Construction
My guitars are traditionally built with bent sides, in the same way a traditional acoustic or classical guitar is built. Many semi acoustic guitars are created by routing out a cavity from a solid block. Oates guitars are traditionally built with bent sides and arched tops and backs. But it its not just the construction techniques that are old school, the use of traditional tools are a big part of the construction of these guitars too. In an age of mass-production with CNC and laser cutting robots, many of the subtle details in “voicing” a guitar to its full potential can be missed.
SQUARING THE SIDES
After the sides have been bent, they have to be trued and squared using a very sharp plane.
Center block
A center block of Northern White Cedar runs through the body and connects to the top and bottom at the neck, at the tail block and under the bridge. Strong, light weight and very resonant. Northern White Cedar is perfect for guitar construction. A center block is a common reinforcement inside many hollow-body guitars, but often they severely dampen the resonance of the top and bottom. Contact under the bridge is the only spot where the tops touch the block.
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KErfing
Kerfing made of mahogany is used to join the top and bottom to the sides. The center block is sculpted to make contact under the bridge, but allows maximum resonance. A deep neck pocket is routed into the center block before the top and back are attached.
Pickups
Humbuckers are standard on this guitar. Built on PAF replica bobbins and frames using Alnico 2 magnets for the bridge pickup and Alnico 5 magnets for the neck, the windings use 42 gauge poly-coated copper wire, lightly scatted wound to 8K ohm impedance. Higher windings are available and P-90 versions of this guitar are available on request.
Neck Attachment
There are two options for neck attachment. Most people prefer a set neck for hollow-body guitars, but there some who like bolt-on necks for easy maintenance. The neck pocket for the bolt-on neck fits a Fender Telecaster exactly with the same hole spacing. The scale length for these guitars is 25.5”. The scale length for the set-neck guitars are 24.75”.
