| These days we are fascinated with guitars from the
early 20th Century when the 000 body and 12 fret neck-joint were the norm.
Here at The Twelfth Fret, we offer dozens of production models built in
North American factories by Martin and Larrivée and many custom
models by boutique builders such as Bourgeois, Collings and Santa Cruz.
Unfortunately, for many players, the price of these
flawless, North American built guitars is out of reach.
It is easy to dismiss guitars coming out of China as
low price and low quality. But frankly, I continue to be amazed at how
truly wonderful some of these guitars can be.
These small-scale, private Chinese workshops really
excel when building historic guitars; guitars that are built "in the spirit"
of the Golden Era of guitar making from the early 20th century.
Typically, these workshops have tooling, materials
and techniques and a workshop environment one might have seen at Martin,
Gibson or Washburn in the early 20th Century.
Due to the "old world" conditions in their workshops
they are particularly well suited to making good examples of early 20th
century guitars. Most of these workshops have few if any power tools and
they are not equipped to spray modern high-tech finishes.
So, where building a modern guitar to the standards
of a Taylor guitar in China might be a challenge, hand-building a replica
of a 1929 Martin using the same kind of hand assembly and basic finishing
techniques is all-in- a-day’s-work !
Modern glues and a modern adjustable truss rod for
the neck has been added but beyond that, these guitars are remarkably like
a typical guitar from the 1920s time period.
But…they are much more affordable than a "vintage"
guitar. Plus none of the repair and restoration costs that vintage guitars
generally need to play well enough to be enjoyed.
Recording King has chosen two excellent models to reproduce;
both timeless guitars still used by old time blues and fingerstyle players.
All solid woods throughout with "vintage" body size and neck-to-body geometry
AND they are finished in Nitrocellulose lacquer.
Nitro lacquer is a primitive 100 year old technology
that most makers have left behind. But a handful of makers, appreciate
it’s historical significance and still use it as their main finish material.
The Gibson acoustic factory in Montana is the best example. Nitro Lacquer
has a lovely slippery, dry feel to the touch that is instantly recognizable
when compared to modern UV cured finishes. Not necessarily superior or
inferior…simply historically accurate to the styles of guitars we are discussing
here.
The down-side of Nitro lacquer is that is settles quickly
and is brittle and prone to "lacquer checking"; fine cracks that appear
in the finish ( not the wood ) as a lacquer finish ages and especially
after temperature changes.
It is a normal part of the aging process and virtually
all of the Recording King guitars I have seen have some signs of initial
lacquer checking. No harm is done to the wood or the guitar when the finish
checks. Any older Gibson or Martin we see without lacquer checks is immediately
suspected of being refinished !
We carry three models:
All suitable for fingerstyle playing and great sounding
all purpose recording guitars.
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