Watch a Chapin Guitar Being Built, Part 2 (Part 1 below)

Here is a Hawk solidbody with the bridge located, pickup holes and electronics cavity routed, The binding channel is complete and ready for the 4 layer binding. After the binding is applied and scraped to an exact body fit, the contoured access cutaway will be carved and the back radiused. From this point the guitar goes through the sanding process and the base coats of nitrocellulose finish are applied.

The best section of the board is selected for grain, figure, color, and a total lack of flaws. The body is cut out and the neck blank is selected for tonal match. The neck is then laid out and the profile and 9 degree headstock angle is cut following the same criteria as the body. Shown here is the tilt-back head neck blank on top of a scoop head neck blank.

Here is a new variation on our standard models. The Hawk shape is combined with the Fatline chambering at a thickness between the two. This model also has a separate back, allowing me to further carve the underside of the maple top as well as pre-carve the back prior to attaching it. At this stage the top is joined and rough cut, the body is rough cut and the chambers are started. The top will be glued on in a matter of days.

This is a new wood that we are trying out. It is a promising substitute for swamp ash. The appearance, grain structure, tap tone, and color are similar. With the weight being consistent at about 2 � to 3 � pounds. It also grows extremely fast which makes it an excellent renewable resource with very low environmental impact. This is a prototype. If this comes out as nice as we expect it will replace swamp ash in our line. If not, it will work its way into my fireplace. The only way to truly push guitarmaking forward is to use all of your experience to filter your ideas, pick the best ones, build them, and honestly evaluate the results. We'll keep you posted.

This is a flamed maple neck that I'm currently building. A customer brought in a Tom Anderson guitar he had just bought. He found the original to be unsatisfactory, so he commissioned a replacement. We also changed the pickups to something that better suited this particular instrument. One nice thing about bolt on guitars is that you can make these type of radical changes to bring out the best in a guitar, and then when or if you want to sell it, the reversion to stock is relatively simple. I'm shown here smoothing out the volute with a file.

Watch a Chapin Guitar Being Built, Part 1

This is how all Chapin guitars begin - raw wood

The body wood for this guitar is Black Limba also known as Dark Korina. Light Korina was used in Gibson’s original Flying Vs and Explorers made in the late 50s. Dark Korina is a very similar wood although I prefer it for tone, weight and appearance. Its one odd quality is its color which has a greenish cast. This green disappears with a little careful shading in the finish stage. This particular order is for my top of the line model- The Fatline TV. Only my most resonant, and most beautiful woods go into this model. Next, the highly figured maple top and the African blackwood fingerboard are selected. All the wood is matched tonally to work together to achieve a balanced instrument. The color and grain are also matched for the body and neck. In two weeks I’ll post more on this guitar in progress. Commissioned by Masa Kobayashi

This is a Hawk solid body with a bolt on neck

(Rare for a Chapin, most of our guitars are glue in neck) The body has been shaped, the maple top glued on, the neck pocket cut and fit and the bridge and pickup holes layed out. This guitar will have body binding, the ledge still needs to be routed. This guitar is 24 � " scale, with a P90 esque neck pickup and Duncan Nashville Studio Tele lead pickup. Commissioned by guitarist Scott Sorkin

Here’s a Black Limba Fatline Special Edition with a unique redwood top.

The body is nearly complete with the tuned chambers, binding, radiuses, and electronic cavities all finished. The redwood is warm and full while still having great cut. I call the unique figure of this particular top "firestorm" because of its resemblance to the rolling effect of flames in movie explosions. This board is the only time that I have ever seen this figure and I have enough for about 2 more guitars. This guitar is being built as one of the first in a limited series to be auctioned online when complete. More to come in 2 weeks.

email: shades@chapinguitars.com

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