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Build Your Own Guitar – BYO 350 – Doug Parry

Build Your Own Guitar – BYO 350 – Doug Parry

by | Apr 24, 2015 | ,

Carved to Perfection – the Bandsman CT

Doug was one of the first students to put a carve on our Standard Bandsman…having seen our special carve top…he had a picture in his own mind of what he wanted to build

Doug describes his creation

Alder body, mahogany neck with alder veneered headstock, ebony fretboard, 2 Bareknuckle Abraxas humbuckers…22 frets, 4 pots and 2 Cool Knobs [Rothwell] plus switch. Set neck. Finished with a satin spray- beautiful !!    All black hardware – Gotoh 510 bridge, basically Alder and Black !

A carve adds extra time to a build and isn’t possible on a standard BYOF guitar course… but if this shape appeals then get in touch – with little other customisation it may be posssible to make the guitar in one trip- please ask for more information

Build Your First Guitar in 5 Days ?

Whatever your level of inexperience, it is possible to build anything from a basic electric with a few tweaks in 5 days, through to a more customised (even self designed ) instrument on one of our courses – the Build Your First Guitar course runs over 6 consecutive days (which means only ONE trip), and the next course starts  May 1 2015 … we have only one place left… if that’s too soon there are other courses throughout the year.

Whatever guitar you have in mind, we have other courses, in different time frames to suit…

Check prices and dates

Melisa Kelly

Melisa Kelly

by | Apr 23, 2015 | , , , ,

Go Mel!

Melisa Kelly is a young singer songwriter from Ayrshire who plays and writes outstanding songs on her very own Bailey Sweet P acoustic guitar. I know a lot of you have seen her at our Acoustic Bliss nights and were blown away like the rest of us.

I really hope that if any of you love her music as much as we do that you will find it in your blissful hearts to contribute something – every little helps. We all know it is not easy trying to make a living in the music business and if anyone deserves it Mel does – a wise man once told me ‘to be a successful musician you have to have nothing to fall back on’ – in other words you have to make it work or die a lonely death in a gutter somewhere…please let’s not let that happen…be generous!

Here is a link to Mel’s Indiegogo campaign…

Build Your Own First Guitar – BYO 349 – Joe McClean

Build Your Own First Guitar – BYO 349 – Joe McClean

by | Apr 22, 2015 | ,

Blonde and beautiful

Joe came to build his first guitar at Bailey’s for a special birthday. Born in Scotland Joe lived in South Africa until he came back to the UK with his family. Making a guitar was something he always wanted to do…. and he chose the Build your First Guitar course. On this course we build a guitar based on the Bailey Bandsman but Joe wanted a few modifications to the standard spec. The Thru body bridge adds a bit of extra work – mainly to drill all those holes for the strings and ferrules…

In Joe’s own words

It was supposed to be a BYO first [a Bandsman] but I wanted a bit of custom…but keep-it-simple with a hard-tail, alder body, maple neck, ebony fingerboard with a slight custom shape to the body and headstock…set neck, short scale and only 22 frets -again to keep it simple. Twin humbuckers with a coil tap switch for some variation without complicating it too much. I also wanted no paint job, just oil for that raw look.

Build Your First Guitar in 5 Days ?

Whatever your level of inexperience, it is possible to build anything from a basic electric with a few tweaks in 5 days, through to a more customised (even self designed ) instrument on one of our courses – the Build Your First Guitar course runs over 6 consecutive days (which means only ONE trip), and the next course starts  May 1 2015 … we have only one place left… if that’s too soon there are other courses throughout the year.

If a Bandsman style guitar doesn’t take your fancy then we have other courses, in different time frames to suit…

Check course dates and prices

Custom Bass and Guitar Build – Gordon

Custom Bass and Guitar Build – Gordon

by | Mar 27, 2015 | , , ,

Gordon is one of our regulars down at Acoustic Bliss and can often be found bashing out tunes for us on acoustic guitar just for fun – but really he plays bass in the band Preacher who are due to support the mighty Status Quo very soon.

I have a deadline for the bass to be finished (in time for the big gig) so I will have to make sure that happens but the guitar can take a little longer as it is not needed for the live show…will post progress here as it happens…

Making an acoustic guitar- how to bend the sides by hand

Making an acoustic guitar- how to bend the sides by hand

by | Mar 26, 2015 | ,

…Side bending…….

In a Nutshell

Most guitar shapes have only 3 bends to cope with. The lower bout, the waist, and the upper bout. All the bits in between are usually straight lines. There are only really two skills involved:

  1. finding where it needs bending
  2. bending

You will need: Your sides, a pattern, a bending iron clamped to your bench, and a container big enough to soak the sides in. I use a plant tray from a gardening centre. You could stick them in the bath if nobody minds.

Preparing the sides for bending

The sides should be thicknessed to .090″ (about 2.3 mm) and cut to size. They are then marked at the end where they will join at the back of the body (where the strap stud will eventually be).Try it all ways to find the best match. Also make a mark on the edge that will glue down to the soundboard. This is to avoid making two left sides….it has happened. Then the wood is soaked in water for 10-20 mins before bending.

There are 3 methods commonly used to bend the sides

Which method you use would normally depend on how many you want to make.

How to bend the sides by hand:

Start with the lower bout – this is the easiest as the curve is not too tight. Leave a small flat section for the tail block and start the curve. Rock the side back and forward over the bending iron and apply pressure till you feel it start to bend. Make a short hop sliding the side forward and keeping the pressure on to increase the length of the bend. Continue like this and you should see the bend start to emerge.

You will have to decide if you are over bending or underbending or if you are just right and adjust your technique to suit. Shorter hops and more heat make a tighter curve. Compare your side to the pattern to check how you are getting on.

You can straighten out an overbend by heating and applying pressure the other way. Try to avoid kinks.

It takes a while to get the hang of it so you should practice on scrap before mangling an expensive piece of tonewood.

Do all 3 bends roughly first then go over them again to further refine them. You can touch them up dry before assembling the guitar.

Using a mould

You could decide to make a mould which makes life slightly easier or if you are making more than one.

Roughly bend by hand until you can fit them into the mould, dampen them and then apply heat all the way round using the bending iron or a heat lamp, and clamp into position. When left to cool, preferably overnight, the sides take up the shape of the mould. They may spring back slightly when removed but you can always touch them up before assembly.

Fox side bender

You should know about these even if you don’t intend to use one. They cost money but save time and effort especially if you want to make a lot of guitars.

Eclipse Flower

Eclipse Flower

by | Mar 20, 2015 | , , , , ,

Solar Eclipse over Bailey Workshop!

Three things happened today which led me to a new idea for a guitar:
1. I managed to shoot this video of the solar eclipse over Ayr this morning
2. The Heathergem material has arrived
3. I heard about the Eclipse Flower

I discovered Heathergems while on a visit and instantly fell in love with the material. It is a natural product and made here in Scotland so I thought it would be a great and unique idea for a guitar rosette. I took details and tracked down the owners to ask if they would sell me some. I am reliably informed that they do not usually allow anybody else to use their product and have refused hundreds of requests so I am very honoured that they have allowed me to use it.

Today I learned that in Italy it is thought that if you plant a seed during an eclipse then the flowers will grow more colourful.
That gave me the idea for a guitar – it will be a ‘Moonshiner’ with the precious Heathergem Rosette and since I had the idea during the event, I hereby name it the ‘Eclipse Flower’. There…the seed has been sown – let’s see how it comes out.

Acoustic Bliss

Acoustic Bliss

by | Dec 4, 2014 | , ,

Acoustic Bliss and Bailey Guitars

Acoustic Bliss is the name of our ‘open mic’ night which is now over 7 years old.

I always wanted to make guitars by day and play them at night and Carol loves singing so it was our escape from work – a night out and a bit of fun. We never took it very seriously as we don’t consider ourselves professional musicians by any means but it is great fun!

Over the years we have made lots (hundreds) of friends who have all supported our ‘special night’ either by sharing their wonderful music or just cheering us on from the sidelines (or helping to lug the gear).

Until now we have always kept Bailey Guitars separate from Acoustic Bliss as it was our ‘bit of fun’ but truthfully we have always ‘sponsored’ AB (for want of a better word). Most people use my guitar when they play – or bring their own Bailey I have built for them (it is not compulsory:) and all the rest of the gear is ours.

It has often been said that we should film ‘Bliss’ as we all seem to have such a merry old time and wouldn’t it be great for some of our amazing musicians and singers to reach a wider audience…and I would love you all to share my enjoyment watching and hearing my guitars ‘used in anger’ LIVE and onstage!

So – after a lot of thought and not a little expense we bring you:

Acoustic Bliss – The Late Show

with Mark and Carol

Every Thursday 11:30-12:30pm GMT

Live from The Twa Dugs – Ayr

Sponsored by Bailey Guitars

‘Twas in that place o’ Scotland’s isle,
That bears the name o’ auld King Coil,
Upon a bonie day in June,
When wearin’ thro’ the afternoon,
Twa dogs, that were na thrang at hame,
Forgather’d ance upon a time. – Robert Burns

Baritone Uke Jarrah

Baritone Uke Jarrah

by | Nov 17, 2014 | , , ,

Paul’s Second Uke

This uke was half made at the time he bought the soprano so he put his name down on it and has been patiently waiting for me to finish it in time for a recording project – so with a bit of luck we will all get to hear it soon!

I made this Uke as an experiment to see if the Jarrah was suitable for acoustic instruments – I have some more I would love to make into a steel string acoustic…I would really love to make a Moonshiner with this stuff! But it is so incredibly highly figured there was some doubt whether it would be possible to bend the sides without breaking them.

As it turned out it was difficult but not impossible…the Uke turned out to be one of the most beautiful instruments I have made to date. I only had a brief time with it as Paul wanted it ASAP for his project but I did get this set of lovely pictures to remind me…as for the sound – when I played it for the first time it punched me in the belly…finger-picking a little more gently it just tickled nicely…

People often ask me how I let them go. Yes, sometimes it is hard – especially when they are as special as this one, but I am a builder and I have to sell instruments to survive, so nothing makes me happier than to see one of my babies going to a good home. Actually there is one thing…that is when we receive feedback like this from our customers! Thanks Paul – makes it all worthwhile:)

Here is what Paul said:

From Email:

Well… It has arrived indeed, my neighbor kindly took it as I was called into work, so I just got home and!.. What a lovely package to come home to.

So I’ll tell you quickly how it was for me to open her up.

First thing I got was the smell of the wood, it’s something you only get from an instrument like this i love that.

Straight away my eyes are drawn to the detail in the fret board the binding and grain in the sound board, not to mention the Bailey signature sitting there all crisp on the headstock.
All highlighted with a shimmer from the beautiful gloss.

It looks crisp and clean with a lot of attention to detail even at a glance I can notice this, But then I turn it round and there is that beautiful Jarrah..
And not so bright like I might of imagined but a lovely Autumn brown’y red’y color, this was a big winner for me.

I noticed then the D’Addario T2’s.. great choice of string, I only discovered them recently in fact,
So then… it was down to business!

Quick tune up and hands on..

Well…

I can safely say that’s the most comfortably fretboard and neck I’ve played.
My Pono is hard to beat for comfort I must admit but straight away it just had a smoothness to it that comes from the obvious quality of build..
These are all things I was worrying about till now Ha!

I started picking one of my songs, this always gives me a good feel for the tone and then some heavier folksy strumming stuff..
The picking is great, the fret board just feels so nice to move on.. Good action, easy on my fingers and comfortable.

There is a nice evenness to it, Unlike ‘a lot’ of ukuleles out there. My Pono is a prime example, nice high’s but really quite poor with the lower and mid tones and really muddy on recordings no matter what I try.

I’m would say this uke has a very warm feel to it…
Very nice to strum, there is definition in the tone and it’s got a very clean overall sound.. The high and low tones aren’t overtaking each other unlike my Pono.
This is key for me with recording because a quality balanced tone to begin with can save hours or even days of bloody headache trying to polish crap that wasn’t there to begin with.

It’s tricky with Baritones because you want the lower end and the mid to give it fullness but any I’ve played lack that definition and balance that you really need..

Well.. I’m impressed to say the least, Mark you have done yourself proud my friend!
I would be interested to hear a small parlor or travel size acoustic with these woods..
I can imagine they would work well with it’s overall clean sound and balance.

Well for now I have to go and stop rabbiting on..

Thank you very much really!!

And also for the T’shirts Ha! Nice touch :))

Speak soon guys

Bye for now 😉 x

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