Guitars

My earliest guitars were relatively traditional instruments, featuring a center soundhole with X-bracing. Most featured pinned bridges. I built several models, all based on typical Orchestra, Grand Auditorium and Jumbo body sizes and shapes. I accessorized my traditional guitars with cutaways, arm bevels and soundports, but I grew restless with tradition and began to explore other possibilities.

I was very familiar with factory-made guitars and how solidly they were constructed, especially so after the 1960s. I knew I had the freedom to alter that construction, lightening the build and increasing the responsiveness of the instrument. A responsive guitar features more efficient utilization of applied energy, such as when the strings are plucked or the body is tapped. My objective was to produce quality sound without having to play so hard.

Early Models

continental

The Cedar and Rosewood continental featured a double-X bracing pattern in an extra-deep OM body size, but was otherwise traditionally built. "Bright" and "loud" were the two most-commonly used adjectives for this design.

canon

The Oregon Myrtle and Port Orford Cedar canon incorporated Spruce/Rosewood/Spruce laminated braces and a non-ladder braced back in a 16" wide body. Distinguishable due to its pronounced bass, this was a popular design among performers.

tonnerre

Tonnerre, a Walnut and Redwood jumbo 17" body, was one of my lightest-weight guitars at 3.75 lbs, largely due to the use of carbon fiber for laminated braces, bridgeplate, and the Dragonplate D-tube instead of a truss rod. This was my first model to utilize a pinless bridge. Big sound from a comfortable, lovely guitar design.

A New Direction

The first thing I experimented with was bracing, both pattern and composition. For example, I envisioned a double-X bracing pattern for a Cedar topped OM, and was rewarded with a remarkably bright and lively instrument. I quickly moved away from ladder braced backs, and created several alternate patterns, each making its own contribution. I started laminating braces, combining hardwoods with softwoods, and adding carbon fiber.

Rather than continue to drill holes through the soundboard, I moved beyond from pinned bridges and embraced pin-less design. This forced me to increase my knowledge of the mechanism of sound; the measurable mechanical properties that start with the pluck of a string and result in a tear down a cheek and a shiver down a spine.

A major shift came when I moved past center soundhole soundboards. I stopped cutting out a 4" hole, removing critical structural support along the string path (which all but requires an X-braced design). I was suddenly free to pursue a deeper understanding of the acoustic properties and potential of the soundboard. By exploring new bracing patterns I was able to witness the increase in vibrational response of the entire guitar, and began to learn how to shape the sound emanating from it.

The dauphin (or "dolphin") was a dramatic departure from traditional acoustic guitar design and construction. I introduced several features including an elevated fretboard, adjustable neck, open headstock and a Zero fret. I also incorporated my own fountain bracing pattern along with my Shoulder Port in lieu of a soundhole.

Pushing even farther, I experimented with radically altering the upper bout. This involved re-engineering the curve from the neck to the lower bout, and introducing a removable leg rest. With a reduction in soundboard surface area I had to focus even more attention on the so-called "prime real estate" or "beach front property" of the section of soundboard primarily responsible for generating sound from the instrument.

For this model, the esprit (or "spirit"), I also modified the method of neck attachment, and walked down a path well-trodden in the solid body guitar world. Traditionally, acoustic guitar necks feature a heel that butts up against the body. If the heel is removed, the available attachment area remaining is the back of the neck.

This model introduced my fallaway design, a replacement for the cutaway, along with a removable leg rest, heel-less neck and a Miter bracing pattern. My Shoulder Port continued to successfully replace a center soundhole.