Renaissance Guitar
My Ren Guitar.
I am very happy to have moved from my modified baritone ukulele to this guitar.
- luthier Joseph Mayes; it was a covid time project made out of wood on hand
- acquired at Timbre Folk & Baroque (Berkeley, CA)
- slight arch to the back
- 366mm body length
- 65mm body depth
- 544mm scale length
- 143 upper bout
- 175mm lower bout
- 7 tied-on frets, 5 wooden frets
- inside back has label with Joseph's signature and the date 4/22
Additional details from Joseph's email on 9/12/2024
- back and sides are cherry with holly spacers
- top is Engleman spruce
- fingerboard is bubinga.
- soundboard is sealed with egg-whites. It should feel naked. The fingerboard should never need any attention.
- the Stringing is:
| loc | pitch | Joseph's email | Strings by mail - Traverse City, MI or Boston Catlines, Somerville, MA |
| 1st | a | pyramid 0.475 | 0.475 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | ee | 2x Savarez kf45 | KF45 |
| 3rd | cc | 2x Savarez kf52 | KF52 |
| 4th | gG | Pyramid 50 and Pyramid 906 | 0.500 906 |
Frets
Well, a fret (the 2nd) broke (2025-09-26). No complaints, the instrument is 3 years old, I have had it for 2 years. I play it outside quite a bit, so it is exposed to wide range of humidity. The problem is that the fret schedule1) Joseph includes with the instrument when it leaves his shop was no longer in the case when I purchased it. So, let the experimentation begin.
Armed with my digital caliper2) which claims an accuracy of ±0.001” (±0.00254mm) I measured the broken fret at the location near near the knot (so hopefully still close to it's original measurement). I also measured the 1st and the 3rd fret in situ as best I could (height & width).
Joseph recommend two shops for frets. I went with Boston Catlines. I emailed my measurements and then had a great conversation with Olav Chris Henriksen, the owner. I also wanted to get frets to cover future replacement. He recommended a range of sizes to cover the first 5 frets3). As I replace more frets over time I will fill in the chart below. Replacing my 2nd fret went smoothly. (I did it in the front seat of a car while a housemate was in at an appointment)
| Fret position | best guess 4) | replaced with | date replaced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1.20mm | ||
| 2nd | 1.15mm | 1.15mm | 10/2025 |
| 3rd | 1.10mm | ||
| 4th | 1.05mm | ||
| 5th | 1.00mm | ||
| 6th | 0.80mm | ||
| 7th | 0.70mm |
So, what's it sound like?
Well, as of 8/2025 I am posting some practice videos on youtube @truestring. Here is the first video posted after I got a better microphone: a Bransle Simple and its plus diminue.
Interested in the Music?
A few case ideas
I was looking at making a case. I have since made a fitted net that works nicely, but I may return to this at some point. Case Ideas