Orpheo Guitars: SuperStork LP, the progres Build Thread

[orpheo]

Five years ago, I registered my company in the Netherlands, only to have to pull it again in 2017 to relaunch the company under a (slightly) different name because my partner, the second founder, pulled out. I moved my company back to my home town while listening to Joe Jackson's "Hometown". Sometimes songs just fit a moment perfectly and reminds you of exactly why we do these things of making music, building guitars, etcetera.

While going back 'home', I came up with a design I wanted to make and now, it's the time. I'm not going to do a major reveal this time of a new build. Rather, I'd like to take you along the path of creating this guitar.

When I was moving locations, from Amsterdam to the Hague, John Mayer came up with his PRS SuperEagle and I instantly thought: wow. That, for 10k USD?! I can do that for half... And I started sketching how I'd make this guitar and how I'd call it. I wanted to pull through the bird-theme which coincided with my city's sigil, a stork. Hence the name, SuperStork.

I've build a few guitars akin to the SuperEagle construction before. That being, a flat laminate back on a hollow core, carved top, F holes and trem. To me, the SuperStork's defining features are, thusly:

* matching fancy top and back (both have to be maple, preferably from the same billet)
* Chambered core.
* F holes
* More than 2 pickups
* Tremolo
* Backplates (I can make it without, but this had to have backplates)

So... I started drawing, find the right pieces and we're getting close to actually starting the build!

For your viewing pleasure, this is the inlay I have designed. Offset Stork inlay.

Designing this was easy; making the toolpaths for the CNC was a pain!

The neck I made for this project. I'll try to make more photo's as I go. This neck has 4 triple pinstripes of maple/walnut/maple, with a cocobolo center strip, 2 stringers of bocote and 2 ziricote 'cheeks'. However, I found that for a look similar to this, there easier to work with woods such as wenge (instead of ziricote), ovangkol (instead of bocote) and padouk or bubinga (instead of cocobolo).

If all goes well, I'll be able to rout the inlay, trussrod and headstock angle by September 11th. This fall, I've got the grand total of 12 instruments that have to be completed. Two are almost done, and a few others have only their basic materials laid out. For Q1 of 2021, I've got another 5 to 7 projects running and by April 2021, the website will go live and I'll go on a sabbatical for a while. I think I've worked long and hard enough to warrant a sabbatical for a while

 

[GuitarDoc]

How do you get the wood in those triple pinstripes so thin? The walnut looks like paper.

 

[Mincer]

I'd love to see how the storks develop here. I am a fan of this kind of artistry.

 

[orpheo]

You can buy veneers that thin. The maple layers as well as the walnut layers are each 0.6mm thick

 

[GuitarDoc]

Wow! Where do you get those thin veneers? I've never seen them available around here.

 

[orpheo]

I get them at all my premium wood suppliers. It's the same material cheaper brands use for their laminated tops. I also use it as sandwich between my necks and headstock veneers and fretboards.

 

[Snake Aces]

That guitar is going to have a lot of character! Very cool idea and a great story to go with it!

Sabbatical? Oh no! Is it too late to put me down for a non-bass Les Paul before you take your sabbatical?

Since I have not made my mind up about what I want, maybe a Q1 2021 slot is still available?

 

[orpheo]

That guitar is going to have a lot of character! Very cool idea and a great story to go with it!

Sabbatical? Oh no! Is it too late to put me down for a non-bass Les Paul before you take your sabbatical?

Since I have not made my mind up about what I want, maybe a Q1 2021 slot is still available?

No worries pal There's plenty of time left. I wouldn't ever say 'no' to anyone. It's just that I won't be making guitars to complete the full lineup as of Q2 (because I need Q1 to complete the batch ). I've been building since 2013 non stop and my girlfriend wishes I tone it down ever so slightly. She doesn't ask me to stop, at all, rather tone it down a little and she is right. I've been building 24-36 guitars a year since 2016 and I need to find a healthier balance. And... I wanna start working on my model of the H.M.S. Victory in a 1:75 scale.

Regarding a non-bass LP for you. You might even like the basic design ideas of this one. Who knows

At the end of the day, I'll have this as the choices menu (and the prices are to be taken with a grain of salt, gotta calculate it still properly but in this ballpark you gotta think )

Base features: 1 piece neck (ovangkol, wenge, padouk, purpleheart), 2 piece body (ash, black korina), ebony fretboard, Tune O Matic bridge (gotoh or Graphtech, depending on availability), Hipshot locking tuners, 2 pickups (Fishman Fluence, Seymour Duncan; any non-customshop), satin open pore finish.

Add-ons, tier 1 (+100$ each): extra or non-standard pickup, 5 piece maple neck, binding, block or trapezoid inlay, AA-grade maple top carved, contrasting pinstripe between top and body, Spanish Cedar, spruce, AA flamed maple body, Hipshot hardtail bridge with string ferrules
Add-ons, tier 2 (+150$ each): 17 piece neck, base price custom inlay design, AAA maple top carved, Hipshot US Contour Tremolo,
Add-ons, tier 3 (+250$ each): laminated flat back (bookmatched AAA maple, black korina, walnut), Floyd Rose locking tremolo (Schaller-made), AAA Quilt Maple carved top
Add-ons, tier 4 (+350$ each): laminated carved back (bookmatched maple, walnut, black korina), without backplates, F-holes+chambering
Add-ons, tier 5 (+450$ each): high gloss finish
Add-ons, tier 6 (+600$ each): opaque high gloss finish

The base price is approximately 1500$, so you can easily calculate how much something would cost. For example, a '58 sunburst LP would be like this:

Base price: 1500
Inlay: +100
Binding:+100
High gloss finish: +450
Total: 2150

A '59 would be, for example, that price plus 150 for the nicer top

Or, this Stork-model:

Base price: 1500
Custom inlay: +150
Binding: +100
Laminated back: +250
Premium top: +250
Tremolo: +150
Extra pickup: +100
F-Holes+chambering: +350
17 pcs neck: +150
High gloss finish: +450
Total: 3450

There will always be requests for options that I haven't mentioned, for example using a swamp ash top but this would give you a decent idea. The costs rake up so, so fast, it still surprises me every time!

I once wanted to make just 6 or 7 base models you could choose from but every time I finished a model, a new idea came up or I managed to acquire a new skill so the list became way too long to make every iteration, so I stopped doing that

I do wish to explain a few items though. For example, the F-holes and chambering. I realize that +350 is a lot, but you have to understand that it's not just plunging a router in that piece of wood and hogging it out. It takes me at least 4 hours to actually hog out the material on the inside, align the templates, switch routers and router bits, route the top on the inside to give a uniform look, etc etc. It's a LOT of work, plus, it takes a toll on the cutting tools and machine bearings. And, gluing it up takes more time as well. So, all in all, all that time and risk has to be covered somewhere.

Same with the opaque high gloss finish. Since I want to achieve a fairly thin finish, I need to fill the pores a few times, use a sealer/primer, sand that perfectly flat, use an opaque color and that is difficult enough by itself since I don't have that extraordinary booth with an overspray-waterfall and in - and outlet filters the big shops use... It takes a LOT of time, and work, so that's reflected in the pricing.

You can have a custom guitar that's under 2K, yup. I can do you a Blackmachine style guitar, with a figured walnut top, for 1600 bucks. Easy. But once you add all the little details like binding, premium materials etc etc, the price just goes through the roof.

 

[Snake Aces]

No worries pal There's plenty of time left. I wouldn't ever say 'no' to anyone. It's just that I won't be making guitars to complete the full lineup as of Q2 (because I need Q1 to complete the batch ). I've been building since 2013 non stop and my girlfriend wishes I tone it down ever so slightly. She doesn't ask me to stop, at all, rather tone it down a little and she is right. I've been building 24-36 guitars a year since 2016 and I need to find a healthier balance. And... I wanna start working on my model of the H.M.S. Victory in a 1:75 scale.

Regarding a non-bass LP for you. You might even like the basic design ideas of this one. Who knows

At the end of the day, I'll have this as the choices menu (and the prices are to be taken with a grain of salt, gotta calculate it still properly but in this ballpark you gotta think )

Base features: 1 piece neck (ovangkol, wenge, padouk, purpleheart), 2 piece body (ash, black korina), ebony fretboard, Tune O Matic bridge (gotoh or Graphtech, depending on availability), Hipshot locking tuners, 2 pickups (Fishman Fluence, Seymour Duncan; any non-customshop), satin open pore finish.

Add-ons, tier 1 (+100$ each): extra or non-standard pickup, 5 piece maple neck, binding, block or trapezoid inlay, AA-grade maple top carved, contrasting pinstripe between top and body, Spanish Cedar, spruce, AA flamed maple body, Hipshot hardtail bridge with string ferrules
Add-ons, tier 2 (+150$ each): 17 piece neck, base price custom inlay design, AAA maple top carved, Hipshot US Contour Tremolo,
Add-ons, tier 3 (+250$ each): laminated flat back (bookmatched AAA maple, black korina, walnut), Floyd Rose locking tremolo (Schaller-made), AAA Quilt Maple carved top
Add-ons, tier 4 (+350$ each): laminated carved back (bookmatched maple, walnut, black korina), without backplates, F-holes+chambering
Add-ons, tier 5 (+450$ each): high gloss finish
Add-ons, tier 6 (+600$ each): opaque high gloss finish

The base price is approximately 1500$, so you can easily calculate how much something would cost. For example, a '58 sunburst LP would be like this:

Base price: 1500
Inlay: +100
Binding:+100
High gloss finish: +450
Total: 2150

A '59 would be, for example, that price plus 150 for the nicer top

Or, this Stork-model:

Base price: 1500
Custom inlay: +150
Binding: +100
Laminated back: +250
Premium top: +250
Tremolo: +150
Extra pickup: +100
F-Holes+chambering: +350
17 pcs neck: +150
High gloss finish: +450
Total: 3450

There will always be requests for options that I haven't mentioned, for example using a swamp ash top but this would give you a decent idea. The costs rake up so, so fast, it still surprises me every time!

I once wanted to make just 6 or 7 base models you could choose from but every time I finished a model, a new idea came up or I managed to acquire a new skill so the list became way too long to make every iteration, so I stopped doing that

I do wish to explain a few items though. For example, the F-holes and chambering. I realize that +350 is a lot, but you have to understand that it's not just plunging a router in that piece of wood and hogging it out. It takes me at least 4 hours to actually hog out the material on the inside, align the templates, switch routers and router bits, route the top on the inside to give a uniform look, etc etc. It's a LOT of work, plus, it takes a toll on the cutting tools and machine bearings. And, gluing it up takes more time as well. So, all in all, all that time and risk has to be covered somewhere.

Same with the opaque high gloss finish. Since I want to achieve a fairly thin finish, I need to fill the pores a few times, use a sealer/primer, sand that perfectly flat, use an opaque color and that is difficult enough by itself since I don't have that extraordinary booth with an overspray-waterfall and in - and outlet filters the big shops use... It takes a LOT of time, and work, so that's reflected in the pricing.

You can have a custom guitar that's under 2K, yup. I can do you a Blackmachine style guitar, with a figured walnut top, for 1600 bucks. Easy. But once you add all the little details like binding, premium materials etc etc, the price just goes through the roof.

Dude, now you have my gears turning. However, I do not want to jack your thread because the SuperStork deserves its own spotlight. I will start a separate thread and send you a link via email.

 

[orpheo]

Let me change the title of this thread, or at least the first post. I'd like this to be chat-thread where I post updates all across the board. A dedicated thread never hurts, though

damn. can't edit the first post.

 

[orpheo]

FINALLY progress. Thanks to COVID, it took me over a month to get my fretboards in. I started working on the inlay yesterday.

And here we have the laminate back for the SuperStork. The fretboard is just there to bulk up the photo.

Let's continue.

 

[orpheo]

Whole bunch of inlays done.

 

[orpheo]

You can see that the mudflap inlay glows. It's like a halo around the girls. Thought that might be fun. All the colors will smooth out later when I sand it for real. I just leveled them so when I glue up the boards, the protruding inlays won't interfere with the clamping caul.

 

[Mincer]

Love the idea for the glowy inlays. It is surprising that it hadn't been a popular thing. It makes total sense.

 

[ErikH]

For whatever reason, I can't see any of the images posted.

 

[orpheo]

I hosted the photos on Facebook. that is often blocked here and there. When I am logged out of the forum, I can still see the pics though.

Glow in the dark epoxy is a bitch. That's why it's not often done. I mean.... it's a PAIN.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Love the idea for the glowy inlays. It is surprising that it hadn't been a popular thing. It makes total sense.

I think cause it gets old after a while, and is more about showmanship as opposed to function. And they remind me of those glow-in-the-dark stickers in 5-year olds bedroom.