First Archtop Guitar

[Geoff St. Germaine]

I've recently completed my first archtop guitar. The specifications are as follows:

17" cutaway body
25" scale, 21 frets
Western red cedar top
Walnut back/sides
Walnut/pau ferro/maple veneer neck
Ebony fretboard
MOP block inlays
White binding
Ebony bridge, tailpiece, pickguards, headstock overlay
Kent Armstrong floating pickup
Volume control
Gotoh open back tuners, nickel
Dyed burst on top
Nitrocellulose gloss finish

It is my first acoustic instrument. It was built as a sort of prototype before building some others using more expensive/conventional woods. The woods for this, with the exception of the ebony bits were sourced locally with the intent of being inexpensive and structurally sound choices.

With this instrument being a success, and with the many, many lessons learned from it, I gained the confidence to try the same thing using much more expensive flamed maple and spruce.

[Michael Lewis]

Very nice execution. It looks pretty good from here. So why spend more money on materials than you need to? I am all in favor of using good quality local materials when available. Walnut is one of my favorite woods for guitars and mandolins. Sitka and engelmann also make great soundboards if you select good stuff, and they can be some of the least expensive top woods available.

[Paco Jimenez]

It looks gorgeous. Great job!

+1 on walnut for back and sides. Love it for archtops or any kind of guitars.

+1000 on good local woods. No need for exotic tonewoods given you can get good stuff localy. Around here (Spain). you can get excellent native walnut, pearwood, cherry, cypress... who needs costly viol back maple. Not the same availability for suitable endemic grown spruces or cedars. Imported sitka or romanian, italian, etc... spruce is the best option.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Thanks for the comments guys!

@Michael - the maple and spruce I'm using are local materials (I'm in Canada). I've even visited the ahop where they resaw the spruce sets I'm using (Sitka and Englemann). Unfortunately I am unable to find highly figured maple or well quartered spruce for cheap. Unfortunately market demand and visuals drive what's built.

@Paco - the only exotic wood going into either of the following builds is ebony for the fretboards. The others are sourced within my country.

[Dave Stewart]

Great job Geoff. Looks terrific & the 'burst harmonizes well with the walnut.
My first was also walnut B&S and I was well pleased. My only suggestion might be to shorten up the tailpiece next time
Keep an eye on Fraser Valley tonewoods ........ I've gotten a couple of good deals on figured maple from him.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Thanks Dave, and thanks for the tips!

Is shortening the tailpiece done with the goal of increasing the distance between the bridge and string anchor points? I believe the adjustment strap could still be used to move the tailpiece back.

[Dave Stewart]

Well, aesthetics and afterlength. To my eye, it just looks a bit big ... about 8"? (..looks in the pic like it extends right to the binding edge, so not sure how much you could back it up.) But I'm also one (and this has been back & forth a few times) who believes that more afterlength definitely eases the "feel" some.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

The contrast in the picture is pretty poor around the burst edge. There's almost an inch between the edge of the binding and end of the tailpiece. The tailpiece is anout 6.75" long. I think the fact that the contrast between the tailpiece and the body only exists over the orange part of the burst makes it appear to be larger and therefore gives the slightly off aesthetic you see. I think I agree with you and will see about moving the tailpiece back. I think it may require a shorter strap, but I've got one that is around 1.5" shorter and with the doubling of the strap around the endpin, should pull the tailpiece back that 1" or so that it can be moved.

Dave, by the way, I've admired your work for quite some time, so I'm quite ecstatic to have your feedback.

[Dave Stewart]

Thanks Geoff. That length's ok then. Just get the right tailgut........there are several available....... to pull it back (don't advise wrapping twice around endpin).

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Great, thanks Dave. Will do.

[Greg Carter]

That is a beautiful instrument. It is work like this that motivates us day laborers to stay up late, or not go out on Saturday, and stay in our shop to hone our craft. If my first archtop looks like this one, I'll be grinning for a month.

Absolutely well-done. Please get a hardshell case for that gem.

Greg

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Thanks for the kind words, Greg.

This guitar turned out far better than I thought it would when I first started bumbling through getting the top and back carved. Side bending went far easier that I'd envisioned, so that was a definite plus. Truth be told, I had visions of the top collapsing under the string tension. I followed Benedetto's guidelines for top thickness with parallel bracing, but the top still just seemed so thin in my mind and the guitar body was very light.

[Patrick Hanna]

I haven't visited for several days, but I'm glad I checked in tonight. That's a real nice archtop, Geoff. Congratulations!
Patrick

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Thanks a lot, Patrick!

[Jason Rodgers]

Holy crap! That's awesome! How does it sound with the WRC top? How high is the arch?

[Beate Ritzert]

Very beautiful. I like the Lang type sound holes and the harmony of their placement very much.

@Paco - the only exotic wood going into either of the following builds is ebony for the fretboards. The others are sourced within my country.

Optically, apple (wood) gives a nice contrast to walnut, and it is very suitable for fingerboards. Other woods like plum as well. Is that available in canada?

I am aware of "market demands". How strong are these demand actually? Would it not better to cover a niche like "i am using fine local woods" and convince customers by optical and sonic quality. If Your guitar sounds as good as it looks, You might be able to occupy such a niche successfully.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Thanks guys!

@Jason - supposedly the WRC should be warmer than spruce. Unfortunately I win't be able to comment on that due to the inability right now to compare it to a spruce guitar until the follow on pair of guitars are done. As I'm presently fitting the necks to the bodies it will hopefully not be long. Overall though, I have to say I find the guitar to have a fairly balanced sound, IMO is quite similar in tone to many spruce topped flat top acoustic guitars that I've played.

The arch height gives a difference of about 5/8" between the bridge position and the rim.

@Beate - I have seen some apple wood, though not a large amount of it. I hve never seen plum, though.. I have previously worked with a supplier who produced acrylic impregnated fretboards making many somewhat unsuitable woods more similar to the denser woods traditionally used, like ebony and rosewood, though he is now mostly retired.

I do agree that the use of local, sustainably harvested woods could certainly be marketed. I would have to do some experimenting though, as I am unfamiliar with any archtop guitars featuring any woods local to me. It is an interesting concept.

[Chris Mudd]

That is really pretty!!
If this is number 1, I can't wait to see #15......

[Bob Francis]

I liked this one after the first picture but the more I look at it the more I like it!
Just a sweet job, congrats.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Thanks a lot, Chris and Bob!