BYO: ala Castelluccia

Craig Bumgarner

BYO (Build Your Own):

I finished my first guitar ala Castelluccia a couple weeks ago. I've had the pleasure of working on and examining three Castelluccias over the last couple years and I play next to one of them once or twice a week. I've come to love their sound and it seemed only fitting that I should try to build one.

This guitar has an engleman spruce top, laminated makori back and sides, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard and bridge. Finish is french polish in the traditional manner except the back and sides which received three coats of spar varnish first to protect against perspiration damage. Hey, this is HOT jazz.

Castellucia's model in the 1950s was quite a bit different than most Selmer type guitars. The tops were thicker with fewer braces. The result is a different sound. Very aggressive, dry and crisp. Bass notes are tight and woody. Mids and highs clear and loud. Chords can be full or dry depending on how you play them. The character of this sound is most appreciated when playing with other players, whether it is rhythm or solo, the sound cuts through well.

The three Castelluccias I've played all sounded similar with slight differences between each. I copied much of the design concepts of the originals, especially in the top and body, so it is not too surprising the sound seems to land right in the middle of the three. Castelluccias were not the most robust guitar every built and structurally, old ones can have lots of problems. I tried to address some of this as well. The most obvious exceptions to original Castelluccias include:

• the fingerboard is cut off square at the 20th fret so as to fit my Peche a la Mouche pickup easily.
• I used a bolt on neck design which is used in a number of high end acoustic guitars, is very strong and does not show at all from the outside but allows for removal of the neck in about 10 minutes with no damage to the finish. (Honestly, it looks to me that anything is better than the original Castelluccia neck joint, not one of their better features.)
• the blocking for the bolt on neck is tied to the upper brace, stiffening the support of the fingerboard and neck considerably so as to prevent top caving above the soundhole, a problem on the Castelluccia D hole models.
• I used three light braces on the back to get the radius as I was too lazy to build a curved mold for laminating the back.
• Grover tuners because they actually turn.... and in the right direction ta' boot :twisted:
• in case you are wondering, the lack of mustache pieces either side the bridge is intentional. This is the way Castelluccia did it, on some of his guitars at least. The bases have twice the surface area compared to Selmer style because the Castels have no braces under the bridge and the larger bases are needed to spread the load out over the unsupported top.

Anyhow, thought you all might enjoy seeing this. I've started another along this line as I still have a bunch of ideas to try.

noodlenot

Nice Guitar Craig! Your workmanship is very impressive.
I like the soundhole design very much, the moustache-less bridge seemed a bit awkward atfirst, but now i find it adds some character. what about the "plantilla"? is it selmer-like or did castelluccia changed it some how?

thanks,
miguel.

MichaelHorowitz

Nice work Craig!

Michael Bauer

I have had the pleasure of trying two of Craig's guitars last summer at Django in June and was quite impressed, both with the sound and the workmanship. My buddy Ben Wood bought one of them on the spot! I hope I'll get a chance to try this one before Craig finds a buyer.

Lovely work, Craig! Hope to see you soon.

Bones

Wow, nice Craig! Do those typically have a pliage?

Thanks for posting the pics!

Craig Bumgarner

Thanks guys, your comments are appreciated. Luthiers spend a lot of time at the bench with very little feedback and your comments is very encouraging.

Bones: No pliage at all, no Castelluccia I've seen has one. They do have some arch, about 12' radius, and Castelluccia really had it figured out as to how to keep the arch from collapsing under the bridge pressure in spite of the light bracing and none of it under the bridge.

Miguel: The Castelluccia plantilla (body outline) is slightly different than Selmer, but the basic dimensions are very similar, 400mm max across the lower bout, 475mm in body length (5mm longer than Selmer). The curves are just a little different, most notably the waist is about 6mm wider than the Selmer outline and the the cutaway is not as deep & slightly more rounded in both curves. All in all, closer to the Selmer outline than most Favinos or Busatos. As I had already made some guitars to the Selmer outline, I used the Selmer body mold and template for this one. My goal was never to build an identical replica of a Castelluccia, I was more interested in the sound quality than the historical accuracy of the body outline. I don't think the differences are significant enough to effect the sound quality. But, the Castelluccia outline is really quite lovely and my Selmer body mold is getting some age on it, so I might make a new mold in the Castelluccia shape this summer sometime. Or I might play around with my own outline, that would be kinda cool 8)

Michael Bauer: Thanks for the shout out. This one is not for sale as it was my prototype and the interest was primarily in the sound, working out the top & bracing and the bolt on neck. I'm pleased with it and am keeping it as my new gig guitar. I'm working on a followup to this one which I will likely offer up if it turns out well. Are you thinking of going to Django in June this year? I hope to, at least for a couple days. I should have something to bring with me.

CB

NewcastleBud

Wow Craig!!!
Very nice work indeed!!
I'm always completely amazed that someone could build a guitar from scratch, by hand, no less!
Great job!

Michael Bauer

Craig--

I am always at Django in June, so I'll look forward to seeing you latest creation or two. The ones you brought last year were really good.

I'll have some "new" goodies of my own to bring, including a Grand Modele Busato, so bring your measuring tape!

Michael

Craig Bumgarner

Michael,

Terrific, see you there. Love to have a look under the hood of the Busato. I'll bring my kit.

Craig

Bohemian

Very nicely done. Congrats.

I like the Castelluccias for their spartan all business looks and simplicity. Classsy.

Great job.

bbwood_98

Craig,
looks great man!!! beautiful! Loving the one I have now! Would love to look at getting a D-hole at some point down the line . . .
Cheers, and great work
B.