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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 soundholes, German maple body binding, and a 25.4-inch scale. The finish is lacquer with light golden shading. The tuners are satin gold Sperzels.
Since 1990 I have made archtop tailpieces out of graphite fiber and an ebony face. This guitar has a new version with several improvements. The face is slightly curved, rather than flat like the old version. Overall, the design is lighter and more slender.
Features:
- GoldTone finish
- 17-inch wide body
- Englemann spruce top
- Red spruce tone bars, X braced
- Eastern hard-maple back, sides, and neck