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Handmade Classical Guitars by Zebulon Turrentine

Custom Handmade Classical Guitars

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Guitar No. 30

Date Completed: 
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Quilted Figure with the Spalted Maple really popped out after French Polishing
The tuners were custom made by Jorg Graf in Canada
650mm Scale Length
This is the best out of the batch of beautifully quartered Lutz Spruce Tops that I ordered a few years ago
It became quickly clear that the guitar wouldn't be complete without a maple fretboard binding
The heal cap has a book-matched, ambrosia maple inlay
Like the back, the headstock is four pieces
Like the back, the headstock is four pieces
Purfling under the heal cap rests in line with side purfling as ususal
The Ziricote Bridge was the perfect median weight for the sound I had in mind
There is a slight elevation in the neck angle in addition to a sloping down of the top that given better access to the upper frets
These gold evo frets are .057" high, easing playability and decreasing fretboard ware
I made a custom mold specifically for gluing the binding to the top of the fretboard
This Tropical Walnut Neck is very similar to Spanish cedar in density and workability
The matching purfling lines of the sides and heal
I have always used tiger maple binding - an influence from working at Gallagher Guitar Co
This display case protect the guitar during an art show where I displayed in a local brewery
The formation of the back and side set was achieved with a double book matching. So it's technically a four piece back

This guitar was a project spanning about 3 years. It started when a young man that worked at a local hardwood supplier gave me an enthusiastic invitation to see a board of maple. This particular guy sees enough wood in his job to be completely sick of it, so the fact that there was one piece of wood out of the thousands in that warehouse that made him blush peaked my curiosity. This spalted maple board inspired me to create a guitar completely unencumbered by the status quo or a production goal. It is the culmination of my creative and technical skills to date and on top of that, it is an immense joy to play. 

Specifications:

  • Lutz Spruce Soundboard.
  • Red Maple Back and Sides
  • Custom Tuners by Jorg Graf
  • Tropical Walnut Neck
  • Ziricote Bridge
  • Ebony Fingerboard (Maple Binding)
  • Scale Length - 650mm
  • String Spacing
    • Nut - 42mm
    • Saddle - 60mm
  • Current action at 12th fret
    • 1st String - 2.3mm
    • 6th String - 2.75mm

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