who knows about blueberry guitars

[soberdave09]

just found them on ebay,there all hand carved.

[Strings4Him]

Blueberry Guitars are excellent guitars.  A quick read of the reviews found on Blueberry Guitar's store on ebay gives ample testimony to the guitars and the customer-focus of its founder, Danny Fonfeder.  The guitars are very well made, using excellent materials and craftsmenship.  Blueberry Guitars is a union of Canadian, American, and Balinese art and passion.  See below for some pics of my Blueberry Dreadnought.

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[Mr_LV19E]

They are also making some very nice carved guitar stands now.

[sneaky]

I don`t ...but I know a thing or two about blueberry cheesecake.

[JOYCEfromNS]

They are truly a work of art - the next blackberry??????

[Michael T]

Aren't they the guitar with the exposed grooves/diagonals etc. carved by the Burmese and assembled in Viet Nam or China? Very ornate carvings into the wood. Other than the obvious dirt/dust trap issues wouldn't the sound waves and vibrations be disrupted by those engravings? I have not played one but they are supposed to sound pretty decent. I personally wouldn't care much for the ornate designs  but I am curious why more builders wouldn't use the groove methodology if there were much to it, or why wouldn't it be on the inside where the maint. wouldn't be an issue. Like all things guitar, if you like the way it sounds and it fits for you, PLAY ON!

[jeremy3220]

but I am curious why more builders wouldn't use the groove methodology if there were much to it

Because it hurts the stiffness to weight ratio. Imagine if you took a cross sectional notch out of a support beam, you'd remove little weight but a lot of strength and stiffness.

[Michael T]

Because it hurts the stiffness to weight ratio. Imagine if you took a cross sectional notch out of a support beam, you'd remove little weight but a lot of strength and stiffness.

So the grooving itself would be a good thing from the sonic standpoint? Or, would the grooves interrupt the movement of the soundboard to the point it would be detrimental? I'm just curious as to the different approach in the build and why other builders don't seem to think it is a desirable thing, inside or out.

[Stephen Basil]

The lobster says it all!

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[Michael T]

OMG! The free credit check seafood restaurant commercial  just popped into my head with that one. 

[Stephen Basil]

Looked at first like somebody stepped on the poor critter.  But on closer inspection, the red color does suggest that it's ready for serving!

[Strings4Him]

My Horse dread looks great and plays great.  Mine does not have the groove carvings, though.

[Stephen Basil]

My Horse dread looks great and plays great.  Mine does not have the groove carvings, though.

I don't mean to suggest that they aren't good guitars, it's just that the lobster headstock is kinda shocking to put on an instrument!

[Mr_LV19E]

I don't mean to suggest that they aren't good guitars, it's just that the lobster headstock is kinda shocking to put on an instrument!

It's making me kind of hungry.

[Queequeg]

I don't remember them being this expensive in the past. 

[jeremy3220]

So the grooving itself would be a good thing from the sonic standpoint? Or, would the grooves interrupt the movement of the soundboard to the point it would be detrimental? I'm just curious as to the different approach in the build and why other builders don't seem to think it is a desirable thing, inside or out.

The grooving itself would not be a good thing from the sonic standpoint. Cutting grooves in the top lowers the stiffness to weight ratio. You want a guitar top with a high stiffness to weight ratio; which is why Red Spruce is generally more desirable than mahogany or any hardwood for a guitar top. By cutting grooves into the wood you are removing little weight but a lot of stiffness. A good example of this is kerfed linings.

By cutting the kerfs in the strip of wood you get a flexible piece of wood that can fit around the contours of the guitar yet still has a lot of surface area for gluing. Of course an unnotched piece of wood with the same stiffness would weigh much less.

The reason you want a high stiffness to weight ratio is because two properties are required to make a good guitar top.
1. It has to withstand string tension
2. It has to be light enough to move. The more mass there is the harder it is to move.

So a guitar top that is both light and strong is ideal. The greater stiffness also allows the guitar to produce high frequencies, otherwise it would sound muddy.

Be aware that this is a simplification because some areas of the guitar benefit from more mass or less stiffness(which is why scalloped bracing exist).