Artisan Deluxe #038

Artisan Deluxe # 038

Top: 1-pc. Curly Redwood
Body: Fiji Rain Tree
Neck: Brazilian Kingwood
Fretboard: Brazilian Rosewood - Heartwood!
Headcap + Pickup Rings: Spider BRW
Pickups: Duncan '59 & JB in double cream...how cool is that?
Bridge: TonePros Wraparound w/ LR Baggs saddles & Ctrl-X Preamp
Color: Natural

Every single piece of wood used on this guitar James supplied from his private stash. Also, every single piece of wood has a story behind it which James will hopefully share with us all.
I think this is the first time saying this, although I've heard it said before....I like the back of the guitar as much as the front!
The Fiji Rain Tree is a beautiful timber, like a light soft colored koa. It has that koa-like inner glow that moves and refracts as you tilt the guitar.
The Kingwood, which from now on will be referred to as "Holy crud this is hard!" wood, is dense and smooth making it ideal for a neck wood.
Then there is that cool fretboard. Rarely, as in never, is the heartwood this light. It is usually the darkest portion of the tree...that is just so unique.
Oh yeah...the crushed satin redwood sheet draped across the face of the guitar - yeah, it's okay I guess.

Initial Tone Report:
James wants something clean, clear, articulate with a little bite. The '59 covers everything but the bite, then the JB kicks in. Once again, this classic pickup combo doesn't disappoint - it will handle most anything you'd need from a guitar. Blend in the shimmering piezo and you'll be kept busy for a long time.
The neck is warm and full, plus the rosewood neck tightens the low end preventing it from ever getting too thick. The split tones contribute a little Strat and a little Tele if the mood strikes. The bridge position is all business. Just a hint of snarl and grind when James is feeling aggressive.
This species of rosewood used on the neck is one of the most musically alive tonewoods you can find, so it made sense that the neck feels like a marimba key in your hands when you play - amazing sustain.

James, here's to hoping this is everything you've hoped it would be. Thank you my friend, thank you!

Ron



Wow Ron. You nailed it and then some!!! What a sound! I had the absolute thrill to drive over to Glendale this afternoon and pick up #038. Ron was the humble gentleman I've come to know and he set up the unveiling. Needless to say, I was/am floored. I nervously played it for a few minutes at the shop, but REALLY got a chance to dig in now that I have been home for few hours plugged into my own familiar rig in the music room. Man oh Man!!! I just have a simple Fender Princeton Chorus from '94 but you plug in this Thorn, add a touch of reverb and chorus and I am in tonal heaven! The pickups Ron suggested hit articulate with a capital 'A'. The subtlest of changes in finger pressure or pick attack all come though in the tone. And what can I say about the neck! I already knew that the Kingwood makes a superb neck wood because of my Rosewood Heatley, but #038 adds the sensual feel of unfinished, polished rosewood. For my Heatley I had requested the whole guitar sprayed with nitro. Ron's hidden end fretwork is stunning, and results in the nicest neck I have personally ever felt. I have only had it a couple hours, but it already feels like an old friend. The woods used turned out great. Neck - Brazilian Kingwood imported into the US in 1930. I bought one other piece of rosewood prior to the Kingwood, but finding that stash was the turning point in my life as far as pursuing my dream of lutherie was concerned. It is the same rosewood that Scott Heatley used to carve my hollowbody. Fretboard - Blonde Brazilian Rosewood Heartwood. A very unique piece of BRW where the outer material was very dark black and the inner heartwood was very light. I choose this because is sets off the body wood in a very different contast than one would usually find. Headstock Veneer - fantastic swirly BRW burls. Top - Curly Redwood from a big plank I found 5 years ago or so. I fell in love with that top much like I was drawn to Dane's Parrot #03. The one piece really did it for me. Body - Fiji Rain Tree that I bought green at a saw mill in Fiji in 1999. My original plans for the wood was to build a rocking horse for my soon-to-be-born son Julian. In retrospect, I am glad I never got around to the rocking horse. Now he'll eventually inherit an awesome instrument instead. Time to get back to the tone. Thanks for all the compliments and comraderie (sp?) along the way, fellow Forumites. Being part of this community has been one of the great facets of #038. James Oh, I forgot to mention in my above post to take a close look at Ron's upper right photo. Did you see how he chose and positioned the Kingwood backplate to align with the grain patterns of the Raintree! The Raintree flows right down into the Kingwood. Ron, you are too much!!!! Thanks again.