Jumbo Baritone Build

Patrick Madsen

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I had a parlor guitar made by George Thomas and liked it so much he is building me a "special" Jumbo baritone.

It'll be a tenor guitar sized body(17"long 13"wide lower bout, 4 1/4" deep) with a 1 3/8th nut, 21.88 scale nylon strung.

Florentine cutaway, 4A Red Cedar top, 4A walnut b&s, mahogany neck with rosewood or ebony fretboard. Thomas asymmetrical neck( centerline veers off to the lower 12th fret eliminating the need to change wrist positions going up the neck) arm rest bevel, sound port, K&K pickup and Waverly or Gilbert tuners.

He specializes in making ergonomic style guitars and ukes. I play from a wheelchair and found the changes he made provided a big difference in the comfort of holding and playing a larger instrument. One being he made the depth of the upper rear bout a 1/4" narrower to help give a better attack angle to the strings.

I was getting an impingement on the ulnar nerve so with this one, we're making a few changes. A scoop on the lower bout to lower and move the instrument body a bit forward and a larger arm bevel to help with the impingement and lower the shoulder to a more comfortable position. He made a foam copy of the body to finetune the angle of the scoop and bevel to correspond with how I hold it. The scoop will also help anchor the body to my thigh.

I alway say, this is the last one. It will be.... until the next one.
 

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Yep Campbell, this is a truly custom instrument. And to think, this guy lives only 20 minutes away from me. I love his asymmetrical neck and how easy it is to play up the frets.
 
Hey Patrick,

Congratulations on the new ukulele. I remember that you like baritones and I'm happy to see that George is able to build you an ukulele that will have a big baritone voice but will accommodate your needs for playing it. I can't wait to hear you play it!
 
Here's the latest photos so far with the larger angled bevel on the front and scoop on the back lower bout. The one with the red line going down the center is a laser for lining up the neck with the body.

Another month and should be done... hopefully. I think it's gonna be a great instrument with the larger body and 21.8" nylon strung scale. Looks like he used bloodwood for the binding.
 

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Patrick, I have been anxiously awaiting pictures and an update on this. Thanks for posting and sharing. I really like this instrument a lot, the wood choices the ergonomic shapes, colors of trim. Everything is coming together beautifully. That is gonna big one great sounding baritone, the grandaddy of all baritones.
 
Looks great, Patrick. I am a committed Baritone player. I think this will be a great sounding instrument.
 
Oh gosh, it is coming along quite nicely. Can’t wait to hear it and see it at completion.
Congratulations on a gorgeous Baritone.
 
Patrick, I love the design and overall look. Looks like lots of thought went into it. Well done! Thanks for the pictures.
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Thanks guys, it's coming along nicely. Thanks Doc for blowing up the two photos.

The scoop was my idea to drop it a bit and also have it sit forward a bit to get a faster attack on the strum. I'm mostly using a Bill Stokes flat pick to get that old tortoise shell sound. Deciding on the strings to use. I have a set of the light heavy gauge Dirk suggested a while ago or perhaps the T-I. 3&4 with Savarez trebles.

I gave him full freedom to do as he pleased with the esthetics. He's well known for the end grafts he makes. This is on the parlor he made for me recently named after my brother. The small dot on the bottom triangle is his mark to honor my brother.

He named it Kaona. Means multiple or hidden meanings in Hawaiian mele(songs) or poetry.
 

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That is a beautiful instrument. The use of the laser level in one of the pics to find the centerline is ingenious. I need one of those!

Please let us know how those nylon strings work on a guitar that size. I've been contemplating building a nylon tenor for myself, and the Indian Rosewood for the back & sides arrived today, but it will probably be after the first of the year before I begin construction.
 
George asked me to stop by to check on the neck profile before he continued on with the French Polish. It was spot on. The scoop and angle of the bevel is perfect for my playing position. He just started the pore fill and FP. Should be finished before Thanksgiving.

Kaona, it's name, is going to have a very big voice. Here are a few photos I took
 

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That's gonna be a special one all right! :cheers:
 
Holy SUGAR Patrick that is beautiful. I love the detail in the cutaway, the book matching of the headstock overlay, the super curly walnut back and sides. Really something special and how he has shaped everything to fit your playing position is amazing.
 
I really dig that headstock. Fabulous.
 
Thanks guys. He really is an artist. Just makes them one at a time in his shop. Ergonomics is a big thing for him. His asymmetrical neck shape is the most comfortable neck I've played. He shapes it so the neck profile corresponds to the the chord shape going up the neck. Rather than needing to change wrist position moving up the neck, the neck profile compensates for it. The scoop and angle of the bevel to fit my playing position was my idea and worked out really well.

He makes ukes, guileles and parlor guitars to your specs.. A very talented artist using top quality woods. The walnut is 4A curly and the western red cedar is old growth 4A also. Binding is blood wood. Waverly tuners.

George E. Thomas Guitars, Bellingham, Wa. I think my parlor guitar was a little over 2 grand and this should be around 2300. including a good case and K&K pickup with volume control wheel in the sound hole.

The parlor guitar and Jumbo baritone will be the final results searching for an instrument that has all the nuances I like after some 60 years looking, well more like 45 years, but been playing going on 61 years now. Kaona is Hawaiian for multiple ot hidden meanings in Hawaiian Mele (songs or poetry). Will probably have a nickname of "Uncle Pat" or "You wanted more Volume, you got it!". We're on third generation pickers in the family so one of them will eventually get them... years down the road.
 
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