My 10th Archtop

[Mark Langner]

12 years ago, a friend gave me several large pieces of beautiful maple - because he liked the guitars I was building. I finally finished one from that maple! I started it seven years ago [lots of personal life changes removed].

Englemann spruce top, local walnut binding / head veneer / tailpiece cap / bridge. The veneer on the back of the head: Several years ago, a wild cherry tree came down near me (variously identified in two tree books as "pin cherry" and "fire cherry" - a forester friend says both of these are wrong, but doesn't have a name for it). I salvaged a couple logs and sliced them for veneers. Pretty.

Finish is Tru-oil. I finally worked out a final buffing method I am happy with: Level with 2500 grit wet, then polish with 3M "scratch remover" (this gives a very good gloss), and then polish with "Benedetto-mix" (Maguire's #7 / mineral oil / water).

The sound is different from any other archtop I've built: quite open, bright but full; something piano-like about it.

(Off-topic? The quilt on the wall behind some of these pictures was done by my maternal grandmother, and is pieced from fabrics from the 1920's.)

[Mark Langner]

The bear fetish was done from a piece of olive wood that had a feather decoration already there...
Back of head - un-named wild cherry.
Six-piece back - maple was gorgeous, but narrow.

[Mario Proulx]

I like it! Every aspect of it.

Well done!

[Michael Lewis]

It looks like it works! Nicely done.

[Nathan Dodd]

Very nice indeed mark! I like the Walnut 'accents' but then the use of the lighter wild cherry because it acts as a sort of tonal transition between the golden maple and very brown walnut. Your friend must be very pleased with what you've done with the donated wood

[Dave Stewart]

Beautiful result Mark, and the materials part just adds to it! Well done.

[Darrel Friesen]

I still remember your first archtop back in the early 2000s when I was building my first Mark. Well done. You've come a long way.

[Patrick Hanna]

Very nice guitar, Mark. I'll say it one more time: Nothing does it for me like a nice archtop. I would love to play it. The only comment I can add--and this is PURELY a personal preference--is that I would like to see sharper corners on the headstock where it fairs into the nut area. Please do NOT take this as a negative. It's nothing more than my preference. I really like the back, which looks to be joined from many pieces. I like your bear fetish, too. I think your fingerboard inlay scheme is very appropriate for this axe. I like those big, honkin' sound holes--very similar to some of D'Aquisto's later designs. I think it's a totally cool archtop. I hope to do as well one of these days.

Sincerely,
Patrick

[AL Lombardo]

I like the way Patrick put it..." nothing does it for me like a nice archtop " Beautiful work. Got me going out to look at mine again. Also 7 years in the making