My first commission (Kelley's Guitar)

[Joe Sustaire]

Sure looks nice Raymond,

And now you're working on your second commission? Way to go!

That's a nice looking body shape, I haven't done a cutaway yet.

And I love Brian's suggestion, to get them to review it on Harmony Central. I know I always go there to check out stuff (brands) I don't know about.

Joe

[Hesh]

Very nice guitar Raymond my friend! You should be very proud!

[Raymond]

Nice job! was it hard to kick out of the nest? I know my first commission was very hard. I got through it with some words from Dennis and Eben, but still miss it. I get updates from time to time, so that makes me feel good.

Be sure to get them to do a public review on Harmony Central. I am one of the mods on the review pages there now and they are planning some big things.

~B

Thanks Brian.

It was hard for me to stop tweaking it, so in the end I had to realize that she wouldn't care about most of the things that were buggin me. Luckily my favorite is still the one before this one.

Great advice on the review. I meant to tell them today, but forgot.

Raymond

[Raymond]

Randy, Eben, Waddy, Joe, & Hesh,

Thanks for the warm praise. It does keep me going especially coming from people I respect and admire as much as all of you.

Raymond

[Raymond]

Raymond,

That is really a beautiful guitar, but the first thing that strikes me is it looks as though playability was the key design factor. I'm not sure why that seems to be the case - something about the body shape, and particularly the cutaway... the neck looks really well proportioned... the headstock with the nearly straight through the nut string paths... all of it, the overall look is a player's axe.

Congratulations on completing your first commission, and I'm not surprised Kelly loves it!

Dennis

Dennis,

As always you touch me with your praise. And you have a great eye for detail. Most if not all of the things you point out were choices I made with the player in mind.

I joke that I started building because I'm not a very good player, but in reality I started building after I came to realize that a well made guitar is easier to play than a cheap guitar. I started looking at why that was and came to realize the body shape, the shape of the neck and the action have a tremendous impact on how comfortable it feels and how easy it is get around on the fretboard. Most manufacturers cater to flatpickers since that's the biggest market share. I like a lower action and slightly wider nut and bridge pin set-up, and that is exactly what Kelley wanted as well.

The funny thing about the cutaway is that I don't play up that high, but my first was kinda heavy and I thought a cutaway would make the guitar lighter and therefore easier to hold. Kelley does play up there so I hope it works for her. And yes, the headstock shape was to allow more straight through string path to ease tuning with less chance of binding, but only because I didn't have confidence that I could get the slot widths right... I like the look though so now it's part of the trademark look.

Raymond

[westex93]

She's a looker, Raymond! Nice flow on the cutaway. What's the nut and saddle material?

[Raymond]

Thanks Wes and welcome to the Forum.

The nut and saddle are buffalo horn. Its a little on the soft side for a steel string, but she uses light strings and doesn't use different tunings, so it should last awhile.

Raymond

[stevens]

Hey Guys,

This past weekend I got the opportunity to play Kelly's Guitar in person.

Gave me a new appreciation for cedar.

The action is very nice for me too.

Nice job on the neck.

Bound fingerboard too.

Hand rubbed finish feels very soft and friendly to the touch.

Nice job Ray.

Steve