Serial number 264, built in 1999. The Emerald City Reserve is a Premium version of my Emerald City model archtop. It is built using German spruce for the top and German maple for the back and sides. The condition of this guitar is a real surprise. It has a few very small finish blemishes, but most players would be hard pressed to find any indication that the guitar is 17 years old. It plays beautifully and has a fine voice. Features: German spruce top German maple back and sides Schaller tuners with engraved mop buttons Armstrong PAF O humbucker with… Read more »
This guitar is one of the lightest archtops I’ve ever made-it weighs 4.1 lbs. Surprisingly, it is made with an Eastern hard maple back and Adirondack spruce top, two of the denser materials one could choose for an archtop. I made a special effort to thin the top and back plates to remove excess material and reduce the weight of the guitar. The result is a very lightweight, very responsive guitar. This guitar would be at home playing “Freddie Green” style rhythm in a big band, soloing in a gypsy jazz group, or playing funky blues in a noisy nightclub. The guitar… Read more »
Model 16 in Violin finish with Ivoroid appointments
This Model 16 has a combination of woods I’d been thinking about for a while. The top is Adirondack (red) spruce, the back, sides and neck are German maple. The pickguard, healcap and truss rod cover are Ivoroid, matching the binding on the body and neck. The guitar is quite warm and balanced, and responds well to a light touch. It is also lighter weight than usual, at 4.7 lbs. Other features: Scale length 24.75″ Nut width 1 3/4″ Weight 4.7 lbs. Red Spruce top German maple back, neck and sides Violin finish under nitrocellulose lacquer Tailpiece is constructed of… Read more »
I built this Concert model guitar in 1990, serial number 123. It is loosely based on the iconic Martin OM guitar of the 1930’s. The shape is a bit different, slightly more rounded than the original. It has been played quite a bit and it shows it, but it is in fine shape overall with no checks in the body. Specifications: Brazilian rosewood back and sides, bridge, and peghead face Engelmann spruce top Maple bridge plate Mahogany neck Herringbone top purfling Ivoroid binding Nut 1 23/32″ Scale length 25.4″
Serial No. 217-built 1997 The top is wide-grain Engelmann spruce from North Idaho, the one-piece back is Western maple. There a a few dings in the lacquer, but overall it has been well-taken care of. It has a nice open sound typical of a guitar that has been played for many years. Weight 5.5 lbs. Tailpiece is carbon fiber with an ebony face Bridge, pickguard and fingerboard are ebony Mini-Schaller tuners
Serial No. 355 -Built in 2003 The Gold Standard model combines traditional archtop construction with innovative styling. A major element of the design is a 14 carat gold wire running intermittently from the peghead to the tailpiece. The wire forms a border between black ebony and Macassar ebony, creating an image of a wave running vertically through the guitar. The body is bound in curly maple and has a violin color under high gloss nitrocellulose lacquer. The combination of German spruce with German maple results in a very warm, open sound. Features: 14 carat gold wire inlay 17-inch wide body German spruce top… Read more »
Serial No. 400-Built 2005 To celebrate the construction of my 400th instrument, I decided to build something unlike anything I’ve built before. I started with a set of Eastern hard maple back and sides. This species rarely grows large enough to yield wood that will produce an archtop guitar back. It has a fine texture somewhat like German maple, but is denser and harder. I paired this with a beautiful Engelmann spruce top, resulting in a sound that has the warmth and balance that my guitars are known for, but with more volume and punch than usual. I used S-style… Read more »
Custom 17-inch Oval Hole Archtop
Serial No. 429-Built 2007 I have built many archtops with oval soundholes over the years and I like their versatility. My usual Oval Hole guitar has the soundhole in the upper left bout which boosts the bottom end and sustain while creating lots of overtones. By locating the soundhole at the end of the fretboard the resulting voice is more like a standard f-hole guitar. It has good projection and strong mid-range but a slightly more open sound. The combination of red spruce top and eastern hard maple back produces a strong attack with good projection. This guitar would… Read more »
Brazilian Rosewood Concert Model
Serial No. 414-Built 2005 The Concert Model is the only style flattop guitar I build these days. This one was built with the classic combination of Brazilian rosewood and Adirondack (red) spruce. The rosewood is an old set I’ve had stashed for many years that shows lots of figure and color. The spruce top has medium-width even grain, good color, and no run-out. The body is bound in beautiful curly koa, and it has a matching koa heal cap. This model is loosely based on the 1930’s Martin OM. This guitar has the balance, projection and clarity associated with that… Read more »
Serial No. “Prototype #1”-Built 2005 This guitar was built in 2005 when I was considering having an archtop model made in china. I was dealing with a shop that makes violins. My goal was to have them build guitars to my specification, to be imported and sold to stores in this country. I made this particular guitar as a prototype that I sent to them to use as a model. Long story short, after three years and 6 samples built by the violin makers, I decided to discontinue the project. Which brings us to this particular guitar. It resided in… Read more »
Serial No. 506-Built 2014 This guitar differs from my usual Electric Archie, which has two pickups and a semi-carved top. This version is built with a fully carved and braced engelmann spruce top, which gives it a more acoustic voice. I chose to bind the entire guitar in tortoise shell celluloid; it has a very subtle pattern that I like. I’ve made a number of hybrid guitars like this and I really like the result. The mounted pickup, 16-fret neck joint, body size and overall feel make this guitar work for those who generally plug in to play. At the same time, the guitar… Read more »
Serial No. 484-Built in 2012 Over the years I’ve considered offering an archtop built with laminated top and back, along the lines of the venerable Gibson ES-175. The 175 has been popular among jazz guitarists for many years. A number of jazz greats have recorded and performed with it. The laminated construction makes it a little less prone to damage or changes due to humidity and temperature, as well as giving it a distinctive tone. The Jason Lollar Imperial humbucker has a classic jazz tone, warm and balanced midrange, and complex overtones of the best original PAF pickups. Volume and… Read more »
