The Ten String Classic Guitar-My Latest Obsession, Part 3

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No matter how simple a thing of wood, it is scarcely possible to put two sticks together decently without using a plane.

Aldren A. Watson, Hand Tools: Their Ways and Workings, 1982


Today, I ripped a piece of Spanish cedar in two (yes, with a hand rip saw), planed and jointed it down until both surfaces matched perfectly. Then I glued in a piece of ebony, a la Jose Ramirez III, this 10 string guitar's neck will have the Ramirez "racing stripe". After gluing up the pieces I kind of wish that I had jointed together two pieces of cedar that were a little wider than these, to give myself a little wiggle room. As it is I've left myself a little more then a 1/16th of an inch on either side of the neck outline. I may have to save this neck for a six string and buy some more cedar and make another neck. Or, I can step up to the plate and hold myself to a higher level of craftsmanship and use this neck, all I have to do is be very meticulous and careful.




I'm really excited about making a ten string classic guitar, the possibilities....



Here's another YouTube of Narciso Yepes, the second movement of the Concierto de Aranjuez.



Comments

  1. RobAugust 21, 2012 at 11:37 AM

    This is a wonderful project. I didn't know there was a 10-string guitar - how ignorant am I!
    Interesting to see the 10-string in action, and with such a moving piece.
    Also inspiring to think that such music will one day be fingered on that neck you're building.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wilson BurnhamAugust 21, 2012 at 6:27 PM

    Thanks, Rob!

    I remember reading an interview with N. Yepes in a Guitar Player magazine back in 1982 while I was in college, and couldn't get any of my guitar teachers to talk about it. Most saw it as an abomination, I see it as another way to play the great repertoire of the classic guitar!

    ReplyDelete

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