#23 for Brother T
A few years back, it was put on my mind to build a guitar for Brother Trey - the pastor of my folks church. He is a phenomenal player and has also meant so much to my family and made an impact on us over many years. When I heard that he was being moved to another church, I knew the time had come to finally get that guitar built.
I wanted this gift to be a surprise for Trey which means that I would be designing this guitar for him and so I wanted to give him something that would “fit.” Since I knew he already had a larger body Martin, I decided to make him something a little different, maybe another flavor for his tonal palette. So, this one is my smaller parloresque design - my “sit-a-spell” model. I have made several of these and they are some of my favorites to just sit around and play for the joy of it. They also have a fairly big sound for a small guitar.
The woods are fairly standard fair here: Sitka top and Walnut back and sides. These pieces, however, were some “primo” sets that I have been saving for the right guitar. The binding and arm bevel is koa which blends nicely with the other woods. The overall look of the guitar is fairly simple but with some real pop in the details.
Many of the features are standard for my builds - adjustable action neck, multi-scale, etc. But in terms of craftmanship, I feel like this one helped me pass another threshold of fit and finish. Everything on this one fit together beautifully and I solved some engineering issues that I have been pondering for a while.
This one has the offset lower sound hole and the side port. But on this one I had an idea that led to a discovery. I made a “cap” to fit in the lower hole to focus the sound into the side port which is right in the players face. When the cap is installed it also increases the bass response of the guitar. Pow! All up in your face! The cap has a nice walnut burl veneer that is pure luthiery bling.
Even as I am writing this, I am listening to a livestream of Brother Trey’s last Sunday at Gaines Chapel. He is playing the guitar. There is nothing better than seeing someone enjoy something you have made. I hope he enjoys this guitar for years to come - blessings to you; our prayers go with you.
I am currently editing a video series that will show the mostly complete process of building this guitar - keep an eye out for it.
