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.

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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Juha Ruokangas – Short or long tenon

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.

Interview done of the luthier Doug Kauer from Kauer Guitars during the 2015 winter NAMM show.

Doug Kauer's guitars

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Juha Ruokangas – His take on the pickups

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.

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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Demo of a Nik Huber Blue Whale guitar by Etienne Prieuret

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.

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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Alejandro Ramirez interview luthier from O3 Guitars

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.

José Ramos interview luthier at Guitares au Beffroi 2015

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.

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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Dan Macpherson interview luthier at Guitares au Beffroi 2015

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.

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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Juha Ruokangas – Aging of Thermo Wood guitars

In the Luthier Chronicle #4, the Finish luthier Juha Ruokangas explained how and why he uses thermo treated wood in his instrument.

Interview luthier Giulio Negrini (@Neggiu) at the @HolyGrailGuitar show

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.

The European Guitar Builders is a professional association for european luthier.

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.

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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Juha Ruokangas – Varnish, Nitro-cellulose, etc.

In this video I asked master builder Juha Ruokangas questions about the different ways to finish a guitars and their impacts on the sound.

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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Nik Huber interview during the 2015 Winter NAMM

In 2014 I did a first interview with Nik Huber from Huber Guitars at the Musikmesse, as he is also an exhibitor at the winter NAMM show we recorded the video interview you can see below.

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Juha Ruokangas – Thermo Treated Wood

Juha Ruokangas is one of the pioneer of using thermo treated wood in instrument building. In this video of the Luthier Chronicle you will learn the whole story of this technique and how Juha uses it in his work. It's a fascinating subject.

In this 3rd 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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Juha Ruokangas – His favorite lutherie woods

In this third video (see extract above) of the Luthier Chronicle with master builder Juha Ruokangas, I asked him what were his favorite woods to build instrument with.

Related pics
Juha selecting a top

Some birch wood
List of chronicles with Juha

Update on the Captain Nemo guitar
Being a luthier in Finland
His favorite woods (this chronicle)
Thermo treated wood
Varnish, nitro-cellulose, etc.
Aging of thermo treated wood guitars
Pickups
Short or long tenon?
For or against CNC machine?

Enjoy,

Pierre.

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In this 2nd series of videos of the Spartan Project done with Mikaël Springer, the luthier continues with the work on the body.

Gene Baker is a very famous guitar builder with a huge experience in the field. He now leads B3 Guitars his own brand within the Premier Builders Guild. He has a very rich career in the guitar building business. He worked for many guitar greats such as Robben Ford.

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This video is part of a series of videos documenting the Spartan Project done in collaboration with luthier Mikaël Springer.