For Sale -- an Engelmann spruce / maple doubletop!
January 15, 2016:
FOR SALE -- A new instrument (#305) made with an Engelmann spruce doubletop and exceptional flamed maple back and sides, set off with Macassar ebony bindings.
This is a new instrument offered exclusively on this website. It is in stock and available immediately.
#305 is a sister to #297, which can be seen by scrolling down to the archive at the bottom of this page. The sound of maple guitars is routinely described as "mellow". Not these. Their sound is strong, rich, warm, loud, sustaining, powerful, brilliant, capable of doing almost anything you might ask of them. Playing them is a thrill.
#305 incorporates a recent internal innovation that I'm very excited about. This is an unusual asymmetrical graduation pattern for both the top and back. The idea for this change came from reading about recent super-accurate measurements of old Italian violins, many of which it turns out were very asymmetrical. Guitars and violins are not the same structurally, of course, but increasing the bilateral asymmetry in a guitar, as in a violin, strengthens the cross-instrument resonances significantly. The resulting sound is very full and rich, with outstanding presence.
Scale length is 640 mm. Fingerboard width is 52 mm at the nut, 62 mm at the 12th fret. Playability is superb. With light gauge strings it plays like butter, but still with plenty of volume and projection.
#305 has a tailblock access panel in addition to the standard features of my base model, such as double sides and back, a hollow neck, an elevated fingerboard, and a 12-hole tie block. Tuners are by Gilbert.
To find out more, or to see more pictures, please write. #305 is available immediately. Price is $8,500 USD. Included is a one-year warranty and a Hiscox case. Shipping costs are additional.
Under construction and available in April 2016 -- a cedar / wenge doubletop!
This guitar is an example of my base model, with great sound and superb playability, but with no add-on features such as a bevel or tail-block access panel that increase the cost. Scale length is 650 mm. Tuners will be Sloane or Gotoh. It will feature a beautiful new rosette design now under construction in my shop. I've assigned it #308.
Although the configuration of the guitar is relatively simple, there are no compromises in regard to sound, playability, or beauty.
Wenge (pronounced WENN-gay) is a relatively unknown wood to most players, and even to most builders. Nevertheless, it's a superb tonewood with a remarkably clear, ringing taptone that seems to sustain forever.
Other features, all part of the base model, include double sides and back, a hollow neck, an elevated fingerboard, and a 12-hole tie block.
To find out more, please write. #308 will be available in April 2016. Price is $7,500 USD. Included is a one-year warranty and a Hiscox case. Shipping costs are additional.
Archive -- earlier guitars in the "available now" series
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August, 2014: Another cedar/wenge doubletop in the "available now" series, #298. SOLD.
Click to see enlargement
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July 15, 2014: The third guitar in the "available now" series is a flamed maple instrument with a spruce/cedar doubletop and ebony bindings. It sold before I had even posted it on the website.
The sound of maple guitars is routinely described as "mellow". Not this one. Its sound is strong, rich, warm, loud, sustaining, powerful, brilliant, capable of doing almost anything you might ask of it. Its new owner says it is "perfect". Playing it is a thrill.
Here are a few pictures of #297. SOLD
Dec 15, 2013: The second guitar in the "available now" series has macassar ebony back and sides, ebony bindings, and a cedar/cedar doubletop. Its sound is very clear and very powerful. I didn't take photos while it was under construction, but here are a few pictures of the completed instrument. This is guitar #295. SOLD
Another guitar with a Ryan-style bevel. The construction procedure is becoming almost routine. I love the comfort of a bevel and much prefer it to the armrests I used in the past.
Macassar ebony is a medium weight wood with a solid taptone and, of course, dramatic appearance.
March 15, 2013: #291 completed. The cedar/ziricote combination gives a very smooth, very emotional quality to the sound. This is certainly one of the most satisfying guitars to play that I have ever made. SOLD
This is the second time I have made a guitar with a Ryan-style bevel. The construction procedure is getting easier and faster. The results for the player are very, very comfortable.
December 1, 2012: Continuing with #291. Construction is well underway. Here you see some of its parts arranged on my workbench.
October 15, 2012: The first part of the guitar that I make is the rosette. Here you can see parts for a group of sunburst rosettes at several stages of assembly. The dyed maple strips are first glued into wider strips, then into "logs", from which are cut individual tiles that are joined in a ring. I vary the arrangement of the strips from log to log so that each rosette is subtly different.
September 25, 2012: First steps -- moving wood into the shop for resawing. Back and sides for #291 will be cut from the long ziricote board in the center. The neck will come from the Spanish cedar plank. Other woods are wenge, bloodwood, and lacewood, all used in the rosette. A portion of a snakewood log is on the left in the top picture.
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Classical Guitars by Fritz Mueller
Email: Fritz Mueller
www.classicalguitars.ca
Tel: 250-476-1172
Snailmail:
Fritz Mueller, luthier
7210 Tatlayoko Road
Tatlayoko Lake, British Columbia
Canada V0L 1W0
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