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All tone wood diddley bow

I thought this would be a good place to post these photos. This is a newly made one-string. I used what are considered tone woods for the entire project: maple neck, maple resonator box, Indian rosewood finger board, ebony and bone bridge, bone nut. Position marks and abalone. The only non-tone woods are the back, which is spruce plywood, and I also used the same spruce to make three braces, two at the bridge and one between the sound hole and neck. Sound board is western red cedar. Finish is oil varnish. The tail piece is ebony. All this is held together with Tightbond III (alas, not hide glue this time), and I used brass hardware, as well.

The short version of what is that I made the box using an arts and crafts style of box joint, but the maple I had on hand for the sides as far too thin in depth for me to use arts and crafts wooden pegs. I used brass pins, and brass screws and washers to match that look and vibe.

The sound of this one is really nice. Fat and rich. Complex, and you can hear the overtones if you listen very carefully. Very long sustain, for one thing. I strung it with a guitar A string, and it serves almost like a tiny bass guitar, and sounds similar to an acoustic base. The string is fairly high, but stopping the string hard give me a very nice sound all the way up the fret board, and even beyond the edge of the box and to the sound hole. It is a 25" scale, and the fingerboard ends at fret position 24. I sort of get a funk slap bass sound as well as nice walking bass lines up and down the neck.

This one was a bit of an experiment in a larger box than I would get with a typical cigar box. I also wanted the turning peg (ebony) to be exactly centered in the head stock, but offset slightly so the string tracks exactly in the center. With a machine, I could not have done that, and positioning machines at the top of the head stock is not where I wanted to go. I also bored a hole in the very top of the head stock for a hanging string, a feature of traditional Spanish guitars, and holes were put there by Martin in the 1840s and beyond as a traditional feature. Handy for hanging too :)

I expect to build more of these along this style, in 4 string guitar configuration, and as a true bass guitar with a longer scale and proper bass strings (and neck reinforcement). This string, btw, is a Martin light acoustic string, not an electric guitar string.

I am most wondering what the same instrument built with non tone woods would sound like, maybe spruce plywood, red oak, or some other material. I don't think there is any "wrong" sound for any of these primitive instruments, but the all are unique to themselves and "real" instruments.

Comments, including critical is welcome. And sorry for the poor quality photography. There is a blue cast in the room I took them in, and that is a skill I really need to improve. Finishing too, but that is another story lol.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Fred Johnson on June 13, 2015 at 4:31am

I'm not surprised that your impressed with the sound this makes using the timbers you describe.Back in 2011 I built a three stringer using solid timber throughout including a western red cedar front,it has the best acoustic sound of any CBG I've built

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Permalink Reply by Dane Donato on June 13, 2015 at 9:16am

Thanks, Michael. I think I will continue exploring instruments using higher grade woods. It just opens another dimension to this craft and art.

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Permalink Reply by Primitive Acoustics on June 13, 2015 at 4:45am

Really beautiful instrument with just excellent craftsmanship. Love the design details and wood choices. How long did it take to build? Could you post a sound sample?

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Permalink Reply by Dane Donato on June 13, 2015 at 9:18am

Thanks, Tom. In hours, maybe 8? I built it over about two weeks. Regarding sound, soon I will be able to. I am putting together a simple digital recording studio, and hope to have examples soon. Not today, though, but once I do get my act together, I will. Soon enough.

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Permalink Reply by Skeesix on June 14, 2015 at 2:30am

Your project turned out very nice, and I bet it sounds great too.

For the box, you can probably make the sides out of most any wood. The top and possibly the back are the most critical.

I've done an oak fingerboard and it sounded bright compared to rosewood. It sounds about the same as the maple necks I've done. So I would say oak is more or less the same as maple in terms of tone.

There was a famous guitar which was built with pallet wood, to prove a point that tone woods aren't totally necessary - http://www.guitaradventures.com/taylor-pallet-guitar-story

The guitar is oak (from pallets) with a pine top (from 2 x 4s).

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Permalink Reply by Dane Donato on June 14, 2015 at 5:13am

Thanks, and thank for that link. I will read it later today.

I have read about a Torres guitar he built out of paper machine for the back and sides, and it was supposed to be a very fine guitar.

I wonder a lot about tone woods. How critical are they? Alternative woods are being used more now that certain types of rosewood are becoming impossible to find or very expensive, and also for green purposes. It almost seems immoral to contribute in some way, even a tiny way, for our art if it harms our environment.

Honestly, I am a bit prejudiced against red oak. Not my favorite type of wood for many types of projects, but not because of anything to do with musical instruments, but I will continue to use it in the future, I suspect, and will keep what you said in mind.

Probably the most viable way to gain insights is to design and build two different instruments to the exact same specifications, but use tone woods, purfling and binding as per a classical guitar, a rosette, correct neck block, linings, hide glue, etc, and then the same with alternative woods, and then test them so it is apples vs. apples. Analyzing various types of woods for musical instrument use and alternative or non traditional woods would be instructive, too.

I do agree with you, the top is the most important single component in the entire instrument. Overall, a fine guitar is such a complex thing, and form and function are so intertwined with tradition. The old masters knew what they were doing, and we can never go wrong by learning those lessons.