My Model 5 is usually built as a New Style guitar, with double sides, French polished soundboard and RJN neck attachment. I designed the shape to have the sparkle and sweetness of a 000 but with more bottom end. The shape is optimized for a 14-fret configuration, meaning the soundboard area between the waist and lower bout is fuller while the body length is shorter than a D. These changes take the bridge placement closer to a 12-fret placement, meaning the bridge is closer to the “sweet spot” in the middle of the lower bout.
Why double sides, you may ask? Here’s my best answer: Imagine somehow stringing up a guitar with no soundboard in place, just the bridge suspended in its normal position but with no soundboard. The string tension would cause the guitar to buckle. This mental exercise shows us that part of the soundboard’s function is to simply hold the box together against the tension of the strings. This “holding together” is a separate function from amplifying the string motion at the bridge. My double sides consist of two layers of wood glued together to form a total thickness of over 1/8”. The inner liner is usually mahogany, a lightweight, strong and resonant wood. Gluing two pieces together forms a very strong rim that is resistant to deformation. The added strength allows the sides to take away some of the purely compressive tension from the soundboard, which can then vibrate more freely.
Available in nearly any scale length from 24.9” to 25.5” and any wood combination.
Gold Gotoh 510 machines and a custom-fitted Cedar Creek case are supplied as standard.
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