Serial Number 054

Customer Orchestra Model build

Started on August 01, 2026

This build is for a local musician. He doesn’t want to lug around a dreadnought guitar anymore and I completely understand that. It is part of the reason why I don’t build dreadnoughts. I know for the gigging musician that doesn’t have a roadie to do all the grunt work, the less and lighter you can carry to a gig, the better. This is the time of bringing a pedal board as your setup and not a full stack and then some. Times have changed.

This customer has tried out some of my guitars over the last year and has liked some of my guitars that are available. I generally like to push a potential customer to something that is built because there is no guarantee on what a guitar will sound like when materials are chosen for a new/custom build. Of course, you can get an idea of what the instrument will sound like from researching their tonal qualities. But that is probably as far as it goes.

Back and sides from the Rosewood family is very popular but from what I have read, the tonal qualities can be very different from each species. A very common combination is Sitka Spruce and Indian Rosewood. A big reason for that combination is the availability of those tonewoods: they would be easy to source and are a good match for tonal qualities in a guitar.

This build will consist of bear claw Sitka Spruce 3A and a set of Bhilwara Ceylon Rosewood for back and sides. Orchestra Model without a cutaway; laminated braces and an arm bevel. The neck will be of White Limba with a Wenge laminated and a Malaysian Blackwood fingerboard.

SPECS

Body 000/Orchestra Model

Scale 25.34″

Top 3A Bear Claw Sitka Spruce

Back Bhilwara Ceylon Rosewood

Sides Bhilwara Ceylon Rosewood

Neck White Limba/Wenge lamination

Fingerboard Malaysian Blackwood

Bridge Ebony

Tuning Machines Gotoh 510

Strings D’Addario EJ26