Eichhorn Guitars
Handmade Custom Guitars
All you need to know is what you want !
As a guitar player, I know what you have been dreaming of. To possess an instrument that inspires you to play to the best of your ability. The tool that has the tone you hear in your head. The instrument that feels like home in your hands. A guitar that is as beautiful to look at as it is a joy to play!
Welcome to my passion!
Let me build the guitar of your dreams!
The Materials
I only use select wood that has the most desirable straight grain as well as the best tonal properties for the project that I am doing. I only use selectively harvested lumber from high quality sources including lumber from my own mill and or salvaged lumber from certified resources. Next, I am a fanatic about the wood being properly dried and re acclimated. If there is any sign of distress in the wood that I receive, it gets sent back or used for furniture. I prefer to dry it myself. I have many years of experience drying lumber in small and large quantities. It must be done slowly and accurately and must be totally dry and then re acclimated to average conditions.
Heating to a high temperature collapses the and crystallizes the cells so they are harder and more resonate. And then I still prefer it to lay around for some time just to make sure it is stable before it is used. In some cases I build with torrified or baked wood and have found this to be the ultimate choice.
The Neck
The joining of wood has to be very accurate in order for the wood to vibrate as one. If you have a one piece neck, you must select the grain to be in the best position for strength and if it is a glued together neck you must orient the pieces so they compliment each other for mutual benefit. The amount of wood in contact from the neck joining to the body also greatly effects the overall balance of vibration and influence of wood being used in the neck and the body. There is no more important joint than the neck joint. It must be snuggly fit in order to transfer vibration to the body. There are three basic neck joints used today. Bolt on neck, set neck or glued in neck and neck through, in which neck wood goes all the way through with sides glued on. All of these are subjective to individual preference and tastes. And all of these have there different problems and benefits!
There are differences in sound, feel, sustain and attack between a bolt on and a set neck,a neck through or a long tenon set neck.
(I know, this is more than you may want to know about all this)
Bolt On Neck
A bolt on neck if done correctly has nearly the same sustain as a set neck but the attack is different and is less compressed sounding, more adjustable and requires a slightly different approach to how it's played.
I am finding more often that I prefer this joint over any other if done correctly!
Set Neck
Set necks are glued in firmly joining to the body. This seams to increase overall stability of the instrument. Sustain is increased along with the overall attack of a note played. But this joint has to be done exactly or it becomes muted.
Long Tenon Set Neck
Once again the amount of wood in contact influences the sustain,attack and balance between the woods being joined. So a long tenon will have its own effect as well.
Neck Through
Where the neck wood goes all the way through the body and has (wings)glued on the sides. So actually the body is two separate pieces glued and joined to the sides of the neck wood. This type of set up has seemingly the most sustain and will be the most stable as far as the neck is concerned. But it has an even greater compressed sound. This will have its own effect of what you put in and what you get out. .
The Body
Just like the neck wood, body wood influences what goes in and what comes out. Generally,less dense wood has a warmer tone and very dense wood has a brighter tone. But there are many variables between different woods that also influence the body tone. The marriage between the neck wood can greatly influence the out come!
The acoustic properties are key here. This is depending on the pitch you want to hear..
Other materials used in the sonic path: Coming soon...
Nut Material
Bridge Material
String Gauge
And then, the electrical components.........
And then the finish materials???