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Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

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  • #16
    Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

    from the other thread:

    Originally posted by Luís View Post
    Having thought about building some instruments for more years than I care to admit I have to ask:

    1 How did you do the jump? I mean, from thinking "I could probably build a guitar" to actually picking up the tools, gathering the materials and getting it done. Was it as simple as deciding or did you have any hoops to jump through, doubts, etc.

    2 How did your first few instruments came out?

    3 Were they copies of something else, you present design even if only related to it or something out of your head that you wouldn't dream of doing today.

    4 What would you like to try? I know you build them the way you want but there has to be something you would love to have but for some reason can't do at this point (due to price, technological limitations, or simply haven't worked out yet in your head how it would be).

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

      Originally posted by beandip View Post
      Pete, thanks for doing this. Espeically for young guns like myself.

      1. Your body style certainly is unique, where did the inspiration come from?

      2. Did you start out repairing, and move into building, or just jump head first into the solidbody world?

      3. Have you thought about doing a semi hollow, or full acoustic model?

      4. On average, how many guitars a year do you produce?

      5. Is it just you doing it, or do you have someone else helping out?

      6. You seem to get a varity of colors rarely seen, what type and brand of stain are you using?

      7. What made you join the SDUGF?

      8. Most underrated tool in your shop?

      9. Favorite tool in your shop?

      10. Craziest experience with a build or repair? Perhaps customer?


      I've got a few more, but Elmo's on so I'll be back after naptime.

      1) I think the other answers got this one

      2) I always used to repair/tinker/mutilate my own guitars and worked on my freinds guitars, but not as an occupation. This may sound crazy, but I woke up one day and said to myself " I am going to build guitars for a living"

      needless to say it wasnt that easy, but I got there in the end....

      3) the H series is a semi hollow, I have been thinking very seriously about an archtop for about 18 months. I have a lovely piece of quatersawn Sitka spruce 4 inches thick that is just aclimatising to our brutal Aussie weather.

      4) I try my ****dest to produce 4 guitars every 12weeks, thats one every 3 weeks, so thats around 15-17 per year.
      I want to kick that up to 25 next year. and I have gone some way to improving the build time.

      5) just me !!

      6) I mix and match stains a fair bit to see what happens, if you are after really muddy brown I've got a million of em !!!
      I am lucky to have a good relationship with my Nitro supplier, who is really good at listening to my feeble descriptions of colour and producing tints that match the ideas in my head.
      The gold top laquer I mix up myself using bronzing powder, like they did back in the fifties.
      The nice thing about that, is that I know in about 20 years the nitro will craze a little (cos its nitro) and the bronze will oxidise, giving it that greenish hue..

      7) I met Seymour and Evan when they came out to Australia and this place became a natural progression from there,

      8) what a great question !!! I would initially say my laminate trimmer, which I use for all my routs, but it think it is my humble 1 metre stainless steel ruler!!!! I would be lost without that.

      9) I love tool questions !!
      tricky difficult one this, a while ago someone asked me if I could only have 10 tools, what would they be...
      and thinking about that hurt my head...
      Truth is I love all my tools dearly. Maybe Japanese pull saws? they are such a joy to use.

      10) not so much crazy as testing was a left handed H series I built recently.
      I had big signs over all the components marked "LEFT" in big letters!!
      I also get the guys that ring up and the conversation goes like this:
      Hi , I like a custom guitar built, sort of a double cutaway, with a flame maple top, carved and with a PRS style headstock and body carve, Oh yeah could you put MOP birds as inlay into the neck as well, and a black headstock plate.

      "Would you like me to put Paul Reed Smith on the headstock as well?" I ask

      "Yeah that would be really cool" they invariably reply

      at this point I mention that the music shops already have these guitars hanging on their walls, all you have to do is walk in and buy one...........

      great questions !!
      www.crossleyguitars.com

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

        Originally posted by beandip View Post
        I suppose I'll rephrase my body question as well...

        What is your favorite wood, and why? Tone, workability, appearance?

        English Sycamore, closely followed by Queensland maple

        Workability of both is a dream
        Tone of both is great to outstanding. No need to grain fill.
        www.crossleyguitars.com

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

          Morning Peter! (Or is it good evening?)

          1. How much consideration do you give to the pups that go in your guitars? do you really try to match pups/sets to the particular guitar or style, or do you have a go to set that works for most of your guitars?

          2. How much do you think the pup contributes to the guitar?

          3. Talk to me a little about that purple wood you put in the neck sometimes. Aesthetic or strength or both?

          4. What's YOUR number one guitar? Is it a Crossley or something else?

          5. What or where, in general, do you think most big manufacturers miss the point? No names please....

          6. What does the semi hollow / sound cavity generally do to your guitars tonally?

          7. What guitar construction would you recommend for a set of P-Rails? Have you considered building a guitar for that very special pup?

          8. What's your favorite Duncan pup?

          9. Tell us a little about your philosophy to headstock angle/string to tuner angle/tuner post height.

          10. I don't see a lot of Crossleys with trems - no love for the bar?

          11. How is my Crossley Ace Frehley model with smoke generator coming?
          Originally posted by Bad City
          He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

            Originally posted by scottish View Post
            Just noticed you already answered the question about the body style. Thanks that was a good read.

            Anyways, i guess ill replace it with another one.

            -If heard many different opinions on whats the most important thing for tone in an electric guitar. Ive heard from someone that i have great respect for that the majority of the tone (read >50%) is determined by the pickups and hence it is better to know what pup you want and tailor the build materials around the pickups.

            Whats your take on this and how did you do it? I know you use custom wound pups so did you go through a bunch until you found the set that was "right" for your guitars?
            Yeah I tend to agree with the pickups, it does help of course to have a nice resonant body to put the pups into.
            I actually reckon a lot of tone is generated by the choice of fretboard....
            I asked my pickup winder to make a 7.5K alnico 2 neck pup and a 12k alnico 5 bridge pup. I just really like that combo. It seemed to work pretty much straight away.
            I think it helps if you have an idea of what you want first.
            I must admit I have tried many pups, and I always liked the Alnico 2/5 combo.
            www.crossleyguitars.com

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

              Originally posted by jeremy View Post
              do you have a signature sound you strive to achieve acoustically with your guitars before considering electronics or do you build different guitars with different tones in mind?

              and what pray tell is silly oak?
              Hi Jeremy

              Ooopps !!! I think it should read Silky Oak !!

              I just try to make the guitar as resonant as possible. This has a big relationship with weight. The lighter the guitar the more resonant. I learnt this from Acoustic luthiers, who go all out for lightness.
              I have built guitars to explores different tones, and they do get close to the expectation. They do however always surprise you with something "else" that you never would have expected. good but different.
              www.crossleyguitars.com

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

                Having seen some of the work you have done, are there ever times where a wood combination, or a guitar / pickup combination just makes you ask yourself "what is this customer on?!".

                Also, have there ever been guitars where for one reason or another you have just been like "how am I going to make this wood do this shape / design?"

                What's the hardest wood to work with (in a crack-prone / hardness / doesn't want to do anything you want it to sense)

                What was your favorite guitar to work on, and why (more than one answer = fine)
                <--- these guys fight, so we can enjoy large tracts of land

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

                  Originally posted by Hoss View Post
                  If you could make a signature guitar for any artist...who would it be and why?



                  What is your favorite non-Crossley guitar?



                  Who are some of your other favorite "Aussie" music companies?



                  What Crossley guitar do you consider your "Crown Jewel"...as in your favorite build to date? (Pics of course!!!)



                  thanks,
                  mike
                  Hi Mike,
                  Great questions..


                  signature guitar.. probably Satch, I love the way he pulls melodies from the air. It would be very cool to meet a player like that also !!!

                  Favorite non-Crossley now dont shoot me here, but its a Parker Fly. I just think that they are very innovative.

                  Other Aussie Music companies. Most of these guys I am proud to call my friends, we are a small country population wise (22 mil) in a large pretty empty arid country. So we travel a bit between our cities, and I stay with and party with these guys when i visit!!

                  MI Audio - Michael Ibrahim owner. This guy is like Albert Einstein when it comes to Amplifier innovation, check out the MI Audio Revelation.. Brilliant.

                  Ulbrick Sound - Dave Ulbrick owner, Dave does the most beautiful point to point wired amps. Loud hard rock mofo's

                  Reynolds - Pete Reynolds owner Pete is an Aussie institution, his amps are just beautiful works of art, that sound like they were made by angels.

                  Craig O'Donnell - beautiful guitars, truly works of art.

                  just a few....

                  Guitars..
                  My own personal Rybeena, I love this guitar, it just screams "play me" all the time

                  And one that I wish I still had, the first charcoal burst I did..


                  www.crossleyguitars.com

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

                    who is that woman in your avatar?
                    Yo, i'm Ryan™.

                    https://www.facebook.com/patchworklv
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=der6aGGzQTk
                    ^link to 7 tracks of my band, Patchwork

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

                      Originally posted by Evan Skopp View Post
                      How does Australian maple differ from North American maple? What other uniquely Aussie woods do you use? And why?
                      The Queensland maple is termed maple more for its workability rather than its appearance or weight or tone.
                      Its more akin in tone to mahogany, but not as dark. I really like this timber. Maton guitars have used it for many many years. I also believe PRS are using a bit of it also for some of their private stock guitars...
                      The appearance of it is a little lighter in colour than mahogany, even grained, sometimes exhibits a shimmer which is very attractive.

                      The most obvious one I use is Cooktown Ironwood, this is a killer fretboard timber. The grain is extremely interlocked, but it is not brittle, like roswood or ebony. It takes a polish like glass. It also imparts a really mellow tone to the guitar, great for jazz/fusion styles. Frets also press into it extremly well and seat beautifully.

                      Other ones are Silky Oak, very pretty timber, mainly just used to decorate up a neck as a laminate insert.
                      Tasmanian Myrtle - hard to get, but a beatiful timber, can be flamed/fiddleback a reddish colour similar to cherry. great to work with, can splinter a little, fantastic tone, very similar to American maple, weight per tonne is almost the same as maple.

                      Blackwood - Australian relative of Koa. Some good/some bad it can be a bit unstable, but it makes for some nice tops, gets a good flame sometimes
                      Blackwood Guitar
                      www.crossleyguitars.com

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

                        Thanks for that answer, Pete. That Blackwood is a beauty. And thanks for staying up with us.
                        Evan Skopp, Inside Track International
                        Sales and marketing reps for Musopia, Reunion Blues, and Q-Parts.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

                          Hmm, a minor curiosity... what are those bridges? I've only ever seen them on your guitars

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

                            Hi Peter, I really appreciate you pros doing this kind of thing. Of course we can and should get books on the subject etc, but this is a great way to learn about guitar building.
                            Anyway, what are your favorite neck/fretboard woods to use with certain desgins/body woods ?
                            Also, how come you use the bridges you have in the guitars (no trems, no TOMs, not exactly like Fender HT's)?
                            Guitars:
                            http://my.opera.com/KK91/albums/slideshow/?album=969652

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

                              Originally posted by jeremy View Post
                              from the other thread:
                              Originally Posted by Luís
                              Having thought about building some instruments for more years than I care to admit I have to ask:

                              1 How did you do the jump? I mean, from thinking "I could probably build a guitar" to actually picking up the tools, gathering the materials and getting it done. Was it as simple as deciding or did you have any hoops to jump through, doubts, etc.

                              2 How did your first few instruments came out?

                              3 Were they copies of something else, you present design even if only related to it or something out of your head that you wouldn't dream of doing today.

                              4 What would you like to try? I know you build them the way you want but there has to be something you would love to have but for some reason can't do at this point (due to price, technological limitations, or simply haven't worked out yet in your head how it would be).
                              1. This is a good question, for many years I dreamed of doing something a little "out there"
                              I always loved guitars, and I was realatively good with my hands, I built a house from scratch when I was 28.
                              The easiest thing to do is to say "i will fail if I try to do that"
                              The hardest part of doing something that is life changing but loved, is the first step. Everything after that step falls into place. Truly.
                              as the slogan says "Just do it"

                              2. hahaha, not that good!! I reckon I got it 1/4 right after the first 10 guitars.
                              all of which went to bandsaw heaven.

                              3. yes the first 3 were copies, after that i started to experiment, finally ending up with the P series.

                              4. an archtop. I have a great deal of respect, and would love to one day meet Robert Benedetto. Robert is lucky in that he comes from a family of Cremona Luthiers (Stradivarius came from Cremona).
                              I have the timber, I just have to get my mind right....
                              www.crossleyguitars.com

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: LIVE NOW - Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)

                                Originally posted by Aceman View Post
                                Morning Peter! (Or is it good evening?)

                                1. How much consideration do you give to the pups that go in your guitars? do you really try to match pups/sets to the particular guitar or style, or do you have a go to set that works for most of your guitars?

                                2. How much do you think the pup contributes to the guitar?

                                3. Talk to me a little about that purple wood you put in the neck sometimes. Aesthetic or strength or both?

                                4. What's YOUR number one guitar? Is it a Crossley or something else?

                                5. What or where, in general, do you think most big manufacturers miss the point? No names please....

                                6. What does the semi hollow / sound cavity generally do to your guitars tonally?

                                7. What guitar construction would you recommend for a set of P-Rails? Have you considered building a guitar for that very special pup?

                                8. What's your favorite Duncan pup?

                                9. Tell us a little about your philosophy to headstock angle/string to tuner angle/tuner post height.

                                10. I don't see a lot of Crossleys with trems - no love for the bar?

                                11. How is my Crossley Ace Frehley model with smoke generator coming?

                                Hi Ace,
                                its 12.35AM Tomorrow (Wednesday 2nd September)
                                So I guess I'm time travelling...

                                1. Yes I pretty much have the 7.5k a2 12k a5 combo that seems to do the trick for a lot of styles across the board.
                                The thing is, when you build for other people, you have to set the pups to an acceptable middle ground. Not too heavy or too jazzy. but a good working set of pups. Of course the customer can (and does) select their own brand/style of pups for the guitar.

                                2. I reckon the pups contribute the larger part of the tone to the guitar.
                                This question usually elicits a lot of heated response. Wood V Pups.
                                Both is the correct answer.................

                                3. the wood is Purple Heart. a Native of North and South America. Its quite a dense heavy timber, and I have used it as fretboard material. it polishes up to a nice sheen.
                                Its very strong, so its a welcome and colourful addition to a neck lamination.

                                4. My number one guitar is my Rybeena burst. yep its a Crossley !!!
                                Although I do have a signature series G&L Asat tucked away that is a very nice guitar. I bought it new in 1988. It forms part of my kids inheritance!!

                                5. I think the problem with large manufaturers is that they are run by talented business people who are neither musicians or luthiers.
                                They are very good at marketing, profit margins, expansion, buying competitors, etc etc.
                                But the bottom line is they dont really CARE about the product, in fact that is what guitars are called within these corporate structures, "product".
                                They would be just as proficient selling beds or refrgerators.
                                Not a lot of LOVE there........................................

                                6. it adds Mellow. I really like the hollows, they are sort of like a grown up guitar. The P series are all Rawk, but the H has this split personality where they can still rock it out, but also be very gentle and persuasive..

                                7. To be honest I havent given it much thought, but I would go the solid body route.

                                8. Pearly Gates in the neck SH5 in the bridge. Lovely combination.. Brilliant pickups.

                                9. When I was younger (long time ago) I played a LP, I loved that guitar.. then one day the headstock broke off !!!
                                I repaired it, very well, but it never sounded the same. I then looked into why this happened.
                                1st reason -12 degree headstock angle
                                2nd reason- mahogany neck
                                Mahogany makes a good neck timber, but it is not a "structural" timber. Maple is a structural timber.
                                Increase this natural instability by putting a large headstock angle there, and really its just a matter of time......

                                I use a 10 degree headstock angle. this allows the strings to have a nice but not severe break angle to the machine heads.
                                I use Sperzel locking heads, they have a fairly low profile above the headstock. again helping with string break angle

                                10. Ahh yes, the tremolo........ I do build guitars with trems, I try to recommend to my clients that they use a Wilkinson contemporary unit 5+1
                                These are probably the best trem I have come across.
                                A tremolo though is a flawed design on first principles, and has not really changed over the years.
                                Having the strings in counterpoint to a set of springs is really not a good design. But they are loved by a lot of people, and as such I will put them on my guitars if pushed hard enough !!!

                                11. The smoke has escaped from the machine mate, I just need to get some more....................
                                www.crossleyguitars.com

                                Comment

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