New year, new instrument (for Pineapple-Head)

As you can see, this guy needs a guitar. We'll call him PH for brevity.

As per previous post, PH is a classical player at the core. But he hears things he'd like to play more readily accomplished with steel strings. How to set him up?

I'd previously braced a top and a back for another instrument with the same body as the red guitar. When PH played red, he got confused about where he was on the neck. Now, PH is one hell of a player, and the confusion was my fault. It has white side dots on maple binding, so it's hard to tell where you are. The 14-fret body join was confusing since he's used to classicals with the traditional 12-fret join. So, I WILL PUT VISIBLE SIDE DOTS ON THE PH BOX FINGERBOARD! I'm also thinking short scale, mostly to help replicate that loose nylon string feel. I'll do a slotted peghead because of PH's affinity for classicals, and because they're cool.

I checked the dimensions of this braced top, and I can do a 24.9" scale with a 13-fret join. That ought to offer some key features for PH. Reduced string tension should offer a wider variety of string choices; silk and steel, for instance, might let him keep the tension-feel of classical strings. Also, it puts the bridge near the "sweet spot" of the top, with that lovely tonal response. Besides, I was quite happy with the bracing I did on the top. It's got a simple ring of black walnut as a rosette, and black walnut sound-hole binding. Simple and elegant.

LMI thicknessed the back as a classical for me, and it's somewhat thin for a steel string. So, I put 4 rather than 3 ladder braces on the back, and I made 'em tall. I want it stiff for sustain, and I want to emphasize the midrange.

Next: to bend the sides.