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bkhooper
Apr-26-2011, 2:17pm
This one's for me...Red Maple, Red Spruce, Waverlies, James Tailpiece.

thks,ken

Bill James
Apr-26-2011, 2:42pm
I'd keep that one also, very nice Ken!

pickloser
Apr-26-2011, 2:48pm
Wow, that's beauty. You deserve to keep it.
Why aren't you in the builders database?

bkhooper
Apr-26-2011, 3:03pm
pickloser,
I enjoy lurking on the cafe a great deal but haven't pursued the mando builders database because I spend most of my time building guitars with an occasional mandolin thrown in just to remind me why I enjoy building guitars........ : )
ken

dcoventry
Apr-26-2011, 4:24pm
That. Is. Gorgeous. Most excellent my friend. Since most folks around here are mondo'ish freaks, there are some burning questions. I'll go first:

How long does it take you to build something like that? It truly is stunning and I'm fascinated by how much work and personal energy does into making something so beautiful. Inquiring minds want to know!!

Dave

Steve Sorensen
Apr-26-2011, 8:11pm
Extremely impressed by every aspect of this instrument. Your attention to detail is magnificent. How does it sound?
Steve

bkhooper
Apr-26-2011, 8:56pm
Gentleman,
Build time is probably around 2 months. I have a day job so I dont get to spend as much time in the shop as I would like. I bent the sides and locked them up in the form about a year ago and them laid them aside to do other things. The top was one that I had gotten from Old Standard a few years ago. I got tired of moving the sides around on my bench over Christmas and decided to go ahead and finish it up. Soundwise, Im very pleased. The opening up process has been dramatic as it seems like it changes a little every time I play it. I always strive to get that nice rumbling woody tone on the lows and mids while keeping the clarity on the highs with plenty of volume across the board. I had a few little personal things I wanted to try with this one also. Ive always played with a flat board but wanted to try a little bit of a radius so I went with a 16" radius on the board. That isnt much but if feels really comfortable to me. I also went with a fairly narrow 1 5/64 nut width with a pretty significant V profile that Im really enjoying. Thanks for looking and thanks for the positive comments. Ive been blessed so far in that my instruments usually walk out the door shortly after I finish them so its a real blast to keep one around once in a while. If I ever run into any of you guys, Just say the word and I will be glad for you to take her for a spin.
ken

Ed Goist
Apr-27-2011, 4:54pm
Beautiful work Ken. Just fantastic.
For those interested, here is a thread from another fine forum (http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.yuku.com/topic/85009) about Ken's guitars...Wait until you see some of the pictures of these guitars! :disbelief:

And from the same thread, here are a couple of Ken's guitars at work:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGZYP1A1a4s&


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEoU7wVRG2M&