Brazilian/Cedar Mid-Depth SJ is Born

a journey from beginning woods to final masterpiece.

brazilian admiration

Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia Nigra) has long been correlated as the "crème de la crème" or "Holy Grail" of tone-wood. It is highly favored among players and collectors for its magical tonal character and deep, rich beauty. Due to severe trade restrictions it is getting harder to find, driving demand and rising costs. 

Cedar top meet brazilian back

We acquired this uniquely figured set of Brazilian quite some time ago and it has been sitting in the shop just waiting for its time to be part of a Charis creation. The underside bracing has been applied. The Cedar top we chose to accompany this set of Brazilian, has been inset with a classic austere Brazilian Rosette.

Bill's custom linings in this Brazilian build, are just one of the offerings that set him apart from other luthiers.

"Why do I make so much work for myself where folks rarely look!" .... Keep reading to find the answer.

The History: As he experimented with different types of linings (aka kerfings) over a decade ago, he began making a hybrid lining with standard kerf cuts and reverse kerf cuts. Bill found it surprising to notice an increase in sustain of the instrument with this hybrid lining. The increased glue surface of these hybrid linings was the suspected cause. To test this idea, linings were machined from solid Sapele stock. Again, there was an improvement in the sustain and the instrument had a more alluring tone. These solid linings required much more time to make and unfortunately, were not an efficient use of materials.

But Now: After much time and persistence a solution became clear....
The linings are now made by laminating veneer to the shape needed. This is a much more efficient use of materials, but it is even more labor intensive than machining them from solid stock!

Bill asks himself, "Why do I make so much work for myself where folks rarely look!

These laminated linings are continuous from the head block to the tail block. This makes the rims of the guitar very ridged. They structurally support the top in a way that allows more control of the effects of bracing and top thickness."

The answer is.. The extra time and effort is worth the results!"

Neeeeed info............................................skskskskskksksksksksk

Here the sealer has been applied.... awaiting the filler and final finish spray!

We researched the flowers that are native to where you will find Brazilian trees growing in South America, we chose the Cattleya Lily. It just encompasses the look and feel we were intending for the fingerboard inlay. This inlay is comprised of wood and stone.