing the relative strength of their bracing.  This deflection jig measures how much the top moves when a force is applied directly on the bridge…

One of my highlights of the Wintergrass festival was visiting the vintage instrument room. How amazing to be able to pick up and play 100+ year-old guitars and mandolins! One afternoon I listened to Joe Vinikow of Archtop.com, play this 1923 Lloyd Loar-signed Gibson mandolin. When I asked if he’d play my 12-year old Miller Acoustics…

Last week, before heading to the Wintergrass festival, I had a visit from Neal Curran, who bought an F-5 Mandolin from me 12 years ago. Neal has been playing hard, including with his current band, Sugar Rooster, and the instrument was in serious need of a setup and fret levelling, but it has held up…