Seven-String Flattops
Ramblin' Jack's Java
Fingerboard Radius
Q Do you know of any commercial guitar companies that make steel seven-string acoustic flattops?
Annie Peele
Delhi, New York
A Although the seven-string archtop guitar has long been popular with jazz guitarists, it hasn't really caught on in the flattop world. This state of affairs has given rise to a catch-22 situation: there are no seven-string flattop guitars because there are no seven-string flattop guitarists, and vice versa.
I spoke to a number of guitar makers about seven-string guitars, and nobody I talked to gets more than a half dozen requests per year. Many pointed out that building a seven-string guitar requires far more work than just adding a bass string. Every part of the guitar has to be redesigned, and a host of decisions, both structural and aesthetic, need to be made. How do you arrange the odd number of gears on the peghead? How thick does the top need to be to withstand the extra tension? Will existing truss rods be strong enough to support the neck? How wide do you make the neck? Where do you get the extra bass strings? For companies like Martin and Taylor to make production seven-string guitars, they would need to spend thousands of dollars on new jigs, fixtures, and tools with no guarantee that anyone would buy the instruments.
In spite of these difficulties, Gallagher Guitars (7 Main St., Wartrace, TN 37183; [615] 389-6455) is offering the extra string as an option. For an additional $300, the company will make any of its models in a seven-string version. The musician who persuaded Don Gallagher to take the plunge is contest-winning bluegrass flatpicker Steve Kaufman, who started playing his seven-string in the early '90s. He found that adding the extra low string (which has a diameter of .066 and is tuned to B) gave him a fuller sound and allowed him to play without the backing of a bass player. His Gallagher seven-string is a dreadnought with Indian rosewood back and sides, an Engelmann spruce top, and a cutaway. The top is sunburst and is bound in paua shell. The list price is $4,100.
In the lower price ranges, Ibanez has just introduced the flattop AJ-307CE as part of its series of seven-string guitars, which also includes the solid-body RG-7620 and the archtop AF-207. The flattop lists for $1,099.99 with Fishman pickup.
--Michael Simmons
Q Where can I find Ramblin' Jack Elliott's recording of his composition "A Cup of Coffee"?
Ward Wilcox
Ojai, California
A Ramblin' Jack Elliott recorded a version of his trucker tune "A Cup of Coffee" on the album Kerouac's Last Dream, which was recorded in 1980 in Germany and released in Europe. The album's title refers to Jack Kerouac's Book of Dreams, which includes a reverie about Elliott becoming a millionaire. The album fell far from making Kerouac's dream come true. It has been almost impossible to find, but in August Red House affiliate Appleseed Recordings released it in the U.S. (Appleseed, PO Box 2593, West Chester, PA 19380; [610] 701-5755.) According to Elliott, another recording of this song was made by Johnny Cash on the album Everybody Loves a Nut.
--Steve Boisson
Q Could someone please explain the term neck radius to me? How do you take this measurement?
Jon Shapiro
Washington, D.C.
A The more accurate term is fingerboard radius. It refers to the arc of the face of the fingerboard. Typically on classical guitars, the fingerboard is dead flat, with a slight twisting drop-off toward the bass side over the body. However, on steel-string guitars it is common to make the fingerboard curved as a section of either a cylinder or cone. The radius of the arc is usually in the range of 12&endash;17 inches, though on some electric guitars, the radius may be as small as nine inches.
The tighter radiuses are thought to be more comfortable for closed and barred chording, while the flatter fingerboards allow lower action for players who bend notes a lot in the higher positions. It is fairly common these days to find electric guitars with compound radius fingerboards: nine or ten inches at the first fret and 15&endash;17 inches at the 20th fret. For some players, this is the best of both worlds.
Fingerboard radius is measured with an arc gauge (available from Stewart-MacDonald Guitar Shop Supply) and can be restored or modified by a qualified luthier who uses a special concave-radiused sanding block to true the fingerboard surface.
--Rick Turner
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