The Luthara you are listening to in this video is a prototype, the first of its kind. It was designed in part in collaboration with Ervin Somogyi in his shop in Oakland, and then built out in my shop in Virginia. It is only guitar of its kind in the world. The shape, tone and 12-fret design were organized in a deliberate effort to produce a steel string guitar that would feel right to a classical player, also with a specific deference to a mid-bias timbre, more suited to ballads, spacial harmonics and finger style selections, or in chamber arrangements with cello and violin. The acoustic tone of this instrument will be more accurately represented here in subsequent recordings fully mastered from digital audio interface renditions, along with samples of other guitars.  (Coming soon).

This is a recently built-to-spec, vintage J-50, but modified for acoustic response. Top is torrefied Sitka spruce, mahogany back  and sides, and Honduran mahogany neck. It was made for tone, with little and simple embellishment. The object of this build was too produce a J-50 with a similar tone to that original James Taylor sound from his first albums. Again, best listened to with a good set of speakers.

Players Take to Good Guitars

When the action is down low and the sound way high, a good player responds accordingly.