Build Process

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Every instrument begins as an idea, a set of resolved intentions about geometry, materials, and player interaction. The Design Philosophy defines these parameters, translating player ergonomics, tonal balance, and vibrational behavior into a coherent system. It answers the “why” behind every curve, angle, radius, and interface.

The Build Process is the execution of that design. Every choice — from wood selection and lamination to fret slotting, tenon fit, and finishing — is measured against the principles established in design. Materials are stabilized, dimensions are verified, and interfaces are controlled to ensure that nothing deviates from the system’s intent. Where design defines the blueprint, build enforces it in physical form.

Together, these two pages describe the life of an instrument as a system:

1. Intent — Defined in Design Philosophy: geometry, string tension, ergonomic flow, vibrational pathways.
2. Material Realization — Wood is selected, acclimated, and dimensioned according to systemic principles.
3. Structural Integration — Neck, body, and fretboard are joined with precision to preserve geometry and energy transfer.
4. Acoustic & Mechanical Interface — Bridge, saddle, and pickups are aligned to translate string vibration into tonal output.
5. Protective Stabilization — Finish and coatings preserve geometry and vibrational pathways while protecting the instrument.
6. Verification & Setup — Full-system checks ensure action, intonation, and tactile response match the original intent.
7. Delivery — Shipping protocols maintain system integrity until the instrument reaches the player.
    

This workflow emphasizes that the guitar is never a collection of independent parts, but a single integrated system. Each decision in design flows into a controlled step in the build, ensuring that every instrument expresses the intended resonance, tactile response, and longevity from the moment it is played.

The takeaway for the player: what you feel under your fingers, hear from the strings, and sense in the body of the guitar is the direct result of deliberate design and disciplined execution, integrated seamlessly into a unified system.

LAMINATIONS
Multiple pieces of wood joined along their grain to form a single structural element. Controls stiffness, limits seasonal movement, and distributes stress evenly. Overly thick or misaligned laminations can compress tonal response; proper orientation maintains both stability and resonance.

EPOXY / WATERLESS GLUE
A rigid adhesive that bonds components without introducing moisture. Used for fretboard and laminate glue-ups to prevent wood movement, maintain flat planes, and ensure long-term dimensional stability.

TENON / MORTISE
Interlocking protrusions and cavities that secure the neck to the body. Transfers vibrational energy efficiently while preventing creep over time. Geometry, fit, and alignment of these interfaces determine how forces are distributed along the neck-body joint.

RELIEF / BACKBOW
A controlled curvature applied to the neck before fret installation. Pre-compensates for string tension so that the neck, once strung, settles into optimal alignment. Ensures uniform string height across the fretboard and predictable playability.

CROWNING / LEVELING
Precision shaping of frets to ensure uniform height and consistent contact with strings. Maintains intonation, prevents buzzing, and allows dynamic playing without compensatory adjustments.

FRET TANG CONTACT
The portion of the fret tang embedded in the fret slot. Determines mechanical stability, secures frets against lateral and vertical movement, and ensures long-term retention under repeated tension.

PRESS
Neutral terminology for applying controlled force during assembly. These actions secure components in place while minimizing stress or distortion.

JIG / TEMPLATE / FIXTURE
Tools and guides that maintain geometry during assembly. Guarantee repeatable angles, positions, and spacing across multiple builds, reducing variation between instruments.

SANDING / SHAPING / RADIUS GAUGES
Techniques and measurement devices used to sculpt surfaces accurately. Essential for ergonomic neck profiles, consistent fretboard radii, and seamless transitions across the instrument.

FINISH TERMINOLOGY

• HARD WAX OIL: Protects surfaces while preserving tactile feedback and vibrational energy.
• CERAMIC COATING: Adds long-term abrasion resistance and surface durability.
• POLYESTER / UV CURING: Provides a rigid, protective shell for color and gloss.
• GRAIN FILLING: Smooths porous surfaces for even finish application and visual clarity.
   

EXTENDED TENON INTEGRATION
Aligning and securing the neck’s extended tenon into the body cavity. Reduces stress at the neck joint, enhances sustain, and maintains consistent angle under tension.

NECK-TO-BODY COUPLING
The interface between neck and body. Critical for sustain, resonance, and vibration transfer; improper coupling introduces energy loss and instability.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Measures taken during build to reduce moisture and temperature fluctuations. Protects wood movement, stabilizes laminations, and ensures that geometry remains faithful through finishing.

REINFORCEMENT RODS / CARBON FIBER
Embedded rods that increase neck stiffness and limit deflection under tension. Selected for rigidity, elasticity, and long-term recovery without altering acoustic response.

TRUSS ROD
A mechanism to correct minor variations in neck curvature. Serves as a fine-tuning tool, not a substitute for resolved geometry.

FRET SLOT WIDTH / DEPTH
Precisely controlled dimensions that match fret tangs. Ensures tight seating, consistent contact, and predictable backbow behavior once strings are applied.

COMPOUND RADIUS SLOTTING
Fret slots cut to match the conical profile of the fretboard. Maintains tang contact along the taper and ensures consistent string height and playability across registers.

FRETBOARD TAPER
The gradual widening of the fretboard from nut to heel. Provides proportional spacing for strings, improves ergonomics, and aligns with string diameters and tension.

STRING GAUGE / PROGRESSIVE TENSION
Selection of string diameters to balance tension across registers. Progressive sets optimize responsiveness, articulation, and uniform feel across low and high strings.

VIBRATIONAL COUPLING
The degree to which energy transfers between components: neck to body, bridge to top, or pickup to string. Controlled coupling ensures sustain, harmonic richness, and dynamic consistency.

ERGONOMIC FLOW
Design of surfaces, transitions, and contours to guide the player’s hands naturally. Reduces strain, facilitates technique, and enhances intuitive interaction with the instrument.

Material preparation forms the foundation of a stable, resonant instrument. Every component—neck, fretboard, and body—is evaluated, conditioned, and stabilized before assembly, ensuring geometry and tonal behavior remain consistent over time.

Body Material Preparation
Bodies begin as raw wood, but only the best boards are selected. Grain, color, and weight (2.9–3.2 lbs per board foot, all species) determine suitability. Boards rest for a minimum of six months before being processed into blanks. Slices removed from the future back of the body are set aside to maintain grain alignment; after three months of further resting, the blank is ready for machining.

Neck Material Preparation
Neck blanks follow a similar regimen. Rough-cut material rests for a minimum of one year, then is bookmatched for the sides; centers come from adjacent cuts or alternate species to maintain consistent movement. Rough surfacing occurs in three cycles, each followed by a three-week rest, before assembly with epoxy. A final three-week stabilization ensures the epoxy has settled before machining begins. These cycles reduce stress, stabilize movement, and preserve precise geometry.

Lamination and Reinforcement
Strategically applied laminations and epoxy bonds improve stiffness, control expansion, and optimize vibrational transfer. Carbon fiber reinforcements are added where needed to resist deflection while maintaining acoustic transparency.

System-Level Stabilization
All resting, surfacing, and pre-conditioning cycles serve a single goal: predictable material behavior. Wood moves in controlled conditions before final assembly, minimizing creep, warping, or unwanted compression.

The result is a neck and body that act as a unified system: structurally sound, dimensionally stable, and optimized for vibrational coupling. By respecting material behavior and controlling variables before machining, every instrument is built on a foundation that ensures resonance, sustain, and long-term stability.

Precision CNC machining forms the backbone of our geometry-driven construction, ensuring consistency, alignment, and structural integrity throughout the instrument. Every cut, relief, and contour is carefully planned to optimize resonance, stiffness, and playability.

Body Machining
Bodies are first cut from prepared blanks, with compliance reliefs and stiffness-continuity breaks incorporated to balance rigidity and vibrational freedom. Tops are cut separately, including pickup cover cavities, which are saved for later reassembly.

Once cut, the top is glued to the body under vacuum pressure, ensuring complete contact and eliminating voids. After curing, the pickup cavities are cleaned, routed, and resin-filled to reinforce edges and preserve tonal clarity. The remainder of the body is then machined to final dimensions, maintaining strict adherence to the design geometry.

Fretboard and Neck Machining
Fretboards are cut in advance to allow air at the end grain in the slots, preventing moisture entrapment and ensuring stable fret tang seating.

Necks follow a multi-step machining and gluing process: milling, lamination, rough shaping, gluing, and further milling until final carving begins. 

Truss rods are installed with a sapele cap, after which the fretboard is glued onto the neck under controlled pressure, allowing it to settle for three weeks before fretting begins.

System-Level Perspective
Each machining step is coordinated with material behavior, geometry, and vibration principles. Relief cuts, lamination, and precise fitment ensure that the body, top, neck, and fretboard behave as a unified system, providing predictable resonance, stability, and ergonomic alignment from the first note to the last.

The neck-to-body joint is the structural and vibrational core of the instrument. An extended tenon locks precisely into a recessed cavity, enhancing vibrational transfer while preventing neck creep under string tension. The heel is set at a subtle 0.25° angle, carefully calculated to optimize upper-register string height without compromising overall playability. The heel transition flows naturally from neck to body, preserving ergonomic alignment and resonance continuity. All mating surfaces are flattened, fitted, and verified for full contact, ensuring the neck behaves as an integrated part of the guitar, not an isolated component.

Executed correctly, this interface delivers maximum resonance, stability, and player confidence. It establishes the foundation for action, intonation, and tonal consistency, allowing the instrument to perform exactly as intended under real-world conditions.

Fretboard slotting and fret installation are where geometry, material behavior, and tactile response converge. Precision at this stage ensures consistent action, accurate intonation, and long-term stability.

Compound Radius & Slotting
Fretboards are shaped with a compound radius, forming a smooth conical surface from nut to heel. Each fret slot follows this curvature, allowing the fret tang to make full contact with the wood along its length. Accurate slotting preserves string height, supports the intended backbow, and maintains ergonomic flow for the player.

Board Dressing

After neck carving, the blank rests for three weeks to acclimate from relieved tension. The fretboard is then carefully verified for flatness. This step is critical: only perfect is acceptable. The fretboard is leveled with a straight steel beam along the string path, polished, and prepared for fretting. This process minimizes corrective leveling later, ensuring uniform fret height from nut to heel.

Pre-fretting and end dressing

We use Jescar Stainless Steel fretwire (47095 Medium standard, 57110 Jumbo optional). Due to the compound radius, wire is broken into sections and shaped in a fret bender slightly under radius to avoid spring-back.

Fret tang ends (~0.060") are trimmed, hollow-ground, shaped into semi-hemispheres, and polished to a mirror finish for precise seating. Slots are offset inward from the fretboard edge for optimal fit.

Fret Tang Contact & Seating
Frets are pressed into slots slightly larger than the tang, creating a controlled interference fit. This introduces a predictable backbow that is neutralized by string tension once the instrument is strung. Proper tang seating ensures long-term retention and consistent vibration transfer.

Fret Install

Frets are installed using a J. Edwards Fractal Fret Press in an arbor press, conforming perfectly to the underlying radii.

Leveling & Relief
Frets are leveled under full string tension to account for gravitational effects and material flex. Controlled pre-stressing ensures consistent string height across all registers. If previous steps are executed correctly, only minimal material adjustment is needed, maintaining the fret profile almost entirely intact and cutting down on corrective measures such as crowning and end dressing.

System-Level Stability
Every choice—slot depth, fret material, tang width, seating pressure—is informed by the interplay of geometry, tension, and vibration. The result is a fretboard fully integrated into the guitar’s structural and tonal system.

A precisely slotted and installed fretboard provides uniform action, consistent intonation, and predictable playability, serving as the bridge between the player’s hands and the instrument’s design.

The bridge and pickups form the final mechanical and acoustic interface between the player and the instrument. Their placement, geometry, and integration directly affect string tension, resonance, and tonal capture.

Bridge Interface
Regardless of scale length, the bridge is positioned on a precisely flattened and aligned reference surface, a set distance from the tail of the body. Whether fixed or multi-saddle, the bridge acts as a structural fulcrum and the primary point of string energy transfer to the body.

Saddle Geometry & Break Angle
Saddle placement and angle determine string tension, sustain, and responsiveness. Each string is considered individually to maintain consistent pressure across the pickup magnetic field while supporting balanced progressive tension. Break angles are calculated to avoid excessive downward force that could inhibit vibration or stress the nut.

Pickup Placement & Magnetic Bloom
Pickups are aligned relative to scale length, string path, and magnetic field to capture the most expressive portion of string vibration. Pole pieces and coil positions are tuned to maximize clarity, dynamic range, and harmonic content, accurately translating acoustic energy into the output signal.

String Spacing & Proportional Layout
Equal or proportional spacing at the bridge is maintained according to string diameter and intended tension. Proper spacing preserves ergonomics, prevents string interference, and ensures mechanical and acoustic optimization for each register.

System-Level Integration
The bridge, saddles, and pickups are fully integrated components of the instrument’s structural and vibrational system. Their alignment is coordinated with neck geometry, fretboard taper, and body resonance to produce a coherent, predictable response under playing conditions.

A precisely aligned bridge and pickup system ensures balanced tone, accurate intonation, and reliable tactile response, allowing the instrument to communicate seamlessly with the player and translate subtle nuances into vibrational and sonic output.

The finish is not decoration—it is the final layer of structural and vibrational management. Proper finishing preserves material stability, protects against environmental change, and maintains the energy transfer within the instrument.

Surface Preparation
Before any finish is applied, all components are carefully flattened, sanded, and polished. Grain is filled where necessary, and edges, radii, and contact surfaces are verified for consistency. This ensures that subsequent layers of finish do not introduce uneven tension or alter geometry.

Oil & Wax Coatings
Hard wax oils are applied to seal the surface while highlighting the natural grain. These coatings stabilize wood fibers, reduce moisture ingress, and provide a controlled interface for tactile contact. Multiple thin coats are applied and cured, forming a durable yet acoustically transparent barrier.

Polyester & UV-Cured Coatings
High-solids polyester finishes, cured under controlled UV conditions, create a robust protective layer. These coatings preserve shape, resist abrasion, and enhance tonal clarity without damping the natural resonance of the wood. Color or dye layers are integrated early and sealed to prevent migration or distortion.

Ceramic & Nano-Layer Protection
Where additional durability is required, two-part ceramic or nano coatings provide long-term resistance against wear, humidity, and temperature fluctuation. These coatings complement the underlying oils and polyester layers, maintaining geometry while safeguarding vibrational consistency.

System-Level Perspective
Each finishing layer is selected and applied with awareness of its impact on the instrument’s acoustic and tactile response. Thickness, hardness, and elasticity are balanced to protect without restricting energy flow. The finish acts as the final stabilizer in a carefully controlled material system.

When executed properly, finishing preserves geometry, protects materials, and maintains vibrational integrity. It allows the instrument to remain stable and responsive across seasons, providing a consistent, predictable connection between player and design.

Quality control is the final stage where design intent, material preparation, and construction converge. It ensures that every instrument meets structural, tonal, and ergonomic standards before reaching the player.

Geometric Verification
All critical dimensions—neck angle, fretboard radius, nut and heel widths, string spacing, and body alignment—are measured under controlled conditions. Verification ensures that each component maintains its designed geometry after glue-ups, surfacing, and finishing.

Action & Relief Assessment
String height and fretboard relief are evaluated with the instrument under full string tension, accounting for gravitational effects and material flex. Adjustments are made to maintain consistent playability and ergonomic response across all registers.

Intonation & Nut Compensation
Each string is checked for accurate intonation along the scale length. Nut compensation, saddle placement, and fret positions are verified to ensure harmonic consistency and balanced tension, allowing the instrument to respond predictably to finger pressure and dynamic playing.

Tone & Vibrational Response
The instrument’s vibrational system—including neck, body, pickups, and strings—is assessed for resonance, sustain, and harmonic clarity. Any inconsistencies are addressed to maintain a coherent, expressive sonic signature.

Ergonomic Playability
Hand-feel, fretboard accessibility, and string spacing are tested to ensure comfort and natural movement across all positions. The instrument is evaluated as a complete system, confirming that tactile feedback aligns with the intended design philosophy.

System-Level Integration
Quality control is more than inspection—it is system verification. Geometry, tension, resonance, and tactile interaction are assessed together to guarantee a predictable, reliable, and expressive playing experience.

Through rigorous evaluation, each instrument leaves the shop dimensionally stable, sonically balanced, and ergonomically precise. This ensures that the player encounters a fully realized system where design intent, material behavior, and construction converge seamlessly.

Even after construction and verification, an instrument is only as reliable as its delivery and first-play setup. Our shipping protocols ensure every guitar arrives fully protected, dimensionally stable, and ready to perform.

Protective Packaging
Each instrument is secured in a high-quality case designed to resist shock, vibration, and environmental changes. Internal padding prevents movement, while the case itself acts as a thermal and humidity buffer, safeguarding delicate woods, laminates, and finishes.

Environmental Considerations
Shipping protocols account for temperature and humidity fluctuations. Necks, fretboards, and body laminates are stabilized before shipment, reducing the risk of movement or stress in transit. Instruments are never shipped under unnecessary tension or with loosely secured components.

Pre-Delivery Setup
Every instrument receives a final setup before leaving the shop: strings are installed and tensioned, action is verified, intonation confirmed, and electronics tested. Break angles, nut height, and bridge alignment are checked to match the intended design.

System-Level Verification Post-Packaging
Even in its case, the instrument is treated as a cohesive system. Protective measures preserve geometry, vibrational integrity, and tactile response. The goal is that the guitar remains fully stabilized from the moment it leaves the shop to the first time it is played.

By combining rigorous packaging, environmental control, and pre-delivery setup, each guitar arrives ready to perform at its peak. Players experience a fully realized system that requires no adjustment to unlock its intended resonance, action, and tonal balance.

Every instrument we create is more than wood, metal, and electronics—it is a carefully orchestrated system. From material selection to final setup, every step respects geometry, vibration, and player interaction. Design, construction, and finishing converge to form a singular experience: an instrument that responds intuitively, resonates fully, and endures gracefully.

In the hands of the player, the guitar is no longer a collection of parts but a living extension of intent, where each curve, angle, and tension has been honed to translate thought into sound. This is the philosophy we build on, the system we design for, and the standard we deliver—an instrument fully realized, from first sight to final note.