Navajo

Artisan Master ~ "Navajo"

Body: Black Limba - Semi-hollow
Inlaid Top: Polexia Grade Koa
Neck: Flamed Black Limba w/ back of neck inlay
Fretboard: "White" Brazilian Rosewood
Inlaid Headcap: Koa
Turquoise Firesuns, Medicine Wheel, purfling, side dots, and accents.
Pickups: Thorn koa bobbins w/ Wagner wound custom Fillmore wind
Bridge: Thorn koa wraparound with TonePros locking studs and saddles
Controls: Koa topped Vol, Tone, Blend (only functions in middle position), 3-way toggle.

Plastic...NONE.

Initial tone report:
Easy in one word...warmth. Lots of smooth, warm low end with a woman tone that sustains forever. Killer!

Jo, thank you very much for allowing me to try so many unknowns on this guitar. From the inlaid top, to the wood bridge, to the wood bobbins...they have all been challenges but I have never been prouder of a guitar. Thank you my friend, I hope you are safe in London.

Ron

I honestly do not even know where to start. This guitar features so many "firsts" on a Thorn that it requires more images than normal to show them all.
Oscar100 has had so much input toward the entire design/concept of this guitar that I feel as though building it was the easy part. Thank you Oscar100, I hope this brings to life your vision.

I am VERY proud to present to you all, Navajo:

		A few detail shots of the headstock. Note the "Inlaid Headcap" option where the koa is not just glued on to the face, it's glued into the face. The tuner buttons are stabilized koa cut from the top remnants and feature the Artisan Master shape (Courtesy of Roger @ THG Knobs). The 50/50 nut of nickel silver and turquoise is also shown in detail. The "T" is sterling silver.
A couple more detail shots showing the Wagner custom wound pickups with stabilized koa bobbins (also cut from the top's remnant pieces). These are based on the Fillmores tweaked a bit for this wood combo. Koa pickup rings and a stabilized koa wraparound bridge with TonePros locking studs and saddles. More on that later . Lastly, note the exclusive Thorn koa wrapped Straploks along with nice detail showing the Inlaid Top option - a Thorn first!	That is a "white" Brazilian rosewood fingerboard that perfectly matches the black limba neck. It is near impossible to see the seam! Also shown is the back of the neck inlay, an Indian design in turquoise to match the purfling and other details. Look at the flame on that limba!	Fretboard details showing the turquoise Firesuns with sterling silver centers and an Indian Medicine Wheel inlay at the 12th fret. A little bit of the Brazilian heart wood is peeking in near the first fret .
Inlaid Top Option. This is the first Thorn to feature the Inlaid Top. This body was the subject of the topic where I introduced this option last year. As you can see, the koa carved top is actually inlaid into the black limba body. Note that there is no seam around the side of the body where the koa would meet the limba traditionally. The result is the look of the koa erupting from the black limba...ultra cool!!!	"Navajo"

ok where do i begin..... teh case itself is sooo cool to look at - you just know that whatever is inside is gonna be good. So i opened teh case - however great the pix look they are nothing compared to teh real thing - o my god - just spectacular - and a little message from ron in teh case which was a nice touch too so i pick it up and almost drop it in surprise - its so lite....around 6lbs....it feels like a feather - amazing when you consider how much wood there is ok so i look at teh detail and teh craftsmanship is just teh best ive ever seen - teh turquoise, teh inlays , teh fret work, teh tuning heads made of koa, teh cool pickups - wow ok so tune to concert - gtr sits really great on teh knee and teh fretboard has rounded edges that feel like an really well played in gtr so far so good so teh first strum - excellent acoustic tone - lots of zing and less woody than imagined - teh fatback neck feels great in teh hand me one happy bunny ok plug in - im ashamed to say ive sold all my amps so teh trusty studio pod xt will do ( at least its runnig thru a top range tube compressor that makes it feel more amp like!) first impressions - played around with teh strap to find teh right height - again surprisingly higher than im used to compared to my LP neck hangs just right and teh gtr is feather weight - so to teh tones clean - teh custom wound wagners have amazing clarity - not top or sizzle - just clarity . you can really hear the snap bloom and fade of each string - even on teh neck pickup that on my LP puts teh mud in muddy waters bridge is raunchier but responds amazingly well to teh vol pot that has a real smooth taper teh middle position is teh surprise - amazing a perfect balance of teh warmth and clarity of teh neck with teh bite of teh bridge and when used with teh blend control i can dial in more body (neck) or sizzle( bridge according to what i want dirty - whoot -!!!!!!! as someone around here says neck again has amazing clarity and with tone right down gives woman tone without any woofiness bridge - roll over billy gibbons.....harmonics fly of teh neck - rock n roll overall teh neck is just a joy to play - no stiffness or icky stickiness - just perfect teh pots are easy to handle and just perfectly placed oh i forget ....the split coils.... pull out teh tone and teh coils split....amazing .......im almost tempted to use the gtr in just sc mode - glassy delicious 3 d - i get a loveley tele type tone from teh bridge , vaguely strat from teh neck and teh mid position is pure funk especially when i use the blend to dial in a touch more bridge or for jazz funk and touch more neck so its been 12 months in teh making and i salute ron thorn for making me this amazing gtr - my wife said " you've found your tone - ive never heard you sound so good" and it does have a unique tone ...a combination of clarity, warmth, brightness and body im going for a lie down again - its all too much so to anyone considering whether to buy a thorn - just do it! not sure oscars (the cat) too impressed though! Jo - aka: oscar100