Cincinnatus Parlor lives again!
I thought I would post a few pics of the parlor guitar I bought in pieces and restored. The pics are not reversed; I set it up lefty for a friend who bought it.
This is partly by way of saying "thank you" for the excellent advice I received here on re-building it and and repairing the shellac finish. I also want to report on my decision to keep the neutral-tension bridge. This is different from both a pin-bridge and a violin/archtop style bridge. Since it neither pulls up nor pushes down on the top, bracing is minimal: lateral braces above and below the soundhole and one at the widest point of the lower bout.
The result is a voice which is distinctive and, to my ear, very pleasant. It has neither the power of an X-braced guitar nor the bark of an archtop. I hear it as a dry, reedy sound with a very long sustain. The friend who now owns it agrees that it does not sound as full as, for instance, my Larrivee parlor guitar; instead, she says, "It sounds like it's mic-ed." Perhaps because it is feather-light and vibrates all over, it has a way of filling a room without being loud. We have it strung with silk and steel.
Thanks again to all on this forum, and, of course, to Frank Ford for Frets.com.
This is partly by way of saying "thank you" for the excellent advice I received here on re-building it and and repairing the shellac finish. I also want to report on my decision to keep the neutral-tension bridge. This is different from both a pin-bridge and a violin/archtop style bridge. Since it neither pulls up nor pushes down on the top, bracing is minimal: lateral braces above and below the soundhole and one at the widest point of the lower bout.
The result is a voice which is distinctive and, to my ear, very pleasant. It has neither the power of an X-braced guitar nor the bark of an archtop. I hear it as a dry, reedy sound with a very long sustain. The friend who now owns it agrees that it does not sound as full as, for instance, my Larrivee parlor guitar; instead, she says, "It sounds like it's mic-ed." Perhaps because it is feather-light and vibrates all over, it has a way of filling a room without being loud. We have it strung with silk and steel.
Thanks again to all on this forum, and, of course, to Frank Ford for Frets.com.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tom Krebs on
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Wow, I really like the look of that one! That tailpiece is very elegant. What is happening with the string-through bridge? How big is the sound hole? A real beauty. Thanks. Tom
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Permalink Reply by Rick Homan on
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All I know about the bridge is what I wrote above. Good question about the sound hole! I'll post a whole set of measurements after I get it back for tweaking.
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Permalink Reply by Donald A. Fortune on
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Nice looking work Rick sounds like the owner has a player-- :-)
Donald
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Permalink Reply by mathieu thomas-guy on
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Looks like quatersawn oak, cool...!
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What do the strings 'break' on at the bridge? Simply the wood. Or is there a metal, bone, etc, insert in front the bridge? Thanks.
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There is a brass saddle on the front side of the bridge. It is mounted in the bridge like a fret is into the fingerboard. I'll get a photo of that side of the bridge when it comes back.
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