The Forum VI Waiting Room

[Riverbend]

Beautiful guitar Mikeymac! You guys are killing me without the pick guard! More and more tempted with every picture...

[markj]

Another beautiful Forum VI guitar!  Good to see that it arrived safe and sound Mike!

You guys with all the mad guitar tech skills modifying this guitar moments after it's out of the box. 

The action on mine is fine. It is a tiny bit higher than I prefer and will have that adjusted but, I am letting mine settle in for a month before I do anything to it. Including changing the strings.

I am torn on the Pickguard. I know it's best to remove it sooner than later.

[Riverbend]

Another beautiful Forum VI guitar!  Good to see that it arrived safe and sound Mike!

You guys with all the mad guitar tech skills modifying this guitar moments after it's out of the box. 

The action on mine is fine. It is a tiny bit higher than I prefer and will have that adjusted but, I am letting mine settle in for a month before I do anything to it. Including changing the strings.

I am torn on the Pickguard. I know it's best to remove it sooner than later.

I just texted my luthier and asked his advice, and experience level, on pick guard removal. I'm leaning pretty hard in that direction.

[mike in lytle]

I'll let the pics talk for now - but it's very nice wood, and the tone is very sweet. It's kinda quiet, but that might be strings, and it will open up over time (some guitars start opening up within a few hours of being played; my Italian Spruce-topped custom Martin was that way).

I already lowered the nut slots and polished up the nut a bit; plays much better now. Has some buzz on the A string, third fret ("C" note); we'll see how that settles in.

You and Scott seem to have similar patterns in your backs, running opposite ways. Very cool.

[Rockysdad]

Congrats Mikeymac, another great looking Forum VI.

We are a lucky bunch.

[Mikeymac]

You guys with all the mad guitar tech skills modifying this guitar moments after it's out of the box. 

A skill set born out of necessity as a lefty player. When I decided to build my first Warmoth electric, I knew NOTHING (this was in '95; I didn't have much access to the internet then, and there wasn't much out there anyway). I bought some tools from Stew-Mac and started learning: soldering, wiring, nuts, saddles, set-ups, etc.

So it drives me crazy when the nut slots are too high (which they are on almost ALL production guitars, no matter what price point).

[mike in lytle]

Photos ad nauseum...
(...thinking about some ebony pins and tuning pegs...)

Black pins look good. I have already ordered a set of the black JCL tuning machines, cause one of the tuners on the OM-03 failed. The black ones will go on the F-VI, and I will have spares to use when the next tuner fails.
I also have not taken the nut slots down as far as I like, I will save that for later. As long as I can easily fret a full F bar chord without too much effort I am happy.
If they had black bone nuts and saddles I would get those too, cause when the Sunrise goes back on the F-VI, all the details would be blacked out, except for the VI.

And I also started basics of setup during the last 18 months or so, when it became very difficult to get the guitars into the shop.
Mike

[Hooked]

Photos ad nauseum...

(...thinking about some ebony pins and tuning pegs...)

I bought a set of walnut pegs from Charis guitars, made to fit Gotoh 510s. I'll change out the tuners at first string change.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[mike in lytle]

I bought a set of walnut pegs from Charis guitars, made to fit Gotoh 510s. I'll change out the tuners at first string change.

Geez, another guitar tech wizard modifying his F-VI at first opportunity....
I would have got Gotoh tuners, but the shape of the tuning peg is weird.
Anyhow, the first string change on my F-VI happened right away, as the guitar was out of tune after shipping, kinda like how a guitar gets one day after a string change when you forget to stretch them. The G string broke at the peghead tuning it up. And just like that.... string change!
Mike

[Riverbend]

I bought a set of walnut pegs from Charis guitars, made to fit Gotoh 510s. I'll change out the tuners at first string change.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

Just ordered a set.

[Silence Dogood]

Wow, such a cool thread, and such pretty guitars!  You all must feel so fortunate to own them!

I put black Gotohs on my Larrivee (on my second set since I wore out the first ones) when I first got it.  To me, and especially with Larrivee's black headstock, black tuners should be a standard feature.  They just look a lot better to my eye. 

[markj]

I just ordered this stand in Walnut.

https://www.solidgroundstands.com/stands/guitar

[J M Larrivée]

Look inside your guitar, next to the neck block... I found, hand written, "brace as 40".

Then I noticed it on one of the pics John Jr. sent while they were in production. Look closely - you can see it (the third line from the top edge):

Here's a higher-res image you can blow up...  (With a telescoping mirror, you could find out whose top it is )

[mike in lytle]

Here's a higher-res image you can blow up...  (With a telescoping mirror, you could find out whose top it is )

Is that top STILL sitting on the table? No wonder it wasn't shown on the last list you sent me  (kidding).
Mike

[Rockysdad]

Definitely not the top from mine, it's not an LSV.

Regarding details, aside from the backs being different in grain, I noticed the top on mine has really tight grain for the width of the bridge and then the grain really widens. First top I've ever noticed this, all my others the grain structure is uniform across the top.
Just an observation.

[jazzereh]

That's very much like mine.  Very close grain at the centre and widening toward the outer edge.  Looks very nice.

[markj]

Don't think that is mine.

Is the 816 part of the serial# 137816?

Here is a photo of my "AS 40"  that I reversed to read properly. The O looks a little different. Anything else is hidden by the neck block and kerf lining.

[mike in lytle]

Don't think that is mine.
Is the 816 part of the serial# 137816?

Yep, it's 137816. One of those not yet shipped.
And 816 is indeed an LSV, the tops were trimmed later in the process.
I was looking at the photos so far, and 812, 815 and 816 were together in a photo at one point. They are now the last to be completed.
Mike

[mike in lytle]

Regarding details, aside from the backs being different in grain, I noticed the top on mine has really tight grain for the width of the bridge and then the grain really widens. First top I've ever noticed this, all my others the grain structure is uniform across the top.
Just an observation.

That is very interesting, mine is quite wide grain in the middle, then sort of inconsistently tightens to the sides.
Also, I measured the depth of the body at the lower bout, and it is a hair over 4-3/8 inches (4.40)
Interesting cause I have an OM at 4-7/16 inches and another at 4-1/4.
John said at one point there is a tolerance, can't find it right now, but it seemed generous.
Mike

[Riverbend]

Definitely not the top from mine, it's not an LSV.

Regarding details, aside from the backs being different in grain, I noticed the top on mine has really tight grain for the width of the bridge and then the grain really widens. First top I've ever noticed this, all my others the grain structure is uniform across the top.
Just an observation.

My top grain is about as tight as I've ever seen, the only exception being slightly wider at the lower bout outside 1-1/4". I've seen a couple pictures of similar grain in other's, as well.