The Luthier Community

Well, I always wanted one............ but this might be as close as I get, lol!

There's a thread here on a long scale, low tuned 12 string that I started back in Nov. 2009, the thread covers all the work up till I'm closing the box, good shots of the bracing etc....... Well somehow I see the finished guitar never got into the thread, and looking at the label, I can see it's dated 1012, so I guess I got side-tracked in there some where. Anyway it did get finished and plays well and sounds good. It's the 12 that I still have and use. One of the unique aspects of this one is that I actually sand-blasted the top of the closed box to give me a nice corduroy surface which I like, nice tactile surface for my fingers when I'm picking. It's a 6 pin bridge holding the 12 strings, not a tail-piece like most of my 12's.......

So, unfortunately I don't seem to find any pics of it in my computer........ well, just take some you say........ And that's what I've done..... but just like my label says in my guitars, built and re-built, I've done refinished the top and it looks a bit different. Here's some pics.......
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So yeah, it's a little different......... Been working with gold leaf on some of my art lately, and this is what up and happened! Wish I'd taken some pictures of the process, because man, I sure go thru some scary, what the hell did I do stages before it started working in the direction I wanted. Underlying coat of red paint first, then brush on adhesive sizing, lay the gold, brush/rub on some burnt umber oil glaze, wipe off surface so glaze lays down in all the corduroy valleys, spray a mat lacquer coat, more glazing and rubbing, finish with 3 coats of gloss lacquer, and
Bob's your uncle......

Anyway, finally got me a gold-top even if it's not a Les Paul!
A genuine, been around the world, long scale, low tuned, 12 string blues bucket......... bet you ain't ever seen another one!

I can tell that it's "reliced" (and love it!) but can't really see the gold leaf on my monitor. Top looks warm, really cool vibe. Can't wait to see it in person!

Why RED paint? (Does this have anything to do with the Joe's overalls self portrait series?)

Well all that really warm, is the gold leaf made soft and warm, as opposed to brassy gold, by the rubbed on burnt umber glazing. The pics are a bit dark, so it's a little brighter in person. And the relic look comes not from the usual, artificial banging and abusing of a surface that is usually used to get a relic type surface. The gold leaf is an extremely thin, leaf, and you tear it into pieces and lay in onto the sized surface. It never lays down perfectly and leaves lines and gaps between the pieces, as well as it wrinkles and creases which tend to tear away as you burnish it down. So that leaves the underlying coat of red paint showing thru in all the gaps. Which when you go with the umber glazing turns kind of a red/brown color. The red underlay coat is traditional with gold leafing and helps to warm up the gold surface......... So yeah, not really relic'd just gold-leafed........

And yeah, a spin off from my artwork.........

Joe is this the one you had up at Stringfest a few years back? I remember one with a sandblasted top. I liked it then but man, it’s even better now.

Leave it to you to create a guitar that looks older than we all do!

John

Hahaha, older looking than you for sure! But I don't know if it's looking older than me, lol!

And yeah, this is the one that you remember. I've always loved the sound and playability of this one, but have never been totally satisfied with the finish. And I've liked the very tactile surface that the sand-blasted surface gives me, but yeah, this finish is satisfying me esthetically as well. Hell it just might be a keeper, lol!

Thanks for the kind words John!

Looks good!

It would be nice if the the guitar public started appreciating unique instruments like this rather than rejecting anything that didn't look like it was dipped in glass.

Thank you sir!
And yeah, I agree, but people are people and most people just equate a thick shiny finish as a sign of quality and perfection. It's not my style! So hey, I build to please myself and at least then I'm happy!

Well, Blow me down, Joe! I can confidently say I've NEVER seen anything like that!!

I gotta ask about the 6-string bridge, however - did you cut TWO string slots in each bridge pin? I love the idea - changing strings with 12 bridge pins, is a freaking nightmare!