This will become a Tenor Guitar with the Ambassador body. I always begin with the sides. The sides are Cherry. I cut, sanded, heated, bent and clamped the sides in the form and allowed them to dry. Once dry I glued the head block, tail block, and kerfing. After the glue dried, I sanded for a smooth gluing surface for the top and back. The back is Cherry with a Western Red Cedar top. I book matched the top and back, sanded to thickness, cut to shape, and braced both. I apply a finish to the inside of my instruments, as well as the outside. I glued the top on with the use of spool and cam clamps. Once dry, the back was glued on in like manner. After the glue has dried I remove the body from the form, router for the neck and binding, and glue in the binding.
When Darcey first started contacting me by email, she referred to this tenor as a “heartfelt tenor”. I thought that was more metaphorical, but when I got her plans I could see that it was literal. At my best count this instrument has 19 hearts: some are sound holes, some are inlay, two are on the strap buttons, and the back cover is also a heart. Also, Darcey had collected parts from guitars and she was looking to give them a job to do. She provided the EQ, inlay, machine heads and strap buttons.
The neck is Cherry and in the primitiveness of my shop I shape necks with a rasp. The fret board is Rosewood, as is the bridge. I make all of my own fret boards and cut the fret grooves one at a time, just to see if I still can. The neck is routered and fitted with an adjustable truss rod. With the neck and fret board complete I glued the 2 together.
With the body and neck assembly complete, I gave it a final sanding, and got it down to the paint house, and sprayed the finish. After applying the finish, I let the instrument hang and cure for a week, and then made final assembly.
Since Darcey flies to some of her gigs, she needed a hard case for this tenor. There are no cases available that will fit my Ambassador, so I also built the case. It is ¼” plywood, plush lined inside, and they come in any color a person wants as long as it is black.
