Guitar No. 98

Date Completed: 
Monday, September 15, 2025

Specifications

  • Scale: 640mm
  • Woods: Pau Ferro Back and Sides, Western Red Cedar Top, Wenge Bridge, Bloodwood Binding, Ebony Fretboard
  • Finish: French Polish of Shellac
  • Tuning Machines: Pagos

I thought this guitar project was going to be wrapped up in the summer, but life gets busy. There were some other projects that needed to be out the door, and thus, it is these creative endeavors that get postponed. The weight of the sides of this guitar adds so much richness to the basses. This weight brings a nice sustain as well, and it caught me by surprise when this weight lowered some of the fundamental modes of vibration on the top, so you will notice a soundport that was added later. This is not a gimmick but one of a couple of small measures made to fine tune the guitar after it was initially complete.

All this work culminated in this very well balanced guitar. The sound has some gravity and warmth whilst maintaining the responsivity and multitude of timbres that are loved by those who know my guitars. Importantly, this guitar is very playable. I meet so many young players these days with hand problems. Often the setups on their guitars are higher for optimizing volume, but I increasingly find this just introduces counterproductive strain.

Special thanks to Alan Mearns for doing a nice recording for me that I can share with you. His arrangement of the Faure Pavane showcases the warmth and colors of the instrument.