Randy Roberts flat top acoustic wine box guitar [Pictures] - created 03-28-2010
Roberts, Randy - 03/28/2010.17:35:23
May your life's music always come from your heart.
This was made for a friend who owns a wine store.
It was made from a 2 bottle wine box, and I replaced the top with a reject broken Martin top. Neck was also a reject.
I bound it with some leftover from a previous guitar
View from the back
The back was reinforced structurally so the original sliding back could still be used to place and remove 2 bottles of wine
View of the whole back. There are 4 sets of magnets that hold the sliding back and keep it from rattling.
The back empty, showing the bracing, back reinforcement, wooden racks for the wine bottles, and the bungi cords that keep the bottles from banging around.
Close up of the bottom bottle cradle
Close up of neck cradle
Of course the peghead had to carry the theme (supposed to be a bunch of grapes)
That's great, Randy!
Pretty cool, Randy. What, no port? :)
Ha, that's a mighty wine looking insturment Randy. How's it sound?
How does it taste?.. I mean, sound.
Nice!! Great detail work.
I am glad you explained the inlay on the headstock. I am not sure I would have figured that out!
Wine and song -- looks very cool.
Admirable! Hermann Ludwig v. Helmholtz will appreciate from his retired position. He spent quite a time playing with bottles too.
That is outstanding. Does it sound better with wine or without?
Perfect for playing bottleneck on!
The inlay is sublime...
And the binding is outrageously beautiful. That is some exquisite marquetry around a simple pine box. I love it!
So what does the wine shop guy plan on doing with it? let the patrons play it or keep it behind glass??
PS - no wine jokes - wine is _NOT_ a laughing matter!
Darrel & Arturo,
It actually has suprised me with how much this ended up sounding nearly like a regular guitar... Not much for the low end, but a fairly full midrange and high end nearly the same as a (cheap)guitar. There are very noticable differences with and without the bottles in it as would be expected. the really dramatic thing is when you take the sliding back off and on. Not much difference volume wise but pretty blah thin sound with it off, and dramatic change in the fullness and richness when it is on. Really shows how much the back and air cavity of a guitar contributes to the voice you hear.
A fear I carried through the whole project was that, with my luck, this would be the best sounding guitar I'd built yet. Fortunately it isn't. Isn't the worst though either.
Steve,
The inlay was considerably more interesting in conception than in execution. If you only could have seen what I saw in my mind before my hands got in the way
Chuck,
I don't know what he plans to do with it, he doesn't play guitar either. This was kind of a case of not thinking before I opened my mouth and saying "give me a couple of those wine boxes and I'll make you a guitar out of them". He said ok before I had a chance to realize what a waste of time it would be. But once started, I couldn't let go. I tried to weasel it into the $100 challenge but It was started too soon, finished too late, ran a couple dollars over, and dropped off the post from lack of progress and postings. (I might be able to claim the only triple DQ of the challenge.)
So did you deliver it to the lucky slouch? Did he compensate you in any way? (wine at least!)
Chuck,
This is beautiful. Bordaeuxing on fabulous. I can't think of a Reislingable criticism. You should lock it in a Cabernet. Oh, you're starting to Blush. I'll put a cork in it.
Syrah ya later.
Hi Randy,
I wonder if you decreased the size of the soundhole, would it improve the bass response? Perhaps you could tape on a cardboard cutout to check it out. You could add it to your rigorous testing.
The sliding back is a great idea, I'd try a couple bottles of rioja reserva. The aging on french oak barrels will surely give a nice sound. If not, uncork one and it will start improving. Seriously, that's really beautiful work and will surely draw attention, make sure your friend displays it where a lot of people will look at it and maybe you'll find reward to your hard work.
Cool cool cool! (And refreshing!)
I'm glad you posted this after the Challenge closed. I hope others do the same.
Man, you better get at least one nice bottle of wine for that work!
I hope you get a few cases!
Too nice!
Definitely worth wine.
Does it have a smooth finish?