On this new Luthier Chronicle, I asked Nik Huber about varnish, finish and paint.
Subjects discussed
Nitro-cellulose versus 2 component finish
His take on the thickness of the finish
Is-it possible to hear the difference between a nitro and a 2 component finish on a solid body?
The development of new colours
His source of inspiration for new ideas
The story of the new metallic finish presented at the 2015 NAMM show
The aging of the finish oh his first guitars
An example of a Krautster II in Gold Top finish
Until the next chronicle, keep on playing your guitar and check-out your
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Chronicle #13 Spartan Project with Springer Guitars – Paint & finish
Wednesday, 05 August 2015
Here's the 13th episode of the Spartan Project video series. You will see how the luthier Mikaël Springer will do his TV white color on the guitar paint. It's quite fascinating to see how it is done.
#13 Spartan Project with @SpringerGuitars: Guitar paint & finish
A few pics from the video
Previous episodes of the Spartan Project
The goal of the Spartan Project is to document the building of a guitar for me by luthier Mikaël Springer.
Let's face it, I don't know much about acoustic guitars. I am definitely more an electric guy. When I prepared my trip to Montréal to cover the Jazz festival, I asked my luthier friends about who I should try to meet while in Québec, the name of Michael Greenfield kept popping up so I contacted him and he accepted right away to have me visit him in his Montréal workshop.
He gave me a full tour of his workshop then we sat down for 40min in-depth video interview.
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Here's the 12th episode of the Spartan Project video series. Mikaël works now on the neck/body ensemble. He finalizes the neck profile, does all the routing for the pickup and electronics and prepares the guitar for the final finish steps.
A few pics from the video
Previous episodes of the Spartan Project
As a reminder, the goal of the Spartan Project is to document the building of a guitar for me by luthier Mikaël Springer.
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After a series of 9 videos with Juha Ruokangas in the Luthier Chronicle, I am proposing you a new series with another master builder to share his knowledge of the lutherie world with Nik Huber.
On this first installment I asked Nik about his favorite woods to build instrument.
Until the next chronicle, keep on playing your guitar and check-out your local luthier.
Pierre.
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Here's a Gabor Goldschmidt interview during the 2015 Musikmesse. Gabor is the luthier at Fibenare Guitars. His guitars are played by musician like Tom Quayle who was also present at their booth to demo their instrument.
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In this new chronicle I asked Juha Ruokangas about the CNC machine : is he for a against it?
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Here's the 11th episode of the Spartan Project video series. Watch Mikaël working on the neck of my next guitar. Check out how he works with a knife on the volute of the headstock and the heel: pretty amazing craftmanship.
Previous episodes of the Spartan Project
As a reminder, the goal of the Spartan Project is to document the building of a guitar for me by luthier Mikaël Springer.
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Here's the 10th episode of the Spartan Project video series. Watch Mikaël working on the neck of my next guitar.
Playlist of the episodes of the Spartan Project
As a reminder, the goal of the Spartan Project is to document the building of a guitar for me by luthier Mikaël Springer.
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In this new chronicle I asked Juha Ruokangas about a hotly debated subject regarding set neck guitars: the size of the tenon, should it be long or short.
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Interview with Doug from Kauer Guitars at the 2015 Winter NAMM
Wednesday, 03 June 2015
Interview done of the luthier Doug Kauer from Kauer Guitars during the 2015 winter NAMM show.
Doug Kauer's guitars
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In this new chronicle I asked Juha Ruokangas how he tunes the pickups he uses on his guitars.
Enjoy,
Pierre.
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Here's the 9th episode of the Spartan Project video series. Watch Mikaël gluing the fretboard and starting the work on the frets.
Playlist of the episodes of the Spartan Project
As a reminder, the goal of the Spartan Project is to document the building of a guitar for me by luthier Mikaël Springer.
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Interview of the luthier Claudio Pagelli during the 2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show
Thursday, 21 May 2015
Interview of the Swiss luthier Claudio Pagelli during the 2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show.
The luthier website: www.pagelli.com
Enjoy,
Pierre.
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Video recorded on May 17th 2015 at Guitars Addicts in Paris, France when Nik Huber delivered the Blue Whale #6 to the owner, Didier. Etienne Prieuret, pro guitar player, improvised this demo on this superb guitar on the Rhythm channel of an Imperial amp from Tone King (above) and on the Leach channel (below).
Gear used
Guitar: Blue Whale #6
Luthier: Nik Huber
Amp: Tone King Imperial
Video and sound: Lumix GH2
The Blue Whale guitar is a 25 limited edition run. It is based on the Dolphin model from the Nik Huber catalog.
In this 8th video of the Spartan Project the luthier, Mikaël Springer, continues the work on the neck of the guitar.
Previous episodes of the Spartan Project
As a reminder, the goal of the Spartan Project is to document the building of a guitar for me by luthier Mikaël Springer.
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Interview with luthier Dennis Fano from Fano Guitars at the 2015 Winter NAMM
Monday, 11 May 2015
Interview with luthier Dennis Fano from the Premier Builders Guild during the 2015 Winter NAMM show.
Subjects discussed in the interview
His best and worse memories of the past NAMM show editions
His favorite NAMM show survival tips
His first guitar
How he became a guitar builder
On which style of music the Fano guitars are usually used
Is there competition among the different Premier Builders Guild?
Why guitar players should consider more the boutique brands than the big name?
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O3 Guitars – Interview with the luthier Alejandro Ramirez at Guitares au Beffroi 2015
Thursday, 07 May 2015
Here's an Alejandro Ramirez interview. José is a luthier for O3 Guitars I met during the Salon de la Belle Guitare in Montrouge near Paris in March 2015 during the Guitars au Beffroi festival.
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Here's a José Ramos interview. José is a luthier I met during the Salon de la Belle Guitare in Montrouge near Paris in March 2015 during the Guitars au Beffroi festival.
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During the 2015 winter NAMM show I had the pleasure to meet and interview the legendary Saul Koll who was then producing his instruments within the Premier Builders Guild.
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Here's a Dan Macpherson interview. Dan is a luthier I met during the Salon de la Belle Guitare in Montrouge near Paris in March 2015 during the Guitars au Beffroi festival.
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In this 7th video of the Spartan Project the luthier, Mikaël Springer, continues the work on the neck of the guitar.
Previous episodes of the Spartan Project
As a reminder, the goal of the Spartan Project is to document the building of a guitar for me by luthier Mikaël Springer.
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In the Luthier Chronicle #4, the Finish luthier Juha Ruokangas explained how and why he uses thermo treated wood in his instrument.
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Interview of the Italian luthier Giulio Negrini during the 2014 Holy Grail Guitar Show.
The luthier website: www.negriniguitars.com
Enjoy,
Pierre.
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In this 6th video of the Spartan Project the luthier, Mikaël Springer, continues the work on the neck of the guitar.
Previous episodes of the Spartan Project
As a reminder, the goal of the Spartan Project is to document the building of a guitar for me by luthier Mikaël Springer.
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Interview with Michael Spalt, president of the EGB (European Guitar Builders) association
Monday, 20 April 2015
The European Guitar Builders is a professional association for european luthier.
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Michael Spalt luthier interview at Guitares au Beffroi 2015, in France
Monday, 13 April 2015
Here's a double Michael Spalt interview I did during the Salon de la Belle Guitare of the festival Guitares au Beffroi (www.guitaresaubeffroi.com) which took place in Montrouge near Paris in March 2015. Austrian luthier Michael Spalt was there as an exhibitor and as the president of the European Guitar Builders (EGB). One of the main activity of the EGB is the organization of the Holy Grail Guitar Show where I went for the first edition in Berlin last year.
So we did two interviews instead of one! The one above is the one about his life as a luthier.
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In this 5th video of the Spartan Project the luthier, Mikaël Springer, starts the work on the neck of the guitar. Many people consider that you are truly an electric guitar luthier when you build the necks of your instruments yourself.
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In this video I asked master builder Juha Ruokangas questions about the different ways to finish a guitars and their impacts on the sound.
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In this 4th video of the Spartan Project the luthier, Mikaël Springer, continues the work on the Spanish Cedar body.
Published videos of the Spartan Project
Stay tuned for the next update on the Spartan Project!
Pierre.
PS: for more info on this project you can read the full article here about its launch.
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