No. 033 Shadow Line

Hello again. Welcome back to Pappenfüs Guitars. It's been too long. I apologize. But today I would like to introduce you to guitar number 33.

In a world where adornment and shiny inlays purposely blur the lines between art and function, I chose to explore a different path. It began with me asking the simple question, can you find beauty in the void? And I think the answer is yes. Cabinetry has always been intriguing to me. And on one side you have the Scandinavian which is a very clean, simple aesthetic. normally just plywood with a clear coat over the top. On the other side, you have more ornately carved panels like in the Orient or Victorian style. I prefer somewhere in between in the Craftsman style where you're just using a fine line to be able to create detail intrigue in the cabinetry. A simple technique of adding a small recess line to break the plane of the surface as well as accentuate the edge. The way light interacts with this line was the goal of this build as well as the eventual name shadow line. This detail offers not just the visual landmarks of where the surfaces meet the binding of the guitar, but it also provides a tantalizing maze for the fingers to follow as you explore the curves of this guitar. At this point, I'll let you listen to a few sound samples provided by my good friend Tim Torgerson. Again, use a good pair of speakers or headphones to be able to capture the true sound of this instrument.

One of the most difficult aspects of acoustic guitar building is to keep it simple. With this instrument, I wanted to use as few species as possible while still pursuing the sound that I was after. Within the profile of my model 3, I used European spruce for the top and head plate veneer and Madagascar rosewood for the back sides, fingerboard, bridge, binding, and the rosette. For the neck, I chose Honduran mahogany. And I chose to do a sunburst finish on it just to continue the play with light and dark. That's only three species of wood. No perfling to outline this guitar, only shadows. A few additional specifications of this guitar. My model 3 has a 14 and 3/4 in lower bout and a depth of 4 and 1/4. The scale length is 24.9 in. It adjoins the body at the 12th fret. We have a string spacing of 2 and 1/4 at the saddle and a nut width of inch and 3/4. This guitar also features a side sound port to provide that personal monitor to the player and an opportunity to add some additional craftsman lines. To further address player comfort, this guitar features a small armrest bevel as well as my progressive back radius that gives a stable platform for the instrument both while standing and sitting. The string path begins with a Gotoh's gold 510 tuners, a bone nut, Stewmac's copper alloy frets, a bone saddle, as well as ebony bridge pins with, you guessed it, capped with Madagascar rosewood. This guitar isn't solely devoid of sparkle. I did use some abalone and brass for the position markers on the neck as well as on the bridge pins. This guitar is finished with a traditional French polish shellac, an ultra thin layer that doesn't interfere with the sound of the instrument. The back, the sides, and the neck were finished with an Osmo Poly-x finish, a very smooth finish that almost feels like a well-worn cabinet. So, what do you think? Did I achieve the goal of finding beauty in the void, or are we too accustomed to look for those shiny details? Does the absence of it draw us in closer? Leave your comments below. Tell me what you think. Hit like, subscribe from Pappenfüs Guitars in Northwest Montana. Thanks for watching.