Russell Portland Semi-Hollow Body Electric

admin — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:02:00 +0000

The new model semi-hollow body electric, called the Portland, is well on its way now. In design stages for a couple years, the Portland is now entering the physical realm! This first Portland has a Honduran Mahogany chambered body and a flamed Redwood top. The flame will pop with finish. The neck is also in process, and photos of the neck and fretboard will be posted soon.

Galiano Shaped Acoustic for Schoenberg Guitars

Layne — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:25:35 +0000

The 1920′s Galiano shaped and inspired guitar is in process. It is being custom made for Eric Schoenberg of Schoenberg Guitars in Tiburon, California. The shape of this Madagascar Rosewood guitar is traced from a 1920′s Galiano that was in Eric’s shop for some time. Eric asked James to make him a Schoenberg Galiano inspired by this guitar. The shape is of course modified by the cutaway; Galianos did not have cutaways. The book-matched back is now glued and the back strip is in, and the back bracing is done.

Russell Telemark, Our T-Style electric, in the Spraying Stage

Layne — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 02:46:21 +0000

The Russell Telemark, a custom T-style guitar, is in the spraying stage. Only about four coats of spray have been applied so far. The body is made of lightweight Swamp Ash and the neck is made of thirty-five year old Honduran Mahogany. This is the new, updated prototype for this model. There are many wood, color, and hardware options for this guitar.

The Telemark body has a forearm contour which is slightly visible in the top photo, and this model also has a rib contour.

The custom designed pickguard was made by James from celluloid sheet stock. The Callaham bridge plate is a left-hand bridge chosen so that the pickup slant would be reversed from the slant on a standard Tele. The brass saddles are right-hand compensated. Both pickguard and bridge plate were simply laid in place for the photos.

Deep Lake Guitar – Curing Stage – Ready to Rub Out!

Layne — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:54:10 +0000

The Deep Lake guitar is at the end of the curing stage after all finish has been sprayed. In fact, at this point, after a couple weeks of hanging and curing, it’s time to start rubbing out the finish. This weekend!

These photos are mock-ups taken on the kitchen table; the neck is sitting in place. Once it is rubbed out and buffed, the guitar will have its beautiful high sheen.

The curved-end fretboard is made of Madagascar Rosewood, the soundboard is Carpathian Spruce, and the body is Madagascar. All binding is flamed Koa with Maple Herringbone purfling and detailing.

New Guitar Model: Sweetbriar

Layne — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:08:25 +0000

The Sweetbriar parlor guitar is a new Russell guitar model. It has a 13 1/2″ lower bout and a long vintage-style body similar to some of the original parlor guitars. This Sweetbriar has Madagascar Rosewood back and sides and a cutaway. The cutaway is optional on the Sweetbriar model, and the headstock can be slotted or standard. This particular Sweetbriar will have a slotted headstock.

The Sweetbriar “boat” is sitting in its mold in the vice. The next step is to start working on the soundboard.

Wet Sanding the Deep Lake Guitar

Layne — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:11:54 +0000

James does the wet-sanding process on the Deep Lake guitar. It is wet sanded after receiving several coats of finish each day. The guitar hangs overnight, then the process is repeated. It’s almost ready for curing. The neck is already done.

Here you can see this Deep Lake’s flamed Koa end graft and binding. The Madagascar back and sides are a beautiful red-brown with nice grain lines. The back strip is Herringbone as is the purfling around the soundboard and around the elliptical sound hole.

This guitar is being custom made for Anchorage singer-songwriter Gene Anderson.

Waimea slack key guitar complete!

Layne — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:22:33 +0000

Here are three photos of guitarist Jeff Cook with his new Russell Waimea slack key guitar. These were taken when Jeff came over with his brother Jim to see his completed guitar and to play it for the first time. There were lots of ooh’s and ahh’s that day! James ordered heavier gauge strings that will work better for some of Jeff’s tunings, and the final setup tweaks have been made after putting on the new strings. Also, the label is in showing that Jeff has Waimea #001! So, yes, it’s time for Jeff’s guitar to go home with him now.

The last of the guitar photos will be taken Wednesday morning, so more detailed shots of the guitar will be posted on the main Russell Guitars site very soon!

New addition to line: Russell ukuleles

Layne — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:01:16 +0000

Ukuleles are the newest addition to the Russell Guitars line. The first three are in process now. The one pictured here will most likely be the first of the three to be completed. These first three are all concert ukuleles. James plans to focus on concert, tenor, and baritone ukuleles.

The back and sides on this ukulele are made of Black Limba. It is in the “boat” stage now, having the back and sides glued together. It also has its kerfed lining glued in and its neck and tail blocks glued in place. Kerfed lining is very unusual for ukuleles, as is the beveled back strip and the carefully carved back bracing. But James is clear that he wants the same level of quality and attention to detail that he uses when making Russell guitars.

The other two ukuleles being made at the same time are not in the boat stage yet. They are both being made of Peruvian Mahogany of a grade and beauty that is difficult to find. They both have delicate back strips made of Maple and Mahogany. I will post photos of those backs soon.

We are still talking about model names and have come up with some good ones, but nothing has stuck yet. When the right names come for the models, we will know it and will share them here.

Waimea Finish Waiting for Rub-Out

Layne — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:20:06 +0000

The Waimea slack key guitar has been sprayed and is hanging in the shop to cure. The Koa is starting to show off its depth and flame under the finish. It is just a taste of what it will look like after it is wet-sanded and buffed out. In this photo you can see the hole for the jack which will be flush mounted. The K&K pickup system is already installed.

Deep Lake Pics, Ready for Neck Carve

Layne — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:44:58 +0000

The Russell Deep Lake, our 16″ jumbo size guitar, is ready for its neck carve. In these photos you can see updates of the completed herringbone purfling, end graft, headstock, fitting the fretboard to the neck, and working on the fretboard end curve. The fretboard is made of figured Madagascar Rosewood. The first photo shows a mock-up of this Deep Lake before the neck carve and the fretboard end curve.

Waimea Is Heading to the Spray Booth

Layne — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:33:03 +0000

The Waimea slack key guitar is almost ready for the spray booth where it will get its lacquer finish. It now has two coats of sanding seal and one coat of pore fill. It will be sanded back and then head into the spray booth. Its flamed curly Koa back and sides will pop under finish. The sealer and pore fill give only an indication of what’s to come. Hang in there, Jeff, it won’t be long now till you will be playing your new guitar!

Herringbone Purfling Fitted to the Deep Lake Soundboard

Layne — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:03:02 +0000

The herringbone purfling is being fitted to the perimeter of the Deep Lake soundboard. First the purfling slot and binding slots are routed. The flamed Koa binding and the herringbone purfling are bent to shape, then James tapes both purfling and binding in place as he prepares to glue them to the body. With the purfling and binding in place, he will then wrap the body with his truck tire tube rubber band and start the gluing process. Both purfling and binding are glued at the same time. We will post photos when we get to that point.

This is the custom Russell Deep Lake being built for a singer-songwriter in Anchorage, Alaska. The Deep Lake is our 16″ jumbo model. Our customer wanted an elliptical soundhole and he loves herringbone. There is also a herringbone back strip on this guitar. The body is Madagascar Rosewood and the soundboard is Carpathian Spruce.

Slack Key Guitar – Neck

Layne — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:37:17 +0000

James glues the Ebony fretboard to the neck of the Waimea slack key guitar. The neck is Honduran Mahogany and the headstock is slotted. The Madagascar Rosewood headplate is already glued on the headstock, the slots are cut, and the tuner holes are drilled. In the photo below the asymmetrical curve at the end of the fretboard can be seen.

In the photo below we see James getting going in the neck carving for this slack key guitar. He has already started working on the volute which ends up smaller when complete. Also the heel curve is not complete yet; more will be coming off. Then the sanding begins, progressively moving through levels of sandpaper to 220 grit. At that level there is still some tooth on the wood for the finish to adhere to.

Deep Lake Bracing

Layne — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:09:37 +0000

The bracing on the soundboard of the Deep Lake is made of Adirondack Spruce and is nonstandard elliptical bracing. The soundboard is Carpathian Spruce. This particular Deep Lake has a custom elliptical soundhole.

Slack Key Guitar Progress

Layne — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:43:33 +0000

James shows Jeff Cook the progress on his flamed curly Koa “Waimea” slack key guitar. The body is complete and some neck work has been done. The headplate on the slotted headstock is book-matched Madagascar Rosewood to match the binding, bridge, and end graft. Now the neck is ready to carve. It won’t be long, Jeff!

Below, Jeff checks out the Madagascar Rosewood purfling on the inner edges of the soundholes. He’s ready to play this thing, but hey, he’s just going to have to wait a little bit longer. The dove tail joint can be seen in these shots; the joint is also a bolt-on. The best of both worlds.