The Russell Portland is in the finishing process. It won’t be long now. Several more sprays and wet sanding, then begins the ten to fourteen day wait till buffing and final setup. Very exciting to see the Portland at this stage. The flame is popping.
Oct 082010
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.
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.
Follow Us!