I had taken in a Martin Eric Clapton signature model (picture posed by model, left), and the lacquer was separating all along the back of the neck.  Because it was a nitrocellulose lacquer finish, I was able to repair this, and have no evidence marks where I had thinned and added laquer to the original finish.

The post just came today, and I noticed something that looked suspiciously unlike a bill.  I opened it, and it was a card, with a picture of a tree on the front.  I read the message, and this is what it said:

Dear Jim,

A word of thanks for the superb work you did on the Fender and the Martin.

You’ve completely solved the niggly intonation problems I was having with the Fender and it’s a joy to play again.

As for the Martin – we’re staggered at the flawless finish on the neck.  To be able to not feel the previous abrasions was great, but not to be able to see the joins (as it were!) is a bonus.  The Waverley tuners have increased the tuning accuracy no end – I wish I’d have had it done years ago.  The upshot of all this is that I’m playing more than I’ve done for years!  Thank you.

The owner was delighted with the job when he picked it up, and has sinced phoned me to tell me how pleased he was with the new tuners I installed.  For him to go to this extra effort is what my job is all about.

I am in such a good mood that I am now going to put the binding on a cutaway.  This is an fiddly job, but this letter has given me the ego boost I needed to get cracking on it.

Expect a bad mood again in 1 hour’s time.

Martin Guitar Soundhole Rosette

This is a Martin rosette. It’s an example of what you may find on many guitars, with a few rings surrounding the soundhole.

Spanish guitar rosettes tend to be more elaborate, with beautiful marquetry patterns. You almost never see this on a steel string.

Baroque guitars were extremely elaborate, with three dimensonal “roses” going into and covering the soundhole.

This rosette is the work of Master Inlayer Larry Robinson, and appears on the 750,000th Martin. Check out the 1,000,000th Martin for more of his stunning rosette and inlay work.

Here at Jim Fleeting Guitars my simple hardwood rosette, with a couple of rings around it, is very fashionable. However I have decided that there is so much more that can be done.

I spent a week with Ervin Somogyi in Oakland, California. Ervin’s guitars all show his high level of skill, and his wonderful eye for design.

His interrupted rosette idea really struck a chord, and I decided to try a mix between the simple hardwood rosette and this interrupted design. This rosette is bolivian rosewood with a little of the sapwood showing, matching the headstock, back and sides.

This is what I came up with. It has inlaid mango, again to match the back and sides, and the Jim Fleeting Guitars’ ‘F’ logo.

This is my latest creation. The top hasn’t been cut out yet, but you can see the drawing of the shape of the guitar on the spruce. I put a fingerboard on there, to get the look of it. I am obsessed with the Art Deco designs from the twenties and thirties (probably because of their use of exotic woods) and I think this really shows that style. What do you think?