conventional guitars (relatively speaking)


Loulé Vienna Style

First build from the new workshop in Loulé, Portugal.  

 

Chambered Mahogany body

Pine top from an old box

Mahogany neck 

Ebony fingerboard

25 ½" scale, 10-12" radius

22 6150 Dunlop frets

P-90 style BoneTops w/ 30's French Bakelite bobbins

3-way, vol, tone w/ push-pull for series mode

TonePros adjustable wraparound bridge

Gotoh vintage style tuners

Dunlop Straplocks

2.75kg

BoneTop P-90 set


Redwood special

Chambered Cedar body w/Redwood top

Rosewood neck w/Ebony fingerboard 25 ½" scale

50's resin pick guard

Paul Reed Smith locking tuners

Lindy Fralin Pure PAF pickups

ABM wraparound tailpiece

Vol, tone, 3-way switch

Dunlop Straplocks


Purpleheart Special

Chambered Alder body

Purpleheart/flame Maple top

50's resin pick guard

Maple neck, Rosewood fingerboard 25 ½"scale

Gotoh vintage style tuners

BoneTop P-90style pickups

Wilkinson wraparound tailpiece

3-way, vol, tone w/push-pull for series mode

Dunlop Straplocks

Final version has the cutaway and the red washer


C 1901 Vienna Custom

Mahogany Semi-hollow body,  Spruce top

Mahogany neck, Ebony fingerboard, 25 ½" scale

Gotoh vintage style tuners

Spalt BoneTop pickups

Vol, tone w/push-pull for series mode, 3-way switch

ABM wraparound tailpiece

Dunlop Straplocks

3.1 kg


Tommy's Vienna Style

Vienna Model w/Spruce top

Hollow Mahogany body

Mahogany neck w/ Indian Rosewood fingerboard

25 ½" scale, 10-12" radius

22 6150 Dunlop frets

P-90 style BoneTops w/ 30's French Bakelite bobbins

3-way, vol, tone w/ push-pull for series mode

TonePros adjustable wraparound bridge

Gotoh vintage style tuners

Dunlop Straplocks

2.75kg


624 line

The 624 line features a cast aluminum pick guard on a set-neck body.  The challenge was to find a foundry able to cast a thin enough piece.  The first ones were cast in Los Angeles, a second run was cast in Austria.

 

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C 1301 'Tidepool'

This guitar was made for Paul Schmidt, the initiator of the Nouveau Series.  Utilizing seconds left from the Nouveau Series - a Rosewood neck and a Mahogany back - topped with a slab of Austrian Pearwood.  Part of a large board which I spotted in my friend Andreas Neubauer's wood shed, it sported an interesting knot.  It seemed perfect for this guitar.  I added a Lollar pickup combination, minihumbucker in the neck, Firebird in the bridge, a TonePro's wraparound bridge and Sperzel locking tuners.   Large and a hefty 4.2 kg/9lbs


S&S Guitars and the 486 line

The S&S series dates back to one of my earliest designs.  It consists of a hollow back carved from a solid billet of wood, covered with a beautiful top.  It combines light weight and an open sound with a dynamic response.  The later 486 line represents a refinement of the original concept.

 

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Spalt Teletone

When I came across a beautiful flamed piece of light Swamp Ash large enough for a one-piece body, an interpretation of the iconic Tele seemed in order.  A tightly figured Bird's Eye Maple neck, black bakelite pickguard and butterscotch tinted nitrocellulose lacquer pay tribute to the original.  A mini humbucker in the neck position and an intonated bridge constitute more modern appointments.


'Dorothy'

On a more traditional note...  Swamp Ash body, Maple neck with block inlays and Lindy Fralin Jazz Bass pickups.  The finish inspired the name ('Wizard of Oz').

 


Solidbody Framire

Framire body and set neck.  Similar in appearance to Korina, but with a brighter, snappier sound.  Rosewood fingerboard and headstock overlay, 25 1/2" scale.  2 BoneTop P-90 style pickups.  Wilkinson adjustable wraparound bridge, volume, tone, 3-way.  Gotoh vintage style locking tuners.  Thin nitro finish. The wood and the scale constribute to a bright, punchy sound.


Purpleheart special

Mahogany body w/ figured Bubinga top, Mahogany neck w/ Purpleheart fingerboard and headstock overlay.  Tonepros adjustable stoptail bridge, Sperzel locking tuners.  The knobs are from a 40's vintage radio, the truss rod cover is pearl.


Aure Custom

In addition to the magnetic Tele-style configuration,  there are piezos mounted in the 'point technology' tremolo for a MIDI output.  The top is Wenge, with a Maple 'faux' pickguard inlaid.  The  white and black sections on the fanned fretboard correspond to the white and black keys of a keyboard, a feature patented by Aaron Wolfson.


F.A.T. Greenburst

Built for my friend Fabian, this custom guitar has a hollow Mahogany body w/ a fiddleback Ash top and a flame Koa set neck w/ a flame Maple fingerboard.  Reverse tremolo/headstock.  The electronics are loaded through the tremolo spring cover.


Coppertop

All-Mahogany body and neck, Rosewood fingerboard.  Loosely inspired by the work of Zemaitis.  I used an old brass bridge and knobs over a thin sheet of aged copper.  A P-90 in the neck and a vintage Gibson Lap-steel pickup in the bridge give a full, rich sound.  The back is finished in black lacquer.

addl. Photos courtesy of Miyaji Gakki Tokyo, 1-4 Kanda Ogawamachi, Chiyodaku, Tokyo

http://miyaji.co.jp


'Brass Buddha'

The copper top on this guitar is left to oxidize naturally.  A brass plaque depicting the buddha is inset into the top.  Vintage radio knobs with metal tops and brass hardware reinforce the theme.  The bridge pickup is a green 'BoneTop' Tele-style, the neck is a cream 'square tab' DiMarzio PAF humbucker - the earliest series, which by now have aged nicely and offer some of the best PAF-tone out there.  Mahogany body and neck.  Nitrocellulose finish on the back.


the jem series

These guitars are an offshoot of my collaboration with Thomas Nordegg, Steve Vai's (and many others') longtime tech.  Based on the Ibanez Jem model they explore various technical parameters.

jem 1

This example has a Lacewood top and is stripped down to the essentials.  A LSR nut and Steinberger gearless tuners ensure tuning stability while streamlining the appearance.


jem 2

A bit over the top, with a Snakewood fingerboard with Abalone purfling, gold hardware and a Sustainiac circuit, this guitar has a Mahogany body and a figured Maple neck.  The finish is nitrocellulose lacquer.


jem 3

Sister to the Jem 2 with different finsh.


SN08

The result of staring at a left-over piece of prime old-stock Honduran Mahogany, too short by 1/2"  for a regular LP style body.  The neck appears a tad longer and as a result also offers better access to the upper frets.  The wood speaks for itself, tonewise...  24 frets, Ebony fingerboard, locking Gotoh vintage style tuners and a Bigsby tailpiece with roller bridge. SD Antiquity Seth Lover pickups.

SN08 'Re-imagined'

Originally built in 2008, this guitar found its way back to me after 8 years.  After looking at it again for a while I decided to change some things - to re-imagine it in a new way.  The same fine old Mahogany now supports a 30's French Galalith (a type of bakelite) pick guard and a Lollar Charlie Christian and Imperial pickup configuration.  I adjusted the shape a bit.  The tone is sweeter, with an ABR type bridge - the silky wood is set off nicely by a hand-rubbed oil finish.  3.5kg


CB_4 'Abe bass'

Flame Maple top over a Swamp Ash body.  Bird's Eye Maple neck.


KR special

Swamp Ash body, flame Maple neck.  Callaham trem and a versatile pickup combination.


C6

Swamp Ash, bird's eye Maple, Tele bridge/pickup and a vintage Gretsch Filtertron make for a deceptively simple guitar.


C7

Two versions of the same guitar - the eternal quest for tone...  Swamp Ash body.  First version  Mahogany neck w/ Madagascar Rosewood fingerboard, reverse headstock, flat profile.   Second version bird's-eye Maple neck w/ a V-shape.  Various pickup combinations.


'RS Corvette'

Producer Rob Schnapf left some parts - a Warmoth neck and two TV Jones humbuckers - which didn't fit our current projects at my shop.  I decided to make him a Gretsch Corvette knockoff for his birthday.  It has a Mahogany body, a Bigsby tremolo and the lacquer finish is lightly relic'd.