Journeyman Model

[woodrat]

Thank You Al, I do have a need to make high end flights of fancy but I also have a need to eat and so the Journeyman looks like it will be my bread and butter. They are "real" guitars that have not been affected by any bean counters like the factory fare that you find around today. The cedar with its stripes are nice aren't they. That wood is really wonderful but it has the "fault" of not being perfectly the same colour all across that some would expect in a guitar. Again that is one of the things with this model it allows me to use woods that wouldn't make the grade on a more expensive guitar as someone who was going to pay twice as much would want all master grade wood even though it wouldn't make it sound better necessarily:)
I am sorry too that I was not making these when you were in the market for a git but please dont forget to tell your friends:)

Thanks for your comments


John

[woodrat]

Hi Again, here are a couple of pics of my latest two Journeyman guitars. Both of them are Falcate topped instruments but the woods are different. One is WRC with very dense Blackwood that I got from a friends property and it is bound with Forest oak. The other is WRC and figured QLD Maple with EIR binding. The Maple is quite light and that is reflected in the lightnes of the guitar in comparison to the other one.
Sorry about the amateurish photography....

John

[Tod Gilding]

Very nice as usual John, I believe that Blackwood & WRC looks familiar would that have been made for a particular singer songwriter, if so I believe he will be very happy.

[charangohabsburg]

Beautiful guitars John! I especially like the WRC top of the "Blackwood - Forest Oak binding" guitar. At least for me, an evenly coloured top isn't necessarily aesthetically more pleasing. Maybe general guitarist's opinion would change if luthiers would start to consistently charge more for beautiful stripy top guitars than for guitars with evenly coloured tops!

[woodrat]

Beautiful guitars John! I especially like the WRC top of the "Blackwood - Forest Oak binding" guitar. At least for me, an evenly coloured top isn't necessarily aesthetically more pleasing. Maybe general guitarist's opinion would change if luthiers would start to consistently charge more for beautiful stripy top guitars than for guitars with evenly coloured tops!

Now there's a good idea Markus!....I for one feel that a nice bit of coloration in a top is a good thing.....The stripy wood I have is so good ....dead quartered and has all the right acoustic properties....and nice silking too.

Tod, Yep you has seen it before

John

[Kamusur]

Bloody good work there John.

Steve

[stopper]

They look great John,
Was the forest oak easy to bend?

Steve

[woodrat]

Thanks Steve ....and Steve!

...The Forest oak can be difficult...it just depends if one of the rays decides to delaminate or not...it usually happens on the tightest outside bend and usually writes of that piece ....with this one it went well.....
It is such a great timber though....nice and hard for bindings and gives an unusual look.....one of my favourites.

John

[christian]

Totally with you on these guitars John,
especially the striped woods. I have been using striped Kahikatea on my production guitars too,
people are slowly warming to it, I think it makes the guitar look interesting.
and as you said tonally there is no difference
hope you sell a tonne, they are fantastic.

Cheers,

Christian.

[Tod Gilding]

Christian, The stripey WRC guitar has been made for an old mate of mine, Richie Gudgeon http://www.richiegudgeon.com/index.html

When Richie starts gigging it, John http://buckhamguitars.com/ may have trouble keeping up with orders

[woodrat]

Thanks Christian and Tod.... Yes it is crazy that tone wood is graded cosmetically and not according to its acoustic performance. The stripy tops are really fantastic....I have been using them for a while now in accord with the info in the TG/GG book to get target thicknesses etc and they are sounding amazing....I will have to get of my behind and organize a couple of sound clips....especially now I have made some falcates.

Richie will probably pick his guitar up this week....

John

[woodrat]

Tod, here is the guitar that a young bloke ordered just after a friend of his saw Richies Journeyman. Its a bit different as you can probably see....He ordered it for his Dad in the UK. His Dad played the guitar Gurrimal Yunapingu style....a RH guitar upside down. But he wanted the cutaway and pickguard in the "wrong" side so it looks like his Dad is playing a lefty...He picked it up on Saturday afternoon and was stoked with it. It will be given to his Dad in Kent UK next week as he flies out on the 20th....it will be a nice reunion!

[charangohabsburg]

But he wanted the cutaway and pickguard in the "wrong" side so it looks like his Dad is playing a lefty...

Hey John, a century or two ahead experts will identify this guitar as a nicely crafted fake, saying that the cutaway on the wrong side must be a beginner's mistake, so this guitar impossibly could have been made in John Buckham's shed in 2012!

[woodrat]

Hey Markus...I hadnt thought of that possibility

[Tod Gilding]

Very Nice John, Good To See that Ritchy playing the Journeyman is paying off , I thought it might. just wait until he gets it up to Tamworth, Then Hold on for the ride of your life, I Hope

Hoping to call in tomorrow (Tuesday ) will ring first.

cheers Tod