Roberto-Venn builds: Acoustic, Blackmachine, Strandberg content

[9voltchicken]

Greetings once again.

I am currently attending Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery. This thread will cover the progress of the three builds I have underway. I will also answer any questions you may have about the school and give my opinions warts-and-all of my experiences here. Keep in mind you are not allowed to use outside materials for your guitar builds. There are other electives available. I've already registered for pickup winding, french polishing, metallic patina finishing, and advanced electronics.



Two of the three builds will are required to be "industry standard" involving everything from scale length to wood choices. I'll list the specs and choices our class was given.

Student Electric:
Neck joint: bolt-on, PRS set neck style, or Gibson set neck style. For bolt-on style we're given a choice between scarf jointed or flat fender style. Maple only for bolt-on
Scale Length: Gibson 24 5/8", PRS 25", or Fender 25.5"
Strings: 6
Radius: Compound 12-16"
Fretboard: Ebony or Rosewood
Top Wood: Whatever is in stock
Body Wood: Alder or Mahogony end-grain matched

Student Acoustic:
Acoustic type: Orchestra Model (OM), or your classic Martin dreadnaught.
Scale: Martin 25.4"
Radius: 12"
Fretboard: Ebony or Rosewood
Top wood: Sitka Spruce, Engelmann Spruce, or Western Red Cedar
Back and Side wood: Whatever is in stock

Possible 3rd Instrument: Whatever you want
______________________________________________

My acoustic specs:

Dreadnaught style
25.4" martin long scale
Ebony fretboard
Sitka spruce top
Mango wood back and sides
Flame maple/ebony b/w/b binding
Ebony/Abalone rosette
Fishman Matrix Infinity acoustic pickup
Grover tuners


My electric specs:

Blackmachine inspired
25.5" scale
24 frets
Bolt on maple neck w/ scarf joint.
Ebony fretboard
Curly Bubinga top
Mahogony body
Ivoroid binding
Dimarzio Dominion w/ black covers
Hipshot tuners
Vol/tone/5way

My 3rd instrument specs:

Strandberg. 'Nuff said.
25" - 26 1/8" scale
7 strings
24 frets
20" radius
Neck through 5 piece Madagascar Rosewood/Maple neck
Ziricote Fretboard
Walnut crotch top
Ash body (possibly chambered)
Bridge: Deathbar 3.5" Neck: X-Bar 3.5"
Black EGS hardware
Vol/3way/variable split
__________________________________________________

My acoustic back is a little washed out here. There are more tans/reds/greens that aren't shown. Much softer than rosewood. More closely resembles Ash.






Here's my electric top that I've jointed and glued. Almost has a 3d look to it in person.



Mahogony body blank. This weighs a hair more than 16 lbs. quite a hunk of wood.




Feel free to ask me anything about the school.

 

[XxJoshxX]

I wish I could go to luthiery school, I have to go to regular school.

 

[9voltchicken]

It's more possible than you might think. I managed to go to this school on a walmart budget.

 

[9voltchicken]

The pace has been wicked so far. I'll try to post twice a week if I can manage. Here's what's been going on so far...

My Strandberg drawn up 1:1 scale


Electric body all nice and blanked out. The body shape i'm using is sort of a hybrid Music Man JPX and a few elements from the blackmachine B2/b6. I just modified a previous body shape I made with a french curve. Fairly pleased so far.


Here's the headstock design. My original design was based on a blackmachine headstock. But, since it's such an unconventional shape, my original design was rejected so I was forced to modify it. I still like the result. The area on the left side of the headstock will be recessed and inlaid with flame maple (think VIK duality). The rest will have a curly bubinga just like the image further down.


Sample of body/headstock top. Really nice stuff.



More to come!

 

[skeels]

Sweet man! Love the figured bubinga!

 

[lawizeg]

Super nice bubinga, really sweet plans.

 

[Webmaestro]

Hello fellow Phoenix person! Subscribed to this one for sure. I'd love to go to RV (it's not far from me).

Let's keep in touch!

 

[narad]

While you reminded me - do you know why french polish is not often done on electrics? Durability concerns? Not knowing the possible disadvantages, I'd say do that - have something unique going on. I'd personally like to see more spruce top / french polished guitars outside of the high-end acoustic world.

 

[XxJoshxX]

I find it funny how right after Vik blows up about people copying him, everyone starts using his designs. And i love it!

 

[scherzo1928]

I think they are all going to be nuts!
If I may give a bit of a sugestion, I think that the headstock would look a bit better, if the line that divides the headstock was more parallel to the right side of the headstock. And perheps extend the recessed part a bit more towards the nut?

While you reminded me - do you know why french polish is not often done on electrics? Durability concerns? Not knowing the possible disadvantages, I'd say do that - have something unique going on. I'd personally like to see more spruce top / french polished guitars outside of the high-end acoustic world.

It's a pain in the ass to do. That's why.
I've got 2 axes with french polish finishes and they are both doing fine, no durability issues.

 

[9voltchicken]

I think they are all going to be nuts!
If I may give a bit of a sugestion, I think that the headstock would look a bit better, if the line that divides the headstock was more parallel to the right side of the headstock. And perheps extend the recessed part a bit more towards the nut?

Thanks Scherzo. The headstock design isn't 100% final. I actually planned on doing exactly that.

I find it funny how right after Vik blows up about people copying him, everyone starts using his designs. And i love it!

Agreed. Overreacting to homebrew projects is halarious. I didn't base this off any of his designs though. I actually copied a blackmachine headstock and added a flame maple inlay where the empty space behind the strings would be.

While you reminded me - do you know why french polish is not often done on electrics? Durability concerns? Not knowing the possible disadvantages, I'd say do that - have something unique going on. I'd personally like to see more spruce top / french polished guitars outside of the high-end acoustic world.

The main reason why electrics aren't french polished is because of the time investment vs the difference it makes. With acoustics the weight of the finish matters a great deal. Slap a thick coat of poly that you would normally find on electrics on an acoustic and that instrument is dead. Apply a french polish to an electric and you (don't quote me on this) probably wont notice a difference.

 

[9voltchicken]

Sorry for the double post.

Hello fellow Phoenix person! Subscribed to this one for sure. I'd love to go to RV (it's not far from me).

Let's keep in touch!

For sure man. If you have any questions I'd be more than willing to answer them.

 

[Cloudy]

Oh man I can't wait to start luthier school in 2016 when I finish up at university.

Gunna be following this bad boy of a thread!

 

[XxJoshxX]

Agreed. Overreacting to homebrew projects is halarious. I didn't base this off any of his designs though. I actually copied a blackmachine headstock and added a flame maple inlay where the empty space behind the strings would be.

Yeah i was just thinking that the headstock looked decently similar with the veneer.

 

[9voltchicken]

Just a few more things to share.


Got the sides for my acoustic all bent up

And inside the acoustic mold. The brown staining is from the wood being cooked a bit while bending. They will sand out no problems.

Also got the braces and center seam strip for my acoustic back all nice and glued in.

Inlay design submitted and approved.

Bought a ziricote fretboard for the strandberg. Looking pretty sweet.



I will be starting my 7 string build next week. Semi-boring stuff up until then.

 

[9voltchicken]

70 hour weeks are pretty brutal but I'm getting stuff done. This is the first inlay I've ever done. So far so good.

Used a fence and a router to cut the center channel. Turned out perfectly straight


Routed out the other missing bits with my trusty dremel.


This is my rig for cutting inlay. Must have spent around 8 hours just cutting little abalone strips.


Here's the result.


Jointing and inlaying all those little pieces is tedious as all hell. Worth it though.


After filling/gluing/sanding it turned out absolutely spectacular. Couldn't be happier. Probably spent around 30 hours total on this inlay.




I'll have more updates in the next few days.

 

[jarnozz]

That inlayjob is damn neat! Keep up the good work

 

[capoeiraesp]

Nice work! Inlay are one of my favourite tasks when building.

 

[BlackMastodon]

Very nice inlay, especially for your first time!

 

[9voltchicken]

Fast forwarding a bit since i'm working on stuff faster than i'm able to update...


Jointed and glued together the headcap for my 6-string


Aligned and glued it onto my (soon to be) headstock


Laid out the neck pocket with a few MDF scraps. I first aligned the neck and glued these pieces around where the heel is.


Nearly air-tight fit. The excess will be trimmed away when i shape the neck joint.


Headstock rough cut


7-string strandberg 1:1 scale plans and materials list submitted! hopefully approved...











FYI if you ever have to do any precision measuring I would HIGHLY recommend these tools. They are absolutely fantastic. The brand is Incra Rules.