A special Cedar/Amazon rosewood lattice

I have been fantasizing for a few years about using one of the special extra dark Amazon rosewood sets in my collection so building this guitar has been a real experience. It has also proved to be hard to fill and finish in the traditional way, I needed a few healthy months to get a thick flat shellac film (I really don’t want to deliver those superficial finishes that burn and flake off after 2 weeks of use)

The title is lattice braced but the soundboard is actually in the traditional range of thicknesses while the spruce lattice is discreet in influence. The body of the guitar however is stiff and heavy as I believe this is the right alternative (NB alternative, not replacement) to the traditional light build.

Other details are Brazilian rosewood bridge, armrest and internal elements, Sipo mahogany elevated neck, African blackwood fingerboard with stainless steel frets, Gotoh premium tuners and an unobtrusive yet slightly beneficial soundport.

Below the (many) photos, two beautifully played videos took mid-way during the polishing process.

New wood

Showing off some exciting recent additions to my wood stock.

-2 sets of very dark and tight Amazon rosewood. It is the first time I see this variety (99% of it seems to be the lighter, reddish sort). Under finish it will make a gorgeous dark, almost black chocolate.

-a set of straight grain, quartered ziricote, something increasingly difficult to find these days. The tap tone is better than I expected, not Brazilian rosewood-metallic but still sustaining. I imagine the sound should be a bit like Indian rosewood.

-3 sets of fantastic bubinga, deep dark red and perfectly quartered, full of silk end to end. This tree must have had a humongous (and very regular) diameter.

Lattice-braced Swiss spruce / Amazon rosewood

-lattice braced 3-piece Swiss spruce soundboard
-Brazilian rosewood bridge
-Amazon rosewood back and sides
-cedro neck with Indian rosewood headplate, ebony fingerboard
-Indian rosewood binding

Raw recording made before french polishing: