And Then

I met a great player and songwriter who had the occasion to see my guitars and play a few of them. His request was unusual. He asked for something like a Jumbo (16 1/2 lower bout) but thin like a OM size. I agreed to tackle this project. Martin used to make a similar guitar called a 0000 or "M" size. The aim is to get a big sound, but make it comfortable to play. We call these SSW guitars, the "Singer Song Writer" series

I laid out the design for this guitar and decided to use the carbon fiber reinforced Falcate system I have been using, but incorporating the the new ideas that I had put into the Sycamore 00 (see my previous blog). A new size guitar requires some effort and specialized testing to get the sound board and back to resonate correctly, not to mention the sound hole size to get the air resonance in the correct place. I do quite a bit of testing along the way as I build to help get us the sound we want. Below are the first 2 that I have finished, one is a Mahogany body and the second is a Koa body. The customer is on tour right now but will return and pickup his guitar. Meanwhile I am finishing the third one of these, another Koa. This Koa is over 30 years old since it was cut into logs. It is genuine Hawaiian Koa.

These guitars have the LR Baggs "Stage Pro" onboard EQ system. And they have lots of Blue Paua!

We are quite proud of these instruments, and represent a ton of effort on our part to get them right......but is is all worth it!

They sound big and clear, strong bass but clear trebles. The Mahogany likes to be played with a pick or fingernails, while the Koa is happy with finger style all day long. If you want more volume, then plug it in to your amp!