Replica of Di Mauro

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Craig Bumgarner
Messages : 15
Inscription : ven. 02 mars 2012, 19:26

Replica of Di Mauro

Message par Craig Bumgarner »

Though I'm American, I too am a big fan of old French guitars. Thought you might be interested in my replica of J. Di Mauro's Heart Hole guitar.

https://craigbumgarner.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Lowaction73
Messages : 579
Inscription : ven. 11 nov. 2011, 00:39

Re: Replica of Di Mauro

Message par Lowaction73 »

Hi Craig,

Your Selmer / Di Mauro style guitars are very nice instruments, and they do have "the" sound.

As far as I can see, you seem to be very picky about the quality of the spruce you use : all tops look like they are very high grade pieces of wood. Do you take north american or european spruce ?
Actually, I do build Selmer style guitars as well and my favourite top wood for this kind of guitar is Red Cedar : it gives a "fat" sweet sound and the color gives a natural "vintage" look, especially when a new guitar has a vintage/worn finish.
There is no bad surprises with a Red Cedar top. I am lucky enough to be able to find some in France (very close to my home), of the finest quality : brown chocolate Red Cedar, all AAA tops perfectly quartersawn ... and cheaper than the ones one can get through the american / canadian suppliers !
Of course, both Sitka and European spruce do work very well !

Once again, very nice work.

pierre
Craig Bumgarner
Messages : 15
Inscription : ven. 02 mars 2012, 19:26

Re: Replica of Di Mauro

Message par Craig Bumgarner »

Merci Pierre,

I too like Western Red Cedar very much for these guitars and used it exclusively for about two years. I will go back at some point, but am now enjoying exploring of spruce again. I've built with Sitka, Englemann and Romanian spruce, but by far my favorite is Lutz spruce. You may have heard of it, a hybrid from the high coastal mountains of British Columbia. Very light and a good stiffness to weight ratio allows for a brighter sound than most spruce and a very high volume. I put a Romanian top on this DiMauro replica, but was not pleased with it at all. In hindsight, it was too dense. I replaced it with a Lutz top, much better, more clarity, brighter, louder but not at all harsh. Lutz is a bit difficult to work, the hard grain is stringy when machine cut. The grain tears out easily so one has to be very careful with adhesive tape and scraping. The soft grain is very soft and can be dug out if not careful, but in the end it is tougher than cedar when allows for a thinner finish than with cedar.

Congratulations on finding a good source for cedar in France, especially a chocolate brown. Most cedar I have found for sale is pink, the dark brown is much nicer looking on these guitars.

I would enjoy seeing your work, can you point me to pictures or your website?

Please forgive my use of English. My wife and I have visited France and I speak a little French, enough to buy coffee or wine, but writing it, especially about guitars would be painful for both you and me.
Lowaction73
Messages : 579
Inscription : ven. 11 nov. 2011, 00:39

Re: Replica of Di Mauro

Message par Lowaction73 »

I have great pleasure (to try) to speak English : I do not have many occasions to do so ... and it is a good way to practice !

I have not used Lutz spruce yet, but this wood seems to be "a must" for many guitar builders. Good to know that it does work well on a Selmer style guitar ! I will try it as soon as I would be able to.
Many years ago, I exclusively used Sitka for these guitars because I loved (and still do) the look ... the "pinkish salmon" color of it which fits well with the color of a reddish rosewood : I used to prefer solid back and sides to make these guitars (indian rosewood, walnut), thinking that it would be better than using laminated back and sides as Selmer did : actually, the "true sound of it" really depends on laminated body. So, as I began using different types of laminated wood, I began using different woods for tops to match with.
Now, for the very few I build (I am not a professional builder), I use laminated for every guitar :
- red cedar or spruce top with laminated mahogany body,
- red cedar or european spruce with laminated walnut body,
- european spruce with laminated maple body.

The real thing is actually laminated, even if a few are made with solid back and sides ! As I tried both, I now think there is no benefit to use solid woods for the body in order to get that special sound. I would say that the combination of woods for the body and the choice for the neck are far more important : here lies the secret of that sound.

My favourite wood for neck is Spanish Cedar or walnut (both european and american): very light in weight and very stable. Once the guitar is completed, and whatever the body is made of, the sound is there : I did last summer a replica (not an exact replica) of a Busato guitar with a mahogany / red cedar body, a spanish cedar neck with a low grade indian rosewood fingerboard and a brazilian rosewood bridge. Tuning machines are Stewart's Golden Age restoration tuners.
As I love the look of old Selmer style guitar, I did a vintage finish on it, so it does look like a 70 years old guitar. The strings are 10-47. This guitar is extremely light in weight and it sounds ... huge ! Sweet and warm, and a lot of volume.
I do think that there is a deep effect due to the red cedar top and the light weight spanish cedar neck. What is more, I also think that an indian rosewood fingerboard is acoustically superior to an ebony one ... even if the commun belief claims not !
Ebony is heavy and what this guitar needs is ... light weight.

Here are somme pics of it : so, this guitar is brand new but it is made to look old !
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=13435

Another one that I made 2 years ago :
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=13392

And a Selmer + a Macca, that I try to build when I have the time !
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=13464

In this link, there is some pictures of a full maple body / mastergrade european spruce / ebony that I made 5 years ago or so.

Of course, there is no "one and only one way" to build them, every combination of woods does the job when the construction is well done and the set up is picky ! I have been lucky enough to see several real Selmer, all 14cases / oval hole, some in mahogany, some in Brazilian rosewood and even one in solid bird's eye ! They were all beauties and fine sounding instruments.


Where did you travel in France ?
Craig Bumgarner
Messages : 15
Inscription : ven. 02 mars 2012, 19:26

Re: Replica of Di Mauro

Message par Craig Bumgarner »

Very nice work Pierre. Love the aged finish, very tasteful, not overdone like some.

Lutz is very light which is why, I think, it works for manouche guitars. I too have used Sitka and like it, very tough and snappy, but not a light as Lutz. One problem with Lutz is it is very white in color which for these guitars is not so good. Sitka and cedar are nicer in color. But Lutz has the sound and the volume, so a little tint in the finish and it is okay.
Craig Bumgarner
Messages : 15
Inscription : ven. 02 mars 2012, 19:26

Re: Replica of Di Mauro

Message par Craig Bumgarner »

Oh, and +1 for rosewood for fingerboards and bridges.
Lowaction73
Messages : 579
Inscription : ven. 11 nov. 2011, 00:39

Re: Replica of Di Mauro

Message par Lowaction73 »

Craig Bumgarner a écrit :Oh, and +1 for rosewood for fingerboards and bridges.
Oh yes ... a rosewood fingerboard works really, really great on manouche guitars ! It is what I use now and then.
For bridges, I am fortunate enough to have some very very old pieces of Rio : I keep them for replicas of the original : laminated body, european walnut neck, european spruce top, ebony headstock veneer / fingerboard ... and Brazilian bridge.
I build one right now ... I hope it will be done this summer !
Lowaction73
Messages : 579
Inscription : ven. 11 nov. 2011, 00:39

Re: Replica of Di Mauro

Message par Lowaction73 »

Hi Craig,

Congratulations for the new Zazou guitar : very nice, it really does have the "feel".
Once again, you did choose the best you could do for the top ... Lutz spruce seems to be a really, REALLY great option !
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