My new Thompson

[Zohn]

Built by Alistair Thompson of Pretoria, South Africa with Coastal Redwood top, Hard Pear back & sides and Leadwood head plate and bridge with Ebony finger board and African Mahogany binding.

[ryler]

You must be so excited about this one!  Beautiful.

[Zohn]

Thank you for the compliment Ryler.
I'm more inclined to smaller bodies of late, but since Alistair only build dreads, I couldn't look away from this one - I'm glad I didn't - it is a great guitar with clarity, presence, headroom and responsiveness.

[L07 Shooting Star]

Interesting combination of woods, both sound-wise and esthetically.  Is the redwood stained or is that it's natural color?  Creates quite a contrast with the back and sides in that the top is darker than the body, whereas most guitars have tops that are lighter than the body.  Rather stunning I must say.  I'm curious about the black wedge at the tail end of the guitar.  Is that tape or wood or?

[Zohn]

Interesting combination of woods, both sound-wise and esthetically.  Is the redwood stained or is that it's natural color?  Creates quite a contrast with the back and sides in that the top is darker than the body, whereas most guitars have tops that are lighter than the body.  Rather stunning I must say.  I'm curious about the black wedge at the tail end of the guitar.  Is that tape or wood or?

Thank you for your interest and compliments Shooting Star.
The top (in fact the whole guitar) is clad in 5 coats of clear Nitro Cellulose Lacquer.
The top is a glorious red colour and yes the "reversed" contrast in terms of the darker top is quite unusual like you mentioned.

Alistair bought that Redwood in California in the early 90's when he visited there. I believe it is a very old (the grain count testifies to that) top and I was fortunate to tap and rub the top plates before they were assembled. The tone and response was unlike I've ever heard before.

The Hard pear is indigenous to the Knysna forest in the Southern Cape province of South Africa. It is extremely hard to work with and very hard and dense. It is so resistant to bending that Alistair had to use Mahogany back bracing to retain the back-radius. It has the reflective qualities of Braz Rosewood and works very well with the Redwood, lending a remarkably balanced tone, somewhat tempered bass and complex tone with ample harmonic content, clarity and tons of sustain.

The back-strip at the end-block is in fact African Blackwood and was merely added because Alistair offered it for the build although it doesn't really fit in the overall context of matching colours.

This is my holy grail instrument - at the moment I can hardly put it down....

[L07 Shooting Star]

Hey Zohn, thanks for the information.  I'm going to use the info about the Hard Pear wood to impress a co-worker who is from South Africa.  He is a pretty accomplished wood worker and I'm going to casually drop my knowledge of the properties of Hard Pear, just to mess with his mind.  By the way, how does one pronounce Knysna?  I need to sound authentic in this caper.

In any case, it seems you have a life-time guitar there.

[Zohn]

By the way, how does one pronounce Knysna?

In any case, it seems you have a life-time guitar there.

Nize-na as in nice with a "z"

Yes this guitar is a keeper for sure - thanks  

If you really wish to impress your mate mention the word biltong..... 

[photodork]

Looks like some beautiful woods!

[unclrob]

 



Do you still have your Larrivee Jumbo?


Again...


Question though how does he keep his bench so clean?

Mine was only that clean when I changed the carpet ever few years......

[Zohn]

Looks like some beautiful woods!

and worth its weight in gold.... thank you photodork

[Zohn]

Do you still have your Larrivee Jumbo?


Again...


Question though how does he keep his bench so clean?

Mine was only that clean when I changed the carpet ever few years......

Hey Rob, always good to hear from ya bro"  

no, that jumbo is long gone - this one fills the void though - thanx for the compliment.

Aah the bench - that one is mine actually and no, it's no longer that clean!!  - I had old "Hard Red" on there to adjust the string-slots in the nut somewhat