greenscoe
Well-known member
I visited Ken Timms a couple of weeks ago. As a result of that visit, I set about building my first long necked soprano. It was made with a mould I produced 2 yrs ago and have used for only 1 standard soprano. The box internals are mostly in accordance with the Grellier plans (as found on the internet).
The sides are made of sapele and the top /back are made of mahogany which I was given by Ken. It has maple binding with walnut purfling on the top and back. The neck is of meranti with a eucalyptus head veneer. It’s the first time I’ve used pegs on an instrument.
As usual it has a tapered dovetail neck joint. After my chat with Mrs T, I’ve adopted the Timms method of assembly/finishing: the box/neck were glued together after being finished separately in shellac/Tru-Oil. I need more practice and patience in this area.
Ken’s instruments are very light, loud and have great tone. I thinned the sides/top to 1.6 mm and the back to 1.8 mm (a little thicker than Martin/Timms-I erred on the side of caution). I now have Wagner Safe-T-planer and Pete Howlett type sander so achieving this is much quicker and easier than previously. I’ve also used a thinner and flatter profile neck than normal after seeing Ken’s instruments.
This instrument is loud and clear with some sustain. It has good tone and is balanced across the strings: I am very happy with the way it sounds. Despite my liking for tenors, I think this instrument is one that will get played regularly.
The sides are made of sapele and the top /back are made of mahogany which I was given by Ken. It has maple binding with walnut purfling on the top and back. The neck is of meranti with a eucalyptus head veneer. It’s the first time I’ve used pegs on an instrument.
As usual it has a tapered dovetail neck joint. After my chat with Mrs T, I’ve adopted the Timms method of assembly/finishing: the box/neck were glued together after being finished separately in shellac/Tru-Oil. I need more practice and patience in this area.
Ken’s instruments are very light, loud and have great tone. I thinned the sides/top to 1.6 mm and the back to 1.8 mm (a little thicker than Martin/Timms-I erred on the side of caution). I now have Wagner Safe-T-planer and Pete Howlett type sander so achieving this is much quicker and easier than previously. I’ve also used a thinner and flatter profile neck than normal after seeing Ken’s instruments.
This instrument is loud and clear with some sustain. It has good tone and is balanced across the strings: I am very happy with the way it sounds. Despite my liking for tenors, I think this instrument is one that will get played regularly.
