Recently completed custom guitar...

[davy_owen_88]

After spending a fair amount of time admiring others work I decided I would be brave and put up some pics of a guitar I have just finished for a customer.

It's the most difficult guitar I have built to date and the design is a collaboration of 3 different guitar shapes. The wiring is again extremely complicated (by normal guitar standards at least) and the addition of the bronze fingerboard made this guitar a complete pipper, but it was worth it and now I want a fretless guitar for myself

Construction is maple neck thru with alder body. Bronze fingerboard and flamed maple veneer over the headstock. Bubinga truss rod cover and rear cavity covers. The finish is Behlen instrument lacquer.

Anyway, here are some pics, sorry my photography skills are so poor:

And here's the happy customer giving it a test play:

 

[devonwoody]

A lovely piece of work.

With regard to the fingerboard and no frets, does that mean its like a violin finger board and ear comes into playing such an instrument?

Thanks for showing me.

 

[davy_owen_88]

Thanks for the comments. Yes, it is very much like playing a violin. Instead of being tied to the semitone intervals on a standard fretted guitar you can play any pitch in between - good or bad :lol:

Developing a good sense of intonation is a must for this type of guitar, but I found that as I have been playing a fretted guitar for nearly 10 years your hands know roughly where they should be, and it's just a case of moving your fingers sideways a tiny bit to bring it into perfect tune. Chords are extremely difficult to play though, and this will take a great deal longer to master.

 

[Waka]

Beautiful piece of work, I'm sure the customer will be very pleased.

 

[JFC]

Very nice , i've never seen a fretless guitar before . I suppose you just find your first position and work from that , thats how i do it on the double bass .

 

[DomValente]

Lovely piece of work

Dom

 

[Philly]

Wow! What a bonkers looking guitar!! (In a good way!)
Fretless - sounds like a whole new frontier.
Philly

 

[Shadowfax]

Very nice. Bonkers it might be, as Philly says, but it looks great!
Never played a fretless guitar myself but it sounds like it could be an interesting experience.
Great job, anyway.

SF

 

[ByronBlack]

great beard, great guitar. I have a custom curly maple body ready and waiting for some pickups and a neck, all these guitar projects on here lately is making me impatient with mine.

Great work!!

 

[devonwoody]

Wow! What a bonkers looking guitar!! (In a good way!)
Fretless - sounds like a whole new frontier.
Philly

I suppose the next thing Philly they will have a guitar on each shoulder tuned differently so they have got 12 open strings and then they have the full octave available.

 

[davy_owen_88]

Thanks for all the comments guys. I wasn't expecting such positive reactions.

I'm about to start work on a 7-string fretless for myself, perhaps I will do a write up for the forum if anyone would be interested?

 

[Shadowfax]

I would, Davy.
Thanks.

SF

 

[JFC]

Me too please !

 

[Philly]

Oooh yes!
Philly

 

[DaveL]

I hope there will be pictures? :roll:

 

[Greg W]

It reminds me of an Indian instrument called a sarod which has a stainless metal fretboard....