Stung 'em up....

Well I got some time both yesterday and today after work to get both of the the twins strung up. I had to make both nuts and saddles for them, but that was a fairly easy task. I finally broke down and spent the money on a proper set of nut files. I can't believe that I waited this long to get them. They make the nut slotting so much easier and accurate than the methods I have been using in the past. Anyway, I started with the green guitar, went over the top with swirl remover and then made the nut, saddle, and then strung it up. I am stunned at the difference the sound port makes. Not only does it give the player the same sound as the people in front hear, but it actually adds volume to the guitar. I played around with it by closing the hole and opening it up and there is a definite difference in volume, and it is a pretty dramatic difference. I put that guitar in it's case to settle in for a few days, and got to work on the red guitar. Again I had to make the nut and saddle, attach the tuners, and string it up. This guitar has the same great volume and 'stereo' sound as the other. I did have one mishap on the red guitar. While I was slotting the peg holes in the bridge, I accidentally let the file come out and poke the top just under the rosette. Fortunately the tip of the file is a very fine point so the hole was small, but none the less there is now a small hole in the top. It didn't go all the way through, but it made me feel a little sick when it happened. Really, I can't think of any way to fix it that won't be visible so I decided to just fill it with finish and call it a beauty mark. I wish it hadn't happened, but it did and there isn't much I can do about it now. I also have one spot on the top that I sanded through when level sanding at the bass side waist. I brushed on some lacquer and will level it out in a week or so.

Both guitars right now have the action a mile high and I will leave them that way for a few days to let things settle in a bit before I start to set them up. I need to adjust the neck on the red one too as it doesn't have any relief. I thought the strings would pull some in but this neck is fairly stiff and with the short scale having less string tension, it doesn't look like it has enough force to pull the neck into the bow. That is what truss rods are for.. right!

I played them a little and I am noticing a bit of difference in the tone of them. The green one (parabolic) seems to have a little better note separation than the red (scalloped) one and it doesn't have the bottom end that the scalloped one does. The scalloped one is quite a bit louder and brighter sounding than the parabolic one. Both of them sound very good, leaps and bounds better than my first OM. Once I get them set up so the action is good, I will spend a little time playing them to get a better idea of the tonal differences. I will record both of them and post the files so you can hear what I am talking about. I wish I could play better but hey, you get what you get!

So, other than a final setup, some final buffing and polishing, some cleaning of the fingerboard and bridge, and compensating the saddles, these two are basically done. Just in time for Christmas!

Here is the red guitar in the work stand. This is the scalloped braced guitar. On a side note, I really like the stand. It keeps the guitar off of the table and holds it securely while I work on it. The tools with the yellow and red handles are two of the nut files I bought.

Here is the green parabolic braced guitar sitting in it's case. It still needs some cleaning and final polishing as you can see!

Here is the 'oops' that happened tonight. See the black spot between the top two strings? That is the hole my file put in the top.

Here is the spot I sanded through while leveling out the top. I roughed it up and sanded it down and that is when i took this picture. I have coated it a couple of times now with lacquer.