New Guitar Build - McInturff Carolina To My Specs (IT ARRIVED)

Teleplayer

Teleplayer

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Jim Fairbairn said:
Teleplayer, regarding your decision to get a satin/matte black finished neck, how does that feel compared to a glossy neck? Is it slicker and less prone to get that sticky feeling?
Click to expand...

Jim,

I decided to go with gloss. With Terry's impeccable finish chops, the neck feels great.
 
rockinlespaul

rockinlespaul

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Terry McInturff said:
I know that I mentioned this before, but in order to build, say, the "correct version" of that classic sound, it's all about building the appropriate acoustic guitar. Many of you are aware that there is very little information available about this as regards a solid body/semi-hollowbody electric guitar.

I'm aware that there is a notable %-age of electric builders and players who seriously doubt the role of the acoustical element of the electric guitar, and I think that's very understandable; I didn't begin to get a handle on it until I'd been 20 years full-time at the job....and even today I have plenty to learn about it. Its more than one career's worth of learning.

Regarding this, the major things Ive learned over the past 40 years are:

1) The acoustical nature of a given electric guitar places true limits on what will be available to amplify.
One of the reasons for this being that the cumulative resonant signature of a guitar influences the way that a string vibrates; the shape it assumes from activation-thru decay-to stop, how long it vibrates, etc. This of course has everything to do with exactly how it interacts with the magnetic field of the pickup.

2) Pickups cannot invent frequencies that are absent in the acoustical response of the guitar.
What they CAN do is to emphasize certain tonal areas...for ex. 500Hz-800Hz...more than other areas...but they are not very good at reproducing freq's that are weak or absent in the acoustic signature. To me, attempts made via electronics to compensate for built-in weakness' in the acoustic sound are rarely successful; to me it often sounds hyped and inorganic/unnatural. One can go thru multiple pickup changes and never find satisfaction.....

3) And so to build a sound that is suitable for a given objective, it's of primary importance to build the desired character right into the guitar. Unfortunately this means that not every piece of maple, mahogany, rosewood, etc can be used. We can "get into the ballpark" simply by following time-honored recipes, but when trying to nail a particular characteristic, doing so is hit-or-miss.

4) This answers the old question as to why two seemingly identical guitars can sound very different.

Just my opinion!
Click to expand...

What a great explanation! Thank you for this Terry! I know of many non believers... could I have your permission to copy/paste this? I know some folks who need to read this.
 
Teleplayer

Teleplayer

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rockinlespaul said:
What a great explanation! Thank you for this Terry! I know of many non believers... could I have your permission to copy/paste this? I know some folks who need to read this.
Click to expand...

I think very similarly to Terry about this. It's one of the many reasons I went with Terry to build this piece. And he knocked it out of the park - way out of the park.

Terry set out with a very specific end product and goal in mind, and was extremely successful in achieving what he set out to build - and what I wanted to play/own.

There is so much depth, experience and knowledge to Terry's approach. As stunning as this instrument is in-person, the real craziness to this guitar lays with how it sounds and plays - especially for a true 'Burst scale single cutaway guitar.

Terry isn't a master builder - that description falls so far short of what he brings to the table. He's a true master craftsman. Big difference IMHO.
 
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stringgears

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Teleplayer said:
I played it - acoustically - for about ten minutes. It's resonant like a fantastic acoustic guitar. Every note rings out, it sustains forever, is loud as hell, and crazily resonant.

Just an awesome piece of work.

Let's see ........

Extremely comfortable neck ... check. Beyond-description finish ... check. Dern near as loud as my S.O.'s 30+ year old Martin-Sigma acoustic ... check. Perfect action ... check. Rolled fretboard ... check. Stellar fretwork ... check. 5A tight-grained IR fretboard ... check. 8 lbs 4 oz ... check.

Scared to touch it ... check.

Won't plug it in until tomorrow, so no way to describe, yet, how it sounds plugged in. First amp I will plug into is this, on the "Brown Deluxe On Steroids" side:

Click to expand...
LOL, I know what you mean on not daring to touch the thing......I go through the same thing......just reading this thread now.....its like a good book. lol So, I read on !
 
Teleplayer

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Guitar continues to astound. What an absolutely brilliant piece of craftsmanship.

There is a pro photographer coming to the house tomorrow in order to do a photo shoot of the guitar. Can't get into details as to why it's being done, but suffice it to say that, in the coming months, folks will be reading more about this Carolina Custom.

In the meantime, I took this thoroughly unprofessional iPhone pic. It is really hard to describe how black and deep the finish is on this instrument. It's like looking down into a black wading pool. What a stunning, stunning piece of luthiery. Trying to describe it is like grasping at straws that don't exist.

 
Teleplayer

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Peanut73 said:
I never get tired of looking at this guitar. The pictures are appreciated, Fred.
Click to expand...

Thanks David. The photographer was over this morning. The difference in photos is pretty large - between my unprofessional pictures and those coming from a person with proper equipment and knowledge of how to use it.

I look forward to the proofs and final product.
 
Teleplayer

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The guitar never ceases to amaze. It's a jaw dropped every time I open its case. Still scares the bajeebers out of me to play/hold/etc.

The attached photos are part of a photo shoot; trying to gather enough content for a reason that I cannot yet make public. And, yes, that's a real Peruvian alpaca blanket under it. And, yes, it sounds bitchin' with the TopHat Emplexador Junior Classic.





Wow, Terry makes a beautiful instrument ... as does Brian Gerhard on the amp side. Of course, to guys that truly know gear, none of that should be surprising.
 
Teleplayer

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O.K. So I've used it a few more times. What an absolute pleasure to play. Flawless execution. I knew - somewhere ... somehow ... some place ... there would be a G-scale guitar that I would dig. Finally ... this is it. What an exceptional instrument.

Here it is with my TopHat KTR39 (the amp named after me). The KTR is a Brown Deluxe circuit, but with a Boost-Off-Brite toggle and an on-board variac. I am running some fantastic premium NOS glass in it. Between the guitar and amp, think old ZZ Top (i.e., First Album). What a great rig.




And here is the Carolina Custom last week - preening with my 2x12 TopHat CR.



Cannot express my gratitude enough to Terry for finally building me a G-scale guitar that I like, and enjoy playing. And, man, what an astounding instrument to look at.
 
bbaug14

bbaug14

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I would love to hear some clips of that set up!!! Bet it sounds even better than it looks, which would be difficult to accomplish.
 
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