CLC Newsletter - January, 2010

Hello again from the west coast of Ireland where this was the sunset over Mount Brandon as seen from our garden on January 26th last.

First I'd like to thank all those who wrote to offer suggestions and support for the Newsletter and also those who subscribed from the website. This is a new venture and I'm learning as I go and hoping to make it more professional too. I'm trying some software that should allow this to open directly in your email window along with whatever pics I use plus, in the future, some video. I get a lot of people in the workshop and I like the idea of interviewing them and maybe a video of them playing. Your suggestions for other things are still welcome.

Speaking of people David Goodier flew over with his wife and his 6 string acoustic bass that I made for him a few years ago. He had seen on the website that I had made another acoustic bass which had adjustment for intonation and action height and wondered if I could do something similar with his. I was limited in time on this one as, although they were able to overnight with us, they had to be away for the flight home the evening after. I got it done in a long day.... just!

This is his bridge as it was.

And this is how it was after modification.

You can see that each string now has a separate ebony saddle with small hex screws to adjust height. Intonation is adjusted by moving the saddle into the correct position where the string tension holds it in place. This has enabled David to play more in tune than before and the sound of the bass is still massive.

He seemed happy!

The Roof guitar!

Last summer I finally fitted new insulation in the roof space over the house. Fitting it wasn't a problem but clearing the space of 20 years of collected 'stuff' was. It took two days and we had a full van load of rubbish to take to the dump afterwards. Amongst the things found was this guitar.

It is a prototype that I made in 1985 (I think) and after this I made one glued-in neck version that I used myself for a year or two before swapping it for a new compressor for the sprayroom. This design eventually evolved into the Razer model. It's made from fine mahogany and the body is contoured front and back. If I get a chance I'd like to re-finish this one, put in some decent frets, some pickups and see how it works out. The neck feels really good.

Flamey Beech ASAPCAW

On the website I've added a new acoustic to the stocklist. For years I have been trying to use Irish hardwoods where ever possible in my instruments. There are some really beautiful woods out there. They are sometimes hard to find (Irish walnut for an example!) but when you use them the results in looks and sounds match many of the exotics. This ASAPCAW uses beech that I found in a sawmill in Northern Ireland. Beech is a very good tonewood but usually is very bland in appearance. The boards I found had a rare figure that the foreman of the sawmill called 'flamey'. Who am I to disagree with him? This how it looks. More pics and info here.

That's all for this month. If you think anyone you know might be interested in this newsletter please send it on to them with their permission. If you do not wish to receive future issues please email me with unsubscribe as the subject and I'll remove you from the mailing list.