Episode 1.4 From Shame to Pride in one little 'OO'
My Roeboy ‘OO’ began as a kit build from the StewMac folks that I purchased back in 2017.
The sides came pre-shaped, and the general shape of the neck was cut, but there was a lot of carving to do. I struggled along without having most of the correct tools, and for the most part was happy with the results until I set the neck wrong and ended up with a discoloration on the overly thick neck.
The guitar sat in a corner of the shop in a hard shell case reminding me of my flawed craftsmanship….for YEARS!
It is humbling to have your shortcomings sitting in a corner calling out to you on a daily basis… but in the end, I decided I had nothing to lose. I had taken courses with Nick, I had built a few guitars from scratch…Why couldn’t I go back and make things right?
So, I read up on how to remove and reset a neck. I re-carved the neck until it felt right, ref-retted the neck, built a replacement bridge, stripped everything down to bare wood again, and added my logo and an old dime I was handed as change one afternoon while on the road. I then re-stained and finished the guitar.
The result is a REALLY wonderful guitar. I think that the years in the case seasoned the wood quite dramatically, because the guitar sang from the moment it was strung, which I have learned is not usually the case...
The wood of an acoustic guitar usually needs to learn to give up being a tree and start being a musical instrument. The cells of the wood change their character. The movement involved in amplifying the string vibrations is in very different directions than the tree usually moved due to wind and gravitational forces. A newly built guitar starts out brighter and crisper in tonality, and in the first few weeks of being a guitar, literally warms up to the idea of its new identity.
Well this guitar sang as soon as I deemed it finished enough to hang strings on. The neck shape and action is as near to an electric as I have played and the sound is warm and fat. I put a K&K system under the bridge and when plugged in it sounds just as fantastic.
And so, this little guitar went from being a source of shame to a source of pride. I have been playing it for the last year quite often and it is a wonderful instrument. I have decided to auction it away for the benefit of our local Food Pantry.
If you are reading this prior to September 22nd, 2022, it is still available. Go over to www.PullingForThePantry.com and bid on the auction for this guitar!!!