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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.)
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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.
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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.
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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.)
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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.
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And now a brief commercial message directed by Gurinder Chadha of Bend It Like Beckham and Bride & PrejudicePosts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Those guitars are absolutely gorgeous! If they sound one half as good as they look, he will have no shortage of customers. Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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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. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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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.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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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.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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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.
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.
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I forgot to add that those are very nice guitars. The electric is better looking than my Squier Stratocaster.
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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.
Posts: 4753 | Registered: May 2002
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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.
Posts: 4753 | Registered: May 2002
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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.
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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.
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I've always been a fan of the Chet Atkins. I like guitars with lots of hardware and cool looks.
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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. Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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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.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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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?
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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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