No. 031 Lyra
This is the largest guitar currently in Jeremy's production line. Model 5 has a 15 5/8" lower bout that puts it closest to a dreadnought in the Pappenfüs lineup. It was designed through a collaboration with a friend who wanted something with presence.
The top is salvaged Western Red Cedar from an old logging bridge. The back and sides are Catalox, a dense tropical hardwood. African Padauk binding and Bird's Eye Maple inlays give the guitar its visual identity.
Jeremy described this one as having "attitude and a hearty helping of soul."
African Padauk binding, Bird's Eye Maple inlays
Watch the build
Read what Jeremy says about this build
Welcome back to Pappenfüs Guitars. My name is Jeremy and today I have another really special guitar to share with you.
My model 5 currently is the largest guitar that I make with a lower bout width of 15 and 5/8 inch. It compares most closely to a dreadnaught. I did change the curves a little bit, brought in the waist just to make it a little bit more comfortable for the player. For wood choices, we went with a Mexican hardwood called katalox, known for its resonance. We paired that with a salvaged western red cedar top that was from an old logging bridge. It's almost as if this top was meant to vibrate under stress. We outlined all of this with a vibrant African padauk with some inlays in bird's eye maple, which I'll give you a bit more detail on in a minute. Scale length of this guitar is 25.4 in. And we aligned it to the body at the 14th fret. At the saddle, we have a string spacing of 2 1/4 in. And up at the nut, we have a width of an inch and 3/4. We paired this guitar to a Honduran mahogany neck that we chose to do a really dark sunburst finish on just to really help with the moodiness of this instrument. I also chose to implement a manzer wedge on this guitar due to the larger size. If you're unfamiliar with that term, Linda Manzer originally came up with a design that tilted the guitar towards the player by simply narrowing the upper portion of the instrument. What that allows is to give the player just an easier reach over the top to play and reduce the shoulder strain. At this point, I'll save you from all the technical jargon and give you a couple sound samples from my good friend Tim Torgerson. We recorded these raw, so get yourself a good pair of speakers or a good set of headphones to be able to appreciate the true sound of this guitar.
So, what's so special about the bird's eye maple on Lyra? I'd like to acknowledge the work of Michael Bashkin, Rory Dowling, and Gary Southwell; three amazing builders that have utilized the technique of sand shading to create unique elements on their guitars. The technique uses extremely hot sand to discolor wood along its edges, giving it a shaded look. It's different than torching in the sense that you can actually sand this material and you don't lose any of the coloration. I use this technique to try to create a sense of motion with the inlays, culminating with the inward swirl around the rosette. Other important items of this guitar include an ebony fingerboard and bridge, a bone saddle, and a black buffalo horn nut. This guitar also features a side sound port to give that player its own personal monitor. I chose to finish the neck with Osmo Poly-x to give it a good natural feel. And the rest of the body is finished with a traditional French polish shellac.
And that concludes my introduction of Lyra. This guitar is for sale, so please feel free to reach out via the links in the description below. I hope you enjoyed this video. Please like and subscribe for future guitar introductions. And from Pappenfüs Guitars in Northwest Montana, thanks for watching.