Mahogany 6 String “Tortie” - 2018

Borrowing from the size and comfort of the body of the Birdseye Maple guitar above, this guitar has an even thinner solid body with a lighter weight. This guitar has a slightly wider fretboard and string spacing. Strung with 11’s, this guitar’s playability feels similar to that of an acoustic guitar with fingerpicking spacing. With T-style pickups, this guitar is the ultimate chicken-picker’s delight.

Specs:

The body is a single piece of solid Mahogany. Don’t be fooled by the “F” holes, they are of inlaid Ebony. The neck is stained Maple with a three-per-side headstock. The fretboard, headcap, backstrap are crafted from Rosewood. Nickel Gotoh tuners and nickel Wilkinson T-style bridge with brass “barrel” saddles. 25.5 inch scale length, with body through construction. Bone nut. Matched set of Wilkinson T-style pickups, master volume, master tone, 3-way pickup selector switch. The pickguard, electronic cover, and truss rod cover are of 5-ply celluloid Tortoise.

Walnut 6-String “Feral 2” - 2022

I decided to name these models “Ferals” because although they are a homage to the Gibson “Hawk” shape, my versions traverse the narrow specs of their original counterparts. The “Feral 1,” turned out to play and feel so nice and light that I decided to make another, with a few variations. This one has a more traditional adjustable bridge, and a 5-piece neck. The string length of the Feral 2 is slightly longer, and is “snappier” than the Feral 1, each strung with the same gauge of strings, my personal preference being D’Addario 10.5 - 48.

Specs:

The body is made of a single piece of Walnut, with a book-matched Walnut top. Neck is 5-piece, "Flamed” Maple with Walnut strips. Walnut headcap and backstrap with a Maple “W.” Ebony fretboard with pearl dot and side-dot inlays. Bone Nut. 25.5” scale length, with body-through construction. Gold Gotoh tuners and Nashville style Tunematic bridge. Single Gold “filtertron” pickup with volume and tone controls, and brass string-grounding plate. Tortoise/Cream binding, with 5-ply tortoise pickguard.

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Walnut 6 string “Feral” - 2021

When I was 23, I traced the outline of my Gibson Blueshawk, and began bending and stretching its lines to design my first unique body shapes. When I was 16 years old, I bought the Blueshawk because I liked it’s single cutaway shape, and didn’t want a heavy Les Paul - like all of my friends were seeking. Until 2018, I didn’t really build mainstream guitar shapes. In need of keeping my walls stocked at Taborella Music, I began building “parts series” guitars, utilizing the Hawk shape to create affordable models that could be assembled easily. The shape will always remain a favorite, and this is my first fully handcrafted (custom) version.

Specs:

The body is made of a single piece of Mahogany, with a book-matched Walnut top. Neck is of “Birdseye” Maple. Acoustic guitar style bridge, fretboard, and headcap are made of Ebony. Bone Saddle and Nut. 25.5” scale length, with body-through construction. Gotoh “Carruthers” gold tuners - sold by Allparts during a parts shortage - stamped for Carruthers Guitars. Volume and Tone controls, with cavity space to add a piezo under-saddle pickup.

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Maple/Ash 12 String - 2016

This guitar was commissioned by a regular repair customer at the Fretted Frog who had seen and played several of my other guitars. He approached me about building an electric 12-string that played and felt like his Guild acoustic 12-string, and had the same pickups used on “Stairway to Heaven” (recorded by Jimmy Page on his Fender XII). Near the end of this build, I realized that no manufacture made a 12-string bridge with our needed spacing, so I had to design and build the adjustable Brass & Ebony bridge myself. In the end, I gained a few more fabrication skills and built this beauty.

Specs:

The body is chambered Ash, sandwiched by sequence-matched/book-matched figured Maple. The neck is a five-piece bolt-on made of Flamed Maple with Walnut strips. Neck profile is that of a Guild Acoustic 12-string. The fretboard, headcap and backstrap, string block, and knobs are of Ebony. Binding, Wedge, Truss rod cover are Walnut. Handmade brass tune-o-matic style bridge, set into Ebony. The pickups were Fender XII clones, hand-wound and crafted by Curtis Novak (and sound amazing!). Black Gotoh Stealth Tuners, and a bone nut. 25.5 inch scale length, strung through body. The inlays are Mother of Pearl Diamonds/Side dots. Maple “W” Insignia.

Custom Case made by G&G Quality Case Co.

Myrtle and Mahogany 6 “Thundercat” - 2018

This guitar was commissioned from a neighbor (and eventual friend!) who had stopped into my shop, Taborella Music, during its first few months. Having tried four of my other models exhibited on the wall, he mentioned perhaps wanting something specific to his needs; a combination of features of several existing models. This guitar was a fun build, and was delivered shortly after his 40th birthday!

Specs:

The body is a single piece of Mahogany with book-matched, Flamed Myrtle Top. The neck is a bolt-on, 5-piece Flamed Maple with Walnut strips. Ebony Fretboard with Pearl Mountain inlays. Binding is Flamed Maple with Maple/Ebony upper and side purfling. Tortoise 5-ply pickguard, electronic cover, and truss rod cover. Lollar Imperial humbuckers with individual coil-splitting options on individual volume controls. 3-way pickup selector switch with master tone control. Gold Gotoh Tuners, Bigsby B5 tailpiece, and Schaller Roller Bridge.

Custom Case made by G&G Quality Case Co.

Maple & Purpleheart 6 string “Mapleheart” - 2014

This guitar was one of my best “early period” 6-strings. It was the first where I had made a six-inline headstock vs. a 3x3. It was also the first time I had done an acoustic-style, body-through bridge. This was also my final build to have a set-neck. The chambered body of the guitar is only 1 1/8” wide total, making it ultra lightweight.

Specs:

The body of this guitar is Mahogany, sandwiched by sequence-matched and bookmatched figured Maple pieces. Thus, the top and back are nearly identically figured. The neck is of Birdseye Maple with a Purpleheart fretboard, headcap, and backstrap. Inlaid ebony “W” insignia. The acoustic “pyramid style” bridge was also handcrafted by Colin. Electronic coverplate and knobs are also of Purpleheart. Matched set of Lollar P-90s, 3-way selector switch, individual volume controls, master tone control. Gold Gotoh tuners, bone nut. 25.5 Inch scale length, strung through body construction.

Custom Case made by G&G Quality Case Co.

Mahogany & Redwood 6 String “Gambler” - 2012

Having successfully built myself a Mahogany & Redwood bass-guitar with a 1” thick body, I attempted to build a guitar in the same light. This guitar is modeled as a single-cutaway version of my first 6-string build. It is my only build with a floating bridge, topped by a piece of bone, and carved for proper intonation. It was my first 6-string custom build that displayed the woods with entirely clear finish. In 2013, I recorded an album which was produced and engineered by my friend, Mike Schadel. He never had named a price for his hardwork, and I didn’t have a lot of money at the time, so this guitar went to him as payment for his wonderful work in the studio.

Specs:

The body is solid Mahogany, 7/8 inches thick, with a 1/4 inch book-matched Redwood burl top. The fretboard is European Flamed Maple. Maple knobs and floating bridge. The tuners are Schaller deluxe Keystones in gold. Gibson PAF humbucker in the bridge position with a Gibson P-90 in the neck position. Master volume, master tone, 3-way pickup selector switch. 25 inch scale length with a strung through body

Maple & Walnut 6-String - 2018

Maybe my first 6-string guitar to have a “comfort carve” on the back. I also tried carving the neck volute differently on this guitar… solidifying my preference for my previously rounded volutes. The body of this guitar is also thicker than my typical builds: at 1.5 inches thick, it’s still thinner (and lighter) than most mainstream and manufactured guitars. This guitar is owned by my brother-in-law, Rob, and my sister, Melanie.

Specs:

The body is a single piece of Mahogany with a book-matched Flamed Maple top. The neck is of standard Maple with a Rosewood fretboard. An Ebony headcap and backstrap sandwich the Maple headstock. Maple electronics cover and truss rod cover. Gold Gotoh tuners, Hipshot bridge, and Filtertron pickups. Master volume, master tone, 3-way pickup selector switch. 25.5 inch scale length with a bone nut and body-through construction.

Sui Generis 12 - 2009

This was the first guitar that I built following my graduation from Roberto-Venn. It’s a hybrid of ideas I had prior to attending luthier school, and knowledge I possessed thereafter. The body shape has the same unrefined curvature as its predecessor, “Patient Zero” (displayed on my Parts Guitars page), yet my knowledge of templates, set-necks, wiring, and finish had vastly increased at this point.

Specs:

The body is one piece of Swamp Ash that has been completely hollowed out around what would otherwise be a center-block (in an archtop construction). The top is burled maple with a tobacco-sunburst finish. Body is double-bound with white binding. The neck is scarf-jointed Mahogany, carved to a vintage “V” profile, topped with a Maple fretboard, and permanently set with the body. Two ‘TV Jones’ Filtertron pickups produce the bright jangle desired by most 12-string players. Nickel Gotoh bridge with full intonation adjustments for each individual string. Nickel Gotoh tuners, bone nut, 25” scale-length. This guitar is of my older stock which I plan to never sell. Its extant cosmetic flaws would likely fetch a low monetary value - it’s worth far more to me as a marker of my own progress, and it sounds killer on recordings! Custom hardshell case made by me!