#25 Parlor Time... Again
When I first started building, I was fascinated with smaller body, parlor size guitars. In terms of comfort and tone and responsiveness, the smaller body guitars are my favs. This is a parlor size built custom for KJ in Black Limba. This is also acoustic #25; I feel like I am getting somewhere. Maybe.
In terms of overall design, this one is fairly standard and traditional: my parlor body shape, a 25” scale length, pinned bridge, 3 piece neck, standard sound hole, sound port.
But on the inside you find all the modern features that kick things up a bit. This one has my radial bracing pattern that I have been dialing in on the last several builds. On this one, I have made a larger bridge patch with laminations keeping things a little stiffer along the center of the guitar. The radial pattern makes it much easier to keep things stiff where I want them stiff and flexible where I want that. Also, the linings are all laminated spanish cedar for solid rims. This makes a significant difference in the volume and tone of the instrument.
As is now standard on all my builds, this one has my adjustable action neck joint. As with the last couple of builds, since the traditional heel is no longer necessary that is removed. The neck is received in a routed pocket with two set screws that allow continual adjustment over the life of the guitar. This also incorporates the elevated fingerboard extension which allows the neck geometry to be dialed in perfectly.
The wood for the back and sides is Black Limba, a unique, highly figured wood as you can see. I used this on #3 and my first Uke build. It is somewhat like Mahogany but a little lighter. Makes for a guitar with strong fundamental tone without a lot of overtones. The top is a nice piece of Lutz Spruce that we picked out for its excellent tap tone.
The binding, headstock face plate and back plate are all Indian Rosewood - a nice complement to the other woods. The tuning machines are Gotoh 510s in Gold/Black - the best machines you can buy for the money in my book. Fretwire is EvoGold with Bone saddle and nut.
The rosette is walnut with a double band of mother of pearl. Very blingy.
The bridge and fingerboard are Indian Laurel picked because it is dense and fit with the overall vibe of the whole build.
The neck was built with custom specs - the dimensions just slightly larger than a Tele neck. Since KJ is a woman with smaller hands, she liked the feel of some of the smaller necks I have built previously. The nice thing about getting a custom build is being able to dial every detail in for the perfect fit.
For the sound sample, something a little different: this is the recording I make when I put the strings on and tune it up for the first time before everything is settled and dialed in. This is what the guitar sounds like on its first day when it still thinks it is a tree…