Full Acoustic Guitar Build From Scratch - Koa and Sinker Redwood - Workshop ASMR - JKM Guitars

This build video covers instrument #38, which is a 485 model made from Sinker Redwood and Koa. Its also paired with Koa bindings, head veneers and 12th fret inlay. To compliment the golden colour of the wood, ebony is used for the fingerboard, bridge and strap button inlay.
It was decided with the customer to have a gloss finish for the body and headstock, with a satin finish for the mahogany neck. The spraying process isn't included in this video, as I do it off site, but the wood prep with grain filler, and the polishing are shown.
If you have any questions, just send a comment and ill try to get back, and if you want any more information on my work, visit jkmguitars.com.
This build was made in Dromore, Northern Ireland.

[@fw1421]

I’ve watched a lot of guitar build videos and I’ve never seen anyone put in such attention to detail. Definitely not a production guitar maker. I can’t imagine what the cost of having a guitar made by him would be. Absolutely gorgeous instrument.

[@JKM_Guitars]

there's a good collection for sale on my website if you want to take a look! ;)

[@edwardmukisa-u5k]

Such a beautiful instrument.

[@nickyoung3516]

A beautiful instrument made with great skill, respect, taste and love.

[@kevindoran7007]

Fantastic to see this great guitar finally finished and played, sounds great, beautiful song 👍🏻

[@chrisclarke3670]

Great looking and sounding guitar. Loved watching the process.

[@tonycampos1082]

Good job. I like the bridge design. It's the kind that doesn't pierce the soundboard.

[@claytonlevibrown]

I watched a bunch of videos about guitar builders, I like this one and the sound of the guitar.

[@СергейДенисов-и8т]

Красивая гитара! Звучит очень ярко, прозрачно, разборчиво, насыщенно и обладает продолжительным сустейном. Спасибо, Мастер за достаточно подробное видео как Вы с любовью к своему делу относитесь и вкладываете частичку своей души в изготовление инструментов!

[@JKM_Guitars]

Thanks you for the kind words, every guitar is built with a lot of care and attention to make it as good as I possibly can!

[@krisrichmond3222]

Nice guitar! love the simple top gluing method too

[@Fabiano-cd1sr]

Beautiful

[@user-r-roy]

Excellent workmanship This guitar is very beautiful. I love it.

[@jeremyanson8795]

Wow! What a beautiful neck. The concept, design, build and finishing all exceptional, and the end result embodies the effort, craftsmanship and emotional investment in the ptoject. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[@Suealan69]

Great video, great guitar.

[@yvancoissieu7390]

Bravo! Parmi les métiers d'arts appliqués ❤. Super résultat 👍😊

[@jerrydiller8245]

That's a very nice guitar excellent work.

[@JKM_Guitars]

Thanks a lot!

[@shravanacharyaofficial]

beautiful beautiful guitar❤ can't wait to own onw someday soon!

[@bradhuskers]

It's stunning. And different woods give different tones.

[@Smith944]

i like this method of bracing.

[@Ninoy2059]

What a beautiful Guitar. The sound was so crisp. Amazing. Thank you for sharing your skills with the rest of us.

[@JKM_Guitars]

Glad you liked it!

[@moesfishing2776]

this is so amazing

[@mikehomner4724]

Just Beautiful! :):)

[@higheriam]

Beautiful sound. ❤

[@patberning]

Thank you for such fine work and for sharing it, a great inspiration for amateur luthiers like myself :)

[@JKM_Guitars]

Thanks very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@fazeeztaj1618]

​@@JKM_Guitars dear can you tell me what did you spray with Air Brush??? What chemical or formula was that?

[@CMRWoodworks]

Awesome build!

[@Djalmar]

Trabalho incrível! O esmero, o cuidado com os detalhes, o refinamento dos acabamentos, tudo muito agradável de se ver! Gostaria de ter um instrumento feito por você. Isso se tornou um sonho de consumo!

[@JKM_Guitars]

Thanks you for the kind words! I'm sure one day you will have one 😉

[@philltadman]

work of art

[@joeyoungs8426]

Very nice build. Happy to see others using sinker redwood. I’ve made three classical guitars with it and found it it hit a nice sweet spot. Sort of like cedar but leans a bit towards spruce. It’s sort of a crossover tone wood in my opinion. I’m definitely a fan.

[@marcosalema5098]

Awesome!

[@AlejandroGuerreroLaverde]

Enamorado de su guitarra y de su sonido, espectacular!!! El varetaje que uso para esta guitarra que bondades tiene en el sonido?

[@guitarquynhon]

Neck so beautiful.

[@dxjxrose]

Did you notice the finish chipping next to the low e saddle.... Drill the hole out spinning the drill in reverse then use a counter sink bit and you will get zero chips.

[@Zanagash]

I would love to know what you are doing when you are tapping on the faces of the guitar, and then reshaping the pieces of wood inside the guitar. What are you looking for in the sound ? What does shipping those pieces do ? I love these videos. I play the guitar and I am not really good at it, but I love it. And I am not a woodworker but I love to watch these kind of video ! AMAZING WORK !

[@jaygraham5554]

Wow what a great , refreshing interview and discussion. As Judy points out there is opposition to even rational discourse on this subject. Sound Money is foundational to a sound capitalistic economy for sure. Opposition to this axiomatic truth is the radical irrational view.

[@olsi78]

Nice build, very well done! What kind of finish is it after the first coat (of shellac I think)? Wipe on poly or some kind?

[@JKM_Guitars]

After the shellac wash coat, I use a few coats of stew macs water based clear grain filler before spraying the lacquer

[@Z3Nzz]

Tuyệt!

[@eddyo6974]

The white paste that he puts on at 27:45, is that grain filler? or what is it?, thank you

[@JKM_Guitars]

That's a clear grain filler applied after a shellac wash coat. The product is from stew mac, and is a water based clear grain filler

[@CarlosRuizDuque]

God job

[@vasocreta]

I am not sure that I have ever seen solid kerfing and that extended style of bracing before. What's the thought process there?

[@JKM_Guitars]

The solid kerfing adds rigidity to the whole rim of the guitar, making the sides nearly immovable. This means you can be more daring with how light you make the top as the perimeter is supported so well. I've heard it described like a diving board, the top being the board and the diving board base being the sides, the stronger the base, the more the energy of your motions remain on the board, a badly supported base would mean the boards motions would dissipate too easily. And as for the bracing, it serves two purposes, making the soundboard more symmetrical allows more even response from the bass or treble strings without favouring one or the other, and their position behind the bridge would help prevent the guitar from bellying up over time. The idea was a mix of the standard x brace and classical guitar style bracing.

[@vasocreta]

@@JKM_Guitars wow. That is really insightful stuff. Thanks so much for even taking the time to respond so thoughtfully. I love the sound you're producing--even over compressed YT vids.

[@DmitryLevin]

Beautiful! Do you collaborate with artists?

[@unamoahc]

Божественно!!!👻👻👻

[@angedav]

nice build and a beautiful guitar. I like your style. Can I ask what router you use which it is seen at 20:08? Thanks

[@patrickdavis4862]

It’s called a Shaper, owned by Festool’s parent company.

[@JKM_Guitars]

That's the Shaper Origin, it's a hand held CNC machine, I use it for making jigs, fixture head veneer logos, bridges and fingerboards mostly

[@nigelhasenbaum]

Its nice to see the Shaper Origin getting some good use. I thought about building some templates that would cut the top out for me as well as the sound hole. Is there a reason why you dont do that and just do it by hand?

[@nigelhasenbaum]

Now that Ive thought about it, its much faster to get just a rough cut from the band saw and then router it off at the end rather than setting up all the tape and what not.

[@JKM_Guitars]

Yes, thats actually the reason I dont use the shaper for that job! It is certainly useful when doing jobs that require accuracy, but sometimes other methods can produce results in a faster time. Also, it saves on shaper tape!

[@nigelhasenbaum]

@@JKM_Guitars I actually use the shaper to build entire necks for guitars to get everything completely accurate, especially the fret board. It all just fits like a glove at the end. Great work youre doing! Im loving the vids!

[@iksalbaehaki-bx4xx]

nice bruh, can I request build guitar like a Ibanez tod 10n pholyphia

[@samwallden9856]

Beautiful guitar! What material do you use for the black accent on your binding? Thanks!

[@JKM_Guitars]

Its a black veneer, I think its a dyed sycamore, I get it from Maderas Barber in Spain

[@samwallden9856]

@@JKM_Guitars Thank you!

[@TheCrow960]

Wow

[@thisismyyoutubeaccount3322]

What's the lower bout width of your smallest model?

[@JKM_Guitars]

The smallest model I make would be the 460, which has a 380mm lower bout width

[@MrCrazyh0rse]

congratulations! a question from a newbie, at minute 27 what grit do you use to sand with the electric sander? thanks, Carlo

[@JKM_Guitars]

I sand to 220 grit, any finer and you can get issues with the lacquer not adhering to the wood properly

[@MrCrazyh0rse]

@@JKM_Guitarsthanks!

[@kasutokirigaya-yn5bk]

Más delgado el diapasón ❤

[@curtisbelyea3454]

Wow, that both looks and sounds beautiful. Was that first piece you played a nod to the identity of the customer? I'll take silence as confirmation. : )

[@JKM_Guitars]

Haha I wish! But no, it's one of the few piece of music I can play with some moderate skill!

[@curtisbelyea3454]

@@JKM_Guitars Ah, I gotcha. Well, you still do both of those things better than I. Pro tip: next time say "I can neither confirm nor deny". A little mystery can be fun.

[@Andi_dot_official]

What kind of wood do you use?

[@JKM_Guitars]

On this guitar is Sinker Redwood and Koa, but I use a whole range of woods for different instruments for either different sounds or different looks

[@Andi_dot_official]

@@JKM_Guitars I like the pattern. But not in my country there is that kind of wood

[@radioking]

Looks over braced to me especially below the X brace and the pinless bridge is a tone killer.

[@intothematrix151]

the only thing i don't like is the bridge with no pins style.

[@hitchhikerrobert]

No truss rod?

[@KetitikOlosuntoro]

Temporary guitar😂

[@jacobthellamer]

Looks like you can see the hole in the bracing through the sound hole at 31:30.

[@curtisbelyea3454]

You can also see the filler strip at 21:21, etc.

[@JKM_Guitars]

The one part I forgot to film! There's a two way adjustable truss rod installed in the neck with a wooden fillet glued over the top of it to provide the fingerboard with more gluing surface. It can the be used from inside the sound hole.

[@esinsonat675]

truss rod yokmu bu gitarda ? 🤔 where is the 'truss rod' ?..🤔🤐 ..

[@JKM_Guitars]

There is a truss rod (I forgot to film it being installed!) and it is accessible from inside the sound hole

[@luapkirner5331]

Why do I see guitar luthiers use yellow glue and violin/cello makers sticking with traditional hide glue? Hide is so much easier to repair later on .

[@JKM_Guitars]

Both hide glue and yellow/tiebond can be removed with heat and moisture quite easily. I think hide glue can be heated in a way where the original glue can become sticky enough to re-attach a piece while once titebond sets and needs replaced you would have to remove the original glue. I have used hide glue in the past, but the prep needed and the short open time before it jellies makes it a little more impractical to use in comparison

[@Terkenk]

I use hide for the acoustically active joints. Bridges, braces, and plate joining. It’s not that hard to use after you get used to it.

[@sergemeijerink258]

Doesnt it hurt to send them off? Id be having a house full of guitars and poor af... 😂

[@JKM_Guitars]

It's sad to see some go, but receiving a paid invoice sure does take the edge off 😂

[@jimdilian6245]

sounds like mm.. not so good.. why?

[@lightanddarkside416]

maybe your phone audio

[@GEYSERFILMS2024]

See a tour of Michael Hornicks shop, builder of $12,000 Shanti Guitars , new at my channel .