Knaggs Guitars will be serving all guitar loving/playing camps, short scale – long scale, six-on-a-side head stocks with flat tops, scratch plates and single coils as well as three-on-a-side head stocks, set necks, carved maple tops and fat humbucking sounds, Semi-Hollow instruments and Acoustics you think you’ve been playing for years, and Basses and Mandolins.

You can learn more about Knaggs Guitars at:
Knaggs Guitars

Knaggs Guitars

Knaggs Guitars Influence Series Keya Electric Guitar

Knaggs Guitars

Back of Knaggs Guitar

Knaggs Guitars Chesapeake Series Choptank Model Guitar

Knagg Guitars

Knaggs Guitars Keya Electric Guitar

Knaggs Guitars Influence Series Kenai Electric Guitar

Knaggs Guitars Chesapeake Series Severn Electric Guitar

In 1993 Tim studied woodworking at Minnesota State College Minneapolis Technical earning many academic awards and graduating at the top of the class. He has worked professionally as a woodworker for over fifteen years. During that time his work has appeared in numerous publications including Architectural Digest, Builder magazine, on the cover of Midwest Home magazine, in the luxury magazine Marq, Guitarmaker Magazine, and on the TV show “Home Time”. In 2003 Tim enrolled at Minnesota State College Southeast Technical to study musical stringed instrument repair and construction. He graduated with highest honors.

Guitar making seems to be what Tim’s life has been pointing towards all along. His mother is an artist and his father is a retired science professor. This right brain and left brain upbringing is very useful in building a guitar. Tim pays a great deal of attention to how small changes made to the design of an instrument affect the final voice. And it is also important that the guitar be an object of beauty.

Tim Reede’s mission is to create instruments that are beautiful, have superior sound quality and are a joy to play. He accomplishes this by using time honored designs and materials and methods that have proven to be worthy. He uses a dovetail neck/body joint, scalloped X bracing, hot hide glue and lacquer finish. You could say that Tim is a traditionalist when it comes to guitar design. The guitar is a complex object and it is important to look to the past to learn what has worked and build from that knowledge.

You can learn more about Tim Reede Guitars at:
Tim Reede Guitars

The hardware is partially composed of found objects. There will be a humbucker in the bridge position and two single coils in the middle and neck positions. The neck pickup is about one inch further from the bridge than on most guitars, resulting in greater tonal variation. The two sound-holes at the top will be similar to this sound hole.

This guitar is currently available for purchase. You can pre-order this guitar now at a discounted price. See the pricing details below.

Price: $3300
*Pre-ordered and customized: $2970
*Price may be adjusted for alternate hardware upon request.

If you are interested in purchasing this guitar, please contact Boutique Guitar Resource by filling out the contact form below.

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.

Maguire Guitars Meridian Series Electric Guitar

Maguire Guitars Meridian Series Electric Guitar

Contoured Sides of Maguire Guitar

Rick Maguire offers three different models of his guitars: the Certified 7 series, the Contemporary Series, and the Meridian Series. I won’t go into detail about the Certified 7 and the Contemporary Series guitars since this review is focused on the Meridian Series; however, if you want to see the difference between the different models, you can go to the Maguire Guitars website and click on “Models” in the menu and read a detailed explanation of the various models.

The Meridian series guitars are the flagship line of Maguire Guitars. All Meridian series guitars feature the innovative thru-tenon neck. According to Rick, the thru-tenon neck “is sort of a set neck/neck-thru hybrid”. During an interview with Boutique Guitar Resource, Rick stated the following about his thru-tenon neck design.

“In order to capture the sharp attack, increased sustain and easy access to the entirety of the fretboard, along with a traditional bookmatched or one-piece top, I have to do things a little differently. I take the full thickness top and inlay it into the full body-length neck blank. This design gives me the ability to carve the profile of the neck right up to the end of the fretboard, with the cutaways and heel carved to meet the neck profile. The merging of these shapes effectively “frees” the neck from the body allowing for maximum sustain and touch sensitivity. This detail makes for some extra time in hand carving, but it also makes the Meridian series my favorite guitars to make.”

Maguire Guitars Thru-Tenon Neck Design

Maguire Guitars Thru-Tenon Neck Design

The Maguire demo guitar arrived at my home in a very nice hardshell case (of course, that is after opening the shipping box that it came in). Upon opening the case, I was immediately taken back by the deeply carved and beautiful Tasmanian Blackwood top. Before I even took it out of the case, I could tell how much care went into the construction of this guitar. Let’s go over the specifications so you can see what I mean. The guitar specifications are as follows:

Top: Tasmanian Blackwood
Neck: Tasmanian blackwood with black/maple/black purfling
Neck Profile: Medium C Carve, .800″@1st fret, 1.000″ @18th fret
Back/Sides: South American Mahogany
Fretboard/Headstock: Gaboon Ebony with Tasmanian blackwood binding and black/maple purfling, 12″ radius
Nut: 1 11/16″ water buffalo horn
Finish: polyurethane
Tuners: Schaller minis with ebony buttons
Knobs: ebony
Bridge/Tailpiece: Tone Pros, 2 1/8″ string spread
Pickups: Lindy Fralin humbuckers, 8k bridge, 7k neck
Potentiometers: CTS 500k 2 volume and 1 tone control
Controls: 2 volume, 1 tone, 3 way toggle switch, 2 mini switches to coil tap each pickup

Maguire Guitars Hard Shell Case

Maguire Guitars Meridian Series Electric Guitar

Maguire Guitars with Tasmanian Blackwood Top

After carefully inspecting the guitar, you can immediately see the pride and dedication that Rick puts into building Maguire Guitars. The guitar features a deeply carved top, very comfortable contoured sides, and a beautifully sculpted neck joint. The way the neck joint is carved makes the neck look like it is sitting on top of the guitar. I can assure you this is not just for a visually appealing look, although it does add very much to the beautiful design of this guitar. The carve of the neck joint makes playing all the higher frets very comfortable without having the neck heel get in your way. I am very fond of the thru-tenon neck design. I always liked the look of neck thru guitars from the back but prefer the front not to be broken up in the middle by the neck thru design. Rick’s thru-tenon neck design cures that problem and makes for a much more appealing visual appearance. You get the best of both worlds visually and tonally.

The guitar is truly beautiful and the attention to detail on this guitar is just outstanding. The black/maple/black purfling in the Tasmanian Blackwood thru-tenon neck along with the Tasmanian blackwood binding and black/maple purfling on the Gaboon Ebony fretboard/headstock add a subtle touch of class to the overall design of this guitar. The contours of the body make the guitar extremely comfortable to play. The medium C carve neck profile makes for a very comfortable neck. It just seemed to fit my hands perfectly and this would be the profile I would go for when ordering a Maguire custom guitar. Opening up the back cavity plate, you will notice a nice and neat wiring job. Rick takes the extra time to make sure every aspect of his build is top notch. Another subtle feature about this guitar that I really like is the recessed input jack. Sometimes it is the subtle things that really stand out on a guitar and this is one design idea that works well with the overall appearance of this guitar.

Recessed input jack on Maguire Guitar

This is a very resonant guitar. When strumming chords you can feel the guitar vibrate against you. I always love that in a nicely built guitar. Feeling the guitar speak to you as you strum a chord. There is just something about feeling the body of the guitar vibrate against you and hearing the woods work together to produce the sound of the instrument. The guitar has a full and warm acoustic sound. The notes have a nice attack and all the notes in a chord ring out clearly. Another thing I noticed about the guitar was the very nice sustain it has. Notes continued to ring out even while unplugged. When a guitar sounds good unplugged you know you are in for a treat when plugging it in. The Maguire guitar does not disappoint at all with it’s plugged in sound. Once again the sound is full and warm. I never noticed any harshness or excessive brightness. The guitar just seemed well balanced throughout the frequency spectrum. This is my first experience with Lindy Fralin pickups and I was very impressed. These pickups seemed to be an excellent match for this guitar giving it a nice balanced sound and allowing the woods used in the build to come though.

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars Meridian Series

Maguire Guitars Gaboon Ebony Fretboard

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars Tasmanian Blackwood Top

I am very, very impressed with this guitar. The build quality and attention to detail is excellent. You can see how much time, effort, and dedication Rick puts into his guitar builds. He pays special attention to every aspect of his builds and the end result is a high quality handcrafted instrument that looks and plays beautifully. If you are looking to have a custom guitar built for yourself in the future, do yourself a favor and contact Rick Maguire and get on the demo guitar list so you can check out one of his guitars first hand. He is building some very nice guitars!

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Maguire Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Maguire Guitars.

This guitar is currently available for purchase. You can pre-order this guitar now at a discounted price. See the pricing details below.

Price: $4000
*Pre-ordered and customized: $3600
*Price may be adjusted for alternate hardware upon request.

Pfeister Guitar In Progress

Back of Pfeister Guitar

Pfeister Guitars Black Walnut Top

Pfeister Guitars

If you are interested in purchasing this guitar, please contact Boutique Guitar Resource by filling out the contact form below.

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.

Frank Hartung Guitars Embrace Model

Frank Hartung Embrace in Ice Tea

Frank Hartung Embrace Electric Guitar

Frank Hartung Embrace Electric Guitar

Frank Hartung Guitars Headstock

Back of Frank Hartung Guitars Headstock

Frank Hartung Guitars Curly Mahogany Body

Frank Hartung Guitars

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us about your history and what got you interested in building guitars.

Rick Maguire: As a kid I was always taking things apart to see what made them tick and to see if I could make them better. When I started playing guitar in my early teens, the guitar itself became the new subject for my experiments. My brother saw me constantly tweaking and swapping parts out on my guitars. He said, “You’re always taking those things apart, why don’t you just make one the way you want?” I’ve been taking on the challenge ever since.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Did you have any formal education or are you a self-taught luthier?

Rick Maguire: I am primarily self taught, however I did work with Irish luthier Paul Doyle in the late 80′s/early 90′s. I already had a few guitars under my belt by the time I finished high school, but while visiting family in Ireland I was introduced to Paul. Paul makes everything, citterns, lutes, harps, hurdy-gurdies, and anything with strings that makes music. I always had an interest in celtic and baroque period instruments, so when Paul invited me to his shop, I had one foot in the door and realized I had found my new home for a while. I was able to talk Paul into letting me work with him. I took so much away with me from that experience, I really do owe a lot to Paul.

Maguire Guitars Shop

Maguire Guitar in Progress

Maguire Guitars Surfacing Jig

Boutique Guitar Resource: What is your favorite part of the building process?

Rick Maguire: My favorite parts are the very first and the very last steps of the entire process.

I love sorting and picking out the wood, mating woods for the top, body, neck and fretboard in in such a way that they compliment each other tonally and aesthetically in order to suit a particular player’s needs.

I also love when I finish a guitar and string it up and strum it for the first time, I then finally get to hear how well I did on that first step.

Boutique Guitar Resource: When building a guitar, what part of the process do you feel is most important and why?

Rick Maguire: A guitar or any other stringed instrument is a union of it’s design elements, execution of those elements and it’s individual parts. The finished product will be no better than it’s worst component or feature. Therefore, in my opinion, there is no single most important part of the build process. From the initial drawing board design to the final tuning and intonation, every step along the way must be approached with proper care and dedication in order to achieve overall excellence.

Maguire Guitars Double Cut Sketch

Maguire Guitars Close Up of Nut

Maguire Guitars Outline of Guitar

Boutique Guitar Resource: If you could pick one guitar builder to build a custom guitar for you who would it be?

Rick Maguire: Kim Walker. Any player would better his or her collection of instruments greatly with the addition of a Walker.

Conversely, if I could build a guitar for another luthier, it would be Paul Doyle. I stay in touch with Paul but he hasn’t had the opportunity to critique my work in nearly 20 years. I would really like for him to play one of my guitars now. I might have to put that on my list of things to do.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Do you follow the work of other luthiers and if so who are some other luthiers that you admire?

Rick Maguire: We are currently in the Golden Age of guitar building and there are a lot of top notch builders out there. It would be difficult to not follow the work of other builders.

Kim Walker is making some of the best steel string guitars on the planet, as is Mark Campellone in respect to archtops.

I like what Ian Anderson is doing with his contemporary vintage Tele-Paul design, along with Doug Kauer and his modernized, ergonomic Firebirdesque guitars.

Jack Briggs is also of note. I’ve seen some photos of an African blackwood guitar with the sapwood running the length of the back of the neck. That guitar is stunning to me, very admirable use of allowing the wood’s natural elements to dictate the overall aesthetic.

I also like David Myka’s designs. I feel that his designs might appeal to the traditionalist, the modernist and the futurist alike.

There are so many great builders out there at the moment that I couldn’t possibly name all those whose work I admire. Apologies to those that weren’t mentioned.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Can you give us some information about the neck tenon on your various models?

Rick Maguire: My Contemporary and Certified 7 series feature a traditional long tenon set neck.

The Meridian series gets a different treatment. These guitars feature a “thru-tenon” neck, which is sort of a set neck/neck-thru hybrid. The design came about due to my preference for the sound and performance of neck-thru body guitars, and a dislike for the striped, butcher block look they all seem to have.

In order to capture the sharp attack, increased sustain and easy access to the entirety of the fretboard, along with a traditional bookmatched or one-piece top, I have to do things a little differently. I take the full thickness top and inlay it into the full body-length neck blank. This design gives me the ability to carve the profile of the neck right up to the end of the fretboard, with the cutaways and heel carved to meet the neck profile. The merging of these shapes effectively “frees” the neck from the body allowing for maximum sustain and touch sensitivity. This detail makes for some extra time in hand carving, but it also makes the Meridian series my favorite guitars to make.

Maguire Guitars Neck Joint Up Close

Maguire Guitars Neck Heel

Boutique Guitar Resource: What type of neck carve options do you offer?

Rick Maguire: All of my standard neck carve options are c-shaped, of which I have 3 profiles, slim, medium and fat. 90% of my orders are for the medium profile which fits the hand well. I will, however, carve any custom neck profile requested.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us a little about the pickups you use in your guitars?

Rick Maguire: I pledge allegiance to Lindy Fralin.

Fralin Humbuckers are are as close to vintage PAF pickups as you can get. Lindy and his guys really put a load of expertise and a pile of mojo into these pickups. The Un-buckers are a good option for jazz and blues players wanting a warm, clean sound. Fralin P-90s are the cleanest P-90s on the market, in my opinion, with great individual string clarity. With the options of 5% over or 5% underwound, these are a very versatile standard line of pickups.

I also like Lindy’s flexibility. He is always willing to take extra time for a custom request or modification or take a risk in the quest for great tone.

A good electronics package isn’t solely reliant on the pickups, however. Quality potentiometers and capacitors are often overlooked, but should be treated as vehicles or a catalyst for the pickups. I use new CTS or new/old stock NOS potentiometers and new/old stock oil in paper capacitors. These components are susceptible to a variance of as much as + or – 10% of their intended values. I measure the value of every potentiometer and capacitor enabling me to “hand tune” each guitars electronics chassis in order to compliment a particular guitar’s tonal character or meet a particular player’s needs.

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars Headstock

Maguire Guitars Headstock

Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you look for when picking wood for a guitar?

Rick Maguire: Three things: tone, stability, and beauty. In that order.

When making any musical instrument, tone is paramount, so the first prerequisite for any wood destined to become a guitar is a good tap tone. Tap on any piece of wood and a trained ear can determine it’s value as a tonewood.

Stability is crucial for an instrument that is expected to stay straight and flat while under a couple hundred plus pounds of string tension. Neck wood must be quarter sawn and straight grained in order to behave properly. Body woods don’t hold very much sway on on the overall stability of electric guitars, but I still prefer quarter sawn, straight grained wood for this use as well.

Once a particular piece of wood meets the tone and stability criteria, it should also be pleasing to the eye. I like to work with all colors, types of figure and grain patterns, so long as the look of each piece is consistent with itself.

Wood at Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars Tiger Myrtle Top

Tiger Myrtle Wood

Boutique Guitar Resource: Do you have some favorite wood combinations that you like to use?

Rick Maguire: If you’re looking for that meat and potatoes, classic rock sound, then mahogany and maple is the choice. This pairing become poular over 60 years ago and still proves to be a popular sonic combo.

As a player my favorite combo is a Tasmanian myrtle top with mahogany back and a Tasmanian blackwood neck with Gabon ebony fretboard. This is a very versatile combo with syrupy lows, pronounced mids and snappy highs. I have made 3 of these guitars for myself and still don’t own one. I have been talked into selling each one by one persuasive buyer or another.

As a builder it is hard to have a favorite combo because every player is looking for something different. I have built a lot of guitars in a myriad of wood combinations and still get a thrill from the ability one has to choose from various species of wood in order to hone in on a particular tone.

Boutique Guitar Resource: What woods do you prefer to use for fretboards and necks?

Rick Maguire: For fretboards I like the ebonies and rosewoods of course. I have recently acquired a stash of 60+ year old Brazilian and East Indian rosewood boards that I am hugely excited about.

For necks I have used mahogany, korina, grenedillo, ziricote, walnut, cocobolo and the list goes on. My current favorite would have to be Tasmanian blackwood, this stuff is difficult to work with, but you can really feel the resonance of this wood in your hand when playing a blackwood neck.

Brazilian Rosewood Fretboards

Mahogany and Korina Neck Blanks

Boutique Guitar Resource: Can you describe the finishing process that you use on your guitars?

Rick Maguire: I use polyurethanes, polyesters, nitrocellulose and oil finishes. Finish material is decided by the player. After having worked with almost every product available, I have concluded that it is not the product itself that can improve or hinder the tone of an instrument, it is the application of the product that makes the difference. The key is to keep the finish as thin as possible and have it mechanically bond to the surface of the wood without actually penetrating the wood. After years of trial and error I feel that I have finally gotten my finishes right where I want them.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us about the different models you offer?

Rick Maguire: The Meridian series is my flagship line. The defining feature of these guitars is the “thru-tenon” neck discussed earlier. They are available flat or carved top, double cut and offset double cut body shapes in either solid, chambered or semi-hollow body. With these guitars I have built on tradition in order to offer the discerning guitarist an instrument with a familiar design and feel possesing modern elements and improvements with flawless execution.

The Certified 7 series pays homage to the revered guitars of the 50′s and 60′s. Over the last 20 years I have amassed a collection of “antique” lightweight tonewoods which allows me to produce a solid body guitar weighing in at under 8 pounds. They are available in flat or carved top, single or double cut body styles. Strict adherence to traditional designs, old school methods and the use of new/old stock materials and components allows these guitars to capture the allure of those iconic instruments. Old stock resources are hard to come by so these will be available in limited production runs only.

The Contemporary series is a line of guitars offered at an approachable starting price point. Available in flat or carved top, double and single cut body styles in solid, chambered, semi-hollow and hollow body options. These guitars see the same level of attention and dedication to detail that all Maguires receive, but the use of standardized building methods and readily available tonewoods allows me to keep the cost at a level that is attainable to most players.

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars

Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you see in the future for Maguire Guitars?

Rick Maguire: I definitely plan on getting back to acoustic work. I have been sidetracked for a few years dialing in my electric guitars, but I really am an acoustic builder at heart. Players really like my electric guitar designs so I think that will likely remain my primary product line. I have had some steady nudging from my repeat customers for a line of archtops, so that may happen soon. I also see some F-style mandolins in the mix to keep things interesting.

I would like to thank Rick Maguire of Maguire Guitars for taking the time to answer the questions in this interview. You can learn more about Rick and his guitars at:
www.maguireguitars.com

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Maguire Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Maguire Guitars.

You can learn more about Red Rocket Guitars at:
Red Rocket Guitars

Red Rocket Guitars The Afterburner Model

Red Rocket Guitars Silver Sparklecaster

Red Rocket Guitars

Red Rocket Guitars

Red Rocket Guitars Walnut Top

Red Rocket Guitars P-90 Flame Redwood

Red Rocket Guitars The Afterburner

Red Rocket Guitars Thineline Charlie C

Red Rocket Guitars

Red Rocket Guitars

Red Rocket Guitars Mint and Ivory Two Tone

Red Rocket Guitars Wenge Top and P-90s

Top: Curly Redwood
Body (chambered with soundport): Indian Rosewood
Neck: Indian Rosewood
Headstock Front/Back: Ebony
Binding: Toroise Shell
Bridge: TonePros Tune-o-matic with Ebony archtop style tailpiece
Fingerboard: Ebony (custom 4 leaf clover 12th fret inlay)
Scale Length: 25″
Fretboard radius: 12″
Neck Carve: C-carve (60s LP style)
Frets: 22
Pickups: Lollar Imperials (low wind)
Tuners: Waverly with Ebony buttons
Finish: Oil finish throughout rubbed to a nice vintage luster
Ebony knobs, pickup rings, and tuning keys

David Myka Guitars Custom Dragonfly

David Myka Guitars Indian Rosewood Back

David Myka Guitars Dragonfly with Curly Redwood Top

Curly Redwood Top on David Myka Guitars Dragonfly

Indian Rosewood Back and Neck on David Myka Dragonfly

David Myka Dragonfly with Indian Rosewood Back and Neck

David Myka Dragonfly with Curly Redwood Top

Curly Redwood Top on David Myka Dragonfly

Headstock with ebony veneer ready to be glued

Frank Hartung Guitar Neck in Progress

Frank Hartung Guitars Enigma Quilt Maple Top

Frank Hartung Enigma In Progress

Frank Hartung Guitars Enigma Carved Top

Frank Hartung Enigma Model Guitar

Clayton's Frank Hartung Enigma Model Guitar

Back of Frank Hartung Enigma Model Guitar

Headstock with Ebony Veneer in Place

Frank Hartung Guitars Enigma

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

Specifications:
Bloodwood finger board
Bocote and flamed maple top
5 way switch
Push pull knobs
Gold hardware
Seymour Duncan P-Rails SHPR-1
25 3/4 scale
22 frets
Flamed maple neck with mahogany stripe
Mahogany body
Heavy 50″ S style neck
hard shell case

Price: $2900.00 plus shipping

Occhineri Guitars

Occhineri Guitars

Occhineri Guitars

Occhineri Guitars

Occhineri Guitars

Please fill out the contact form below if you are interested in this guitar.
[contact-form]

Top: Claro Walnut
Body: Custom Shape – 15″ lower bout
Body binding: ebony
Neck: Flamed Maple
Fingerboard: Ebony
Nut: Ebony
Scale Length: 25.5″
String width at bridge: 2-7/16″
Nut width: 1-7/8″
Bridge: Adjustable ebony bridge with ebony saddle
Tailpiece: Custom reversed design
Logo: Custom insignia on headstock or tailpiece
Headstock back veneer: ebony
Tuning machines: Black Sperzels
Electronics: Passive K&K Pure Archtop and non floating Kent Armstrong PAF
Stacked volume and tone for each pickup. Spearate outputs (Armstrong tip, K&K ring).
Finish: Oil

You can check out more of David Myka’s work at:
www.mykaguitars.com

Myka Guitars Custom Dragonfly Fretless Guitar

Back of Dragonfly Fretless Guitar

Claro Walnut Top on Dragonfly Fretless Guitar

Myka Guitars Claro Walnut Top

Myka Guitars Dragonfly Fretless Guitar

Myka Guitars Dragonfly Fretless Guitar

Myka Guitars Dragonfly Fretless Guitar Headstock

He hand-wound the pickups simply because he couldn’t figure out where to buy them. Instead of winding 8,000 turns like the machines at Gibson or Fender were doing, he stopped at 1,000, or 1,500, or whenever his hand was cramping too badly to continue. Enter Ron Wickersham, with his passion for active electronics. Ron quickly realized that these low-impedance pickups Rick was producing captured a much wider frequency band then the pickups on existing commercial instruments. Coupled with a pre-amp to boost the signal back to the levels achieved by high-impedance pickups, the result was an amplified guitar or bass with a much richer, more natural tone. Alembic Inc was born.

Rick honed his craft over the years that followed, supplying instruments to a laundry list of top acts from the Grateful Dead to Jefferson Airplane to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Alembic instruments have been spotted in the hands of Lamar Williams of The Allman Brothers Band, Tom Fowler of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, John Entwistle of The Who, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. He left Alembic to pursue the design of his very own Model One guitar, which employed a laminated neck design for increased sustain and stability, and a cylindrical arch to decrease the standing waves created by parallel surfaces. The Model One left Rick’s workshop and went straight into the hands of Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham. Lindsey has since retired his original Model One, but has three others that he still plays.

After a brief stint in Gibson’s research and development department (too corporate, Rick decided by 1991) he resumed his focus on building his own line of instruments, augmented now by the Electroline solidbody bass, originally designed for Gibson but never put into production and so relinquished back into Rick’s control. The Electroline features Rick’s Universal String Pickup, a piezo crystal pickup that responds both to the vertical pressure exerted by strings and to their horizontal vibrations. By coupling the responses of these two crystal configurations, he was able to get a much more 3-dimensional signal from the original acoustic sound wave. Sometimes the amplified sound can even be too realistic, and a built-in filter becomes necessary to keep power-hungry subsonic frequencies from gobbling up all the current needed to drive the human-audible mid- and high-range tones.

Of course, Rick’s lineup wouldn’t be complete without the Renaissance series of semi-hollow guitars and basses. Expert luthier Jeff Traugott hit the nail on the head when he griped: “What is it with you Rick? Why do your guitars sound more acoustic than mine when mine is an acoustic guitar and yours isn’t?” Using technology that essentially amounts to a military submarine’s passive sonar array, Rick set out to produce a guitar that sounded more acoustic when amplified than any true acoustic ever could. Along the way, he also stumbled upon a couple of techniques that allowed him to slash labor costs dramatically and offer Renaissance hand-built masterfully-crafted guitars and basses at a price point one might expect for mass-produced instruments. But the quality is the only thing that matters, right?

Quality is, of course, the top priority with all of Rick Turner’s instruments. This is perhaps most evident in his Compass Rose guitars and ukuleles, which eschew the electronic marvels he’s pioneered and focus on producing the warmest, richest old-world sound possible. He couldn’t resist innovating, though, which has led to a fingerboard assembly so strong that it can support the weight of a human and a tilting neck that the player can use to adjust the instrument’s action as easily as changing a string. Compass Rose guitars are rugged enough to hold their tone even in Antarctica (Henry Kaiser used the actual steel pole that marks the geographic South Pole as a slide for his Compass Rose in 2001) and built so that the sound projects out in front of the musician without any amplification.

Rick Turner may not be hand-winding his own pickups anymore, but he certainly hasn’t stopped discovering ways to turn the music world on its head. His writing in American Lutherie, Guitar Player magazine and Acoustic Guitar serves to inspire young luthiers and remind the community of the importance of meticulous craftsmanship and top-quality materials. His instruments may not be for everybody, but any musician who needs a guitar, bass or ukulele that sounds “just so” may find that Rick Turner already has something to offer them.

You can learn more about the Rick Turner Guitar Company by visiting….
www.renaissanceguitars.com

Rick Turner Renaissance Guitars RS6 Steel String

Rick Turner Renaissance Guitars RS6 Walnut Back

Rick Turner Renaissance Guitars RN6 Nylon String

Rick Turner Guitars Model 1

Rick Turner Guitars Model 1

Rick Turner Guitar Company

Rick Turner Guitar Company Model 1 Guitar

Rick Turner Renaissance RN6 Cedar Top

Rick Turner Renaissance RS6 Guitar

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars Neck Thru Construction

Maguire Guitars

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Maguire Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Maguire Guitars.

Artistic Double Carved, Super Grade Quilt/Burl Maple Top
Body: Honduran Mahogany. Quilted Maple Center Purfling.
24 fret Rosewood Neck with wide fat carve
Rosewood fret board
25″ scale, 12″ radius
Inlays: Abalone Diamonds, Abalone Purfling around the face of the fret board
Golden Brown Stain on top with Clear High Gloss Finish
Schaller Locking tuners
Gotoh 510 Bridge and Tail piece
Rio Grande Texas/Barbecue Pickup set
1 volume 2 tone controls
Gold Hardware
Locking Strap Pins
Hard Shell Tour Case

Price:
$4200.00 plus shipping

EER Custom Guitars E-90SD Super Deluxe

EER Custom Guitars E-90SD Super Deluxe

EER Custom Guitars E-90SD Super Deluxe

EER Custom Guitars E-90SD Super Deluxe

EER Custom Guitars E-90SD Super Deluxe

EER Custom Guitars E-90SD Super Deluxe

EER Custom Guitars E-90SD Super Deluxe

EER Custom Guitars E-90SD Super Deluxe

Please fill out the contact form below if you are interested in this guitar.
[contact-form]

Model: E-SL Limited
Classic Body Style
Body Wood: Swamp Ash
Finish: clear high gloss
22 fret curly Maple bolt on neck Tung Oil Finish
Rosewood fret board
25.5″ scale, 9.5″ radius
Inlays: Abalone dots
Grover tuners
Fender Tremolo Bridge
Fralin Strat Blues Special pickups
Chrome Hardware
Laser Etched “Custom Limited” neck plate
Classic Strap Pins
Hard Shell Case

Price:
$1850.00 plus shipping

EER Custom Guitars E-SL Limited Guitar

EER Custom Guitars E-SL Limited Guitar

EER Custom Guitars E-SL Limited Guitar

EER Custom Guitars E-SL Limited Guitar

EER Custom Guitars E-SL Limited Guitar

Please fill out the contact form below if you are interested in this guitar.
[contact-form]

Artistic Carved Top Body
Body Wood: Black Limba (Korina)
22 fret Korina set neck
Maccasar Ebony fret board
25″ scale with 12″ radius
Maccasar Ebony veneer on machine head
Curly maple control/truss rod covers and pickup rings
Inlays: Gold Mother of Pearl dots
Gold Mother of Pearl Logo
Tung Oil Finish
Grover Deluxe tuners with Keystone knobs
Schaller 3D Adjustable tune-o-matic Bridge with Gotoh 510 locking tailpiece
Wolfetone Caretaker pickups
1 Volume and 1 Tone pot with mini switches for coil splitting
Gold Hardware
Locking Strap Pins
Hard Shell Case

Price:
$2750.00 plus shipping

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic

Please fill out the contact form below if you are interested in this guitar.
[contact-form]

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Nado Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Nado Guitars.

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Goulding Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Goulding Guitars.

This beautiful Goulding guitar features a polished aluminum body and neck, birdseye maple fretboard with paua dots and gold Evo fretwire, Grover mini locking rotomatics, and a calibrated set of Bareknuckle Nailbomb pickups with coil tap. The bridge features LR Baggs piezo saddles which lead to separate strap pin jack socket. The pickup surrounds/bridge/tailpiece/knobs are all gold plated brass by Goulding Guitars. This guitar’s weight is 7lbs and the scale length is 24.562″. A Hiscox hardcase and a certificate of authenticity are included with the guitar.

This guitar will be shipped direct to customer from Goulding Guitars.

Price:
$5550.00 plus shipping.

Below is a demo video of this guitar

Please fill out the contact form below if you are interested in this guitar.
[contact-form]

Video Files of Frank Hartung Guitars in Action

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us about yourself and what got you interested in guitars.

Craig Pfeister: Even before I really understood stringed instruments, I was fascinated by them. I never had an interest in collecting guitars or anything like that, but I started getting really interested in making them just after high school. Basically, when I learned there were guys out there making guitars, I immediately wanted to know more. My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, was about to go to college in Oakland, California. On not much more than a whim, I moved there with her and planned on learning at a place in the Bay Area. It didn’t pan out, but I ended up in art school after a year or two. Before I graduated, I got the itch to start building guitars again and it just went from there. That’s the short version of the story at least.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Are you a self taught luthier or did you have some formal education?

Craig Pfeister: I’m definitely self taught. Like I said earlier, I started learning when I was still in art school. At first I just wanted to fix up old guitars, but I quickly decided to build my own. it took tons of research and trial to do it on my own, but I made it work. The notes I took all throughout grade school and college are probably a fraction of the notes I kept while researching lutherie. I think it would have been much easier to apprentice, but, at that point, I didn’t know any builders and I had no clue where to find one who would teach me, so I just went in head first.

Boutique Guitar Resource: How has your degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco shaped the way you approach building guitars?

Craig Pfeister: I really think it’s defined the way I build. The longer I do this, the more I realize how much I still work like an artist and not a craftsman. At first, I wanted to make instruments that looked classy and basically showboated craftsmanship, but my art background kept creeping into everything I did. I still worked like crazy to hone my skills as a luthier, but, as far as design is concerned, I always approached it like an artist, even if I tried other wise. I could never make replicas or anything like that. I’ve just never had an interest in that kind of thing.

Finishes are the best example of how it’s impacted my work. I really don’t have much in glossy or glasslike finishes. I’ve made them before and I appreciate the craftsmanship, but that’s where it usually ends. I see it the same way I see painting on canvas. A person can paint a portrait that’s technically perfect, even to the point that it’s awe-inspiring, but, when all is said and done, it’s just another portrait. On the other hand, a painter like Picasso could paint a portrait that is technically a mess and even seems broken, but make it so beautiful and full of humanity that it can bring a person to tears.

Obviously I don’t expect that reaction with my finishes, but that’s the kind of mindset I build with, for better or for worse. If I didn’t go to art school and wasn’t bombarded with with art all day for all those years, I think I’d build much differently.

Pfeister Guitars Abused Blues #1

Pfeister Guitars 33 Electric Guitar

Pfeister Blackfoot Electric Guitar

Boutique Guitar Resource: Where does your inspiration come from when designing a guitar?

Craig Pfeister: That’s tough to say exactly. I’ve pulled visual inspiration from everything from music to novels. You’d have to get into the funhouse inside my head to get that one. I’m not even sure half the time.

I do get a lot of inspiration from different artists and art movements. I sympathize especially with the “futurism” movement. I think their philosophies on beauty are brilliant. They found beauty in art to be tired and used, so their reaction was to find beauty in the loud machines of their time and exploit the violence around them as beautiful things because it was truthful. It’s a tough concept to grasp completely, but it falls in line perfectly with my work. One of their greatest philosophies was the idea that everything gets old and it’s worthless to try to pretend otherwise, so they would display ugliness and violence and decay as beautiful because it was inevitable (hence the name futurism). I approach my guitars in much the same way. I try to exploit the fact that they will eventually age, so I build them to look that way and to age in a way that will make them look “better”.

One guitar in particular that’s on my website, the “Abused Blues” is the best example of this. I built that guitar to look shiny and pretty and all that, but I hated it when it was done. It looked perfect, but that bothered me. When it was being finished I noticed a small nick on the back of it and I decided right there that I have no interest in pretty pristine guitars. I dented it more intentionally and I loved the results. After that came whole series of scratching it, denting it, dropping it, and dragging it on the floor until it looked how i wanted. Recently I removed it from sale and lit it on fire, amongst other things. It’s the most tortured looking instrument i’ve ever seen. I absolutely love it.

As far as sound is concerned, I probably draw most influence from blues, even early blues like Robert Johnson. I don’t try to mimic the tone at all; it’s the honesty in the music that interests me. My goal is get a sound that’s as “human” and honest as that music.

Boutique Guitar Resource: You incorporate some very unique finishing ideas into your instruments. Tell us about some of the different things you have done to your guitars and where do these ideas come from.

Craig Pfeister: The ideas come from all over. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across a light pole or old wall that’s given me a great idea. One of my favorite ideas came to me upon seeing a lime caked soap pump.

Many of my ideas come from working with other artists. Until very recently, there were a few metal sculptors working with me in an old factory building. They all have a style that comes across as very natural and gritty. I took a lot of influence from them and that building. They also gave me a lot of tips of metal finishes and things like that which, by altering the methods, I was able to apply to wood finishing. We’ve since moved, but I still work with a few of them.

When I do clear finishes, I like to make them as thin as possible. It took me a long time, but I recently found a method of hand rubbing polyurethane that’s hard and super thin that I’m very pleased with. When I do natural finishes like that, I like to leave the pores showing and keep the wood looking like wood.

My other finishes get a little weird. I recently rusted a wooden guitar. It definitely got some interesting reactions. I’m working on one now that it’s going to be even more remarkable. That’s all I’m going to say about it for now, though.

Pfeister Guitars 33 Electric Guitar

Pfeister Guitars

Pfeister Guitars Headstock

Pfeister Guitars

Pfeister Guitars

Boutique Guitar Resource: What is your favorite part of the guitar building process?

Craig Pfeister: Definitely hearing the guitar for the first time. Even if the guitar isn’t done, stringing it up, plugging it in and hearing those first notes is an incredible feeling. Before that point, the guitar doesn’t seem alive. When you finally hear it, it’s like your Frankenstein monster waking up. You get this amazing feeling that you created something and it now has a voice. Just having those moments makes the whole job worth it.

Boutique Guitar Resource: What are some of your favorite woods and what properties attract you to them?

Craig Pfeister: Black walnut has become one of my favorites. The sound from the wood is almost ideal for guitars. It has a very “woody” and slightly bright sound that is absolute gorgeous. it’s also one of the easiest woods to work with. I’m amazed that more builders don’t use it. It’s recently becoming more popular with boutique builders, though, especially those of us who don’t really care for tradition.

Redwood is one of my favorite sounding woods. I would use it all the time, but it’s so soft that it’s almost impractical. If you dropped a redwood bodied guitar, it would look smashed where it hit the ground.

Th sound Cocobolo can make is stunning. Even people who can’t hear any difference in woods can hear how amazing it sounds. Its sound is broad and it rings for what seems like forever. It’s hard to come by large pieces and it can be dangerous to work with due it’s toxicity. If not for those things, I’d use it all the time. It doesn’t even require a finish. It polishes to a shine with its own wax. It’s amazing stuff.

Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you look for when picking wood for a guitar?

Craig Pfeister: It really depends on the function. If it’s for a neck, I look for grain first. Straight grain is very important in necks. You can never tell how the tension inside the wood will react later in time, but straight grain significantly increases the chances of it being stable. For body woods and fretboards, I go for looks first.

Any piece I use, even if it’s a thin top, has to sound great. No matter how good it looks, if it doesn’t sound right, I wont use it. I spend hours at a time at hardwood stores just picking up and tapping wood. My wife can vouch for that. It’s hard to put back wood that looks great if it doesn’t sound good, but it’s worth it. Once it in my shop, I still listen to each piece over and over to pick the ones that will go well with each other. It sounds obsessive, and it probably is, but the results are always worth it.

Pfeister Guitars

Pfeister Guitars 33 Electric Guitar

Boutique Guitar Resource: If you had to pick one luthier to build a custom guitar for you, who would you pick and why?

Craig Pfeister: I’d probably pick someone like Tom Bills. I can’t see myself making a guitar like one his any time soon, but I’ve always loved his work. There’s a subtlety to his designs, but they’re recognizable and seem to demand attention. If I tried to make something like one of his guitars, I’d just be copying him.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Who are some other guitar builders that you admire?

Craig Pfeister: I’ve always appreciated David Myka’s work. He has a subtlety to his designs that you don’t see often and, although I haven’t played one, they sound great from the little I’ve heard.

I also love Phil Sylvester’s (Pheo) work. I love his attitude toward guitars. He alway seems to be saying “Whatever, I like it”.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Take us through the building process of one of your guitars.

Craig Pfeister: I usually begin thinking about a design a long time before I start making it. Picking out wood can take me a long time. Like I said before, I’m very picky about matching pieces tonally. They also have to work visually. Trying to find the right combination can be a long process.

I’ll normally start by gluing the body together, if it’s multiple parts, and gluing neck laminations. If it’s a chambered body or semi-hollow I’ll route it out first, obviously. I like to work on something else while one thing is drying. That’s why i usually work on a few guitars at one time. When the bodies are drying, I’ll start making fretboards and preparing the necks.

I carve the necks by hand, but, surprisingly, it takes me much less time to carve a neck than to carve a fretboard or body. For the bodies, I use a few different tools, depending on what I’m trying to do. I always fret the guitar after the neck has been glued to the body.

Once everything is together and fretted, I start finishing. This process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on what I’m doing. After that I install the hardware, wire it up and start the surprisingly long process of fine tuning everything.

Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you feel is the most important part of the building process?

Craig Pfeister: Carving the neck, for sure. That includes the fretboard too. The neck contributes a ton of the overall tone. On something like a solid body, it’s responsible for most of the tone. It’s also the part that determines the playability and comfort of the guitar. When somebody falls in love with a guitar after playing it, they’re usually falling in love with the neck.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Tell us a little about the pickups you use for your guitars?

Craig Pfeister: I really don’t go too crazy with the pickups. I think the sound of guitar pickups is one area they got right early on. I like to make my own, but I make them like standard PAFs or single coils. If I buy a set, I favor Bare Knuckle Pickups. They’re a little pricey, but they sound better than any other passive pickups I’ve tried.

Personally, I prefer high output pickups. They’re a little less forgiving than normal or low output ones, but I absolutely love that sound. I fell in love with that sound hearing Hendrix play the blues.

I’ve been toying around with ideas for low impedance pickups, but I haven’t made them yet. It’s looking good on paper, but I’ll need to really test it out first.

Boutique Guitar Resource: What is the typical wait time when ordering a custom guitar from Pfeister Guitars?

Craig Pfeister: I’m still trying to come up with a good answer for that. A build can take anywhere from a couple months to a few months. If a person orders wood I have in stock and a body shape I’ve already made, then it’ll be significantly shorter than it would be otherwise. I haven’t been in the business long enough to have a waiting list yet, so my time, from order to completion, is still pretty short.

Boutique Guitar Resource: Out of the guitars you have designed and built, do you have a favorite?

Craig Pfeister: Actually, I don’t think so. Every guitar has been my favorite in one aspect or another, but I haven’t made one yet that’s been all around my favorite. That’s just my preference, by the way. I’m not saying there’s been no “best”.

Ever since art school, I have a hard time liking my old work. Even if it’s absolutely perfect, I’ll see it as something from the past. In a way that’s good: it means I’m always improving and evolving. But, at the same time, I always only want to talk about what I’m doing or about to do. I can’t even stand to see my past artwork, even if it’s good and I used to love it.

Pfeister Guitars Blackfoot

Pfeister Guitars Blackfoot

Pfeister Guitars

Pfeister Guitars 33 Electric Guitar

Boutique Guitar Resource: What do you see in the future for Pfeister Guitars?

Craig Pfeister: I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a cheaper line of guitars. They’d all be up to my standards, but I might make them all somewhat similar to each other and make the process faster. Right now, it’s just an idea. I have a lot ideas for them, but that will have to come later. I’m getting some help with setting it up, but I’m trying to not rush it.

I hope to start making some metal bodied guitars soon. I can’t say too much more yet, but it’s probably nothing like what people are thinking. I think by using metal I can reach new tonal grounds and create visuals like nothing anyone’s seen before.

I should be offering nylon string guitars on a regular basis soon. I somehow didn’t realize it until recently, but that’s one of the most common requests I get. I’ve been liking them more and more and I plan to offer them frequently.

I’m also planning some pretty unique instruments in the near future. In my next “batch” one of them, which I’m very excited about, will be my own wicked version of a resonator. I also have plans for basses, baritone guitars, and few other things.

People are starting to recognize my work for it’s style, which is good, but I think a lot of people think it ends there. I want to take the instruments to new areas tonally and functionally and really show people what I can do.

I would like to thank Craig Pfeister of Pfeister Guitars for taking the time to answer the questions in this interview. You can learn more about Craig and his guitars at:
Pfeister Guitars

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.

Whale guitar (nylon strings)
Scale length: 650 mm
Body wood: Maple,alder,mahagony,walnut
Neck wood: Maple , padoak, wenge
Fingerboard: Rosewood , ebony ,maple
Fingerboard Radius: 18″
Nut at 0 fret: 48 – 50 mm
Frets: 22 medium
Controls: volume, tone
Bridge: Ebony , Rosewood
Neck finish: Lacquer
Body finish: Oil + wax or lacquer
Pickup: Piezo + preamp

Whale guitar (steel strings)
Scale length: 650 mm
Body Wood: Maple,alder,mahagony,walnut
Neck Wood: Maple , padoak, wenge
Fingerboard: Rosewood, ebony, maple
Fingerboard Radius: 16″
Nut at 0 Fret: 44 – 46 mm
Frets: 22 medium
Controls: volume, tone
Bridge: Ebony, rosewood
Neck Finish: lacquer
Body Finish: Oil + wax or lacquer
Pickup: Piezo + preamp

To learn more about these unique guitars, please visit:
www.nado-guitars.com

Nado Whale Guitar

Back of Nado Guitars Whale Guitar

Nado Guitars Whale Guitar

Nado Guitars Nylon String Electric Guitar

Nylon String Electric Guitar From Nado Guitars

Back of Nado Guitars Whale Guitar

Nado Guitars Whale Electric Nylon String Guitar

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Nado Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Nado Guitars.

The result of the care, craftsmanship, quality of materials and components used in every instrument is a custom guitar that has a full richness of tone and sustain that will be seldom, if ever, found in any production instrument and the fit and finish, tone and sustain will equal or surpass any instrument built anywhere by anyone.

To learn more about EER Custom Guitars, visit:
EER Custom Guitars

EER Custom Guitars E-SL Limited

EER Custom Guitars E-SL Limited

EER Custom Guitars E-06 Limited

EER Custom Guitars E-30D Deluxe

EER Custom Guitars E-30D Classic

EER Custom Guitars E-54 Hollow Body Guitar

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic Guitar

EER Custom Guitars E-55 Korina Classic Guitar

EER Custom Guitars E-90SD Super Deluxe Guitar

EER Custom Guitars E-90SD Super Deluxe Guitar

EER Custom Guitars E-NT Neck Through Guitar

Instrument type: 6 string electric guitar “lifeform”
Instrument name: “The Cragg”
Date started: 3-7-10
Body: figured Poplar
Neck: 7 piece – alternating Roasted Birch, Roasted Maple
Fretboard and Pickguard: 100 yr. old Bbird’s Eeye Mmaple salvaged from one of Andrew’s great grandfather’s creations.
Nut: Wyoming Jade
Bridge: Tune-o-matic with Wyoming Jade/Osage Orange tailpiece
Tuners: Sperzel locking
Headstock details: Poplar ears, Antler horns, bookmatched Osage Orange knothole eyes, Jade tongue, Osage Orange fin accents
Pickups: Seymour-Duncan Seth Lovers
Scale: 25”, 25 fret
Finish: Tung oil
Knobs/switches: Osage or Roasted Maple wiht 100yr old Birds Eye Maple caps
Fingerboard inlay: Mother of Pearl Cosmic Egg with Jade snake
Side fret marker inlay: Bird’s Eye bullseyes with Jade markers, Poplar and Osage at 12th fret
Additional accents: Osage Orange tail piece and tail fin accents on upper body horn

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg Electric Guitar

Back of The Cragg From Blindworm Guitars

Back of The Cragg

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg Cosmic Egg Inlay

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg Headstock

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg Tail

To learn more about JBG Guitars, please visit:
Joe Bochar Guitars

Joe Bochar Guitars Y400XT Black Limba Guitar

Joe Bochar Guitars Black Limba Guitar

Joe Bochar Guitars Y455SD Cherrybomb Guitar

Joe Bochar Guitars Goldtop Guitar

Back of Joe Bochar Guitar

Joe Bochar Guitars

Joe Bochar Guitars Y455SD Honeyburst Guitar

Joe Bochar Guitars

All of his pickups are hand fed & scatterwound on a Heath Robinson type contraction that does the job beautifully. All scratchplates are custom-made for each guitar, all bodies are cut, routed, sanded, finished and oiled by hand. Jamie even gives each one a loving polish with a dry lint cloth before cracking a mini-bar sized bottle of Single Malt over the hull and letting it set sail. On a dry day, you may even see him drag all the tools out into the alleyway and set-up bench on the cobbles, the buzz & clang of the router harmonising with the bell of the off-licence door and smell of the chip shop that wafts, Lowry like, over these northern terrace roofs.

It takes a while to craft an individual guitar, that’s why Jamie only produces a couple each month. Not every month – sometimes its raining.

To learn more about these handcrafted guitars from Jamie Campbell, visit:
The Creamery

A longtime guitar player, Matt wanted a tough and stable instrument that played like a dream. He imagined a guitar expressive in tone and personality that was made with the materials he loved and respected: great sounding tone woods, steel, aluminum, bone and brass, but no plastic. The finish needed to be deep and intense without being gaudy or overly chromed. Finally, Matt made his own guitar, and then another and another and another and now M-tone guitars are available to a few other people as well.

M-tone guitars are made of the highest quality tone woods, carefully selected for their sound, look and feel. All pickguards and control cavity covers are hand cut 16-gauge steel, individually patinated to complement the look of the guitar. M-tone guitars feature the highest quality hardware available, with surfaces worked to achieve a visual depth that matches the rich and complex tone of the guitars.

To learn more about M-tone Guitars, please visit:
www.m-tone.com

M-tone Guitars Custom Guitar

M-tone Guitars Custom Guitar

M-tone Guitars Stackpole Model Electric Guitar

M-tone Guitars Dynamo Swamp Ash Guitar

M-tone Guitars Flatiron Stackpole Guitar

M-tone Guitars Flatiron Stackpole Guitar

M-tone Guitars

Curly Maple Top for Frank Hartung Embrace

Frank Hartung Embrace Progress Picture

Carved Maple Top on Frank Hartung Embrace

Frank Hartung Guitars Embrace Model

Frank Hartung Embrace in Spray Booth

Frank Hartung Guitars Headstock

Frank Hartung Guitars Headstock

Frank Hartung Guitars Embrace Completed

Frank Hartung Guitars Embrace Headstock

One Piece Cedro Body

Frank Hartung Guitars Neck

Frank Hartung Guitars Embrace Trans Black

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

To learn more about Jaden Rose Guitars, visit:
www.jadenroseguitars.com

Jaden Rose Guitars Original Series Electric Guitar

Jaden Rose Guitars Original Series Electric Guitar

Jaden Rose Guitars Original Series Electric Guitar

Jaden Rose Guitars Original Series Electric Guitar

Jaden Rose Guitars JRG Metal Electric Guitar

Jaden Rose Guitars Singlecut Electric Guitar

Jaden Rose Guitars 7 String Multiscale

Jaden Rose Guitars JHM Signature Guitar

To learn more about Hufschmid Guitars, please visit:
www.hufschmidguitars.com

Hufschmid Guitars

Hufschmid Guitars

Back of Hufschmid Electric Guitar

Hufschmid Baritone Electric Guitar

Hufschmid Guitars

Hufschmid Guitars

Hufschmid Guitars 8 String Baritone

Hufschmid Guitars

Hufschmid Guitars by Patrick Hufschmid

Take a look at the work that comes from Brian Winger guitar Co. and you will see that the craftsmanship is top notch. Many players say after getting one of these guitars home they cannot put it down, it becomes part of your soul, they just build the kind of guitar that make you want to play all the time day and night.

Brian Winger guitar Co. offers an alternative to the “big box” production guitar, and offers hand made from scratch one of a kind guitar’s that rival most popular brands. Using proprietary stain blends they offer colors not seen by any other builders out there.

Using select tone woods, and combinations of woods to achieve a tone that is all there own they can get tonal range that hits you in the chest, and articulates your feelings into music the way you intended it to do.

The new and improved company is now busy building jigs and tooling for their upcoming and exciting signature models, which are called the “SS” models.

The Signature Series guitar or “SS”….all new body designs, purposely shaped to offer un-paralleled tonal response and durability, all the while keeping the fit and final finish to a standard that rivals the best in the business. The new designs offer carbon fiber reinforced necks for years of durability while keeping things perfectly straight through all kinds of climates. Heel adjustable truss rods, stainless steel frets, high end electronics, custom made pickups, arch tops, thick 5A quilted and flamed maple tops, and loads of other design features that put these guitars in a class few have gone to.

Taking design cues from the best guitars in the world they offer works of art that not only play phenomenal but look so beautiful you’ll want to frame your guitar and hang it on the wall, but with tone these things have we doubt it will leave your hands. Every guitar is hand signed and numbered by the luthier, and have always been collectible for the player or the investor /collector. You cannot go wrong with a Winger Guitar.

If you get any chance to buy one of this company’s limited edition masterpieces, don’t pass it up, they are worth every penny, and often cost less than you think. This company builds guitars from passion not dollar perspective. Craftsmanship is the name of the game. Hand built for the best tone, and beauty possible! The Art of Tone!

Starting in the mid 70′s, working in a music store, Mike learned the demanding craft of woodworking and finishing from an old violin maker. After eight years at the music store Mike left to work for guitar manufacturer “MIGHTY MITE”. In 1983 Mike went into business for himself and became L.A.’s original “Guitar Doctor”. After six years of building and customizing guitars for some of L.A.’s most respected musicians, Mike’s business was purchased by IBANEZ in 1989. At IBANEZ Mike helped to create a custom guitar shop on the West Coast where he was a master builder of fine guitars for IBANEZ endorsers throughout the United States. After leaving IBANEZ, Mike went to YAMAHA. Here he worked on the assembly and quality control of the “PACIFICA” line of guitars for two years.

Mike worked for HOFNER (known as music group) , FENDER warranty service center for World Music in Santa Clarita CA and is on his own as LIPE GUITARS U.S.A. Is now doing warranty service in the USA for “ZEMAITIS GUITARS”.
Custom modifications available for Zemaitis through Mike.

Guitars that are hand built, by a master.

To learn more about Lipe Guitars, visit:
Lipe Guitars

Lipe Guitars SOLDALTO

Lipe Guitars CONSIGLIERE

Lipe Guitars TWISTED SOLDATO

Lipe Guitars AMICO N0STRO

Lipe Guitars TWISTED SOLDALTO

Lipe Guitars AMICO

Lipe Guitars

Frank Hartung Coffeeburst Diavolo

Frank Hartung Coffeeburst Diavolo

Frank Hartung Coffeeburst Diavolo

Frank Hartung Diavolo with Tigerwood Fingerboard

Frank Hartung Diavolo Flow Carving

Frank Hartung Diavolo Curly Maple Neck

Frank Hartung Diavolo Schaller Tuners

Frank Hartung Guitars

Beautiful Lines on a Frank Hartung Diavolo

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

You can learn more about Z.S. Thomas Guitars at:
Z.S. Thomas Guitars

Kauer Guitars is a family run business started by Doug and Rick Kauer. With over 15 years experience in wood-working, Doug was able to capitalize on his experience with CNC machinery to do precision work such as fret slotting, bridge placement, body shape and more. In tandem with the precise work our CNC machines offer, Doug still uses an overall hands-on approach to more delicate matters such as shaping necks, contours, fretwork, finishing and final setup.

Rick Kauer’s extensive 30 year history in the same field allows him to be vital to the machining and quality control for each instrument. Rick’s expertise allows each and every Kauer Guitar to be consistently great.

To learn more about Kauer Guitars, visit:
www.kauerguitars.com

Kauer Guitars Daylighter Electric Guitar

Kauer Guitars

Back of Kauer Guitars Daylighter

Kauer Guitars Daylighter Model

Kauer Guitars Daylighter Electric Guitar

Kauer Guitars

Kauer Guitars Redwood Top Daylighter

Kauer Guitars

Kauer Guitars Daylighter Hollow Body

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Goulding Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Goulding Guitars.

For more information, visit:
Campbell American Guitars

Campbell American Guitars UK-1 Electric Guitar

Campbell American Guitars Space Ship Transitone

Campbell American Guitars Terrasonic

Campbell American Guitars Terrasonic

Campbell American Guitars Precix Electric Guitar

Frank Hartung Enigma Quilt Maple Top

Frank Hartung Enigma Quilt Maple Top

Frank Hartung Enigma Quilt Maple Top

Frank Hartung Enigma Mahogany Back

Frank Hartung Enigma Mahogany Back

Frank Hartung Enigma Ebony Fretboard and Mahogany Neck

Custom Inlay on Ebony Fretboard

Frank Hartung Enigma Custom Inlay

Frank Hartung Guitars Enigma Model in Progress

Frank Hartung Guitars Enigma Ready for Shaping

Frank Hartung Guitars Enigma Before Shaping Neck

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

To learn more about Occhineri Guitars, please visit:
Occhineri Guitars

Occhineri Guitars Gold Maple Flame Top

Occhineri Guitars Birdseye Maple Ebony Trim

Occhineri Guitars

Occhineri Guitars Burled Maple

Occhineri Guitars Carved Exotic Elm Top

Occhineri Guitars Carved Exotic Elm Top

Occhineri Guitars

Back of Occhineri Guitar

Occhineri Guitars Walnut Burl

Occhineri Guitars Walnut Burl

100% of ticket sales will go to Relay for Life on behalf of Team Josie. Josie Greenwood was the great-niece of Alan Greenwood, editor of Vintage Guitar Magazine, who died of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia before her 4th birthday. Frankly, I am frustrated and angry about stories like this that seem so common. We, at Schroeder Guitars are determined to help in any way we can to help find the cure. As you may or may not know, my brother Frank was recently diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer and after major surgery last week, he was told yesterday that the biopsies indicate that he is cancer free. Many of you participated in the Julianne Raffle for Breast Cancer:
(http://schroederguitars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169). My aunt Julianne has been cancer free for nearly two years now. We want to help in the fight and we invite you to join us.

Paypal would not allow the Greenwood family to accept payment via their services so we are forced to do this the “old-fashioned” way but please do not let that prevent you from participating. (If you have a better alternative also, PLEASE let us know or contact Joe Greenwood at JGreenwood@gfherald.com or joe@blackwoodpress.com) You can send a check for $50 for each ticket (Pay to the order of “Phyllis Anderson” who is Josie’s aunt) to Josie’s parents:

Joe and Nancy Greenwood
1302 Cottonwood Street
Grand Forks, ND 58201

Check out the guitar here with further details:

http://schroederguitars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1382

Rendering of the Schroeder guitar that someone will win!

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.

This model features El Welker Guitars’ exclusive naturally tanned art deco style leather wrap on the body with a tear drop sound hole. This guitar has a 24.75″ scale and features an in house designed pearl mosaic inlay. This Rue du Royale features a Madagascar rosewood fingerboard on a mahogany neck. Grover tuners and hand made Kent Armstrong pickup completes this design which is complemented with an ebony finger rest and ebony volume and tone knobs.

This guitar ships direct from El Welker Guitars.

Price:
$5750.00 plus shipping

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale Back

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale Side

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale Headstock

Please fill out the contact form below if you are interested in this guitar.
[contact-form]

This guitar ships direct from El Welker Guitars.

Price:
$5750.00 plus shipping

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale Russet

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale Russet Back

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale Russet Side

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale Russet Headstock

Please fill out the contact form below if you are interested in this guitar.
[contact-form]

For more information visit the eL Welker Guitar website at:
El Welker Guitars

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale Russet

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale Russet

Back of Rue du Royale

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale

El Welker Guitars Rue du Royale Russet Headstock

Check out these two great guitars in the Guitars For Sale section of the BGR website.

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

Folklore and mythology is painted with stories of heroes and powerful figures who personified their most valued possesions. Legends abound of master artisans pouring their very own essence into their creations, giving them life. They gave birth to singing harps, swords with their own consciousness, talismans as personal and influential as a best friend. Such personified companions are the inspiration for the “Lifeform” series guitars. Blindworm Guitars’ luthier, Andrew Scott, is proud to present the Lifeform series as the latest culmination of his life’s passion. True to Blindworm Guitars quality, they are precision instruments of the highest quality, with unique and organic designs. Scott’s sculpting and full incorporation of the theme down to the small details of the design sets the Lifeform series apart.

First Lifeform, “The Cragg”

The first in the line is “The Cragg”, a new magnificent creature that lies between a dragon and a sea serpent, poised to create its own legends. The creature’s sculpting encompasses the entire guitar itself; contouring comfortably to the player’s body. Beyond the sculpting, the aesthetics of this “lifeform” play with the surprisingly vibrant natural hues of all domestic woods. Each block of wood was personally hand (and ear) selected for tone, resonance, beauty, strength, and appropriate weight. “The Cragg’s” figured Poplar body combines with a firm but light seven piece Roasted Maple and Roasted Birch neck. It is crowned with a leering, screaming dragon complete with antler horns, bookmatched Osage Orange knothole eyes, and a Jade tongue. The combination of 100 year old Bird’s Eye Maple fretboard, Jade nut and tailpiece, and the Seymour-Duncan Seth Lover pickups, create a sound you must hear to believe.

Instrument type: 6 string electric guitar “lifeform”
Instrument name: “The Cragg”
Date started: 3-7-10
Body: figured Poplar
Neck: 7 piece – alternating Roasted Birch, Roasted Maple
Fretboard and Pickguard: 100 yr. old Bbird’s Eeye Mmaple salvaged from one of Andrew’s great grandfather’s creations.
Nut: Wyoming Jade
Bridge: Tune-o-matic with Wyoming Jade/Osage Orange tailpiece
Tuners: Sperzel locking
Headstock details: Poplar ears, Antler horns, bookmatched Osage Orange knothole eyes, Jade tongue, Osage Orange fin accents
Pickups: Seymour-Duncan Seth Lovers
Scale: 25”, 25 fret
Finish: Tung oil
Knobs/switches: Osage or Roasted Maple wiht 100yr old Birds Eye Maple caps
Fingerboard inlay: Mother of Pearl Cosmic Egg with Jade snake
Side fret marker inlay: Bird’s Eye bullseyes with Jade markers, Poplar and Osage at 12th fret
Additional accents: Osage Orange tail piece and tail fin accents on upper body horn

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg Electric Guitar

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg Headstock

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg Headstock

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg Electric Guitar

Blindworm Guitars The Cragg Electric Guitar

He has been building custom instruments since 1987. Each instrument is designed and executed according to the individual client’s specifications and hand crafted by Andreas, using traditional methods.

Using the best available materials and woods from his extensive collection, some of which dates back to the 1930’s, he crafts instruments to the highest standards.

Fine repair, restoration and finishing work is also part of his repertory.

To learn more about Andreas Neubauer Guitars, visit:
Neubauer Guitars

Neubauer Guitars - Vienna The Blonde

Neubauer Guitars Tiger Electric Guitar

Neubauer Guitars Mizzy

Neubauer Guitars Spitze Mi

Neubauer Guitars Semidele Spruce

Neubauer Guitars Luis Leite Guitar

Neubauer Guitars Bluefish Guitar

Neubauer Guitars Dragon

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Neubauer Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Neubauer Guitars.

Frank Hartung Guitars Snake Embrace

Frank Hartung Guitars Snake Embrace

Frank Hartung Guitars Airbrushed Snake

Notice The Truss Rod Access At Last Fret

Frank Hartung Guitars

Back of Frank Hartung Embrace Model Guitar

Frank Hartung Guitars Neck

Frank Hartung Guitars Neck

Frank Hartung Guitars Headstock

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

Like many others I started working on guitars as a teenager, playing in bands, customizing and modifying. It was still a time where a custom guitar was way cooler than a stock model. At the time stock instruments were also rather lacking in quality. A few early 70′s SG’s, Strats and Les Pauls received added pickups, stereo wiring, new finishes and similar treatments, which would make today’s vintage-crazed guitar lover shudder. But we relished the individuality of our guitars and obsessed about improving them and obtaining optimum playability. From this I took a basic understanding of guitar craft and a view towards designing guitars that don’t necessarily follow the conventional mold.

After studying film, photography and painting in San Francisco, I graduated from SFAI in 1981. Later I studied painting at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria, while working as photographer, shooting record covers, magazine stories, fashion, etc.. But my main interest was film. This eventually led to a move to Los Angeles in 1986. I went to work in the film business in various capacities. Work in special effects and set construction provided me with exposure to techniques and materials which would later find use in my work as a guitar maker.

I had not touched a guitar for years when, sometime around 1990, I finally decided to restore my old ’64 Gretsch Tenessean, which had been badly modified by the previous owner – the top had been cut to fit three full-size humbuckers, among other things. I rebuilt the top, added a flame Maple veneer, bound f-holes and restored the original wiring and pickups, turning it into a faux 6120. From then on I continued working on guitars, eventually transitioning into a full-time professional occupation as guitar maker.

Over the next few years I dabbled in making bodies, assembling parts, and restoring broken or modified instruments. My work in film now centered mainly around screenwriting and working on guitars was good a counterbalance to the cerebral task of writing. I started to tackle more ambitious projects, making my first few set-neck solid body guitars. I found I had more fun working on guitars in my garage than sitting at the computer and in meetings, and I thought I might even make a living at it. I’m glad today that I didn’t know then what was in store for me, or I would have never attempted this. The vintage-craze was starting up and any new design or newly built guitar had the chips stacked against it. It would be ten years before I was able to “make a living” at this.

Most of my early work actually followed the conventional path. I made the guitars I had always wanted as a teenager, improving the designs where I felt the originals were lacking. It was a practical way of learning the craft, along with doing a lot of repairs. There are a lot of vintage and classic guitars in L.A., and I was able to examine them and learn from/about them first hand as a good number passed through my shop. I also read everything related to luthierie I could lay my hands on.

Eventually I started developing new concepts. My background in the arts led me to develop the ResinTop line of guitars: Totemguitars. A more sculptural and materials-oriented approach resulted in the development of the hybrid line, combining metalwork with woodworking. Exploring new venues and concepts while strinking a balance between functionality and aesthetics proved to be a fertile field.

The guitar certainly has iconic qualities which go well beyond its role as a simple musical instrument. More than any other instrument it has a distinctly visual impact. As stage tool and identifier it contributes to the image of the musician and his persona in a way that goes far beyond the purely tonal aspects of the music. The guitar has become a cultural signpost and the sheer variety of its myriad embodiments is testament to the central role it plays in our imagination.

To me the shape of a guitar body is archetypical, a dynamic canvas with erotic overtones. The influences manifested in the Totemguitar line, to date about 300 instruments, go back to Dada, Surrealism, collage and assemblage art, Pop art and sometimes a more conceptual approach, along with the occasional dose of pure kitsch. The hybrid line in turn celebrates the organic shapes and textures of the wood, the fluid reflections on the polished aluminum surfaces, the interplay between hard and soft, warm and cold.

The aesthetic process has its own rules and necessities, but as I work on an instrument, I do keep in mind certain parameters, which will allow me to eventually turn it into an instrument. In regards to their quality as musical instruments I try to follow a three-legged approach: reliability, playability and tone.

Reliability and playability are fairly objective criteria, and my experience with building, repairing and modifying numerous instruments has allowed me to achieve a high standard in this regard. The question of tone of course is one which often comes up in regards to the unconventional materials I use. Mildly put, there is a lot of resistance to the idea that anything but the conventional mix of materials can sound good. What is often forgotten today is that the guitars we now regard as embodying the holy grail of tone were received in a very similar fashion at the time of their introduction. One could posit that their sound was an accidental creation, determined by the circumstances and technical possibilities of the time. I would even say that the real credit should go to the musicians who used these instruments to create the music which in time has defined our perception of what good “tone” is.

As much as I enjoy making a “traditional” instrument out of the finest “tonewoods”, I also love making instruments which push the boundaries and open new possibilities to musicians willing to explore and expand the scope of their music. To me the prime quality of “tone” is not its more or less successful replication of some previous tonal fingerprint. It is the richness, definition, liveliness, transparency and balance present in the sound of the instrument. And even though each of my instruments has its own tonal identity, they all share these qualities and will offer them to the musician willing to listen.”
Michael Spalt

To learn more about Michael Spalt and Spalt Instruments, visit:
Spalt Instruments

Spalt Instruments Totem-X Series Guitar

Spalt Instruments Totem-X Series Guitar

Spalt Instruments Apex Model Guitar

Spalt Instruments Apex Model Guitar

Spalt Instruments Apex Model Headstock

Spalt Instruments Brass Buddha Guitar

Spalt Instruments 624 HBm Electric Guitar

Spalt Instruments Ruby 624 Electric Guitar

Spalt Instruments S&S Flame Koa Guitar

Spalt Instruments S&S Koa Guitar

Spalt Instruments 624 BT Guitar

Michael Spalt Instruments

2007 McNaught Vintage Single Cut
Top: Diamond Flame Maple
Back: Mahogany
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Brazilian Rosewood
Bridge: Tone Pros Tune-O-Matic
Pickups: WCR GoodWoods
Electronics: 2 Volume, 2 Tone with push/pull coil taps on both tone knobs, and 3 way toggle switch
Frets: 22 6105 frets
Finish: Golden Tigers Eye
Complete Date: 3-13-2007
Price - $2275.00

McNaught Vintage Single Cut For Sale

McNaught VSC For Sale

McNaught Vintage Single Cut

McNaught VSC Flame Maple Top

McNaught VSC Flame Maple Top

McNaught Vintage Single Cut For Sale

McNaught VSC Brazilian Rosewood Fretboard

McNaught VSC Mahogany Back

McNaught VSC Sperzel Locking Tuners

McNaught VSC Paua Offset Block Inlays

McNaught Vintage Single Cut For Sale

Model: Embrace
Top: One Piece Redwood
Body: Honduran Mahogany
Neck: East Indian Rosewood
Fretboard: Brazilian Rosewood
Fretboard Binding: Maple with Ebony Side Dots
Frets: 22 6105 Stainless Steel Frets
Nut: Bone
Scale: 25″
Pickups: Bare Knuckle Rebel Yell Humbuckers with Distressed Covers
Hardware: Chrome
Tuners: Sperzel Locking
Bridge: Tone Pros AVT-II Wrap Around
Inlays: Custom F Hole Bone Inlay at 12th fret
Electronics: 2 Volume, 2 Tone with push/pull coil taps, and 3 way toggle switch
Wiring: Voxvox Wiring
Finish: Natural
Ebony Package: Ebony tuners, pickup rings, toggle tip, and knobs

Keep in mind, this guitar was supposed to be my first dealer purchase; however, when I started doing the specifications for the guitar, I knew it would be one that I would want to keep. As I watched the guitar being built, suddenly I just started calling it my guitar. Well, the guitar is finished and MY Frank Hartung Embrace has arrived.

Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace

Frank Hartung Embrace Redwood Top

Frank Hartung Embrace Redwood

The first thing I noticed when opening the case was Frank’s unique Flow Carving in the beautiful one piece Redwood top. Frank developed his Flow Carving technique in 2002 and it adds a 3 dimensional effect to the appearance of his guitars. The tops of his guitars are beautifully contoured and the overall design of the Embrace model is perfection.

This Embrace is a pretty light guitar weighing in at 7.8 lbs. The guitar has a very balanced feel and is extremely comfortable to play. I play in a classical style sitting position and the angle of the body at the lower horn fits perfectly on my left leg. It is just a very comfortable feeling guitar. I immediately felt like the guitar became part of me.

Frank’s attention to detail is outstanding. This is an area where boutique guitar builders really shine and Frank Hartung Guitars is no exception. This guitar is absolutely flawless. The fretwork is top notch. Frank undercuts the fret ends by 2mm on each side before they are installed. When you run your hand up and down the neck, you do not feel any fret ends sticking out. The stainless steel frets feel wonderful. Bends are smooth and effortless. There is quite a bit of controversy about stainless vs. nickel frets. Some people say that stainless steel frets are much brighter than nickel frets. I personally do not hear any difference in tone at all. I prefer the durability and feel of stainless steel frets and that is why I decided to go with them for this build.

Frank Hartung Embrace

Redwood Top on Frank Hartung Embrace

Frank Hartung Embrace Redwood

The neck is 1.69″ at the nut and the neck profile is similar to a PRS Fat neck. Of course, Frank is a custom builder so you can choose any neck carve you like. I love the feel of the East Indian Rosewood neck. There is just something about the feel of the wood against your hands. The East Indian Rosewood Neck with the Brazilian Rosewood fretboard is a perfect combination for me. I ordered my McNaught Vintage Single Cut with a Brazilian Rosewood fretboard and fell in love with it so went with it on this build as well. Frank uses a compound radius on his fretboards. Instead of just using a 12″ radius for example, Frank’s fretboards are 9.5″ to 16″. What this does is makes chord work easier when playing closer to the nut and makes bending and lead work easier due to the flattening of the neck radius as you approach the neck heel. It isn’t something you are conscious of while playing, but it does make for a very comfortable feeling guitar.

The truss rod access is located at the last fret and is covered by a small wood plate. Frank uses this technique to strengthen the neck and headstock area so that broken headstocks are a thing of the past. To access the truss rod, all you do is unscrew the two screws and remove the wood plate. This can be done while the strings are in place. Frank provides a truss rod tool in order to make any needed adjustments.

Frank Hartung Guitars Truss Rod Access

One of the most beautiful features of Frank Hartung Guitars is the unique design of the headstock. His guitars truly are works of art. The design on these guitars is just perfect!

Frank Hartung Headstock

Locking Sperzel Tuners

Frank Hartung Embrace Redwood

The Frank Hartung Embrace is absolutely beautiful and extremely comfortable to play….but what is really important is how it sounds. The Embrace definitely does not fall short here. I am a huge fan of WCR pickups. My McNaught has a set of WCR Goodwoods that just sound phenomenal, so I was hoping I would be just as impressed with the Bare Knuckle Rebel Yell pickups. Thankfully, I am! Both pickups sound amazing and I would have a hard time picking a favorite between the two. The Hartung Embrace, like my McNaught VSC, has coil taps on both tone controls and this really adds a lot of tonal variation. I no longer have any tube amps since all my playing is done at home, but when playing through the models in Logic Amp Designer, Peavey Revalver MKIII, and Amplitube Fender everything just sounded great. The Embrace has a full and warm sound. The sound was never excessively bright, harsh, or thin sounding. The Bare Knuckles are a very nice set of pickups for the Frank Hartung Embrace.

In my opinion, the most important factor with an electric guitar is how it sounds unplugged. You can always change out pickups, but when an electric guitar sounds good unplugged then you really have something special. I always thought my McNaught VSC had such a good unplugged sound so I compare every guitar to it. The Hartung excels in this area as well. The Hartung sounds really, really good unplugged. They are both quite loud when played unplugged. You can just feel the Hartung Embrace speaking to you as the woods vibrate against you. It has a rich, full, and open acoustic tone. The woods work very well together providing a round and warm tone. When you strum a chord you feel the guitar vibrate all over. You feel it in your hands as the neck vibrates and you feel it against your body as the body of the guitar vibrates. The Hartung just feels alive and full of life.

Frank Hartung Embrace Redwood Top

Frank Hartung Embrace Mahogany Back

Frank Hartung Embrace Mahogany Back

I can say the Frank Hartung Embrace met and exceeded my expectations. Frank is building some of the most beautiful guitars available. His guitars are solidly built with extreme attention to detail. Not only are his guitars beautiful, but more importantly they sound and play fantastic. Frank is an amazing luthier and on top of that, he is an extremely nice guy. I feel very lucky to own one of his guitars!

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

Frank Hartung Scratchburst Embrace

Frank Hartung Guitars Scratchburst Embrace Model

Frank Hartung Guitars Scratchburst Embrace Model

Frank Hartung Guitars

Frank Hartung Guitars Custom Headstock

Frank Hartung Guitars Pao Ferro Neck

Frank Hartung Guitars Scratchburst

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

Ray Patterson CEO, Serenghetti Guitars
Serenghetti Guitars

Serenghetti Guitars

Serenghetti Guitars

Serenghetti Guitars

Serenghetti Guitars

Serenghetti Guitars

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Serenghetti Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Serenghetti Guitars.

While studying architecture at the University of Port Elizabeth (1974 – 1978), Mervyn started receiving commissions from local musicians to build guitars and other instruments. During this period, he was also commissioned by the university to do all required maintenance of the instruments belonging to the music conservatoire.

After graduating in 1978 he started a career in full time instrument making which was only interrupted by two years military service between 1980 and 1982. Working in relative isolation in South Africa resulted in his developing a unique style of instrument building which is characterized by a high content of experimentation.

Although Mervyn’s work has become very different from the classic designs, his passion is still soundly rooted in the beauty of the work of the early masters. His quest remains to build instruments that meet the demands of modern composers, express modern aesthetics and make use of modern technology while retaining the romance and lure of the classic instruments.

Centuries ago, the guitar’s earliest ancestors where built by the Moors of North Africa. Now, once again, here in the Cradle of Humankind, these guitars reflect the spirit and aesthetic of the Motherland where the wood grows that they are built from.

Worldwide, this romantic heritage is carried into the 21st century in the hands of Luthiers like Mervyn Davis, and of recording artists and groups such as:

• Steve Newman
• Johnny Fourie
• Tony Cox
• Vusi Mahlasela
• Dozi
• Rudi Bauer
• Greg Georgiades
• Tananas
• Not My Dog
• SciCoustic
• Radio Kalahari Orkes
• CH2
• Aquarian Quartet

The international Acoustic Guitar magazine recently featured the following review of Mervyn Davis’ “Smooth Talker” series:

“South African Company Davis Luthiers has come up with a completely original approach to nylon string guitar construction. The model 1 uses a body similar to that of a banjo, but instead of a skin, it has a fan – braced Engelmann Spruce top. Using a completely modular design, the guitar is easily disassembled, and it includes built in LR Baggs electronics. The guitar’s neck is made from African Kiaat wood, which is also used for part of the Model 1’s body.”

You can learn more about Mervyn Davis Guitars at:
www.mervyndavisguitars.com
www.smoothtalkerguitars.com

Mervyn Davis Dreadnought Guitar

Mervyn Davis SmoothTalker Guitars

Mervyn Davis Guitars

Mervyn Davis Nylon String Guitar

Mervyn Davis Guitars

Mervyn Davis Guitars

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Mervyn Davis Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Mervyn Davis Guitars.

All Porter Guitars feature hand wound Porter Pickups. Porter Pickups are custom wound to match the woods in the guitar and the playing style of the guitarist. Porter Pickups are available for sale through the Porter Pickups website for use in other guitars. We currently offer P90s, Humbuckers, Strat and Tele style pickups. Other pickup types are available for custom order.

Luthier Brian Porter believes that controlling all aspects of the instruments construction and sound, will result in an instrument that meets the customers tastes tonally and visually.

Visit the Porter websites for more information:

www.porterguitars.com
www.porterpickups.com

Porter Guitars

Porter Guitars

Porter Guitars

Porter Guitar with Porter Bridge Pickup

Porter Single Coil Pickups

Since the creation of each instrument is a labor-intensive endeavor, Rick only offers the finest tonewoods. This requires that he regularly import wood from Australia, New Zealand and South America and cherry-pick the best pieces (whether figured or straight-grained) from each shipment. Out of every 1000 board feet of wood he imports, only about 50 board feet end up as Maguire instruments. The rest is sold or traded for woods of other origin.

Because provenance matters to Rick, he sources newly harvested tonewoods from certified sustainable-yield sawyers. Rick has also painstakingly stockpiled older and legally-protected tonewoods from dwindling pre-CITES legacy sources.

To learn more about Maguire Guitars, visit:
Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars

Maguire Guitars Headstock

Maguire Guitars

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Maguire Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Maguire Guitars.

I would like to thank Ava from Jemsite.com for the excellent questions and the interest in Boutique Guitar Resource.

To learn more about McSwain Guitars, visit:
McSwain Guitars

Make sure to check out the Interview with Stephen McSwain at Electric Playground:
Stephen McSwain Interview at Electric Playground

McSwain Guitar Built For Vernon Reid

Vernon Reid's Guitar from McSwain Guitars

Follow the Leader Guitar Built for Head of Korn

McSwain Guitars Follow the Leader Electric Guitar

McSwain Guitars Starlingear

McSwain Guitars Frankenstein

McSwain Guitars Frankenstein Headstock Stitches

McSwain Guitars Bela

McSwain Guitars

-Arcadia Skull and Roses Specifications-
Body: chambered walnut with bookmatched maple top, handcarved maple applique
Neck: bolt-on walnut angled 3×3 headstock, ebony faceplate, carved logo, dual-action trussrod
Fretboard: ebony, 12″ radius, Mother of Pearl sidemarkers
Scale length: 24.625″, 24 frets
Nut: graphite (options available), 1.7″ width
Pickup: Searcy String Works Saturn humbuckers w/wooden covers
Switching: volume, 3-way selector
Bridge: black hardtail
Tuners: Wilkinson 3×3, Grover style
Finish: aniline dye, cherry-tinted Danish Oil and Tru-oil neck
Weight: 8 lb 2 oz

William Jeffrey Jones Arcadia Skull and Roses

William Jeffrey Jones Hand Carved Guitars

Arcadia Skull and Roses Walnut Back and Neck

William Jeffrey Jones Hand Carved Guitar

William Jeffrey Jones Hand Carved Skull and Roses

William Jeffrey Jones Arcadia Skull and Roses Headstock

William Jeffrey Jones Arcadia Skull and Roses Guitar

Parts For Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace

Frank Hartung Embrace With One Piece Redwood Top

Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace

Frank Hartung Embrace Redwood Top

Frank Hartung Flow Carving In Redwood Top

Back of Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace

Mahogany Back with Indian Rosewood Cavity Covers

Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace Headstock

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

Specifications:
Scale: 24.75″
Body Wood: Mahogany
Top Wood: Curly Maple
Neck Wood: Brazilian Rosewood
Fingerboard: Brazilian Rosewood
Inlays: MOP Crown
Pickups: Gerold Customshop
Tuners: Sperzel Locking
Finish: Tigerburst

Frank Hartung Guitars LP Special Custom

Back of Frank Hartung LP Special Custom

Frank Hartung LP Special Custom

LP Special Custom From Frank Hartung Guitars

Frank Hartung Guitars Brazilian Rosewood Neck

Frank Hartung LP Special Custom Headstock

Frank Hartung Guitars LP Special Custom

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

Frank Hartung Guitars Quilt Maple Top

Frank Hartung Guitars Diavolo Body

Frank Hartung Guitars Inlay Route

Frank Hartung Diavolo Glacier Lightblue

Eye in Bridge Pickup Cavity

Another Shot of The Eye

Frank Hartung Guitars Logo on Cavity Plate

Frank Hartung Guitars Headstock

Frank Hartung Guitars Flow Carving Design

Frank Hartung Guitars Diavolo Glacier Lightblue

Frank Hartung Guitars Diavolo Glacier Lightblue

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

iO Longhorn Specifications:
Body: one-piece walnut top/maple veneer accent/walnut back
Neck: maple, angled 6-in-line headstock, walnut faceplate, ebony logo inlay, dual-action trussrod
Fretboard: Macassar ebony, 12″ radius, Mother of Pearl sidemarkers
Scale length: 25.5″, 24 frets
Nut: graphite (options available), 1.7″ width
Pickup: Lollar P90s
Switching: volume, tone, 3-way selector
Bridge: tune-o-matic
Tuners: Gotoh locking (nice!)
Finish: Danish Oil and Tru-oil
Weight: 7 lb 14 oz

William Jeffrey Jones iO Longhorn Electric Guitar

iO Longhorn With One Piece Walnut Top

William Jeffrey Jones iO Longhorn Guitar

iO Longhorn Electric Guitar Headstock

William Jeffrey Jones Neck Heel Carve

Back of iO Longhorn

William Jeffrey Jones Guitars iO Longhorn

William Jeffrey Jones iO Longhorn

The Daemon Sassefrax Specifications:
Body: solidbody sassafras
Neck: cherry, dropped-down 6-inline headstock,dual-action trussrod
Fretboard: East Indian rosewood, 12″ radius, Mother of Pearl sidemarkers
Scale length: 25.5″, 24 frets
Nut: graphite, 1 5/8″ width
Pickups: P90s
Switching: volume, 3-way selector
Bridge: hardtail
Tuners: Gotoh
Finish: Danish Oil
Weight: 5 lbs, 12 ounces

William Jeffrey Jones The Daemon Sassefrax

Back of The Daemon Sassefrax

The Daemon Sassefrax Bolt On Neck

William Jeffrey Jones The Daemon Sassefrax

The Daemon Sassefrax Contoured Sassafras Body

Tattoos on the Back of the Cherry Neck

The Daemon Sassefrax Headstock

William Jeffrey Jones The Daemon Sassefrax

Craig Pfeister received a BFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco before he began Pfeister Guitars. Ironically, he wanted to learn to build guitars when he got to California, before art school was even an option. Craig began learning to build while still in school. Still, he is glad he took that route. Being surrounded by artists for those years and being forced to constantly push his creativity and skill helped him more than he ever thought it could. Craig quickly learned how far you can push your brain at any given time and he makes it a point to do so often.

Like most guitarists, Craig has been playing since he was about thirteen and immediately fell in love with the instrument, blah, blah.

Pfeister Guitars is located in the RiNo art district in Denver. RiNo is a fairly new, but quickly growing, art neighborhood in what used to be an industrial area bordering downtown Denver. The abandoned factories we all work in have a noticeable influence on the artists’ work, Craig’s included. Pfeister Guitars is located in the Tar Factory, which is shared with other artists, mainly sculptors.

The Guitars:
Craig believes that all art forms are, in the basic sense, crafts. Even painting is a craft; it’s up to the painter to make it art. On top of skill and experience, art requires humanity and imagination. Craig approaches all builds with that in mind.

Every guitar here is one of a kind and always will be. Music is the peak of human expression and he aims to make instruments which elicit that. Craig is not trying to be outrageous or controversial with his builds, rather he is trying to inspire the same way music has inspired these guitars, both visually and tonally.

He also believes that guitars are a perpetual work in progress. He makes all of the guitars, not only to be durable, but to age with grace. He favors distressed finishes over shiny, glass-like ones for a few reasons. The main reason is that he does not want the guitar to feel like a burden in the musician’s hands. He wants the guitar to feel completely natural and wants the guitarist to feel proud of the wear and tear given to it over the years.

To learn more about Pfeister Guitars, visit:
Pfeister Guitars

Pfeister Guitars 33 Electric Guitar

Back of Pfeister 33 Electric Guitar

Pfeister Blackfoot Electric Guitar

Pfeister Guitars Blackfoot Electric Guitar

Blackfoot Electric Guitar from Pfeister Guitars

Pfeister Guitars Abused Blues #1 Guitar

Back of Abused Blues #1

Abused Blues #1 Guitar From Pfeister Guitars

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Pfeister Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Pfeister Guitars.

If you want to check out the first and second set of progress pictures of the Redwood Embrace, you can view them here:
Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace Progress Pictures Part 1
Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace Progress Pictures Part 2

Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace

Frank Hartung Embrace with Redwood Top

Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace in Spray Booth

Frank Hartung Embrace with One Piece Redwood Top

Frank Hartung Embrace Honduran Mahogany Back

Look at the Eye in the Bridge Pickup Cavity of the Diavolo

Back of Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace Headstock

East Indian Rosewood Neck

Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace Neck

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

All maple woods have been personally harvested from the woods of Northern Michigan to the log to the guitar under the supervision of Zuni owner and luthier Michael Blank. Many pieces are one of a kind in nature. Some woods have been cut and air dried for over twenty-five years. Some of the guitar body woods were cut in the 1860’s during the Civil War. The guitars that you see on our website are samples that show artistry, beauty and superb craftsmanship in their design. Each one has its own unique sound with the marriage of individual pieces of wood and their own personally hand wrapped pick ups that are completed in our shop. All knobs, tuners, switches and nuts are made with natural deer and elk antler. All hardware is gold plated and the best Schaller has to offer. Zuni guitars are truly pieces of art.

Zuni guitars can be ordered with your own specifications for wood, colors, and components, or can be purchased from our distinctive inventory. Woods can be viewed at our locations or on our website Zuniguitars.com. All guitars come with your choice of two individual sets of unique Zuni inlays. Also available are two special exhibition inlays which can be special ordered. Each Zuni has its own individual character and all have an incredibly rich sound.

Zuni Guitars are some of the “Best of the Best” hand made guitars in the music industry and are truly custom in every detail. Visit Zuni Guitars at:
www.zuniguitars.com.

Zuni Guitars Birdseye Eldorado Electric Guitar

Zuni Guitars Scarlet Electric Guitar

Back of Zuni Electric Guitar

Zuni Guitars Blue Bayou Blueprint

Dynamico Wrecktangle

Scale Length: 24 3/4”
Nut Width/Type: 1 11/16” Bone
Neck Size: Fat
Pickups: WCR Moore/Green set Humbuckers
Neck Wood: Honduran Mahogany
Body Wood: Honduran Mahogany
Top Wood: Bound Flame Maple
Fretboard: Bound Indian Rosewood
Tuners: Gotoh Vintage Nickel With Plastic Keystone Buttons
Controls: Switchcraft 3 way switch, amber switch tip, neck pickup volume, bridge pickup volume, neck tone, bridge tone (all WCR pots/caps)
Bridge: Nickel TonePros AVR II w/Nashville thumbwheels
Tailpiece: Dynamico Custom Aluminum/Lucite
Finish: FiftyNine Unburst Flame Maple Top with Cherry Back and Neck. Amber knobs,
Lightly crazed top and peghead face.
Comes with Hard Shell Case
Ready To Ship!

Regularly $2350.00
Special “been played” price:
$1499.00!!

Dynamico Wrecktangle Guitar

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Dynamico Guitars. If you are interested in having a custom guitar built by Dynamico Guitars, please use the contact form to get in touch with me.

If you want to check out the first set of progress pictures of the Redwood Embrace, you can view them here:
Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace Progress Pictures Part 1

Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace Carved Top

Redwood Embrace During Carving Stage

Back of Indian Rosewood Headstock

Indian Rosewood Neck and Headstock

Redwood Embrace Brazilian Rosewood Fretboard

Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace Headstock

Brazilian Rosewood Fretboard with Stainless Steel Frets

Frank Hartung One Piece Redwood Top

Frank Hartung Embrace Redwood Top

Frank Hartung Embrace Carved Redwood Top

Frank Hartung Redwood Embrace

Boutique Guitar Resource is an authorized dealer for Frank Hartung Guitars. Please contact BGR if you are interested in having a guitar built by Frank Hartung Guitars.

Quote from Robert:
“This Blindworm guitar plays incredibly well. It is the coolest, most beautiful, psychedelic guitar I have ever played!” enthuses Schneider. “The inlaid Elephant 6 logo is made of meteorite dust, and on the headstock, the elephant’s eyes are made of dinosaur bones.” “Its smooth contours give the impression you are touching a living creature, and it plays like a dream. Thank you, Blindworm Guitars, for this precious guitar.”
Love,
Robert Schneider

“This guitar was custom designed down to the last detail,” explains Blindworm Guitar’s Andrew Scott. “This process started with an extensive amount ofresearch into the sound qualities, materials, and design that would best accommodate Robert. I acquired a model of one of Robert’s favorite guitars, an original Danelectro DC-3, and took the favored qualities of this guitar (scale,weight, proportion, tone, etc.) and combined
it with improved construction methods.”
Additional design considerations included Robert’s strumming and picking style, how guitars sit with his arm and body, and what sounds he uses.

The pickups were carefully selected to provide extensive range of new and familiar sounds for Robert. For his environmental conscience, only domestic woods were used. A hand rubbed oil finish was applied for the
same reasons, as well as to give the instrument a softer smoother feel and improved tonality.

Andrew adds, “This guitar has its own life, and has been treated so since its conception. It listened to albums and albums of The Apples in Stereo and other of Robert’s projects and videos during construction. When
this guitar finally reached his hands, it already knew him.”

“The Elephant Six Guitar”
custom made for Robert Schneider
of the Apples in Stereo

Specs:
Born March 12, 2009

Five piece neck-through construction of Walnut with Poplar stripes

Solid Poplar body

Osage Orange fingerboard, nut, truss rod cover, pickguard, (same family as ebony, but domestic and bright yellow)

Meteorite (collected in NW Africa) inlay for side fret markers, Elephant Six logo, and Blindworm Guitars logo.

Body elephant (upside down) is Indian, with pronounced trunk carved in the poplar body

Headestock elephant is African, and carved into Walnut, with Osage Orange tusks

Dinosoaur bone fragments fill in the upper elephant’s eyes and the Blindworm snake’s eyes

Custom made Walnut and Poplar knobs and switch

25″ scale, 24 jumbo frets

Cream colored Duncan P-Rails, 2 Volume, 2 Tone, and 3-way selector…Push pulls select between P-90s, rail, and humbucker wirings

Pickups set into body wood on the bass side, Osage pickguard on the trebleside and Sperzel locking tuners

Blindworm Guitars Elephant Six

Blindworm Guitars Elephant Six Headstock

Back of Elephant Six Guitar

Blindworm Guitars Elephant Six Trunk

Blindworm Guitars Elephant Six Knobs

-Specifications-
Body: Semi-hollow soft maple w/ one-piece, air-dried walnut top
Neck: Honduran rosewood, 3×3 headstock, dual-action trussrod, moderate V carve
Fretboard: Fretless ebony, 24 frets, 12″ radius, maple slot inlays
Scale length: 660 mm (26″)
Nut: Ebony, 1.70″ width
Pickups: Single Kent Armstrong humbucker, covered
Switching: Volume control only
Bridge: Sculpted ebony floating bridge w/hard maple saddle
String spread: 2 3/16″
Tuners: Black Grover locking 3×3
Body finish: Danish oil
Neck finish: Natural (none)
Total weight: 6 pounds, 6 ounces

William Jeffrey Jones Kronos Fretless Guitar

Back of William Jeffrey Jones Kronos Guitar

One Piece Walnut Top on Kronos Electric Guitar

William Jeffrey Jones Contoured Kronos Body

William Jeffrey Jones Kronos Input Jack

William Jeffrey Jones Ebony Fretless Fretboard

Hand Sculpted Ebony Bridge

Kronos Maple Back with Honduran Rosewood Neck

Back of Kronos Showing Carved Leaf Embellishment

William Jeffery Jones Kronos Fretless Electric Guitar

William Jeffrey Jones Guitars Kronos Fretless Model

-Nucleus #003 Specifications-
Body: slightly figured Poplar, hand selected for color and tone
Neck: Roasted Maple with Padauk stripes
Fingerboard: Osage Orange
Nut: carved from a single meteorite, collected in Northwest Africa
Bridge: black tune-o-matic with stop tailpiece
Tuners: black Sperzel locking tuners
Pickups: Seymour Duncan P-Rails
Controls: 2 push-pull toggles from P-90, rail, and humbucker settings; 1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way toggle
Truss rod: 2 way adjustable
Scale: 25″
Width at nut: 1 5/8″
Finish: nitrocellulose laquer
Knobs/switches: planet knobs- Labrodorite cratered planet, Spalted Maple planet with ring of blue Tiger’s Eye, both on Osage Orange bases
Fingerboard inlay: planet-bearing tree of life –see below for more details
Side fret marker inlay: dinosaur bone circled in Osage Orange, with Jade, Turquoise, and meteorite at the 12th and 24th frets
Blindworm Logo inlay: Turquoise “B” snake logo over a figured Walnut sapwood moon
Additional accents: Osage Orange tail tip
Humbucker adjusters: gem-grade dinosaur bone, pickups set in the body wood on treble side
Weight: approx 3 kg \ 6 lbs. 11 oz.
Width at wid