Blog

I recently finished an X braced Annunziata which was inspired by a friend’s O sized Martin from the 1890s.  The Martin was made for gut strings, but I wanted to make something lightly braced for light gauge steel strings.  I was curious about X bracing one of my existing models and the Annunziata was very similar in size and shape to the old Martin.  I also wanted to try a 24 1/4″ scale, rather than the 24 7/8″ scale that […]

I’ve had a few requests for some X braced, 14 fret guitars over the past few years.  I’ve built a few X braced, 12 fret Larson copies, but for the most part what I do is ladder bracing.  I’ve also made a few 14 fret ladder braced guitars.  I’ve been wanting to build more X braced guitars, figuring that there are enough things that I do differently (hide glue, varnish finishes, domestic woods, relatively light bracing etc), and I’ve been […]

Here’s a great video of Craig Ventresco and Meredith Axelrod tearing it up on the  Leecan and Cooksey tune, Cold Mornin’ Shout      

I’ll be heading to the Milwaukee Ukulele Festival this weekend with a new uke and some guitars. If you’re in the area, come down and say hi. There will be a lot of great players there and it promises to be a good time.    

I’ve been cleaning out my shop and clearing space for new guitars and equipment. I’ve pulled out some things to sell. If you’re interested in anything, would like to see more pictures, or have any questions, please email me, todd at fraulini dot com.               Angelina 12 String- I made this guitar earlier this year to bring to summerfestivals. The top is Sitka Spruce, the back and sides are paduk. The neck is mahogany and […]

The vast majority of the guitars from the time period that I focus on, from 1900 to the mid 1930’s, didn’t have pickguards, though some of the fancier ones did. As a result I haven’t made that many instruments with pickguards. I have had an occasional request and I’ve put on quite a few clear guards which give added protection but aren’t highly visible. I have been fascinated by pickguards though and the materials which they have been made out […]

Shellac is the primary ingredient in the varnishes that I make and use. I dilute the shellac in grain alcohol and mix it with resins. I like working with shellac for several reasons, mainly because it is a natural product and is not harmful to my health like many of the other finishing options on the market. While it’s not the toughest finish in the world, it’s easy to repair and bring back to life, it looks great, and it […]

I just finished a Francesca 12 string which is currently for sale at Brooklyn’s Retrofret, one of the finest vintage guitar shops in the country. The guitar has a red spruce top, mahogany back and sides, ebony fingerboard, Brazilian rosewood bridge, Stella repro purfling and a repro tailpiece, which I made. It was built with fresh hot hide glue and has a French polished varnish finish. The scale length is 26 1/2″, with strings from .0013″ to .0066″, it is […]

I recently finished an Angelina 12 string that I’d been wanting to make for a while. It was inspired by the work of Raphael Ciani and Antonio Cerrito, two of my favorite luthiers of days gone by. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to build it. The top of the guitar is red spruce. The back and sides are mahogany. The bridge and fingerboard are ebony. The bridge pins are bone with a “French eye”, very sharp looking. […]