I like the sound of this guitar, for a fourth build this is impressive.

Something Ben Crowe at Crimson always says about finishing up your build.... "The last 5 - 10% of every build is the FIRST thing your customer sees when they open the case. Put as much effort into that last bit as you did with the rest of the build!"

Man thanks Ted. As an amateur builder I really appreciate your kindness in this video!! For me the most difficult part of a build is always that last 10%. Infact, I don't think I can honestly say I've ever built a guitar to 100%.......maybe my best effort was a 98%.

I honestly couldn't see where the plug is in the bridge at first. Very impressive work, as always.

That is a beautiful guitar, if not perfect. It was great how you offered advice rather than criticism. I hope the maker watchers and comments on this video so people can give some props and recognition.

I love how you are always encouraging, not condescending. I'm with all the others who think this is awesome for a 4th build!

The notch in the back is made according to the Trevor Gore method of guitar building. The transverse brace with 4 diagonal brace is the typical star-shaped, back bracing pattern from Gore's book. The idea is to provide a relatively accessible spot for a violin plane to carve the brace from the soundhole and fine-tune the natural frequency of the back, once the guitar is fully assembled. It is indeed very hard not to rush the end of a build even though the last 10% is what the player will notice the most and what probably makes the most difference to him. I try very hard to impose that discipline to myself. It's crazy how we can be so demanding when it's about cutting perfect tiny miters in a spot where no-one will ever look, but setting the action doesn't seem that important any more when it's time to do it. I don't blame that guy although 15 cents sharp is really stretching it.

I’m getting a bloody no stream error trying to watch this. Doesn’t youtube understand the twoodford addiction.

(Being a teacher) I really appreciate the way you give feedback which is both critical and encouraging without being condescending or patronising. 👍

a) This is wonderful -- thanks! b) For someone's fourth instrument, that's quite impressive. Khdos to the maker (!).

Nice thing about my first acoustic build having a bolt-on neck was that I could make a "rough draft" fixture out of a length of 2x4 with a neck pocket routed into one end. I could nail the ball ends to the bottom of the 2x4 and slide the bridge up and down 'til I sussed out the best result intonation-wise before I ever had to commit glue to spruce . I'm a firm believer in mock-ups. :D

I think it would be really advantageous for a luthier to develop a relationship with an experienced repair guy. The feedback he would get would be invaluable to building a better guitar.

I love that you play the guitars after repairs or setup. Thanks.

I listen to what Woodford says as much as I watch him work. He’s equal parts philosopher and luthier and his tips on repairing guitars can just as easily be applied to improving one’s life.

Another episode rich in knowledge along with a gentle nudge for the maker of this beautiful instrument. Thank you for sharing.

Right on about the "throw in the towel" feeling when you're ALMOST done, and you realize you have to move the bridge! Ask me how I know... Best takeaway? It's all fixable.

Well, once KZfaq deigned to let me watch it, that was a fascinating look at what can be done with a home workshop. If my fourth instrument is half that good, I'll be happy, and with your careful work, that's a guitar that will do well!

That guitar seemed really happy when you played it.

Really appreciate the time you take to share these with us. God bless!

This man has earned the right to wag his finger yet take 0 pleasure in it. Just wants the best for his craft and those engaged in it. Hats off!

Making guitars after almost 50 years doing old wood things, I found the neck to be the most difficult, yes sir-ee!

Jerry Rosa(Rosa Stringworks) is fond of padouk for his backs and sides. He went on what seems like an endless journey in finding a grain filler. Nothing out there will fill the grain in one application in padouk except an epoxy. There’s a few very high end acoustic builders that use epoxy filler to great success visually and audibly.

Gives hope to all of us aspiring to get our instruments closer to perfect.

Wenge was used by Warwick when building their first basses in the mid 80s. Very dense, excellent strength and hardness for the neck through construction. The Thumb bass particularly made good use of wenge.

Very Beautiful Guitar. Love the choices the Builder made in his designs. The intonation work you did on the bridge was impressive! I absolutely love your videos.

One of the interesting facets of design and engineering is how often design changes are made to fix a problem found during prototyping or over time with feedback from the user and how equally often such changes are completely forgotten about and only realised when someone comes along and says "why was it done like that, that is stupid, let's change it or simplify it or just throw it away and start again". I see this a lot in my job. It's very difficult to maintain hidden knowledge like this especially with a turnover of staff over time. I guess this applies in this case to a few of the things you pointed out, like the shape of the neck block and the thickness of the bottom block (jack socket drilled through). It's a nice looking instrument though, it has to be said and the luthier should be proud of his or her work.

That guy built a very good looking guitar and it didn't take much to get it to sound good as well.

Very kind and encouraging comments concerning the builder. I always learn something here~

Inspirational again Ted. Thanks

Jimi Unplugged: “Crossgrain Silking.”

'It's all repairable.' Man does that hit home. For me that's the biggest struggle; investing my time and being critical and precise until the very end. I just redid the binding for a third time on a guitar, and I still scraped away a bit too much on one side. You can tell, not many will. But I can, and after three times I'm gonna live with it. But damn, when you see these guitars people made...I definitely have the skills but am just terrible at staying focused.

Thanks for the new video Ted! My only issue with your channel is I've watched every single video - some more than once :) For what it's worth - don't worry about doing videos you feel are "repetitive." It's much easier to not watch something than wish there was something new to watch. Keep up the great work - you are a master!

not only do you show us the "tricks of the trade" but you educate someone new to your world, that's class.

Once again Ted. Thank's for your invaluable 'tutorials'.

I'd be encouraged with that feedback.

BEAUTIFUL!!

Great comment on fixing those playability issues on a big guitar project. My first guitar (electric) needed hours of tweaking after it was "complete", and while it has many cosmetic flaws (I am an amateur woodworker at best), it plays nicely and in tune and sounds good.

Gorgeous guitar!

Regardless of the tweaking that was needed. That is nice sounding guitar, and aesthetically, it's a beauty.

When criticism is fact based and constructive in nature, the way Ted has done it here, it can lead to improvement in technique, and result in better builds. It's still gonna sting a bit, but it will not humiliate! Beautiful guitar, with great sound!

Beautiful. 🙂

Beautiful guitar great job by everyone involved!

Looks and sounds like a lovely instrument!

Andaman Padauk is different from African padauk. In the 1980s a hurrican hit the Island and wiped out 85% of the stannding timber rendering Andaman Padaukm from the islands no longer commercially available. Andaman Padauk doesn't oxidise in the same way that African does. It gets lighter rather than darker over age.

What a beautiful guitar...

I never really checked the intonation against my tuner... that's a great tip! Expanding 🎵🎶 knowledge!!

Gorgeous guitar. Quite a few features suggest that a classical guitar (the missing position markers, for example; the plantilla and rosette; the French polish) was the main inspiration for this instrument. I like it.

I love your attitude about the finish at 5:22, A handmade item should have traces of the makers hand

I believe wenge was used very often for bridges and fingerboards of acoustic Eko giutars from the 70s. Maybe not throughout the whole range but I'm sure my eko JR and eko Fiesta both use it. Great video as always, cheers from Italy!

what can I say?...been waiting for this one since yesterday! Nice work and as always super nice and honest insights on a decent build... I think this guitar sounds surprisingly good for its size (Headphones ) a little better unplugged than not...so depending on the price a good al-round custom build made better by Ted! Thanks for posting!

Beautiful guitar. The acoustic tone is wonderful.

Gotta admit that is a beautiful looking guitar, love the wood choices, they look very good.

I am impressed by the fact that he used Padauk. I only tried that wood once and I had a difficult time bending the sides. They cracked every time. Possibly I needed more heat.

One of the best sounding guitar on your channel. And the job is exquisite as always! Thank you for your efforts on posting!

The guitar looked great. The lines on the outside were mesmerizing.

looks amazing sounds great another great explanation and great work thanks for your dedication

Sounds great

Beautiful guitar, and now with your help it's perfect! Very nice!

This is me now fixing my fret scale mistakes ironically on my 4th guitar! This was very helpful. Always learning !

That’s a really nice guitar even if it wasn’t a 4th built. It has a wonderful sound. I hope that Luthier continues to build and develop. Cool video thanks for posting.

Just discovered last few days. I am sooo intrigued and captivated. Ty for sharing your craft and perception. Just wonderful and very cool

Beautiful instrument and it sounds great. The builder should be proud. The repair is also top notch.

Great Job. It looks great for a 4th guitar and sound good too.

Sounds great. Awesome job plugging and routing the saddle as always too!

I’m just starting on my second acoustic guitar build, and this is a well timed video for me to watch. Thanks for the good advice.

Love the voice of that guitar.

Rings like a bell. Great job giving this instrument it's voice, Ted!

This was a delightful video. I just found your channel and expected to learn about guitars. I did not expect to learn so much about wood, but I'm extremely delighted by that because I'd like to start a woodworking hobby. I follow plenty of woodworkers, but none of them discuss wood, wood grain, and they history of wood the way you did here. I was entranced. Thank you.

These videos are just an absolute highlight in what I engage in for entertainment. Thank you.

Informative critique, thanks.

Wow sounds really good unplugged

Thank you for the education Ted, for a fourth guitar the fit and finish is top notch. A lot of skill and care went into it it’s beautiful looking. Stay after it Maker you have a talent that cannot be ignored.

Very nice guitar. Hopefully this person continues to hone their craft!

Put colloidal silica in your shellac and fill the pores like magic=amazing stability.

Really beautiful work. Both the maker and you.

Great mann you are great inspiration

If you are still doing these in a couple years I'd love to see this instrument come by to see how it has aged. Perhaps I am odd, but when you mentioned about the jig to set the bridge position, I said to myself, how could you possibly do it without a jig?

I use Wenge on acoustic bridges. I don't use Rosewood anymore I can't get it from the local hardwood supply and I don't pay StuMac extortion.

Sounds bright, I like it

Excellent video, and an inspirational tutorial for would be luthiers. Thanks for putting it together.

As a hobby builder this was a fun one,Thanks!

Fun ,informative and entertaining, perfect.

Your videos are very inspiring. Thank you

A success I would say, even the sustain is impressive.

A very good analysis of this guitar. Excellent for a 4th build by the builder! Better than I could ever do!

That guitar will sell because of the love that was put in the work!

What a nice guitar, I really like it!

I have built two guitars. My first one was not good (top was too thin), the 2nd one I was quite proud of, and it plays IN TUNE!!!!!!!

That's a great looking guitar for being the luthier's fourth build. That top is an especially nice piece of wood. I also own a luthier-built guitar that's one of the builder's early guitars. It has some small finish flaws, but all the important things are spot on - nice neck shape, good fretwork, and properly intonated.

Listened to the guitar through Tascam headphones, and the dude built a sweet sounding guitar! The pickup sounded great too! Thanks for sharing!

Ridiculously pretty guitar!

I listen to You thru an NAD 7100 receiver, Canadian ribbon tweeters (Newform Research), French basses (Audax), homemade frequency dividers and to my ears You sound just great. To me these Canadian ribbon speakers DO make a huge difference- talking about the last 10%...

You were very correct the pickup does sound quiet good. Wonderful video

The back braces are carved for a "Live" back- This was taken from the Gore/Gilet book.

excellent vid lots of useful information, thanks

That guitar sounds really good.

I thought it sounded great plugged and unplugged! Always enjoyed your work and insights.

Excellent video and commentary, Ted. I learned a lot about a variety of possibilities for guitar repair. Much thanks.

Super useful thank you

Very nice tone. You are a dedicated to your art one of a vanishing lot. Thanx