My cousin just finished his training in making them. Here are three guitarsMarkmade.
It's so funny how much my uncle's kids completely take after my dad.
(Oh, btw, this is the cousin whose wedding I'm going to in March. He's a couple of years younger than me, the youngest of three. Three siblings, not cousins-- I have a lot more cousins than that.)
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
They're all nice, but that third one especially is incredible looking. I wish I could play it - I bet it sounds fantastic.
The fret inlays are also very, very cool.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Sweet looking guitars. I'm in the middle learning how to play myself. Not very good yet.
How much is your cousin selling his guitars for?
I've always wondered where to get specialty guitars at. The one I have is so plain.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Maybe he'll still be making them in a decade when I can afford one.
Unless you could get me the family discount. Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Ha, ha! I don't think he can afford to be giving people discounts when he's about to get married and start a family!
But I'm sure in ten years he'll be thrilled to have your business. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Have him put me down for an order in 2016.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Will do. He'll be thrilled. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The third guitar that you have linked, is that a base acoustic guitar? I've never seen one, I imagine the shape change has to change the sound from what a normal guitar sounds like.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
The third guitar is a standard six string acoustic. It has a cutaway style body, which can look odd if you're not used to seeing it on an acoustic.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Mark loves cutaways. And apparently it's harder to do on an acoustic and make it sound right, which is why this is one of his showpieces (these are all linked from the website with the final showpieces of all the members of his class.)
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
(I hope we don't crash their server. )
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
I like 'em, too - purely because it makes easier to play up on the little teeny frets. Not to mention I think they look sexier - and the one your cousin made, well, that one's just all kinds of pretty. What kind of wood did he use for the sides?
And I'd imagine that it's hard to do cutaways on an acoustic. I've never taken physics, but altering the shape and size of the resonance chamber is bound to have a dramatic effect on the sound.
Tell your cousin his guitars are absolutely beautiful.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
And now a brief commercial message directed by Gurinder Chadha of Bend It Like Beckham and Bride & Prejudice Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Those guitars are absolutely gorgeous! If they sound one half as good as they look, he will have no shortage of customers. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I love that second one. I've been wanting a blue electric for a long time -- as a teenager, I fantasized about having a blue Ibanez seven-string. Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
Yeah, the blue Les Paul copy is a beaut, as is the cutaway acoustic. Amazing work!
I own a Gibson Les Paul, Fender Strat, and a Fender P-Bass. Got all the classics covered. I used to have a cheap classical acoustic as well, but my brother took it to college with him.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
I also like the second and third one.
All of my acoustics are cutaways, cause I need access to the 14-19th frets. Not all that often, but enough that it's seriously annoying if I can't get to them.
I just did some electrical work for a company that makes carbon fiber guitars here in Lafayette. They're impervious to temperature and humidity, and nearly indestructible. Really, the story is that one of the artists who reps them got his run over by a car (while in a hard case) and it came out fine. The company is Composite Acoustics. Oh, yeah, I forgot the best thing about them: It's the best sounding acoustic I've ever played. I'll match it up against a Martin, Taylor, or anything else for under 6 grand.
Posted by Crotalus (Member # 7339) on :
kq,
Tell your cousin to check out this site. It's a blog by a friend of mine named Cullen. Every Friday Cullen has an entry entitled 'cause i'm all about the guitar'. He goes into guitar history, guitar heroes, and construction. Last Friday was an excellent post about finishes.
And such a far cry away from the Yamaha 6-string, and the Gianini classical I had in my youth.
*grin*
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: The third guitar that you have linked, is that a base acoustic guitar? I've never seen one, I imagine the shape change has to change the sound from what a normal guitar sounds like.
Note the number of strings and the length of the neck relative to the body. The body is also a lot bigger so that it can resonate that lower sound. Unfortnately, it doesn't do nearly as good a job as, say, an upright Bass.
I'm not a huge fan of Acoustic basses, just because I find their sound to be pretty much stripped of all that I like in playing the bass, but they're absolutely essential if you want to sound like the Violent Femmes.
[ February 03, 2006, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: Primal Curve ]
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
What lovely guitars...
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
The school he went to is in Arizona. I considered go to Roberto Venn, but couldn't afford it. Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
I forgot to add that those are very nice guitars. The electric is better looking than my Squier Stratocaster.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I'm not such a huge fan of the electric. While I'm sure it's an amazingly crafted guitar and it's sound and feel are beyond reproach, I'm just kind of "eh" about it's looks. I guess it just looks too much like a cheap Les Paul knock-off for me to dig it that much. It's also kind of plain (which may appeal to some). I like my guitars to have a lot of detail and inlay.
I'd probably change my mind if I played it, though.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I'm not huge on the Les Paul shape -- it's the colour that I'm taken by. Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I like this one (from the same class). The headstock is ugly, but I really like the body. It's just got this semi-gothic look to it that's really cool.
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
That headstock is ugly. I like the body, though.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
The man from mars is through with cars and through with bars and now he only eats guitars.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
What I want is this, only blue instead of red. And with deeper curves. This one is close... but by "deeper" I mean "further up the neck." I want those high frets as easy to reach as possible. And I'd like two full octaves, as long as I'm dreaming... This one's close too.. Hawt.
This one is nice too.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
The first one you linked to is dead sexy. The others are just kind of okay.
I feel bad considering the fact that I have never crafted a guitar, but I still have some criticisms.
The second you linked to is pretty darn ugly. I just don't understand the really light headstock with the rosewood fretboard and dark brown body. The finish on the body looks nice and the grain has a nice, dark velvety look to it, but the pickups look kind of odd (too modern looking) and the body shape is just kind of like "look, I can cut wood!"
The third is just plain hideous. It may play really well, but it it so freaking ugly, I can barely stand it. The finish is nasty, the cutouts look rediculous and the headstock is such an obvious Jackson ripoff that I'm not even remotely impressed.
The fourth has cool color, and I always like piping on the body, but the shape of the body is kind of awkward. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but it smacks of "cheap" to me. The grain is also kind of odd. I don't know if the luthier just picked a bad grain of wood, but it just looks weird and not very attractive. The headstock is a sleeper too.
The fifth is okay. There's something odd about the body shape. I think it's the bottom curve. It doesn't look like it was shaped quite enough. I like the headstock.
The sixth makes me nauseous. While I'm sure it took a long time to craft, it's just not attractive.
The seventh looks like a combination of a lack of originality and a lack of design skill. It makes me think of a lot of the papers I wrote in high school. I'd just take a whole bunch of ideas and slap them together at the last minute and kind of hope it all works out.
The last is alright. It's pretty solid and there's nothing wrong with it. I'm just not too excited.
So, that's negative me and my reviews of student guitars of people who probably have much more skill than I. After looking at those, though, kq's cousin looks like a freaking genius, and I really liked his acoustics to begin with.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I want to make my own guitar someday that plays like a dream but is butt ugly. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I also really like this, this, this, this... well, you get the idea.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I've always been a fan of the Chet Atkins. I like guitars with lots of hardware and cool looks.
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
The Ibanez look is too pointy for me (as are the various gothic ones). I want a guitar I can jump around in, that I can rock out with without having to worry about stabbing myself in the face, one that looks well-played rather than like an art piece. Hence my love for that blue Les Paul in the original post- it's classy, and the color is beautiful, but it also looks like it can take some punishment. It's got just as much adornment as I need on my guitar... hell, scuff it up a bit, add some choice stickers for that personal touch, and I'll like it even more. Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Too. Much. Hotness.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Very impressive, KQ! What a skill your cousin has.
One of the musicians I know was telling us the story of his guitar, which was vry Willie Nelsonesque.
It had been broken and repaired many times, but still sounded great, even though it looked like heck. It had even floated out to sea! That was my favorite story. They were swimming, the tide came in, and he looked out and saw his guitar bobbing in the waves.
KQ, I would really like to know prices. if you want to email me.
A birthday is coming up in August.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Elizabeth, I have no clue on prices; I can e-mail Mark if you want. Is it okay if I give him your e-mail, or would you prefer I ask permission to give you his?
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Nope, giving him my email would be fine.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Okay, will do. Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
And, done. Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
I like the first and especially the last. The middle looks like an ibanez copy, not very special.
Its nice to see someone is interested in some classy, non-grotuesque fret inlays like in the third one. I would love a Taylor-esque jumbo cutout like that with my last name in the frets, all lower case and classy like that one. Very nice.
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