2023 Ken Whisler #48 Cedar EIRW 650mm

Description

2023 Ken Whisler #48 Cedar EIRW 650mm

Features

Tone Woods

Measurements

2023 Ken Whisler #48 Cedar EIRW 650mm

Comments

Just arrived, this guitar is superb!  Pretty, full bodied voice, easy to play.  Intimate voice perfect for a small room recital but clearly capable of more.

Excellent work by the master luthier.  Ken’s work has always been intriguing and accessible price-wise and this one is no different.

Ken works out of his workshop in Parkville, Missouri.  He wrote this note about the top “The cedar top came from the stash of retired luthier. I bought out all of his remaining cedar and it is a bit denser and stiffer than cedars I’ve worked with in the past. Which allowed me to work it a bit thinner than normal without compromising the tensile strength. That, in combination with the denser East Indian Rosewood, resulted in a sound that I’d describe as more cavernous; the guitar seems to have a bit of natural reverb built right into it.

Additional specs on action and neck widths/depths

Nut Width 52mm
String Spacing 42mm at nut to 58mm at bridge

Neck thickness @1st fret 21mm

Neck thickness @10th fret 22mm

Neck elevation @12th fret 12mm

Body depth @neck 90mm

Body depth @ tail 98mm

General thoughts on Whisler #48 from Ken.

This is my 1st guitar built where I utilized Honduran mahogany for the neck. I like it. I have both Honduran mahogany and Spanish cedar on hand and am happy to use either for necks.
Most of 2021, I used a blind graphite bar for neck reinforcement. In times past, I used my own variation of the “Gilbert flip”. The Gilbert flip is where the neck blank is rip sawn down the middle, one half is flipped length wise, then the two halves are glued back together. My variation is to include a flat sawn strip of (any) hardwood as a center strip. So, after the “flip” and with the addition of the flat sawn center strip, the end grain of the neck blank will look like this: /////III\\\\. The end result is very stable and resistant to warp. Using the blind graphite bar is also very stable. The amount of labor on my end is about the same for either method. I personally prefer the look of the center strip, and I have a nice stash of wenge. So I decided to return to the flip method. I still have some graphite bars if one prefers a traditional look for the neck.

When Paul Jacobson retired, I bought out his remaining stock of tonewoods. Paul also gifted me some of his jigs. Prior to this, I slotted and shaped my headstocks by hand. Paul gave me his homemade jig for slotting the headstock and drilling the tuner holes. Paul refused to give me his template for his headstock shape; he was adamant that my headstock shape be mine,
yet he showed me his template and spoke at great length how he had it made and how he used it. When shaping, drilling, and slotting a headstock by hand, I had to set aside
an entire day for the process…..and it looked “human”. Some days it looked more human than others. After utilizing Paul’s jig and methods, I can do it in about an hour. Paul’s headstocks had a cove route on the perimeter of the face plate. The bushings to align the tuner holes were spaced to allow for this. To space the tuner holes as I had in times past would have necessitated altering Paul’s jig. Rather than do that, and out of respect for Paul and in gratitude for his very generous gift, I decided to incorporate a cove route on the face of my own headstocks.
Also one may notice the bridge saddle has no slope from bass to treble. Fingerboards on classical guitars traditionally are sloped on the bass side towards the bridge, and the saddle would have to be higher on the bass side to achieve ideal action at the 12th fret. Paul advised that I do the same, in reverse towards the nut, on the treble side. It’s a subtle change that I believe
yields huge results. 1st, it leans the plane of the strings -into- the trajectory of the motion of the right hand. 2nd, when strumming with the thumb, it takes less effort to bring out the trebles.3rd, when Doug Niedt was teaching us about tone production in my college days, he taught us to push the string towards the soundboard when plucking. This makes that motion almost
automatic. Finally, it raises the trebles 1-2 millimeters higher off the soundboard at the bridge than is the norm….which translates into (hopefully) less right hand dings in the soundboard.
The action is currently at 3.7 mm bass to 2.5 mm treble at the 12th fret. I initially strung the guitar with D’Addario Pro Arte Normal tension (J45). I swapped the strings for hard tension (J46) today, and oddly neither the feel or the tone changed, but the headroom increased dramatically with just that additional 5 lbs. of tension. I normally prefer normal tension strings, but if the
guitar itself tells me it wants hard tension, I listen. When Christopher Parkening let me play the ex Segovia Ramirez he was touring with at the time, the first thing I noticed was how the trebles felt on the right hand fingertips. There was a soft, rubbery feel that made tone production near effortless. It’s a quality I’ve strived for in my own work, and it’s my opinion this guitar has that in spades.

This guitar is finished entirely with French polish.

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Media

Listening with high quality headphones or audio equipment is highly recommended including EQ manipulation, if possible. We record everything flat with just a touch of Reverb to relieve dryness. My goal is to record the guitar as realistically as is possible. I speak in the recordings, my thoughts about the guitar (and possibly other things?).  My speaking also serves to give you my first impressions and to also give you a balance of the engineering (or lack thereof) versus the sound of the guitar.  I simply do not have time to engineer much of anything.  Thanks. Rich

MP3 Audio – Coming Soon!

My Solo Book of sheet music is available here if you’re interested.

Richard F. Sayage – Solo Guitar Works Volume 1

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Shipping

Premium HSC is included in your purchase price.

Insured FedEx Ground, UPS Ground or UPS/USPS Priority/Express Shipping is not included to the 50 US

Your listed Price does NOT include Shipping to the 50US

Please note that as a Global Statement for my site, for Tuning machines, Accessories, and most guitars, that Shipping is NOT Free any longer.  Costs have gone up dramatically.  Regardless of what or where you might read on the site, shipping is not free any longer.  Choose the least expensive method, if available, or Expedited if you want them quicker.  My apologies.  Rich

Please DO NOT Choose USPS Media Mail to ship a guitar or a Hard Shell Case – this shipping method is designed for Media, Books, CDS, DVDs, etc.  

Please  choose UPS 2nd Day Air or Ground Delivery or any Expedited Method.  The more expensive a guitar, the more likely you should choose a 1 or 2 day method.  It’s pure common sense, especially when it is too hot or too cold outside.  

 I have added numerous options for you to choose the cost and method, including USPS Priority and Express, as well as FedEx/UPS options (simply indicate your preference in the Notes window at Check Out).  Thank you!

Very Important:  International Clients, including Canada…Please note that we will NOT accept PayPal or any CC as payment.  All transactions must be finalized with Bank Wire Transfers for any amount over $1000 USD. Please see our discussion found here and scroll down to Customs – Duty and International Shipping .  Thank you!

Anywhere else is subject to the most recent quote from USPS

Please write to me for a detailed quote for International Shipping.

Very Important:  International Clients, including Canada…Please note that we will NOT accept PayPal or any CC as payment.  All transactions must be finalized with Bank Wire Transfers for any amount over $1000 USD. Please see our discussion found here and scroll down to Customs – Duty and International Shipping .  Thank you!

Packaging is professionally done within its hard-shell case.

It is always preferred that you come to the Studio to play it and pick it up. -Rich

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Warranty

This classical guitar carries a 1 Year Warranty directly from the Luthier

Please read my Return Policy

Please inquire using email or phone (Contact Me)

Email me directly if you need more info: rich at savageclassical dot com