Jay Rosenblatt Guitars

Guitar Notes for the New Year, LaLaLa

Posted on December 30, 2019January 2, 2020 by jayrose22

Hello, it has been a while. Happy holidays to all.

As you can see in the photo I have put some of my guitars on display in my shop. Some of these are completed guitars that I use at shows and and some are under construction waiting for new owners.

The past year was somewhat busy in the shop, I completed a few new instruments and there were lots of repairs and plenty to keep me busy.

Recently I had a story writer from our statewide magazine, New Jersey Monthly, come visit me along with a professional photographer. The photographer and I set up a few working images that I have yet to see and the story will be published in the March 2020 issue of NJ Monthly.

Jay Rosenblatt and some handbuilt guitars — Jay Rosenblatt in his shop with several of his handmade instruments 2019

In the photo;

(L-R) “Kasha Classical” with a reclaimed cedar soundboard and rosewood back and sides, “Big maple”, A Lutz Spruce top with maple back and sides and hand cut inlays just completed and strung up today, “Moonwood and Maple” under construction, a Moonwood Soundboard, 4A maple back and sides, maple laminate neck, In my hands a “7 String Baroque” This is an exact replica of a romantic era guitar, “Red Rose” (behind me) Redwood and rosewood PF model with mahogany neck (new, complete, sweet), “Domino” radially braced hybrid guitar made of Myrtle and alaskan spruce, “Apollo 17” “A-framed semi-arch-top with walnut back and sides, “Arches”, a guitar inspired by the Arches in Utah with a unique intersecting arch bracing system. (some of these instruments are featured in my past posts)

What else? Currently I am in the design process of an electric guitar model. That will be down the line but working on it.

In the New Year, April, 3-5, 2020, I will be exhibiting my acoustic guitars at the Artisan Guitar Show in Harrisburg, PA.

This is a three day event with concerts, musical performances, hand-built instruments and their makers, vintage instruments, workshops and classes.

Follow this link for info on the show. http://artisanguitarshow.com/.

I am happy to announce that I will have my favorite musical duo, “Frank and Hank,” Frank Sole and Henry Nerenberg, perform for me at the show on Sunday, April 5th., featuring my instruments.

Well Thats it for now. Looking for that special acoustic guitar? Drop me a line.

Thanks and Happy New Year to all,

Jay Rosenblatt

Reclaimed Spruce

Posted on July 22, 2019 by jayrose22

Whenever I can I like to use reclaimed or salvaged wood. Currently I am joining up a soundboard purchased years ago from Alaska Specialty Woods.

This set was reclaimed from a bridge that spanned Bear Creek River in Alaska in the 70’s. Its stringers were made from two 60” logs.

After 10 years of service the bridge was dropped to the forest floor and a new metal bridge installed. The logs were reclaimed around 2000. It was cut into sound boards that are stiff, with a beautiful loose grain and a naturally aged color that can’t be sanded out. I have used this before in a guitar called “Bridges”. This set exhibits a bit of bear claw and a warm amber rose color. Beautiful!

Guitar Building Presentation at the NJWA woodworking meeting.

Posted on August 21, 2018August 21, 2018 by jayrose22

Hello it has been a while.

Last night I had the pleasure to present photographs on my guitar building processes to a group at the NJWA, North Jersey Woodworking Association. I also had Frank Sole, musician, teacher and builder of guitars who performed several pieces, classical, jazz and contemporary for the group.

The NJWA has monthly meetings with demonstrations in a variety of woodworking topics by various presenters. They also have a monthly raffle and share information on woodworking methods, tips, tools, and finishing.

There were about 40 people who attended. One or two who have built a guitar so this was fairly new information for those who have never built an instrument. My presentation was fast paced covering many aspects of the building process and passing around lots of parts and pieces so the folks can get a good sense of guitar construction.

In all the meeting lasted 2.5 hours and I showed about 330 images of the building process. From what I gathered they enjoyed my presentation very much and it was an enjoyable experience for me as well.

If you have an organization or group that would like me to present on this topic please contact me.

Thanks, and thank you for reading.

Happy building!

Jay

Guitar Buliding presentation at NJWA3

Radially braced Steel string acoustic guitar by Rosenblatt

Posted on March 19, 2018March 31, 2018 by jayrose22

This handbuilt guitar “Domino” features a radial soundboard bracing pattern similar the the Kasha Classical guitars. It is built of spruce and Myrtle. The goal was to emphasize the bass and treble response yet because of the Myrtle it has a beautiful midrange appeal as well. To strengthen the torque resistance on the soundboard without over stiffening the top an ebony bridge plate which extends from the cross bar to the sound hole reduces the rotational arcing imposed by the pull of the strings.

The Soundboard is mostly floating and does not attach directly to the transverse brace allowing more vibration across the plate. The neck block is anchored to the transverse brace via ebony dowels. The fingerboard extension is also floating part of the way toward the sound hole.

The bracing drawing

The bridge torque reducer

ready to close

01radially braced acoustic guitar.jpg

radially braced steel string by Jay Rosenblatt

As I built this as an experimental instrument I provided an access port to allow the easy installation of different pickup configurations or microphones placed directly within the instrument for recording purposes. Currently It is outfitted with an LR Baggs Anthem pickup.

This instrument can be seen at the Artisan Guitar Show next month in Harrisburg, PA., April 13 through 15th. 2018

All design © Jay Rosenblatt Guitsrs

Thank you

Jay

17″ Hand built Acoustic Arch-Top by Jay Rosenblatt

Posted on March 18, 2018April 4, 2018 by jayrose22

This instrument is a 17 Inch acoustic semi-archtop guitar, 25.5 inch scale length. Named Apollo, this guitar features a fine Sitka soundboard, Curly Claro Walnut body, mahogany neck with an african blackwood fingerboard and head plate with a Gabon Ebony bridge, tailpiece and pick guard. (not shown, these photos were taken during construction phases). The tailpiece uses pins to hold the string ends similar to the Doolin/ Elliot pinless bridges.

The neck has a two-way adjustable truss rod which is accessible by lifting the cover held in place magnetically. The neck is stiffened with carbon fiber bars. The back of the head plate is a curly maple burl veneer. The bracing for the soundboard is an “A frame” design with a cross bar support. The bridge is a fixed height design. The back bracing is a floating system similar to the design of the Kasha classical guitars. The binding is Rosewood with curly maple purfling. The finish is hand applied French polish. The final version will have an ebony pick guard to match the tailpiece and head plate.

The Artisan Guitar Show

Posted on March 15, 2018May 24, 2018 by jayrose22

Dear Friends and Guitar Enthusiasts,

I am pleased to tell you about the upcoming Artisan Guitar Show in Harrisburg, Pa.

This show will feature hand-built guitars displayed by their makers. The event will highlight the work of many renowned builders and the amazing instruments they create.

There will be lectures, workshops, masterclasses, exhibitors, historic and vintage guitar collections and special events throughout the weekend.

I am pleased to be exhibiting my instruments there once again. You will find me hiding behind table #58. I will have some special instruments for sale. I will also have my guitars featured in a one hour concert on Sunday by Tim Farrell.

The Dates: Friday, April 13th, through Sunday, April 15th., 2018. The Central Hotel & Conference Center, Harrisburg, PA. https://artisanguitarshow.com

On Saturday, at 8 pm., Livingston Taylor will be performing. Tickets are available.

On Sunday, Tim Farrell, guitarist, performs a one hour concert featuring Rosenblatt Guitars from 12: to 1 PM. Tim Farrell is an amazing musician. http://timfarrellmusic.com

Thank you and I hope to see you there.

Jay Rosenblatt

Jay Rosenblatt Guitars update August 2017

Posted on August 25, 2017August 25, 2017 by jayrose22

I confess, it has been quite a while since my last post. So lets catch up.

In my last post, June 17, I was getting ready to present at the A.S.I.A Symposium in Stroudsburg, PA. That was a great success. My presentation went off well and my class which was supposed to be 90 minutes long went on for over two hours. Some of the attendees went to other classes in the middle but many stayed on to the end. I was told that it was very interesting. In the presentation I displayed about 300 photographs and processes on guitar building, tools, forms, jigs and steps to help the aspiring luthier.

All set up for presenting at The A.S.I.A. Symposium, June 2017

In the shop I have been busy with all sorts of things. Currently I have completed a Kasha radial braced type steel string guitar. This employs a Kasha bracing pattern with a floating transverse brace and fingerboard extension. The sound board has been enabled to vibrate over its full length and not be impeded by the transverse brace locking it down above the sound hole. This instrument also features a Pinless bridge where the strings are mounted to the top of the instrument. The are hooked on steel posts that are anchored to the top. The bridge is Kasha style in shape but is laminated of Rosewood and Ebony with a fully compensated saddle. The body is Oregon Myrtle (Laurel) finished with french polish. This is a large full bodied amazingly resonant and responsive guitar.

Jay Rosenblatt Luthier

Kasha Bracing on Steel String

Rosewood and ebony pinless bridge

Myrtle with French polish

Rosenblatt Guitars Kasha Braced Steel String

Rosenblatt Logo on headstock

Rosewood and ebony pinless bridge

I have also been busy in the shop with a variety of instrument repairs. From inlays to bridge replacements, neck resets on a classic Martin Tenor Guitar and general repairs and set ups. The customer is always pleased to get their instrument playable and right.

Rosenblatt Guitar Workshop

Domino dot inlays

Kasha Braced Steel string in construction

Diamond after build inlays on Customers guitar

Repairing neck joint on tenor guitar

Resetting neck joint on tenor guitar

Conversion righty to lefty on tenor guitar

Replacement bridge on customers guitar

I had a chance to travel a bit. In May I was exhibiting at the LaConner Guitar Festival in LaConner, Washington. That was a hoot. Met so many great builders and people. I also had a chance to get to to the LMI warehouse which by the way you would have to make visiting plans in advance to visit as they don’t usually give tours, but I had a few minutes to look around. I also visited with Tom Ribbeke at his shop. That was great.