Dream Acoustic Guitar Build#3: Baranik Meridian

racman · 2012-08-31T09:25:28+00:00

Well, it's that time again and we are about to begin my third in a three guitar rollercoaster ride of "Dream" Acoustic builds! This “Dream” started some 15-20 years ago but started to gather momentum about five years ago when my “research” started. I embarked on the first journey a few years ago and commissioned all five builds within a year with estimated completion schedules until 2015. The first two have been completed with the build thread links in my signature. Both have been a resounding success in my opnion and are just fantastic guitars with superb tone and build quality. As should have been expected once I received the first two completed guitars I took a more critical look at what I had planned for the remaining three and after much deliberation, cancelled a few and started the search again for the remaining builds. I had felt that the builds needed to be complimentary and none should by design render any of the others redundant (Much like having a LP, Strat, Gretsch, Tele and 335 or 175 I suppose). All of the remaining builds I had commissioned would have resulted in great guitars but I thought that my needs and desires had changed somewhat as to what I wanted out of the “collection”. I must say that I have never been one of the “which is better” people and rather see each Luthier bringing a unique signature tone and style that may deviate to a certain degree from his own internal reference point. Over the two builds that have been completed I have learned so much about many aspects of the acoustic guitar, tone woods etc. but probably the most significant aspect I have learned is to provide as much communication on what I like and dislike and then trust the Luther’s opinion on the important aspects. One of the Luthiers whose name kept on rising to the surface in all discussions and research I conducted was that of Mike Baranik. I contacted Mike and after much discussion, the build was scheduled for September 2012. An article/informative with Mike can be found here: http://acousticmagazine.com/news/interviews/618-mike-baranik More to come… ?

Nicholas-L

Drooling all the way... :-[

Some day when I grow up I'll have one done for me hehe ?

racman

Well the thread has been dormant for a while due to a number of reasons. I asked Mike Baranik to extend the build time to have the guitar finished in Feb next year as opposed to November this year which was Mike’s plan. Obviously this meant that Mike had to work on a few other builds in the interim, attend the Woodstock Guitar show etc.

From the outset of our initial discussions Mike had suggested that we look at the possibility of having an African influence, albeit subtle, in the build which resonated with me. As far as possible we are using woods that may either originate from Africa or have a connection to Africa. In addition to this, I sent Mike a number of images that I felt represented Africa to me. There were probably around 200 images that were sent and these were of a wide range of aspects e.g. Jewellery, Pottery, Wildlife, Paintings (From Bushman engravings and rock art to modern), landscape images, precious stones, buildings, Ndebele huts and beads etc. Basically anything that I was attracted to or depicted either a colour, pattern or style that I enjoyed. The purpose of this exercise was not to get Mike to copy or emulate any pattern or image but an attempt to evoke or influence his creative sensibilities in a certain direction. I probably was over cautious in emphasising over and over again that I did not want some overt, garish, multi-coloured rendition of Ndebele art on a guitar reminiscent of an Oil Can guitar but rather a subtle expression of this influence.

There has been a flow of ideas and suggestions from Mike and I really enjoy the interaction that this brings. In the last two builds I reached a certain point after initial discussions and numerous e-mails describing my preferences and pet hates etc. ( from colours to styles etc.) where I started to encourage the Luthiers to build the best guitar that they would build for themselves if they were in my shoes, knowing all of my preferences etc. I believe that this approach has led to two extraordinary guitars from both an aesthetic and tonal perspective. I believe that this build will be no different.

Well I received a few images of where we are going with the purfling. These are not the final product but demonstrate Mike’s commitment to experiment and get it correct before committing the designs to the actual guitar. We had discussed the idea of trying to create decorative wood purfling and I must say that when I opened the images below I said to my wife: “He’s gets it!” as although subtle, the images really show the influence of the images I sent etc. and demonstrate that Mike has allowed the images I sent to influence him in creating something that resonates with me.

So here is the description in Mike’s words:” I used some Spruce and Blackwood scraps to inlay it into. The binding is the spalted maple, the purfling is black/purpleheart/black on both the side and top. The main wood inlay is that African milkwood, earthy coloured with fiddleback flame. If we decide this design works, I will use some darker stock to make it less tan. Although this will darken as well. The smaller pieces are a turquoise acrylic flanked by small pieces of black /satinwood/black on one side and black/Bubinga/black in the other. So all the woods except the maple are species from Africa. The plan is to have the turquoise pc every 4 inches or so it creates a pattern.”

We are still deciding whether we use 3” or 4” spacing, have a slight slant to the blocks forming a subtle chevron look etc.

Enjoy!

racman

Finally managed to do this:

racman

shaunf

Beautiful! I love it!

Neon-Gecko

RoyC wrote

Yeah that looks very cool Roy, very African and earthy looking. Just my thought though, I'd consider replicating the pattern every 2-1/2 to 3 inches maybe... ?

racman

Thx Wayne and Shaun. We have decided on every 3" and a forward slight slope/chevron towards the neck to accentuate the curves of the body.

AlanRatcliffe

I like it too. He's managed to capture the feel you wanted without going over the top.

racman

As mentioned previously, some of the images I sent to Mike were of African wildlife (Leopards, Cheetah, Giraffe, Zebra), art (various ethnic artwork - both modern and traditional and in particular the wonderful painted walls of the houses of the Ndebele nation), pottery and the effect of landscape of Africa - from the plains of the bushveld to the barren beauty of the Skeleton Coast desert area in Namibia etc. The purpose of these images was to inspire and subtly influence rather than require imitation at all. What Mike has come up with is an indication of his artistry and craftsmanship and is just wonderful and elegant. Of course it is all too easy to forget that these designs will be quite small and so will provide beautiful accents and highlights in the theme.

In Mike's words: “I looked over the Ndebele art patterns and decided to draw some geometrical shapes based on it. The way I wanted it to be seen on the guitar was to only see the patterns partially, like a zoomed in picture of a pattern or like the pattern is peeking through the wedge shape. I also decided to use some colours almost like grout or fill in cracks like the turnings pictures you sent. The turquoise colour will match up with the purflings. The woods I used are all African except for the Black Palm which I used as it has a nice animal fur pattern. The woods are Satinwood, Pink Ivory, Purpleheart, Paduak, Bubinga and Black Palm. The colours for the fill are turquoise and blue and I plan on using some green fill on another one of the pieces in some areas.

They will definitely be bold but the wedge shape for the headstock, end wedge are only around 1/2" wide at its widest point and 3" long. There would also be the small square on the rosette and also the heelcap and neck volute. So I think the bold colours in small amounts will look amazing. “

Amazing? I agree.

I have also suggested to Mike that I would be more than willing to delay delivery of this guitar to me if he would like to take it to Healdsburg next year as I truly believe it is going to be specatacular.

Enjoy!

Satinwood, Pink Ivory, Purpleheart, Paduak, Bubinga and Black Palm

racman

I can't wait to see this all come together!!

Wizard

If I may ask, what technique was used to cut out all those shapes from the wood?
It is really precise.

racman

Wizard wrote If I may ask, what technique was used to cut out all those shapes from the wood?
It is really precise.

I will find out and post Mike's reply when I get it...

Norman86

wow! it looks quite extraordinary!

Neon-Gecko

How large are these components Roy as there is nothing within the images to give a reference to size, apart from the pipette?

It really does look good though and I believe that Mike has captured the essence of Africa!

[deleted]

Incredible....

racman

Thx all. It is a little difficult to get perspective of the size but if you consider that will be evident soon enough. The wedge inserts for theheadstock and end wedge give some perspective I think as these wedges are at most 1/2" wide and 3" long.

However, the pics are a little misleading when one considers the aerosol can in the background though. Anyway, next week will hopefully reveal a little more...

rikus

You really know how to pick your luthiers Roy... This build keeps on getting better!

Spectacular!

Chocklit_Thunda

Really interested to know how that side bending jig was made or where it was bought? Do you have any idea?

And what exactly are those coloured pieces of wood used for?

racman

Chocklit_Thunda wrote Really interested to know how that side bending jig was made or where it was bought? Do you have any idea?

And what exactly are those coloured pieces of wood used for?

As this is Mike's own body design it would stand to reason that the majority of the rigs are made by him for his designs. For standard shapes I wuld suggest StewMac would be the first place to look.

As far as the coloured pieces and wood use (I thought I covered it in the detail before the pics ?) it is for the rosette, end and headstock wedge.

racman

OK, I just received the explanation from Mike for those that are interested:

"The shapes were cut on my CNC, I drew the pattens without measurements but by just going by what looked best to my eye. The triangles are about 1/2" wide to reference, the pieces of wood before they were cut are approx. 1.25"x6". The cuts were done with a 1/32" end mill, so to keep with the window effect and to have the grout lines be the right size the shapes were designed to not be too small which also helps keep all the pieces from falling apart! The cuts go almost all the way through the wood but have to cut apart with an exacto blade and all the cuts needed to be cleaned up which took a great deal of time and handwork. Then I started laying out the designs so that the three main wedges would match even though they will be different. The pieces were glued to a veneer backer and were lined up by eye rather than using spacers to keep things perfectly spaced which gives it more character."

Mike has shared his plans for the rosette which is going to be stunning but I don't want to ruin it until the pics arrive.

The pics above are a mix of designs that will be used in the Headtock wedge, End Wedge, Volute, some aspects in the rosette etc.

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